Random

We're home from our gypsy life for the fall and winter now, officially! I have a very unsettled feeling, and I can't really decide what project to tackle 1st. I've been doing a lot of reading of other people's blogs, actually too much reading of other people's blogs. While I'm very happy for all the organized, routine oriented women out there, and am actually quite inspired by them (which I think IS the point of reading & sharing blogs) I'm also a bit undone by them. I'm struggling with the questions:

• Is it ok that we live a very unstructured, messy, and disorganized life? What if it is not ok?
  
• Are there any other bloggers out there who live like we do?
• How can I be at peace with my home, my husband and my kids?
• How do I contribute to my church and community when I feel like I can't even maintain my own home?

my plan is to just take one task at a time, rest when I need to rest, pray when I need to pray (all the time), and just do my best I guess. In the scheme of things a beautiful home, an organized life and a clean floor are not the purpose of this life of mine. They are important, but it's more important to love the Lord my God with all my strength, all my soul, and all my mind, and to love my neighbor as my self. I can do that regardless of where I live, or what I do, or what my floors look like. THIS gave me something to think about too.

In other news: we have cats! Four cats to be exact. They are named after ice cream flavors. The male orange & white is called Orange Float, the female grey is called Licorice, the female short haired tabby is called Roly, and the female long haired tabby is called Poly (Rolypoly is ice cream with Rolos in it). Roly has already caught herself a mouse! She was my favorite from the start and now I know why! So I hope the mice skeedattle!! Has anyone out there ever read the children's book the King, the Mice & the Cheese? Well we're living it! Check it out, it's a good read.

Things with wheels: We now have 2 vehicles for each registered driver in our household, plus a 7 ton Freightliner for good measure! We're kind of like the SPCA for cars that need fixing, or their old owners don't love them anymore. Mike has his hands full this week and next. His hope is to fix and sell the Jetta and the Navigator so we can put in new kitchen cupboards this fall with the money from selling them. Hope! Hope! fingers crossed! We will continue to drive our hand me down Windstar, and our new to us Sentra. The Freightliner will continue to work its way into the grave. After we gave it a new turbo this summer it seems to chug along with the stiputlation that Mike drives it when it is cold or at night only! Will it last another summer? Tune in next season for more amazing stories of our reluctant Freightliner.

Homeschooling: this year is our preschool year for Dade. We have definately had a soft start. So far this week we have covered gross motor skills (a nature walk, playing at the park for 3 hours, and outside play with the cats in our yard), fine motor skills ( a hammering lesson while working with Daddy on the dog house, pouring water into different containers in the bath), and some science exploration (identifying rasberry bushes and sampling some saskatoons while on our nature walk). Not exactly the structured routine I had in mind. I'm really going to have to rethink our system and be more purposeful as we go through our day. It is good that this is pre school. It is practise for Dade & Matia AND most of all for Mommy.

It is stinkin hot!!!! It is gorgeous weather for fun things like boating or hanging at the park, but it has been all I can do to vacum out our vehicles, make meals, do laundry,wash up and defrost freezers. If I didn't have the reward of going to my Grandma's house this weekend, I think I would play hookie and go to the lake or something. Every time I think that I should go do something a bead of sweat runs down my neck and I sit down! I'm just waiting for the kids' bed time. It will be cooler then and I'll really get into gear! You'll see....you'll see...