Lifestyle

Seventeen children came beaming in the doorway. There was a slight shuffling as they placed their coats on the couch and lined up in three rows to sing. Our country school next door was having a special day, and we got to be a part of it. The three little boys and I stood at the doorway and listened as the lower grades sang a favorite of mine.

The sun is shining. Ah, the wonder of spring becoming reality! Doesn’t it take the winter chill to enable us to appreciate the soothing rays of sunshine?

Two years ago was our last Valentine’s Day together. Daniel had come home from town a few days before with heart balloons fastened to a clear container hosting a huge chocolate kiss wrapped in red.

It’s a quiet Monday morning, and all six children are sound asleep at the moment. The week stretches ahead untouched. I wonder what it holds? God alone knows, but with him to guide, it will be excellent and safe. Last week, children Jesse and Elijah had their last four days of kindergarten; now, this week, it has come to a close for the year, and I will be teaching them at home. They want to go back to school to visit their friends and siblings sometime soon. School is only a skip and a hop from our house, they can even watch the children through the narrow strip of woods during recess time.

Years had passed since I had set foot on an icy pond. Motherhood had taken over, and priorities had shifted.

My kitchen is torn to pieces; everything is a huge mess.

We are home from church. The three oldest boys are playing volleyball in the kitchen (with a soft ball) and Julia, the bookworm, is reading. Hosanna and Joshua are playing with dolls in the living room and are singing German songs.

“Mom, may we sleep in the barn on Christmas Eve?”

Hi there, good evening, It’s… well, I won’t tell you what time it is. We’ll just say I’m usually in bed at this hour of the day; why lay there with sleep out of sight? Why not seize the moment touch base with you all and enjoy a chocolate in the meanwhile? That’s right, a Lindor chocolate from a reader and dear friend, and no little ones asking if they can have one too! Mmm. It’s delicious, I mean both the milk chocolate and the moment of solitude. And some apple cider to go with it.

Have you ever noticed how “white” lights seem to vary in color? Some light bulbs seem yellowish, others almost blue; some seem to have no color at all but give an unpleasant “cold” light that’s very unflattering. This is because every light bulb (or LED) has a built-in “temperature.” Light temperatures are measured in degrees, on the “Kelvin scale.”