Perfection on the Porch Daybook: Monday, June 29, 2015

Outside my window:
THIS.

This state in which I have lived for 23 years and I have officially kissed and made up after a rocky period.  I scowled and stomped and pined for my Texas home all winter long.  Today, I am yours, Virginia.  You are perfection.
I am thinking:
about our 2nd All Star District tournament game tomorrow.  Yes, it's that time again.  I am thinking of schedules and practices, brackets and match-ups.  Of coin tosses to decide if we will be home or away, 3rd base side or 1st base side.  I am thinking of boys full of gatorade and sunscreen and bug spray and hope.  By all accounts, we are utterly and completely obsessed with Little League baseball here in SkinnerWorld.  I will have (or perhaps I already have had) at least one or two of my requisite "All-Star Season Meltdowns" during which I declare that THIS FAMILY IS INSANE AND DOES ANYONE KNOW I LIVE HERE AND WE HAVE GOT TO GET A GRIP, but then I will quietly fall in line because y'all, I sure do love watching that man coach and those boys play baseball.  Yes, I surely do.  Guilty as charged.
I am thankful:
for a Sunday night dinner with all five of us together.  It didn't look like a traditional dinner.  It wasn't at home, I didn't cook.  We had to meet up at a restaurant in three different cars after two of us returned from a baseball tournament in another state, two came from one golf course and one came from another golf course.  Still after a hectic weekend, we all met up together and ate and laughed (and argued a bit, to be sure.)  I love my people.  They get on my nerves.  Oh my word, do they.  But I love them desperately and completely.
In the kitchen:
there are four pair of baseball pants soaking in oxiclean, one cooler needing to be cleaned out and of course, the trendiest of all kitchen decor:  the athletic supporter in various colors next to the fruit bowl.
I am wearing:
white denim "boyfriend" shorts from Old Navy, a black Daniel Rain blouse and no shoes
I am listening to:
outside my screened in porch I can hear birds singing, children laughing and Judge Judy coming from the tv in the house.
I am going:
to make some Washington DC sight seeing plans for when my family comes this summer.  I, shamefully, do not take advantage of living so close to the nation's capital enough and there is so much to see and do.  Local friends, what are your favorites?  Leave a comment, please!
I am reading:
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarity (STILL) Unfortunately, I am having trouble finding time to read because I have been sucked into way too much reading on the internet. - mainly scrolling comments on Facebook.  Many of them filled with hate and name-calling and ugliness.  I am committed this week to spending zero time witnessing how gleefully anxious people are to rip each other apart from behind their computer screens.  My heart grieves for how we treat each other.  I consistently tell my kids to step away from the screen.  "Hello, Kettle, this is Pot.  Click the X in the top right corner.  Move away from the desk.  Live your life.  You've only one."
I am hoping:
for some days by the pool with a book or three this week.
I am looking forward to:
the 4th of July on a still, glassy lake.
I am learning:
that the sound of brothers' arguing might be my least favorite thing in all the world and that in all my lessons in parenting over the years, I have yet to figure out how to stop it. *sigh* 
I am praying:
for just every, last one of us.  All y'all.  All of me.  Yep, just the whole kit and caboodle, I reckon.
On my Ipod:
John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16 by Keith Urban.  I do believe I have found my summer jam, y'all.
A quote for today:

"According to the Christian tradition, grace is not earned. Grace is not merited. It's not something we deserve. Rather, grace is the free and benevolent favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. Grace.  As a nation, out of this terrible tragedy, God has visited grace upon us, for he has allowed us to see where we've been blind.  He has given us the chance, where we've been lost, to find our best selves.  We may not have earned it, this grace, with our rancor and complacency, and short-sightedness and fear of each other -- but we got it all the same. He gave it to us anyway. He's once more given us grace. But it is up to us now to make the most of it, to receive it with gratitude, and to prove ourselves worthy of this gift. . . .That reservoir of goodness. If we can find that grace, anything is possible.  If we can tap that grace, everything can change." - President Obama during the funeral of Reverend Pinckney.  Perhaps the most beautiful, important words that I have ever heard him utter.  Well done, Mr. President.

A verse for today:
"For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." - John 1:16 ESV
One of my favorite things:
The sweet, funny and intelligent movie, Inside Out, that I saw last week with Nancy and our boys. I might need to see it again a few times because I think it has so much to say.  Especially for my friends who are grieving, I think the idea that sadness and joy can work hand in hand was quite powerful.  One of the few good things I read on the internet last week was this article, "The Inside Out of Grief" , It is a beautiful response to a beautiful movie.
I am pondering:
This quote from Traci Loux, the author of the article mentioned above:
" Anger is not bad. Feel it. Acknowledge it. It’s ok. It’s not a place to stay, but at times a visitor that creeps in to the journey. But as I am learning and as I am teaching my children, never let the Anger push Sadness to the background for too long. Sadness must be felt because Love is great, and together we are learning the unique dance that Joy and Sadness share. Joy comes in waves. Sadness comes in waves. And at times one hits with more intensity that the other, and at other times they wash up against us with the same steady rhythm hand in hand."
A few plans for the week:
A lot of this.

Daybook idea from www.thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com