Monday Ponderings {Day 17}

Fly little butterfly. 🖤🧡🖤🧡🖤🧡

Monarchs are “tough and powerful, as butterflies go.” They fly over Lake Superior without resting; in fact, observers there discovered a curious thing, instead of flying directly south, monarchs crossing high over the water take an inexplicable turn towards the east. Then when they reach an invisible point, they all veer south again. Each successive swarm repeats this mysterious dogleg movement, year after year. Entomologists actually think that the butterflies might be “remembering” a long-gone, looming glacier.

Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, p.258

{God’s creation astounds me! It inspires and encourages me. Happy Back to School week and Happy September! }📝🖤📚📓🌿🌻🐈

•faithful• {Day 16}

But I will sing of your strength

and will joyfully proclaim

your faithful love in the morning.

For you have been a stronghold for me,

a refuge in my day of trouble.

To you, my strength, I sing praises,

because God is my stronghold ~

my faithful God.

Psalm 59:16-17 CSB

~

Saturday Examen {Day 15}

“Contemplation is life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is a spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life.”

Thomas Merton 🌿

Music for for your weekend . 🌿

…gratitudes for today…{Day 14}

Barn swallows are still here 🥹♥️
Healthy meals ♥️🌿
Summer read alouds winding down- so many lovely books! ♥️🥹✨
Penpal catching up 📝🖊️📚📭💌📨
New homeschooling goodies…a fresh Calendar of Firsts! Keeping track of things we see in nature each day together. 🕸️🕷️🦉🌲
Making my own sugar free iced coffee. Froze leftover coffee for my ice cubes so it isn’t watery! ☕️🧊
Trying new planner this year. I’ve used a Walmart one for 13? years so this may be too much ‘fire power’ 😅, but needed to shake everything up! Notice Jimin 😜on cover to inspire me to keep going! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Sneak peek 👀 of a few of my favorite summer reads! Many of these are rereads and actually I listened to a lot of these on audiobook this summer, but I’m ok with them being all-time-and-forever favorites! 📚♥️
Chicory 🥹🌿my late summer friend

How about you? What are some blessings shining out? ✨✨✨

Monday Ponderings {Day 13}

Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie for the family 🧡💛💚

Nothing is trivial that concerns a child; his foolish-seeming words and ways are pregnant with meaning for the wise. It is in the infinitely little we must study the infinitely great; and the vast possibilities, and the right direction of education, are indicated in the open book of the little child’s thoughts.

Charlotte Mason, Home Education, p. 5

One week here before we start back to formal {home} school! Praying 🙏🏻 and trusting. 🧡💛💚

Saturday Examen {Day 12}

Lord you have my heart
And I will search for yours
Jesus take my life and lead me on.

Lord you have my heart
And I will search for yours
Let me be to you a sacrifice.

~ from “Lord, You Have My Heart” by Martin Smith

Listen here!

♥️✨~

What’s bringing me a bit of joy currently…{Day 10}

I saw 👀 that Abigail Carroll has new poetry book out (Cup My Days Like Water) I can’t wait to read it. Saving up my book 💴 for it!

I’ve been absolutely loving pink and purple pens lately! I have LePen and Tombow and have been making monochromatic and a mixture of the two colors spreads in my prayer journal/ planner-memory journal. I love these colors SO much, what colors represent your life currently? 🩷💜🩷💜

Speaking of color, I’m wondering if I ‘need’ an autumn cardigan in Kristin’s dress color? 🧡😂👀 I love looking at my imaginary closet on Pinterest. 🤩🤩🤩

I can’t tell you how much my Daily Pocket Moleskine had meant to me this year! Just a teeny place to record my to dos for the day, do a little creativity, and store lots of memories! I’m really stretching the binding, but I’m soooo happy with its bursting self! I don’t love Monday start calendars, so that’s the only downside. I’m planning on getting the red one for 2025!

This cartoon has been keeping me sane lately! 🥰♥️😭💔🌿 We are just passing through, friends, and it’s a painful and glorious journey, but precious Jesus is with us every step of the way. ~

Wednesday Wonders {Day 9}

Sticker-ed my new prayer journal! 🧡

Listening… I’m interested in learning more about communist history and there’s a readathon on Booktube/Bookstagram in September called RedSeptember. I don’t necessarily follow the prompts etc, but I started early listening to Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang. Fascinating and heart wrenching memoir looking at the cultural revolution in China. I’m hoping to listen to Animal Farm by George Orwell next.

Reading…I’m working hard on Charlotte Mary Yonge’s, Dyvenor Terrace and The Cross by Sigrid Undset. I’d love to finish them by September! The Kristin Lavransdatter saga is so beautifully written, however the story was heavy! I’m going to be processing for awhile.

The Cross

Watching…I recently got The Boy and the Heron from the library and hope to watch it soon. I’m a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki. I’ve heard it’s a bit dark, so want to preview it without children! 😅♥️

Noticing…We saw a ‘V’ of Canada Geese last night! 😭 I noticed a cluster of beautiful brown, amberish colored cones at the tippy tops of our blue spruce trees. Autumn 🍂 is creepy in…🧡🤎🖤

I’m reading this on kindle, but saw this original illustration online! 💕

How about you? What are you listening to, reading, watching, and noticing? 🍂🌿🖤

Saturday Examen {Day 5}

The smell coming out of our public library was intoxicating! 😍♥️

I really enjoy this app and that they make Saturday a time of spiritual reflection over the past week. ♥️🙏🏻 I highly recommend listening (you can listen on their website, too!)

I jotted down their questions this week and found it so refreshing and challenging to honestly pray through them. It’s sobering to deeply examine oneself in the light of our Lord!

Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD?

Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

from 1 Samuel 15:22-23 CSB

How was your week? 🌲♥️🌲

what has inspired me recently 🌿🌻🌞 {Day 4}

Planning for autumn, deck flowers, and black coffee in my Betsy, Tacy, & Tib mug…
Pulling out my owl vase , a few black-eyed beauties from my weedy flower bed…
Good bye, summer mugs…have a good rest in the cupboard…love all the green 🌿🌱🪴🌲🌳
Welcome, Autumn mugs…you feel new & fresh 🍁🍂🍄🍄‍🟫
Butterflies and moths everywhere…🦋🦋🦋
Mysterious and swoony 💗paths…where does it lead?
Restored steam tractors and my hubby’s sheer delight in this 150 Case…spark show was lovely! I really loved the quiet tinkling noise this tractor makes. It’s so peaceful compared to the truck pulls! 😅 Interesting and inspiring story about the restoration/reproduction of this road locomotive.
Peaches and new library reads… 💕
Sky & clouds…such gifts 🩵🤍🩵🤍🩵
This photo. What a brave dad! 😂😍🥹♥️

How about you? What has been inspiring you? ♥️🦋