Whenever my brain is too full to even choose one topic to blog about, I go random. And I've heard several times that these are some of your favorite posts... so here goes.
We are sitting on the edge of winter. It has snowed once or twice, but we've only got an inch or so of snow to show for it. Then a wind storm this week blew the rest of it away, except for a small mound the kids assembled in an attempt to get started on the year's first snow fort.
I love this time of year.
I love spicy and pumpkin-y candles, scarves, boots, and mittens. I've been freezing cold this year, even in my own house heated to 70 degrees - so I've been bundling up in slippers and sweatshirts to stay cozy. I'd have to say, I even love that.
We are also one of those families that starts listening to Christmas music in October when the weather turns frigid and winter-like. It encourages me, it encourages us. We aren't trying to rush away the time from now and Christmas, we are trying to savor it. I have several Christmas CD's I love, but Pandora has been a great source of different kinds of Christmas music... my current favorite stations on Pandora are:
MercyMe Holiday
Vince Guaraldi Trio Holiday (A Charlie Brown Christmas)
Frank Sinatra Holiday
Classical Christmas Radio
Away in a Manger Radio
Josh Groban Holiday
I think it'd be different if we lived in a warm and sunny locale this time of year, but we don't... so bring on the best of winter right now. The current jar candle I'm burning is Pumpkin Cheesecake scented, and it was buy one get one free - score!
We're also looking forward to enjoying our favorite Charlie Brown specials that we own on DVD.
On the adoption front, things are moving forward! We had our adoption homestudy completed last Monday.... now we just wait for that to be written and delivered to our attorney so he can solidify a court date for us. The sooner the better! On Christmas Day, he will have been here with us for 6 months. That is the minimum he has to live in our home before the courts will finalize his adoption.
Levi will be 14 months old tomorrow, and he's been in our home just over 4 months now. He is just precious and is learning so much, here's what he's up to lately:
walking (walking really quickly to get away from a tickle monster)
signing "please", "all done", and "more" to communicate with us and learn good manners
pushing around his toy cars and trucks
sleeping like a champ! 13 hours at night, 3-4 hour nap
he and Gabi are best buds, and get along amazingly
jabbering more in his sweet, high-pitched voice
says ba-ba (bottle), uh-oh, and mama
I wish I had a new picture to show, but our camera is acting funky... we took a CUTE video last weekend of Gabi kissing him on the face and him cracking up over and over again! Some new baby pictures coming soon!
School is in full-swing, we've hit our stride again after the interruption of my last-minute trip out of state 2 weeks ago. We've had some good school days and are learning Godly-character traits, this week we're on Courageous. And we've started learning a new hymn for the month of November: Fanny's Crosby's He Hideth my Soul. We've found that searching YouTube for our favorite version with words on the screen works best, and we all enjoy it. Then we find other versions to keep things interesting.
We're also studying sea voyage, ships, and ocean science using some great resources from Winter Promise. And studying ancient history using The Story of the World, Vol. 1 CD's read by Jim Weiss. (Jim Weiss is our favorite, so we fit him in whenever we can!) We're also listening to the classic, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch on CD, also read by Jim Weiss. We just never tire of hearing his voice. (and all of the fun voices he does!)
We're on the last two chapters of Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder... which we all love. It was my favorite Little House book growing up.
There is lots more school related, but we're starting school ourselves in an hour, so I'd better get to scooting! Babies need to get up, be fed and dressed, and I need to get myself together as well.
I'll share on more bit of randomness before I sign off for now... and it's a good one!! My cousin Kelley suggested we watch BBC's series Lark Rise to Candleford, after reading that we like BBC miniseries.
We found Season 1 at Blockbuster, and once we finished those four disks over a couple of weeks... we were sunk! So we thought. Then I wandered into our public library (which I often do) and found that our little library has Seasons 1-4!! For free!!! So we've now barreled through Season 3... now mind you, we don't watch TV, but Lark Rise to Candleford is our kind of TV. The whole family loves it. There was one episode we skipped, and it was the Season 2, 1st Episode Christmas special which was about a ghost and it was really creepy. Not our thing. And the show is not usually like that AT ALL. There have been a few thematic elements that we've had the kids leave the room for, or certain episodes we don't have them watch... but overall it is fun, funny, and heartwarming.
"Flora Thompson's charming love letter to a vanished corner of rural England is brought to life in this heartwarming, critically acclaimed BBC adaptation, now available in a complete series collection.
Set in the late 19th century, this rich, funny and emotional series follows the relationship of two contrasting communities: Lark Rise, a small hamlet gently holding onto the past, and Candleford, a neighboring market town bustling into the future. When young Laura Timmins leaves Lark Rise for a job at the Candleford post office, she discovers an eye-opening, exciting new world.
In the face of scandals and feuds, she must leave her childhood behind and forge her own path to womanhood."
Check it out! Literally.
