Home: Daybook 2 at Night

Outside my window...
The night is hot and dark and singing with the crickets.

I'm listening to...
Stephen reading Andrew Henry's Meadow to the boys and girls while Marie Claire coos, squeals, and interjects at exciting points.
The hum of the ceiling fan and the air conditioning unit. The thermostat on the van read 107 today. We need both.

I am thinking...
I have a very odd dog. He has been jumping around begging to be fed since Stephen arrived home from work. Not odd. However, a bowl full of dog food has been waiting for him all day. Would he eat it off the chair? Nope. Would he eat it off the floor after the baby sampled and then scattered it? Absolutely not. Would he eat it after Stephen reminded him again of its existence? No way. He will only scarf down his dinner after Stephen has banged the bowl against the metal trash can or I have made him perform sits and downs for kibble. Strange dog.

I am thankful...
The love of Our Lord. A little story from today:
Loneliness and envy have a way of walking into my life, hand in hand. Just when I was feeling the full weight of their ugliness, my ipad's alarm rang. This gift surprised me because I had set it's clock for regular prayer breaks throughout the day last Spring. However, the app was terrible and stopped working months ago- no chimes, no bells, nothing for weeks and weeks. And then today, just when I was struggling to remember give thanks for the joy that others receive, to remember that loneliness must be vanquished with contentment in His Mercy, the chimes rang. Three O'clock Prayer. Here it is from the website that I downloaded months ago:

Dear Lord, remembering the hour when You experienced death
So that we might have Eternal Life,
May we appreciate in our hearts
the necessity of Your sacrifice for us
And with Your help, Your guidance, and Your grace,
May we be made worthy of it.

In the Kitchen...

I finally made a frittata worth eating. It was a tasty combination of heavy cream, egg, potatoes, spinach, and herbed goat cheese. Oh, it was perfect for a Friday dinner! Stephen's s remarked that I must add it to the rotation and he would do all the dishes! High praise, indeed.

I am wearing...

A black skirt, white cami, white t-shirt with lace sleeves, and bare feet. I was also wearing a nursing babe just a few moments ago but her Daddy whisked her off for bed.

I am creating...

Oh, I just love love love creating stacks of books and curriculum plans for the new school year. My head is so full of ideas and grand plans that I am utterly distracted from all those mundane tasks like cleaning and cooking. (Well, except for that tasty dinner tonight, but it was served ridiculously late.) I am even color coordinating all my stacks with little tiny post-it notes. Nerdy heaven.

I am reading...

Instructor's guide from Sonlight Core D and book lists from Serendipity. The two will weave themselves together beautifully, I hope.

Around the house...

My mom and I are swapping the girls' and boys' rooms this summer and completely repainting them. Stephen is adding moulding and painting all those corners waaay up high.

Living the Liturgy...

We celebrated the Assumption early with our homeschooling group. It was beautiful. However, Marie started wailing right in the middle of the Rosary and I had to reluctantly take her far off for a change. A truly kind mom reminded me later that mothering is our first vocation even when we would prefer to be lost in prayer.