Long summer day...in a good way!

I love summer days! I love being able to maintain a clean and organized house, and have time with the kids, AND get lots of extra projects done! Again, don't get me wrong -- I thoroughly enjoy homeschooling my kids and am thankful for the opportunity to do so...but the fact remains that it does severely limit my available time. I'm also glad we got most of our medical appointments done in April and May so that we can enjoy days like today...at home!

This morning after chores, the kids and I washed the van together...we had lots of fun!Then I started to clean out a small landscaped area near the house. It was full of last autumn's fallen leaves and acorns, so I raked it all out; I found a few random toys hidden in there, and I also found this...

After looking it up on the Internet and deciding that it was a Smooth Earth Snake (I had never heard of that one before!), I called Bruce to consult with him on what we should do about it. Since it's non-venomous, it didn't get the automatic chop. But we decided that since it eats earthworms (and we don't want our earthworm population depleted) and it doesn't helpfully eat venomous snakes (like a king snake does), and it is not a protected species around here, that I would remove it...permanently. (I managed it in one clean hack -- even David was impressed!) I thought that perhaps you northerners would like to see what happens to a snow shovel when its family moves it down south. It becomes a scoop-leaves-off-the-cement shovel. Also notice my new rain barrel (my dad will be happy to hear that this one is made of foam...I have another one made of wood that he has had to 'doctor up' several times to make it hold water!). After I hacksawed the downspout to shorten it, I managed to slice three of my knuckles while wrestling the end piece back on...but I won, and that's the important part! While I was reorganizing the garage, I came across this big boy! It made me miss my chickens -- they LOVE to eat slugs! And although I don't actually want slugs to live in the garage, I figured it was better to find it there rather than in the garden. :) (...and yes, we removed him as well.)Once those jobs were done, we took a picnic lunch down to the pool and enjoyed several hours of relaxing there. David alternately played in the (still chilly) water and laid in the sunshine to warm back up again; Abigail and I laid in lounge chairs, sipping lemonade and reading our books. I meant to take pictures of the kids, but...I forgot. Now dinner is in the oven and I'm going to squeeze in one last load of laundry and do the last tidy-up of the day. Ahhhh, summer!!!

My mom's surgery update

My mom's surgery went well (one eye today, the other eye Wednesday) -- click here to read her report! Thanks for praying...

Monday putterings

We have piano lessons and some miscellaneous errands later today, but for now we're enjoying a peaceful Monday morning.

Abigail is reading...

David is creating......and now that I'm caught up online, I'm going to start some laundry and get ready for another lovely summer day! ~

Thanks for praying for my mom this morning...she is having laser surgery to correct the glaucoma they just discovered in both of her eyes...click here to read her post.

Saturday projects

This past Saturday we started the day by grocery shopping...the kids and I usually do that on our own during the week, but I wasn't up to pushing a loaded cart yet, and I hadn't done a thorough grocery-shopping trip since before we went to Florida in April, so we needed a lot of stuff! It was nice to banish the "Mother Hubbard" look from our kitchen cupboards! :) Bruce's big project of the day was to install the new antenna we got. We discontinued our dish service but weren't happy with the reception we were getting with just a digital converter box, so we added the antenna and are very happy with the results. We now get PBS, which is (in my opinion) the most important channel!

Getting the new toy readyThis is one of those times that I am thankful that my husband is good with his hands as well as his head...it's so nice that he researched, ordered, and installed the new contraption so that we didn't have to pay someone else to do it. As is also typical of Bruce, he was very patient with David and let him "help" with the project -- David even got to go in the attic and was so excited that he was deemed old enough to walk in the insulation for the very first time. :) (...don't worry, he was fully clothed; he didn't go up there in the outfit you see above!)

Getting the attic ready for the new toy The reason I didn't spend much time in the attic!

2009 spring garden debut!

Our garden is growing nicely...

Top to bottom: -cucumbers -okra -sweet corn And the other half, again top to bottom: -cantaloupe -tomatoes -wax beans [-space for the kids' flowers] -sweet potatoes

Reorganizing, inside and outside

Just in case you wondered what it looks like under the washing machine when your husband pulls it out for the first time in six years...yuck!

"After" is much nicer!!!I don't have "before" pictures of today's other major reorganization projects, but at the very least, my mom will notice the difference from what they looked like when she was here! Laundry areaEntertainment center cabinet I am thoroughly enjoying clearing out clutter, organizing our things, and throwing away all of the extraneous junk that never fails to collect and multiply! In outside business, I planted the aloe plant my dad sent me... Deadheaded my climbing roses and tied up the new canes... (see my white lavender almost ready for harvest?)Planted another flower near the mailbox... I also deadheaded all of my other roses and did a bunch of weeding...yes, I overdid it a bit and am sore for it tonight, but I am encouraged by the level of (my physical) improvement that I am seeing! The kids stayed busy today with their usual pursuits...here is David in the robot costume he built (and he even asked permission before he got out the supplies, and cleaned everything up after he was done -- yay David!)

A day at Fort McKee

Yesterday was a pleasantly rainy day, so we spent the day inside. I conquered the toy closet and re-conquered the kids' rooms, caught up on quite a few phone calls, sketched out my '09-'10 school year calendar, did laundry...and the kids played "fort" most of the day.After some rousing games of Go Fish, we ate dinner and enjoyed some together-reading time out on the porch swing (we've started Charlotte's Web), did our final clean-up of the day, and then it was bedtime...a lovely day at home!

All caught up!

I think that catches us up now...we are settling into our summer routine now, with quiet, peaceful mornings, kids' job charts to help them stay on track with chores without nagging from me, and extra time for organization projects, sewing and crafting projects, reading, and relaxing...and of course, time at the pool! One other little piece of info that I haven't relayed yet...and someone asked recently about Bruce's health...overall, he has been doing very well. He had an episode of a-fib while we were in Florida in April, which was a bummer since he hadn't had trouble with that since Sept. '07, but hasn't experienced it again since. We seem to see a correlation between a-fib and being on vacation with its less-than-careful food/drink intake (more sodium, more soda, less water, etc). So as long as we follow our regular routine, he seems to be doing fine. At last check, his heart is still mildly enlarged (a major improvement over the gross enlargement of two years ago) and he will have another echo done later this year to check it again. He is still on all of his meds, and it doesn't look like he'll be off of them anytime soon; but next month will be two years since his heart procedure and we are very thankful for his overall health! Hopefully from here on out the blog will stay updated regularly and we won't need another big catch-up...here's to a healthy summer!!!

Hearing updates

Monday the kids had hearing checks...and they both have had very significant losses. We weren't surprised -- we had seen evidence of further loss -- but it was a little surprising to see just how much loss there was. David now has several frequencies in the profound loss range. Abigail is the closest she's ever been to profound loss, as well as having failed to significantly regain any of the big loss she had in April. We are very thankful that, with their HAs adjusted, they are still hearing in the normal range for the most part, albeit at the lower end of 'normal'. We're also thankful that the Lord continues to work in their lives and bodies and that He knows the plan He has for them...we need simply to trust Him! As is often the case, we went out to dinner with RaDora after hearing checks. We went to our favorite pizza place, Napoli's, and since my mom was still here, she was able to go with us, too! (I like the appropriateness of the background artwork, since both my mom and I are transplants from NY...!)

Lavender sachet project

This past weekend I made a lavender sachet for a friend for whom I needed a small gift. I used some linen recycled from a pair of capris that I had made for myself but intensely disliked, embroidered the small flower on the front, filled it with dried lavender, sewed it shut, and frayed the edges. I like this result much better than the original result from this fabric!!!

Odds and ends from the last couple of weeks

I had squirreled away some new sidewalk chalk, so we gave it to the kids while we worked on the mending basket project. It kept them entertained for quite a while!I think my favorite drawing was David's "whale with a cannon" (left). That's my all-boy boy!

My mom and I harvested the first crop of this year's lavender. (Go here to see what fun project we did with the dried lavender from last year's crop.)

Our first pool-visit for this season!

First piano recital

While my mom was here, the kids had their first piano recital as part of a student appreciation service at our church. They did wonderfully! I tried to video their pieces, but had some technical difficulties during Abigail's piece...so I will wait until I can get a copy from a friend and then I'll post videos of both of them. My mom has a couple of nice pictures here, and below is a picture of them with their piano teacher (and our friend!) Danielle, with the flowers they gave her as a thank-you.

Mom to the rescue!

For those of you not already aware, I've been having some health troubles...I got sick with a bad kidney infection a few weeks ago, and ended up having a severe reaction to the antibiotic I was taking. It caused temporary nerve damage as well as inflammation of quite a few tendons. We were very thankful that the nerve issues abated within days of going off the medication, but the tendons take longer to heal (4-6 weeks for complete recovery, although I am already very much improved from the original pain level). That was why my mom came up to help -- because how in the world does a woman manage the prescribed rest for healing (limited walking, no bending/squatting/lifting, no stairs...) when she has two young kids (who make lots of messes!) and a two story house?! Mom to the rescue, that's how! Not only was my mom a HUGE help with day to day housework, as well as driving us everywhere we needed to go, she also helped me with some MAJOR cleaning-out projects...not to mention the fact that we just enjoy each other's company so very much. After a visit like this, I always think longingly of the Amish lifestyle in regards to the way the families typically stay in close proximity and mothers and their married daughters often share work projects...I would love to have that opportunity to regularly work alongside my mom in peaceful companionship! I'm so very thankful for a mom who is also one of my dearest friends...it is not something I take for granted. It was also nice for the kids to have some undivided Grandma-attention. She fed them constantly, read to them, played with them, subjected herself to their ministrations, and did craft projects with them.

Here they are doing an early-morning loom project together.

We conquered my mending basket, fixing whatever was worth it, throwing away things that weren't, and turning other things into newer, grander articles of clothing. And of course, the cats helped with this project.Unfortunately, I have almost no pictures of my mom -- probably because I was too busy cracking the whip instead of holding a camera. :) I do, however, have way too many pictures of her adorable kitten Nyki!!!Nyki is so much fun! She loves these furry little mice and she plays fetch like a dog -- it's the craziest thing! She plays and plays and usually we get tired of it before she does. She likes complicated retrievals -- if a throw lands in the middle of the room with no challenging obstacle, Nyki will only bring the mouse partway back, as if punishing the thrower for their poor throw. But if it's a good, challenging retrieval, she will bring it back and drop it on the thrower's foot! ~

Thank you so very much, Mom. Words just don't cut it. And thank you so very much, too, Dad, for willingly sharing Mom for so long, and being patient every time we extended her return date. It was a huge blessing in so many ways! We love you both! We look forward to seeing both of you in a few weeks during your regularly-scheduled, just-for-fun visit!!!

Promoted!

Yes, my kids are promoted to the next grade...they successfully completed 1st grade (David) and K4 (Abigail). It was a really good year...I am enjoying homeschooling more than ever...and we look forward to the year ahead, although we are very happy to have summer break first!!! To celebrate the end of the school year, we went to Benihana (a Japanese steakhouse). We did that last year, as well, and when we asked the kids this year where they wanted to go, they chose it again. I believe it is now an annual tradition! Since my mom had just come into town to help me recuperate from my issues, she got to enjoy the experience with us, too!

David and Grandma watching the chefOur family enjoying the showPromoted!Us with our hardworking scholars

Although I was thrilled to have completed the school year, I also felt wistfully sentimental about the fact that my kids are now in kindergarten and second grade. Where does the time go?! and how does it go by so very quickly?! But for now, we are thoroughly enjoying summer vacation!

Bruce's birthday celebration

Since Bruce typically works from home on Wednesdays, and his birthday was on a Wednesday this year, we were able to celebrate with him off and on all day long, which was fun. Once again, the kids really got into the birthday celebration spirit, and made "presents" for Daddy all day long (my favorite was when David wrapped up Bruce's belt and gave it back to him like it was something new and special). They each wrapped a real present for Bruce, too, and when it was time to open presents, they had him sit on the "throne" (our recliner) and covered him with a blanket (not really sure why, since Bruce is always too hot anyway, but he cooperated very nicely nonetheless!).

This one was wrapped by David. It was actually quite respectable!Abigail wrapped this one all by herself. I gave her nice tissue paper, but she decided to use the shopping bag instead...Daddy and his loot

After a birthday dinner of lasagna etc, we went to church and then came home to enjoy his birthday dessert of strawberry shortcake!

David-ideas

David and one of his "science experiments"...they always involve lots of messes (er, I mean, supplies), but it's fun to hear his hypotheses and explanations! Besides, I remember well how often my mom tolerated my childhood "experiments" -- and she even made me feel like they were worthwhile -- even when it meant that I was cluttering her freezer with Dixie cups full of water with objects frozen inside. :) This particular experiment of David's was one of dyeing yarn and paper (the "dyeing" was actually just observing how the colors turned darker when wet!).This is part of a Lincoln Log village he built a couple of weeks ago. He wanted to take a picture for the blog. He always has a million ideas and runs from one thing to the next "creating"...this summer we are working on the principle of cleaning up the first creation before running to create the next one...he much prefers to leave the first one behind for me to clean up, but we're working on it!He experimented with the camera before he returned it to me...That's my boy!

Day of transition

Hi again everyone...I know I'm terribly behind on blogging; that's one 0f the things I plan to catch up in the next few days! Not today (Bruce works at home on Wednesdays and therefore I am computerless except for brief email checks), but soon! My mom left yesterday and I was feeling (not unexpectedly) quite blue...not only was she a huge help, but we thoroughly enjoy each other's company and I miss her a lot after she leaves. But yesterday morning my friend Danielle called and invited us to a local beach with her and her girls. I had to decline, since driving is still not a good thing for me, but instead of accepting my decline, she came and picked us up instead! I was very thankful...I was sorely in need of a good distraction from my sadness...and we had a lovely time together besides. It was a hot, sunny day, the water felt wonderful, and the beach was mostly unpopulated...perfect!