Monday Musings--16 July 2012

Right now...5:45 a.m.  Way too early for all the little ones to be up, and yet up they are.  I don't like it when I have to share my "morning quiet time" with them, mainly because the quiet element is suddenly gone!  But since I got out of bed at 4 (insomnia again...)

This weekend...Well, first we had drought, and now we have an abundance of rain.  Very good for the pastures, but not so good for kids who want to go outdoors.  And the temperatures are still up in the high 90's, so it is too muggy to even open a window, even at 5 a.m.  As one who likes to sleep with open windows, it's not been pleasant.  Summer is not my favorite season.


 Saturday was Gemma's birthday, although we decided we would celebrate on Sunday.  We left the house early to get our grocery shopping done, and we were home by noon.  After putting away the groceries, I baked Gemma's cake (chocolate by request) and frosted it. The afternoon was busy with house-cleaning, showers, wrapping Gemma's gifts and such.


Yesterday was full...more full than I care for on a Sunday, but it was very nice, too.  We went to Mass at the Chapel of Divine Mercy, and afterward the younger children were enrolled in the Brown Scapular.  They have been wearing them, but only Una and Sebastian had actually been enrolled.  Bret, the oldest three kids and myself were also enrolled in the Confraternity of Angelic Warfare.  Afterward, we headed home, and after a very quick lunch, I made up some icing to decorate Gemma's cake with.  I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen, when our friend Fr. Tom came by.  The afternoon was full:  enthronement of the Divine Mercy image, followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and a home-blessing; cake and homemade ice cream and an opening of gifts.  Gemma loved all her gifts, but I was a bit disappointed by the way she tore through them.  It wasn't until later that she took the time to appreciate each one.  I may post more about what we got for Gemma this week.

Some plans for this week:  Ugh.  Don't want to think about it.  I am still undecided about some of the school curriculum, and am thinking of waiting until Jessica has her homeschool curriculum blog-hop in a couple of weeks.  I really feel like that is waiting until the last minute, though, and I am eager to say, "it is done."  I have orders to place on Amazon for some birthday gifts ('tis the season for us...) and with Vitacost for some supplements.  We have a couple of orders to get out from the Etsy shop, too (the kids will be doing a lot of sanding, I think!)  Wednesday is our wedding anniversary, and we are hoping to go out to eat, if Bret isn't working too late.  I have put up batches of wine, but I have basil overgrowing and need to make pesto, and I need to tie up my tomatoes, and I might make peach jam, if the kids will leave me any of the peaches...and I have some scapulars to make/repair.

If I can find some time for myself, I would like to...work on my writing and start some holiday-gift knitting.

I am grateful for...the big box of peaches my mom got us from the co-op; a wonderfully fresh bunch of kale from someone at church, not to mention the kefir grains he gave us; sweet cantaloupe from Bret's boss; rain (oh, yes; very grateful for it after the long drought); my new Kindle (although I have used it less than have Una and Sebastian); all the graces from yesterday.  We are blessed!

Some special prayer intentions for this week:  for discernment regarding curriculum choices; for another 25 years with my husband; for nothing but good results for his CT scan Friday (he has had nodules in his lungs for at least 11 years, and they haven't changed, but we need to keep an eye on them); rain for those parts of the country--and Canada--that are still drought-stricken; for the blessing and intercession of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, whose feast is today.

Something that makes me smile:  With all the rain and humidity we've had, the kids have been indoors, and I don't take pictures indoors because of the lousy lighting.  So bear with me on the flash photo!

Hope you all have a great week!