Category: random

january freeze.

~ Laura N. ~ Leave a comment

I thought I would take the time to post a mini-update at the end of the month to share things I have been up to, thinking about, etc. My intention is to do this at the end of every month this year, but we know things don’t always go according to plan.

  • I finally finished my classes back in December!! Because of this, I feel like I have more time on my hands. I’m also getting the paperwork done to officially earn my certificates in this state and get my Rank I! Woo-hoo!
  • I have been going to the gym regularly, aside from a few missed day due to weather. It feels so good to be back into that routine. (And no, this wasn’t a ‘new year’s thing — we have been going since November.)
  • Jigsaw puzzles are my addiction. I think this happens every winter season but I’ve been especially addicted lately. I’ve already re-done all the ones I have (about five) and bought a few more.
  • The child is at an age now where he wants to do things independently, and can do it. This adds to that ‘feeling’ of having more time on my hands. Although I’m still running after him all day long, he is able to take care of some things for himself (cleaning up, throwing things in the garbage, etc.) and that helps so much. I’m also so proud of him for being the awesome kid he is.
  • Speaking of my kid, I am still marveling at how fast language acquisition is and how well he can string words together into multiple sentences. I love that he can answer questions, ask me for things, tell me things he sees, tell me things he hears (this helps me a lot!), etc. We still need to work on his signing, though.
  • There is a lot of sickness going around. I was planning to write that we’ve avoided it this month and are anxious for February to see if we continue to avoid it, but the little one woke up miserable with a fever today. He was tested and sure enough, has Flu A. At least he’s handling it really well!
  • Most of the area has been impacted by the crazy sub-zero temperatures this week. We’ve been keeping warm but also going out to get some ice cream from Dairy Queen!
  • Let’s talk about Sabbath. The Lord commands that we rest on the seventh day of the week. Some of us are really good at resting a lot, and some of us, not so much. This is a commandment we are breaking all the time! As much as I like to rest, I always have something that needs to be cleaned, taken care of, whatever. Lately, I’ve been more intentional about completing tasks during the week and on Saturdays, to leave Sundays open to whatever. Each Sunday this month has been a restful day with my family — playing, exploring, being together. We even found a few geocaches, which we haven’t done in awhile! These Sundays have been marvelous and precious. I pray this pattern continues. Thankful.

Things weighing on my heart:

  • Missing people. I don’t know whether it’s the age we live in with the increasing ‘connection’ in social media or what, but it appears as there are more and more people missing each day.
  • So many unkind words, locally & nationally, from all kinds of people. I am disappointed with friends, colleagues, acquaintances, society, etc. (This is also making me look at myself more critically. We must remove the log from our own eyes first.)
  • Pro-abortion laws. There is no justification for an abortion. I have prayed for the women who consider this decision. I will continue to pray for them.
  • “American Christianity.” False teachers of the Bible. These teachers and teaching are infiltrating our churches and our society more than we know. I see it in my own church too, and struggle with it constantly.

Cheers, friends.

spring thaw.

~ Laura N. ~ 2 Comments

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The ice of winter has finally thawed. I have thawed.

We seemingly skipped spring and have already arrived at summer.

I intended to write more in this post, for my sake (and yours, I suppose), about our days, but to sum it up, in no particular order: we got our roof replaced (there goes our tax return – whee!), we fixed and replaced our kitchen floor (with a wonderful visit from my in-laws!), we had a wonderful weekend visit from some dear friends from Illinois, we all got hit with mono in different forms (and way less severe than I remember mono being when we were kids), I am in desperate need of new hearing aids (remember these? they’re almost ten years old and yes, gave me the same problems for the last ten years) at about $3K each, I watched a few more Best Picture Winner movies (I have a goal of watching all the films that won the Academy Award and have nearly finished the list), I am finally finished with my spring courses and only have two more classes in the fall before receiving my official DHH teacher certificate, we got rid of our crazy rooster Bob, school is nearly done for the year, and we are gearing up for summer! As I already mentioned, summer apparently arrived already. Our family has already enjoyed several dinners on the back porch, BBQing, homemade lemonade, splashing in the water spicket (and kiddie pool), blowing dandelions, running around outside, etc. I’m so excited to explore more of the outdoors with the child — we will even attempt tent camping!

On a personal note regarding my faith, I realized a majority of books, studies, messages, etc. from people who call themselves Christians are not always theologically-sound and may have been entwined with false teachings. Due to this realization and my desire to know God as much as I can, I have been incredibly focused on studying the Word more in-depth than before. I set up a separate blog detailing my realization/journey and guidance for other women to discern for themselves, but won’t publish/share it until I feel ready. I’ll continue to write in both spaces.

books read since the last post:

Counter Culture by David Platt
Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World by Gary Chapman
The Life-Giving Home by Sally Clarkson
Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.

That’s all I feel like writing about today. Love to you all. 🙂