December

 

Rose is eight years old. When I was eight, I wanted to have long hair. I also didn't like brushing my hair. Eventually, I had such a big tangle that I had to have my hair cut.

History does, in fact, repeat itself.  Rose likes longer hair. She also hates brushing her hair, and hates it when I brush her hair. So a few days ago I got frustrated and decided to trim it a bit to make it easier to keep in order. But Rose kept wiggling and squirming and fussing and by the time I was done, her hair was pretty much butchered.  Poor Rose!  Fortunately, Kevin has the magic touch. He sat her down and tidied it up and now it is super cute. And short.  

Sisters who love each other.

I think I have mentioned some neighbor dogs who come over and terrorize our cats on occasion. It is very annoying.  They are from someone we don't know so yeah, there isn't much to be done about it.  The dogs are afraid of people so we can't even spray them in the face with water or anything because as soon as we step outdoors they run for the hills.  Anyway, they scared our cats a few days ago and Cocoa, the new cat, climbed a tall tree.  I was nervous about her getting down but she did.

Here is Lydia enjoying the new kitty.  Obviously Lydia loves interesting hair.  I adore that color of red.

Cocoa has a cute little tail.

In other news, I don't have to go anywhere today which makes me very happy.  I have been running around like a nut thanks to orthodontia appointments and doctor appointments and going to the grocery store and Miriam working.  Our big girls, who are doing an admirable job of managing adulthood, have been battling sickness so on Monday, I brought four kids over and we did a whirlwind clean of their apartment.  They are on the third floor which is great for security and the view, but carrying trash downstairs requires some energy.  Both big girls have had coughs and viruses and aching bodies.  They have worked through most of that, but it is hard to keep up at home when feeling sick and going to work diligently.  Obviously they could sort it out themselves if needed, but we do have a Horde of children so yes, it was a blessing that we could run on over there and get a bunch done quickly.

Of course, compared to normal people, I am home a LOT.  But since I homeschool, I have many things that need to happen at home so yeah, when I am gone a lot, things get a little crazy.  I am also incredibly grateful for cars that get us where we want to go without fussing at us.

Last Saturday, I assisted at our church's food pantry. Twice a month we fill bags of food for anyone who needs them.  We have many people come by.  Certainly inflation is hitting some people very hard!  Many people have small children.  I am thankful that our church can help in this way.  I am thankful we have plenty of food for our own kids.

A new book of ours is being released tomorrow. It is very short (38,000 words) which makes it more a novella than a novel.  I don't know how it will be received. Usually Kevin does a bunch of marketing ahead of time but this time he has not done as much. Also, this time of year apparently a LOT of books are released.  So I am not expecting that it will be a huge success, but we will make some money and I hope it will be fun for people to read.

The three big kids still at home are finishing up their college classes this week.  Isaac continues to do very well toiling away on his college classes.  He has had finals this week, some at the local college and some online from home.  Keeping the house kind of quiet for when he is in the middle of a test is...challenging on occasion! Miriam and Joseph have fewer classes and they are not as difficult, and both are doing well.  Miriam is leaning towards engineering for a career, which I think is a good fit.  She is very artistic too and we talked about jobs that are more artistic, but she does enjoy science and math and has an inquiring mind.  So we will see how the next year work out. I am going to work diligently with her on math and chemistry this coming winter/spring.

Kevin and I are fairly enthusiastic college football fans which makes me chuckle because when I was a kid, I found football totally boring. But now I really like it.  We are University of Michigan fans and they are doing great this year, so we've been watching their games.  They are now ranked #2 in the nation, which is fun, and will be in the college football playoff.

I am proud to say I have been exercising more lately.  Kevin bought me some wireless headphones for my birthday so I can exercise on the elliptical, or punch our punching bag, or lift weights, or whatever, and watch stuff while I do it.  This is very helpful as I tend to focus a lot on discomfort while exercising unless thoroughly distracted.

One thing that is interesting about having a large family is that the kids bombard me with questions all the time. The older I get, the more I know I don't know.  I mean that.  The world is full of information and while I have a decent grasp on some stuff, and a shallow grasp on other stuff, I know I am not an expert on most things.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day and I talked to the kids about that, with the caveat that I don't know all the details of the war in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor, and how long it took for the tide to turn back toward the Allies...

I love that information is so readily available, but sometimes it is overwhelming.

It is, of course, the Christmas Season.  In the midst of all the busyness and craziness, I am remembering that the most important thing to ever happen was that my Lord was born as a baby to a virgin mother, that he grew up to preach and teach and heal, that he sacrificed himself and died on a cross to pay for my sins, that is my King and my Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to a fallen and broken world.