A Peek Into My Day

Outside my window...
the morning sun, peeking up over the horizon

I am thinking...
I would like our government to have a more 'hands off' approach to governing .

I am thankful for...
a God that set the regular rhythms of life -
just knowing that Spring is on it's way makes gray winter days more bearable.

From the school rooms...
something new - lapbooks!
studying the formation of our country, the War for Independence

From the kitchen...
breakfast burritos
leftover homemade pizza for lunch
chicken enchiladas for supper

I am wearing...
my warm, fuzzy, blue robe

I am creating...
crocheted potholders, quilt squares for a farm-themed quilt

I am going...
to baseball practice after I tackle 'Big Laundry Monday' and schoolwork

I am reading...
Deuteronomy
The Duggars: 20 and Counting

I am hoping...
Winter is making its exit, and Spring is making its entrance

I am hearing...
the rustlings of my children beginning to wake to a new day, a new week

Around the house...
the beginnings of Spring Cleaning

One of my favorite things...
fresh green sprouts of Spring flowers, bravely poking through the cold, barren ground after a long winter

A few plans for the rest of the week:
baseball games, continuing spring cleaning, big monthly shopping trip, big monthly cooking day


A big thank you to Peggy over at 'The Simple Woman's Day Book' for the inspiration of the blog post - you can visit her at:

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

I Just Don't Get It

I am not really expecting any answers here, but I definitely have questions.

All our married life, we have balanced our checkbook, lived within our means. We have always paid our bills. Including all our medical bills. Even during times when we have had no health care coverage.

Now, our government, who cannot balance their budget, who continually spends more than they have, who doesn't pay all their bills, who every year is going deeper into debt, is going to tell us what we need? They are telling us they are better equipped to decide what's best for our family?

It is a puzzlement.

My Favorite Kitchen Utensil

A meat fork.

In this day and age, with all the high-tech gadgets and automatic watch-a-ma-callits, this simple, unglamorous utensil is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It's just the right length, just the right weight, fits comfortably in my hand. But it is more than a fork.

One night recently, I stood at the stove, meat fork in my hand, poised and ready to stab into the hamsteak I was cooking up for supper. I stopped for a moment, a flood of memories washed over me.

I saw my mother standing in her kitchen, the same exact fork poised in her hand, ready to stab into her juicy pot roast. I still cannot bake a pot roast as scrumptious as Mom's. Oh, and her mouth-watering pork steaks! She would brown them in the skillet, then slow cook them in bbq sauce in a low oven. This handy tool was also used to check the boiled potatoes in preparation for potato salad. Over the years I have received many compliments on my potato salad - learned how to make it by watching Mom all those years ago.

I can see, smell, taste these kitchen memories as though they happened yesterday, not 40 years ago. Amazing how all these thoughts came and went in an instant. No one around me had any idea so much was going on in my tired brain in that split second.

I'm thankful for a God that gives such a wonderful gift - the opportunity, the ability to revisit people, events, places that are special to us. Mom has been gone 6 years now, I miss her very much, especially in those split second moments that appear ordinary and mundane on the surface, but down deep are really moments that are so much more.

'Don't sweat the big stuff' as they say, because it's the little things that make the biggest impact. At times I knock myself out, trying to make big memories for my children - and all they will remember will be a meat fork?!? Guess maybe I should re-evaluate my priorities each new day the Lord gives me.