The Saturday 7

1. Oh man, guys. My sweet baby nephew is giving me terrible baby fever. I miss everything about the newborn phase . . . except for recovering from childbirth - and I had it easier than most people! But I miss those little tiny cries, the way their bodies crunch up like they think they're still in utero, I even miss those first few weeks of breastfeeding. I was only able to see Baby Nash twice this week. I'm going to have to work on that! But look at all these precious pictures I've been getting:

Look how tiny he is!

2. I'm not feeling very confident about reaching my book goal this year. I've only read 64 books for the year, and that includes one novella (which I don't usually count). I'm 9 books behind to reach my goal of 101. And at the rate I've been going, it's not looking too good. I did read one book this week: Murder at the Flamingo by Rachel McMillan. I've seen great things about it on Goodreads, but I really didn't like it! What a waste of time! Although I will say that I appreciated this paragraph:

3. Lena's anxiety has gotten out of control this week. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: You'd think I'd be more prepared for how to deal with childhood anxiety, when I experienced it so much myself! And yet, I'm completely at a loss. Bedtime has been the worst, of course. She continues to be terrified of the air conditioner so every night, she made her way into Lucy's room. She slept on the beanbag all night most of the week.

And then one night when it was especially windy, she kept waking up, crying, and waking up Levi. I finally got frustrated and told her just to come sleep downstairs. But we have a strict no-kids-in-bed policy, so I told her she'd have to sleep on the floor. She plopped right down on the hardwood floor next to my side of the bed and went to sleep. Sigh. The next night, I offered to bring her mattress in to Lucy's room. I intended to put it in the corner or even the closet, but Lena insisted on setting it right next to Lucy's bed. I think Lucy went through a similar phase a few years ago, so hopefully Lena will grow out of it soon. Until then, though, I don't know what to do about the sleeping arrangements. Bedtime has gone so much more smoothly since we separated the girls. Lena falls asleep so much faster without Lucy to keep her awake. I don't want to give that up.

4. I saw this on facebook this week and am so conflicted by it.

I really respect Jess Connell and her Biblical wisdom, and I know that the gospel is absolutely not about what we do for ourselves. But I still can't reconcile how the gospel extends into discipleship, spiritual maturity, and sanctification. I'm not saying that we need to DO to keep our salvation, but isn't DOING part of maturity? Isn't it fruit of a changed heart? If we don't strive for better stewardship of our finances or more efficient running of our home [I'm not going to touch that "look nicer for your husband" with a ten foot pole], I feel like we're prone to be complacent. If we're not supposed to encourage each other to "do better" do we just say, "It's ok. Jesus did it for you" about everything?

"I'm sick of keeping up my house."
"It's ok. Jesus did it for you."

"I don't want to deal with disciplining my kids anymore."
"It's ok. Jesus did it for you."

I'm treading dangerous ground here, so I'd best move on . . .

5. Homeschooling went well this week. I feel like we're getting in our groove. Levi's still watching too much TV and there's still a fair amount of resistance, but we're settling in and enjoying it for the most part. Although, that said, I did have a bit of a meltdown on Thursday. Sometimes I just get a little overwhelmed with the constancy of being mom/teacher/housekeeper/wife. I know Christian moms aren't supposed to want to send their kids off to school, but sometimes I miss the little bit of a breather I had while they were there. Thursday evening, as soon as Justin pulled in the driveway, I met him outside (with Lena and Levi clinging to my legs screaming, "Don't leave!"), told him about dinner and the chores the kids still needed to do, then got in my van and left. I took my time at Daily Deals, got fast food from somewhere other than McDonald's for once, then stopped at Libby's for a ten minute snuggle with Nash. I reminded myself as I was smelling his sweet head that I can't handle any more kids and I just need to get my baby fix from him and my other nieces.

6. After my rough day on Thursday, we were thankful to have a field trip planned for Friday to the apple orchard. We didn't actually learn anything, so don't tell the homeschool police, but we had fun with friends.

No trip to Schwallier's is complete without donuts!

7. A few more pictures:

"Scary monster" make-up with Presley. (And matching sweatshirts!)

The little sisters' scary makeup. (You should've seen my bathroom after they were done with it. Lol.)

Flannel for the first day of fall!

Childhood rite of passage.

Close call!