I don't know why I expected this month with Jason gone to be less busy than my usual. Was there some perceived busy-ness that was somehow projected onto him? Well, bless his heart! He is off the hook. I am quite sure now that my busy-ness is definately my own doing. Last week we had 2 showings and a realtor caravan to see the house. These are good things. But I keep having this panic when someone calls to say they are coming. I rush around cleaning up and hiding things when I really have more than enough time. There really isn't that much left to clean or hide. It's pretty much all boxed up. In my more tragic moods, I feel like the house isn't ours already. Someone else must live in this mostly-empty echoing house. Where are all the toys and pictures? Where are my half-done craft projects? Where are the stacks (or piles) of laundry? How did all these dishes get cleaned and put away - surely no one has been cooking and eating in this kitchen. I guess that's the point to "staging" a house though. To make it seem like no one lives there yet warm enough to feel like someone could live there. Then in my brighter moods, I remember that it is still our house and may be for quite some time. We can still cook and eat in the kitchen. We can play in the yard. That's my kale in the garden ready to be picked and eaten. It ain't so bad. I think it's all just a little more punctuated by the fact that Jason is somewhere else. My heart is partly in Maryland already wanting to get settled there. Meanwhile the "normal" goes on here in Illinois.
We got to do school at our church one day last week because of a showing. It was neat to go somewhere different. We loaded up our crates of school stuff, grabbed the dog, and caged the cat and headed to the church. It worked quite well. I think I may file that away as a helpful thing to do sometimes - just pick it all up and have school in different surroundings.
On Thursday Barnes & Nobles hosted an American Girl Doll Party in honor of the new historical doll that was released. One lucky attendee would win the doll herself so of course we had to go. We even took a friend with us. None of us won the doll, but they did get to put together some pretty cool crafts. They made little paper boats, because the doll's character sails (she's from the War of 1812). Then they "raced" their skiffs across the table by blowing them. The winners got posters. Gwyn won her race and got one. Everyone else got prizes too though. The girls had a really good time.
My parents got to come up over the weekend. They really helped out a lot! Pete and I packed up the tool bench. (No simple task) We got down a lot of stuff out of the attic. We got on the roof and cut limbs off the tree that were touching the house. Pete fixed and painted a ceiling crack I had never even noticed before. We burned all the rest of the sticks in the yard. It's funny that no one got hurt in the previous gasoline induced fire, but in the safely done one I actually burned my eyelashes! Not completely off, but the lashes on that side are noticeably (at least by me) shorter than the other eye. I'm almost channeling a Clockwork Orange here. Anyway, even the girls helped with the cleaning up. I even caught Gwyn raking without anyone asking her to! We did just about everything that needed to be done. All I have left is to paint the front door.
The girls also enjoyed putting on a concert for the grandparents. Since they don't get to come up for recitals and such the girls wanted to give them one. Celee played her piano pieces. (She's donned a hipster hat just for you Daddy!) Gwyn played her violin. And Lyla played her "songs" on the piano as well. All her songs sound the same, but she is playing one note at a time and learning a little bit.
This past Monday most schools up here have the day off for a holiday that I think is pretty lame. I would much rather have Veteran's Day celebrated than the dude for whom we celebrated Monday. Anyway, some schools were out so we got to go to the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur with good friends! I love that place! Thank you Jen for going with us! They have the best pumpkin bars I've ever tasted at the bakery there. They have an amazing display of pumpkins and squash. Of course there are various farm animals to see and pet. There are lots of those "stick your head in a hole and take a picture" things. They have a corn maze that I've never done b/c you have to pay extra for it. (It's only 1 acre anyway and the one in Rantoul is 10 acres). There are sunflower, broom corn, soybean, and hay bale mazes that are in with the admission price. None of them are hard or big, but the kids seemed to enjoy it anyway. They have a 200 acre farm and the actual pumpkin patch is huge! No store-bought pumpkins brought in here and laid around! These are the real deal. There's even fair food and live music at lunch time. I just love it! I wouldn't necessarily go more than once a year, but we do go once a year and enjoy it every time.
Today we had a Girl Scout meeting. It's hard to think that I'll only have one more meeting with these girls! I've seen them grow so much! I sure will miss them - even though they are a lot of work and at times a source of much frustration. They were worth it! Afterwards I was blessed to go out to eat with some very special ladies from the Girl Scout Service Area Team. They took me out to one of my favorite restaurants here, Radio Maria's. All I have to say is if your girls are in Girl Scouts here, be sweet to these ladies, those that were there tonight or not! They care so much about your daughters and give so much of their time and energy for them! Thank you ladies for helping my daughters have a positive experience with other girls and in leadership building! Thank you also for the conversations tonight and the yummy Mahi Mahi! It lightened my spirits considerably after a hectic afternoon. There are some stresses that are melted away by enjoyable conversations with other adults!
I have neglected the Word this week. This is me calling myself out. How can I expect peace and discernment without consulting His Book? Joy comes in the morning and I will be more disciplined this week. So we'll continue to skype with Jason, even though the internet connection at his hotel sometimes makes him look like a Picasso version of himself. We'll do school. We'll do our lessons and gymnastics, and spend time with friends and have fun. Week one is down and I have 3 more to fill with good things.
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