Firewood, Lessons, and Little Wins

Today started around 6 a.m., the way so many good days do — with a fire to chase off the cold and the first steps of my morning routine. My tarot pull was The Cup, hinting that fortune might flow our way. I held onto that as the day began.

morning fire

Charlie and I knocked out the dog routine, then I got the girls dressed, fed, and settled into their room with a little TV while we waited for the boys to arrive. Charlie headed out to work on the Jeep and assemble his chainsaw — colder days are coming fast, and the firewood demand is only growing.

Babushka and kitten

Once everyone arrived, Shelly and I started teaching while Charlie and Dameion worked outside. We began with our nature calendar — still in October since we’re catching up from the stretch we missed during Charlie’s surgery. By nap time, we had nearly finished the nature journals. The girls went down in their room, and the boys headed back home for their break.

listening to our morning books

Outside, Charlie and Dameion got the chainsaw assembled and moved the bed into the camper, getting everything ready before it’s time to bomb it. They handled the afternoon dog walk, and I got the kitchen cleaned up. I even used the good meat left from yesterday’s torn pig bag and gave each dog a raw treat — they thought it was a feast.

yaaay chainsaw

Soon the boys were back, and snacks were passed out while we finished the last nature journal worksheet. We played a multiplication match game while Charlie cooked dinner. After that came a count-by-6 puzzle, then dinner for the kids, and finally a turkey craft. Everyone except Aria made it into the treasure chest tonight.

Cain and his porkchop

After baths and bedtime for the girls, the boys headed home. Charlie and Dameion got the electric fully hooked up to the camper before calling it for the day. As Dameion finished his dog walk, I started my nightly routine — shutting down the house and doing a quick re-clean of the areas I’ve already cleaned this week.

dinner time

Once dinner was put away and the dishes were moving along, the exhaustion hit hard. By 9:30, it was finally time for bed again. As I started to drift off, Charlie went back outside to help Rick set off bug bombs in the areas they had moved everything into.

One step closer to move-in.

One step closer to finally shifting into the next chapter.

A long day, a full day — but The Cup was right.

Fortune did favor us, even in the small ways.