Catching Up (Ish)

This morning, as I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic waiting to get around a rainy day wreck and running progressively later and later for the class I was about to teach, I noticed that my sister had posted a new blog. Since I wasn't going anywhere, I decided to read while I waited. That was totally safe. 95 was a parking lot. Also, it was a great blog, and if you haven't read it, you should just go read hers and not worry about mine.

It was Character Dress Up Day today for our co-op.
I was Sleepy. Literally as well.

At any rate, reading her blog made me realize that November was upon us, and (behold!) there had been no blog this month. And then, when the traffic finally cleared out and we made it to the house where I was supposed to teach, I put the car in park and Bruiser decided it was a good time to blow some chunks. So, needless to say, we turned around and came home, and I found myself with a little bit of free time on my hands simply because I didn't teach today. Other than my own kids. Who still had to suffer through a shortened and probably not as fun version as what they would've gotten if we'd made it to co-op. Even Bruiser, who has been totally fine since managing to rearrange all of our plans and spent the afternoon outside happily playing football in the mud with his brothers.

The Man lugging our pumpkin.

The kids checking out some pigs at the farm we went to
with awesome friends.

The reason it is the last week of October and I am just now trying to hammer out a blog is simply because I am lazy. And also because we moved here less than four months ago, and we have already managed to do four out of town trips (three of them out of state) as well as joining a church, jumping into a co-op, meeting our neighbors, trying to do cool sight seeing homeschool mom field trippy things, and generally running a family. But mostly because I am lazy. And have been using my writing time for other things. But it could also be the lazy thing.

We got the kids over to the Marine Corps Museum
for some history!

Autumn happy.

Speaking of Marines, the Man brought me home this coffee.
I drank it and yelled, "Come on, you sons of Frizzells,
do you want to live forever?"
Then made the kids do PE with me.

Now, however, I find myself with too much stuff to jam into one blog. Do I tell you about shark teeth fossil hunting on the Maryland side of the Potomac? Or tracking down Indonesian food in downtown Philadelphia after standing in line for an hour and a half to see the Liberty Bell? Or the gorgeous fall leaves outside my bay window and the fires that have been cheering up our fireplace as the weather has gotten colder? Or how surreal it was to actually get to go in a library (by appointment, with masks on, after our temperature had been taken and we had been warned not to touch anything EVER unless it was coming home with us)?

Introducing the kids to Indonesian food.
It was a total win.
Tiny's yard long mie ayam noodle was his favorite.

That bowl was licked clean before she was done.
Metaphorically. She wasn't raised in a trailer park.

I was in my happy place. And so was the Man.

Or maybe I won't tell you about any of those things as the couch cushion covers (say that five times fast) just finished in the dryer and I have to figure out if I shrunk them too badly to put them back on?

This is us at Independence Hall.
We opted not to wait half a life time in a socially distanced queue
in order to go in.

We did wait forever to see the Liberty Bell though.
Kids said it was worth it.
Evidently they are highly motivated by history.
I'm highly motivated by coffee. And books.

Proof Twinkle and I were there.
Her permanent attachment to me was due to
a security guard who made the critical mistake of trying
to befriend her. Never make that mistake.
She is cute but terrifying. And also easily terrified.

Now that all the couch cushions have been put back on, I will answer the burning question you all had: no, I did not wash them due to barf. They started to inextricably smell like urine, which could be because we've had those couches for nine years and they sat in storage for a year and a half after a hurricane. Or it could be the five kids and three pets. Who knows! Such excitement in our home!

Incidentally, we didn't take the kids to a racist pub.
They were at Snow White Bar-B-Que.
Promise.

Getting to see my mother-in-law
is always a win in my book.
And worth every hour of driving,
even the one stuck behind a tractor going 3 mph.
Luckily, I had a book on me.

Also, getting to see my brother-in-law same same.

And my sister-in-law. 
Said bro-in-law got way better pictures that day,
but now I can't find them.

Here's my oldest sister
preparing for her future as an instagram influencer.
#cutiewithacremepuff

And Twinkle... because autumn...and boots.

And now I have just fifteen minutes left before I have to start churning out tacos for my horde (this blog was written in shifts, which makes it really confusing to read), so I think I'm going to slap some pictures in this blog so you can see what we've been up to...and call it a day. Blog check mark for the win. MOVING ON. Well, after I give you three more pictures. 

Shark tooth fossils.
They are small but mighty.

Best company for shark tooth hunting.

Intrepid paleontologists.
Also, proof this totally happened.
Who knew the Potomac River had shark teeth?

Are you not entertained?! Or merely overwhelmed by all the pictures... 

And now, since the kids have inhaled all the tacos (3 lbs of beef, 4 dozen taco shells/tortillas, and 2 cans of refried beans plus all the toppings--I kid you not), I think I'm going to go chuck their adorable selves in bed...and pray that our food budget can hold out for another few years. Here goes nothing!

Never mind, the Man chucked the kids in bed. So I'm now going to sit on my clean couch cushion covers (eat that alliteration) and revel in the quiet.

Squashing in a Book Blog

There is not enough time in my days right now, but it appears that there is always enough time to read. When we first got to Virginia, our local library had not yet reopened, but I was so happy to be back with my own books, to have old favorites to reread, and I was so busy getting the house set up, that I didn't really mind. And about the time I was really ready for new reading material and considering panic as a legitimate life choice (or possibly blowing the Man's salary on books and more bookshelves), lo and behold, I met an awesome neighbor who told me that our library had just started back curbside pick up. Perfect timing!

My face with books is about that content.

With that said, our library books have come trickling in so slowly that it's kind of felt like we are men dying of thirst on a desert island trying to drink dew drops off leaves in the morning. The kids and I saw a woman returning a huge stack of library books the other day while we waited for our two that had come in, and we were practically salivating as she put them in the return box one by one for a solid five minutes. From the back row, plaintively: "How come she gets so many library books?" 

When your ten year old leaves The Goblet of Fire
outside and it gets rained on...

It becomes fodder for the fire pit
and your loving husband buys you a new copy...

With that said, a few books that we've been reading!

First up, after many long years of hunting, I finally tracked down Julia Stuart's The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise. This has been on my To Read list for years, but none of my libraries have had it. Finally, the Man moves us to a library system where it is available! Which just proves my point that the military is not helping me break my reading habit. Though I still prefer Stuart's Pigeon Pie Mystery, The Tower (etc) had Stuart's signature quirk that made for some fun reading. All the historical information she included about the Tower of London was utterly fascinating, and there were some truly moving moments that left me a little choked up. I can't give it a 100% recommendation as there are a couple inclusions I could've done without, but I am finally glad to have scratched an itch I've carried with me for years, and any book that can make me both laugh and nearly cry while reading about accidental pig theft feels like a win in my book. No pun intended.

I was so excited to finally find this,
even if it wasn't as good as her other novel.

On a very different note, the Man handed me a copy of Dan Crenshaw's Fortitude earlier in the month, and, wow, we had some great discussions from that. If you are married and don't take the time to occasionally overlap books with your spouse, you're really missing out. I found that Fortitude was really worth a read as we look at our current culture and ask hard questions about it. Also, when you're thinking about skipping a run and your husband looks at you and says, "Crenshaw would not approve", you know he's probably right and you get your rear in gear and go get it done. Politics aside, Crenshaw speaks to some areas we all need challenging in. It's now the Man's current favorite book to give away. 

This is the Man's picture, not mine.
I didn't ask his permission to use it because
I feel like he gave up that right when he married me.

At the same time that I was plowing through Fortitude, I was savoring a gift from one of my favorite people. Opening my mailbox to find Refractions by Makoto Fujimara was the best "Welcome to a new home" present I could ever get. Written by a Japanese-American artist whose studio was right off Ground Zero, this book encouraged and challenged me so much as an artist, as an American, and as a Christian. Beautifully written and with so much food for thought, I was constantly texting the Man quotes from it until he finally just asked to borrow it when I was done. Then he got derailed by grad school reading, but that's another story. I will say, though, that when my friend Marianne sent it to me, I did wonder briefly if she thought I was smarter than I actually am. But pushing myself to read something that truly engaged my mind was really wonderful and made me wonder if I'm finally exiting the blurred mind years of babies and YA fiction.

A fantastically beautiful book, and not just aesthetically.

Speaking of YA fiction (except not, because this is really Middle Grade), for yet another win by Gary D. Schmidt, First Boy is my new reading suggestion for your middle schooler, especially as we head into election season. With political shenanigans threaded throughout, First Boy asks what truly matters to us as humans as well as citizens. I told Littles this was required reading for him as I want him to learn things that the main character, Cooper, can teach him. I want him to ask what he's willing to fight for and why. And I want him to see that, while the world will not always conspire to help him fight for those things, there are good people out there who will come alongside him to encourage him...though it may not always be the people he expects.

Library propaganda--the kind I can get behind.

While we're talking about the kids, we are currently plowing through The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander together. These are books that stand the test of time. My mom read them out loud to my sisters and me when we were kids, and now I'm thoroughly enjoying reading them out loud to my own kids. There is humor; there is conflict; there are life lessons to be learned. Most importantly to me, there are characters who change and grow. Also, there are witches who lovingly threaten to turn you into toads, and Bee may have been a little too excited about that part. If you're looking for a new series to enjoy with your kids: these are a win.

Including this picture because I want to know how the words
are reflecting onto the table. Science minds, teach me.

Another series option, though not in the continuing plot line sense, is the Trailblazers series. You know you've landed yourself in the right church when your pastor provides reading material for your ten year old. Littles has really enjoyed both of the books he was given and is asking for more. He started with The Girl Who Loved Mountains about Francis Ridley Havergal, but then raced through A Slave Set Free about John Newton, which definitely captured his adventure loving mind. He's also liked the books he's gotten to read from the Christian Heroes series, so if you're looking for historical reads for your kids that will teach them more about history and hopefully also encourage their faith, both of those series appear to be wins.

Reading makes for happy kids.

But, if you're needing something on a younger level, I can help you there too. I had a friend suggest Trish Cooke's work, and I am so glad she did! Twinkle has enjoyed Full, Full, Full of Love this week, and I have too. I want her to read books where she engages with cultures that are not the same as hers and people who look differently from her. This applies to all of my children really. And Trish Cooke does a great job of presenting family from a different perspective. We read So Much! at our last library, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else we can find of hers.

Included because, come on, that is adorable.

The last two books on my list are impactful reads for very different reasons. First, I finally got a copy of Myquillin Smith's Cozy Minimalist Home (new libraries that have books I've been wanting are my favorite). As a constant mover of homes, I fully admit that I love Myquillin Smith (otherwise known as the Nester) and pretty much anything she writes. I don't read a lot of decorating blogs/books, but hers have been worth my time. Honestly, I wish I could've read this before we moved in, but a lot of the principles she'd shared on her blog, so I was able to implement more than I realized. With that said, the book was definitely worth it. So much so that I completely moved my living room around (the living room that I just set up two months ago) last Tuesday morning--and I am so glad that I did. Even the Man has commented on how much better it feels. This also involved rehanging a set of pictures that I didn't manage to get perfectly straight this time because by the time I got around to the rehanging, I was feeling more than a smidge guilty about making my kids "homeschool" while I moved furniture around them. If you are someone who moves often (or just someone who doesn't feel comfortable in their own home and isn't sure how to fix it), this is a great book to grab. Smith breaks down the how to of setting up a room into accessible steps that made an immediate difference for me.

I meant to give you before and afters of the living room
after it was Cozy Minimalized. I forgot.
Somehow, we will all survive.

Finally, though I was making YA fiction jokes earlier, that genre will always be near and dear to my heart. One of the YA authors I keep an eye out for is Sharon Cameron who recently released The Light in Hidden Places, which is based on the true story of a young Polish girl who sheltered thirteen Jews in her home while simultaneously being forced to provide housing for a pair of Nazi nurses. Cameron tells in the afterward the handful of things that she tweaked to make the narrative run more smoothly, and I could not believe how little she had changed because I could not believe that anyone could survive what Stefania Podgorska survived. It was hands down Cameron's best book to date and well worth the read. I tell the kids often that we study history so that we can see our present with clear eyes. Without the bigger perspective of history, we miss out on understanding our now. Find a copy and let me know what you think.

Such a good read. Highly recommend!

Honorable mention goes out to two excellent books that I'm enjoying during my morning quiet time. The only get honorable mention because I'm not quite done with them yet, not because they aren't great books. First up, Andrew Murray's Abide in Christ. The chapters are short and the writing simple, but the eternal truths so necessary for my soul. If you are wanting more from your relationship with Christ, this is a good place to start. My brother-in-law gave it to me when I was still in college, and I was so glad to rediscover it on my bookshelf.

Globe, white board, and squashy bean bag in the background
clue you in to how this room is used when the kids are up.

I'm also only part of the way through Francis Chan's Forgotten God (another early morning quiet time and coffee read), but was informed by the library that it's due back tomorrow and someone else has requested it so there's no fudging by continuing to renew it endlessly. it's been so good that I may try to really plow through it today at intervals between giving spelling lists and picking up groceries. Again, along with Andrew Murray's book, this is for the Christian asking for more from their walk with Christ than just check marks in their day. It has been excellent so far.

Yes, I took most of the pictures sitting in the recliner.
Sue me.
But they were all on different days, so be impressed by that.

And for now, that's it! May your reading time abound, your book choices broaden your mind and enlarge your heart, and your library allow for curbside pick up, which right now seems the biggest book blessing I can pronounce.

Seeds and Surprises

A little over two months ago, we were in the middle of our move. One of the things we couldn't bring with us was our little pallet garden (though I did manage to bring our potted lemon tree, which rode shotgun from Florida to Virginia, scraping its spiky arms against the dashboard through four states). We are only here for eleven months (ish) unless the Powers That Be decide to keep us. One of the casualties of being somewhere less than a year is that I'm not trying for another garden. I did, however, buy some indoor plants and a handful of herbs (that I'm already killing).

The lemon tree has really liked VA.

So, I've been missing playing in the dirt a little. Also, gardening is like outside the house decorating, and if you like that kind of thing (which I do), it's kind of fun. Also x2, it's more fun to eat something you grow yourself. And then my sister sent me a picture of her wall of morning glories that she planted this summer which are now a riot of blooms and leaves. I'm not saying I was jealous but I definitely wondered how it would feel to be able to plant seeds and then actually see them grow and thrive. That doesn't often happen for us simply because we move too quickly. Our pallet garden was primarily starter plants.

With those thoughts in my mind, I was astounded to look outside early one day and see a vine tapping its way onto our back deck. We haven't purchased a weed eater yet, so I went out to investigate, wondering what I would need to pull up by hand, only to find that it wasn't a weed--it was morning glories! Someone must have planted them at the house before we even rented it, and here we get to enjoy the blooms for which we didn't even work.

I benefit from someone else's planting.

This felt incredibly significant to me in light of all plants that couldn't come with us. Their roots were too deep. They stayed behind to be enjoyed by someone else. The strawberries and lavender and bell peppers we left behind are hopefully being harvested and enjoyed by someone else in the RV park we called home for the last 18 months. And that is good, but seeing bare garden patches at our new home (bare patches that I am resisting the urge to fill in) can be disheartening. But I am realizing that, while it feels like we move and have to start all the way over each time, I see more and more that this is not completely true. Though certainly the seeds I may have planted can't necessarily come with us, there are some left behind by others that we can then tend into full growth. 

Happy surprises

Naturally, this applies to more than just gardening. I see this in our homeschool community, where I benefit from a community that is already set up and structured, which allows them to let in our transient family and enjoy us while we are here. I see this in our church, where we can be blessed by people who are already growing in the Lord and seeking to support and encourage other believers. I see this in our neighborhood where we can benefit from programs that are already in place, using the library, going to stores, picking up food at restaurants. These are things that someone else has worked for, and we get to step in and be a part of them for a little while. Just like I get to enjoy the morning glories I haven't planted. 

Photo credit for this one goes to my sister.
Genetic credit goes to my mother-in-law.

So as I watch morning glory blooms opening their trumpets to soak in the early morning sunlight, I find myself praying:

May I be brave enough to keep planting (whether flower seeds or seeds of truth and encouragement) what I may not see bloom, knowing that someone else might be blessed weeks, months, or years later because of it. May I keep my eyes open to see beautiful surprises for which I can take no credit. And may I not be afraid to let my roots sink deep, even knowing that some may not come up the next time we move, knowing that there is the possibility of a painful uprooting or a severing of one part of myself from the other, because what I leave behind may be just what someone else needs. And may you be encouraged to keep planting the seeds God has called you to plant, not knowing how they may benefit someone else along the way.

Kicking Off the School Year

Ah, August, that wonderful time of year when we force ourselves to stop being lazy bums and instead embrace, once again, the idea that our brains can actually function. In other words, the kids and I have started school. Technically, we started two weeks ago, but this is somehow our first full week. Full disclosure, I never plan a full week for our first week back, mostly out of a sense of self preservation. We start on a Wednesday, and by Friday, I'm convinced we're never going to make it through a full week alive. Kidding. Mostly. But it does seem to help if we start a little slower and focus on just getting our feet wet and having fun. 

Littles' First Day

Tiny's First Day

Bee's First Day

Bruiser's First Day
This is his self-portrait.
It looks just like him.

Then I happily allowed our second week of school to get hijacked by taking a fun trip out of state to see friends. The kids got to learn geography by driving through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. And then back again. We made note of the Allegheny Mountains as we drove through them (one kid cheerfully barfing as we went around the many curves in the road, and then another kid sympathy barfing because that's what siblings are for). We took swim lessons in a friend's pool. And we even really pulled out the educational stops by taking them on a nature walk and then letting them wander around the National Museum of the Air Force for several hours. Because we'd been so diligent in pursuing their education (fine: because the friends we were with are beyond awesome), we decided to stay an extra day in Ohio and only do school that Friday once we got home.

I briefly considered taking this home with me.
I can get behind this kind of propaganda.

The family with the Memphis Belle.
Masks were taken off before we took the picture.
Bruiser was much happier than this picture shows.

So now we find ourselves neck deep in our first full week of school. And of course it's also the first week our homeschool community meets. So really, all my attempts to ease us into the school year gradually, were a total waste. Now we go big or go home. Also, now I self medicate with chocolate covered espresso beans.

This is what planning looks like.
Blythe tries hard to get in the way.

It's a miracle anything get done.

Naturally, this school year is different, much like every school year is. The twins are doing more but still requiring a lot of hands on help. Twinkle cut out her nap completely months ago, so she's with us for pretty much everything (unless the Man succeeds in luring her out of the sitting room where we've been doing school). Littles and Tiny continue to be paragons of scholarly virtue, which helps me maintain my sanity. And I continue to center most of our school work around me reading out loud because that's what makes me happy and no one can tell me what to do.

I promise she's not choking the cat.

Books are read, walks are taken, attitudes are dealt with, piano lessons are given, and before I know it, May will be here and I'll be looking back, wondering where the time has gone. Hopefully, the kids will learn what they need to during that time. Hopefully, I will grow as a teacher and a parent and a human being too. And hopefully, by the end of it, we will still want to keep doing life together and not have driven ourselves crazy.

This pretty much defines our family.

Happy First Day of School, wherever you are.

Many of you are just getting started. Some of you beat me to the punch because you never really stopped to take a break. And some are still hanging on to the last dog days of summer. Wherever you are in the process, and whether you're homeschooling or not (though it seems like more of us are than ever this year), my prayer for all of us is that this school year could help us see truth more clearly, love others more deeply, and every now and then, just enjoy a good book that lets us see how good God is and how full of joy life can be even when things are hard. Maybe I'll have to come back with a book post to help us out on that last one. And since there are rumors that our library here is doing curb side pick up, I'm hoping that will be sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, happy schooling!