Time is flying ... just do the next thing

Posted on 2008-Nov-15 at 12:29 PM

Time is just flying past.  This weekend, Baby G will be 2 months old.  How did that happen?  He's so big:   holding his head up, and looking all around when I'm carrying him.  He's outgrown his 0-3 month clothes already.  He had his baby shower at church this past Sunday.  It was a blessing, and we are so thankful to our church family for how they've embraced us, and rejoiced over Baby G's birth. 

Christmas is just 42 days away.  Yikes!  I have so much to do still.  This is the closest we've ever had  a baby to Christmas.  And the last time we had a baby in the latter half of the year, she was our first.  There was less to do back then, for some reason. 

Steve's Dad's illness and death has been the focus for so long.  It's hard to switch gears, and feels surreal to be doing so.  We are grieving, yet life continues, and we must move ahead.  There is work to be done, and life to be lived.  Thanksgiving and Christmas will be hard for Steve and his family, coming so soon after his father's death.  I keep praying that God will help me be sensitive to what Steve needs as he navigates the grieving process.

We have resumed school.  The last two weeks were taken off for their Grandpa's final days, and his funeral.  The curriculum we're testing is taking more of my time than our regular curriculum.  The spelling and handwriting both require my direct involvement.  In order to really be able to give a quality review, we are doing the spelling more often than we usually tackle the subject.  I'm also having to supervise the kids testing several websites, and making sure everyone gets their chance. 

After a day of not being able to reach me by email due to that, Steve finally set up the kids computer with internet access yesterday ... which he'd been promising to do for a year.  They are thrilled, and now we have to figure out how to limit and control their web access again.  In the past, we've used Noah's Net, and we will likely do so again.  I need to update the list of websites they're allowed to access via the Noah's Net internet browser.

We have Christmas music playing, and have been watching Christmas movies.  I'm not sure when we'll set up our Christmas tree, though.  I asked Steve last night, and he didn't sound very excited about it.  I think his natural love of Christmas (and decorating for Christmas) will win out over his grief, however.   

The kids are still battling sickness.  I wish we recovered more quickly from illnesses.  They seem to knock us out of public life for so long, with lingering coughs and such.  I'm not sure if others recover more quickly, or if they just go out in public sooner.  It feels like we are the only ones to be sick for so long, though.  Maybe God just uses it to slow us down and help us "circle the wagons" at home.  We're already fairly "home centered" already.  11 yo R always feels so deprived of social interaction when we get sick.  She loves going out, even just to the store, and hates when she has to miss church or homeschool group.

And that is an update on our life and homeschool.  We're trying to "just do the next thing" each day, as Elizabeth Elliott always says.  That is what she told herself repeatedly after the death of her husband, missionary Jim Elliott.  And it applies to every day life, not just times of grief or illness.  Just do the next thing, and trust God.   I needed that reminder this morning, as it is easy to become overwhelmed with the length of my "to do" list.  The best I can do is just keep doing the next thing, and trusting God with the rest.  So, that will be my plan for this week, and the following weeks.

Trusting in Him,
April