The BIG Project in the Works

Exactly one week ago, after thirty-five years in our much-loved home, we put it on the market.

(We can hardly believe it ourselves. It is a BIG deal for us!)

Back in the fall, during Ron's illness and extended recovery, we began to realize that this home that we love is more suited for the young and the healthy. We have only one bathroom, and it is downstairs. All three bedrooms are upstairs. When mobility is an issue...well, it's a problem. 

For months, we have talked about the pros and cons. Our property adjoins family property. But do we need to have this much property to take care of? We could add on a ground floor master suite. But would that cost more than a sale and a move? And do we want to do all that and still have too much property and the issues of an old house? Ron is healthy again, so is it really necessary? But don't we want to make these decisions when we have options and can take our time? Oh, but we've been here so long. Our blood (literally), sweat (absolutely), and tears (those too) are invested in this home. We have made it over, from top to bottom, inside and out. All of our family's memories are right here! We love our house!

In the end, we decided to sell. 

Photo by our dear friend Frances

After listing last Wednesday afternoon, we had eleven showings by Friday!

Seeing that there was significant interest (we had FOUR offers!), our realtor asked for "best and final" offers to be made by Saturday morning. Then we sat down together, chose one of the four (more than our listing price!), and signed the paperwork. It looks like we will be moving in April!

The best part is that we feel that the Lord is leading us. We have asked Him to close doors if this was not His plan for us, but He seems to be opening them wide!

Another photo by Frances

So now...

In the next seven weeks, we will be cleaning out and sorting and packing thirty-five years worth of stuff and earthly treasures. (Determining which things are "stuff" and which things are "treasures" is tough!) 

We'd love to hear your moving tips...we are novices! Please leave advice in the comments. 

Thinking About Home will continue to be quiet-ish, simply because we are so. very. busy. Much to do in a short time! I'll be popping in from time to time to give you peeks at the down and dirty. (Is anyone really interested in seeing the messy?) I'll also give you a few peeks at the new (to us) house! 

It is all exciting and scary and bitter and sweet! 

Homeschooling: Rediscovering the Joy

For twenty-five years I have found tremendous joy in the journey of homeschooling.

And then this year happened. A year of health crisis. A year of busyness. A year of change. A year of challenge. 

And, yes, Bekah's first year of high school.

For the first time ever, I found my joy waning. 

Oh, I was never tempted to stop homeschooling. I am dyed-in-the-wool! Ron and I are convinced that home education is the best thing for our family. But I was discouraged about our progress, about my well-laid plans that were going to pot. I was discouraged that I just couldn't keep up. I could not execute my plan. We were getting behind and there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it.

I even remarked that I had finally found a disadvantage to homeschooling: the fact that family life affects it directly. If my child is being educated away from home, school continues no matter what is going on in our lives.

But then the Lord used several things to refocus my thinking.

This comment: 

Karen Andreola left these kind and encouraging words when I wrote this post.

The cartoon may reflect how you feel but what the author of "Thinking About Home" says to me (between the lines) is that an impressionable ninth grader is benefiting from learning something valuable - outside of "hitting the books hard." She is Providentially learning what a loving and godly wife is.  

Those words were life-giving to a tired homeschool mama. They gave me perspective that I had lost, a right perspective!

This post: 

Staying on Track (via Living Books Library). The message was practical and affirming, including this thought...

All those "interferences" are part of my children's education, for the children studying at home are not removed from life in the artificial seclusion of a classroom, but are in the midst of its circumstances.

These distractions and diversions were actually a part of Bekah's education. Of course they were!


And this quote:

Found in one of my own blog posts, written five years ago.

Our aim in Education is to give a Full Life.—We begin to see what we want. Children make large demands upon us. We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests. ‘Thou hast set my feet in a large room,’ should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking—the strain would be too great—but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest. We cannot give the children these interests; we prefer that they should never say they have learned botany or conchology, geology or astronomy.  

The question is not—how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education—but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?

~ Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series, Volume 3

A full life and a large room. That is the measure of education.

It didn't happen instantly, but slowly I felt the joy return! 

Do I still have academic goals for my student? Is it important to me that a high school credit stand for something? Am I still seeking to equip her for the future? The answer to all of those questions: Absolutely! 

But the events that would take place in our lives during this current school year were not planned by me. Our lives are planned by God, the Master Designer and He is in control of all of the details. 

I believe that He planned this year, with all of its ups and downs, for Bekah's good. He knows what she needs to learn. His curriculum is the best. 

I have made peace with HIS plan. And joy is restored!

Waiting

It has been a full week. A bit of this and a bit of that. Some family time. Some school time. Some house-y projects.

And a big project in the works that is taking a great deal of time and attention. More to come...and yet we wait...

If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord's people have always been a waiting people.  ~ Charles Spurgeon

{Weekend Reading} The Balance of Things

Things. 

All temporary. We can't take any thing with us. And yet, we do need a certain amount of stuff to accomplish our God-appointed tasks. 

That's where balance comes in. Managing, organizing, sorting our things. Treasuring things with meaning. But not allowing things to own us.

Balance is tricky, isn't it? 

Here's what I've been reading lately...

200 Things to Throw Away

Yes, 200!! That's a good start, wouldn't you say?

8 Rules for Ditching Sentimental Clutter

This is the hardest kind of clutter for me to eliminate, but this writer has some good tips.

Why do so many millennials prefer Ikea to family heirlooms?

This article caught my attention as I am the owner of many family treasures. Will these things be treasured by my children? Is it okay either way? 

A Stylish Way to Hide an Ugly Wall AC Unit

This one is more on the topic of managing stuff. (It also goes along with my own rule of thumb: Hide Ugly Stuff.)

What do you think about the balance of things? 

Homeschool and the Germaphobe

I am helping Bekah with her algebra lesson. We read aloud this problem:

The number of bacteria increased by 280 percent overnight. If there were 30,000 bacteria yesterday, how many bacteria were present this morning? 

Bekah wrinkles her nose. "Ewww."

And then, "Maybe they're making yogurt."

That's what they're doing. Of course, they're making yogurt.

And now we can move on and solve the (mathematical) problem.

Rigatoni with Sausage and Spinach

Everyone came home from church hungry (sound familiar?) and we had an appointment later in the afternoon so we were in a bit of a hurry. "How long before we eat?" was the question of the hour. 

Within half an hour, we were passing the Parm! 

If you're in need of a yummy meal in a hurry, this might be it. 

Ingredients:

1 pound rigatoni pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

large bag (10-oz) baby spinach

grated Parmesan

Directions:
Cook pasta as directed on package.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.

Saute onion until just beginning to brown.

Add sausage and cook until browned, 4 or 5 minutes.*

Stir in chicken broth, stirring to loosen any brown bits from bottom of pan.

Stir in heavy cream and nutmeg.

Simmer 1 minute; remove from heat.

Place spinach in colander; drain pasta over the spinach.

Return pasta and spinach to pot; toss with sausage mixture.

Serve with grated Parmesan.

* If you like your sauce a little thicker, toss in a tablespoon or so of flour after the sausage is browned.

Gathering the Moments | January

A post Christmas gathering / Waiting for Baby

Peeks at the everyday moments

:: Macie Violet ::

:: Moving day ::

Celebrating Brian's birthday

Sweet mommy/daughter moments

Nora's 7th birthday...including the traditional Birthday Dance!

Meeting new niece/cousin

Around our table...

Continuing the celebration

January was a month of new beginnings.

♥  Ron returned to work after an extended time of medical leave. His health is restored. He feels great.

♥  Grand #10, our sweet little Macie Violet, joined the family.

♥  Ryan began a new position, and he and his precious family moved back "home."

We are embracing the changes! And we are praising the Lord for them!

As always, even in the grand and glorious changes, life is made up of moments. Time spent together. Glances exchanged. Baby snuggles. Shared meals. Hugs. Changing a tiny diaper. Coffee time. A long heart-to-heart sitting in the van in your own driveway. Playing "Apples to Apples" with a new reader. Eighteen for Sunday dinner. Watching the snow. A chat on the way to choir. Hot chocolate with marshmallows and hot chocolate mustaches. Joining the Birthday Dance for the first time. Grand giggles. Watching one grandson bounce as his Daddy sings in church. Watching the other grandson play "air guitar" while his Daddy sings in church. 

Moments to be gathered. Moments to be savored. Moments to be tucked away...into the heart. 

Let's Chat! {The Winter Kitchen, A Red Timestick, Time and Focus, Weekend Plans}

In the winter kitchen...

During the snow storm, I decided to make these Magical Meyer Lemon Bars. I had been wanting to try them ever since I saw the recipe at Delightful Repast. I was intrigued that you use the entire lemon(s), peel included. These were a perfect snow day dessert: sweet and sunny and special.  

I cooked up this hearty bean soup using what remained of the Christmas ham. I suppose the Christmas season is officially over now. 

Some precious little ones gathered 'round my kitchen table. We had hot chocolate with special snowflake marshmallows (Thanks, Gammy!) and the sweetest conversation. 

Also in the kitchen...

I won this red TimeStick timer over at Delightful Repast in October (but you know how our October went). I am just now getting around to saying "thank you" for this handy gizmo! All kitchen times are not created equal, and TimeStick is certainly a cut above. It is sturdy. It counts up. It counts down. It sticks to most metal surfaces (I keep mine on the side of my microwave). But you can also put it in your pocket, or use the lanyard to hang it around your neck if you need to go upstairs to make your bed while your cake is in the oven and don't want to miss hearing the beep. :)

Thank you Jean for hosting the giveaway and for my new red (love red!) TimeStick. 

And speaking of time...

Time is something that has eluded me these past months. Focus has eluded me even more!

Oh certainly, life has settled down considerably. Ron is healthy and back to work, Baby Macie is here, and Ryan and family have moved. We are immeasurably grateful for all of these blessings!

But my schedule has not returned to normal. We are in a very busy season of homeschooling.

My mindset has not returned to normal. After all of the changes of the past months, I have not easily fallen back into my routines. Time management is a lifelong struggle for me...even when things are going smoothly.

We are also in a season of making decisions and that has taken quite a bit of my time and mental energy.

All that to say...

Please understand if this blog is a little quieter than it used to be. I have thoughts swirling around up there, but not always the time or the focus to gather them together and do something grand.

Please offer grace if my commenting on your blogs is hit-and-miss. It may be because I have been too busy to visit, or it may be because I am too tired or distracted to put words together cohesively.

This weekend. I have been looking forward to it all week! A little celebration for Nora's 7th birthday today. A big Sunday dinner together tomorrow. For the first time since Ryan has moved back and Macie has been born. For the first time since there have been eighteen of us. {{Joy!!} And Kati is having some friends from work over to play Scrabble tomorrow evening.

Yes, we're busy! But we're busy with good things...and that's the best kind of busy!

Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!

Psalm 68:19

Snow Stories

It has been a long time since all four of us spent an entire weekend here at home...no one working, no one shopping or running errands, no one socializing, no one even going to church. Winter storm Jonas offered us two and a half days to slow down. We did a little housework, drank a lot of coffee, ate too much, kept up with the laundry in case we lost power (we didn't), watched videos, cleaned out a couple of closets...and told snow stories.

On Sunday afternoon, I asked everyone to share a snow memory. 

I went first. Of course, I had to tell two because who can decide? And why tell one story when you can tell two? 

I preface mine with the fact that my parents were very protective and if they had had a clue of what we were doing, they'd have both had coronaries. They thought that the church youth were going "sledding" because that's what it was called. But the "sleds" were car hoods that were roped onto the backs of pick-up trucks! Five or six kids would pile on the upside down car hood, and then the driver would drive down a dark, winding country road while we slid around and hung on and had the time of our lives! I didn't know enough to be afraid, and my parents didn't know that the "sleds" were car hoods, and what in the world were the adults in charge thinking? As an adult, I cringe. But oh, did we ever have some fun that night!

My other memory was of a similar incident, only this time Ron and I were married, and we were on the family farm, and the car hood was tied to the back of a tractor driven by Ron's brother. And I was very newly pregnant with my firstborn. (Yikes!) There were young adult brothers and sisters and in-laws and nieces and nephews, and again, we had such fun! 

After I finished, Kati said, "Both of your stories are adventurous, Mom!" Which strikes us all as being ironic as I am truly the least adventurous person that I know. (Who was that crazy person?) 

Kati reminisced about childhood snow days when Ryan still lived at home. His good friend Josh would drive over to our house, and Ryan, Kati, and Josh...and Ryan's black Lab, Buster, who loved snow...would walk back to the woods and shake snow from tree limbs on each other's heads and throw snowballs and make snow angels while Buster tried to lick their faces. They would build a snowman if the snow was right. 

Bekah remembered a time that Sarah (who was not yet Ryan's wife) came over and she built a row of tiny snowmen on the picnic table. Sarah was also snowed in with us one time, and the power went out and we played charades by candlelight. 

Ron's snow story was the most dramatic! He told of a Christmas Eve that his family was returning home from a family Christmas party. It had begun to snow while they were at the party and several inches of fresh snow had already fallen. His father was driving slowly down the highway, when he said, "That looked like a man!" He turned the car around and went back and, sure enough, there was a man lying in the median of the highway! Dad got out of the car, telling Ron's oldest brother to come with him. Ron joined them (he was a preteen at the time) and the three of them approached the man. He was alive and so grateful that they had stopped. He had been walking to the motel across the road where he worked as a night auditor and had fallen in the snow. Being a very large man, he was unable to get up. They helped him to his feet, made sure that he was okay, and on he went to work.

What are your snow memories (dramatic or otherwise)?

Wintering

With the harshness of winter settling in this week {snow, bitter temps, a cold virus}, I can only be grateful that it is now rather than...

...when the new baby arrived and we were traveling back and forth with the children between our home and their home and the hospital

...during moving weekend when our family was traveling busy roads in separate vehicles and all of their worldly goods were being hauled into the new house

...when Ron was ill and in the hospital, or even when he was home but using a walker or a cane, and when I was doing the driving. 

Yes, now I have the luxury of staying home and feeding the woodstove and hunkering down. 

Now, we are wintering.

• Simplifying decor. 
• Enjoying cozy candlelight.
• Making soup. Last night it was Baked Potato Soup. Comfort food. 
• Watching Downton Abbey. Relishing this last season and wondering what winter Sunday evenings will be like without it! 
• Drinking hot coffee. Drinking hot tea. (Key word: hot.)
• Getting our school work done...even if it means reading in our pj's while nursing a cold. 
• Looking at the snowy scenes that are outside our windows.
• Keeping a few snippings of rosemary on my kitchen window sill.
• Tackling miniprojects. A miniproject is a little extra task (not one in the normal round of chores) that can be accomplished in 15 to 30 minutes.
• Crafting. I finally gathered all my supplies for a penny runner. I plan to begin it this week.
• Planning. Always planning.

And even though this has nothing at all to do with wintering (although she is a winter baby ~smile~), I must show you a picture (or two) (or even three) of Macie. 

Edited to add: 
So far the cold virus has only struck Bekah at our house. But my parents have both been sick and our son's family have all had it.

Are you wintering? What sorts of things are you doing?