Seven Quick Takes

Or, to be more accurate...
7 Things I Meant to Blog About But Never Got Around to....

The Olympics. 
 We loved them!  We always do, and were so sad when they extinguished the flame at the Sochi Games last Sunday.  Now we're going through Olympics withdrawal.  No morning medal update while we eat our cereal and drink our coffee, no sound of raucus sporting events echoing through the house from the constantly tuned-in television set, no evening round-up of the best events with everyone parked on the living room couch.  No more checking in on the status of Bob Costas' poor eyes.

And what may be the saddest thing of all: we have to take down our Olympic wall!

Eventually, anyway.  But it'll be hard to find something as interactive as this display was!  Im trying to think of something Lenten that would be as meaningful and important in our day-to-day lives as this was.  Heaven knows, in the real scheme of things, it would be far more meaningful!  But I haven't come up with anything  yet.  I'm scrambling~!

National Second Hand Shopping Week.
This is the week we officially get to celebrate thrift stores.  We love thrift shopping!  If it weren't for thrift stores...  well, I just don't even like to think about it!  Not only have we filled our bookshelves and outfitted our family almost exclusively with second-hand shopping all these years, but we've been very glad to have thrift stores as a resource for recycling things that we don't want to move around with us -- in lo, these many moves of late.  It's nice that thrift shopping has lost its lower-class reputation (to a large extent) since the "green" generation approves of it nowadays, but it wouldn't matter to us, anyway.  You should see the outfits we girls have been able to pull together for insanely inexpensive prices!  Here are a few, exhibited Minnie Pearl style, with the price tag hanging off the side:

This blue ruffle blouse, we got for less than $4, and the white

 skirt is a 4 time hand-me-down, starting with Anna's

oldest sister, Michelle.  And when Michelle got it,

 it was a thrift store find, undoubtedly less than $5.

Cathy in a pink flowered skirt, blouse and 

sweater, all thrift store finds -- an outfit 

that, in total, didn't cost us more than

 ten dollars.  

Uncle William, with nephew, Gavin

They look like brothers, don't they?  Just five years difference in age, Gavin and William are  buddies in a way very different from most uncles and nephews. It's a beautiful thing -- and I think God's way of giving the "babies" of  big families the sharing and growing opportunities that the oldest children get automatically by having younger siblings.  Such a blessing!  And speaking of blessings...

Our New Granddaughter, Evelyn Elizabeth 

Have I mentioned recently that she's on her way?  She's not here yet, but is due any minute! We can't wait to meet her!  And can't wait to see her big brother, Gavin, getting to know her!  Such a beautiful season of life that our oldest son, Paul, and his wife, dear Nicole, are living right now!  Seems like we were just at this stage, ourselves!  I loved it, hard as it was, those first few years and wouldn't have missed it all for the world.  But I also wouldn't do it again!  I'm happy to be a Grandmother now!

This was taken last month at Paul's promotion to captain.  Such a wonderful little family.  We kinda like these guys!

 "Fast Food" Art Class
I put a new cartoon art tutorial up on the white board every week.  Some I find on the internet and copy, some I make up to go with a theme of the week.  It's been a big hit.  The children look forward to seeing what the new picture is going to be, and everybody takes a crack (or in this case, a "quack") at being the best at reproducing it.  I don't force it as a "lesson," they do it all on their own because it's fun, but it's excellent practice in following directions, understanding ordinals, and it can't be beat for honing hand-eye expertise.  And it's fun Hit and Run education -- a little like fast food, but with some good "nutrition" going on, too!  (I love being a home school mom!)

Here's one from a couple weeks ago:

 These two are William's.
He really liked this duck.  Gabe
never drew one, so William made up for it. Here you see two versions of party hat, I think.

The duck on the left is Cathy's gangster duck; and on the right is Anna's scholarly duck. I do not endorse the addition of the cigarette (it wasn't in my accessories ideas!), but I couldn't help but laugh at it, anyway...

Lent

You'd think its being such a late Lenten season that I'd be more ready for it!  I guess I never am.  It always sneaks up on me!   This year's no different. I don't have a clue yet what I'm going to give up.  I already gave up coffee, as of Sexagesima, and that's going fine.  (No, really it is.  I haven't killed anyone.  Yet.)  I thought I'd do more spiritual reading as usual, but that's actually a pleasure I enjoy during Lent. We always give up sweets and television, so that's a no-brainer; already decided.

And, I know that to some that all may sound like a lot already, but it's really not.  I'm already mostly Paleo and broke my sugar addiction some time ago, and tv is not very hard to give up.  So, Catholic guilt kicking in,  I've been scratching my head trying to come up with something else to sacrifice that would hurt more, you know?  And I was coming up empty until I saw the following ideas on Pintrest:

 Several good possibilities here!

But then there's this...

Moving again? No way! 
Or, well, maybe...
Yeah, I know, right?  What are we, crazy?  I think so sometimes!  We've only been here in Las Vegas since November, and have a year's lease.  We fully expected to be here for at least a year.  That really was the plan.  But, you know what God does when we mention our plans, right?

This is what's going on, though: Dan applied for a position some time ago with a company in Spokane, a position it turned out he was not really qualified for.  But the folks at the firm liked Dan, liked his resume and experience, and apparently filed him in the backs of their minds.  When a position came up last week that suited Dan better, they remembered him and called. So far it looks like they're not even considering any other candidates.

 So...  It's kinda possible...  that all the unpacking that we've just finished and all the pictures that we just got hung...  are all going back in the boxes.  We won't know for a little while. But it could be as soon as next week, with a start date as soon as three weeks away.  You can imagine my mind is racing.  So much to do!  So much to find out!  So many things we need to figure out and plan for!  Agh!

 But I do believe it may be a whisper of the Holy Ghost in my ear saying, "Cool your jets, kids."  So..  (deep breath) I'm trying not to stress and obsess.  Trying not to borrow trouble from the future.  I'm giving up worrying for Lent. (Haha!)  Or trying, anyway!   I'll tell you how it goes.  If we really do end up moving -- well, that's one great big sacrifice. My Lent will be made!

The sun perhaps setting on our short stay in Nevada.  And it's never even warmed up enough for us to swim in our  pool.  Go figure that! But, who knows?  We'll see...

Click here to find an amazing number of links to the lovely blogs of 7 Quick Takes Friday, hosted by Jennifer at Conversion Diaries.