What a week!

Think whirlwind! That's the way it always is at the start of the school year but I'm never totally prepared for it. The freshman arrived on campus Tuesday and pretty much everyone else made it in for convocation services today. It looks like a great group from the turnout at the freshman picnic yesterday. I well remember those freshman college days...some fond memories...others are still going to take more time. Perhaps it's the mother in me but I just want to put my arm around them and say, "Stick it out three weeks and you'll be glad you came!" The weather has been really cloudy and cool which doesn't help any! I'm so glad those days are over! People used to say, "These are the best days of your life" and I'd ask my mom if it was really true. Because if it was true it was going to be a very long life. My mom is wise, she said these were good days...but not the best days and she was right.

Allan started back to kindergarten full time on Monday. It's been a struggle for him to sit down every day and do the work. By Friday both of us were in need of a break so we had a very light day. Since he went 20 days during the summer I figured going light for 20 Fridays won't hurt us a bit. Tuesday and Thursday he attended music class at Aldersgate Christian Academy and really liked it. I've not been able to gain much information about the content of what he has learned but he did tell me his teacher is "really pretty". When he told me that I said, "Is she really?" and he said, "Oh yes mommy, I'm being serious!" He's enjoying learning to read and can't wait until he can do it all by himself.

Daniel has settled into the school schedule as well. He's learning to sort things by color and shape. He's enjoyed using the Lauri color and shape sorter while Allan is watching his classes. He wants to be right with us so I try to adapt as much as possible so he can be a part of what is going on. He's still careening from pillar to post. Running down the sidewalk this week, he tripped and busted his upper lip, the next day he fell again and smashed his bottom one. Yesterday he poked himself under the eye with something .... sighhh.... I just know he'll be our first child to break a bone...I'm just waiting for it to happen. He diligently carried firewood to the basement for his daddy so that he could earn some money for his piggy bank. He was rewarded with money and found a snake. It was a little thing but not a very happy camper!

Stephen is moving everywhere with such speed that I can't keep up with him. Climbing is his favorite activity of choice. Friday I caught him as he had crawled up on the stool the boys use to use the restroom and was trying to crawl up onto the lid of the toilet. It was too slippery so he fell off. He has perfected the army crawl and still won't get up on all fours. At least now he is using his legs to push himself along. Still no teeth...we have the fussing, drool, runny nose, pulling at his ears...but no teeth.

I spent most of yesterday working in the garden trying to redeem my tomato plants. The last they were tied up was probably two months ago. They're all now up where they belong and it looks like they're going to produce well. I'm having to harvest okra every day. We have four nice sized watermelons coming on and the second planting of green beans are looking good. This week I need to put out the broccoli and cauliflower starters I have but they need to be hardened off first. I've been working mainly on finalizing our daily schedule now that school has started and slowing down from housework. This week I have two more windows to clean, I need to defrost my freezer and then all my big chores are done. I've even been able to finish some reading that has lingered all summer (Following God with All Your Heart by Elizabeth George) and picked up an old favorite, Our Sufficiency in Christ by John MacAurthur. The first time I read the book was for an Introduction to Counseling class taught by Greg Mazak at Bob Jones. It was one of those books that leaves a lasting indelible mark on your life. I've just finished the chapter "Does God Need a Psychiatrist?" The two quotes that struck me the most this time were, "Some of the supposed problems of our culture are pathetically trite. Self-image, looks, co-dependency, emotional abuse, mid-life crisis, unfulfilled expectations - today's 'infirmities' were once seen more accurately as the pains of selfishness." and "Sin is called sickness, so people think it requires therapy, not repentance. Habitual sin is called addictive or compulsive behavior, and many surmise its solution is medical rather than moral correction." It was interesting how God used the truth of His Word presented in this book to shape my thinking during the first year of our marriage when I was struggling so much with some thinking patterns that it was strongly affecting my physical health. Then, three years later God would use some of the crucial lessons I learned during that time to ease me through the year of coping with post-partum depression. So it's been interesting to pick it up again when I'm in a period of my life that is relatively calm. I find it's still good! :o)

This is what happens on a lazy Sunday afternoon when everyone else is sleeping and I've been reading and thoughts start churning. I believe I'll go on my other blog and be verbose! Hope you're having a blessed Lord's day!