Friday!

M had a fantastic birthday! 

We took a before-school picture together. 

Her birthday treat was mini cans of Fanta. It was a saga. We went to grocery store #1, and they only had 2 packs. So we went to grocery store #2, and they didn't have any, so Husband convinced her to get a pack of root beer. But I could tell that she was disappointed by that, so we went to grocery store #3. They had mini cans of Fanta, but only the Halloween design. So I bought 3 more packs because, if you know 6th graders, you know that you can't send 10 cans in with Halloween designs and 20 without. 

Did it feel ridiculous? Yes. Absolutely. Will the other 2 packs of mini Fanta go to waste? No. It's my favorite pop too. 

Today is also my friend Marisa's birthday and we went out to lunch yesterday to celebrate. 

It's been good for my soul to see friends. 

After school, my best friend Bennett and M and I sat together for a bit. 

We had Papa Johns because JPII and living liturgically the easy way. 

Then it was time to open presents and girlypop was SPOILED. 

• A Minnie outfit for Gretchen the porch goose. 
• Acrylic Markers
• Sketchbooks
• A pair of shorts
• Jeans and a shirt 
• A sticker printer
• A lighted marquis board
• 4 Nee-Dohs
• A pancake Jellycat
• Minnie Ears
• Stitch Shoulder Pal
• EOS lip balms
• A purple wax seal kit with 3 stamps: M, panda and love. 
• A Disney Switch game
• Film for her camera
• A Barbie

Her friend got her a positive donut. 

And she got right to work printing stickers and coloring them with her new markers. 

It was a very good day. 

And now it's Friday. I will spend the morning running errands. The afternoon at a funeral for my friend's dad. And the evening at Trunk or Treat. A full day. A good day. 

Full of the daily bread I need. One day at a time. 

Thursday!

But not just any Thursday! But the Thursday on which we celebrate that sweet girl of mine! 12! 

Dear M, 

12. 12 seems really big to me. But I am so glad you're mine. 

Middle school set off with a bang. Skirts aren't your favorite, and they don't look as comfy as jumpers, but here we are. Shocking your father and me at conferences last week, you have the second most books read in your whole class. Let's keep that up, shall we? 

At your eye appointment, you officially graduated to the prescription they gave you last year to get over the mental block of reading. Nice for me to not have to buy new glasses. Nice for you to know they're actually working! Still surprising us all that you don't need glasses for distance. Genetics are WILD. And your beautiful blue eyes and freckles are among my favorite things in life... definitely top 10. 

Not surprisingly, middle school has given you the ability to show many teachers how positive you are. And it's been so fun to see you branch out and discover new friendships. Keep it up kid! And I am still so thrilled that boys are just nice friends and not in that boyfriend stage yet. In fact, the "relationships" that exist in your class drive you nuts. 

As much as you've grown, things definitely stayed the same: pandas, purple, jeeps, high-needs sleeper, donuts, strawberries. You are most assuredly still my drama llama who feels any amount of discomfort as pain. But you know what? The consistency makes me so happy. 

You still plan to go to UNI to become an art teacher, and I happily support that goal. Never lose sight of what you are capable of. You CAN do hard things. 

You share your day with JPII so well. He is and always has interceded on your behalf, and hopefully he hears our prayer to find Dad a job. I know that's your biggest birthday wish. My guess is a lot will stay the same between this year and next, but that will hopefully be a change for the better. 

My funny, sweet, kind, and upbeat girlypop, I love you so much! 

Happy Birthday! 

Mom

Wednesday!

Good news!

As of last night... the Halloween costumes are DONE! 

This probably doesn't thrill you the way it does me. But I am glad that they're done and that we have a few days to spare. Trunk-Or-Treat is on Friday. And that's obviously the debut of the costumes. 

You may be wondering what they're going to be... stay tuned. Here are some hints! 

M has continued her "food" costume trend. (See Nerds Gummy Cluster, Nothing Bundt Cake, Mac and Cheese, Grapes) The thing about dressing as food... is it's just fun. It's not scary. It's recognizable. It's an excellent option. 

C has continued his trend of dressing as his special interests. (See Walrus. Penguin. Vector.) Luckily for all of us, this year, even if he's not completely recognizable... the costume still makes sense. 

Happy Wednesday! 

Tuesday!

Well... look here, what happened yesterday as I waited for my kids at youth choir. 

(Some people would go home. Other people who are cheap, because, hello, gas prices and one income currently, bring a book and their sunglasses and just read for an hour and a half. Don't worry, I finished my book, then used the Armor All wipes I keep in my car to clean the front half of the car with the rest of the 20 minutes I had left.)

But look what God put out just for me. 

And I googled later; scientifically speaking, this isn't all that unusual near sunset when there are ice crystals way high up in the atmosphere. But too bad science. It was obviously a burning bush moment. Just God reminding me he keeps his promises and He is good. 

You can go ahead and disagree, but I'll disagree with you right back! 

On this bright and sunny Tuesday, let me tell you a few things making me happy. 

#1 My Social Algorithm has me figured out. Look at this shirt they dropped for me. 

#2 Brand New Socks. 

Is there anything as satisfying as putting on a brand new pair of socks? Not really. It's one of those small luxuries; if I ever won the lottery, I would buy like, a year's worth of new socks. 

For my birthday, my parents got me a few pairs of Bombas, and it's just now sock season. So I got to put on brand new socks this morning. I didn't even know that they had fish on them until I put them on. 

It's actually so annoying that Bombas are so much better than literally any other sock I have ever worn, including the Target knockoff Bombas with little hexagons too. 

The material, the cush, the fact that they hold up wash after wash. They are a superior sock. And thankfully, they give a pair of socks away when you purchase one. Hopefully that's actually true. It does make the price easier to bear. 

#3 The fact that 3 different people sent this to me... makes me unspeakably happy. 

Also... that is the Wilderness Lodge at Disney in the background, which is one of my favorite resorts, so... that also makes me happy.

So happy Tuesday, everyone. 

Monday!

October is really flying by. I figured life might slow down but alas, there really is no such thing. 

I would love to tell you that I am patiently waiting for what is next. But that's a lie. God and I have had some words. SOME WORDS. I promise you (and Him) that I trust this plan is ultimately for His good and our good. 

It's the waiting on the plan that I am deeply frustrated by. Why has it been two full months of dashed hopes and disappointments? 

The reality is that I will never really know. It's just what we get when we trust. 

Husband and C went to another String Art class for me while I had to work an event. This was the class I was excited about. I think the thumbs-down, boo ghost is so funny!! 

Every year, one of our October traditions is watching Curious George Boofest. And in one of the songs, it says, "Gimme some of that pie." Well, Friday was a day off from school due to conferences, so I had time to bake a pie. 

I went thematic with it. 

It was a very tasty pie, and I believe it enhanced the viewing. 

And truly, I don't know that I have much more to add to the blog today. But it feels weird to not check in, you know? 

An Overdue Recap

Sorry friends for disappearing! Wish I was telling you that we have an excellent update for the job situation over here, but we are still just waiting for God's plan to unfold and trusting Him to give us our daily bread. He hasn't failed yet. 

But I have just been really busy! So going way back to when things started getting busy: there was a pet blessing for the Feast of St. Francis. 

We got the school pictures of the children (and me) back. My favorite thing is that for the first time ever they made the parish staff a composite picture of us like we are a class. And it makes me laug so much!

Pictures of the children were ordered and are already in the hallway of my parents house in their little frames. My mom has us 3 kids in the stairwell. And small C said once "Well where is MY frame?" So my mom added a frame to the top of the stairs. And that's good because I don't order the actual physical prints. 

The new 100 years of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade book was released and no one was more excited than this kid. 

This kid got a Halloween Mini Magnatiles Set and she was very happy with that. Both of them got things for their favorite holiday!

It was also a school fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A. We have moved to a "no-spending" anything extra mode. But we also wanted to support the school and so we took the kids and got each kid a kid's meal so they could feel like they took part. M won a cow from spinning the wheel. 

We had a Confirmation Retreat. 

And then all 46 of them got confirmed. 

And I am tired. I worked 3 weeks of my work hours in the last 2 weeks! So I do have time coming to me. Unfortunately, there's still more to do and I am not sure when precisely I will be taking that time. 

Last night Husband and I went to String Art Bat class. 

The kids hung out at the library while we were in there. And then we went to Culver's since we have some free scoop tickets. When it's 90 in October... it just seems right. 

The other EXCITING news is that all of his hard work paid off and C made the statewide OPUS choir. We are so proud of him!! He will be in a choir that day with 179 other boys in Iowa who love to sing, and I am so thrilled for him. 

M took the news particularly hard. She also auditioned. Never mind that C has spent the last 3 years auditioning and not making it. She will still get a day out of school for it. 

So we keep on keeping on over here.

Happy October Friday!

Oh hey there! It's Friday! In October! 

This week has been busy. But this week has also been insanely filled with joy. 

Here are some things that made me smile this week: 

Really, how blessed am I that this next one is true? 

Here is the one and only picture I have taken this week. And it was to show M her hair before she left. 

It has rained so, so much this week. Like Wednesday and Thursday, we got officially 3.57" of rain. Roads were closed because of flooding. It was crazy. I had to turn around on a road that closed dramatically and quickly. Today, thank goodness, the deluge has finally stopped, and it's cooler out today, so it feels like fall. 

M kicked a bunch of mushrooms out of the lawn at work. That is one of those truly satisfying nature experiences. Kicking mushrooms. Crunching a crispy leaf. 

My weekend mostly involves me working, but that's okay. We are taking things one day at a time and know that God's plans for us are great indeed! 

Happy October weekend, everyone!