Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY: December 2, 2011

Outside my window...the grass is still green.  This has been the warmest fall in recent memory, with truly cold days just now arriving.

I am thinking...pondering, meditating on what it is to have Jesus as my great high priest, and how his priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament.  Hebrews is a great book!

I am thankful...so very thankful, that we have finally tracked down Micah's MSG sensitivity.  Now we've seen it cause allergy flare-ups, and all the pieces of the puzzle of the past few years are falling into place.

From the learning rooms...we just finished our study of China and are moving on to Mongolia.  In science Rachel has been learning the parts of a seed and Micah has been studying scientific theory.  We have started All About Spelling for the two younger kids.  After talking with a sister-in-law, I decided it was worth it to take Rachel back to the beginning and cover all the bases.  Everyone loves preschool art on Fridays...including the 7th grader.  Next week we will start reading The True Saint Nicholas by William Bennett.

In the kitchen...I am staring down a Paleo cookbook, daring myself to try this for the new year.  It seems like a good fit: gluten free, dairy free, low in carbs and sugar, packed with nutrient-rich foods...with all our eating issues, this might just be a way we can all eat alike and be happy.  (And maybe even healthy!)  So long as I can add in a little So Delicious chocolate milk and a coconut cupcake from time to time, I think I could do it.  Pass me an avocado, will you?  And then teach me what to do with it.

I am wearing...a Christmas sweater I donned on this morning in an effort to be festive for the Nutcracker.  Sitting next to a 5-year-old during the ballet meant a barrage of questions.  "Is that Clara?  Is she having a dream?  Is this still a dream?  Is that the Nutcracker?"  And then at the entrance of the Snow Queen: "Is she good?  Is she on Clara's team?"

I am creating...it is December.  We must keep secrets.

I am going...to have to split Micah and Rachel up for school next year, I think.  We are loving this year, but they have different needs beyond this Core, and an extremely wide range between their reading levels.  I can't seem to get my nose out of my Sonlight catalog or away from the Simply Charlotte Mason website.  Delightful Reading seems to be tailor-made for Josiah, although for now Phonics Pathways is fantastic.  Ok, I could dwell on homeschooling but we must move on...

I am wondering...why I can post success with no dairy one day and wonder what I am doing wrong the next.  It is one reason why gluten free seems less like a foe to fear and more like a friend to embrace.  This journey of diet can be a roller coaster sometimes.

I am reading...Around the World in Eighty Days.  It is so much fun to read the books my kids will be reading and enjoy great literature I missed as a child.  I am so grateful to this day for the band teacher who introduced me to A Little Princess and Anne of Green Gables.  I already loved to read; those books took a to a new level I will never get over.

I am hoping...there will be enough time in December to do everything on my to do list.  The most important things are the ones that matter anyway, and I trust they will get done.

I am looking forward to...a new little niece or nephew in the next few weeks.  Can't wait!

I am hearing...a snake hissing in the background.  Why a snake, I am not sure, but it one way to use your imagination when you're five.

Around the house...we tore the outside plastic off our first story windows after the smell meant a daily headache for me.  I'd rather be cold.

I am pondering...how to spend less time on the computer these days.  Since when did it become essential for daily living?  If you see me here less, you'll know why.

One of my favorite things...is having our school principal join us for a field trip and getting to hold his hand.

A few plans for the rest of the week: A Santa visit in the morning with the youngest.  Christmas shopping with my sweetheart later in the day.  When is the last time we did that together??  And a homeschool band concert next week.  The kids have been working hard.

Here is picture I am sharing...of Eric helping Josiah with basketball skills just before Thanksgiving break.