Random things I’ve learned

1.  If you challenge your 7-year old to a “who can do the most cartwheels in a row” contest, you will definitely feel the effects of it the next day.

2.  Putting stickers on your calendar makes a busy week feel less daunting.  Yes, I have a paper calendar; why do you ask?

3.  Supercalifragilistic from Mary Poppins the Musical is a nice Monday morning workout song.  Need a pick me up?  Here.

4 .  Students are annoying, and wonderful, and full of angst.  And they keep turning in things for me to grade.  And I love them.

What have you learned this week? Please share.

 

Vitamin D Therapy

It’s Spring Break here, and though we wanted a pretty low key week, we had planned to Fort Worth Tuesday and Wednesday  to art museum hop, maybe hit the Botanic Gardens, and eat good food.  But then Bill got called for jury duty.  He reported Monday morning, found out he was assigned to a trial, and was sent home to come back Tuesday morning.  This was not boding well for our trip.  Yesterday he reported back, found out there was new evidence, and was told to return after lunch.  Sigh.  About half an hour later, he got a call from the clerk: the case had settled (must of been a pretty important piece of evidence)!  By this time, though, it was almost 11:00 and we just decided to move the trip to Wednesday and Thursday.

I was thrilled that our trip wasn’t canceled (and it even means we’ll get to see some friends who are only free on Thursday), but I still was a bit disappointed it wasn’t happening RIGHT THEN.  It has been a busy few weeks and I was looking forward to some fun time with my people.  So I cuddled up on the couch with a cup of chai, a book, and a wee bit of self pity.

Molly declared she was going outside and asked me to come.  Nah.  Still lazy, feeing sorry for myself.  “Mom, you can just sit in the chair and read your book outside.” I relented and pushed her in the swing a while.  Then I got the clippers and the broom and started clearing and cleaning.  Bill joined us.  Jane Anne brought a book and a blanket.  Four hours later we were still outside.  We could see the fruits of our labors: a big pile of brush, a much cleaner porch, a patio table ready for an outdoor dinner, a yard that looked ready for spring.  And, shockingly, my mood was a lot better.

I don’t know why it’s so hard to get motivated to be outside, to get a bit dirty, to sweat a little.  But I do know that just like the little red bud on my tree, the signs of renewal are clear.

Outdoor Adventures

In the spirit of my 2014 resolution, we headed out to the Abilene State Park one Saturday recently.

Bill was out of town, so we asked our good friends the Blairs to join us for a hike and picnic.  (Jason, their husband/dad was out of town as well.) It was a gorgeous day, in the 70s and sunny, and we set off to conquer the nature trail.  The kids searched for walking sticks, threw rocks into the pond, and followed as many of the side paths as their moms would allow.  Stephanie and I walked and chatted and wondered at how pretty Abilene in February really can be.

There are some cool, old CCC buildings at the state park, so after our picnic the kids had fun exploring and climbing on those.

After spending about 4 hours at the park, Steph and I decided we were so close to “American classic” Perini Ranch, that there was no way we should pass that us.  We stopped in for ribs and jalapeño poppers on the patio and watched the deer wander up, the sun set, and the kids played on the outdoor stage.

The day ended up as one of those perfect, easy days — gorgeous weather, and friends who you can never get enough time with.

My Valentines

 

I sure do love these three!  Here they are ready for our Daddy/Daughter Dance at church.  (Jane Anne’s last one.  Sob!)  I am so happy I get to share life with them!

Frozen Treats

Like much of the country, we have had an unusual winter here in Abilene.  Not only have we had quite a bit of cold — not necessarily out of the ordinary for us — we’ve had more wintery precipitation than usual.  We’ve have 4 days of school cancelled, Sunday services at church cancelled,  and a couple late starts, which makes this mama so happy!  Even here in March, we’ve had weird temps — Saturday’s high was in the 80s, and we woke up Sunday to temperatures in the 20s.  (We also woke up to a yard full of icicles from running our sprinklers early that morning.)  While we were at church it began to sleet and snow, and it stayed very cold all day.  Unfortunately, school is still in session today.

When we do get wintry precipitation here, it’s usually in the form of ice.  Ice manages to shut down the city and ensure we don’t have to go anywhere, but it’s not very fun to play outside in.  A couple of weeks ago, however, we woke up on Thursday morning to a couple inches of snow, a rare treat.  The snow was very dry and not snowman worthy, but we still managed to get outside a couple of times to play, make snow angels, and do our best to throw it at each other.

 

(For my few, faithful readers, I will say that I have scheduled several new posts for this week and next!!)