July 28, 2010 5:18 p.m.
 
Outside my window... cloudy and dreary this afternoon, with distant rumbles of thunder.  This is fine with us, as it has produced a bit of much needed rain, and it has cooled the afternoon off to 77 degrees.  It was 97 degrees a couple of hours ago, so this is much better!

I am thinking and praying... for a dear friend and her family, as she fully expects her mom to pass into glory this week.  Praying for numerous mercies to be poured out on her and her family during these painful days.

I am thankful for...  my husband's good and steady job, and the fact that it still allows for a simple commute and for my husband to spend a lot of time with our family. 

I am wearing... Tan capri lounge pants, athletic shoes, and a light blue music camp T-shirt.

I am remembering... the day we moved into this house, six years ago this past Saturday, and how far we have come since then.  We were struck by a hurricane three weeks after moving here, and I am thankful there hasn't been a repeat of that experience in all this time.

I am going...  to a music store tonight to check out a digital piano.  We did some research and found a piano at a very low price.  We have been using a 12 year old keyboard for several years, and an upgrade would be great.  I want the children to get a fair amount of skill with the piano.  Not necessarily to be advanced, but at least to be able to read the music and know how to play the notes satisfactorily.  Their primary instrument is violin and we plan to keep it that way, but we feel that some knowledge of piano will serve them in their musical future, even if they should become violin teachers.

I am reading... nothing except the Bible in the morning,my copies of Practical Homeschooling magazine, and homeschool curriculum catalogs.  I go through this fever every summer, checking out other homeschooling material, but always returning with confidence to Calvert.

I am hoping and praying... for a miracle in a certain person's life.


On my mind... my friend who I mentioned at the top of this post, going through a very rough time now.

From the learning rooms...  Chips just finished his fifth grade test 100 today, and we dropped it in the mail.  Sweet Girl completed second grade lesson 111.  I am striving for a more efficient way of teaching the children together, and the past few days have seen us completing our lessons sooner than usual.  Yippeee!

Noticing that... the days are getting shorter than they were, because my dog barks for me to go out and walk him in the morning, but his "alarm clock" has been going off later now than it did a month ago!  So instead of 6 a.m., I am walking him at 6:30.  Another yippeeee!



From the kitchen... it is going to be Spicy Sloppy Joes and chips today.

Around the house... is enough clutter to truly give it that "lived in" appearance.  But that's because it is lived in!  Just within a 20 foot radius I see footwear, books all over the place, magazines, sheet music, cups, packaging, a small screwdriver set, a violin shoulder rest, a scrapbook, and a can of Lysol.  Gee whiz!

One of my favorite things... is listening to my children talk to each other about the books they're reading.  As they discuss the antics of the story characters, there are giggles aplenty.  It is so neat to see what joy good books give to them.  Sweet Girl has the best belly laughs when talking to her brother about what is going on in her books.  By the way, both of them are turned on to the Hardy Boys right now, and they have a lot of fun talking to each other about the characters they both "know".

From my picture journal......