Summer vacation? Seasonal hiatus? Whether you noticed or not
I HAVE been MIA. And “in action” is precisely what I have been. Since my last
post we enjoyed a long weekend in Cincinnati, sandwiched by two week long
visits with family in Maryland. Then after a brief return to North Carolina, we
trudged back up 95 for another week in MD. Then September brought with it the
beginning of the school year and new extracurricular activities like U6 soccer,
gymnastics and soccer camp. Any remaining
squares on the calendar? They’ve quickly filled up with hosting Crossfit
workouts here at the house or on base, soccer games, church and lots of
football. Finally, add in the time we have spent following our beloved Orioles
making a run toward their first postseason appearance in 15 years and we are
spent at the end of each and every day. Excuses aside, I have neglected to post
here recently, but I am back for some accountability with the Buy Nothing New
for a Year Challenge and, more importantly, to keep updating everyone with
pictures and stories of the kids.
As far as the BNN Challenge there is not really much to
report. We still have not bought anything new, although I have a growing list
of things that I will buy come May 1 2013: a choke chain for the dog, a dog
bowl for the dog because he keeps chewing through the Tupperware ones, a
wedding present for Ozzie and Emily, my own micro plane so I can stop borrowing
Liz’s, a new Pampered Chef strainer, an apple corer, a melon baller, a size 3
soccer ball so I can stop “borrowing” from the league, a new rug and a floor
lamp for the reading corner, just to name a few. Unfortunately as you can see,
my desire to have less and produce less waste by relying less on manufactured
goods is sometimes inconsistent with my desire for simplicity. For example, if I bought an apple corer I would
spend less time coring apples because I would no longer be using a plain knife
to do this job (I would actually cut down on waste too because I would
presumably need a lot fewer band-aids). Also, life would be much simpler if I
didn’t have to drive 30 minutes to borrow a micro plane or hideout after soccer
practice until everyone leaves so I can “borrow” a soccer ball until next
practice.
And yes, I’m back on wedding presents. After the debacle that
was the wedding present for the couple married in Cincinnati ( I still can’t
believe I made (and actually gave them) the coffee mugs and thankfully I had
enough sense to include a gift card too) I will definitely be buying, and look
forward to buying gifts from Ozzie and Emily’s wedding registry.
Speaking of presents, not only did I “cop out” and give a
gift card for that wedding gift, I also gave gift cards for several other
birthday’s, anniversaries and baptism’s that had past. I figured failing to
give someone a gift in a timely manner was far worse than “failing” at the BNN
Challenge. Part of this challenge was also to give gifts that were useful and
although lacking in all forms of creativity at least a gift card is much more
useful than some mugs or pincushion or frames that I handmade. Less thoughtful,
more useful; I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Perhaps an amendment
to my rules for this challenge is in order to allow gift cards.
It’s either that or I start working on Christmas gifts
tomorrow!
Okay enough of the Challenge, gifts, money and such things,
it’s time for some fun stuff. These pictures are from the first day of school,
the first day of soccer, and the first day of gymnastics.
One of my favorite things about filling our schedule with school,
gymnastics, soccer and church activities is watching Shannon follow Patrick
around and try to do EVERYTHING that he does. As annoying as this must be for
Patrick (she literally echoes what he says as he says it while he’s saying it-
it’s like having two tv’s on in different rooms and one of them is on a 2
second delay) he deals with it so well. Patrick is playing in a U6 soccer league
and Shannon follows his team around, decked out in her own shingaurds and
cleats, completely unaware that she is not, in fact, on the team and even
participates in team stretching and cheers. But if she is to admire anyone I honestly can’t
think of anyone better for her to look up to than Patrick.
Oh and there’s Laura because somewhere about halfway through
my leave of absence, she turned ONE!
Romans 12:9- 13- 9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor; 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
