Uh-Oh. I don't think he meant it.

Last night, John looked at my new yarn and said, 

"What?  Where did that come from?

How is that different from all of that over there?" 

Well, it is COTTON.  And it's the same size as the other yarn, but it's COTTON.  

Which makes it special. 

Then I started hunting up crochet memes, and found this.  

I told John that this guy doesn't mind all the yarn.  

He asked who the guy is, but I don't know. 

I just know that he's a movie star, 

but I don't know what he's been in, 

except a bunch of funny memes. 

So we found some more funny stuff. 

...

...

Then I found this, which is exactly what I told John I'd like to do in our dining room, 

and smoosh the table over to the corner to use the new seating.  

And move the overhead light fixture.

And then put Mom and Dad's hutch in the (very small) dining room when it gets here, because it would fit if we did what Ryan Gosling said (again, I don't even know what he acts in).

Chicken Soup

Really, it was turkey soup.  Luci kept calling it chicken, so it's chicken.

This was the best supper we've had since the end of May.

It's been a rough summer with all the hoopla of kids growing up (one figuring out that he'd really rather go back to college, one graduating from high school and stretching his wings and having a hard time figuring out how to do that, and one hitting puberty).

That made Monday the best dinner we've had in months.

Even though it was just chicken turkey soup.

We even got in a game of Apples to Apples, which started out rocky but ended with lots of laughs.

I love my circus and my monkeys!

Everybody needs a Luci.

She's a real lovebug!

She has been planning an anniversary dinner for John and me for a long time.  She told the boys that they had to help, because "it's a family activity!"

JT stayed around to help, and they cooked two different dishes from Luci's Disney Princess Cookbook.

Here they are whipping up Bayou Meatloaf and Gus' Mac and Cheeseburger (without the burger).

And the end result at dinner, with the "fancy decorations, Mama."

 It was all delicious.  Of course, I am saving the menu!  It is priceless.  Luci still spells everything phonetically.  :)

JT and Luci also frosted John's birthday cake last week.  Luci did all the putting together, and JT helped to frost it.

I must say, I'm loving how blogger has changed and lets you insert videos quite easily now.

All because of one little girl...

Today I spent time clearing out   cleaning Luci's room.

This is what it looked like AFTER we got done.  Really, it was much worse when we started.

We worked a long time.  Now Luci has a place to sleep in her room! She slept in her room TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW all by herself. ALL BY HERSELF.

Which is two nights longer than she's EVER done before.

She's been in our room, on a mattress.  Or on the living room floor with me.  Or somewhere else with me, not by herself ever.

She got brave this week. I am so proud of her.

So, now she has a comfy spot up on the big platform bed that John built for her years ago.  There's a memory foam mattress thingy under her blanket there, because the twin-sized mattress that was up there before is still in our bedroom on the floor for when she still needs to sleep in the room with us.  Which will probably be tonight, because I jinxed this by mentioning sleeping alone here. :)

Which brings me to this post.

I was getting all hot and bothered (i.e., cranky) working in her room. And then it dawned on me.



If it were not for this little girl, I would be...

• bored.  JT graduates this year, and after 4 years of pushing and fighting with him over high school stuff, it would be all over.
• unsettled.  What would I do after JT graduates?
• forced to work on housework.  I do not want to do that.  No, never.

Because of this little girl...

• John and I learned that we could love a little girl who came to us in an unnatural way. We are head over heels in love with Luci. She's stretched us in ways we didn't know were possible, and it's all good.  
• I am relearning what life is really, truly all about.  It is not about reading and writing and arithmetic, although those are so important. It is all about learning to be a good person, to follow Jesus and lead others to heaven.  Learning to take care of a family.  Learning to be a good mommy (notice the baby doll in the picture!  All fed, diapered and has a binky.  Luci takes good care of her babies) and a good friend (can you see the iPad Mini in the picture? She's face timing with her bestie who lives too far away to have in-person play dates often).
• I am learning how to teach all over again.  Luci is my puzzle.  Bryan dealt with dyslexia and ADHD, JT with ADD and allergies to scented things, and we learned how to work around those.  Luci has quite a few letters that go beyond what the boys dealt with. I'm still learning what works best for her.
• I learned about classical education that I had thought was just "froo-froo" and elitist, that it was all just for those who were college-bound by age 12. Luci and I fell in love with classical education that a Classical Conversations group brought to us.  
• I've learned that standing up for someone who has been wrongly accused is always a good thing.
• I learned that, even though I'm not writing books as my parents hoped, I am writing!  I have learned to write a curriculum that my peers here are pleased with, and I am so tickled.

Makes all the mess worth it.