I am not a paranoid person by nature so while blogging on yahoo (where privacy settings were easy to control) I did not hesitate to use real names. Now, however; our family stories are public. So before this site picks up too much traffic I’m opting for some name changes. Those of you who know us should be able to follow pretty easily and those of you who don’t shouldn’t care. I’m also restricting access to the Phanfare website which means some of my links won’t work without a password. Send me a message and I will set you up.

As I said, I’m not paranoid but better safe than sorry. Here’s the article that got me thinking.

Part of my “between Little Gyms” routine is a stop at the gas station.  Six months ago I was so busy I had to fill up twice a week.  About three months ago things calmed down a bit and I could make it through the whole week… mostly.  Today I only needed half a tank.  I am glad to be conserving fuel without even trying but I am even more glad to no longer be driving around town on countless errands.  What a blessing to not be stressed and save gas too.

“More than 1900 years ago there was a Man born contrary to the laws of life. This Man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively. Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He lived; that was during His exile in childhood. He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were inconspicuous and had neither training nor formal education.

Every seventh day the wheels of commerce cease their turning as multitudes wind their way to worshiping assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him. The names of the past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone, but the name of this Man abounds more and more. Though time has spread 1900 years between the people of this generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He still lives. Herod could not destroy Him and the grave could not hold Him.”

excerpted from the Homeward Daily Devotional for 10/30/06

We don’t celebrate Halloween around here but it is fun to dress up and we never (hmm, almost never) pass up the opportunity to have a party.  We spent the day in preparations.  Though she has many a princess outfit (perfectly acceptable attire for a costume party) Sister decided she needed to be an eagle.  Hmm. One brown sheet, yellow construction paper and package of white craft feathers later our hallway was filled with sounds of EEE! EEE!  She didn’t look exactly like an eagle but apparently it was close enough.  Will settled for the cowboy look.  As he grew up on a ranch and many in his family actually are cowboys it struck us as pretty funny that for him it would be costume.  Brother couldn’t decide between an alligator (Thanks Grandma Blue) or lion (Thanks Grandma Sheila) - two costumes we actually have that required no alteration - so he wore one half the day then switched to the other.  That left me.  No fan of the ordinary nor complex my costume had to be unique but easy to make.  Comfort was also an important criteria.  So here I am as a Glade Scented Candle. (sheet, headband with homemade flame, and a good spritz of apple cinnamon room spray).

We set up the jumparoo and created a few carnival game stations - ring toss, ball toss, knock over the bottles, kick the ball through the tunnel, and the favorite by far the penny toss.  You know the one where you try to get a tossed penny to land in a cup or saucer.  I offered the kids a quarter for every three pennies that made it … so you see why it was the favorite. :) 

Grandma made spaghetti - always a kid hit around here - then after games we enjoyed hot spiced cider, haystacks and good conversation.

I love family parties.  No one expects everything to be perfect.  It’s easier to relax and just enjoy the festivities.  A little food. Simple homemade games. These are the best affairs.

As a collective group, my family is very haphazard with our get-togethers.  We try to arrange around this person’s schedule or that event … it was much easier when there were not so many of us. :)  But getting together is important for connecting and having a set time is important for simplicity so now each Friday night regardless of other activities we start a movie at six and let it run through to the end with no stopping. Come and go or stay for the whole thing - it’s your choice.  Bring some snacks to share or not.  The movies are old family favorites and classics with a few “new” classics mixed in.  If your in the area drop by … we’d love to see you.

We spent tonight with an old friend.  We were supposed to be at a Class Potluck - a parents only get together Sister’s school does each year.  It’s a great idea really and would have been a worthy use of our time but K. dropped by unexpectedly and since friends you know invariably outrank those you don’t we spent the evening with him instead.  The conversation was easy and light. I think we laughed about as much as we talked.  We ended at Te Kei’s eating bread pudding and puzzling out our fortunes. Mine - “Your eyes will soon be sparking, keep them open.”  Good advice to be sure… if one’s eyes are sparking… but what does it mean?!?

I like yahoo.360 well enough but we eventually want to share so much more about our pursuit of simple life that it seemed a good idea to find a more permanent web home. Right now, This Simple Life is simply my blog in a new place. (I will move the archives as I have time.) but over the next few months (years?) hopefully it will expand to include articles, links, and pictures of simple living in action.

I have grown to love storytime.  Just before bed we read two books.  Sometimes they are our own but more often they come from the library.  Each Monday -between Little Gym classes the children and I pop over to the Helmerich to exchange one set of books for another.  Sister picks out her own - mostly by how interesting the illustrations are and I pick out Brother’s (mostly random).  They are allowed three each.  The library would allow them to take more but house rules say three.  I am not certain why except that that is the number I was allowed when I was young and went to the library.  I still remember going up and down each isle, touching each book in turn, looking for the perfect ones, intentionally oblivious to the fact that we would return the following week.  Anyway, in honor of fall, I picked up Pumpkins by Mary Lyn Ray and was pleasantly surprised at the contents.  It is a story about a field threatened by development and “the story about a man who loves the field enough to do something to save it.”  In a round about way it is a story about preserving simple life which seems especially apt as we pursue simplicity only a couple of miles away from the “coming soon - mall on the westside.”  It will be nice to have conveniences on this side of the river but at what cost.   So many trees already have been cleared or lie brown and lifeless awaiting disposal as a time of year when most don a scarlet gown for a final autumn fling.  But we don’t dwell on it.  We are busy growing our own “pumpkins” so we may someday save a field.

6:30am “Up, mama, Up.  Go, Go Diego”  - translation - Get out of bed and carry me to the couch.  I’m not really aware of the time nor do I care.  I would like to watch Go, Diego, Go.

And so it begins:  Try to plan the menu for the week while Diego saves the dinosaurs, 1st Breakfast (Sister), 2nd Breakfast (Brother), 3rd Breakfast (Me), 4th Breakfast… ah, skip it, he’s big enough to get his own, sheets into the washer, feed the chickens, gather eggs, computer troubleshooting, oops - forgot to feed the birds, lunch, ride the bikes, re-hang Brother’s car swing, test it,  more computer stuff, play with the cousins, kite flying, kite chasing, Bye Bye cousins, toddler meltdown, car ride, haircut hunting for Will (who knew Jenks had so many salons… that don’t have time to cut hair.), settle on Supercuts, reading lesson in the car, visit to Mardel, supper, re-make the beds, shine the sink, bubble baths, pajama time, bedtime stories, goodnight prayer, blog

Whew… nothin’ like a lazy Saturday.

Yesterday, Sister had no school and Oktoberfest was boasting free admission so around 11, I packed up the kids and a stroller and headed down to the river.  In all the time we’ve lived in Tulsa, we’ve never gone and free is, well …. free… right?  Fifty dollars worth of parking, bratwurst and kiddie carnival rides later I was feeling somewhat sheepish about *free* but only somewhat because we had a great time and I was still 52 cents under my budget for the week!  We unexpectedly met Sister’s friend M. who lent her enough bravery to go on a couple of rides previously deemed “too scary.”  None of the rides seemed too scary for Brother.  If only the height requirement hadn’t held him back.  (more pictures)