Friday, August 1, 2014

Ten Things I Learned This Summer

Maddie and I took the challenge to write down ten things that we learned this summer.  She grabbed the paper and pen, and we sat outside at the picnic table to chat.  We were surprised at what we had learned.  I am sure that we could have added much more, but ten was a good start.  Here's the list.
1.  I learned (thanks to Pinterest) how to braid Maddie's hair in the shape of a star.  Who knew?  It looked so cutely appropriate for the Fourth of July.
2.  We learned from our mission minded church that there are no cement mixers in Oaxaca, Mexico.  A team of both teens and adults spent time working with a church ministry helping to put a second story on a building.  It was a significant labor of love evidenced by the manual mixing of cement and the countless trips carrying cement blocks up and down stairs.
3.  Squash tastes good.  Summer fruit and veggies in general make meals more delicious and beautiful.  Maddie enjoys food, so discovering a new taste is a treat.
4.  Some pools are just a pain to put up and down.  My foster kids' bio mom bought them a kiddie pool.  I was thankful that she followed through with a promise, but that meant more work on my end.  Oh well.  Being patient and tolerant are two other things that I am continually learning.
5.  My house looks better painted brown than green.  Bryan has spent many hours clinging to a ladder repainting our sadly faded house.  It looks fantastic if I do say so myself.  Which I did.  
6.  My kids know  how to make healthy, homemade spaghetti sauce that takes delicious.  The crock pot continues to be an essential appliance in our home.  Laura and Matthew set to cutting pounds of tomatoes and other various veggies to slow cook for a long time.  It was an easy,  economically way to bless our family.  
7.  Cats cannot eat chocolate.  For no particular reason, Maddie needed to know this information, so of course we asked Siri.  
8.  Maddie also learned what a fixed income was.  Again, I am not sure why she needed to know this.  She took one of our mantras, always learning, to heart.  
9.  I learned that choosing themes for each week of the summer made Schroll Camp easier to run and more fun.  Having a plan made the days run more smoothly.  
10.  Maddie learned how to knit.   She can spend hours in her room listening to Odyssey and knitting.  I love her creativity.  
Many things in life are not fun to learn.  We have often sat in life's classroom bewildered.  This list was a sweet refreshment.  We are blessed with so much to see and learn.  Watching people.  Listening to others.  Spending time with my kids.  All of life gives me opportunity to learn.  

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