Hi, September. Bye, September.

Well, September's come and nearly gone. I'm not going to question how that is, because I think that's just September's nature. School starts and everyone has their head down, working hard at new tasks and getting into academic routines. We've had a great September, and are looking forward to the very best of all the months: October.

This will be short and random, because it's a school day for us (normally I'm running around getting ready, but this past week I developed a detailed schedule of what needs to happen each day on MY end in order to prepare for our Friday community day, and it worked surprisingly well...so here I am, blogging on a school morning). I noticed our dining/school area was EXTREMELY clean the other day, so I snapped a picture:

I'm not sure why an orderly room was such a surprise to me, since I was definitely the one who put it in order. It's just that there are normally a few school books and papers (and ALWAYS at least ten pencils) strewn across the table, as well as ENOUGH CRAFTING SUPPLIES TO FILL A MICHAEL'S STORE. I'm really glad Sydney and Lorelei are crafty, because I'm not, but the popsicle sticks, glue, markers, scissors, tiny bits of cut paper, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, cotton balls, ribbon, velcro, DUCT TAPE, regular tape, white out...the list goes on...get to a person after a while. So I suppose that's why I was surprised and snapped a picture.

Sydney and Lorelei love tea. Probably because it's really just a cup of warm, creamy, sugary water, with only a splash of tea. But they always want a cup while we read in the afternoons. This is one of my favorite parts of the day, because Ruthie is napping, Ford is contained in his bedroom, and I have a quiet, coloring audience:

Happy Friday, my friends!

Reflections

How has it already been 17 years since September 11, 2001? I think it will always feel like "yesterday" to those of us who were old enough to remember the attacks. Right now it's the end of a long day, and I probably won't be able to share anything more profound than I did last year (not that what I shared last year was profound). Here's the link to last year's 9/11 post.

For the past couple of days I've been reflecting on life in general. How busy it is, and how wrapped up we are in our "first world problems." We're fully immersed in our school and activity schedule, and it just feels so darned hectic, despite Chet's and my best efforts to maintain calm. These reflections led us to a decision, which I'm still a little nervous about, but I think we're going to CUT OUT ALL EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. (Except piano, because Sydney and Lorelei ride their bikes to their weekly piano lesson while I stay home and fold laundry or wash dishes.)

It seems silly to even classify this as a "big decision." The Ingalls family didn't didn't worry about such things. They were too busy fending off bears and making sure Ma had enough thread to darn everyone's socks for the winter. Pa and Ma Ingalls may have had fewer extracurricular activities to enroll Mary and Laura in, but there was no doubt they knew what was important: God and family (and school and apparently piano).

That's where I'll leave you, on this anniversary where we all hug our loved ones tighter and thank the Lord for this day that He's given us.

God bless America.

Conversations with Ruthie

This evening, while changing Ruthie's diaper before bed, we had this conversation:

Ruthie: "I mail something."

Me: "You mailed something?"

Ruthie: "No, I MAIL something."

Me: "You smell something?"

Ruthie: "Yeah."

Me: "You smell baby powder."

Ruthie: "A baby spider?!?!"

Hopefully your Sunday was also entertaining.