Daybook: The Last One from France

This will probably be the last post before things go quiet around here for a little while, as our family moves and transitions to our new life and ministry in Africa.  I look forward to picking things back up again once we have internet up and running and are fairly settled on the other side.   A very joyous New Year to all of you.

Outside my Window:: Gray, cold, and wet...and yet warm enough that all our pretty snow melted away.  Michelle told me the other day she couldn't wait to go to Africa because that meant she wouldn't have to put her coat on everytime she went out.  Yes, I think we're ready to move back to the tropics.

Listening to::  My kids playing some imaginative game which involved Elizabeth, who just got up from her nap, "coming down from her little attic".   And Elizabeth crying because I dared to try and send her to the toilet when she got up.   And when (if?) it gets quiet enough - these lectures from the CiRCE Institute.  Fabulous Stuff.

Giving Thanks:: For God's sustaining grace.   For friends who offer to help before we even ask.   For kids who sit quietly and get multiple immunizations with very little drama.  For my mama, who sent me some Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte instant coffee mix to make up for having had a Pumpkin Spice Latte in Geneva WITHOUT ME.  And my step-dad, who special ordered a package of chocolate covered coffee beans from a coffee plantation we once visited in Australia.  For creative kids who are easily entertained.   For sweet little 4 year old who always reminds us that we need to "pray for the new day" in the morning and who asks me to pray for him when I tuck him in at night.

Pondering::  This fantastic article by Elizabeth Foss, that I keep returning to again and again.  And this little gem, taken from Charlotte Mason's Volume 5 Formation of Character:

"Actions do not speak louder than words to a young heart; he must feel it in your touch, see it in your eye, hear it in your tones, or you will never convince child or boy that you love him, though you labour day and night for his good and his pleasure. Perhaps this is the special lesson of Christmas-tide for parents. The Son came––for what else we need not inquire now––to reinstate men by compelling them to believe that they––the poorest shrinking and ashamed souls of them––that they live enfolded in infinite personal love, desiring with desire the response of love for love. And who, like the parent, can help forward this "wonderful redemption"? The boy who knows that his father and his mother love him with measureless patience in his faults, and love him out of them, is not slow to perceive, receive, and understand the dealings of the higher Love."
 

Of course I love my children.  But do they know that?   And more, what will they learn of the Love of the Father from me?


Living the Educational Life:: You can see our year-end wrap up right here.   Enjoying the time off for the holidays and transition, but also super excited about starting AO Year 1 when we get back into our school routine in February.  And really happy that I am once again A Teacher and no longer A Student. ;-)

What I Will Miss About France:: All the bakeries and cafés and chocolatiers everywhere you look.  So, so yummy.

What I Won't Miss About France:: All the bakeries and cafés and chocolatiers everywhere you look.  So, so bad for my waistline.

Finding Rhythm:: We've been having a special "snack and story" time since we stopped having regular school lessons.   This means tea or hot chocolate in the little mini mugs (sometimes even with whipped cream) and Christmas cookies, while I read something out loud.  Wondering how to keep this little tradition going when we get back to normal again.

Praying:: For patience and wisdom and grace as we transition.  For the strength to nurture well, even when I myself am feeling stretched and drained.

Planning the Week Ahead:: Packing.  I can no longer put it off.   And hanging out with my mama and my sister, who are coming on Saturday to help us in our packing and transitioning endeavor.

Capturing a Moment::