Fighting March Madness Day #1

Welcome to my new series... Fighting March Madness... similar to the Days of Thankfulness in November this me finding the joy amid the madness.  (I will catch up on the first 11 days as I go)

Winter in the northeast means bitter cold! I mean nose hair freezing, eyeball sticking together, wind-whipping COLD!  It also means shoveling, snowplowing, snow tires, layers of clothing, with tanks and tanks of oil plus fires burning plus slippers plus blankets in hopes of feeling slightly warm.  It also means most activities and programs "take-time" off because nobody wants to go out in the cold.  And if you do happen to participate in an activity always plan that about a third of the days just won't happen due to weather and illness.

So as you can see this social bug stay-at-home mom DOES NOT LIKE winter months.

My least favorite it March... why do you say?  Well... January is hard no doubt but we have a few birthdays in January so that helps with getting out and something to do.  February is short and has Valentine's Day and winter break.

March?

Nada.. Nothing...B.O.R.I.N.G!!!!

Ok here is where confession time comes in... my heart is not in a very good spot right now....see this right here from Philippians 2:14-15:

""Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world

That's not me... not even close!

So... what do I do?  Move? Turn up the heat? Go on a long vacation?  Well....

No, No, wait... not what I was thinking...back on task...

None of those choices are available to me right now and instead of stewing over why not... I choose to be thankful right here instead... I choose to lead my heart...

So here it is... Reason #1 why winter isn't so bad...

Ice skating

True... winter is cold but it is cold enough to walk on water!  My kiddos got ice skates for Christmas and have enjoyed ice skating this year.  Most of the country never gets cold enough to use these but we do every year and my kiddos really like it.  It is good exercise, free to us and right in our back yard.

So today I am thankful for fun things to do with freezing water.

Monday's Daybook

For Today:
Outside my window... dirty melting snow

Praising God... our small group gathering

In prayer for... wisdom about the future

I am thinking... how long to run bible study before the summer chaos hits

I am thankful... for our new-to-us minivan

In the kitchen... toast crumbs all over the counter and recycling that needs to be emptied

I am wearing... jean, pink shirt, pink sweater

I am creating... lesson plans.... always lesson plans

I am going... to go grocery shopping

I am wondering... why my father-in-law pulled in our driveway and pulled out of our driveway without stopping

I am reading... Shelter of God's Promises by Sheila Walsh

I am hoping... the oil truck comes sooner than later

I am learning... about waiting 

Around the house... kids in the tubs, kids playing Wii, and clothes to be put away

I am pondering... which study will be best for the ladies

A favorite quote for today...  "the christian faith is not a cruise ship where all your needs are met, it is a battleship, fighting the good fight!"

One of my favorite things... bacon 

A few plans: the menu for the Pearl and Noble Gentleman this weekend!

A peek into my day...  

Monday's Daybook

I saw this over at Simple Woman's Daybook and I thought it would be fun to add on Mondays....

For Today:
Outside my window... waaaaaay too much snow

Praising God... for a little extra cash to pay for the car repairs

In prayer for... finances to complete Dave Ramsey's BS#3

I am thinking... the day is slipping by too quickly

I am thankful... to be a teacher

In the kitchen... clean dishes finally!

I am wearing... brown pants, grey sweater, and black turtle neck

I am creating... a research project for my princesses about puppies

I am going... to see the Lego movie

I am wondering... if all this snow will melt before weeks end

I am reading... I just finished The Bronze Bow with my princesses

I am hoping... spring comes early

I am learning... how to schedule my homeschool day 

Around the house... are piles of things that need to be put away

I am pondering... my lesson plans for this week

A favorite quote for today...  "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love."  1 Corinthians 13:13

One of my favorite things... a good Starbucks latte 

A few plans: my getaway with Prince Charming

A peek into my day...  family movie nights

Barely surviving here in brokenville

Ok remember when I told you about brokenville here?  Guess what happened after that....

I am not kidding here....

Our minivan that has been in and out of the shop for 6 weeks.  The mechanic working our van thought he had it fixed and took it on a test drive and the thing caught on fire and literally burned up on the side of the road.  Literally! Stopped traffic on a major highway for an hour!  Firetrucks, cops, the whole works!  I am not making this up people!

But oh wait it gets better... so we still have one good car right?

WRONG!

Our other vehicle which we just put $3000 dollars into 6 months ago hit a HUGE pothole on the way to a weekend getaway my hubby and I were going to and cracked the rim on the car which of course caused the tire to leak.  When we went to have it fixed the strut, ball joint and sway link are all broken as well... (told you it was a huge pothole under snow) so now it needs work done it.

So here I am still barely surviving in brokenville... and I can't help up wonder... What is God doing? 

Lesson Plans the Erasable Way

I have found the best pens EVER!!!

These are FriXion Point Erasable Gel Pens

In my lesson planner I color code my kids work... blue, purple, pink... each little Princess gets her own color.  But I am constantly changing and rearranging my schedule and these pens have this neat little white tip that erases the pen perfectly and unlike pencil erasers they don't wear down.  

Then throughout the week as we accomplish task I highlight it... 

what doesn't get done moves to next week or skipped.

(this is a good week look at all that yellow!)

It has made a world of difference for me in my lesson planning.  I love the bright colors, I love the fact that they are erasable.   Go ahead try these pens for yourself.