Amy Scott's Thoughts

January turned out to be a much quieter month than we anticipated. Between the winter weather and Graham coming down with a cold, we had a lot of time at home in January. As a homebody, the extra time at home was no hardship. A majority of our free time in January was spent playing board games and reading books (well, books for Owen and I – he is flying through The Hardy Boys right now and I’m making the most of Kindle Unlimited and the Skyward series). Our family has an obsession with The Quest for Eldorado board game at the moment. The game says it’s 10+, but our 8 year-old, Graham, has picked it up fairly easily. I would even say that Graham has probably won more times than me at this point. And yes, I am a little bitter about that. Just kidding, but kind of, not really. Ha!

Life has picked up with the calendar turning to February. On February 1st, Jeremy took the day off as comp-time for working at a conference in January. We wrapped up our school day quickly while Jeremy was at a morning dentist appointment. When Jeremy arrived home, we set off for a spur-of-the-moment trip to Portland, OR. (Yay for a flexible homeschool schedule!) We planned 3 different visits to Portland in January, but each time we had to cancel (twice due to weather, once for illness). The original Portland plan was to visit OMSI – Oregon Museum of Science and Industry – but we are now waiting for March when their next exhibit opens. The other part of our Portland plan was to visit a few bookstores and we were able to make that happen on Thursday! I loved wondering Powell’s Books and spent the last of my Birthday money. I’m already looking forward to my February book blog. So many new books to share!

This weekend, I was able to reconnect with a friend over coffee. Our family was also able to have dinner with friends we haven’t seen in a while. It was a good weekend to catch up with friends! Our February calendar is filled with dinners, playdates, field trips, and a marriage conference. The month is booked with just enough margin to hopefully stay sane. I would like to believe that March will be the month it all balances out, but Easter is in March this year. Between Easter prep, making sure Jeremy’s birthday doesn’t get lost in the Easter prep, and Easter itself, I have a feeling March might be a bit full as well. But since March is still a ways away, I will choose to focus in on this month, this week, this day. When I look at the big picture, the calendar can seem daunting, but then I remind myself that I can only in live in this moment. One day at a time!

Well, we didn’t get as much snow as I had hoped for this last weekend, but we did experience quite the deep freeze. Our snow from last week stuck around thanks to the cold temps, but we only had a few inches. Those inches just camped out for the weekend since it was too cold for them to melt off. It was a wild weather week, but thankfully, yesterday was the end of our wintery conditions.

This last weekend was my birthday weekend. My actual birthday was Sunday, but I’m all about making birthdays bigger than a single day. We had a family outing planned on Friday and a family meal planned on Saturday. Both were cancelled due to the weather. It’s good thing I’m an introverted homebody. While I was sad to see those plans go, I was also very okay with a quiet weekend at home.

Things really started to freeze on Friday, so Jeremy pulled the boys on sleds up and down the driveway behind our minivan (until the sleds cracked due to too much gravel poking through – oops!). Saturday, we took a freezing walk to our local beaver dam only to come home to no power! With the high that day being 21F, we were a little nervous about being without power. Jeremy fired up our generator and we were able to make a hot dinner using our Instant Pot and electric kettle. After we got dinner cleaned up as best we could, the power came back on! Thankfully, it was only out for a couple hours so the house didn’t have time to get too cold.

I’m not a confident winter weather driver. The little bit of snow that came in on Saturday evening was enough for me to stay put come Sunday morning. I didn’t want a white-knuckle drive to church on my birthday. Instead, I had a lovely day around the house. I made snowflake waffles in our mini-waffle maker. I enjoyed plenty of time to read and walk. We played multiple board games together as a family. Our newest board game is The Quest for Eldorado and it’s the current family favorite. Jeremy picked up a Costco mac and cheese and chocolate cake before the weather moved in on Thursday. I was able to have my favorite foods for dinner on my birthday! Food is always a big highlight of my celebrating process! It was a pretty chill way to kick off being 38, but that’s okay. It was cozy and wonderful!

On Monday, we were able to get out of the house for a little bit. We had dinner with Jeremy’s parents and introduced them The Quest for Eldorado. We improvised to make the game work for 5 players. It was a little silly with Jeremy’s token being a giant hiker from our national park board game, but it worked! The big conversation on Monday was the freezing rain coming in on Tuesday. With most of our homeschool co-op being concerned about freezing temps and road conditions, we ended up cancelling co-op this week. The freezing rain did come in Tuesday evening, so Jeremy had a late start to work yesterday while we waited for the ice on the roads to melt.

What wild, winter weather we’ve had this last week! Even now, we still have snow on the ground. The rain is doing it’s best to make it disappear and I’m feeling torn. I’m always sad to see the snow go. I’m also ready for things to warm up. It’s been so cold!!! We even reached a new record low for our house on the hill – 12F! It was a very chill(y) birthday weekend, but it was perfect for me! Now I look forward to rejoining the world this coming weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! We wrapped up school for the week just a few moments ago. As I sit down to update you on the last couple weeks, I can say I’m feeling the thankful vibes. There have certainly been some highs and lows over the last two weeks. Life is never perfect, but there is still space for gratitude even in the imperfect moments. God is good!

I last updated you on Owen’s ortho “install” day… He was a trooper when it came to getting a mouth full of metal. What followed installation day was a long weekend. Owen essentially went on hunger strike because eating was painful. Not only did his mouth hurt, but he was getting dizzy from lack of nutrition. It was hard to watch him feel crummy. We intentionally planned a low-key weekend and it was very necessary. After four rough days, Owen reached a turning a point and we were so thankful! At his first ortho check, they were please with his progress and he might be finished turning his palate expanders sooner than I expected. You can also see how his teeth have moved already. No wonder his mouth hurt!

After a quiet, recovery weekend, Owen felt well enough to join our co-op for an Operation Christmas Child packing party. We’ve done OCC boxes for years as a family, but this is the first time we’ve done one as a group with a packing party. Members of our co-op all brought items and we combined them to fill 10 boxes. Owen and Graham filled one box together and we paid the tracking fee so we can see where our shoebox ends up. It was a neat experience to do this with our co-op and the boys took to heart the activity. They were so intentional about the items they placed in the box. It was sweet to watch.

On Thursday, my dad had pacemaker surgery. I accompanied my parents so I could wait with my mom and be a support however necessary. A special part of the day was that one of the prep nurses attends our church and was able to pray with our family before surgery. It was such a comforting moment. Thankfully, the surgery went well. The day was mostly defined by waiting – waiting for the surgery to start, waiting for it to end, waiting for Dad to be released. We are so grateful that it was as uneventful as possible. Jeremy and the boys brought my mom and I lunch at the hospital. Jeremy also picked up my favorite mac and cheese from Costco and had dinner waiting for me when I got home. It was reusable red cup day at Starbucks, so the boys got our annual red cup and a cranberry bliss bar for me. I felt very loved!

Our weekend plans were again fairly low-key. With my dad recovering from surgery, we didn’t want to wander too far from home. On Friday, I went to my book club, which is always a highlight of my month. I missed last month, so it was top priority to make it to this one. Saturday, our dinner plans with friends were canceled due to illness in their family. We opted to decorate our house for Christmas since we had a full free day suddenly. Our family is very okay with Christmas in November. We often decorate based on what works best with our free time and not the actual calendar date. Within a week of Thanksgiving feels acceptable to me. I chuckle when I think of all the different “acceptable” timelines my friends and family have. Some have very strong feelings about when it’s appropriate to deck the halls. Sunday was church with kid’s choir practice. We only have a few weeks until our performance, so it’s crunch time! Owen is doing well with his solos, even with a mouth full of metal.

My final highlight was going to see The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes with my forever friend, Christa, last night. I don’t often go to the movies on a “school night” (or ever… I make it only once or twice a year). I felt a little wild and crazy. That’s silly, I know. Christa and I read the book together when it first came out during the early COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. We zoomed to discuss our thoughts on the book because we couldn’t see each other in-person. Since we read the book together, it only made sense that we would see the movie together, too! Christa’s son works for the movie theater and he came with us so we could an awesome deal on tickets – free! I felt so special! It was a fun outing and worth the weekday late night.

As you prepare for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I wish you all an amazing day – no matter how great or small your celebration. There is always something to be thankful for even in the highs and lows. This month has had it’s intense moments, but through it all God has been faithful to me (and my loved ones). I’m full of gratitude for the how this month has gone, including the things that haven’t quite gone as planned. Nothing is wasted and I can see God’s goodness as I reflect this Thanksgiving Eve.