MY HEARTS' HAVEN DAYBOOK 2008

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My Hearts' Haven Daybook

November 10, 2008

Sunday afternoon........and a day late, of course!

Outside My Window.......It was a partly sunny/partly cloudy day today......it is dark now........with just a few drops of rain..........it felt almost warm.....till the breeze with the chill got to you. Brrr. A November day for sure.

I am thinking........wow........this week was not as bad as I thought it was going to be! The next four weeks could be nutty, though..........since it will include two tech-weeks (that's the final week of dress rehearsals, etc, before a play is performed).......and a week with Gloria and family (that is NOT a stress........just more on our plate..............and we are SO VERY EXCITED to have them here for a whole week.......finally!).........plus regular every week requirements, too. Oh, and the holiday of Thanksgiving.......and Matthew's birthday.........EIGHTEEN YEARS!!!



I am thankful for.............great and amazing friends.........I know I always say it, but I am in such awe of the wonderful people God has ordained to be my friends. WOW. You know who you are....THANK YOU.



From the kitchen.........well, it was to be leftover lentil chili and salad......but when I added four more boys to the dinner mix, I decided to throw a Costco lasagne in the oven.............we will have salad and steamed veggies of some kind.............and apple cake the neighbor sent over.


I am wearing........a black knit skirt, a nice, short-sleeved knit shirt in dark blue.......and an old UNR sweatsirt.......and socks!



I am creating........a notebook........to organize and keep track of getting two kids into college and possibly a foreign exchange program.........lots of info to hang on to!

I am going...........this time I am really going to finally pick a color for painting my bathroom. Today is my deadline choice for paint. I will give Marty the paint chip tonight so he can go buy it this week........really! PS: I really did pick!

I am reading.........I FINALLY finished CS Lewis' The Four Loves! Yes!! And I read Fetal Heart Monitoring Principles & Practices....AND passed the test to receive my 18.5 CEUs............we finished The Magician's Nephew, also by Lewis, and we have 1.5 chapters into The Last Battle, by Lewis. I am having fun with voices for Shift and Puzzle........voices I have never used before.

And, a couple of pages of Saint Augustine's Confessions.........have you read all of it, Willa??? :)


I am also enjoying mater et magistra! It is the BEST issue ever, I think, in all the history of the magazine....through all its names. I cannot wait to share it!




I am hoping.............things in our country do not go as bad as they could. And, I DO HOPE......becuase I know God is in charge.....here is the verse circluating around these days.......I love it!





Michele brought it to our attention on her blog........and it was brought up in a local homeschool email list. ..........from the Douay-Rheims Bible, my favorite bible:

Proverbs 19:21

There are many thoughts in the heart of a man:

but the will of the Lord shall stand firm.

This is quite comforting........no matter what is happening on earth. :)





And as Shawna said in response to this verse: What a relief!



I am hearing......let's see.........last week I had to buy a couple of books from Amazon for the double baby shower......so, I threw in a CD......please don't laugh.......it was this. It was cheap (under $8 and the reviews were 100% glowing).....it is a bit more rock-pop than I expected.......but, I am listening to it to get used to it......and I am finding I do like it..........but I really wanted to hear Donny's ballad voice. :) ....there is one song that annoys me and I skip it usually. I do prefer Josh Groban's CD more.........I guess this time last year I was listening it, since I had just purchased it at Starbuck's on a trip we were taking. Now, I do not listen to Christmas music out of the season usually........but with a new CD, I like to get used to it. Plus, most of Josh Groban's stuff is not straight Christmas.

I am also hearing the girls singing....as usual......and the boys, all three of mine, plus three of Maria's.......and Patty's one.....are all in the garage building a stage for the upcoming play they are in.....only two weeks!!........so, I hear boys' voices and the saw and the drills. I am so proud of them.......they are building a whole stage.......with no adult help. Very cool.



I am wondering.......if Gloria & I can really do all of the things we would like to accomplish while she visits....... :)

Around the house.......gosh, is anyone tired of hearing: there is a little clutter...but we could clean up pretty fast if we need???? The bottom line is this: We LIVE in our house....EVERYDAY.......almost ALL DAY LONG. It LOOKS lived in....it IS lived in. So, I will try not to say anything about the general clutter anymore...unless it gets cleaned up and then it gets cluttered again. :) That is what happened last week....Marty came home and said: "Wow, it is really clean around here. Is your dad coming?" I had noticed it was really clean before his comment....but no one really remembers doing it. :) Plus.......I have NEVER cleaned my house for my dad in 23 years of marriage......EVER....he is not one of those people you try to "impress" :) Yet, marty always says that...it has always bugged me....and now, the kids are bugged by it, too......their response was funny. And, we mean "bugged" in a very mild way........we laugh it off.

Now Showing..........Bollywood/Hollywood, just for the girls and I. We think it is the similarities and looks to their Lebanese side of the family that makes us enjoy it well.......since we have spent two days watching an autistic little boy, there have been a couple of more movies than usual.......he has his favorites.......so we interspersed movies and serious play and outside time.........so, he and Malachy enjoyed The Incredibles, The Waterhorse, and The Bee Movie......we watched Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day. It is advertised as a "thriller".......the kids laugh at that. It is not very suspenseful......but, it is fun to watch Jimmy Stewart act...........sometimes Matthew's acting is so like him. We like to watch for similarities.

....we are also now into the second season of Monarch of the Glen....from Netflix....so far, the second season is more family friendly......but, still....it is not for the whole family till you preview it. It is hilarous at times.........in that Scottish sense of humor kind of way. We like the second season much better......the actors seem to have got their character studies figured out.



In the schoolroom.........

Greek Myths, French and Indian wars

Fractions, skip counting by twos, fives and tens, geometry, algebra, finding the area.....

Maddelyn finished reading Plato, Sarah still has A Struggle for a Continent by Marrin but finished Boston Jane....the third book......Book Two in The Box Car children set (Garrett)

Matthew is studying economics......chemistry via Wile's book.......Ancient Greek history......American Government........etc

The girls went to see The Secret Garden, the musical, this weekend thanks to Kathy......who treated in honor of Anne's birthday last month. They also took their friend Sierra, the oldest of Maria's children. They had a great time.

Piano-Voice-eeeeendless singing here :)

Maddelyn is on the violin.....has had six lessons, I think

Malachy is getting piano lessons from Anne now.............his repertoire is enlarging rapidly........Ode to Joy......London Bridges........Muffin Man.........Empty Chairs, Empty Tables, from Les Miserables.......and now Christmas songs: Silent Night........We Three Kings......and he is trying new pieces on his own. He is quite good for his age with his finger dexterity. I am grateful for free lessons in the home. :) He is so responsive to Anne...........and he is always at the piano.........even to the point of trying to kick others off when they practice............Maddelyn does not take to this very kindly, as you can imagine. :)

Stage & set building............There is a kind man who is lending most of the stuff for their set........the props. He has everything they could ever want.........

One of my favorite things.........a really yummy tri-tip. Yep, I am an admitted meat-eater. Not frequently.........but I DO love a good steak!

Signs of the seasons............leaves all over the ground, everywhere. A chill in the air.....a lovely fire in the woodstove.........leggings :)



A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...........

Monday craziness .......a bit different than usual........as there are no classes at the college for Veteran's Day, we only need to drive back and forth between home and one town, not TWO .......while kids rehearse, Garrett, Malachy and I will hang out with Louise & Miranda and share a dinner

Tuesday........lotsa math in the morning.......then we have our new homeschool group play in the afternoon and I teach childbirth classes at night

Wed.......usual crazy Wednesday, rehearsals, classes..........get more stuff to make stage happen

Thursday......I work in morning and early afternoon doing anteparetum interviews........this is whereby I meet pregnant moms due in about a month at our facility.....and get all of the nursing paperwork done ahead of time that I can.......this really helps the nurses out....and the patients love it.....rehearsals........classes

Friday....not sure yet.......two possiblities: the girls have Sierra over for sewing and a movie.......or, Louise & Miranda have just invited us to join them at a tea shop located north of us

Saturday......not sure....but we will need to get the chicken coop cleaned out while the weather is dry and not too cold......I just gave our twenty-plus chickens, including five roosters away to a man who really wants them. We will order new chickies in the early spring......and start over again.

Oh! Marty says we can afford for me to take Malachy to see The Nutcracker this Saturday, performed by the Eugene Ballet Company. I am SO very excited!

Sunday.......I have to work because they are desperate for a nurse........I will be first nurse, yet again......pray for me!!

Special prayer requests on my mind this week.....for a group of local friends in India to help a Christian mission......for our government.........for two people I know who have recently been told they are going on the transplant list (heart, a little boy and lungs, a homeschooling dad).......continued prayers for my friend whose son needs help with special needs......for the plays the kids are doing...........for special private intentions.

St. Gerard's List....................Elizabeth is home with her wee lass, Sarah Anne, born five weeks early........Deo gratias

Let's not forget .......Lissa, Alice, Bridget, Gloria (a different one!), Sherry, a local friend & Stacy, Shawna's sis, due in December, and all of my patients.......esp one who is pregnant after losing a baby to SIDS.

I am currently scrapbooking...........hmmmm, I have TALKED about scrapbooking. That's it. Louise and I are going to try to meet on Monday evenings to scrap, since both of our husbands are playing volleyball on that night. Maybe we will start right after Thanksgiving???

Here is picture thought I am sharing........

Taken at the Getty Villa in September, my five Greek gods pose for a foto.

Sarah-15.5

Garrett-11.5

Maddelyn-13.5

Malachy-6.9

Matthew-17.8

Belated blessings, on this Monday (NOT!),

Love,

chari