Outside my window….the world wears her garments of drab browns and greens gone to sleep.  The brilliant colors of fall have all gone away and the pristine white of winter has yet to spread her blanket over my world.  I like to think of this time as the time in between.  In the Church calendar we are entering the season of Advent.  The earth is in advent as well.  Adventus, from the latin which means “coming.” For those of you who don’t believe perhaps the coming is winter and snows but for those of us who believe it is the coming of Christ that we await. How appropriate that the earth waits as well.

I am thinking….about changes.  Along with waiting for the coming of Christ in Christmas there is a palpable feeling of imminence in the atmosphere.  Changes are coming in more than the seasons. I sense that there are major changes coming in the fabric of life around here.  Time will tell and perhaps prayers will be answered in discernable ways.

I am thankful for…Melissa having made the coffee this morning.  I need the jolt today!!!!  Seriously, I am thankful for yesterday and the chance to spend the whole day in front of my Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.  I am thankful for the opportunity to immerse myself in the beauty of vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament last night.  What an appropriate way to spend the Feast of Christ the King.

From the kitchen…I haven’t a clue but I am sure that will change with time.  Something truly delicious and nutritious will come forth at the appointed time and all will be wowed by my culinary talents once again.

I am wearing….still in jammies but I plan on wearing a navy A-line skirt with a black sweater.  (I call it my bruise look)

I am creating….a whole lot of Christmas cheer in my laboratory sewing room. 

I am going…to make a trip to the grocery so that we can be well provisioned for Thanksgiving and beyond!  There isn’t a scrap of flour in this house which is second only to there being no toilet paper.  These two happenings are, in the immortal words of our treasure Kay, “911 happenings!”

I am reading…still working on Robert Barron’s Catholicism  This is not a read this is a feast.

I am hoping…to be able to stretch the money from the sale of the Blazer to infinity and beyond!

I am hearing…the sweet tones of Chris Botti’s horn playing My One and Only Love on the CD player, Melissa starting the laundry with a lot of help from Layn, the fan on the furnace running in the basement, and the sighing of the wind in the junipers outside my window.

Around the house…the place looks lived in, loved in and generally like a home.  I like it!!!

One of my favorite things…hearing Layn calling “mama, mama.” as he runs up to Melissa with his latest discovery.

A few plans for the rest of the week….intense thanks giving as opposed to the daily giving of thanks that goes on around here.  Today I will shop.  Tomorrow I will do laundry and clean this house.  Wednesday will be a day for baking and cooking and generally spent in culinary preparation.  Thursday we go to Mass and celebrate the mystery of supreme thanksgiving and then come home and give our own profound and personal thanks for the countless and undeserved blessings that God has showered on this family in the past year.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you…

She gets lovelier with every passing day.

There comes a time in every vehicle’s life when its life comes to an end. In our world that end is either a violent one (deer meets red minivan) or a quiet passing into the next world as is the case of the Chevy Blazer.

One morning my husband woke up to go to work but unfortunately the Blazer didn’t.  In spite of Ian’s best efforts it couldn’t be revived.

Fortunately it had a donor card in the glove box all filled out and signed so we donated the battery to the backhoe (the one that pushed it onto the trailer).  The gas tank will be stored in the shop for future donation and the tires will fit Jason’s Jeep.

After she underwent the indignity of being scavenged she was hauled off to the scrap yard to bring a pretty price (I hope). 

Our friend’s baby was born late yesterday afternoon. Case John is healthy and mom is over the moon with happiness.

Setting the stage and marching in with great ceremony.

Duly proud graduates in formation.

Receiving a medal of commendation for being highest in the medical portion of the training.

Receiving the prized haberdashery.

Congratulations from the man who showed him the way.

a moment to be captured, saved and savored.

My son, the newly minted green beret and my father, the man who shaped and tended my heart until he handed it over to my husband.  I love you both and am so very proud of you.

Outside my window…it is cloudy but relatively warm.  We spent the last week in the southland where temps were in the upper 60′s to mid 70′s.  While we were gone my daughter gleefully announced that we had gotten a couple of inches of snow.  I was very happy to miss that event!  Today it is 56 out with a light breeze blowing; a good day to catch up on laundry, paperwork, and settle back into the home routine.

I am thinking…of all the people who have never had the privilege of experiencing a truly moving military ceremony.  The graduation that we attended last Wed. was not only patriotic but was full of tradition and significance.  I am afraid that there is a large portion of our population who are impoverished because they either scorn tradition, have no connection to it, or worst of all, have no sense of the importance of passing traditions on to the next generation.

I am thankful for…the family that my father struggled and strove to build.  Tradition and faith are the bywords in our family.  Not only did I and all of siblings bring with us traditions from growing up but we have all built new ones in our own homes and have striven to pass those down to the next generation.  I have spent time in the homes of several of my siblings and the overriding feeling in all their homes is one of being home; home in the place that I grew up and in the family that I know and love.  There has never been a sense of strangeness.

From the kitchen…I was thinking about putting on a pot of beef stew and coaxing Melissa into making a batch of her delicious biscuits.

I am wearing…jeans and a brown tee

I am creating…another group to carry the torch of family into the years to come and the continuing battle for salvation.

I am going…nowhere today.  I would like to stay home today.

I am reading….Robert Barron’s Catholicism.  The book is one that I highly recommend to both Catholics who wish to better understand their church and to non-Catholics to give them a true and accurate idea of what Catholics believe and where we come from.  This is one of those books I classify as one to be savored not just read.

I am hoping because hope is the cornerstone of my faith after faith and charity.

I am hearing…the 82nd Airborne Chorus singing Blue Moon on the CD player. 

Around the house…the place was cleaned to a fair thee well while I was gone.  It fairly squeeks! Laundry is going, Layn is napping, Ian, Doug, and MK are at work and Matthew is outside cleaning out my car.  Melissa is in the other room doing Melissa stuff.  When I get done here I have some paperwork to finish up and then I intend to finish the quilt that is on the machine and then put another one on.

One of my favorite things…laughter! Full out, unrestrained, side-splitting belly laughter.  The kind of laughter that is unselfconscious.  I got a satisfying earful on Friday night and it was so refreshing.

A few plans for the rest of the week…back into the normal routine. 

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

Heart rending, heart stopping rows of American flags in front of the traveling wall.  Each flag topped with a tag that bears the name of a loved on who has given all and gone to his reward.  Being there was an experience that defies description.  Looking at the photo gives me the same shivers.

Outside my window…it is dark and probably cold.  We have been having the temps fall into the 20′s at night lately and there is no reason to believe that it isn’t that cold out there now.  This whole daylight savings time thing is playing havoc with my internal chronometer.  I was in bed by 7:30 last night and now I cannot sleep anymore.

I am thinking…about all that is left to do before we leave for the airport.  A few last minute things to put in the suitcases, a stop at the bank and pharmacy and then we will be on our way.

I am thankful for…the Big Dude for providing this trip and the chance to see him graduate.  He has worked hard and endured a lot to get to this place.

From the kitchen…I will be noticeable absent.  I have hung up my apron for the next week.

I am wearing…pink pj pants and a white tee shirt.  Too early to get in the shower and risk waking Layn.

I am creating…memories to last to the end of my days.

I am going…on a great adventure with my beloved husband.  We are traveling to North Carolina to see our son graduate.

I am reading…Catholicism by Robert Barron

I am hoping…that the family that is left behind has no hitches or snags while we are gone.

I am hearing…the sounds of a home in slumber.  Layn called out in his sleep awhile ago but otherwise the whole place is sleeping.

Around the house….there is an air of expectancy. Or maybe that is just me. It always feels this way in the early morning before the sun comes up and the family starts rising to start their day.

One of my favorite things…trying new recipes.  I made an awsome chicken and spinach recipe yesterday that was a big hit.

A few plans for the rest of the week…spend some quality time in the company of the Big Dude, see my brothers and their families and visit with my dad and mom.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you…

Layn says thank you Uncle Adam for the new toy.  He really likes this one.

Savannah just laying around being cute.

he lived them everyday.

Outside my window…it is sunny and a bit nippy out there.  We are looking forward to temps in the mid-50′s this week with lows dipping down into the 30′s.  Typical fall weather.  The cold air seems to enhance the brilliance of the colors out there.  The snow storm that came up the coast didn’t touch us in the least.  Nary a flake fell in this neck of the woods.  Praise God we were spared!

I am thinking…about lists.  Lists of things to do now that this semester has ended and I am free to resume my role as wife and mother full time.  I look forward to cooking, cleaning, and sewing.  Not to say that those activities took a hiatus during my semester but they were severly truncated.  I have been up since shortly after 6 and already the whole downstairs is clean and there are two loads of laundry done.  Layn and I decided to take a coffee break while Melissa finishes cleaning the downstairs bathroom. (wasn’t on my list this morning)

I am thankful for…a husband who knows that I do my best and is willing to accept a B or even a C in one of my courses.

From the kitchen…there are going to be great things happening.  German Potato Salad  is going to be made from the potatoes that were cooked last night.  I think I will bread and fry the boneless, skinless chicken that I got out yesterday and make a spinach salad to go with everything.  Doug cooked and peeled a pumpkin for me yesterday so I plan on making pumpkin bread and muffins.  That is good for a start.

I am wearing…blue sweats and a blue tee shirt. 

I am creating…satisfaction.

I am going…to work my tail off and then take an hour to go to the pool this afternoon.

I am hoping…that all this manic activity will induce sleep tonight.

I am hearing…Layn going down for his first nap.  Both washers and dryers are going and the coffee pot is putting forth its second offering of black energy.

One of my favorite things…the good time that we had last night.  Doug, MK, and I bowled with the Wii last night.  Lots of laughing and smiling and general good time being had by all.  Afterward we said the rosary together then watched an episode of NCIS and went to bed.  I love family togetherness.

Around the house…we have everything whipped into shape and now it is time to settle into the routine for the rest of the day.  Matthew has to go help the neighbor put away her summer furniture, MK is doing barn chores, and all is peaceful.  There is a definite air of contentment around here.

A few plans for the rest of the week…the usual chores and errands plus I have to get Doug and I ready for our trip to NC.  One week from today we fly off to watch Ryan graduate.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you…

He’s got that devilish grin going on.

Go ahead and overdose on some.

your loving daughter.