I am somebody.

I love my church.  I can't seem to make it there every week for one reason or another, but every time I go there I feel at home, at peace, welcomed and loved.  I love that I've finally found my place of community, a place where I fit in.  At first I didn't feel like I was an important member there, everyone already seemed to know each other, and in a largely older aged congregation I felt like I had nothing in common with anyone else (aside from believing in the values and ideas of Unitarian Universalism).  But I was wrong.  I do belong there, I am important.  People there know who I am, they know my kids, they ask how I'm doing and genuinely want to know the answer.  They want to include me in church events, they miss me when I'm not there on Sunday.  The older ladies always want to love on Calliope (and she loves to make their day with a toothless grin!), and there are other families who we sit near almost every week.  I am so glad that I chose to join this church!
Today the song at the end of service hit me particularly hard, it actually made me cry as I sang it.  I have been feeling depressed and alone lately, partially situational and partially hormonal/postpartum I'm sure, but either way, it sucks.  And there are very few places where it feels safe to reach out and say that.  But today, it was like they read my mind, they read my soul, and they knew what I needed to hear.  That I am more than my depressed thoughts, that I am important, that I am somebody.  I feel so uplifted this afternoon!
Here's the lyrics to the hymn, you can also youtube it and watch different choirs sing it, but I didn't find one that was nearly as good as the way our church did it today, so I'd rather just leave you with the lyrics instead :)

There’s a River Flowing in My Soul
There’s a river flowing in my soul (in my soul)
There’s a river flowing in my soul (in my soul)
And it’s telling me that I’m somebody
There’s a river flowing in my soul
There’s a river flowing in my heart (in my heart)
There’s a river flowing in my heart (in my heart)
And it’s telling me that I’m somebody
There’s a river flowing in my heart
There’s a river flowing in my mind (in my mind)
There’s a river flowing in my mind (in my mind)
And it’s telling me that I’m somebody
There’s a river flowing in my mind
There’s a river flowing in my soul (in my soul)
There’s a river flowing in my soul (in my soul)
And it’s telling me that I’m somebody
There’s a river flowing in my soul

a day in the life.

Busy Sunday today, and I think homeschooling might be a misnomer, we're never home!
First I baked some yummy apple muffins with a bunch of bruised apples my grandpa gave me from his tree. I used this recipe:

http://thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com/2010/02/apple-muffins.html

They were super yum, but I think I used to much brown sugar on top because all of my tops fell in. Oh well, they still tasted great AND I loved that not only were there no nuts but there was also no dairy so this is getting filed in my recipe folder for a future playdate with other friends who have allergies!
Then it was off to church, I go to a Unitarian Universalist church and love it there. I love how welcoming and open they are, how we strive for social justice and equality for all, how it's a church for those of us who just don't fit in anywhere else and a place where we can make our own spiritual path. I wish I could tell you how great the service was today, but above stated muffins made me 20 minutes late and then Libby (my 2 year old) was having some anxiety over staying in the nursery PLUS they were short staffed one person, so I ended up just helping out in the preschool room. Callie liked that idea better anyways since she also got to play (read: chew on) some toys on the floor rather than sit quietly on my lap.
On the way out we saw a family of deer right there along the roadside! The girls were SO thrilled and did really well at not yelling to them and scaring them away. I, being a crazed picture taker, made my husband pull over so I could snap a picture out the window.




After this, we went to Clayton's Oktoberfest. This, unfortunately, was a flop. Everything was INSANELY overpriced, there were about a million and one people there, and nothing really great to see. Since we had already parked and the kids were bouncing with excitement we still went in and did one loop around and let the kids go on one ride each.
August chose the classic dragon coaster, it seems she's a little daredevil in the making ;)



We also got a silly picture taken, that I somehow got talked into since I wanted Callie in it....



Now we're back home, I'm in my favorite pair of penguin jammies, putting some finishing touches on my blog, and getting ready to have a "make your own pizza night" with the kids. This is the first time we've made our own crust (using this recipe for making dough in the bread machine!), usually we buy it at WinCo. It's rising as I type, so wish me luck!