One year, on National Iced Tea Day, I got a free sweet tea from a restaurant known for their sweet tea. This year, perhaps indicative of the economy, I could find no sweet tea offers.
It's been a week! And it's just Wednesday. :)
Little Miss has resumed occupational therapy in-clinic and began summer speech therapy in-clinic. Little Guy was able to visit his school one day. I had forgotten how relaxing it is to only have one child at home for a few hours.
LM's sleep schedule is completely messed up, as in totally random, including 3 AM calls for "Wake-up time!" She has even begun napping again (sometimes) ... but then that makes bedtime hard.
We are enjoying the wading pool. And now the parts of the playset are in our backyard, waiting to be power-washed, painted, and assembled (not necessarily in that order).
On Tuesday LG & I both had 1.30-2 PM Zooms, then I needed to join him for his 2-3 PM Zoom, but I had emailed the provider earlier to ask if we could just do 2-2.30, because I had forgotten that I had a 2.30-3.10 Zoom. Whew!
We miss the library!! I'm thankful that over a year ago, I visited a neighboring city's library and linked our library card to their system (our small village library has a reciprocal agreement with them!). I'm thankful they are now open for curbside pickup.
I requested my max of 12 books the day they opened up again. They were inundated, and it took several weeks before our books were available. At that point, they were only open 3 hours a day, and three lanes of cars snaked through their parking lot to pick up books. (It was not a quick errand!)
The process is a lot smoother now, and we zipped in and out today to pick up our books.
Today ... LG had a Zoom at 9 AM, we had a friend Zoom at 10, we left for town around 10.45, and returned at 1.15, LG had a Zoom at 1.30 PM and again at 3 PM. No wonder I'm tired. :)
We go to town at least every two weeks for my allergy shots, and pack in as much as we can!
Drive 30 minutes.
Park at allergist's office.
Greet friend who has come to entertain the children while I run in to sign two papers, breathe into a peak flow meter, and get four shots.
Go outside and wait 30 minutes.
Go inside for a nurse to check the injection sites.
Drive across town to the library. Utilize curbside pickup to collect new items. Drop off old items.
Go through drive-through for lunch. This time we chose the more reasonable Steak & Shake, where even with my splurge of a sweet tea (since it's National Iced Tea Day), it was 1/3 the cost of going to our beloved Chick-fil-A.
Stop by Walmart to have our grocery order put in the trunk.
Drive 30 minutes home.
And rush back to our Zoom schedule.
One day I will look back on this and wonder how we did it. :)
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Books, Hymns, Tech, etc.
Have you seen the screensavers from Sally Lloyd-Jones? They can be found either on her FB page or by subscribing to her newsletter.) FYI, she has also been doing storytime on FB live during the pandemic.
I had lost my favorite reference book, "Give Your Child the World," but found it in a box in the basement that was labeled, "J-'s nightstand." Ha!! Guess I cleaned it off one time and just stuck everything in a box. Oops!
Have you ever seen Streams of Mercy by Inspired by the classic The Valley of Vision, these short, specific confessions respond to Scripture passages—bringing depth and honesty to your prayers and giving gospel comfort on topics such as purity, justice, waiting, and hope. Designed for congregational or personal use, these prayers celebrate the Father's mercy for his Son's sake, ask for the Spirit's help in pursuing holiness, and close with an assurance of pardon in Christ.)
In our pastor's twice daily FB live prayer times, he always includes a hymn, and sometimes it's an obscure one. Recently he even quoted one he had never heard, but it fit his theme that day. :) I think it was Lord, Thou Lov'st the Cheerful Giver (text here).
Another hymn he quoted recently was "How Good is the God We Adore." I love this!
We found Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (and the new series) on the Libby app!
Do you have an Echo Dot? What do you use it for?
Someone recommended Cynthia Rylant's The Blue Hill Meadows. We love Cynthia Rylant! Normally I get books from the library or used, but in a very rare move, I bought it new from Amazon. It's a beautiful (children's) book. And it's a beautiful thing to hold a new book, too. Something we don't usually do with children's books in our home. :)
I had lost my favorite reference book, "Give Your Child the World," but found it in a box in the basement that was labeled, "J-'s nightstand." Ha!! Guess I cleaned it off one time and just stuck everything in a box. Oops!
Have you ever seen Streams of Mercy by Inspired by the classic The Valley of Vision, these short, specific confessions respond to Scripture passages—bringing depth and honesty to your prayers and giving gospel comfort on topics such as purity, justice, waiting, and hope. Designed for congregational or personal use, these prayers celebrate the Father's mercy for his Son's sake, ask for the Spirit's help in pursuing holiness, and close with an assurance of pardon in Christ.)
In our pastor's twice daily FB live prayer times, he always includes a hymn, and sometimes it's an obscure one. Recently he even quoted one he had never heard, but it fit his theme that day. :) I think it was Lord, Thou Lov'st the Cheerful Giver (text here).
Another hymn he quoted recently was "How Good is the God We Adore." I love this!
We found Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (and the new series) on the Libby app!
Do you have an Echo Dot? What do you use it for?
Someone recommended Cynthia Rylant's The Blue Hill Meadows. We love Cynthia Rylant! Normally I get books from the library or used, but in a very rare move, I bought it new from Amazon. It's a beautiful (children's) book. And it's a beautiful thing to hold a new book, too. Something we don't usually do with children's books in our home. :)
Friday, June 12, 2020
Emerging
Mid-June is upon us. We have enjoyed two weekends away (And are more thankful than ever for Jim's parents keeping this getaway house for decades!). We are beginning to see people again. Life was not meant to be lived in isolation!
I've enjoyed several yard visits with friends sitting in yard chairs while the children play. (Although, I find it hard to complete a thought because of ... well, parenting!)
I'm attending an evening Bible study at the church building [Side note: if referring to the church building as the 'church building' catches on after this, that will be a good thing in my opinion] this summer. As with many things that have been made free for the viewing, you, too, could do this study in your own home.
We also decided to go visit the (local) grandparents this week. Our visit was less than an hour (squeezed in between Little Guy's Zooms!), but filled six people's love tanks immeasurably!! (Mine, LG's, LM's, the grandparents, and Jim's when he learned we had gone to see them.) We need each other!!
Updating my Summer Fun post, the Lord provides. If you prayed, thank you! Apparently for Father's Day, I found a job for Jim. He went last night 40 minutes away, saw the outdoor play structure I had reserved on FB Marketplace, and paid the man. Now, he just needs to find time to take a screwdriver and truck over there, disassemble it, bring it back, assemble it, and hope we don't have any ER visits with broken limbs!
11-month school is winding down for LG. 9 more days, but who's counting?! :) Little Miss has her first clinic visit this morning for OT (after 3+ months) and starts summer speech at the same clinic next week. She had a hearing test this week to rule out hearing loss as a possibility affecting her speech (something that had been on our list for 9 months; we were just waiting until she turned 3 and then until cold & flu season was over and then until appointments were rescheduled). LG will have summer speech over Zoom twice a week as well. So, it's not as if our calendar will be empty. :) But ... we won't be commuting 65 miles one-way 5 days/week!
And there's hope ... we have plans, which is something we haven't had in months it seems! LG's Graduation!!, a Father's Day celebration, a possible outdoor summer Children's Ministry event (following state guidelines for day camps), swim lessons (eventually ... too long of a story to get into here), music lessons (if not this year, hopefully next), and I'm even hopeful that school will start in mid-August (hopeful enough that I bought children's masks with toggles on the straps, in hopes that the adjustable straps will fit better than elastic). Woo-hoo!! (What on earth will I do with 2 solitary hours every morning Monday-Friday?!?) :)
I've enjoyed several yard visits with friends sitting in yard chairs while the children play. (Although, I find it hard to complete a thought because of ... well, parenting!)
I'm attending an evening Bible study at the church building [Side note: if referring to the church building as the 'church building' catches on after this, that will be a good thing in my opinion] this summer. As with many things that have been made free for the viewing, you, too, could do this study in your own home.
The videos may be watched for free here, and you can download the study guide for free right now, too. Study guide here.
We also decided to go visit the (local) grandparents this week. Our visit was less than an hour (squeezed in between Little Guy's Zooms!), but filled six people's love tanks immeasurably!! (Mine, LG's, LM's, the grandparents, and Jim's when he learned we had gone to see them.) We need each other!!
Updating my Summer Fun post, the Lord provides. If you prayed, thank you! Apparently for Father's Day, I found a job for Jim. He went last night 40 minutes away, saw the outdoor play structure I had reserved on FB Marketplace, and paid the man. Now, he just needs to find time to take a screwdriver and truck over there, disassemble it, bring it back, assemble it, and hope we don't have any ER visits with broken limbs!
11-month school is winding down for LG. 9 more days, but who's counting?! :) Little Miss has her first clinic visit this morning for OT (after 3+ months) and starts summer speech at the same clinic next week. She had a hearing test this week to rule out hearing loss as a possibility affecting her speech (something that had been on our list for 9 months; we were just waiting until she turned 3 and then until cold & flu season was over and then until appointments were rescheduled). LG will have summer speech over Zoom twice a week as well. So, it's not as if our calendar will be empty. :) But ... we won't be commuting 65 miles one-way 5 days/week!
And there's hope ... we have plans, which is something we haven't had in months it seems! LG's Graduation!!, a Father's Day celebration, a possible outdoor summer Children's Ministry event (following state guidelines for day camps), swim lessons (eventually ... too long of a story to get into here), music lessons (if not this year, hopefully next), and I'm even hopeful that school will start in mid-August (hopeful enough that I bought children's masks with toggles on the straps, in hopes that the adjustable straps will fit better than elastic). Woo-hoo!! (What on earth will I do with 2 solitary hours every morning Monday-Friday?!?) :)
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Summer Reading Program
Summer Reading Program is one more of those weird losses / changes due to the pandemic. Are you doing SRP this year? How's it going? What's it like for you?
In past years, Little Guy has eagerly asked to go to the library the very first day of SRP to get his name on the wall. One year it might be on a star; one year on an owl; one year on a spaceship, based on the theme of SRP.
Despite the fact that we read A LOT in normal times, SRP always puts our reading on steroids. It's as if it becomes our JOB to read! And I don't mind it one bit. :) Being a 'yes' mom is not my default, but when asked if I can read a book, I'm a 'yes' mom. :)
Our little village has a wonderful library, and a well-oiled SRP. Log your books. Fill out a log of 30 books, get a trinket. Fill out up to 3 logs for trinkets. At the end of the summer, each log earns you one paperback Scholastic book, for a max of 3 books.
It's not well-advertised, but if you keep filling out logs, there is a grand prize. And LG has been the village winner in his age group year after year for most number of books read (perhaps because others do not know they can fill out more than three logs). I think that after 1st grade, the child has to read the books independently, but as of now, I'm still reading them.
This year, SRP is not happening. :-(
But, the two libraries 20-25 miles away are offering virtual SRPs. Friends have urged me for years to do those SRPs also, because the prizes are decidedly NOT trinkets. They are things like a $10 gift card to an ice cream shop, free ice skating, free everything!!!
Their rules are different, so I'm learning a new game, plus it's all virtual, so I'm learning an even different game. One has a paper log. Read either 20 books or 15 hours. That seems SUPER easy!! We chose the 20 books. Our goal is to turn them in the first available day, when the prize selection is best.
The other library has an app (ggrrhh). It's not that hard, unless you have multiple readers logging on the same app, and sometimes you log a book under the wrong child. ;) The twist with the app is that there are challenges and streaks within the app, so that you want to read at least one book EVERY day. So, now, the first book we read that day gets logged on the app. Subsequent books get logged on the other library's paper log until we reach 20. Whew!
The app also gives you points along the way. It took a lot of searching for me to see where the points go. You can "spend" them on chances for the grand prizes. Oh, my!!
It's making the trinkets & Scholastic books look better every day. :)
But, we are still having a super-fun summer reading sometimes two 80-page books every day for LG and multiple picture books for LM. Read, read, read!!
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #19
Summer memories
181. rain storms and the smell of pines at Bible camp
182. heat & humidity of a north Georgia Bible camp
183. mist hanging down below the mountains at InterVarsity summer camp
184. sweltering summers in Chiba
185. respite from the subtropical Chiba summer by visiting Fiji (it was their "winter")
186. cool mornings in Vermont
187. Alpine valley view in Austria
188. perfect pleasant early summer in Hawaii
189. cool and low humidity in Hokkaido
190. pleasant breeze coming off a Wisconsin lake
181. rain storms and the smell of pines at Bible camp
182. heat & humidity of a north Georgia Bible camp
183. mist hanging down below the mountains at InterVarsity summer camp
184. sweltering summers in Chiba
185. respite from the subtropical Chiba summer by visiting Fiji (it was their "winter")
186. cool mornings in Vermont
187. Alpine valley view in Austria
188. perfect pleasant early summer in Hawaii
189. cool and low humidity in Hokkaido
190. pleasant breeze coming off a Wisconsin lake
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Rare
7.20 AM ... and the house is quiet.
Jim has already headed out to finish the last pass of a field of seed corn.
I let the children stay up late last night. (And might pay today ...)
For the first time in several days, we had afternoon rest time. And Little Miss crashed! Based on the books and stuffed animals all over her floor, she had some active play. But I found her, more than 3 hours later, conked out with her head on her Squishmallow.
(I enjoyed those few hours of quiet-er time, too! It reminded me of when Little Guy would regularly take 3 hour afternoon naps. Such good memories! :) LM, on the other hand, gave up napping a long time ago. It feels like years ago, actually.)
After she woke up, they played and played on the airplane. We had supper, and though I was tempted to skip books, I have learned that it is very hard for either of them to settle down to sleep if they haven't had their books.
So we read. We read:
Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping (and laughed and laughed!)
Show Each Other Forgiveness
Blueberries for Sal, and
The Fruit of the Spirit is Jesus in Me.
How do I know what we read? Because it's summer reading program time!!!! We keep logs!! We are trying to do the summer reading program for two libraries (in bigger towns, since ours isn't having it this year).
On our fridge hang two copies of the paper log for one library. 20 books or 15 hours. Your choice.
On my phone is an app for the other library. It's confusing (to my brain) to switch between readers, to ensure I give credit to the proper child. The app has a streak feature, and if you read *everyday* there are more opportunities for prizes. Whew!
It's a lot to keep up with, but summer reading program (even with its logs and apps) makes me happy!
Jim has already headed out to finish the last pass of a field of seed corn.
I let the children stay up late last night. (And might pay today ...)
For the first time in several days, we had afternoon rest time. And Little Miss crashed! Based on the books and stuffed animals all over her floor, she had some active play. But I found her, more than 3 hours later, conked out with her head on her Squishmallow.
(I enjoyed those few hours of quiet-er time, too! It reminded me of when Little Guy would regularly take 3 hour afternoon naps. Such good memories! :) LM, on the other hand, gave up napping a long time ago. It feels like years ago, actually.)
After she woke up, they played and played on the airplane. We had supper, and though I was tempted to skip books, I have learned that it is very hard for either of them to settle down to sleep if they haven't had their books.
So we read. We read:
Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping (and laughed and laughed!)
Show Each Other Forgiveness
Blueberries for Sal, and
The Fruit of the Spirit is Jesus in Me.
How do I know what we read? Because it's summer reading program time!!!! We keep logs!! We are trying to do the summer reading program for two libraries (in bigger towns, since ours isn't having it this year).
On our fridge hang two copies of the paper log for one library. 20 books or 15 hours. Your choice.
On my phone is an app for the other library. It's confusing (to my brain) to switch between readers, to ensure I give credit to the proper child. The app has a streak feature, and if you read *everyday* there are more opportunities for prizes. Whew!
It's a lot to keep up with, but summer reading program (even with its logs and apps) makes me happy!
How to prepare for a summer of fun!
1. Go online (where else?!) and order a 5' diameter, 12" deep kiddie pool for Jim to pick up at the farm store.
3. Go online again to the farm store and order play sand, so that Jim can pick up both the sand and the pool at the same time. (There is a long story involving play sand, kitty litter, and a 3 year old.)
4. Add play balls, bubbles, water balloons, and water blasters to your online grocery order.
7. Decide to order a trampoline (Wow!). Four days later have your order cancelled. Wait and pray and keep looking at websites.
8. Wait for all the orders to arrive.
9. Go to the farm shed.
11. Retrieve the water table and scour it.
2. Go to the Step Two website and order replacement bungee straps (just as you did 5 years ago), for the sand table which was a great deal on an online garage sale 5 years ago.
3. Go online again to the farm store and order play sand, so that Jim can pick up both the sand and the pool at the same time. (There is a long story involving play sand, kitty litter, and a 3 year old.)
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5. Jump for joy when UPS delivers a humongous box of sidewalk chalk from Amazon.
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6. Order online (what you *hope* is) the best backyard toy for LG's childhood. When Jim didn't have time to finish putting it together over the weekend, call your nephew who repairs farm machinery for a living and who already said, "I'd LOVE to put it together."
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7. Decide to order a trampoline (Wow!). Four days later have your order cancelled. Wait and pray and keep looking at websites.
8. Wait for all the orders to arrive.
9. Go to the farm shed.
10. Retrieve the two small slides and sell the smallest online to another family who is trying to make summer fun! Watch the children use their imagination to play with the other slide in all sorts of (sometimes dangerous) ways.
11. Retrieve the water table and scour it.
12. Keep your eyes open for a basic old-school swing set to satisfy LM's need to swing & swing & swing & swing some more.
13. Add a folding chair to your online grocery order, so you can have socially distancing visits with friends outside, while watching your children.
P.S. ~ And don't forget the sunscreen!
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