Trying to recuperate

Abigail appears to have the nasty version of this virus...she and I have been up since just after 4 this morning...her fever is up over 102 and she is coughing like she might lose a lung...poor baby! Thankfully, Motrin helped bring the fever down enough that she is comfortable enough to sit with a book. She's trying valiantly to be sweet and cheerful (as you can see in the picture below), but Mommy sees through it to the pitifully sick little girl!Last evening we put Abigail to bed and then David and I went to the library, got a sandwich at Chick-Fil-A (had a coupon for a free one!), and then we had some time at the pool. He's been very patient throughout this long ordeal of illness, during which he's hardly had any undivided attention or swimming time. It has been quite unlike the summer days we had planned, which were to include daily picnic lunches and swimming, time to play with friends and lots of outside time. It's been a long few weeks, especially for a high-energy seven year old boy, and he's been a trooper! Anyway, it was nice to spend the time with him, and it was good for him to have a change of pace...we got almost three dozen books at the library, talked a lot without interruption, had the pool to ourselves, and then he slept until almost eight this morning...and now we're all reaping the rewards of a trip to the library!I'm planning to can beans, fold laundry, and sew today, along with tending my sick girl. Hopefully we'll have a peaceful day!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!Considering my love of aprons, I sure hope I win this giveaway happening at grosgrain!

The last one bites the dust

Abigail has stayed healthy long enough that we thought she had avoided the illness that has plagued our house for the last 2+ weeks...wrong! She started feeling poorly yesterday and this morning she has it all...fever, chills, sore throat, headache, horrid cough. Poor baby! Bruce and David headed off to church, and I got Abigail tucked in on the couch with all the essentials -- comfy pjs, soft blanket, blankie, books, a drink, and a good movie (she picked Wizard of Oz). After a while, the Tylenol kicked in enough so that she could sit up for a manicure/pedicure -- because what girl doesn't feel at least an eensy-weensy bit better after one of those?!

Happy 11th anniversary to us!

Eleven years ago today, I married the man I love most in the world...

my best friend, my husband... the man who is God's fulfillment of the dreams and prayers that have been in my heart since I was a little girl. I'm so thankful for the blessing of my Bruce.I love you so much, Bruce -- thank you for making me your wife eleven years ago and for the joy you have brought to my life every day since! I love you!

This year's firstfruits

There are a lot more beans ready to be picked, but they are waiting until this evening when it's not quite so hot outside!!!

While I was cleaning...

...Molly very cat-fully observed and inspected my work in between her naps....the kids had fun climbing over piles and picking through the "get rid of" pile to see if there was anything they wanted to covertly rescue (unbeknownst to them, I know better and I bury in the bottom of the pile those things that I don't want them to see!). They also colored nearby, played in David's room, played dress-up......and played very happily downstairs. After my shout of accomplishment yesterday, I gathered up my paraphernalia and came down the stairs only to find the price to be paid for their cooperative self-entertainment all day...

...sigh! Honestly, it wasn't too bad considering the mess I'd just conquered...but this was only the living room...! Really, though, they did great and were very patient while I worked so long, and I'm very appreciative of their willingness to allow me to work mostly uninterrupted for so long!

Cleaning, un-cleaning, re-cleaning success!

Other than a large pile of things (some to store, some to give away, some to throw out!) that I will ask my husband to help me carry downstairs, the project is complete!

Here are the 'before' pictures... The big closet (notice that everything didn't even fit in there...)The small closet (I had already removed her clothes at this point) Reorganization stage 1...I wondered what I had gotten myself into but I kept at it!Reorg stage 2...where I started this morning.

And here are the 'after' pictures! In the big closet, Abigail's clothes and toys are neatly arranged... I still get the upper shelf for craft stuff; my ribbons are neatly arranged in two boxes according to ribbon type, there is a box for paper crafts, one for embroidery supplies, etc etc. Yay! In the small closet is my yarn, as well as all of my fabric, arranged according to fabric type (and the cottons are even grouped by color!). Quilting-fabric remnants and scraps are neatly arranged in a storage box. The shelving arrangement isn't a perfect one, but it used supplies that I already had on hand...so it's great for now!

The crib has been in this spot since Abigail was born, but today I took it down (more about that in another post, another time; that's not the focus of this post!) to clear up some space so we could rearrange a bit. We are transitioning from nursery to little girl's room!As part of this transition, I have plans to strip the wallpaper, repaint, change curtains/bedding, etc...but that is a different project for a different month...for now I am going to bask in the glow of a successful reorganization project! ...and besides, I think I've earned myself some sewing time, especially since I can now easily find any fabric I need!

Giant messes, overhauls, family time, and nasty falls!

We had a wonderful visit with my dad- and mom-in-law, and (as is always the case!) we got some projects done while they were here, too. Dad fixed our stair handrail, replaced some toilet guts, and overhauled the garden. Mom and I, besides the usual house-chores, also overhauled the basement and the basement stairs. I didn't think to take a "before" picture (although even if I had thought of it, I don't know if I would have posted one; it might have been too embarrassing!), but here are the nice clean stairs (which were formerly a dusty obstacle course).

Here are Abigail and Molly napping together after Wednesday's swim-time with Grandpa & Grandma...Wednesday night after church, we came home to a yard full of fireflies, so we spent some time chasing them! I love how you can see the fireflies even in the pictures.Dad, Bruce, and David chased them valiantly; Abigail first tried standing still and calling in a coaxing voice, "Firefly! Firefly!", but when that didn't work, she started chasing them, too. :)

Yesterday the kids got to leave with Grandpa & Grandma to go to their cousins' house for some swim time (Grandpa brought them back mid-afternoon). While they were gone, I got some chores done and then tackled what is probably my biggest re-org project of the summer...the closets in Abigail's room. The smaller closet has been for her clothes etc; the bigger one (see "before" pic below) has been for my sewing stuff. However, in the last six years, the sewing closet has gotten crammed with stuff and disorganized, and the older Abigail gets, the more crammed her closet has gotten, too, so it was time for a change.

Unfortunately, this is one of those projects that has to get worse before it gets better, but I knew that going into it! I worked on it for about seven hours yesterday, and will try to finish it up today and/or tomorrow.

And here's how we ended the day yesterday...

...David fell last night just before bed and, due to the snap I heard when he hit the floor, as well as the amount of pain he was in, we decided to get it xrayed. I just got the call that there is no fracture, which is good...but now he still has to take it easy and let all the 'guts' heal from the trauma. In the meantime, he's still in quite a bit of pain and is frustrated by how much one MIA hand hampers his activities!

Prayer request today...

Update at 10:00 a.m. -- my grandma is done and they found a healthy heart with no blockages -- praise the Lord. She will still be under the weather as she recuperates from the procedure, but I'm glad she complied with my request that there not be any unexpected misbehavior today! :) ~~~ 7:48 a.m. ...thanks for praying with me for my grandma, who is having a heart catheterization done this morning to check out some trouble she's been having lately.

Grandparent-visit!

Bruce's parents arrived yesterday for a previously scheduled visit that was especially welcome after our long confinement!

We went for a quick dip in the pool, then raced the thunder home where the kids and their grandparents played some rousing card games while dinner was cooking.After dinner, Grandpa played his harmonica and the kids danced... (click on this picture to enlarge it -- I love the swing of Abigail's hair!)...and then David & Abigail put on a show for us before bedtime. David was the shepherd and Abigail was the lamb, as demonstrated in the picture below where he's patting her head while she "baaaa"s!

Happy birthday

Happy birthday, Dad/Grandpa!

We love you!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Bruce, both of our dads, and Grandpa O'Gorman! We love you all very much!

Happy first day of summer 2009!

Here is a taste of early summer in Georgia...

Cantaloupes are running and blossomingBaby cucumbers are being 'birthed' beneath their blossomsTiny tomatoes are appearingBeans are blossoming profusely Sweet potatoes are bushing out and purplingCorn is thigh-high

Okra leaves are broadeningAnd (especially for my grandma!) my gladiolus are almost ready to bloom...pictures to follow once that happens!

Summer dew

I love how the dew gathered into beads on the edge of the cantaloupe leaves this morning...

How girls play Superman

Shearing our sheep

This morning I ventured outside while it was still pleasantly cool and not too bright...I tended to my potted plants, strolled around the yard, and then decided to shear our sheep...okay, actually I brushed the dog, but the results were almost the same! It's a pity that dog hair is stinky and therefore worthless as a fiber...it has a lovely sheen, with subtle color variations due to the Brittany red and white (click on the picture to enlarge), and it is so tempting to save it for my mom to spin into some lovely yarn! The dog likes to be brushed, and for the most part lays there nicely. He lays there with a dorky doggie grin on his face because he thinks I brush him because I love him...little does he know my selfish motivation...a cleaner carpet! :) I finally quit brushing not because there was no more hair coming but because I was tired of doing it. Then I came in the house and vacuumed!!!

Fevers, sunshine...hot, hot, hot!

We are supposed to have some sizzling hot days here...yesterday was 96 and we're supposed to keep climbing. I'm bummed not to be able to spend it hanging out in the pool with the kids, but right now, holding still in a dark, air-conditioned room is all I can manage! Bruce has finally turned a corner and is slowly starting to improve, although he still can't stay awake for more than an hour or two without needing to crawl back into bed for hours-long naps. David is still coughing to the point of gagging, but his fever is gone and he's otherwise feeling much better, just in time to loudly climb the walls while I crash! Abigail is still holding out as the only healthy one in the bunch, and we all hope that lasts. Here is our garden -- lately neglected due to our illness, but thriving nonetheless -- getting its morning drink before the Georgia sun attempts to burn every drop of moisture out of it. Actually, though, with the preparatory watering it gets and then the hot sun all day, it's literally growing measurably every day. So exciting! Abigail told us yesterday that she's not tired of waiting for the garden yet, but she is almost tired of waiting for it (to produce)!Kindly do not comment on the weeds that have also thrived while we've been sick. There's nothing I can do about it right now, when I can neither tolerate light, tolerate heat, nor bend over. They will still be there when I feel better, and I can pull them out (or perhaps chainsaw them down...) at that point!

Who doesn't love warm laundry?!

Twilight zone

We've been sick around here...Bruce is on medicine for bronchitis/ear infection, and is still not doing as well as we think he should be by now. David is now on medicine for a double ear infection and was well on his way to bronchitis (that should now be avoided since he's on meds), with some asthma flare-up thrown in just for fun. I'm on medicine for another kidney infection and have a visit to the urologist scheduled in a couple of weeks to try to root out a cause for these recurrent little beauties. Yesterday I woke up with pain in both of my eyes as well as blurry vision...they couldn't figure out why, and today my vision has improved throughout the day, although there is still a significant amount of pain and sensitivity to light. Neither Bruce nor David have been sleeping very well because of fevers/coughs etc, and I haven't been sleeping well because I've been listening to, checking on, and otherwise tending to them! Thankfully, Abigail seems to be healthy and doing great... We are very thankful for friends who have helped out in myriad ways these last couple of days. It has been a good reminder of God's love and care for us even in the midst of a weird and not very wonderful week!!! Hopefully we'll get started on the healthy trail again soon...

^My sick, sleeping boy...

More lavender harvested

Tonight I harvested my white lavender...the blooms are silvery white and the stems are much longer than traditional lavender. I also got a small handful of secondary buds from my purple lavender. Forgive the unattractive setting of this picture, but it's late and I'm ready for my hot fudge sundae and bedtime! Mom, if you thought we had fun weaving the other stems, just wait until these babies dry -- that is a 12-inch ruler next to the stems!!!