My Daybook....after about 9 months

For Today... 

Tuesday is preschool day for the older two.  We have a mad flurry of activity in the morning to get chores and some schoolwork done before they leave.

Outside my window...

It is bright and sunshiny.  Lovely after a lot of rain last week.

I am thinking...

how can it be almost 6 months since Moppet's arrival?  I only just feel like things are getting back under control.

I am thankful...

for my family's health and safety.

I am wearing...

A skirt and top.  I did have a dress on earlier....but the baby threw up...she does that a lot!

I am creating...

Not much, I am working on a quilt for my Dad.

I am going...

Nowhere for the rest of the day except for Preschool pick-up.

I am wondering...

About taking leaps of faith.  God can put everything in place but we still need to take that final step in trusting his provision.

I am reading...

Nella Last's Peace a wonderful reminder to be a good steward of God's abundant provision.

I am hoping...

to get the house vacuumed today.  We will see if Miss Baby cooperates.

I am learning...

lots about learning to read...let's just say my head is swimming and I still don't have the missing 'key'.  

In my garden...

we have fruit ripening on a lot of our trees and I picked our first raspberry of the season last night.  We pulled up our broadbeans over the weekend - the podded harvest weighed 2.5kg.

In my kitchen...

I have been trying out some new recipes.  I had a couple of successes with the slow cooker last week.  Beef and Broccoli and Cashew Chicken (though I think I would add vegetables to it next time to lower the cost and because there was too much meat for our palettes).  I made Jamie Oliver's Meatloaf last night which was a huge hit.

In the homeschool room...

let's just say teaching reading isn't proving to be a straight line process here.  Blending really trips Ginger up and she is so frustrated - she knows her sounds and can blend aurally if I smooth the word for her but getting from sounding out to the word is proving rather tricky.  While we continue 'playing' with blending using a bunch of ideas from here, we are trying a new tack and using Leila's suggestion of the Bobbs Merril readers.  Fortunately, when I ordered a set a while back I ended up with a teacher's copy of the Primer.  It is excellent.  We do a lesson a day; it is so easy to set up the activities and it gives you lots of sensible guidance as a teacher.  Ginger has a wonderful memory so the Bobbs Merril program seems to be working well for her.

A favorite quote for today...

"But that prayer 'And renew a right spirit within us' is the real and only solution in human relationships.  I'd hate to live in a world where I had only to press a button.  If I had a job to do outside my home I'd be grateful for any help, but the world is largely made up of everyday folk like myself who have to weave their lives and jobs and efforts for home comfort into one whole pattern, and not only have bright tinselly bits all over but the solid yarn of service and the joy that comes from a job you have done in your own particular way.  'Beauty', 'the Arts' and 'appreciation of literature', etc. come after.  They are the parts that show - the simple things the foundation." Nella Last, Nella Last's Peace 1 January 1946.

A peek into one of my days...