Marulaon Woman’s Daybook

Just for today...Monday, December 2

Outside my window...rain, glorious soft rain sinking into the ground and dripping into the rain tanks.  The tanks around the village were getting low, and the rain means lower temperatures, too.  I absolutely love, love, love the rain!

I am hearing...Handel's Messiah.  We're beginning some sight-reading lessons with the kids, and we're all looking forward to the Choate family Messiah sing-along later this month.

On my bookshelf..."Comfort Ye My People:  The Real World Meets Handel's Messiah" by Kay Bruner, a former SITAG member

From the kitchen...I plan open one of the soup mixes from a care package and used up the leftover chicken from Thanksgiving.  It will be so quick and easy that I think we'll be able to finish school early!  Lunch prep, eating, and cleanup takes at least a couple of hours, so the mix is certainly a treat.

One of my favorite things...making discoveries with my kids.  Katherine and I found this locust skin on a tree the other day while we were weeding.  She was scared at first, and I was reminded that she had never seen one before.

Around the house...I have almost 200 Chinese cabbage seedlings and about 30 tomato seedlings that I've planted in old plastic ice cream containers in nice, neat rows.  After their initial mass planting in a flower pot in mid-November, I thinned them out and moved them into the ice cream containers to grow big and strong in preparation for their move in my old canoes. My porch rail is filled up with seedlings, and I've got some neighbors who are eagerly anticipating my leftover seedlings moving into their gardens!

Pondering these words...David prays voluntarily submitting himself to God's tuning fork:  "Search me"; "Test me"; "See if there is any offensive way in me" (Psalm 139:23-24).  In effect, he is saying:  "Lord, let me know if my life is out of tune!"...As the tuning fork is applied to my life, I can "hear" the flat keys.  The Master Tuner may have to tighten the strings, thus producing temporary pain and stress.  But the final result will be a beautifully voiced instrument of praise!  ~Don Wyrtzen

From the learning rooms...Olivia and Katherine are entering into the War of 1812 while Sarah and Benjamin are in the midst of the California Gold Rush; all the kids are flying through their math books; Sarah and Benjamin are studying weather and keeping a month long chart of clouds, temperature, and precipitation while Olivia is working her way through TOPS Electricity

A few plans for the rest of the week...we're going to the local elementary school graduation on Thursday, it's about a 45 minute walk to the other end of our island, and Friday I'm meeting with any women who are interested in continuing the Children's Story Bible in Lavukaleve.  I would appreciate prayers for Friday morning!

A peek into my corner of the world...setting up the Christmas tree yesterday and the general goofiness that goes with being part of our family.  The Christmas lights provided a great science lesson, too, because they were wired in series.  Aaron the kids took them apart and wired all three strands of lights together.  Now we only need one extension cord, but the resistance is so high that the lights barely glow.  Our tree appears to be lit by tiny flickering candles!