Listening...
....Rend Collective: We had a dance party/praise time here this afternoon with our kiddos. I LOVE this group and I had just mentioned how great they would be in concert, when David informed me that they are in NC right now. I think they are from N. Ireland or something, we rock out to them!
....Natalie Grant: Your Great Name. I put this on repeat and bask in his greatness and power.
....Lord of the Rings. David and I are listening to this together. We read aloud when not too tired, but the audio is awesome. I have read the book but we wanted to read it together. It will be a long haul. But it is so good.
Reading...
....I just read 'Stepping Heavenward'. I know this is a classic but I hadn't read it. It changed my life. One of the best books on pursing godliness. And it was a journal format. I think I may reread it every year.
....Different Children, Different Needs. Or something like that. I am just getting into this, it is pretty good so far, very interesting.
....Blown away by Psalm 57 this morning In the midst of 'disaster', in the midst of people that are like 'ravenous beasts', whose tongues are 'sharp swords' (mine sometimes), he cried out...he bowed down in distress, He cried out in praise and his heart was steadfast: "I will awaken the dawn" he said, with praise to his glorious God. God's faithfulness reaches to the skies, yes indeed!
Watching...
....nothing. We pretty much did not watch TV in the States and decided it was a good time to give it up. We never watched a ton anyway and it is not to say we won't go back, but for this season we are not missing it, and we don't have the time.
....when I was sick for almost 3 days, in bed for two, I did watch some more of Grey's Anatomy, continued from the airplane ride when I was first introduced to it. But this too, while it has some intriguing medical story lines that I love, has an overarching story theme that is one big unedifying soap opera, but that is almost any show these days, including Downtown Abby. Not against it really, just not going to have a consistent diet of it.
Eating....
....Speaking of diet. Not like 'lose weight' diet because we are not doing that, but what are we eating?....back to green smoothies, with added good oils that we hauled from the States: coconut oil, fish oil, extra-virgin olive oil. Yep, its all in there. Plus some protein powder. And of course the spinach and fruit. This is what David and I eat for lunch. It is a pretty high-calorie, high fat meal. But so good for you, and actually tasty, Tobin loves it, Bella likes it, and Sophia will endure it sometimes and says it is okay.
....lots of our local favorites: tonight was sour/hot fish, and noodles dipped in a lemon/cilantro/pepper sauce, stir fry veg, Green veg soup.
....One of our favorite restaurants closed while away, oh well.
....back to grilling once a week: David gave me a one minute tutorial and left for a meeting. I gave a new meaning to the word CHAR GRILL. Seriously, folks, the wings were on fire for a while. But half of them were really tasty. OOPS.
Exercise...
....After only working out or running a total of ten times in 3.5 months, I am trying to get back into my Kettlebell workouts. Man, I had go way back down in weight. David and I went to a KB trainer and it was SO helpful for form, etc. So the lighter weight has been great. My schedule is so crazy now that I am just figuring out how to fit this in. I have done it at 6 a.m. (but kids usually take turns interrupting my night) and at 7:30 p.m. still not sure.
....running. I have not started. I may not run for about six weeks, David wants me to do a test. Do a 4 mile run now. Do KBs for 6 weeks and run again, and see how it improves my cardiovascular endurance. I think I will take him up on it. I just have to work in that first run.
Doing...
....Homeschool planning, lots and lots of HS planning! We have slowly started core subjects. Hope to start CC and history and a few other things in the next week or two. I may post a daily schedule at some point.
....always trying to figure out Sophia's Chinese homework.
....training a new helper! (she has worked two days and so far so good, but takes a lot of training up front).
....keeping Gabrielle from crawling off into the sunset. Or at least out of the ants, we have a lot!
....biking and playing with kiddos. Bella got a new bike, Tobin got Bella's old bike (black and blue and very boy looking), they both love it. These were surprises for not crying at school. They LOVE their bikes. Soon Bella will go sans training wheels.
