For Today

Oh, my gosh! I have just totally forgotten about my blog! Thank you, Leslie, for reminding me!!!

Outside my window... Gorgeous, beautiful golden trees and a warm, sunny, fall sky. This fall has been the most beautiful one I've ever seen in my entire life in Alaska (which added up together, is 31 years--I was born in Nevada and lived there for 9 months, then my family came to AK...then moved to Germany when I was 4, then back to Alaska when I was almost 9. And now you know how old I am, too). This is like a real fall; usually, our trees turn yellow one day, then all the leaves fall off the next, and everything stays frozen until the first snow in October...I am loving this! We even have different colors to enjoy, some trees still green, some red, it's just beautiful.

I am thinking... ugh. I am stressing out...today is our busy day, and my least favorite part is going to therapy with the foster kids. But all will be well once that is over.

I am thankful for... The beautiful fall, my cozy home, for homeschool coming together finally, and for our wonderful weekend in Seward. My elementary schoolers went to a "nocturne" (sleepover/educational seminar) at the Sea Life Center, then we all camped out, hiked out to Exit glacier and took long "explores" on the beaches. Of course, the kids' favorite part was roasting hot dogs and marshmallows!

From the kitchen... probably a nice baked chicken and some potatoes tonight. Right now, Paul's cooking up some eggs and bacon for me (I didn't eat yet today, too busy running around town dropping kids off at their weekly outside classes, plus we had our weekly home visit first thing in the morning).

I am wearing...blue jeans, a black v-neck t-shirt and the red tunic Tracy gave me before our trip to Florida, brown leather clogs and red socks.

I am hoping... that I don't stutter and stammer and turn all red throughout therapy, while I try to express that these are beautiful children who I love, and these are the behavior problems we are seeing from them, and yes I know that they are very vulnerable little people and also naturally ornery by nature of being children and human, but I would also like to know how to cope and work with these behaviors without feeling like their personal doormat.--Whew!

I am praying... for patience, the ability to forgive and still be assertive. For God to continue being patient with me.

I am listening to...eighties music! Everyone told me when I was young to cut loose and have fun, be crazy. I didn't do a whole lot of that, whatever one may assume from my pre-marital baby...I was a very serious kid. I've been reminiscing about the past, and wishing I had been a little more wild and crazy, so I would have less desire to sow wild oats now.

Around the house... I did all the laundry I could yesterday, so today all I have to do is wipe counters and sweep...too busy today for housework.

One of my favorite things... MMMM....cheesy, greasy, fried eggs and bacon. Thanks, honey!

A few plans for the rest of the week... The girls are working on learning the four processes (addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division) and their lowercase letters (Waldorf moves very slowly toward learning to read, believing that rushing it damages other developmental processes). Andrew is creating a landscape of a local area as it was 100 years ago; he will be studying U.S. history, especially as it pertains to our state, this year. He is also learning to be a careful observer of nature, and sketching what he sees through the jeweler's loupes; yesterday he drew a close-up of a section of horse tail and a fern. I love this curriculum!

And finally, I know I owe everyone pictures. I have been having trouble downloading them to websites (I think it is my virus protector interfering with the process--I do not recommend "Kaspersky's" anti-virus program at all). I'm on it, but I just don't have all day to sit and watch one picture take 15 minutes to load. The kids won't let me! ; )