Happy first of October, the very best month! I’m trying my hardest to believe that it’s fall, even though it’s just this week that our daily highs are no longer in the triple digits here in Central Texas. But my harvest decorations are out, I’ve got Halloween plans in the works, and my Pumpkin Spice candle is pulling its weight in bringing the autumn vibes into our home. September was a month full of school and birthday celebrations and plenty of family time; here’s a look back at some of the highlights.
|| READING LATELY ||
It wasn’t my best reading month, beginning with a string of mediocre novels including a humdrum family drama and two thrillers (this and this) by British authors whose books I’d really enjoyed in the past; it’s always disappointing when a book fails to meet expectations. Two novels I DID enjoy were this creatively-structured romance and this sad but beautifully told novel by an author whose backlist I can’t wait to explore further.
In nonfiction, I listened to three interesting (if very different) books: one on the problem of therapy culture in the church (so insightful!), one on the history of Disney World (niche but fun) and one on time management (an area where I’ll take all the help I can get).
After almost two months, the kids and I FINALLY finished this historical novel that was fine but not great as a read-aloud. We also read this Bible storybook (from the curriculum our Sunday School program uses) which features the most gorgeous illustrations and a lovely, poetic way of introducing the Gospel.
I’ll be sharing full reviews of these books in a Quick Lit post next week!
|| LISTENING LATELY ||
A few podcasts that inspired and informed this month.
Verity by Phylicia Masonheimer— 176 | Thinking Biblically About the Trad Wife Debate and 178 | Thinking Biblically About Devotionals
The Sage Steele Show— How an Amish Grandma Built a Pretzel Empire | EP 121
Foundation World View— Mom Rage Videos: The Truth Behind This Trend
Don’t Mom Alone Podcast— From Control to Peace : A Mom’s Guide to Peace :: Sarah Stephens [Ep 590]
Focus on the Family— How to Make Peace with What You Can’t Control
|| MONTHLY KID-ISMS ||
Charlie-isms:
+ “I feel like clouds are God’s version of modern art.”
+ “A thing I’m realizing is when you become a better writer, it’s not about following the rules better, it’s knowing what the rules are so you know when to break them.”
+ After hearing me tell a joke: “Where’d you hear that?” Me: “The Father Mike podcast.” Charlie: “Oh that explains it, it’s a dad joke.”
+ “I’m tired of the twins not carrying their weight, leaving messes everywhere for me to clean up. I just want a nice, clean house, is that too much to ask?”
+ “I bet God’s a perfectionist. It would be a shame if He’s not because He’s the one who actually CAN make things perfect.”
Sully-isms:
+ “Why do all fake flags have seven stripes? Every time I see one and count, it’s seven.” (What kid counts the stripes on every flag, let alone notices this type of thing?! Sully never ceases to amaze me.)
+ “How come when we count in English it’s less words and sounds, like one two three. But in Spanish it’s uno, dos, tres, cuatro, which takes more seconds to count? How can the seconds be the same?”
+ When Kali was feeling sad after discussing how she should love God even more than she loves Mommy and Daddy. “The limit of loving people is 100%. We love Mommy and Daddy 100%. But we love God OVER 100%.”
+ After we asked Sully if he’d be okay in his Trail Life patrol while Luke hung out with Charleston’s patrol: “Oh yeah, I’ll be fine. I just turned seven. What could go wrong?”
Kali-isms:
+ “When you go to prison do they sometimes give you food?”
+ “When you walk into a house, you’re going inside its tummy.”
+ “I like asking questions. It’s fun to learn new stuff. I am going to remember all my questions to ask God.”
+ “You know how all babies go to Heaven? How old does that go up to?” Me: “Why do you want to know the answer to that?” Kali: “Well. . . how old is Arlo?”
+ Me: “What does blind mean?” Kali: “You can’t see.” Me: “What does deaf mean?” Kali: “It means you can’t live.”
+ About the Little House books: “If it’s a true story and it happened when she was a kid, how did she remember all the words they said after that long?”
+ “I just want to have two kids because four kids will take too long to homeschool.” Me: “You want to homeschool your kids?” Kali: “Of course! Why would I send them to school? They could learn bad things! And also you have kids to be your friends and be part of your family. So why would I make them leave and go to school?”
Nico-isms:
+ Every time he uses the word big he adds one after it and says it in a deep, straining voice: “That’s a BIG ONE car!” “Oooh, it’s a BIG ONE dog!”
+ Sitting on my lap, he looked down at my new top. “Oh, nice shirt, Mama!”
+ Pointing to a cowboy hat at Walmart: “”I see hat. A yee-haw one!”
+ After a rough night followed by some Tylenol: “”I feel better now. Good job medicine! Thank you for helping me Daddy.”
|| HAPPENINGS & HIGHLIGHTS ||
The twins celebrated their seventh birthday this month! We always give the kids an option of a party or experience for their birthdays, and this year they both wanted a party. We had the party a week early since the boys were camping on the actual birthday weekend, and I kind of liked spreading things out. Kali had her heart set on a mermaid theme and Sully is on a sea turtle kick, so we blended the two and went with an Under the Sea theme . . . and it worked out perfectly! The kids and I had so much fun decorating our house with store-brought streamers, banners, decals, and balloons, as well as tons of homemade signs, sea creature stuffies, and printed photos of the twins from their birthday photo shoot; I think it might have been my favorite party decor yet!
We had more positive RSVPs than I’d anticipated and ended up having nearly forty people at our house; I was nervous about the large guest list, since our house is not very big, but it didn’t feel too crowded or overwhelming at all. We had a couple of bounce houses set up in the yard along with water guns, water balloons, some coloring tables, and a few lawn games, and the kids spent most of their time outside except to come in for food. Since the party was at 10:00 (between mealtimes) we served simple brunch finger foods (pastries, fruit, charcuterie, Larabars, fruit snacks, sparkling waters, yogurt drinks and pouches, juice, and every flavor of goldFISH crackers), with cake and cupcakes for dessert. I was in hostess mode during the party and unfortunately didn’t get any pics of the whole group, but everyone had a blast, and it made my heart SO HAPPY to see so our home filled with so many people that we love and who gave up a part of their weekend to spend time celebrating with us.
My favorite moment of the party was watching Kali and Sully as we sang Happy Birthday at cake time: they ended up singing to each other which was the sweetest. Then, though it wasn’t something they’d planned, Kali blew out her candles while Sully looked on, and she watched as he followed suit. I love how they were thinking of each other in these moments—just a couple more of the millions of regular reminders of how grateful I am to have twins.
This past weekend, the boys had their first Trail Life campout of the year, at the Museum of the G.I. Luke’s truck broke down the morning before the campout and we worried they’d have to skip, but Luke’s parents kindly let him borrow their truck so that the campout could happen. Now that Charleston is a Navigator, he had more responsibilities and also got to spend the nights with the older boys; they slept under the stars! It sounds like all three of the guys had a great time.
While the boys were gone, Kali (and Nico) and I got to help out with a Lemonade Stand fundraiser for American Heritage Girls. I actually don’t think I’ve ever done a lemonade stand before, and it was fun! The girls all had a great time and we were touched by the generosity of many neighbors who came by to support the troop.
Kali and Sully’s actual birthday was this past Sunday. The boys were still camping, so for the first time ever, Kali and Sully weren’t together when they woke up on their birthdays. Thankfully they each had fun being celebrated individually: the campers sang to Sully, and I took Kali out for donuts before church.
When the boys got home, the birthday twins were so happy to be reunited. We celebrated the rest of their day with presents and birthday ice cream. My favorite part of the day was the sweet cards that they made for each other. Between their party and this Sunday’s festivities, I think it was a successful six-to-seven leveling up.
|| ICYMI: SEPTEMBER‘S POSTS ||
Kalinda Joy & Sullivan Luke || From Six to Seven!
Easy Spiritual Rhythms We Practice With Our Kids
28 Small (and Big) Things I’m Grateful for Today
How was your September? Is it feeling like fall yet where you are? What are you looking forward to in the month ahead? I’d love to hear about it!
