October 5, 2009

I am so enjoying the beginnings of fall! Today it was cool, and it was nice to not be all stuffy feeling! I am thinking that I will get the flannel sheets out tomorrow, as the nights are getting chilly, and I am not quite ready to turn on the heat yet I also made a trip to Wal-mart this evening, my main purchase being thermal blackout curtains to try to keep the warmth in this winter. I bought enough to do the kids’  rooms, and hopefully we will be able to get our room done soon. I remember last winter, feeling the cold air coming through the windows, and at times it felt a little breezy! I won’t even mention our first gas bill (talk about shock!!!!!!!!!!). I am hoping this year it won’t be so bad, especially if we can get most of the windows covered. There are a few windows like the bathroom and kitchen, that I am not quite sure what to do with, but it may take some creative thinking…I am thinking of purchasing thermal curtains and cutting them to size since they only come in 2 sizes (that I have seen).  And if we have the money, a few new doors would be nice, as ours are pretty thin.

The past week or so I have been doing a lot of reading I haven’t done much the past few months, but its been nice to escape a bit, without being on the computer so much. I have gone back to reading some of Beverly Lewis and Wanda Brunstetter’s Amish fiction, one of my all time favorite genre’s. I have mentioned in my modesty and headcovering testimony, God used my curiosity in the Amish, to lead me to learn more about biblical femininity and headcovering My interest in the Amish and other Plain communities has once again surfaced, and it seems to me there are more things God wants me to learn…what the things are, I am not so sure.  Its hard,though, to dive into such a subject especially in Oklahoma, where there are hardly any Amish or Plain people…so all the info I can get is from the internet or online. I did manage to get some books on the Amish, including one about a woman who left the faith (which should be an interesting read). At this point in my life, knowing what I know about myself and the Amish, I can say that I truly could give up most modern conveniences with no regrets. I know that sounds strange, but I truly feel that I could. Now, I am not yet disciplined in the ways of the work load of an Amish woman, so I would probably be so worn out by the end of their typical day! One of my more immediate goals would be to conquer my need for a lot of sleep…with us homeschooling, I tend to sleep in, when in all reality I probably should get to bed earlier and rise earlier, so I can get all the stuff I *should* be doing done! LOL Now before you all start thinking I am “off my rocker”, I will state that I cannot and will not become a real Amish woman…in my research, there are a quite a few things I do not agree with doctrine-ly, that do not settle well with what I (or my hubby for that matter) believe, and there is an awful lot of tradition and not a whole lot of explaining why. What I do know, is that there are plenty of things I can glean from that lifestyle and that of other Plain people, and one of the main things is simplicity. I have found myself with a strong urge to go through stuff I don’t really *need* (but I can’t quite do it yet, as I would want to get some boxes so I can put things aside for a garage sale later on or something). I have also been curious about the Anabaptist belief in non-resistance, and  I am still not sure whether to go as far as some do, its a tough thing when so many in my family are in the military and a hubby who is strongly interested in politics and law.

Anyway, that’s just a little bit of some of the things floating around in my head lol