Monday Daybook, last week in October...sigh

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Outside my window...

...breezy and warm (64 degrees F). It got really warm here this weekend after a very chilly Friday night at the football game -- we had on winter coats and gloves. Now it's warm again and we are expecting storms today. Very odd weather. I don't like this warm stuff again...do you hear me Mother Nature? I don't like it.

I am thinking...

...about an email I received with a message from the deployed doctor soldier to whom I sent a St. Michael rosary:

"I LOVE IT!

thank you so much, it means so much to me, you have no idea

i love it

i wear it on every mission

every patrol

any time i have a reason to be afraid"

Wow. I can't think of a better thanks.

I am thankful for...

...Monday, a quiet house, no plans for the day, and that at least the washer and dryer are working.

From the lesson plans...

...four new weeks -- I wrote out lesson plans over the weekend. Each time I do four weeks of lesson plans, it seems like we have so much time ahead of us and then we finish four weeks of school and I think, "where did that time go?" It seems to fly by in chunks of four weeks. Noah is finishing up The Yearling and writing a book report this week. He has not enjoyed this book at all. One of my greatest beefs with Seton's curriculum is the books they choose for book reports. There are so many great books, I wish we had more of a choice. I will say that in eighth grade at least it prepares them for high school and college when they do not have choices. Noah will move from Latina Christiana I to II during the next four weeks, which is exciting. He will be studying plant and animal cells in science, early American history, and moving through the Baltimore Catechism with ease. His quarter tests this week should not be too hard for him. Seton has altered their plans a lot and they don't wait until the end of the quarter for many tests, giving them throughout the quarter so there is not so much review at the end of eight weeks.

Faith does not have quarter tests since we switched to CHC for her. She is struggling a little bit in math and we continually have to review, but for the most part she enjoys CHC. We abandoned their reading, which was too hard for her, and we are using National Catholic Readers, Faith and Freedom readers, and library books. I think she enjoys the mix.

From the kitchen...

...leftover Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast -- Yum! I made them yesterday and will share the recipe with you this week. Broccoli Cheese soup for dinner. It was cold outdoors when I put it on the menu. Oh well...

I am wearing...

...khaki pants, a blue and white blouse, Haflinger clogs.

I am creating...

...another Seaman's cap. I finished the neck gaiter and immediately started another hat. I like this pattern. They are sized for a child about Faith's size, and we'll add them to the hat and mitten tree they have at Josh's school during Advent.

I am reading...

...Fatherless -- I'm a little more than halfway through and I wish I could find more time in the day to read. It's a page-turner.

I am hoping...

...that I didn't scandalize anyone when I said Doug and I were planning to enjoy My Cousin Vinny over the weekend. We turned it on Saturday night and after ten minutes looked at each other and said, "Do you remember this movie having this much language?" Then we realized we had probably never seen the uncensored version. Yikes! Proof positive that foul language is completely unnecessary in movies -- we enjoyed the cut version so much better!

I am hearing...

...the wind in the tops of the trees outside -- I cracked the back door so I could listen. The birds are busy starting their day (the Carolina Wren's tea-kettle tea-kettle tea).

Around the house...

...laundry, probably five loads of darks, a load of whites, a load of towels and a couple loads of colors. Having two adult-size sons, and a daughter who changes frequently, makes for lots of laundry.

I am going...

...nowhere, fast. ;-)

One of my favorite things...

...storms. I hope we get some thunder busters.

I am praying for...

...the above-mentioned soldier, Kimberly, my Goddaughter taking the first part of her CPA exam this week, a mama expecting a delivery this week...so many others, all on my rosary.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

...My oldest baby will come home for dinner tomorrow to celebrate his 21st birthday. Sigh. We'll get him for just a short while, a couple of hours at the most, and then he'll go back to campus. And then I'll work hard to not think about how he is celebrating for the rest of the week. Sigh, again.

Our beggar's night is Thursday, which is incredibly bad planning if you ask me (though no one ever does). A few years ago the great leaders of our fair city swore they would never again change Trick-or-Treat night from October 31. I guess those leaders must be gone because they moved it from a perfectly good Sunday to a Thursday night, three days early. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

A picture thought...

...yum! Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.




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