Outside my window… sunny and cold. Very both. 

I am hearing… deep sigh of dog crumpling back into a sleepy heap by the couch. He is recovering from the earlier ruckus which ensued after we heard a pack of coyotes venturing rather close in. 

 I am thinking… about transformation – of houses, of people, of little things and big. I am thinking that it is generally messy. 

I am thankful for… a surprise call Friday night beckoning me to the mall where I found a handsome man waiting at a table with two steamy Starbucks cups and an evening all planned out. 

I am wearing…  Nubby, tan, cable knit, hooded sweater, boot cut jeans, brown clogs, silver drop earrings.  It is cold and I would like not to be. 

I am reading… Beyond The Rainbow Bridge  Purchased my own copy finally and finished it in a couple sittings. Devoured it. I loved every word. Nothing terribly new here after 23 yrs of mothering and homeschooling but it has a meditative quality that lends itself to early morning consideration.  A very good way to focus and resolve as the day begins. 

From the learning rooms… notebook pages (will post to the sidebars this week), read alouds, circle time songs. A game of grocery store late last week which has Brendan asking for more.  

I am creating…. space, time, and what may be a whole new future. Still. This one will remain for a time. This weekend I pressed and put out some lovely white lace pillow shams snagged at Rebecca's thrift shop last year.  Fifty cents a piece! 

Pondering these words.. "The growing and developing in the child listens to the growing and developing in the teacher. Therefore, just as much as the teacher works on himself, so much can he work on his pupils. Education and self education are one and the same….I can give to the children to the same degree that I work on myself." – Erich Gabert

which is echoed here. Be what you want them to be.

From the kitchen…  simple food made with little hands. This morning there is hot oatmeal that was soaked before bed last night. Melted brown sugar swimming in whole milk on top. It's the little things. : ) Makes them happy, makes me happy. 

Around the house…  new pipes and new toilet hardware on deck for this week. Not diggin' the remodeling. Can we go back to the pillow shams, please? 

One o
f my favorite things…  Yankee Candle tarts – Vanilla Cupcake and Pineapple Cilantro happening this week. 

From my picture journal…

see more daybooks at Peggy's

FOR TODAY…  Jan 18th

Outside my window… dark yet, though the eastern horizon is becoming fiery.  Expecting colder weather this week.  

I am thinking… "What occurs tends to recur." Some recent events brought this saying of an old pediatrician of ours to mind. Wouldn't say it is inevitable but wish we were proven wrong on this one more often than we usually are. Sigh.

I am thankful for… three day weekends. (note to self – go make the man some coffee..) 

I am wearing…  Long brown wrap sweater which will likely follow me throughout the day with this chill in the air. 

I am hearing… fussy baby noises.  She has four giant molars cutting through and ran a fever in the night, which is rare for her. Otherwise can hear Brendan awake now counting Madeline (and her buddies in two straight lines) aloud to Tess in the other room. 

I am reading… The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur,  still. Its more of a 'read a little, think a little' book than a 'find out what happens' book. Imitation of Christ is in my purse. Otherwise I am annoying my school room organizer because every time I walk in there to get a book to read to the kids I pull five. Stop piling books Kim….

From the learning rooms… Brendan played this game at dinner where he asked us all if we knew what came after (insert a number) and he then quickly answered for us.  He does in fact seem to know all the numbers under 100 and 'what comes next'.  He seems to have a pretty good grasp on the addition combinations to ten as well.  

100 Easy Lessons is rolling along.  We are at the stage where he can say the individual sounds but it's hysterical listening to him attempt to combine them. 

I am creating…. space, time, and what may be a whole new future. Still. This 'whole new future' thing takes some work lol.   More specifically I am purging closets and painting a dresser and nightstands for the master bedroom this week. 

Pondering these words.. 

"Everybody's scared to death

When they decide to take that step

Out on the water

but it will be alright." 

–That's What Faith Can Do by Kutless

From the kitchen…  ummmm this is where I wow you with some kind of food right?  pass!

Around the house… contractor didn't show, so
back to drawing board on drywall and pipes. On a happier note, Dh is picking up the new living room furniture today.  We found a set of imported Italian leather at the consignment shop for less than one new sofa at the discount warehouse.  Hurray! I am all about things that spray clean.  

One of my favorite things.  Thick cotton tights that little girls have not been able to put holes into.  

From my picture journal…