These days...

One- My phone recently died and the consequences have been far reaching. Since moving to this farm, we do not have access to high-speed internet. As a result I rely on my phone for most things I do online; email, grocery orders, and Christmas shopping. I also read scriptures through an app, read for fun on a few other apps, take a lot of photos on my phone, and am frequently texting to coordinate the schedules of seven people. Boo for the dead phone!! It has been rough.
Most of all I'm mourning my lost photos. No high speed internet means I seldom back my phone up via iCloud. Lots of memories from this fall are gone. So I'm going to learn and improve because of this. I hesitate to post on social media frequently. It sometimes feels like bragging, more than sharing, so I avoid it. Right now, this blog seems a little more comfortable to me, and for the moment I am going to try to utilize it more as a family history tool.

Two- We live in a beautiful place. This season of life, in which I am daily surrounded by family and nature, is a huge personal blessing for me. I am able to discuss the changing natural seasons with my children everyday. The geese that have taken up residence in our front yard, let us know its definitely the end of autumn. Right now, my youngest boys are hoping the pond will freeze over enough for iceskating (what we do is really more like boot-sliding) again this year. Last week it was cold enough for a layer of ice to stretch almost across the entire surface of water, and Gabe and I had such a special time on our afternoon walk. He excitedly tested the icy film with sticks, rocks, sand, leaves and the toe of his shoe, before we decided it was not ready for us to slide across it.

Three- This time of year dictates that I spend more time indoors, so I am looking around at our home a little bit more critically. That has been good and bad. Good because as I take inventory of our ongoing remodeling efforts, I have recognized all of our progress. When we moved, I hoped to knock out the needed projects during our first summer here. As we investigated, we decided to put our initial efforts into a few unseen things. We added more floor support in the basement, more insulation in the crawl spaces, and a new generator and propane tank. Those were really important to us, but did nothing to update the interior appearance of the house. Then last fall we had a lightning strike and very small fire in our living room. So that meant replacing the gas insert fireplace and the wall surrounding it went from the very bottom of my to-do list to the tip top. That project took some time, but I do love the resulting built-in cabinets and seats. Finally we were on to tackling the much needed bathroom and carpet updates for the upstairs. with budget in mind, we try to be very involved in these projects. Jason and I share project manager status, and do some of the work ourselves. We also feel its beneficial to involve our children. If nothing else, they'll understand the building process so well someday. We have lived without carpet on our stairs for more than half a year, and while its funny when company visits, we have actually gotten used to it. We have also lived with carpenters and plumbers in our home a fair bit. That is not in my comfort zone and has definitely been a stretch for me. The upstairs has been repainted, has new solid doors, updated bathrooms, and will soon have new carpet. Whew! It will be so nice to have that completed!
It may be a little bit bad to take inventory of our remodel as well. The list is not complete. There are still a few major boxes to be ticked off. I am just imagining that if I disliked having a carpenter in the front hall for two weeks, I will really dislike hosting a work crew in the master bathroom. Having the interior projects completed is my only motivation for moving forward with that particular project.

Four- I have a few new callings at church. I am now teaching the 9 and 10 year olds each Sunday, which includes Margaret, and also leading Activity Days every other week, which also includes Margaret. This has been such a fun change of pace, as I was the secretary for our primary group for several years. I will miss seeing all of the children each week and leading sharing time each month, but I am loving my new assignments and the chance they provide to get to know these children one-on-one. They are smart and eager learners and we have sure been having some good discussions each Sunday as we are finishing their study of the Old Testament this year. We made a "Testimony List" to post in our classroom of all the people they've learned about this year in the Old Testament that have had strong testimonies, those with beliefs that were strong enough for them to do some amazing things that we are still learning from thousands of years later. Yay for the examples of Adam, Joshua, Ruth, Esther, Job, Isaiah, Daniel, and so many others. Our list in class in pretty long. And as I teach these bright children, I realize that they have shining and growing testimonies too. One boy is the only person in his immediate family that comes to church and he chose to be baptized this past year. How amazing is he?  These children each face challenges at home and school each week and they are so great to come on Sunday to learn and grow together. It is wonderful when we are able to make a connection between the challenges faced by believers in the Old Testament and the very real challenges these youth are working to overcome each day. I am so looking forward to our new curriculum for studying the New Testament next year.

What I am doing these days to stay connected with my...

11 year old.
-Letting her decorate our home for the different seasons and holidays. To be honest, I think its difficult  to transfer our decorations, many of which were purchased specifically for particular spots in our last home, from one place to another.  Miss M is able to see a box full of decorations that I am pretty much done with, and find a new way of displaying them. I think that's a great skill to have and am grateful she's developing it and sharing the results with all of us.  Even more impressive is the fact that she can also enlist the participation of her little brothers, and get them to actually help with her projects. She is great at that and I know that patience and energy is part of who she is. It is why she is always a key part of our family projects and dynamics.

14 year old.
-Yes. We have a 14-year-old again.  This is a great age for A.  We continue to connect over music.  He is constantly challenging himself to learn a new piece and I am continually amazed at his dedication and genuine interest level.  Sometimes during the crazy evening hour that includes homework, dinner prep, and a tired preschooler he plays loudly and we all groan- but A needs to feel his music. Loudly and quickly! It does something for him. He and I listen to recordings of his newly selected pieces together and pick out our favorite parts and discuss why they are interesting: dynamics, grace notes, parts that are played with hands crossing over. He has surpassed my playing ability by a giant leap this past year and my favorite Clementi's Sonatinas are no longer that impressive to him. I am applauding him for going for it. He really is. Perhaps my musical interest was developed just enough to help him find this drive. It is a blessing for us both!

17 year old.
-The junior year of high school is no joke.  T has really dedicated himself anew to performing to his ability level this year.  He has so much potential and it is gratifying when he puts forth the effort to realize it. I am trying to spend more time with him discussing his day-to-day high school life. That was easy to do right up until the whirlwind of high school set in. These days I must make a much bigger effort to find time to talk- really talk- to him. He is taking some challenging classes and has at least one teacher who has put forth the effort to be impactful in his life. T recently told me he couldn't stop smiling all day after this insightful instructor took the time to personally compliment him and told him how impressed he was.  Thank You!!! When other adults go out of their way to sincerely compliment a developing teen, it makes a HUGE difference.  That is one way youth recognize their own talents. Sometimes they need others to point out their growth, abilities, and skill-sets in order to realize them. So I am truly grateful for teachers that challenge, expect growth, and then recognize it.