Sunday Snapshots {Mother's Day 2018}

Mother's Day was a sweet finale to a busy week of "vacation"! On Sunday, we had twenty-two people around our table(s), chatting, feasting on a casual meal (chicken strips, my mom's awesome potato salad, fresh veggies and dip, and fruit salad) and, of course, honoring our mothers. Mother's Day is a "pretty" holiday, don't you think . . . an opportunity to embrace pink and roses and all things feminine.

Ooooo . . . dessert. Beautiful white cupcakes, strawberries, and a pavlova bar. Individual pavlovas could be topped with your choice of fresh whipped cream, chocolate whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate chips.

We took lots of photos. We exchanged tokens of love. (This mama received three live plants! Again I ask, Can I keep them alive? I am going to try!) We had Wrapping Paper Antics. (Kristin received a unique Mother's Day dragon, a limited edition by Gavin created with Mother's Day tissue paper! Did I say "unique"? Yes!) We had a couple of musical selections and a skit. We laughed a lot! The children were singing a song they had learned in choir. It is sung as a round. Well, the first two began and something got them tickled. I mean, so tickled they had to stop singing. They regained their composure and began again. It was going well, and then Maddie's voice cracked and the laughing took over again. The third and fourth attempts also ended in a fit of giggles. You know how it is when the harder you try to stop laughing, the more you laugh? That was it! And the more they laughed, the more we all laughed! It was not the smoothest performance ever, but oh what fun we had! If "a merry heart does good, like medicine," then everyone left the party a little healthier! 

After (an incomplete) clean-up, the four of us went to visit to Ron's mom. Ron was the last of her eight children to pay her a Mother's Day visit, so she said that we "made her day." "Well, that is a pretty easy way to make someone's day," I said, but she insisted that it did. (Thinking it over later, I pondered that perhaps it can be just that easy to make someone's day. Note to self: Try more often to make someone's day.)

We arrived home just before 8 pm, in time to watch the new Little Women on Masterpiece. I had been so excited to watch it. Little Women was one of my favorite childhood books and we have watched every one of the movie/television versions of Little Women, so I was eager to see how this one compared. I loved this version, although it didn't top my favorite (the one with Winona Ryder as Jo).

(Would you like to take a quiz to see which Little Women sister you're most like?)

How did you spend your Mother's Day? 

Topiary Love

The subtitle of this post should be "Can I Keep Them Alive?" 

My track record with green things is not so good. In fact, I am the kiss of death to house plants. "You can't kill fill-in-the-blank," I have been told. But yes. Yes, I can. Which is why I am a huge fan of faux greenery.

I love the classic look of topiaries and I have several faux. But when these live beauties called my name in the Walmart garden center, I threw caution to the wind and put two in my cart. 

I put one on my kitchen island . . . 

. . . and the other on the drop leaf table in front of the picture window, both places where they will get plenty of light. 

Determined to do my best to keep them alive, I did a little research. My new friends are Eugenia plants, sculpted into topiaries. According to this article, they need plenty of sunlight, moderate water, and occasional fertilizing. (And a bit of luck, I might add.)

I may decide to put them on the living room mantel. I do think topiaries look nice in pairs. There is not as much light on the mantel though. Hmmm . . .

Bekah gave them their first haircut yesterday. So far, so good!

Do you have any topiary tips for me? 

Also around the house,

Ron is off this week and this is happening . . .

We are painting the north and east wall of cabinets. Yesterday we removed everything from the kitchen that was not nailed down, sanded (ugh), and removed doors and hardware. Today, the first coat of paint!

Growing Older | Preparation

I am continuing this series of quoted ponderings and Bible verses about growing older. I thought I'd be finished by now, but apparently I had collected more than I thought! No apologies, though. I am learning so much as I ponder. I hope that you are too. 

 (Click ~here~ to read others.) 

Preparation for old age should begin not later than one's teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled on retirement.  ~ Dwight L. Moody

Throwing Open the Shutters

Some deep thoughts for your weekend . . . 

“If God had told me some time ago that He was about to make me as happy as I could be in this world, and then had told me that He should begin by crippling me in arm or limb and removing from me all my usual sources of enjoyment, I should have thought it a very strange mode of accomplishing His purpose. And yet, how is His wisdom manifest even in this. For if you should see a man shut up in a closed room idolizing a set of lamps and rejoicing in their light and you wished to make him truly happy, you would begin by blowing out all of his lamps and then throwing open the shutters to let in the light of heaven.”

~ Samuel Rutherford  

Homeschooling: Finding Joy With Shakespeare (Imperfectly)

We recently had another of our Shakespeare Reading Days, this time reading The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.

So. Much. Fun.

I posted this picture of our "Caesar" on my Facebook page and captioned it: We homeschool. 🤣

Seriously, can you have this much fun getting an education? (Yes!)

I have lost track of how many of these days we have had. (Six? Seven? More?) Here's what we do*: 

• Read a "retelling" of the play, usually from Beautiful Tales From Shakespeare for Children. (Julius Caesar was not in the book, so I found a summary online.) This is to familiarize ourselves with the characters and the story, which makes understanding the Old English a tad easier. 
• Assign characters and read Acts I and II in the morning.
• Eat our brown bag lunches, chat, and play. (Yesterday we had an impromptu concert. That was a first. ~smile~) 
• Read Acts III through V. 

There is a minimum of discussion. Occasionally someone will summarize a scene if a student (or adult) gets lost. Sometimes we will explain a word or phrase. The past couple of times I have listed some famous quotes from the play before we read it (i.e. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" or "Beware the ides of March") and have everyone stand up when they hear that line read.

But mostly, we read the play.

My mom and I were having a discussion yesterday about perfection and "good enough," and I later thought about how it applied to our Shakespeare Reading Days.

Do you know that perfection can be paralyzing?

If I thought that the circumstances had to be "perfect," then I would never host these reading days!

1. I am not an accredited English teacher.
2. I am not a Shakespeare expert. 
3. Sometimes, I have not even had time to brush up on the play! 
4. I do not have enrichment activities planned. 
5. I do not have control over who does and doesn't come. (Maybe all the participants are good readers; maybe they are not.) 

But . . . 

Always, students are exposed to great literature. Always, we learn things we didn't know before. Always, we push ourselves to read, pronounce, and understand. Always, we become familiar with words and idioms we didn't know came from Shakespeare. Always, we learn stories and characters that we will likely encounter again in literature, movies, and even pop culture. And we usually have some fun along the way!

Even though we have done it imperfectly. 

Here, "Caesar" meets his demise by the hands of the conspirators!

The same principle holds true in many areas of homeschooling. 

Perfection paralyzes. Enthusiasm for your child's learning mobilizes.

Maybe you haven't found the perfect phonics system or the perfect math program. You don't have a separate school room. You're not a highly structured person. (Or maybe you are a highly structured person.) Maybe you don't have a big budget for educational materials. Or you have a toddler who requires a great deal of your attention. You missed Morning Time three times last week. Your child doesn't like science. You don't like science. You don't know all. the. things.

All of this reaching for perfection will keep you from finding the joy in the journey.

Instead, take what you do have and give it a go. Pick up where you left off. Pray that He will multiply your "loaves and fishes." Let your enthusiasm for your child's whole heart take over. 

If you will learn to accept "less than perfect," I believe that you can find joy in your journey of homeschooling! 

(And perhaps "less than perfect" will be the perfect fit for your child's needs!) 

* The idea for Shakespeare reading days was inspired by the ideas and experiences of Karen Andreola as shared in A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning. 

Monday Musings

I have a few more thoughts to share in my series on aging, but those will wait. Instead, this Monday I'd like to have a little chat with you. It's been a while. 

About this time last year, I wrote this: 

Life is so full at this stage of the game. When I was a young mom, I thought that life would get simpler as my babies and toddlers grew up, and in some ways it has. But each season of life has its own kind of busyness and its own limitations. So here I am, homeschooling a high schooler, grandmother of ten, coordinator of house projects, hostess, blogger, daughter, wife. Yes, life is full. 

I could say it all again. Life is full. It might even be fuller. (Is that a word? ~smile~) 

On Saturday, we girls went to a barn sale and came home with a few treasures. My favorite find was this folk art wall cabinet. I hope it's not "Kountry-with-a-K" (the girls' name for 80's country), but even if it is, I love it. (Buy what you love, right?) And I think it gives the kitchen a needed bit of color. 

While we were out gallivanting, Ron was hard at work in the kitchen. He made some changes around the window above the kitchen sink and installed some recessed lights. A few weeks ago, he put in a range hood. New counter tops and sink are on the horizon now. (Hopefully in May. Possibly in the summer. Exciting!) Then we'll paint the cabinets on the north wall and that will complete that side of the room. I'll show you some "befores" and "afters" when the painting is done. (It is so hard to take good pictures around a window. I'll do my best.) 

Kati was hosting a game party on Sunday evening, so Ron and I took the afternoon and evening to have a date! Middle-age dates include coffee, plant shopping, looking at kitchen sinks, a steak dinner, more plant shopping, more coffee, and lots of conversation about big things and little things. (I like middle-age dates!)

Last week brought several opportunities to gather with friends. Life is busy, but when these opportunities arise, I try to make time. Of course, I am older and do not have little ones who depend on me, so my time is more flexible. When my children were young, my gatherings were often with moms and their children, or occasionally an evening outing when Ron was home for the children. But friendships change as our life circumstances change.

The crux of the matter is that people matter! And I am not being entirely altruistic here. I am needy. I thrive on the interaction and encouragement and fellowship of my friends.

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galations 6:2

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 

Romans 12: 10-13

Therefore, comfort one another and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

I Thessalonians 5:11

"Back door friends are best."

We are approaching the end of another school year.

Every year is different. Because every child is different and every year's circumstances are different and, honestly, even though all of my children have had the same teacher (me!), I am different and our family dynamics are different from year to year.

So, yes. This year has been different from any other year. Maybe I'll write a long, rambling post about Bekah's junior year (not now; this post has rambled enough!) or maybe not. But I can assure you that music had been an important part!

Tonight, Pineapple House is the setting for Bekah's second piano recital as a teacher! She has five students now: her nieces Eve and Nora, her nephew Peter and two others. Our living room/dining room will be full and our hearts will be full as we share in their beautiful music! Excitement is high!

Today marks two years since we moved into Pineapple House! (How can it have been that long already?) Sometimes, I marvel that we are not at The Farmhouse. I always thought that we'd be there for the rest of our lives. But we're not, and it is good for so many reasons! We continue to be grateful for this wonderful home, the Lord's provision for our family! 

I am delighted that you stopped by for a visit here at Thinking About Home! How do you feel about friendship? Do you have a friend who encourages you in your walk with the Lord? Do you think it's important to be that friend?

Turning Seventeen With The Sound of Music

Somehow, my "baby" has turned seventeen already!

The years have flown by, 

from the time we brought our little preemie home from the hospital

through all the years in between

18 months

8 years old

11 years old

age 15

. . . and now, she is a young lady on the cusp of adulthood.

My mama-heart flutters a little when I realize that this time next year, all of my children will be adults and this chapter of my life will end. But mostly, I am so grateful that I have had the wonderful privilege and responsibility of raising this precious girl, walking alongside her, encouraging and being encouraged by her as we have grown in grace together!

On Sunday, we gathered to celebrate Bekah with a Sound of Music birthday party!

(We played the soundtrack during the party. Click ~here~ for a song!)

🎜 Raindrops on roses 🎝

🎜 Whiskers on kittens 🎝

🎜 Brown paper packages tied up with string 🎝

🎜 These are a few of my favorite things 🎝

🎜 Edelweiss 🎝

"A Few of My Favorite Things" game:

We named some of Bekah's favorite things (dark chocolate, Sherlock Holmes, high heels, etc.)

and each player stood near the appropriate sign.

Sadly, Ryan had to work, but Paul was willing to participate in Wrapping Paper Antics.

Bekah with Mommom

with Gammy

with Gampy

her "camera"

The kids performed a skit for Bekah! :)

with Aunt Linda

with her sisters

with her nieces and nephews

As I do every year, I reflect on the hard and beautiful story of Bekah's coming into this world and I am filled with gratitude. She was meant to be! Our God has a plan for her life!

For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 

Therefore I also have lent [her] to the LORD;

as long as [s]he lives [s]he shall be lent to the LORD.” 

I Samuel 1:27,28