Daybook: January

Outside my window: snow.  Lots and lots of snow.  No running today.

In the kitchen: my friend Ruth’s 30-minute hamburger buns.  (Yeah, more bread.)  This will be my sole contribution to the dinner Sam is making.  Hooray.

I finished a full year of plans for 3-a-day meals.  (We would have eaten 3 meals a day whether I’d planned them monthly or not, but we certainly had better variety because of my planning.)  I haven’t felt the urge to go back to last January’s monthly plan, but I know it’s there for February if I want it.

On my reading table: Donald Westlake’s Don’t Ask.  He’s just the right speed for my brain right now, and he’s very, very funny.  We’re also listening to Dead End Norvelt.  I’m enjoying the book almost as much as I like listening to the children laughing at it.

On my mind: lots of numbers.  32 days till we move.  1 more night at the hospital.  (I’ll still take call there after the move, but I shouldn’t have to spend the night there every time.)  Two trucks, 6 men, and how many dollars?  A 4.5% rate unless we buy it down.  15 days until Jonah’s math class starts.

Enjoying: the paper-whites blooming on the table.  Fresh snow.  Watching SweetP play with her doll house.

In the school room:  We’re back in the swing of things, having finished our first semester on December 20.  That’s the first time in years that our first semester didn’t spread into January, and I find I’m relieved.  That gives us lots of wiggle room, and we should still finish by the end of May.

Regretting: whatever button I clicked that flooded our computer with malware.

Grateful for:

• Superantispyware (see above)
• Sam (see above)
• the couch we found on clearance.  I think I’m also grateful for the recliner Jonah chose and the slouchy couch Owen found (loved that clearance room!).  The girls didn’t quite find the right things for their rooms yet.  They’re contemplating hammocks and desks.
• the biography section at the library
• the pool
• these months with my parents

Praying for:  Dawn. Mandy. Amy.  Lori. Jerusha. Lisa.  For refugees and justice in South Sudan, Burma, and Syria.  For recovery in the Philippines and our friends ministering there.  Grace in the coming month.  Good weather on February 6.