365 Project | Week 42

May I make an observation? (I suppose since it's my blog, the answer would be, "Yes," but anyway ...) We have just completed the 42nd week of 2012. We, therefore, have only 10 weeks remaining. Somehow, that really doesn't seem quite possible. Just sayin'.

 

We are thankful for the blessing of a "normal" week with the only unexpected adventures being of the fun variety. ;)

 

Day 288. Our friend Tony took our family's photo for the church directory, and all of our crew was looking at the camera with a pleasant expression the. first. time. Miracles do happen. :)

 

Day 289. We have now completed 28% of our school year ... 51 days to be precise. We're loving homeschooling. The kids ... Mommy ... Daddy ... the whole family. So thankful the Lord's enabled us to do this. One of the myriad of fun benefits--the kids pull out the art supplies of their own volition and build on previous art lessons.

Day 290.  Mommy had been waiting for this day! After our Day Out with Thomas, I spent about a week creating a photo book "narrated" by Matthew. It arrived in the mail this week. Matthew was so. excited. He was excited just to see Thomas the Train on the cover, but when he opened the first page and saw his own picture, then heard Mommy reading, "Hi! My name is Matthew ..." his whole face just absolutely LIT UP. :) He still gets the biggest grin every time I read that first sentence. :D

Pure delight! :D No asking for smiles for this picture!

As much fun as it was reading it together, though, Mommy was very thankful that Hannah could take over the multiple readings of Thomas and Me while I prepared dinner.

Day 291. Fall colors are just starting to peak through in our yard. :)

Day 292. We enjoyed a somewhat spontaneous field trip at the zoo with our friends this week! The littlest crew members didn't make it on top of the tube for a photo op, but we all had a great time. :)

And while Mommy enjoyed an evening at Ladies' Bible Study, Daddy held things down on the home front. Matthew took care of keeping things neat and orderly. ;)

Day 293. And yet another very spontaneous event ... and a huge blessing. I had tried to get tickets for a free children's play based on The Little Engine that Could, but called a couple hours too late. About two hours before the play, however, a friend who had been able to get tickets for her family offered to trade one of our "big kids" for her 17-month old! We decided that Peter would particularly enjoy the play since it was about trains, and Hannah had the fun of "babysitting" Matthew and Mark. No pictures of Peter, but he declared that it was "the best evening ever!"

Day 294. When Matthew heard that the big kids had been blessed with mugs of hot chocolate after some energetic leaf raking, he put in his own request. "Kuh [insert garble here] oh." When repeated attempts to communicate verbally proved fruitless, he decided to get more practical and simply retrieved his desired item. The can of cappuccino. :D Ahhh! Now that [garble] makes sense! And from Matthew's perspective, if Mommy drinks it every. single. morning. before school, it must be good! :D

 

And *hopefully* within the next couple weeks we'll be able to share some pictures of brand new plantings around the foundation of our home. We borrowed some books from the library this summer to get some landscaping ideas appropriate for our region and the abundance of shade around our home. I came up with an initial plan, but the heat of summer is not the best time for planting. However, fall most definitely is, so this weekend while Daddy and the kids did some general yard work, I went to a local nursery. I was blessed with a very knowledgable representative who was not only familiar with every. single. plant. in my plan, but was able to take me to each one across the couple acre lot and also show me other options suitable for our situation. With some more revision based on what I learned, we now have our "final" plan and itemized shopping list. Hoping to do some ground prep this week and buy some plants this upcoming weekend ...