Lately....

Lately, I've been....

-Reading some good books. I need to do a whole post on what I've read lately. My favorite recent read was The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling). It was the second book in a series, and I can't WAIT for the next one. I have to say that this book was pretty graphic and way more "gritty" than the books I typically read. It was kind of creepy, actually. But there's no denying that J.K Rowling knows how to write a GOOD story. I was just SO into this book that I even cared about the weather in the story. Haha! I love it when I find a book that I cannot put down and that leaves me sad when it's over.

-Reading aloud to Aubrey. I always try to make it a point to read aloud to all of my kids, but I recently decided that I was going to make this part of our "school day" and read books that are a bit more challenging. We started with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I so enjoyed reading this to Aubrey and getting to experience the story for the first time again though her eyes. She LOVED the book! Everyday, I would read a chapter. And then she would beg for another chapter, so I would read a second :) This book totally consumed her mind, and it was fun to see that. She would talk about the chapters and wonder what was going to happen next all the time. She told me a couple of times, "Mama, I just can't get Aslan out of my head!" Super cute. We are going to continue with the series. This was a great book for her at this age because I know it stretched her mind, but she was definitely able to follow it and repeat back what I read. The language in the book is very British, so I know some things went over her head, but it'll be fun to read it again in a few years and see what else she picks up on.

-Watching Luther. This is a BBC series that David and I have gotten into recently. I really like it! It's funny because I've always avoided watching Law and Order or any other crime type shows because they're just scary to me. But now I basically feel like we're watching the British version of that. Ha! Luther is very graphic and I have to close my eyes sometimes. But I really enjoy the characters, and I just like being into a show with David. It's something fun for us to do together, and we usually have good discussions about the episodes after the fact. There's only 3 seasons of Luther, and we're about to finish the second, so we'll need to find something else to watch next. Maybe we'll have to give Law and Order a try. But it seems like I'm kind of partial to BBC stuff lately (Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Sherlock, Luther....).

-Completing my kids' fall wardrobes. Thankfully, Alaina is now able to wear most of Aubrey's hand me downs. For a while the seasons didn't line up, but now it's evened out. So, I didn't have to buy a lot for Alaina. But I was starting from scratch with Aubrey and Jude. I had the hardest time deciding what to get for Jude to wear to church this fall/winter. Up until now, he's always worn Jon Jon's and longalls/shortalls. But now that he's FOUR, I think it's time to move away from one piece outfits for him :( Which is so sad because I just personally don't feel like there is anything as cute to fill that gap. I'm not really ready for khakis and belts. I think he's going to be mostly wearing gingham/plaid pants with polos and some sweater vests when it's cold enough. And he's probably going to be repeating the same 3 church outfits because I just haven't found a lot that I love.

-Decorating a little bit in the new house! Now that we rented out our old house and are no longer paying two mortgages, I get to have a small "decorating budget" each month. It doesn't go as far as I would like, but it's allowed me to buy some stuff for our house that doesn't fall into the "necessary" category. We're still trying to be wise with how we spend our money, and we're holding off on any BIG purchases (like a new couch and some other furniture that we need) until we do sell our old house (PRAYING that will happen in the spring/summer). It's just fun to be able to shop a little bit and think through how I'm going to spend my decorating money each month. I have a LONG list of things to buy, so I'm having to prioritize and learn some serious patience. I'm so thankful for our home, though, and even if I never bought another thing for it, we are SO blessed to have it!

-Thinking about our fall and winter coming up. It's going to be a really busy time for our family! We are making plans and trying to prepare for everything that we need to do, but we're also praying that the Lord will guide us and direct our steps. As always, it's our desire that we glorify God even in the midst of the busyness and sometimes big unknowns!