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Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday snippets...
We're just back from our very pleasant, uneventful spring break in north Texas. I will sum up 
its loveliness with a comment from Shelley, our 18-year old: "You know why I love spring break? No one judges you for taking multiple naps in one day." Yep.
its loveliness with a comment from Shelley, our 18-year old: "You know why I love spring break? No one judges you for taking multiple naps in one day." Yep.And while much of the country has succumbed to March Madness, we in San Antonio are still consumed with our NBA favorite sons. The Spurs have the best record in the NBA, far ahead of our nearest rivals, and they are one of only three teams in the country to have already clinched a spot in the playoffs. Of course, what happens in the playoffs is often very different than the season at large, but we're hopeful for a great end to the season. Yeah, we're kind of nutty around here, already counting down the weeks until the first pre-season NFL games, and, naturally, the Fighting Irish season!
Spring, of course, wouldn't be complete in this part of the country without bluebonnets, and as we drove south yesterday we were welcomed home by just a few 
whispers of our favorite flower, as well as by the many precociously cheerful Texas Redbuds, two of which were planted in our yard last fall and were definitely showing off when we arrived.
whispers of our favorite flower, as well as by the many precociously cheerful Texas Redbuds, two of which were planted in our yard last fall and were definitely showing off when we arrived.Before we left, we made the purchase that wouldn't wait: a new lawn tractor. Ten years had made ours a shadow of its former self, so the Papa used this as his permission to buy himself a bigger, badder John Deere. It will be delivered tomorrow, and I think he's outside right now watching for the Lowe's truck.
Well, that's a lot said about spring, seeing as how it's my second least favorite season, stealing my favorite winter away each year. Maybe it's easier to welcome spring this year since we had such a lovely, unseasonably cool and long winter! Can I hope for the same next year?
Nathan comes home this week! He'll arrive from Biloxi on Wednesday, having completed both AF basic training and tech school this year. We will be glad to have him back in the fold, even if he'll soon be looking for his own place :-)
You know you have a house full of young adults when the decibel level and the calorie consumption go up AFTER 11pm. I've learned to enjoy it rather than fighting it...just like every other season of life, it doesn't last long enough.
Halfway around the world, this season will always be remembered for the historic earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear "event." Hundreds of thousands are still homeless in bitter cold, and tens of thousands, maybe more, injured and bereaved. May God show mercy to the hurting and show us all ways to help...
I have no idea what to think about Libya and our involvement in yet another conflict. Seldom is something like this attempted without it escalating, and I ache for the men and women we may lose along with all we've lost in two other ongoing wars. I fear that, in the long run, there is nothing we can do to make a difference in Qaddafi's territory...and yet the people there are hurting and I long for something to make a difference. Earthquakes aren't the only things that ruin lives.
Plans are piling up for our next school year: co-ops, dual credit college classes, driver training. It will be John Caleb's senior year, and most of what he's taking will be done away from home...in this case, homeschooling means "home-directed" education and not necessarily the kind that's done at the kitchen table. Tim will be a sophomore next year, which means that we have only three years remaining in this homeschool journey. My eyes and ears are already open for ways I can participate more actively in the education of the grandkids!
Speaking of homeschooling, if you haven't already read this excellent post by Susan Wise Bauer, please click over and read it when you're through here. She's been one of the steadiest, most seasoned voices in the home education arena for years now, and she's worth hearing out.
In the next few weeks we will undertake the huge job of recarpeting and reflooring the entire second floor of the house. We had the downstairs done about four years ago and the upstairs has been begging for it ever since. I dread the whole process of moving everything, but it will certainly be an impetus to clean everything out!
During the trip this week, I "Kindled" (new verb, with a capital K) John Piper's Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God. I highly recommend it.
And I've taken up a new book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer. My interest in the power and the workings of the brain seems to know no end, and this is my latest fuel for that interest. When I took up the challenge to memorize the book of Philippians in 16 weeks, I had my doubts that a brain like mine, unaccustomed to memorization, could even do such a thing. I didn't embark on it as a mental challenge...I really wanted to plant the Word in my mind and heart to a greater extent than I had in years. But now that I've gotten halfway through the third chapter of the book and think that my goal might just be accomplished by Easter, I am even more interested in the theories involved in memory storage and active memorization.
Hope you're having a wonderful Lord's Day and a wonderful first day of spring!
Labels: Books, Homemaking, Homeschooling, News, Political Observation, Sundays, The Papa
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