We definitely lost something as a culture when we let the Virginia Reel and Schottische go by the wayside. I can't watch them without remembering my grandparents and great aunts and uncles doing some of these at every family wedding we attended while growing up. That was not THAT long ago despite my children's assertions ; )  I am glad we still have an opportunity to share this with our kids. 

 

(Please visit Peggy's site to participate in the Simple Woman's Daybook project)

Outside my window…. Snow is blowing wildly which caused several calls to automated line on base this morning. Verdict? No closings.  Just a nasty commute for my husband. 

I am thinking…. about that commute. As we traveled home last night, still abuzz with all the fun of the weekend fresh in our minds, we came upon a deadly accident out in the boonies near home. We missed it by just minutes. This is the second near miss in a month.  Asher and his sister were pumping gas in town a few weeks ago and the owner of the only other car at the station was mugged right in front of them. (broad daylight!)  I am so grateful for safety but it does make you think long and hard about being ready 'to go' at any time. We never can know. 

I am thankful for… children who take forever to round up (like herding cats my friend Casey used to say!) who kept us at the potluck those extra minutes last night.  For friends who bounce babies and settle in with you by a woodstove. For the opportunities the children had this weekend (more on those this week)

From the learning room…  the core subjects are trucking right along. Happy students! A simple plan has kept them productive right through their sister's birth and my recovery. I wish I had learned this lesson many years ago instead of constantly over-shooting with elaborate plans and falling far short of those unrealistic goals. 'Less complicated' has meant 'more consistency and progress'. 

From the kitchen… There is oatmeal and elk sausage from our friends this morning(thank you Barb!) Before the day is over we will have new batches of bread and yogurt. (Barb shared this article about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) There is pre-cooked meat and a couple whole main dishes in the freezer which ought to make dinner easier this week. 

I am wearing… jammies and the famous slippers.  AGAIN  lol!  A black skirt and a pastel sweater set are waiting upstairs. We are moving reeeeallly slowly today after a big weekend. 

I am creating… the last of the daily checklists for second semester. They have been a huge success. We are choosing crochet patterns for the girls' next projects.  

I am going…  to have to get the little boys to town later in the day if the snow dissipates. Colin needs a ride to the bus back to school as well

I am reading… I am finishing up Family Driven Faith which has inspired me to read excerpts aloud to my husband. We of a different denomination but the author shares important statistics from recent studies of Christian young adults that ALL parents should consider. 

 We are also STILL working through Theras and His Town which we started at the beginning of the school year. (have I mentioned that Slow and Steady is my motto lol!)  I would have thought the children would have given up on it by now but one morning last week when I asked for it from the basket Brendan hollered, "Yay!  Theras!"  I agree.  This is one of THE best read alouds we have shared. 

I am hoping… for a peaceful week with some time to stitch and read and rest.  

I am hearing… Aidan finishing up the oatmeal prep in the kitchen. The refrigerator humming. Kieran shuffling out of bed, wiping his eyes, and asking, "Where is my new math book?"  We picked up the next Miquon Math level Friday night and he is chomping at the bit to begin. 

While pacing and patting one afternoon I remembered this passage from an old book by Femmy DeLyser, a Dutch midwife, which gave such a nice word picture of what babies go through and how to relate to and comfort them:

 When your baby cries and neither food nor diaper or position change ease the distress, assume that its bowels are giving it painful contractions. Now recollect what you learned about pain during labor. Fear made it worse. Yet every time a strong contraction came on fear did rise. When you looked at a trusted face and that face showed calm caring, your fear lessened and you could let your body work. It was still painful but not quite as frightening and lonely. If a hand touched you in the right spot that too made it better. And while kisses were nice when a contraction was over, in the middle of one they would have been quite out of place. Apply these insights to helping your baby. With one major difference: your baby perceives the feeling of others more directly than you did during labor. Therefore you have to overcome your responses of fear and panic when your baby cries so desperately because they will intensify its innate response to pain – tension and irregular breathing. Your baby is little, vulnerable, and sensitive. You are big and strong. You say, "Oh my little baby, I know you are hurting but nothing is seriously wrong. It is just your bowels from all your eating and growing. Let me try to help you with it. We will work on it together." 

And so we do. We work on it together. In fact it is a family affair. It is not unusual for an older sibling to casually walk by and take Abbie for a spin on the Babydance-floor. They are especially adept at dancing without getting tied in knots over the crying. Asher in particular has the touch. He will tune into one of his documentaries on tv and waltz her all over the family room, totally oblivious to the decibel level. His theory is that she can sense your tension so he distracts himself and keeps walking. It nearly always works!

Though time sometimes threatens to stand still when we are in the thick of it, this really is a small blip on the big screen of time.  Every week is a little bit better and before long this will be a dim memory. So we dance, and wait, and treasure every tiny smile she graces us with.  

The train table has seen daily use since it was opened on Christmas. (a very good gift choice for the little ones, it was!) 

There have been lots of after dinner board games.  It took some creative teamwork but we were ALL able to play Cranium together.  Tess and Brendan hung around the table playing with the play-do that comes with the game and we passed Abbie back and forth between turns. (Asher had just run in from barn chores which is why he is still in coat and hat <g> Thawing out!) 

You know brothers can't get together without football being involved sooner or later <g> At least not these brothers…

 

Some of the best fun can be had by sharing the game with  a couple dozen of your closest friends <g>  I can't tell you how wonderful our weekend was!  I looked outside when I passed the window Sat night and saw kids from ten to twenty playing football complete with fans on the sidelines. Did my only-child's heart good though I was shivering so hard in the cold that I couldn't even get a clear pic!

When it got too dark to play outside they all moved into the living room around the piano…

This is what I will remember about Christmas.