Outside my window…it’s cold.  It’s a temporary coldness, though…by Friday, we’ll be back up to 80.  One day we’re bundled up, the next we’re back in shorts and ready for the beach.  Oh the joy of the constant flux in temperature in South Texas.

I am remembering…Christmas 3 years ago.

Mom had just returned from a long, unplanned stay at the hospital, we were dealing with water issues in our city (again) and my children were miniature versions of their current selves.  I’m still incredibly grateful for Mom’s recovery.  I’m in awe of how quickly my children have grown.  And I’m still giggling over this note left for Santa…

I am thankful for…recitals and performances that allow these budding musicians to shine.  In the past month, the children played for the local Music Club, performed in the hymn festival (and all earned gold stars) and joyfully performed Christmas carols (mostly) for family (and friends) at the Christmas recital.

I am watching…children grow.  Nature unfold.  Life through others’ eyes.  I am learning to be still.

I am wondering…how some people seriously make it look so easy.

I am hoping…if you’re local, you’ll join me next week at the Oso Preserve where I will attempt to squeeze a million amazing facts about local medicinal herbs into a one hour presentation. 

I am pondering…the upcoming Winter Solstice.

I am laughing…at this ridiculously accurate depiction of how my kids felt about their gingerbread houses.

I am planting…nothing new right now.  Just keeping the medicinal herbs I planted in the summer alive and reaping the benefits of having medicine at my fingertips in my own backyard.

I am reflecting…on this quote from Charlotte Mason…”We all have need to be trained to see, and to have our eyes opened before we can take in the joy that is meant for us in this beautiful life.”

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Around the house…beautiful decorations, twinkling lights and Advent stories to fill our souls.

I am wearing…a fluffy robe.  Because it’s actually cold enough today for one.

We are preparing for…a visit from Granny, a whole bunch of Nutcracker madness, and a Savior to be born on Christmas Day.

Someday I am going to miss…this.

I am reading…The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton for book club and a whole lot of books about Chinese medicine for my herbal studies.

One of my favorite things…the puppies over at The Puppy House.

A peek into my day…

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Outside my window…there’s a whole lot of fun going on in the pool.

I am remembering…a visit with The Fabachers.  And to think it all began with a dinner at Bennigans…

I am thankful for…time spent with my sister.

I am watching…this squirrel.  I just about had a scare when I first saw him sprawled out like that…I thought I was going to have to scrape him off the front walk.  Apparently he was cooling off.

I am wondering…what these two were thinking.  It almost seemed as though they were looking in a mirror.

I am hoping…for rain.  It’s been a dry, dry summer.

I am pondering…the idea of another herbal make-and-take.

I am laughing…about this photo…

I am planting…medicinal herbs.  My sister found us a place in Austin that grows herbs…medicinal herbs.  And they have tons of transplants.  Now I just have to see if I can keep them alive.

I am reflecting…on the idea that all boobs are good boobs.

In the schoolroom…It’s always rough starting a new school year in July when everyone else is still lounging by the pool but it sure feels good when I start seeing first day of school photos and know that we’ve already gotten 6 weeks done.

Around the house…reading.  I’m reading.  They’re reading.  We’re reading.  It’s all good.

I am wearing…a bathing suit.  Because who can resist a dip in the pool with so many eager little people?

We are preparing for…the Redwoods.

Someday I am going to miss…lizards in this kid’s pockets.

I am reading…a whole lot of random books.  Random only in that I feel a little all over the place as far as what I’m reading to stay ahead of my kids.  Not random as in unplanned.  All of the books on each of the school shelves this year are there on purpose…lots of thought and love went into planning book lists this year thanks to my ADE consultation and any tweaks I made using The Plenary’s form guides.   (These photos do not do credit to the rich and beautiful education my children are receiving.  Charlotte Mason is about so much more than just a list of books.  Thanks to the suggestions of wise folks like the ladies at ADE and Rachel over at A CM Plenary, our year is bound to be a journey that takes us all a little deeper in our educations…it is full of the good, the truth and the beauty.  The books pictured here are only the tip of the iceberg for us.  )

One of my favorite things…the sun coming in through the school room window in the morning.

A peek into my day…

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Outside my window…it is beautiful.  Spring is in the air.  It may be cloudy outside today, but sunny days are soon to come.

I am remembering…those chubby little arms and cheeks, that chipped front tooth, those golden curls and I am wondering why it all passes by so quickly.

I am thankful for…remembering I grew edible flowers for a reason.  It makes me happy to look down at my food and be greeted with the cheeriness of spring.

 

I am watching…for snakes everywhere I step.  Last year I had a run-in with a rattlesnake while we were at Big Bend and I swore I never wanted to repeat that.  Yet I have…I almost stepped on one again.  We went out to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge last week to see if we could spot some Whooping Cranes.  No luck with cranes.  Plenty of alligators (too close for comfort), a rattlesnake and a couple of tick bites later and I’m not sure spotting a crane would have been worth it.  Oh who am I kidding?  It totally would have been worth it.

I am wondering…why I can’t seem to remember that not everyone asks for my help.  Not everything is my problem.  I need to repeat that many, many times (and hope it sticks).

I am hoping…to get started on my new herbal course soon.  It’s sitting there taunting me with its sheer volume.

I am pondering…the question Mary Oliver asked in her poem The Summer Day (“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?“) and soaking up the interesting thoughts from this author of Everyone forgets about Mary Oliver’s Grasshopper.

I am laughing…because I’m not sure Choo-Chi realized what he was in for when he jumped up on that trampoline.

I am planting…seeds from Strictly Medicinal again.  This time we’re attempting their Hoedown Seed Collection.  Hoping I remember to water them.

I am reflecting…on some of Mary Oliver’s poetry.  It’s been a long time since I’ve read poetry and connected with it.  It’s been an even longer time since I’ve read poetry and felt inspired to write some of my own.  Her work is so beautiful…it’s like she knows what’s in my heart.

In the schoolroom…we just entered our third and final term of the year.  I’ve completed a consultation with the ladies at A Delectable Education and have already begun browsing used book shelves in search of next year’s books.  It has been a beautiful and fruitful year.  Next year will be bursting with even more goodness…Katie will officially join us in our studies.

Around the house…I “Marie Kondo”ed the baby clothes…all that beautiful empty space.  I’ve now managed to fill it with books that we aren’t currently using.  The emptiness was lovely while it lasted.

I am wearing…black pants and this flowy sheer top that has a lime green camisole sewn into it.  Very much not my style but sometimes random hand-me-downs are a surprisingly good excuse to stretch my boundaries.

We are preparing for…spring.  Glorious warm days.  Sunny days.  Blooming flowers, sprouting weeds, chirping birds.  And mosquitoes…oh how I dread the mosquitoes.

Someday I am going to miss…bike riding with these little people.

I am reading…The Road Back to You, still trying to figure out which enneagram number I am, a little afraid that I fit so many profiles that I’m clearly a new, undiscovered number.  

One of my favorite things…camping, camping, camping.  If it were up to me, I’d camp my entire life.  I’d need some kind of laundry solution because not doing laundry is my usual camping laundry plan (and running out of underwear is usually the reason I go home) and I think I’d need to consider training my kids to be chiropractors because I think eventually that air mattress would do my back in, but other than that, I’d happily spend my life driving and camping.

A peek into my day…(leaving my phone unattended is never a good idea)

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