I've decided that rather than refer to my week as "busy," I will simply say that I am living life to it's very fullest, and maximizing every spare moment. :) This week was actually quite fun as far as I'm concerned! (Be warned - the following paragraphs are quite lengthy, and more for my sake of having a record of things . . . you aren't under any obligation to read it. :)
Monday, I volunteered to drive Abby, Zeke, Sarah, and Rachel up to Sullivan for their band practice. I also did grocery shopping for Mum while there - and I hadn't realized how long it's been since I've gone grocery shopping! Mum gave me a very detailed and extensive list, which made things a lot easier, but it was still somewhat challenging. Pushing the carts was a good workout though . . . I think I bought enough groceries for several weeks. After I finished that, I stopped at McDonald's, bought a coffee, and sat and read. It was very relaxing. Then as soon as we got home, Zeke had a basketball game and I made dinner. The evening was spent babysitting at home, since Mum had a Board of Education meeting at church.
Tuesday, I babysat at First Christian Church in the morning then had my first class directly following. I'm really excited about this class (it's Comp II), and enjoyed our first dat, even though Ms. Kolb mostly just went over the syllabus. After that I came home and worked on dinner stuff, then picked up Isaac from the Centre. He and I spent the rest of the afternoon baking - both bread and several kinds of cookies. After dinner, Abby and I went to her basketball practice. When we got home, I spent the next hour or so folding my 5 loads of laundry. :)
Wednesday was a day of great fun! Mum dropped me off at the
Quakkelaars' house in the morning, and I got to hang out with them most of the day - we cleaned the basement, and I did Kindergarten with Zeko, made lunch, and helped Mrs. Q with some grocery shopping. What a family! It's not often you can go to someone's house to work, and come away feeling like
they were the ones who blessed
you! It is always such an encouragment to spend time with other families who are walking in and living out God's truths. Thanks Mrs. Q for having me over! The rest of the day was rather uneventful, so I caught up on some cleaning around the house.
The Q Kids - Maggie, Gabe, Eva and Alex, Zeko, Malachi
Thursday, Abby and I babysat for MOPS in the morning, and then I had class following that. In the afternoon, I did some more cleaning and think I even sneaked in a nap. We have been having car trouble, so Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all included car-pooling efforts at random times. :) That evening after dinner, I went to CCF and to the basketball game afterwards. Funny story: because of our car trouble, I wasn't sure if I'd have a car to drive to CCF. Turns out I did, but as I got ready to go, the key wasn't where I had left it! Our second key was gone with Dad, so we began searching for it. I asked Isaac if he had played with it, and he said no. Then I asked Libeth, and she nodded - only to lead me into the living room and ask to watch a movie. So after looking about 15 minutes, I came back and asked Isaac again if he was sure he hadn't seen the key that afternoon, or touched it. He says, "Oh, well I saw Libeth playing with it out on the deck." Sigh - needless to say, I was a little frustrated, but mostly thought it funny. I got to CCF about 20 minutes late, but (because they did music at the end) I didn't miss Mark playing the bass. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Timon, an old friend who is back in Rolla this semester.
Friday was . . . chaotic. I had a babysitting job from 8 am - noon. Then upon arrival home, the Q kids came over and hung out during Zeke's literature/reading class. That was awesome, once again - Maggie and Eva were both spectacular assistants in the kitchen, helping me make 7 loaves of bread! They also gave me a hand in cleaning my room, mostly by keeping me company. :) Another car-pooling trip, and then practices for Abby, Zeke, and the Varsity guys. (Zeke had a game that was canceled.) Abby and I also went and caught the Landmark Christian School volleyball games, and the first quarter of the basketball game. Our friends Clara McCluskey and Joshua Riefer are on those teams, and it was neat to see them play - they both did a great job! (
The Riefers' Blog, which may have photos from the evening) We got home from Abby's practice and said "hey it's only 9:30 and Friday night - let's do something!" That something ended up being watching an "All Creatures Great and Small" tv show, then doing my Pilates for an hour. . . .and laughing at Dad, who attempted to do it with me.
Saturday was again a whole lot of fun! I took Mum, Abby, and Zeke to the theatre in the morning for their rehearsal - they are in "Pirates of Penzance" put on by our dear friends the
Nisbetts and their group Fine Linen Drama. At the theatre, I picked up
Margaret Hamacher,
Ian Hamacher, Andrew Hamacher (not pictured),
and Anna, Nathanael, and Glory Nisbett!
We all came back to our house, and the kids played in the basement all morning long while I cleaned the whole upstairs! You'd think that 6 extra kids would add work, but they actually helped me complete my work by entertaining each other! The crazy kids decided that they wanted to jump on the trampoline after lunch, so I brushed the snow off, and Libeth, Glory, and I watched the other 6 jump - it looked like great fun, but I wasn't quite up to the cold! Then hot chocolate, cookies, and more play until I took them back to the theatre at 3. I wish our camera had been working, because there were some great photo opportunities missed that morning.
:( I'm sure you can imagine what fun we had though! Dad christened the morning "Becky's Bouncing Babysitting." Dad had picked up Abby for basketball games in Lebanon mid-way through the morning. . . it was a tournament, and our JH girls team ended up winning 3rd! Abby and Dad went to the English Country Line Dance in Salem upon arrival home, and I went to the theater and saw "Mall Cop" with my 4 dates - Zach and JP Winzer, Colin, and Mark. :) After the movie finished, we stood outside - in the cold - for about 15 minutes before we decided to come back to our place and have hot chocolate and cookies (you know, there isn't a lot of difference betwen highschool/college guys and little kids - they like being outside in the cold, and are always made happy by chocolate anything and cookies. lol). We hung out until everyone had to go home, and then Mum, Dad, and I spent the next hour talking about our schedule for this coming week.
We had church this morning, and I came home early with a bad headache - probably just a result of a long week and not a lot of sleep. :) My favorite part of this week was that I got to spend so much time with kids, both those in our family, and others. They are such fun, especially those we know within the home schooling community. Thanks to all the parents who let me hang out with their kids, and thanks to all you kids who are such a joy to be with! You have blessed me more than you can know.
Last Friday, at the CHESS skating party, several of us started a game of tag as we were skating around. I was not "it" and so was peacefully minding my own business, skating in circles, when I see Renee flying across the rink - she went across right in front of me and cannon-balled into Joel Nisbett. He was standing next to the wall, and before I knew it, he was hitting the wall, and both of them were on the ground. I can imagine that his bruises are at least comparable to hers. I'm not really sure what got into her. . .I mean, she was "it", so I guess that is some excuse. :) And I'm pretty sure she succeeded in her goal of transferring the title of "it" to him. . . And she definitely succeeded in providing entertainment to everyone who observed it.