Baptism of the Lord Daybook

 *Post Post: It did snow today!

Outside my window...a wet, cold Sun w/ the the temperature dropping. There is even a chance of snow!

I am thankful for...blessed holidays w/ my husband still home w/ us, the inspiration to do a relaxed winter term of school from mid-Dec through Jan & the Little House fun we've been having during it, an irresistible toddler, & a breastfeeding infant who is growing...slowly but surely, she's growing... along the 10th percentile curve but she's growing.

I am hoping for...time! (always!?) to finish New Year's notes & a handmade gift.

On my mind...Jesse's truly imminent (this time) deployment to Kuwait. We are so thankful that his superiors listened to the specialists & protected his back from any further injury under the tougher conditions in Afghanistan. Kuwait is a blessing & that is what I'm going to tell myself for the 6 mos he's gone. I'm not worried about sharing that he's gone here b/c I basically set up this blog to be a private one & you can only find it if I've sent you here.

Noticing that... Precious Babe is falling asleep while nursing & Toddlin' Tornado just woke up, according to the sounds (kicks) coming from his room. And it's getting colder...

A few plans for the week...finish those notes & the gift. A few plans for the month...final prep for Beloved Husband to leave, tweaking of spring school plans for the big boys, Montessori homeschooling plans for Toddlin' Tornado, a LLL meeting for Precious Babe. A few plans for the year...resolutions, even?...not a lot of resolutions, just plans to craft/create more, especially gifts & b-day cakes- just 1-2 a month. My only real resolution is to get outside everyday & walk a few times a week. I feel like God has much of my year mapped out for me. I'm resolved to do what it takes to be a single parent of 2 in diapers & another 2 I'm homeschooling for the next 6 mos.

From the bookshelves...lots of reading going on here. The entire Little House series for the big boys...now we're getting into the "sequels" and hopefully eventually, Melissa Wiley's "prequels.". I'm reading the original Rev Awdry Thomas the Tank stories to Toddlin' Tornado. I've been slowly reading Those Who Love based on correspondence b/twn John & Abigail Adams during their many separations since we moved here. We're both reading a book handed out @ our dynamic parish for Christmas, Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. Very good so far. I'm also reading a BEAUTIFUL book on my Kindle App called One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. So good. Beautifully written in an almost poetic style. Full of inspired wisdom from a modern, Christian-seeker mom. I put all my 2011 must-reads in our "library"...um, master bath, so they are always w/in reach.

In the kitchen...a gift subscription to "Clean Eating" from a new friend. Tried a new recipe from this month's tonight that was officially not. a. hit. Frustrating. I liked it but we all know that means it will never be made again.

I am (co-) creating...a chubby baby, spring school plans, go-to lists for when my husband is gone, that gift that I should just work on instead of writing about, more organized house. We still have boxes to unpack six months later but they are finally distributed from the holding space where the unimportant ones had collected.

On the Church calendar & in our home Church...Ordinary Time, the green growing time, as I tell the kids. We didn't do anything for Epiphany this year- no house blessing or King Cake or virtue selection. We were still recovering from travels & a family New Year's Eve party. We celebrate John Paul's feast day on the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul later this month.

Happy 2011!

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