I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer today to share September happenings in the Treat family!
What we’ve been doing . . .
September began with adjusting to the new school year. I expected my middle child to have a hard time with this. Since he happened to have an eye appointment scheduled for the third day of school and I had to pick him up early for it, I took him out for some mommy-time, too. Look what we found on our date! I was so excited!
A Little Library!
Labor Day weekend was filled to the brim. We visited our county fair, had friends over for a bon fire, and spent time at the lake with my parents.
On the Carousel at the Fair
The next weekend, my friend Amy turned 40! I am not far behind her, folks. 1976 was a good year to be born. We had a wonderful time celebrating her birthday!
Forty and Fabulous!
The next day we headed out for an overnight trip to Kalahariwith our church family. My anxiety kicked in a little bit when the kids were going on water rides, but I kept reminding myself I didn’t want to let fear control me. They had such a great time, I was glad I stuck to my guns.
It was a little bittersweet for me, though, remembering times with Pastor Laurie. I think indoor waterparks will always remind me of her, as she organized the trips we took to Great Wolf Lodge with our young adults group. It’s still hard to believe she’s gone.
On September 15th my baby turned three! We celebrated with family. My parents gave her a Bitty Baby and her reaction was priceless! I wish I had it on video. She hugged it and said, “It’s a . . . it’s a Baby Bitty!”
Photo Credit: April Roskos
I got my hair chopped! I like it! It had been so long since I’d had my hair cut, I think I would have liked anything!
I went with Camilla’s class to see Sampson at Sight andSound. What a great time!
And Camilla had a sleepover party for her birthday! She’s ten. I’ve been a mother for a decade. I’m still processing this. I’m also still recovering from the sleepover.
An American Girl Party!
What We’ve Been Reading . . .
This month was so cram-packed with doing that I haven’t spent enough time reading. I finished Cutting for Stone, finally! It was so good. A beautiful, beautiful book. Well worth the time.
I read a book by Roseanna M. White. I met her briefly at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference and I wish I’d had more time to get to know her. I felt like our interests were similar. So, I chose to read her book set during the Civil War—Circle of Spies. I failed to begin with the first two books in the series, but it was good enough on its own that I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Now I’ve started reading a book by a friend in my local writing community. Sarah Lynn Phillips writes about a terrible car accident and the journey of recovery in Penned WithoutInk: Trusting God to Write Your Story. I’m finding this book encouraging and inspiring. Sarah uses her experience to show the reader how to trust God’s omniscient point of view in our lives, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing.
The kids and I still haven’t finished reading Mustang. I’m sorry to say, Adrian and I have become bored with it. Homework and reading for school has taken over our evenings a little bit in the past few weeks. It’s going to be challenging to read with the big kids during the school year. That may be the only thing I miss about homeschooling. Sigh.
What I’ve Been Listening To . . .
I listened to an episode of What Should I Read Next in which Anne Bogel interviewed Erik Fisher. That led me to Erik Fisher’s podcast, Beyond the To-Do List. I listened to the episode with Rob Bell and loved it! Awesome show, though I was a little taken aback that Rob Bell is able to offer his novel to the world free of charge. Yeah. That would be nice. Not bitter, here—we all have a different path and I’m okay with that. I just find it interesting, that’s all.
I also listened to another Hope Writers podcast, but felt a little condemned by it. They said if I’m not writing enough, maybe it’s because I don’t actually want to! We make time for the things that are important to us . . .
Okay, I get the point. While there’s certainly a place for tough love, I think I prefer Julia Cameron’s take on this. Fear is often what keeps me from writing and I need to lead my inner child to the page to play. I usually get a lot further when I treat myself kindly instead of beating myself up for my failures.
I’ve also been listening to my Praise & Worship station on Pandora. Especially when I need a good dose of peace in the house.
I read a book by Roseanna M. White. I met her briefly at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference and I wish I’d had more time to get to know her. I felt like our interests were similar. So, I chose to read her book set during the Civil War—Circle of Spies. I failed to begin with the first two books in the series, but it was good enough on its own that I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Emma Hughes
Posted at 00:27h, 10 OctoberHair style looks so great! I'm interested in listening to the Erik Fisher podcast now – sounds cool 🙂