The world is frozen. An Arctic blast moved in and blew cold winds over us for hours. It pulled the heat right out of the house although the fire did wonders at fighting back. The ground is still white with snow.
The pond is freezing enough that the boys are excited about skating. They would really like to go visit cousins in Maine this time of the year. They think that would mean lots of ice skating.
If the animals have extra fat they can surely use it now!
I am thinking…
Oh my! Do you want to know all my thoughts? Ha ha. Probably not.
We were to a seminar at Penn Valley a little over a week ago where we received encouragement in caring for parents.
One of the speakers said how his mother-in-law is so lonely. People don't come visit her. Then he said she is very negative, very opinionated and has her own stories to tell. This just kind of shuts anyone up who comes to visit.
I've experienced people like that. Then I fear I'll become that way myself. I think a good way to combat that is to stay interested in others.
A young man from our church is getting help for personal problems at Pure Life Ministries. We're told they emphasize working on pride and selfishness in one's life.
Two exercises one can do-
1. Look for two people you can help in some way today.
2. Find five people you can pray for today.
In other words get the focus off yourself. So there are some of my thoughts.
I am thankful for…
...machines- dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, wood furnace, cook stove and oven, slow cooker and waffle iron. So many time saving devices. That way I can sit down and write. Oh, I'm thankful for a computer too!
From the learning rooms…
Thomas, Austin and Matthew continue to learn the door trade. This past week there have been some learning curves and slides that involved trucks and trailers in snow and ice. I'm thankful no one was hurt and they were able to dig themselves out of their predicaments.
Melvin is reading and reading, every spare minute he has. It's like he's making up for lost time. It blesses my soul to watch him. He and Christopher are also working on preparing for a Bible Fair with the church school. They care for the animals, help me with meal prep, house cleaning and laundry.
One of their obsessions the last few days is paper airplanes. From zippy little ones that do loops to big cargo planes that lumber across the room. They have used lots of Scotch tape.
Thomas and I were gone two weekends in a row. The boys got into games while we were gone- Monopoly, Ticket to Ride, Score Four.
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| Thomas & Christopher in a Score Four match while Melvin looks on. Christopher looks beat. |
Christopher has taken an interest in art with oil pastels. He also completed a couple of color by sticker projects.
We dream of gardening as we sit on our couches with seed magazines. How could anyone think of hot summer days at the present?
From the kitchen…
I've done it. The Eat at Home meal plans were on sale and I bit. Bought a yearly subscription. This gives me four years worth of menus actually because there are four different types of plans I have access to.
This is only the main meal of the day but it is helpful. Sometimes I get to feeling like I'm in a rut and this helps me out. We really like the recipes and they're quite common. Not a lot of exotic ingredients.
I am wearing…
Blue sweatshirt. Pale blue dress. Shoes and socks. Head covering.
I am creating…
Hmmm. I guess I'm just not being very creative the last while. I cleaned out some closets and bins and sent a whole bunch of clothing to CAM. It feels good to have that stuff out of the house! Hopefully it will help someone somewhere.
I am going…
Oh wow. I'm done going for a bit Lord willing. It wears me out to go places.
I am reading…
The Phases of Learning by Oliver and Rachel DeMille. And oh yes, thinking about thinking, I think about education a lot and how broken our way of education is. Don't get me started!
I am hoping…
...and praying for relief for my friends who suffer- in their marriages, with law suits, with health issues, with losses.
I am hearing…
...the dryer running. I picked up some dryer balls at Walmart last week. I'm pleased with their performance. I hear them plunking around and the zippers and metal buttons of the jeans hitting the sides
Around the house…
Melvin put up curtain rods for me in the "crazy room". Now we have a shield from the morning sun. He also put some lights above the one set of doors. I had gotten them, thinking I could replace some others we have, but they didn't work for that purpose.
Melvin and Christopher replaced light bulbs on the patio, giving us light again where darkness had reigned for too long.
Melvin also got the dishwasher repaired when it broke down recently. He is such a handy person to have around!
One of my favorite things…
I still really enjoy snail mail. Of special interest are circle letters and yearly letters with photos.
A few plans for the rest of the week…
The men folk are all planning to be gone this evening. Work has begun on another Kid's Club building in Romney. They sold out from under us last year. Thomas is overseeing the building of rooms in another building. They started last week and got a good many walls framed up.
I'm working on getting the last of the family photos mailed out. If you don't get one and want one, send me your address at t (dot) rie (dot) n (dot) sons at gmail.com.
Thomas and a couple of the boys plan to go repair some plumbing on his mom's house in southern WV. There are potential buyers but repairs need to be done before the sale can happen. Poor Thomas is stretched almost beyond what he can manage.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing….
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| Pacific coast |
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