Category: Yearly Goals

September.  It’s the month I wish would last three times longer than it does.  Cooler temperatures mean we throw open the windows and welcome the breeze to twist  it’s way through the house, cooling all it comes in contact with.  Late summer.  A season all it’s own.  Can it really be the 12th?


It’s been a great week.  A busy week.  An exhausting week.  A learning week.  A happy week.
Total steps:  86.
Highlights:

1.  We’re making good progress on our after school homework habits.  It seems they have replaced our piano practices, though, and we’ve got to get back on schedule with those as well.

2.  I am working SO HARD during the school days to whip this house into shape and implement a regimented schedule for myself.  I’m giving myself only one morning each week to run errands or do anything outside the house.  The rest of the time we’re at home, spending time with the little ones and working.  It’s starting to pay off, and I’m excited about it.  I have SOOO much work to do around here!

3.  On Wednesday night I taught a short class on a simple program to help you create a food storage plan for your family.  I feel pleased about how it went.  It’s such a privilege to associate with so many women who are doing awesome things in their homes.

4.  As usual, we spent a lot of time at soccer practices and games.  It’s crazy, but really it’s also kind of nice.  It forces me to get outside at the most beautiful time of day,  those dinnertime hours when the sunlight comes slanting down before sunset, casting a golden glow on everything.   I love the way my children look in golden sunlight, the way the colors of soccer uniforms look more saturated.  I also love the way the world sounds at that time of day.  How the referee’s whistle sounds farther away than it really is, the way things are both hushed and more crisp in their sound.  I love the way the sounds of the game and the sounds of my little ones playing at my feet all combine in my ears to make their own sort of music.  It’s a beautiful sound, really, the sound of life being lived.  Standing on the edge, the link between the game and the toddlers, all these sounds and images combine to create a snapshot of this season in my life that fills my heart with satisfaction and gratitude.  I am so very blessed.

5.  Yesterday our yard was full of dust and dirt and noise, thanks to this.


6.  Last night my husband and I attended the Adult Session of Stake Conference, and this morning our whole family was blessed to attend a Regional Conference (via broadcast).  Both meetings were fabulous.  I was amazed to hear that this morning’s meeting was being offered to more than 150 stakes with a potential audience of over 1/2 million members.  Wow.  It made me wonder why I allow myself to sometimes feel lonely when I’m trying to live right.  My husband and I literally soaked in everything that was said.  I came home with a list of marching orders, but also with the great feeling that I have already started working on all of the specific things we were told.  I’m on the right track, and that is a great feeling.

7.  Tonight our family went for a walk together.  When we do this I usually find myself falling back to walk behind them all, observing the motion of the group as well as individuals.  Tonight I marveled a little that they all belong to me, that some of them are so big while others are so little, that we’re such a big group and yet so much smaller than we’ll be when they’re all big.  What a wild ride we’re in for!


8.  My little one is fighting a cold, and had a hard time sleeping this week.  We’ve had lots of snuggle time together.  I love that.  I don’t, however, love that I’ve caught her cold, although my compassion for her is now multiplied since I understand how she feels.  Today it seems to be messing with my ability to talk; my husband burst out laughing when I told him that I’d just been bit by a zucchini.  (I promise the word mosquito was what my brain thought, but somehow my mouth got the zucchini message.  We had a good laugh.)

On that note I’ll wish you a wonderful week and hope that I can fall asleep quickly for some much needed rest.
Take care!

Jennifer

September has arrived.  Sweet, juicy peaches from a local orchard are in my fridge while we await the local apple harvest.  It’s a wonderful time of year.  The days are still warm, but the evenings cool off beautifully.  Darkness settles over the world a little earlier, making bedtime easier.  I drove past a friend’s house a couple of days ago and was shocked to see a fall wreath and pumpkins outside her door.  What?!?  I’m not ready for the change of season yet. No, in my heart it’s not yet fall, only late summer.  I’m still in the full swing of creating habits and routines for the school year.  There’s no way I’m ready for pumpkins right now.  After all, I’ve still got geraniums on my front porch!


Here is my weekly report:  August finished up with a grand total of 382 steps, bringing the year to date count over 2200 steps in all.  Kind of cool!  This week’s total is 78 steps.

Highlights:

1.  We started a new read aloud book with the children.

2.  This week our family finished reading the Book of Mormon together.  Each time we finish it, we plan a family party.

3.  I spent a lot of time on the phone and was able to resolve a school situation for one of my students.  Relief!

4.  I stayed up WAY TOO LATE on Wednesday night in order to completely reorganize a portion of our food storage room.   It’s been on my list of things to do for months and I’m grateful I found a block of time to do it in.


5.  Ran into an old friend at a museum.  It was so great to unexpectedly spend some time with her.

6.  While at the same museum, I saw another friend from college who I haven’t seen in about 13 years.  It was really great to chat for a minute and learn about her family.  I marveled silently to myself at my good fortune in having associated with so many great people over the years.  I’ve been richly blessed.

7.  On Saturday my husband’s best friend from childhood came for lunch.  They live in southern California and drove to town for the BYU football game.   He brought his daughter and his brother with him.  It was really great to have them spend a bit of time with us, and we hope they come again soon (we’ve been begging them for years).  We’re honored that they put us on their short list of stops to make during the trip, and we’re glad that BYU won, too, making their trip a complete success.  I had the camera sitting out for a picture and just forgot to take one!

8.  We got the house clean and jobs done earlier than usual on Saturday.  Hooray!

9.  I think I’ve regained my love for cooking.  I’ve found some new recipes to try and am enjoying time spent in the kitchen once more.  It feels good.  (I mean, if I have to cook for 10 people several times a day, I might as well like it, right?)

10.  Tonight we enjoyed a few hours with my husband’s brother and his family.  My nephew was being ordained a Deacon and we were thrilled to attend.  We enjoyed visiting with them (and their new goats) and letting the cousins play together, something we should do much more often.




I think that wraps up my summary.  I’m grateful for Labor Day tomorrow and the chance it gives to get a few more things done before diving into what promises to be a particularly crazy week.   I’m hoping for an extra hour of sleep to cure the burning in my eyes and the headache I can’t seem to shake.  This is such a busy time, but it’s so much fun.  I love having the opportunity to live the life that is mine.  I’m so far from where I need to be, but grateful for the chance to learn and stretch.

I hope you’re loving your life, too.  Have an awesome week.

Hopeful Homemaker

Lazy summer days are a thing of the past.  August bows to September and the sun is setting sooner.  Unopened boxes of crayons have been broken in.  The back-to-school adjustment seems to make our family more receptive to new routines than at any other time of the year, so we’re cramming as many good things onto that list as we can handle.  Oh, there’s so much to do in so little time!  Do you feel the same way?

This week’s report:  101 steps.  Sheesh, for a number that high you’d think I’d have a clean house and happy kids!  (Nice try.)  Even so, it was a great week.

Highlights:

1.  I am working so hard (like everyone else) on healthy routines right now.  Yet in spite of all my efforts, my children are inclined to sleep in random places and at random times, and stay awake at night.  This little one has an excuse.  She’s teething.


2.  My oldest started 8th grade this week.  So far, so good.

3.  On Tuesday morning at 6:15 a.m. we went outside as a family and watched the moon set.  Gorgeous.  The air was cool and fresh, the moon so large and luminous.  A moment to remember.

4.  My husband and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary.  I love him so much.  He is my everything.

5.  I’m really focusing on shopping wisely, particularly at the grocery store.  I know that inflation and the cost of food is hitting all of us (and with all the worldwide problems with crops it’s going to get worse in the next few months).  Feeding a family of 10 is expensive!  This week my husband and I found a few great deals and came home with 320 pounds of food for only $160.00, an average of 50 cents per pound!  Some of it was food storage, but we also got some good stuff like shrimp, roast beef, cheese, etc.  I was so excited.

6.  We got two children through some kind of flu bug, and are hoping that no one else comes down with it.

7.  Our soccer seasons officially started, and in general we’re off to a good start.

8.  My four year old had quite a week.  Trust me, you don’t want more information than that.  My husband and I have both spent a lot of one on one time with him and we’re really hoping that it helps.

9.  This morning before we left for Church I was feeling particularly weary.  While the children got in the van, I knelt down and prayed.  I told Heavenly Father that I wasn’t feeling great and asked him to please help the children be calm today.  About half way through the meeting as we were experiencing all the usual issues plus some, I realized I’d said the wrong prayer.  I should have prayed for strength, because the calm never came.  I repented and we survived.  Later this afternoon as I was reading through some of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetry I came across this illustration by Jessie Wilcox Smith and thought “I know what that feels like!”  (except I’m afraid I don’t look nearly as patient).


10.  I registered my teenager for lacrosse.  Why do I have butterflies in my stomach over this one?

I could go on and on, but I’m falling asleep as I type.  I’ve been wondering this for years, but I’ll wonder it again:  Will there ever come a day in my life when I won’t measure how I feel in terms of degree of exhaustion?  I can handle this week’s exhaustion.  It’s a happy kind.

Have a great week!

Jennifer