Today....honestly

It is just about 9 pm and I'm about to head upstairs to read a book about Miriam, Moses' sister, from the Bible. It is biblical/historical fiction.  Basically the author, Lois T. Henderson, embellished on the biblical story of Miriam's life, the account of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.  She makes every effort to maintain biblical truth and historical accuracy, while giving the reader a more in depth look at what the Exodus would have been like for the people.  She has written several other stories like this, Ruth and Abigail, among others.  I have devoured each one.  It's amazing when the bible comes to life so to speak through her rich story telling.  Anyway, this wasn't what I was planning on writing about.

I just thought I would share a bit about our day, the good, the bad and the ugly.  Minus pictures.  I didn't take any today!

We started school about 9ish, and I read from our Bible story book, did our Bible memory work, then we sang the hymn we are learning, "All Creatures of our God and King" (so cool, did you know the words to this hymn are by St. Francis of Assisi?)  I've realized that if we go straight from Bible time to our "have to" school work, math, handwriting, grammar, that I struggle after that to do our unit study work of history, or whatever our focus is for that unit.  So I go straight from Bible time to our unit study now, which is of the Middle Ages.  Then we get on with our "have to" work, and it all gets done.  Much better!  So we read about Augustine of Hippo and then read a few chapters in Otto of the Silver Hand.  I am LOVING our study so far of the Middle Ages.  It is just absolutely fascinating.

My eldest and I worked on doing some chores throughout this time and the kitchen counters got deep cleaned and the floor got mopped!  This was great because it really needed it!  I'm slowly getting back in the hang of keeping up with house.  Being on partial bed-rest really got me out of some good housekeeping habits.

Benjamin pretty much fussed all during this morning school time, while I tried to feed him intermittently, to appease him.  I think he is unhappy because he is cutting teeth.  So while I love schooling the boys, it is such a challenge with a fussy baby in the back ground!  I love, love, love reading to them when Benjamin is napping! But I love my own much needed naps more, so that doesn't happen very often, now that I'm pregnant.

After we finished eating lunch, Isaac asked for some pickles.  I had just bought him some from Whole Foods and he was very excited because I normally don't buy pickles because they have food dyes in them, which seems silly to me.  So he opens the bottle and proceeds to spill/spew pickle brine ALL OVER the kitchen table, everything that was on the kitchen table, and the floor.  It smelled SO bad and I am already feeling nauseated so this just sent me over the edge.

Poor guy.  He totally didn't mean to but I turned into mean mom drill sergeant.  "YOU WILL CLEAN THIS UP.  NOW!  AND YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO RE-MOP THE FLOOR!!!  NOT ME!"  Oh, I'm so ashamed.  My heart is so grieved when I think of how I get so mean over such small things that my kids do.  A huge prayer request is that God would give me a gentle and quiet spirit, with my husband, and with my children.  How I do so want to be sweet, all the time.  I read in a book where adult children were writing about their parents, about a mother, who this child couldn't even remember his mother every raising her voice at him.  I am sad to think that my children don't have a mom like that.  I'm so temperamental, especially when I'm hungry.  And I battle with my insatiable appetite all day long.  And having to eat gluten free doesn't help things at all.  Oh, hear I am complaining.

Well, we got through lunch and I put poor, fussy little Benjamin to bed.  Then I finished up some things with the boys, cleaned out the play room closet (which had been bugging me for a LONG time), and then got Isaac set up with some independent school work to do while I napped.  By the time I laid down, it wasn't but 25 minutes or so and Benjamin began to wake up from his nap.

I begrudgingly got up, (which by the way, Micah and Andrew play down in the basement and listen to stories on CD while I rest in the afternoons), went and got Benjamin, and fed him a snack.  Then I got the boys up from the basement and had them play with Benjamin in the playroom for a little while so I could lay down for a few more minutes.

After about 45 minutes or so, I got up, brought Benjamin upstairs, and took a bath, (yes, I don't normally get my bath or shower until the afternoon so don't ever come over unannounced and UPS man beware!) and then couldn't finish getting ready because Benjamin was so fussy.  So I went downstairs at least clean and dressed and fed him yet again!

I'm having a hard time remembering what I did after that.  I know I made some rice to go in our chicken and rice soup, which was being cooked in the garage in the crock pot, since it was stinking up our whole house!  Then I got the boys all ready to go out for a walk, got Benjamin dressed and in shoes, and we headed out.  It started raining within about 5 minutes, so we had to go back in.  But the boys played Uno with Steve and I put our soup in bowls to cool.  While it cooled I read the boys the sweetest story about a teenage boy who found an abandoned baby raccoon and raised it as his pet.  The raccoon became so attached to him, they slept together.  This boy would even sleep with it outside in a sleeping bag when his parents wouldn't let him sleep with it indoors anymore because it was wrecking the house.  This was one of my thrift store treasures.  I just love the books I find at the thrift store that I wouldn't otherwise every have gotten!

We had dinner, read our Bible story, and then I taught the boys to play King's Corner, a game I used to play with my grandmother when I was a child.  I played two games with each boy and then it was time for bed.  I don't often take the time to play with the boys so it was very refreshing to do so tonight.  At dinner I told Isaac I was sorry for how I shouted at him and treated him with such anger, when he didn't even mean to spill the pickle juice every where.  Apologies are a way of life around here.  I'm so thankful for forgiveness.  I need a lot every day.

Goodnight!