Rules for Five Question Friday:  Copy and paste the following questions into a blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky and link up! 

1.  What is your favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal?
Being with everyone I love. And, umm, hello, turkey??!


2.  Are you a host or a guest for Thanksgiving this year
I was kind of both...we celebrated the actual meal with my dad's 47-strong extended family, and then desserts with the 16 of us here at my parents...and since I'm living here...that kind of makes me a partial host, right?


3.  When you think of one Thanksgiving tradition, what comes to mind?
Standing in the kitchen with my mom and giggling as we bake and cook and lose our minds for at least 24 hours.  

4.  You have two pieces of pie in front of you and you HAVE to eat one...do you choose pumpkin or pecan?
Pecan!!  No contest.

5. There was no #5 on my link...LOL

Outside my window...gloomy, but warm, with raindrops currently falling. 60 on November 23? wow.

I am thinking...that i'm grateful for the warmth...it could be -10.  it's not.

 
I am thankful for... Christmas music and the scent of "mystery pecan pie" candle floating through my house.

 
I am wearing...an olive green cardigan, white fitted tank, and comfy jeans (with thick, wool socks)

  
I am remembering...Thanksgivings past...and how different this year will be.

I am creating...a plan of attack for tomorrow's baking madness.

I am going...to enjoy every moment with my family on Thursday.

I am reading...The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

 
I am hoping...i find more motivation today at some point, and that i'm over my cold by the time everyone gets here.

 
On my mind...my babies' hearts.

From the learning rooms...lessons on long bones, the names of the bones of the skeleton, early Christianity and martyrdom, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in anticipation of the movie, division by two digit numbers, and massive review for Bryson, every increasing vocabulary lists, latin words.

Noticing that...my attitude completely determines what the day looks like.

 
From the kitchen...plans for two birthday cakes, a pecan pie, sweet potato casserole, a turkey for the day after Thanksgiving, and crazy dessert ideas for the youth group's Elegant Dessert Auction next weekend.

Around the house...there are 5 dogs in this house. the house always looks like there are 5 dogs. and the rest of it looks like we plunked ourselves down here and...all of our stuff blew up. my poor parents.

One of my favorite things...planning for holiday crafts with my kids and nieces and nephews. splurging on all of my favorite foods.

 
Praying for...peace.

A verse to share..."You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." Isaiah 26:3

 

A lyric or two... 

Trust You, Brandon Heath

I can't walk without watching where I'm going

I can't speak without knowing what to say

I can't love and have any hesitation

Cause I know that you don't work that way

I can't reach without something to offer

I can't come now I'm so ashamed

I can't hold out from you any longer

Cause I know that you don't work that way

I'm not going to fight you anymore

Not gonna try to lock the door

You took your life and gave me yours

There's no reason why

I shouldn't trust you with mine

It's never easy changing my direction

It's so unnatural to loosen up my grip

Are you growing weary of all my good intentions

Cause I know you don't work that way

I'm not going to fight you anymore

Not gonna try to lock the door

You took your life and gave me yours

There's no reason why

I shouldn't trust you with mine

Some days this weight upon my shoulder is my shame

I know I should know better cause you say

That I must now surrender

There's no other way

A few plans for the week...umm, it's Thanksgiving week, people. what do you think??  the kids spend Friday and Saturday with their dad...so...think of me if you would...those are hard days.

Something New

So how do people actually respond when they go through life-change like divorce??  

Well, from what I've watched in my limited experience with people who have divorced, some people do something that's just about them: get in great shape.  Diet.  Become vegetarian.  Some change their lives completely.  New job, new city, new house, new car.  Some get a tattoo.  Take a vacation.  Hole up in their bedroom for weeks or months and cry.  Party and drink irresponsibly.  Date people who are exactly the opposite of their former spouse.  Some even function just like normal with absolute stability until everyone is taken care of and transitioned and adjusted, then fall dramatically to pieces.  

Me? 

Yeah.  I'm learning to play chess.  I mean, seriously...I have all this time on my hands in the evenings when I'm not sleeping...why not do something useful?  And...since I have to teach the kids how to play this spring as part of our Rome to the Reformation curriculum, I should probably know something about strategy, right?  

I just need to find someone who will play in the middle of the night...

Simple Woman's Daybook, Nov. 16, 2010

FOR TODAY, November 16th, 2010

Outside my window...New York can't decide what season to be.  

I am thinking...about how sometimes...I'd like a vacation all by myself to someplace absolutely beautiful.

I am thankful for...the acceptance and love of amazing people.  

From the learning rooms...Paul's missionary trips, the skeleton, multiplication and division facts, order of operations, descriptive paragraphs, stories, stories, stories...

From the kitchen...A crockpot meal for mom and dad while we have Vegetable Beef Stew and Crusty Bread with my dear cousin's family...oh, and fresh chocolate chip cookies made by the kids and Ompy last night while Mom and I partied with a whole bunch of ladies over Pampered Chef catalog items.

I am wearing...An orange, v-neck, thin cotton cable-knit sweater, layered over a white tank with my favorite, way-too-big light wash jeans.  Oh, and fuschia ballet flats. :)

I am creating...A business plan.  Still.

I am reading...blogs. And impatiently awaiting a couple of new books from paperbackbookswap.com

I am praying...for grace. And peace.

I am hearing...Lainie's feet dancing in her bedroom above me, Bryson talking in my ear, Reasa clicking her story on the keyboard, a little Maroon 5 to start the day.

Around the house...the constant struggle to keep my parents' house from looking like we moved in and took over.  Sometimes we succeed...but not right now.

One of my favorite things...unconditional love. 

A few plans for the rest of the week...Horse lesson, play date, a cake tomorrow, gymnastics, youth group, a long overdue haircut, the girls first major youth group outing, a date night with Bryson, a laid-back weekend...

Holding On

Today I stood under an apple tree, blinded by the sunshine at my great-Aunt Jean's committal service.  Last Friday, while driving to visit her son, Mark, for his daughter's birthday, Jean's car swerved off the highway and into a tree, killing her instantly.  She was 58.  Two hours later, I drove past the line of Fire Trucks and emergency vehicles on the side of the road, noticing the car in the brush, but, of course, making no connection with the vehicle itself.  It wasn't until hours later that I realized that accident...was her accident.  She leaves behind a husband, 4 adult children, 5 grandbabies, one on the way, and a lifetime full of people whose lives she touched.  As a mother, a wife, an Aunt, a sister, a hair stylist, a friend...her influence was profound.  She lived her life well, and the completely packed church spoke to that fact.  The words spoken about her life, the message shared by her pastor, the readings and messages and songs from her children all related the hope that she had for her future and that she had given to so many others throughout her life.  An amazing woman.

I stood next to another amazing woman at the committal, though.  I stood next to my mother.  And as I listened to Katie, Aunt Jean's youngest, break down, literally sobbing for her Mommy as the pastor prayed, I wrapped my arms around my own Mommy...and wept.  How often have I stood next to her and giggled about something the kids were doing or baked a pie or cleaned up from a meal with not even the most remote thought of how priceless she is?  And, as Katie and Becky and Heather and Mark grieved...it struck me that I could just as easily be sitting where they were.  That without a moment's notice, she could be gone.  And there would be nothing I could do to change the way I've spent the time I've had with her...no opportunity to go back and spend more time, love more...love better.  So I stood there and I didn't let go.  This woman who has had the absolute most human influence in my life...I can't imagine letting her go.

Holding on.  I plan to do more of it.  Of the Mother I cherish, and of the children I can't imagine not watching grow up.

Simple Woman's Daybook, Tuesday, Nov. 9

Outside my window...gloomy and grey...but a little bit warmer than yesterday? (I think we're supposed to hit 48)

I am thinking...about how much shorter my to-do lists have been lately.

I am thankful for... the generosity, grace, and faithfulness of my family.

I am wearing...an orange, v-neck sweater and skinnyish jeans.

 
I am remembering... how simple things were 20 years ago. even though I thought they were SO complex.

I am creating...a business plan.  Sort of.

I am going... to learn to be independent again.

I am reading... blogs. at the moment, that's it.  currently waiting on new books.

I am hoping... that I don't catch the cold my children seem to be coming down with.

On my mind... my babies' hearts.

From the learning rooms...  diagrams of the eye, history of the early church, multiplying fractions, 2's and 3's times tables, writing descriptive paragraphs.

Noticing that... it's much easier to sit and think than to get up and get moving and accomplish anything productive.

From the kitchen... a meal plan I actually wrote down and am following, a collaboration of efforts from Mom and me...although she needs to stop with the delectable desserts or I might have to smack her.

Around the house... trying to keep our stuff from taking over...I'd like to think we could live here without it looking like we live here...but...hehe...there's 4 of us and a dog.  not so much going to happen.

One of my favorite things... routine. (agreed, K)

Praying for... wisdom. peace. strength.

A verse to share...Romans 12:2: "Do not conform to the patterns of this world. Instead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is: his good, pleasing, and perfect will."

A few plans for the week... Reasa's first horse lesson at her new barn today, Lainie's try-out at her potential new gym tomorrow night, a trip to the Y to get Bryson established with something, Lainie's last meet for Dynamats (and the first of her competitive season) in Carlisle on Sunday, regular school schedule, figuring out our routine here...

Blogging

I'm blogging.  I make no promises regarding this post...none at all.  Blogging has taken a back seat to the rest of my life over the past three months.  For those of you who have been chomping at the bit (HA) waiting for a post, I apologize.  Truly.  Today is about biting the bullet and getting it out there...no more putting it off.

In the past, I blogged to remember things I didn't want to forget.  To leave something behind to commemorate what had happened in our lives...primarily because typing happens so much more quickly than writing.  My journals went by the wayside when babies came along (and really before that, because life turned into teaching and living...as it should have.)...so...I blogged to keep track of what kept happening in life, despite my lack of time to physically write it down.  When things have gone crazy, I have slacked on my blog, but...I have always come back to it.  Blogging has been a respite...a place to find my sanity as I babbled through it.

Such has not been the case over the past three months.  I have six or seven 2- or 3-sentence-long posts in drafts that sat completely untouched in that amount of time.  That's all I could come up with.

See, even in the past when things have been tough, I have wanted to remember that we made it through them.  I have wanted to tell, even without detail, that we were making it.  That God had provided for our needs.  That through whatever garbage we struggled, we had struggled through.  And it's not that we're not making it through it right now...we are...it's just...so much.  More than I've wanted to share.  More than I've wanted to admit.  More than I've wanted to blog.  I'm really still there, to be honest, but...here I am.

In three to four months, the divorce will be finalized.  The past three months have brought us to that point.  The kids and I moved in with my parents while we make the transition, and we'll find our own place, hopefully within a few months.  We haven't worked out all the details...they're all a bit overwhelming at this point...but we're getting there.  That has become my very least favorite statement in the world over the past year or two:  "We'll get there."  If I never hear it or say it again...I'll be fine with that.

If you pray, please pray with me.  For peace and comfort for my children who didn't see this coming, and don't know what to do with it.  For wisdom and protection for Seth and me as we figure it out.

I want to blog more consistently...I should just caution you...it may not be fun reading.  It probably won't be fun writing.