September has felt like a blur! As we head into the last few days of the month I realize there are many things to record here. Life is busy for all four of us lately and this weekend we’ve all come to a halt for some SLOW. We’ve made no plans today, I have my cup of tea, and am ready to take a snapshot of what our days have been like.
First, I have to note we have some lovely fall weather today. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm again, but today we’re enjoying slippers, sweatshirts, and mugs of tea and hot chocolate.
At the end of the summer we made the leap to commit to one extra curricular for each of the kids during the school year. I knew this season was coming and here we are! Anna has loved ballet for years and wants to continue learning, and James is still experimenting, looking for what interests him. Kenny and I want the kids to try music lessons at some point. 5th and 6th grade is a great time to try an instrument so that band or choir can be options when they get into middle and high school. So, James decided he would try drum lessons and see how it goes. He’s learning that music requires quite a bit of practice time, that you can’t immediately play the drum set, you have to start with exercises on a drum pad. We’re so proud of the effort he’s putting in. And Anna is of course enjoying ballet every week.
My work for the church has been enjoyable these past few weeks. Because of the nature of the work – mostly communicating with individuals – I have a constant flow of emails and texts coming in. I can’t sit down and work for a solid two hours every day and then leave it until the next day. It’s an email here, a text there, on and off all day and evening. I don’t love that but I remind myself that it is temporary, for a season, and I’m so grateful to be available right now to help. It has definitely solidified the fact that I’m not built to be working outside the home. My focus needs to be on the family and the home and what everyone needs. I prefer it that way and don’t enjoy my focus and time being split. We all just operate better and smoothly when I’m home taking care of things. The bottom line – I’m SOOOO thankful for Kenny’s commitment to his work that enables me to stay home. What. A. Gift.
Speaking of Kenny’s work, he’s been working so hard for a long time. I think he’s worked more evenings in the last year than all of his years at Young Life. Lots of changes and lots of good work to do. His team has a huge deadline in a few weeks so he is swamped and constantly has work on his mind. He decided to still make time for his fall Young Life softball team and organized that a few months ago. They’ve played games once a week in September and have their last one this week. The kids and I have enjoyed attending some games and cheering them on. And, his hobby of working on G’pa’s truck continues. It’s relaxing work for Kenny after his day at the computer. He’s working hard to replace quite a few parts and get it running again before snow flies.
Tonight, my husband is taking me on a date to see the new Downton Abbey movie. I’ve been waiting for this! We both enjoyed watching the series when it first came out, and I re-watched it this summer in preparation to see the movie. Such a lovely, enjoyable show. I’m sure the movie won’t disappoint.
As we come to the close of the day, I’m so thankful for the Holy Spirit’s nudging to slow down. A few weeks ago I wrote SLOW on our calendar for today because I anticipated our family needing that after these busy weeks. We started the day with a big, hot breakfast and even lit candles to help us slow. We’ve rested, we’ve played – we’ve all done something that refreshes and builds us up to go again next week.
**Photos are from another slow afternoon playing catch and bubbles!