Today :)

Enough things happened today to make it an interesting thing to record.... And that's precisely what I'm going to do (much to your chagrin, I'm sure).

This morning I woke up at 7:00 exactly. The alarm clock is set so that the sound track to Gods and Generals goes off. After the first two songs, I decided I needed to get out of bed, despite the fact that my body was telling me I really needed five more hours of sleep. I stumbled downstairs and did my normal routine. After this I felt a little more alive. Breakfast was nearly ready when I got downstairs at 8:00. Mommy had baked pancake puff, a favorite with the Hopkins family. :) Since it was not quite done, Mommy said we had time to have our individual devotions, which we accordingly did. Then we ate up most heartily, because the Hopkins children are ravenous eaters, and love a good breakfast.

After clearing our dishes, each child went about his/her studies. Daddy gave us the assignment of studying as much about Saint Patrick as possible. I proceeded upstairs. I finished the second to the last chapter of Robinson Crusoe, which me down to Olivia were reading with mommy. (I was behind.) I did this while Chloe was on Peter's laptop researching Saint Patrick. I attempted today to do as much as I possibly could. (I did fail, you know... but I did get SOME things done.)

After this, I read some out of my Paul Revere book because I really wanted to finish it today, until I was called downstairs to finish Robinson Crusoe. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. And then I was free to go upstairs, and finish Paul Revere. Then I did my research for Saint Patrick, and when I finished that, I remembered that I was supposed to write an article for Olivia Howard's magazine, and the deadline was today, and I had done nothing. So I wrote it, and sent it off. Chloe came up when I was just about done, declaring her out-of-character-determination to go running. Of course I went with her, but we ran into a dilemma. There are two pairs of sneakers that are wearable for Chloe and I in this house. One pair belongs to Gabriel, and they are very big on him, hence even bigger on Chloe. The other pair belongs to me, and are only slightly big on me. Well... Gabriel had worn his on an outdoor job, so we only had one pair. Perhaps you didn't need to know all this. But I'm telling it anyways. :) So, I went running first, came back, and then Chloe wore my sneakers (with more than one pair of socks) and she went. Meanwhile, I.... well... um.... Spent some time doing something, but I can't remember what. I just remember that when Chloe came back, I let her use the laptop, and went to take a nap. I don't think I actually slept, but at least I was rested. Then Chloe got ready to leave for a college hockey game, at which the boy choir, of whom daddy is the director and the accompanist, had to sing.

When they had gone (daddy, Peter, Chloe, Gabriel, Duncan, and Luther) I tried to console Tirzah and Olivia (because they couldn't go) by showing them the crocuses blooming in the garden. (I really love flowers—who doesn't?) I then realized that since we were going to have a nice dinner with corned beef and potatoes, the house had better be clean. Well, the four main rooms were rather messy. So, I cleaned them up, and talked to mommy while I was at it. During this time, Mother mended a ripped sheet, and Olivia took a nap, while Tirzah played outside. Finally, when all this was done, I worked on a dishcloth I was knitting, and when I had finished that, I edited the article I sent to Olivia Howard, and then resent it.

I read one chapter out of The Count of Monte Cristo, and was just about to help Tirzah with gingerbread when my grandmother called from New York asking for help with some directions.... and after that, I helped make the gingerbread... and dinner was ready... (at 8:30) and then we ate and it was all very good! Daddy said the concert went well, and Duncan won a T-shirt because he and another boy in the boychoir partook of a contest out on the ice...
Whoever could eat a six inch sub within the space of two minutes first, won. And Duncan won. He didn't have a great appetite, but still ate up just like he normally would.

And then I decided to write this rather pointless post, and if you even got to the point of where you're reading this, good job! You have a large amount of perseverence. :P



(this is a picture of our dinner... corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and parsnips.)

I know it's kinda blurry... but oh well!

~Ruby