Small Success - Adding Up the Little Things

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1. We have almost completely tamed the dreaded laundry monster!

2. Our new school schedule seems to be working really well, and the children are getting a lot accomplished.

3. We have re-organized, summer-ized, and cleaned the mudroom!

Terrible Storms

Yesterday we had a truly terrible storm. And we were out in it!

It was just band after band of horrible, driving rain and wind strong enough to be bending 80ft+ trees almost in half.

Why were we out in this, you might ask? Well, my daughter had a youth meeting at church, and had been looking forward to it quite a bit. We knew there were bad weather warnings to the south of us, but nothing for us, per se. The sky was cloudy when we left, but nothing more. Well, about 15 miles into our journey (of approx. 30 miles) we found out that the storms were closer than the weather guys had warned us.

It started to rain harder as we got our daughter to the church. We dropped her off and went to go to Tractor Supply to check on an item we needed from there. Well, that is when the sky fell, just about literally. It was so bad! I could barely see the road. By the time we got to Tractor Supply, the rain was blowing horizontally. The poor manager at Tractor Supply, his doors had become stuck in the open position. They had a lake in the entryway. I told my husband I was going to pull up to the doors as close as I could get the truck, and told him our son and I would wait for him to come out. We found a spot close to the store, and that's when the wind started blowing even harder. It literally lifted the back of our full-size crew cab truck off the ground by a couple of inches. My son and I were NOT happy about that! I called my husband on his cell phone and told him to come out NOW! He got back in the truck and we went to seek shelter. There really was none.

While we were driving to find shelter, we were heading down a small road when lightning struck a power line right in front of us. The explosion was spectacular! The entire road, sky and everything lit-up a brilliant blue, as sparks flew all around us. My son screamed and my husband and I were just awestruck. That is the closest either of us have ever been to a lightning strike, and I hope it remains that way for a very long time. We finally went back to the area where our church is and parked in a McDonald's parking lot until the rain slowed. We waited a very long time. It just would not let up.

It was finally time to go back and pick-up our daughter (whom we felt was much safer at the church than anywhere else she could have been), and it miraculously let-up during the time we were there. She couldn't understand what we were talking about, as they really had not been too aware of the storm, other than the rain hitting the windows pretty hard. Our drive home was rain-filled and fairly uneventful, except for passing the remains of the accidents that had happened along the highway we travel. Many had lost control, or lost their bearings, in the downpour, hitting the concrete walls. There were many places that there were literally lakes in the middle of the highway. I was never so glad to be back home.

We all said a prayer of thanksgiving for our safe return home.

Please pray that my husband has a safe journey home from work today. It is raining, although not nearly as hard as it was yesterday, but there is widespread flooding. Thanfully most of his route is elevated enough that he should not have problems, but with this much rain in such a short time, you just never know.

Blessings to all of you!

~Kathy

The Simple Woman's Daybook - April 27th

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Outside my window... absolutely beautiful sunshine and cool temps (for a short while, anyway). We should get up over 90 degrees today. The birds are all happily gathering food and singing.

I am thinking... that I really need to go take something for this nasty headache I have.

From the learning rooms... work, work, work!

I am thankful for... the Lord showing me how to be content and have faith in Him, even when the cross we are bearing is so heavy at times.

From the kitchen... two chickens cooked and de-boned already this morning, waiting to become some wonderful meal for dinner. I have three different recipes that have been requested, but haven't decided on one yet. They are King Ranch Chicken, Chicken n' Chips, and Chicken Stew.

I am wearing... denim stretch shorts, short-sleeved knit shirt, barefoot (I know, I don't ever really change what I'm wearing. I'm in a rut! LOL!)

I am reading... I am trying to find He Leadeth Me by Walter J. Ciszek and Daniel Flaherty at the library.

I am hoping...that my husband's employer sees that it's a really good idea to give him the raise we need so desperately.

I am creating...a better place for our daily prayers.

I am hearing... Gregorian Chants and De Profundis

Around the house... WHERE does all this laundry come from? I think it multiplies itself in the baskets or something!

One of my favorite things... spending a glorious day outside in the sunshine with my family!

A few plans for the rest of the week... taking my daughter to the church middle school gathering, no co-op as it is over for the summer, maybe the library.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
We have tons of tree frogs around our place. They make a LOT of noise, and you can find them stuck to just about anything, especially our windows!

My daughter's little garden. She usually gets a pretty good harvest out of it, for such a small plot. Here are her potato and tomato plants.

Small Successes - Small but Significant

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1. Through the diligence of my children helping out, my kitchen is almost completely clean, top to bottom. It always looks so nice when it's been cleaned so well!

2. My husband finished his training for this position with his new company! We are so thankful for this position with this new company, after the way his former company treated him. We keep praying for a raise now, to go with the finishing of the training, since he had to take such a significant paycut.

3. We have managed to plant a few plants in our little square-foot garden. We are so thankful for our neighbor, who gave us three beautiful tomato plants!

The Simple Woman's Daybook - April 20th

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Even if I am a day late, I still wanted to post. Life was just so busy yesterday!

Outside my window... gorgeous sunshine, after a weekend of rain!

I am thinking... about how to improve my prayer life.

From the learning rooms... Lots of pencil movements at the moment!

I am thankful for... so many wonderful blessings the Lord has given us!

From the kitchen... boneless/skinless chicken breasts, rolled in seasoned panko breadcrumbs and baked, with a delicious mix of seasoned diced tomatoes & tomato sauce, topped with a sprinkling of parmesan reggiano cheese!

I am wearing... denim stretch shorts, short-sleeved knit shirt, barefoot (I don't like shoes, LOL!)

I am reading... Beyond Mist Blue Mountains (Bender, Carrie, Dora's Diary, 3.) by Carrie Bender

I am hoping...that our beautiful weather continues through the weekend.

I am creating...more space in the house, by de-cluttering.

I am hearing... Ave Maria, Gregorian (from the playlist on this blog).

Around the house... tons of laundry and de-cluttering.

One of my favorite things... listening to wondrously beautiful hymns!

A few plans for the rest of the week... keep up with the schoolwork and housework, so that we are able to make it to the Catholic homeschool conference in the city this weekend.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

This is another picture from our visit to the Houston Musuem of Natural Science (HMNS).

Please pray for a dear friend

A dear friend of mine and my husband’s, plus the Godmother of both of our children, has just found out she has breast cancer. She has an appt next week with a specialist to find out for sure if she needs to have a double mastectomy or not. It’s not good. I am just beside myself. She has been a rock for me, and I am so far from her (she lives about 4.5hrs away), that I can’t even be there to help her. All I can do is pray, and even though I know that can work wonders, I just feel so helpless. She is so scared, but is really trying to put on a brave face.

The picture above was taken several years ago, at a combined birthday party for my children.

Your prayers would be most appreciated.

~Kathy

Small Successes - Go Mom!

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1. We attended Mass on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. What a wonderful experience. It was not the Tridentine Mass, but came close, which was a wonderful surprise.

2. School is humming along nicely. I think we have finally hit on a schedule that is working for us.

3. We are making progress, slowly to be sure, on organizing and de-cluttering the house. It is such a wonderful feeling when you get a room done!

Bad little dog!

Oh yes, doesn't she look so cute and all innocent? Well, this little dog caused no end of trouble for us this morning. She got out the yard part of our property. My son did not feel the need to come and tell me right away, giving her plenty of time to explore and get further from home. Did I mention she runs REALLY fast? By the time he came and told me she had gotten out, 15 minutes had gone by. That is an eternity with this dog. My daughter hopped on her bike, my son climbed the fence into the woods next door, and I grabbed my keys and wallet and jumped in the truck. We all combed the area looking for her. No one could find her, and none of the other dogs in the area were barking, which worried me, because that meant she wasn't near them. I decided to drive down to the highway nearby and see if she had gotten that far. I did not want the children finding her run over. Thankfully she wasn't down there, and there was no sign of her heading that way. I doubled back to the house, and who was waiting for me at the corner of the fence right by our drive? You guessed it! The mischievous dog! I called her name, her ears perked-up. I opened the door to the truck, and she came running and jumped right in! Silly dog!

My children are now very happy and relieved to have her home.

The Simple Woman's Daybook - April 13th

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Outside my window... absolutely gorgeous spring weather!

I am thinking... how wonderful it is to attend Mass during Holy Week!

From the learning rooms... planning a new attack on spelling.

I am thankful for... a wonderful husband who faithfully attneds Mass with us!

From the kitchen... Easter leftovers. Yummy!

I am wearing... denim stretch shorts, short-sleeved knit shirt, barefoot (I don't like shoes, LOL!)

I am reading... I am needing to re-read A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul (Paperback)by Holly Pierlot (Author)

I am hoping...to pray, and complete, The Divine Mercy Novena

I am creating...well, trying to create, new folders for my children's schoolwork.

I am hearing... a helicopter hovering around outside.

Around the house... the ever present picking-up and doing laundry.

One of my favorite things... springtime mornings, with all the birds singing and animals chattering!

A few plans for the rest of the week... keep-up with school and housework, and make sure the children have their things ready for co-op as it winds-down for the year.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Kitties do NOT like cascarones!

Happy Easter!

Poor Mary, she's not happy I'm posting this picture. She was so sleepy, and with all the rain, her hair was all "poofy" as she calls it. Every year I can't believe how grown-up they look. Time does fly.

Dad is the victim of a cascarone attack!

Mary's pretty Easter eggs. There were lots more, but this is all we could fit on the cute platter she had.