One Morning in Harvest

(We love the picture book, One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey.  Alas, this post is not about the rugged Maine coast or losing one's first tooth.) 

Harvest is in full swing!  I'm thankful for the past few days when I've stayed up past 9 pm to get a chance to talk with Jim for a few minutes, and when we have overlapped for 15-20 minutes after I take the children to school, so we have had that time to talk then also. Before that, I had lost track of whether it had been 2 or 3 days since I had last seen him. 

One Morning in Harvest ... (this morning) ...  I have ...

solved the Wordle, 

cajoled children to get ready for school, 

read two picture books during breakfast to keep one child motivated to eat, 

listened to Jesus, Strong and Kind (a carrot for one child to get her hair done)

messaged a doctor's office (& let them know I would call to confirm before going to the 15-mile distant pharmacy),

boiled eggs to re-stock our supply for breakfasts & snacks, 

grilled two huge pork chops on the George Foreman (for harvest meals), 

unloaded & loaded the dishwasher, 

and probably other things I am forgetting. 

How has your morning been?

Refreshment

We are slowly getting back to a routine in our household ... after a very full summer, lots of travel, constant packing & unpacking, lots of concern about & phone calls regarding my dad, the start of school (& all day kindergarten!), a quick trip to WI over Labor Day, sickness, and then my dad's death, our trip, his funeral, etc. Whew! We are all tired in every way.  

After some really unsettling experiences with library books (both in our public library & school library) lately, my heart was truly refreshed by reading these two BEAUTIFUL picture books to Little Miss today. :) :) :)

 

Seriously! The photography in this book is AMAZING!

 

This book is so sweet, following a sibling pair through the seasons, as they enjoy activities that are unique to each season.

To say we are out of our routine is an understatement, and dealing with the fallout of that has created a lot more stress & exhaustion.  One of my favorite IG pages (Catfish with Ketchup) shared this genius tip!  I downloaded her graphics, laminated them, and cut them out, and purchased a (large) pill box.  The goal is to put a skittle or M&M in each space.  As the child completes each task, there is an immediate reward.  Another idea is to use a pom-pom to fill our pom-pom (aka marble) jar.  I'm hopeful this will work.  Unfortunately Walmart only had one large pill box in stock, but my goal is to make an evening "pill box" also. 

This week when all I wanted to do was sleep ... 

On Sunday Jim and I started team-teaching Sunday School every other month.  Our class roll came with notes on 4 or 5 (of the 11) students who have special needs.  Thankful for a teen helper each week!  And that these children are growing up familiar with special needs and accepting it as normal. Melts my heart!

Monday I spent four hours hooked to an IV at my immunolgist's office BUT with a friend!  I asked if she would come and be with me, and she did, and it was such a blessing!  I arrived home (via the grocery store) in time to pick up the children & take them straight back to town for LG's swim lessons. 

LG's hearing test 70 miles away on Wednesday thankfully got rescheduled!  Tuesday & Wednesday I spent seemingly hours on the phone rescheduling things we missed.  

Thursday I got to go to Bible study (week 3, but hey!) after years of missing it.  Jen Wilkin's Sermon on the Mount.  Do you remember ever reading about the covenant of salt?!  (That wasn't the main point...)

An e-mail from the audiologist promises a glimmer of hope to provide better hearing during LG's swim lessons ... progress on the development of waterproof pediatric hearing aids &/or learning more about swim headphones like members of swim teams use. (Also this is just an example of the hours I spend weekly communicating with professionals who are helping our children.)

Routine? Did I say "routine"?  There's no school Monday.  The following week is an "Early Out" Wednesday, with noon dismissal.  The following week there's no school on Monday again.  We still have extra-curriculars on Monday afternoon & evening.  

But this Monday we have planned a play date earlier in the day at my children's all-time favorite nature preserve ... hills, woods, & trails ... with another mom who has two children the same age who also love the woods & have unlimited energy. ;)  Hopefully it will be a win-win-win!

A friend is bringing supper tonight.  And I promised the children we could get a DVD from the library after school and watch it together before bed. <3  And maybe we'll visit a pumpkin patch tomorrow. :)

The externals of our life are returning to normal.  And we will get rested eventually.  The cards displayed on the mantle remind me of loving friends & family who care and who pray and who have reminded us of their love & God's strength.

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #67

661.  my dad breathed his last peacefully at home with family at his side and hymns in his ears

662.  my dad is in heaven, by grace through faith

663.  we were able to be there for 5 days for the funeral, etc. 

664.  safety in driving 1200 miles & protection of our health

665.  special moments with family from near & far ~ every branch of the family tree!

666.  generous & loving care of friends ~ food, babysitting, house sitting, flowers, cards, etc.

667.  the great-nephews singing, "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder"

668.  second cousins getting acquainted :)

669.  a hike in the woods ~ & mostly the creek ~ for the young ones

670.  absent from the body, present with the Lord

Investing Outside Our Family

Before LG was born, I volunteered in our local school, attended Bible study at church, taught Sunday School, volunteered in an inner-city school through our church's partnership, attended book club, and tutored a Japanese woman in English conversation skills. 

How does the Lord want me to invest any "extra" time once my children are in school all day?  I posted earlier:

... I am now in the privileged position of being a stay at home "older" woman in the church & community.  How does the Lord want me to steward that? And what will that look like in coming years as well, assuming I have health & strength?  I'm blessed with some great examples of women who proactively serve, but I realize we are each different.  

Will I stop by a younger mom's home and do her dishes or fold her laundry once a week? (Maybe not yet.) Will I tutor a homeschooled child in upper math or writing? Possibly someday.  Will I lead a Bible study at church? Probably not this year.

Not serving officially in our church has bothered me the past 8.5 years.  For awhile, I served in nursery. It was perfect, because it required no prep work and I had built-in child care.  But, as my health declined, I had to scramble for a sub more often than not, until I eventually quit.  One summer I led a Bible study, thanks to Jim's sacrifice multiple hours a week so I could prepare.  Currently I serve on a small team that meets quarterly (during Awana, so my children are cared for, but it's also during prayer meeting, so I miss that), and I do very little of the work, more like serving as a consultant.

I have said "no" to many opportunities ~ serving on the library team at church, running for library board in our village, serving as a poll worker in our village, etc. ~ all with the caveat, "Maybe when our children are older."

I have been able to lead Moms in Prayer for our school because we meet on Zoom after LM is in bed.  

My constraints are childcare (Jim's erratic hours; a small pool of sitters in our rural area; children with exceptionalities & whom a high schooler may not be able to handle), my health & energy, and time to sufficiently prepare.  Those are significant constraints.  

In my dreams, I would volunteer in my children's classrooms (but the pandemic has put a stop to that; parents may never be allowed back in), do the farm bookwork, attend if not lead a Bible study, help others, make meals regularly for families with a newborn or illness, and other things.   

In reality, I might rest, take regular showers (!), cook supper in advance, and catch up.  I may even invite people over for lunch or brunch or tea!

What would you do?

Packing Blur

This summer has been a packing blur!  

These were our trips:

May 28-29 Wisconsin (3 hour drive)

June 5-12 Tennessee (12 hour drive)

June 19-24 LG - camp

June 30 - July 3 Wisconsin

July 8-10 Family Reunion (WI)

July 21-23 Wisconsin

July 24-26 Anniversary Trip (children to farm) (less than one hour drive)

Aug. 2-8 Tennessee

Aug. 11-14 Wisconsin

(& Sept. 3-5 Wisconsin ~ but I'm not counting it in these statistics, because it was after school started)

83 days of summer vacation

26 nights away (+ 5 nights of camp for LG)

Almost 1/3 of summer vacation spent away from home

9 trips (+ camp for LG)

9 (or 10) times packing 

9 (or 10) times unpacking

average trip: 2.89 nights

All but two of these trips, we had to take our bedding, towels, etc.  

Most of them, I had to provide meals. 

Once, we only had one night between trips to do laundry and re-pack. 

Only one of these trips was on the calendar before school was out.  (Imagine scheduling doctor appointments or VBS or day camp or swim lessons or speech therapy, not knowing when you'll be in town.)

I got smarter as time went on ... and kept some things packed.  I packed sheets as soon as they were washed.  I kept the swim bag packed with towels, goggles, sun screen, swim suits and beach blanket.  

I remembered to take a thermal bag and ice packs to bring home any leftover food. 

I learned to go to Dollar General the day before a trip and buy candy to take, rather than being tempted to buy candy at gas station stops along the way (for a lot more $$). 

Hopefully I'll remember these things next May. :) 

What are your best packing tips?