Russ needed a break. He's been working nearly everyday, minus Sundays, since mid-July to get all the orders filled. Some have even been done a month or two ahead of time. That's fortunate for us since the customer who ordered them called to have them expedited - 'yesterday' type of thing... When we got the dates on the calendar for our beach trip Russ kicked into even higher gear. He worked until the night before we left. And it's all been worth it.
So that's partly why we're here. At Duck, NC. This is our 4th year visiting Duck - and now it's officially a tradition. It started out with my friend Anna May inviting us since it's been their tradition for about 8 years. We liked it so much we rented a house last year with family and friends. This year we're here with Bruce and Rose and boys, Allan and Angie and children, Eric and Laura and children, and expecting Jesse and Jill around 1 am. It's so nice to have a time each year when we know we'll just get to hang out with family, swim, play cards, watch the children squeal in delight, and now... belly dance (courtesy of Rose). That part is definitely new. Rose has been belly dancing for several years and has a little group of ladies that get together each week. Angie and Laura have been part of that group for about 4 months now, so I've been getting a crash course the last couple evenings.
Tomorrow we celebrate Bruce's big 40 (even though it's passed), and Daniel's 8th birthday. The entertainment includes Jessica and Katlyn doing the 3 magic tricks they learned recently - the 'spoon picture' trick, 'which book 'trick, and the 'guess the object' trick. I love those tricks. It took me quite a while to figure them out... well, actually the girls went ahead and told me. I need to work on my observation skills... I must admit I was stumped. Anyway, us Mom's will be doing a belly dance with scarves (very beautiful I must say) and the 'pinky dance' with the daughters. I'm not sure what the men have planned. Bumps for both birthday boys perhaps? Ethiopian food is on the menu... yummy. The food has been wonderful this week so far - I must admit that IS one of my favorite things about this trip. Everyone takes turns with supper so we get de-lish-ous food!
Sunday was great weather for being on the beach. Today has been rainy and cold. Although there was a break in the rain this afternoon. Rod and Lori arrived this morning, although they'll be staying at a different house, and so the men and children went out to the beach to dig a fairly substantial hole. It was probably 5 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter. The youngest children loved it, especially trying to climb out. Holes like that are great babysitters at the ocean - they keep the children safe from getting into any trouble. Little David was the cutest! At 2 years old he was covered, and I do mean covered, in sand. His hair, under his fingernails, and even his nose seemed to be packed with sand - but he didn't care. He was probably the happiest little boy there.
Tomorrow the forecast doesn't look much better. Hopefully the rain will stop long enough for a bike ride and maybe a swim. Otherwise, we'll pile into the van and visit the NC Aqaurium or a lighthouse out here.
That'll be all for now... I believe it's hot tub time!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A Deal's a Deal
Gulp! I hadn't realized the time would go by so quickly. I've been thinking, "Cheryl, you need to write a post, it's been a while." Then I'd get into something else and the thought would quietly disappear. Before I share what we have done this past month, let me share what we're doing tomorrow... but first you must understand the 'behind the scenes' story.
Out of our 3 children, two are thumb suckers. Katlyn and Levi. We forced a pacifier on Jessica for the first 5 months and then took it away. She never found her thumb. But then for the other two we decided to encourage the thumb. It seemed like a great idea since they can find it for themselves and don't need us to stumble around in the dark with eyes half open patting around the crib looking for the nookie to stop the fussing. So when they really found that yummy thumb themselves we didn't stop them. I know parenting books may say not to allow that habit but they didn't know it was a matter of survival right then!
Anyway, Katlyn was about to turn 8 years old. We thought it was time for the thumb sucking to stop so we used positive reinforcement (a.k.a. a bribe!). The thing she loves most is going to the water park soooooo... one night before bed we sat her down and told her that when she stopped sucking her thumb - we'd go as a family to the waterpark. Well, she's one determined little girl. I think it just took one week. When she told me she'd stopped I could hardly believe it. After all, the parenting books said we'd need the yucky tasting nail polish, or some strange thumb contraption that doesn't allow thumb sucking, or hypnotism, or something. So I would tip toe into her room at night and check her once in a while to see if she really did stop (she used to sleep a good part of the night with that thumb in her mouth). Sure enough - thumb sucking was over. No nasty nail polish, no strange thumb wearing devices, nothing. Katlyn had put her mind to it and was done.
Well, this all happened right before our Texas adventure began. To make a long story short - we never got to the waterpark but promised we'd do it once we moved. Tomorrow - is a day of reward! Tomorrow we are off to the waterpark. Russ is taking the day off, we have a cooler of food packed, swimsuits and towels, plenty of sunscreen, and the alarms set for 6:30 AM. We meet some friends at 7:30 and have around a 2 hour drive to what they consider "the best waterpark around." When our children woke up this morning they couldn't wait for bedtime so tomorrow would come faster. Yippee!
To be honest, going to the waterpark has been nice to look forward to this weekend since we had planned to be at Jewel and Kevin's wedding. Friday I was a bit sad not to be getting on a plane and flying out knowing we'd see all the family for the weekend. I hope it was a perfect day for them and we look forward to hearing about all the good times.
Now for the past month.
My nephew was supposed to stay up until this past week but his Mom missed him so much he went home 2 weeks early. LOL! Actually, I think he really missed being home even though he had a wonderful time with us. It WAS his first time away from home after all.
I don't remember if I wrote that Russ got many large orders the week we arrived back from Edmonton. It was wonderful to have the work but also too bad because to get the orders done he had to work about 2 weeks of 7AM - 10 PM days. He didn't get much time to just hang out with Emery - but they did manage to shoot some guns and do some fishing. Emery was a huge help in the shop too. He kept Russ company many hours actually doing 2nd operations on parts.
I had planned to start school early August but that's all changed. We'll start next week. I'm going to be teaching the children using the Charlotte Mason method of schooling. I don't yet feel adequate at explaining it very well but I'll take a stab at it. The biggest thing is we don't use and textbooks, except for a regular math program. All history, grammar, spelling, etc. will be learned by reading 'living books.' Living books are books that are written by an author with a deep appreciation and excitement for a particular topic so when reading them you catch the excitement and it's more like listening to a great story while learning at the same time. Many of the books are unabridged classics, and some are much above my children's level - so I'll read those to them. We read just a few pages each day, or chapters in some cases and the children will narrate back to me what they remember with as much detail as possible.
This year we'll be studying world history with the main text being A Child's History of the World, and then American History using This Country of Ours. We'll be making a time line of the events, along with the children copying - perfectly - passages from those books. For our first term we'll be reading Pilgrim's Progress - the regular, old english version. I have to laugh because I've actually had to practice reading this out loud to Russ so I have a feel for the language when I start reading it to the children. LOL! We'll be reading the biography of Michelangelo and studying his paintings, memorizing a poem from Songs of Innocence by William Blake, and reading Tales From Shakespeare along with other less intense books. For science we'll do nature study but also have a science class at our homeschool co-op where the children do experiments and then have readings assigned for the week.
WHEW - all that sure seems like a lot. BUT - my friend Linda, who has been teaching me and leading me into this has home schooled this way for 13 years. She has 4 children and I can SEE and HEAR that her children HAVE learned this way. Plus - they LOVE school and she still loves teaching them! It's baffling really - it's pretty much the opposite of how I was trained to teach in University. If your curious about this method you can check out her website at charlottemasonhelp.com. I also mentioned her blog in an earlier post I believe. She was having some troubles with it being user friendly so she's transferred the information over to a website.
Habit training is another HUGE part of Charlotte Mason education. Good habits include worship and bible study of our wonderful savior (which I must mention I LOVE the gentle way Linda introduces bible study to her kids - you mom's should really check it out!), exercise, chores, manners (which it seems much of today's generation severely lack), and developing a love of learning. Certain habits will be my biggest challenge. The habit I have managed to keep is drinking my favorite tea with breakfast each morning. He he he! Keeping to our schedule each day usually goes well for about a week or two and then a couple weeks later I have to give myself a pep talk when it seems the house is falling apart - but I'm determined to develop better habits myself to accomplish the goals I've aspired to.
Other than preparing for this school year and book hunting at Half Price Bookstores, I've been PURGING our house of unnecessary items. Linda's blog inspired me. One of the posts were about organization and cleaning. Here are some examples I've taken to heart:
1. Have 7 outfits for your children plus 2 church outfits. That's it. Also buy them each a package of socks that are one color. Each child has their own color, therefore no more matching problems.
2. Clean out your linen closet. Put one extra set of linens under your mattress so when you change bedding you can put on the new one. All you really need is 2 sets per bed. I did cheat here and put 2 sets under each bed - one extra for summer and a flannel set we already had for winter. I LOVE warm sheets in winter!
3. Spend 30 minutes cleaning each day - that's it! Set a timer if you have to! Vacuum and dust twice a week (one day upstairs & one day downstairs). The other 3 days a week - work on a Zone.
Zone's are from flylady.com. She suggests dividing your house into sections and deep cleaning each section for about 20-30 minutes one week at a time. You start from the top (ceiling fans and cobwebs) and work your way down to scrubbing the floor and baseboards. This should delete the need for deep cleaning at any other time of year.
So basically, your house should stay pretty clean all the time. For those of you who know me well - THAT'S A BIG BIG PLUS! :) The sun shines on a cloudy day for me if my house is clean and picked up.
Her blog has many more tips, with daily chores for the children and such, to make life easier that I won't get into right now. I WILL tell you if this all works. We start the cleaning/chore routine on Tuesday.
Oh, and one of the most exciting changes that have happened in our house!!!
**** The children are now responsible for washing dishes after all meals! *****
Some time about a week ago I just decided that I didn't want to wash dishes anymore. Especially since the kids eat, disappear from the table, and are off playing while I spend another 1/2 hour cleaning up the kitchen. And that's after I had been cooking the whole meal! So I decided that each day one of the children will cook with me. Then we all clear the table, and the child that didn't help cook washes dishes. Of course Levi is excluded from the washing dishes part until he's a bit older. I'm happy to say that the girls enjoy cooking with me. Actually Levi does too. And I love having them help me. It's funny how I'll assume they know what size pan to use to saute onions and then add ground beef to cook - but they don't. This will be such a great way for them to learn to cook.
Well, I've gone on and on and on. Hopefully this hasn't bored those of you to tears whose children are all grown. At the stage of life I'm in - this is all terribly exciting!
That's enough for now. Good night.
Out of our 3 children, two are thumb suckers. Katlyn and Levi. We forced a pacifier on Jessica for the first 5 months and then took it away. She never found her thumb. But then for the other two we decided to encourage the thumb. It seemed like a great idea since they can find it for themselves and don't need us to stumble around in the dark with eyes half open patting around the crib looking for the nookie to stop the fussing. So when they really found that yummy thumb themselves we didn't stop them. I know parenting books may say not to allow that habit but they didn't know it was a matter of survival right then!
Anyway, Katlyn was about to turn 8 years old. We thought it was time for the thumb sucking to stop so we used positive reinforcement (a.k.a. a bribe!). The thing she loves most is going to the water park soooooo... one night before bed we sat her down and told her that when she stopped sucking her thumb - we'd go as a family to the waterpark. Well, she's one determined little girl. I think it just took one week. When she told me she'd stopped I could hardly believe it. After all, the parenting books said we'd need the yucky tasting nail polish, or some strange thumb contraption that doesn't allow thumb sucking, or hypnotism, or something. So I would tip toe into her room at night and check her once in a while to see if she really did stop (she used to sleep a good part of the night with that thumb in her mouth). Sure enough - thumb sucking was over. No nasty nail polish, no strange thumb wearing devices, nothing. Katlyn had put her mind to it and was done.
Well, this all happened right before our Texas adventure began. To make a long story short - we never got to the waterpark but promised we'd do it once we moved. Tomorrow - is a day of reward! Tomorrow we are off to the waterpark. Russ is taking the day off, we have a cooler of food packed, swimsuits and towels, plenty of sunscreen, and the alarms set for 6:30 AM. We meet some friends at 7:30 and have around a 2 hour drive to what they consider "the best waterpark around." When our children woke up this morning they couldn't wait for bedtime so tomorrow would come faster. Yippee!
To be honest, going to the waterpark has been nice to look forward to this weekend since we had planned to be at Jewel and Kevin's wedding. Friday I was a bit sad not to be getting on a plane and flying out knowing we'd see all the family for the weekend. I hope it was a perfect day for them and we look forward to hearing about all the good times.
Now for the past month.
My nephew was supposed to stay up until this past week but his Mom missed him so much he went home 2 weeks early. LOL! Actually, I think he really missed being home even though he had a wonderful time with us. It WAS his first time away from home after all.
I don't remember if I wrote that Russ got many large orders the week we arrived back from Edmonton. It was wonderful to have the work but also too bad because to get the orders done he had to work about 2 weeks of 7AM - 10 PM days. He didn't get much time to just hang out with Emery - but they did manage to shoot some guns and do some fishing. Emery was a huge help in the shop too. He kept Russ company many hours actually doing 2nd operations on parts.
I had planned to start school early August but that's all changed. We'll start next week. I'm going to be teaching the children using the Charlotte Mason method of schooling. I don't yet feel adequate at explaining it very well but I'll take a stab at it. The biggest thing is we don't use and textbooks, except for a regular math program. All history, grammar, spelling, etc. will be learned by reading 'living books.' Living books are books that are written by an author with a deep appreciation and excitement for a particular topic so when reading them you catch the excitement and it's more like listening to a great story while learning at the same time. Many of the books are unabridged classics, and some are much above my children's level - so I'll read those to them. We read just a few pages each day, or chapters in some cases and the children will narrate back to me what they remember with as much detail as possible.
This year we'll be studying world history with the main text being A Child's History of the World, and then American History using This Country of Ours. We'll be making a time line of the events, along with the children copying - perfectly - passages from those books. For our first term we'll be reading Pilgrim's Progress - the regular, old english version. I have to laugh because I've actually had to practice reading this out loud to Russ so I have a feel for the language when I start reading it to the children. LOL! We'll be reading the biography of Michelangelo and studying his paintings, memorizing a poem from Songs of Innocence by William Blake, and reading Tales From Shakespeare along with other less intense books. For science we'll do nature study but also have a science class at our homeschool co-op where the children do experiments and then have readings assigned for the week.
WHEW - all that sure seems like a lot. BUT - my friend Linda, who has been teaching me and leading me into this has home schooled this way for 13 years. She has 4 children and I can SEE and HEAR that her children HAVE learned this way. Plus - they LOVE school and she still loves teaching them! It's baffling really - it's pretty much the opposite of how I was trained to teach in University. If your curious about this method you can check out her website at charlottemasonhelp.com. I also mentioned her blog in an earlier post I believe. She was having some troubles with it being user friendly so she's transferred the information over to a website.
Habit training is another HUGE part of Charlotte Mason education. Good habits include worship and bible study of our wonderful savior (which I must mention I LOVE the gentle way Linda introduces bible study to her kids - you mom's should really check it out!), exercise, chores, manners (which it seems much of today's generation severely lack), and developing a love of learning. Certain habits will be my biggest challenge. The habit I have managed to keep is drinking my favorite tea with breakfast each morning. He he he! Keeping to our schedule each day usually goes well for about a week or two and then a couple weeks later I have to give myself a pep talk when it seems the house is falling apart - but I'm determined to develop better habits myself to accomplish the goals I've aspired to.
Other than preparing for this school year and book hunting at Half Price Bookstores, I've been PURGING our house of unnecessary items. Linda's blog inspired me. One of the posts were about organization and cleaning. Here are some examples I've taken to heart:
1. Have 7 outfits for your children plus 2 church outfits. That's it. Also buy them each a package of socks that are one color. Each child has their own color, therefore no more matching problems.
2. Clean out your linen closet. Put one extra set of linens under your mattress so when you change bedding you can put on the new one. All you really need is 2 sets per bed. I did cheat here and put 2 sets under each bed - one extra for summer and a flannel set we already had for winter. I LOVE warm sheets in winter!
3. Spend 30 minutes cleaning each day - that's it! Set a timer if you have to! Vacuum and dust twice a week (one day upstairs & one day downstairs). The other 3 days a week - work on a Zone.
Zone's are from flylady.com. She suggests dividing your house into sections and deep cleaning each section for about 20-30 minutes one week at a time. You start from the top (ceiling fans and cobwebs) and work your way down to scrubbing the floor and baseboards. This should delete the need for deep cleaning at any other time of year.
So basically, your house should stay pretty clean all the time. For those of you who know me well - THAT'S A BIG BIG PLUS! :) The sun shines on a cloudy day for me if my house is clean and picked up.
Her blog has many more tips, with daily chores for the children and such, to make life easier that I won't get into right now. I WILL tell you if this all works. We start the cleaning/chore routine on Tuesday.
Oh, and one of the most exciting changes that have happened in our house!!!
**** The children are now responsible for washing dishes after all meals! *****
Some time about a week ago I just decided that I didn't want to wash dishes anymore. Especially since the kids eat, disappear from the table, and are off playing while I spend another 1/2 hour cleaning up the kitchen. And that's after I had been cooking the whole meal! So I decided that each day one of the children will cook with me. Then we all clear the table, and the child that didn't help cook washes dishes. Of course Levi is excluded from the washing dishes part until he's a bit older. I'm happy to say that the girls enjoy cooking with me. Actually Levi does too. And I love having them help me. It's funny how I'll assume they know what size pan to use to saute onions and then add ground beef to cook - but they don't. This will be such a great way for them to learn to cook.
Well, I've gone on and on and on. Hopefully this hasn't bored those of you to tears whose children are all grown. At the stage of life I'm in - this is all terribly exciting!
That's enough for now. Good night.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Praise God For...
lemons... friends... and work... are you confused? Read on...
Sigh! It's been quite the week and a half. Tuesday a week ago I went to Edmonton with the children. We got up at 3 AM and while I ironed my very wrinkly pants (an unexpected, early morning, not so welcome, surprise), Russ very kindly carried our suitcases out to the van underneath the black, starry sky. We woke and dressed the children, buckled them into the van, and were off for Dallas airport. About half way through our drive Russ payed me such a nice complement...
"Cheryl, I'm so impressed that you packed ONE suitcase for all 4 of you."
My response... somewhat puzzled was, "uh, just one?! - Russ, I had 2 suitcases. The big one and another for the children."
Russ responded, "Oh, I didn't see 2 suitcase, just one."
Sooooo, to make a long story short, NONE of the kids clothes were with us. OOPS! So once we arrived in Edmonton my mom took us straight to Value Village for some shorts, shirts, swim suit, etc. We found some very nice, very cheap (my favorite part!) clothes for the kids and went to pay. Surprise - it was seniors discount day. A whole 30% off. God worked with our misfortune.
We spent most of our trip at my sister, Maggie's, cabin. The second day we were there I was making bean dip and thought I'd snack on a small, red, sweet pepper that was in a little bag my mother brought with some fresh green onions. I took a nice big bite, about half the pepper actually, seeds and all. It only took 1 second to realize - MY MOUTH WAS ON FIRE!!! It was not a sweet pepper! I spent the next 5 minutes swishing milk around in my mouth. Every moment I tried to talk my lips, gums, and tongue felt like they were burning - painfully. I'd always wondered how it would feel to accidently bite something so hot. Maggie quickly googled (thank goodness we had internet!) 'easing hot pepper bites' and it said dairy helped and lemons reacted with the hot stuff in hot peppers to neutralize it. It was seconds between reading that that I was shoving half a lemon in my mouth and furiously chewing it for relief. Praise God again - it worked! The burn was completely gone! Sigh! I don't believe I'll ever - and I mean ever - make that mistake again.
Being at the lake was a great relief in temperature from our 100 degree days to more like mid 60's. I had a sweater on most days, or at least a long sleeve shirt. The kids got in the lake and swam so I braved sticking in my toes, then my foot, then my ankle, and well -that. was. it. Too cold for me. I sat on the beach in front of the cabin looking over the lake enjoying the camp fire. It was very relaxing. Each day we took walks, read books, ate well, and talked. It was wonderful. Then we returned back to the city for 2 nights and visited the rest of my family who didn't come to the lake. Being in a city made me feel like I was stuck in a noisy, concrete jungle. I used to love that city but it's gotten so big. All I could think of was getting home to the country. I never thought I'd feel that way!
Speaking of books, I read The Shack at the lake. Have any of you read it? I'd love to hear your opinions. I've made mine but am interested in yours too ... so please let me know.
We returned home last Tuesday. Just being back among the beautiful trees and space I could feel all tension and stress just melt away. I love being here in Texas having my husband home every day. I had no idea having Russ home would be soooo nice! Now don't take that wrong... I thought I might miss my 'independence' since for the past 12 years I've been used to having half the week to do WHAT I want - WHEN I want - and HOW I want. But I don't! It's wonderful doing things together! Despite the joy and peace of living here, there was still a little pit in my stomach since the shop has been slow for the last 3 weeks. Russ and I know that God brought us to this business so we've been doing our best not to worry and to trust Him. Well, Praise God again! We got a nice big order yesterday. Our 3 week break is over for at least 5 weeks. Our God is SO good!
My 14 year old nephew, Emery, came home with us for the next month. He's the youngest child of Maggie's and such a joy to have here. He's been swimming in the pond with the kids, fishing, riding the 4 wheeler to keep the trails from growing up (that's his JOB while he's here), shooting the 20/20 while Levi shoots the BeBe gun, and even helping Russ in the shop. I'll let you in on a little secret... shhhh - don't tell Maggie!.... "We just might keep him! He he he!"
2 nights ago we were invited to visit the homeschool 'life group' from our church. Between about 8 families there were 35 children. A couple of the families have teenage girls who were quite smitten with Emery's Canadian accent! I don't think Emery even noticed but he did have a good time. We're off the the rodeo this weekend with those same teenage girls. Then we have a birthday 'pool' party Sunday after church. Quite a full weekend.
Oh, I must praise God just one more time!
For my friends!
I received the nicest package in the mail today from my dear friend Lori - 6 boxes of my favorite tea along with 2 new kinds to try! She know's tea speaks right to my heart. Wait! It gets better - she also sent me an amazing cookbook, special ordered from a province (Halifax?) in eastern Canada, called Cooking Where Cultures Meet. The author is of Ukranian descent and married a man from South India so you can only imagine the amazing recipes in this book. Cookbooks are the other way to my heart. I feel like a kid in a candy store with all the recent recipes (ooh, and the sweetheart trifle recipe from Angie) and now this cookbook, that I've acquired. I could just stay home and cook. Sigh. Sounds like heaven. I also had such a nice message from Dawn. Thank you for that dear! You are missed very much too!
There are no other new adventures to report - the children have been learning how to entertain themselves when they get bored. I like when kids get bored because they have to be creative. Just out of the blue Jessica is becoming quite an artist. She's stared studying nature and picking one thing from it to draw. I'm surprised at how beautiful she draws! A new talent to explore!
We hope to start school at the beginning of August. I've yet to order our curriculum. I must do that soon. My mind is almost 100% decided on Heart of Dakota but next week I'll meet with my "Charlotte Mason" homeschool friend to learn more about that method. Hopefully it'll be decided and ordered by the end of the week.
Hope to here how you all are... and don't forget that book opinion. :)
Sigh! It's been quite the week and a half. Tuesday a week ago I went to Edmonton with the children. We got up at 3 AM and while I ironed my very wrinkly pants (an unexpected, early morning, not so welcome, surprise), Russ very kindly carried our suitcases out to the van underneath the black, starry sky. We woke and dressed the children, buckled them into the van, and were off for Dallas airport. About half way through our drive Russ payed me such a nice complement...
"Cheryl, I'm so impressed that you packed ONE suitcase for all 4 of you."
My response... somewhat puzzled was, "uh, just one?! - Russ, I had 2 suitcases. The big one and another for the children."
Russ responded, "Oh, I didn't see 2 suitcase, just one."
Sooooo, to make a long story short, NONE of the kids clothes were with us. OOPS! So once we arrived in Edmonton my mom took us straight to Value Village for some shorts, shirts, swim suit, etc. We found some very nice, very cheap (my favorite part!) clothes for the kids and went to pay. Surprise - it was seniors discount day. A whole 30% off. God worked with our misfortune.
We spent most of our trip at my sister, Maggie's, cabin. The second day we were there I was making bean dip and thought I'd snack on a small, red, sweet pepper that was in a little bag my mother brought with some fresh green onions. I took a nice big bite, about half the pepper actually, seeds and all. It only took 1 second to realize - MY MOUTH WAS ON FIRE!!! It was not a sweet pepper! I spent the next 5 minutes swishing milk around in my mouth. Every moment I tried to talk my lips, gums, and tongue felt like they were burning - painfully. I'd always wondered how it would feel to accidently bite something so hot. Maggie quickly googled (thank goodness we had internet!) 'easing hot pepper bites' and it said dairy helped and lemons reacted with the hot stuff in hot peppers to neutralize it. It was seconds between reading that that I was shoving half a lemon in my mouth and furiously chewing it for relief. Praise God again - it worked! The burn was completely gone! Sigh! I don't believe I'll ever - and I mean ever - make that mistake again.
Being at the lake was a great relief in temperature from our 100 degree days to more like mid 60's. I had a sweater on most days, or at least a long sleeve shirt. The kids got in the lake and swam so I braved sticking in my toes, then my foot, then my ankle, and well -that. was. it. Too cold for me. I sat on the beach in front of the cabin looking over the lake enjoying the camp fire. It was very relaxing. Each day we took walks, read books, ate well, and talked. It was wonderful. Then we returned back to the city for 2 nights and visited the rest of my family who didn't come to the lake. Being in a city made me feel like I was stuck in a noisy, concrete jungle. I used to love that city but it's gotten so big. All I could think of was getting home to the country. I never thought I'd feel that way!
Speaking of books, I read The Shack at the lake. Have any of you read it? I'd love to hear your opinions. I've made mine but am interested in yours too ... so please let me know.
We returned home last Tuesday. Just being back among the beautiful trees and space I could feel all tension and stress just melt away. I love being here in Texas having my husband home every day. I had no idea having Russ home would be soooo nice! Now don't take that wrong... I thought I might miss my 'independence' since for the past 12 years I've been used to having half the week to do WHAT I want - WHEN I want - and HOW I want. But I don't! It's wonderful doing things together! Despite the joy and peace of living here, there was still a little pit in my stomach since the shop has been slow for the last 3 weeks. Russ and I know that God brought us to this business so we've been doing our best not to worry and to trust Him. Well, Praise God again! We got a nice big order yesterday. Our 3 week break is over for at least 5 weeks. Our God is SO good!
My 14 year old nephew, Emery, came home with us for the next month. He's the youngest child of Maggie's and such a joy to have here. He's been swimming in the pond with the kids, fishing, riding the 4 wheeler to keep the trails from growing up (that's his JOB while he's here), shooting the 20/20 while Levi shoots the BeBe gun, and even helping Russ in the shop. I'll let you in on a little secret... shhhh - don't tell Maggie!.... "We just might keep him! He he he!"
2 nights ago we were invited to visit the homeschool 'life group' from our church. Between about 8 families there were 35 children. A couple of the families have teenage girls who were quite smitten with Emery's Canadian accent! I don't think Emery even noticed but he did have a good time. We're off the the rodeo this weekend with those same teenage girls. Then we have a birthday 'pool' party Sunday after church. Quite a full weekend.
Oh, I must praise God just one more time!
For my friends!
I received the nicest package in the mail today from my dear friend Lori - 6 boxes of my favorite tea along with 2 new kinds to try! She know's tea speaks right to my heart. Wait! It gets better - she also sent me an amazing cookbook, special ordered from a province (Halifax?) in eastern Canada, called Cooking Where Cultures Meet. The author is of Ukranian descent and married a man from South India so you can only imagine the amazing recipes in this book. Cookbooks are the other way to my heart. I feel like a kid in a candy store with all the recent recipes (ooh, and the sweetheart trifle recipe from Angie) and now this cookbook, that I've acquired. I could just stay home and cook. Sigh. Sounds like heaven. I also had such a nice message from Dawn. Thank you for that dear! You are missed very much too!
There are no other new adventures to report - the children have been learning how to entertain themselves when they get bored. I like when kids get bored because they have to be creative. Just out of the blue Jessica is becoming quite an artist. She's stared studying nature and picking one thing from it to draw. I'm surprised at how beautiful she draws! A new talent to explore!
We hope to start school at the beginning of August. I've yet to order our curriculum. I must do that soon. My mind is almost 100% decided on Heart of Dakota but next week I'll meet with my "Charlotte Mason" homeschool friend to learn more about that method. Hopefully it'll be decided and ordered by the end of the week.
Hope to here how you all are... and don't forget that book opinion. :)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Date Confusion
Just to keep things clear... the previous 4 entries to Bringin' Home the Bacon were written over the past 2 months, since May 2009. They were on email and I just moved them over. The following posts will be accurate as far as the date listed goes... Stay tuned!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Bringin' Home the Bacon
It's been a whirlwind around here. Last week ALL the children went to VBS (vacation bible school) from 8 am - noon. It was sure quiet around here in the mornings! Our neighbor was volunteering there and offered to take the children... so I pondered... thought awhile... lamented on HOW I'd live without them for 4 hours each morning... and very ENTHUSIASTICALLY said YES!!! They loved every minute of it. The only complaint was from Levi saying they made him sit too long to listen to the bible story. Hmmmm... I told him that was O.K. and he needed to learn to sit and listen to get ready for preschool next year. He was fine the rest of the week.
While the children were gone I enjoyed cleaning up the home school books, doing a little furniture re-arranging, making some yummy summer salads (Rajan's Bean Dip and Cabbage Salad), and a very enjoyable ride on Doug's Harley Davidson with Russell the Muscle! We were able to skip out one night and enjoy some nice back roads and beautiful country scenery while Donna had the children for her 'swap' night. Last week must have been our lucky week because then my neighbor and friend, JoAnna, offered to watch our children for an evening. So we took her up on the offer and went out for dinner to celebrate our first pay check. We ate at the Texas Steak House and Saloon... or something like that. A very nice evening - that's for sure!
Levi had his first set of swim lessons. I just realized I didn't take any pictures of it! I guess at 103 degrees my brain just doesn't function at it's top performance... Go figure! He did great - by the end of lesson one he had his face in the water doing front crawl, which is referred to as "reach and pull arms" and "straight long kicking Superman legs!" No wonder I couldn't teach him myself - I didn't know the correct 'terms.' Levi proudly notified me that only "Miss Shelly knows how to teach me to swim, Mom," as I was trying to teach him in our neighbors pool. I have to give credit where credit is due. He now jumps off the diving board, does a frantic doggy paddle for a breath of air, and dunks his head in to swim the 4 strokes to the edge of the pool. I must say, I'm one PROUD Mama!
Our excitement was at a high on Tuesday evening. Russ and I went for a short walk on our land while the kids watched a movie. Lately Russ has been seeing a lot of Cotton Mouth snakes so he brought the 30-30 just in case... 5 minutes into our walk as we were leaving the pasture area for the woods we noticed something that we thought was a black doberman dog up ahead in the trees. We quickly realized it was a wild boar. We both hunched down while Russ levered a round into the chamber and quickly fired off a shot at our moving target. The boar faultered in its step while Russ shot again. The pig went off to one side of the path while the rest of the pigs ran the opposite direction. We carefully moved closer to check out the pig. Turns out the first shot blew off it's bottom jaw and the second a piece of its tail. It was now just standing by a tree broadside to us so Russ finally had a good shot at it and dropped it. It was really exciting! I've never been with a mighty hunter at the moment of the kill before. I said, "Way to go Hun! Now THAT'S bringing home the bacon!" Russ picked it up just to check the weight... we think it was about 80 lbs.
Once we were sure the Boar was dead we rushed back to the house, rounded up the kids along with some sharp skinning knives, gloves, rope, our neighbor's tractor, our 4 wheeler, and headed back out there. Russ hung the boar off the front end loader of the tractor and WE... yes! I really was pumped and had to be in on the action! WE skinned the pig and gutted it right there.
Of course I took advantage of a 'teachable moment' and we all examined the large & small intestines, kidneys, liver, stomach, lungs, heart, and rib cage. Earlier this spring we studied the human body along with all those parts. It was cool to actually SEE them. And being the expert skinner that I think he is... Russ did very precise cuts in the skinning and cutting so there was no messy bloody parts. We left all that 'stuff' out in the woods for the vultures and brought the hog home. The next day when Russ went out there all the 'stuff' had already disappeared!
By now it was getting pretty dark so it was nice to have the lights from the 4 wheeler to guide us. Russ set up a surgery table in the garage and we cut up our pork! Too bad we don't have the experience of a butcher... but I think we did OK. We got both ribs, two nice size ham legs, 2 small tenderloins, and a bunch of other meat that will be DE-LISH-US in the crock pot with potatoes and green beans. So we left the meat in a cooler with ice and salt overnight. The next day I put my hairnet on over my curlers, along with my flowery apron, cleaned off the meat, and froze it ... just kidding. I FELT like I was in a Little House on the Prairie story but I didn't really have the hairnet, curlers, and apron. I cooked the rack of ribs in the crock pot and YUMMY... it was good! Levi wasn't sure about it, Jessica was even less sure but tried it anyway, and Katlyn gobbled it right up!
We can say we pretty much have hormone free, organic pork now. I was a little worried that the meat would be too tough but it turned out beautifully. Today we finished up some left over Enchilada Casserole and Beef Dip and both Katlyn and Levi tentatively asked if they were eating our dead pig. I assured them this meat was from a dead cow instead. I've tried in the past to be a vegetarian and lasted 3 whole weeks. I don't believe giving up meat is for me, especially when we have all these delightful and tasty animals on our land for my Mighty Hunter Man to shoot. But don't get me wrong... we try to limit our meat consumption to about 3 times a week and eat other things like beans, lentils, etc. the rest of the time. If any of you have some great bean or lentil recipes I'd be thrilled to try them.
Work is slow right now. Yesterday Russ just got his new (used) tractor and already has it all tuned up. The temperatures have been in the 100's and we've gotten used to sweating when just walking outside. But every day is clear blue skies.
We re-visted Shannon Oaks church this past week. It's the first one we visited that our friends, Doug and Betty Sue, attend. It's looking like that'll be our church. We haven't decided for sure but it's the closest to all that we're looking for in a church. They have 'life groups' on Sunday evenings (basically several children eat together and do bible study) while the children are taught bible stories and songs at the church. Then on Wed. nights there is bible study for men, women, and seperate activities for children. It's been very nice having all our evenings free but I am missing being part of a women's bible study. I'll likely join one once we settle into school late in August.
Next week I plan to visit my family in Canada and spend most of the week at my sisters cabin(s). They are next door to each other. Russ will not make this trip... hopefully he'll be too busy turning out parts. Otherwise he'll just do the other 100 things on his list.
Have a Happy 4th of July!
While the children were gone I enjoyed cleaning up the home school books, doing a little furniture re-arranging, making some yummy summer salads (Rajan's Bean Dip and Cabbage Salad), and a very enjoyable ride on Doug's Harley Davidson with Russell the Muscle! We were able to skip out one night and enjoy some nice back roads and beautiful country scenery while Donna had the children for her 'swap' night. Last week must have been our lucky week because then my neighbor and friend, JoAnna, offered to watch our children for an evening. So we took her up on the offer and went out for dinner to celebrate our first pay check. We ate at the Texas Steak House and Saloon... or something like that. A very nice evening - that's for sure!
Levi had his first set of swim lessons. I just realized I didn't take any pictures of it! I guess at 103 degrees my brain just doesn't function at it's top performance... Go figure! He did great - by the end of lesson one he had his face in the water doing front crawl, which is referred to as "reach and pull arms" and "straight long kicking Superman legs!" No wonder I couldn't teach him myself - I didn't know the correct 'terms.' Levi proudly notified me that only "Miss Shelly knows how to teach me to swim, Mom," as I was trying to teach him in our neighbors pool. I have to give credit where credit is due. He now jumps off the diving board, does a frantic doggy paddle for a breath of air, and dunks his head in to swim the 4 strokes to the edge of the pool. I must say, I'm one PROUD Mama!
Our excitement was at a high on Tuesday evening. Russ and I went for a short walk on our land while the kids watched a movie. Lately Russ has been seeing a lot of Cotton Mouth snakes so he brought the 30-30 just in case... 5 minutes into our walk as we were leaving the pasture area for the woods we noticed something that we thought was a black doberman dog up ahead in the trees. We quickly realized it was a wild boar. We both hunched down while Russ levered a round into the chamber and quickly fired off a shot at our moving target. The boar faultered in its step while Russ shot again. The pig went off to one side of the path while the rest of the pigs ran the opposite direction. We carefully moved closer to check out the pig. Turns out the first shot blew off it's bottom jaw and the second a piece of its tail. It was now just standing by a tree broadside to us so Russ finally had a good shot at it and dropped it. It was really exciting! I've never been with a mighty hunter at the moment of the kill before. I said, "Way to go Hun! Now THAT'S bringing home the bacon!" Russ picked it up just to check the weight... we think it was about 80 lbs.
Once we were sure the Boar was dead we rushed back to the house, rounded up the kids along with some sharp skinning knives, gloves, rope, our neighbor's tractor, our 4 wheeler, and headed back out there. Russ hung the boar off the front end loader of the tractor and WE... yes! I really was pumped and had to be in on the action! WE skinned the pig and gutted it right there.
Of course I took advantage of a 'teachable moment' and we all examined the large & small intestines, kidneys, liver, stomach, lungs, heart, and rib cage. Earlier this spring we studied the human body along with all those parts. It was cool to actually SEE them. And being the expert skinner that I think he is... Russ did very precise cuts in the skinning and cutting so there was no messy bloody parts. We left all that 'stuff' out in the woods for the vultures and brought the hog home. The next day when Russ went out there all the 'stuff' had already disappeared!
By now it was getting pretty dark so it was nice to have the lights from the 4 wheeler to guide us. Russ set up a surgery table in the garage and we cut up our pork! Too bad we don't have the experience of a butcher... but I think we did OK. We got both ribs, two nice size ham legs, 2 small tenderloins, and a bunch of other meat that will be DE-LISH-US in the crock pot with potatoes and green beans. So we left the meat in a cooler with ice and salt overnight. The next day I put my hairnet on over my curlers, along with my flowery apron, cleaned off the meat, and froze it ... just kidding. I FELT like I was in a Little House on the Prairie story but I didn't really have the hairnet, curlers, and apron. I cooked the rack of ribs in the crock pot and YUMMY... it was good! Levi wasn't sure about it, Jessica was even less sure but tried it anyway, and Katlyn gobbled it right up!We can say we pretty much have hormone free, organic pork now. I was a little worried that the meat would be too tough but it turned out beautifully. Today we finished up some left over Enchilada Casserole and Beef Dip and both Katlyn and Levi tentatively asked if they were eating our dead pig. I assured them this meat was from a dead cow instead. I've tried in the past to be a vegetarian and lasted 3 whole weeks. I don't believe giving up meat is for me, especially when we have all these delightful and tasty animals on our land for my Mighty Hunter Man to shoot. But don't get me wrong... we try to limit our meat consumption to about 3 times a week and eat other things like beans, lentils, etc. the rest of the time. If any of you have some great bean or lentil recipes I'd be thrilled to try them.
Work is slow right now. Yesterday Russ just got his new (used) tractor and already has it all tuned up. The temperatures have been in the 100's and we've gotten used to sweating when just walking outside. But every day is clear blue skies.
We re-visted Shannon Oaks church this past week. It's the first one we visited that our friends, Doug and Betty Sue, attend. It's looking like that'll be our church. We haven't decided for sure but it's the closest to all that we're looking for in a church. They have 'life groups' on Sunday evenings (basically several children eat together and do bible study) while the children are taught bible stories and songs at the church. Then on Wed. nights there is bible study for men, women, and seperate activities for children. It's been very nice having all our evenings free but I am missing being part of a women's bible study. I'll likely join one once we settle into school late in August.
Next week I plan to visit my family in Canada and spend most of the week at my sisters cabin(s). They are next door to each other. Russ will not make this trip... hopefully he'll be too busy turning out parts. Otherwise he'll just do the other 100 things on his list.
Have a Happy 4th of July!
A Close Call
We've just had an amazing weather week - mid 70's to 80's and sunny all week long. It was wonderful! Today started with rain though, so far we've had 2 decent rain showers and Russ is out at our neighbors with the children... I'm guessing totally drenched. :) Sundays are always bitter sweet for me. I love going to church but it feels so different with your 'visiting' churches instead of having a church home. Today we visited Family Life Church... they rocked the building that's for sure. Personally, I think they could make a killing selling ear plugs in their little coffee shop. The music was good but very, VERY loud. The pastor was good too. We could tell he was passionate about Jesus because when he got excited he yelled and his face got red and the veins in his neck nearly popped out. The sermon was on Romans 2 something... about not conforming to this world. We enjoyed meeting more people and I signed up for a little women's event they are holding for the community in 2 weeks. It's 2 evenings and then Saturday with 3 speakers and the same worship leader. (I'll be sure to wear ear plugs ;) The children LOVED children's church - when they got in the van they asked if we could hear them yelling ... of course we said 'no' since our pastor/worship team was pretty loud themselves. The children really liked their program though. I believe we'll keep praying and visiting about where God wants us to be - for some reason I don't think Family Life Church is it. I joked with Russ that Dawn Mast emailed a couple weeks ago that there would be 100 Sundays until we moved back to VA if it works out to move back in 2 years - so if we visited ALL the churches in the paper in this area when we finished we'd know our time her was up and we needed to pack and move again! Ha Ha! I pray we find a church family before that though.
We met another set of neighbors who will be home schooling next year. They have 6 year old twins (1 boy, 1 girl) and an 8 year old boy. I really like them. Rebecca is a preschool teacher and Jason is a fire fighter. They have an in ground pool. The children have asked me EVERY DAY if we could go over and visit them. I think I'll give them a call this week. Our children seemed to get along well together.
This past week I sent out our first order all by myself. I believe I did everything correctly and was excited to do it. We got an open P.O. for 9000 parts from our main client which is really great... we know for sure we'll be able to make the next couple payments and then some. Another open P.O. was sent to us for bidding so Russ did that this week. If we get it he'll have more than enough work for several months... might even need to hire an employee. He had a couple parts break this week so he was fixing things and ordering parts along with making parts. There was a part he was making that had a revision to the program that hadn't been written yet. Tom wasn't here to write it so Russ studied it for several hours, figured it out, and changed it. It was almost perfect then. Bob, another machinest & programer down the road, looked it over for him and made 1 small change. We were all VERY impressed that Russ could even read the program and figure out how to change what he did! Such a smart guy! Anyway, he ended up having to work yesterday (Sat.) to catch up some so this order can be ready to ship next Wed.
Last Tuesday my mother kept Jessica and Levi and Russ, Katlyn, and I went to the auction in the evening. We bought a beautiful hanging lamp to replace the chandelier that was in the formal dining room (Karen and Tom took it as we had expected). It was a lot of fun. We also got a fairly large wall clock that looks a bit like a grandfather clock but is all red. It chimes every hour the number of hours it is, and once for every half hour. I love the sound of it.
I'm almost ready to paint the breakfast nook in the kitchen. I think I have the green I want... just need to live with the swatches I have for another day to see it in all the different 'lights.'
We visited a huge wooden park this week to meet another home school family. Donna and her 2 children, Hannah and Paul. That was a nice time. She's planning to meet us there again some time with some other homeschool families for us to meet.
The girls and I visited North Hopkins ISD school last Thursday morning. Jessica spent the morning with the 4th grade class and Katlyn with the 2nd grade class. I was in both to check them out. Jessica started out in reading class... which seemed very easy. I think she's a whole grade ahead in reading compared to what they are reading. The teacher said those children didn't like to read and she just did one novel study this year and it was like pulling teeth. They read, Sarah Plain and Tall. Jessica read that last year... in 3 days. Then she went to writing class. She took their spelling test and got 14/15. We didn't hardly even do spelling last year so I'm happy to see she hasn't fallen behind. I left when they went to gym. Of course she loved gym.
Katlyn was in class with our neighbor, Cheyenne. They studied prefixes while I was in there. Katlyn knew what they were and how to use them. I was a little more curious to see how she'd do. Then they read a story - she didn't read out loud but I could see that she knew most of the words. She needs to read more though to get faster. The goal in 2nd grade is 90 words/ minute. I got their reading book to work through the summer with her. In math she's definitely where they are or ahead. Then she had recess - her favorite subject.
We left before lunch and both girls wished they could stay for the rest of the day. That was a good sign. But they both said they'd still rather be home schooled. The school doesn't have music or art until 7th grade. The principal said they just have to much to teach them so the children will pass their TAKS (like SOLS) so they couldn't fit in music or art. I had mixed feelings there - part of me was glad they liked it but the other part thought... I could easily keep teaching them what they need, and they won't be gone from 7 AM - 4 PM. Although there certainly are times where that would be a blessing. If y'all think of me please pray for me to make the right decision about this. For some reason it's really HARD to give up home schooling - even though I was pretty sure I was going to this coming year. It doesn't help either that Jessica asks (well, more like begs!) to be home schooled next year. She's so sweet - she told me that she'd get up at 6 AM so I could give her the instruction for the day and then she'd take care of all her school work, chores, and siblings, if I need to help Russ or do other things. Funny thing is... she would! But Katlyn is not there yet... just a different personality and attitude. I have noticed better listening from her lately though. That's nice.
Oh, I should tell you how Russ saved me life this week!!! OK, I'm being just a little dramatic! He and I went for a walk one evening on our property and about 15 minutes into it and not seeing any snakes or scorpions, I stopped staring at the ground to watch each step. Of course no sooner did I do that than Russ said, "Cheryl - step back a snake!" So I immediately hopped back before putting my right foot down on a copper head snake. It was right there, easy to see. It didn't move on bit. I think it thought if it didn't move we'd leave it alone and go on... but remember... a good snake is a dead snake! So Russ hunted around for a stick and killed it. After it was dead he smashed it's head in for good measure and flung it into the woods off the trail. Whew... that was a close one! I don't think I'll hike to much on that trail alone - another pair of eyes is nice to have.
Russ turned 41 this week. We stayed home and had a normal day... except for dessert - strawberry pie! Yum Yum! Thanks for all the calls! He thinks of calling you men there but by the time he comes in for the night, we eat, and put the kids to bed, it's 9 PM - which is 10 PM in VA. So he doesn't want to call to late. We're 1 hour earlier than you VA people so call us anytime.
Mom and I have discovered that our County Road is 4 miles from our house to the main road and back. It's perfect for getting some exercise. The children ride bikes while mom and I walk. One morning I got up and jogged it to see if I could... I only jogged about 3 miles and walked the other mile and that would be s.l.o.w. jogging. But then my back hurt the rest of the day... I wish my chiropractor lived here.
One thing I've discovered about this area is that it's the real bible belt! There are NO movie rentals at the library that are over PG13, and also there is NO WHERE in the town of Sulphur Springs that you can buy wine or beer. You have to drive 20 miles east or west. Also, you can't buy the Good Earth Sweet and Sour tea here (thanks for that tea bag Dawn!), or tahini for making hummus. No one's even heard of it at the 2 grocery stores we have. Costco is 45 minutes away and I'm making a big... no - GIANT list for when I take mom back to the airport. I also really miss Target. We have a Walmart but it's quality and selection doesn't really compare. But I don't want to sound like I'm complaining... we can definitely get the basics and are doing just fine.
OOPS! The Wrong Grace Church
We've had another nice week. The weather is certainly getting hotter... but I must say I love it! I'd probably feel differently if I had to work outside though. Sitting in the shade with a gently breeze is sure nice though.
Last Saturday we took a trip an hour away to buy a piano that we found on Craigs list. Jessica and I are especially happy to have a piano now. It was kept out in a garage for 2 years so it needed a good cleaning - there were several spiders and egg sacs behind the piano boards and some signs of a mouse house. But we cleaned it up and shined it and it's as beautiful as ever. It will need a tuning eventually but does quite well considering it's been in a garage for so long. On the way back from Canton, there was a road side stand selling homemade peach ice cream... all I can say is YUUUUUUM - MMMMY!!! We used to have a home made ice cream maker in AK but it's disappeared in our moves and I'd sure like to have it back. Home made ice cream is addicting. This Saturday there is a home made ice cream contest in down town Sulphur Springs at the Saturday market. If you don't participate in the contest you pay $3 for ALL YOU CAN EAT!!! SIGN ME UP! I'll have to fast all day Friday though, he he.
On Sunday we were going to Grace Fellowship church where we were invited by Shelley, a lady I had met - fellow teacher and planning to home school next year. Following my directions, we pulled into the parking lot of the church and were greeted by a kind old lady who promptly whisked our children off to children's church, which had 2 other kids in it. I told them that soon Shelley's children would join them and the dear old lady said she didn't think there was anyone with that name at this church. I then joined Russ in the sanctuary and looked around, noticing there were about 30 other couples... all over the age of 60! I realized we were in the wrong church. By then the music starting with 8 sweet old ladies singing their hearts out and the pastor playing his old electric guitar and murmurring, "I love you Jesus!" every once in a while. He was an awesome guitar player. There were no words on the wall or song books to follow the first 4 songs... everyone just knew them and sang them. I was determined to get the kids and make a run to the other church but at Russ's urging we stayed. I must admit I pouted for a couple minutes but then decided to just give up and see what I could learn. Wouldn't you know he preached on our attitudes!!! The sermon was very good though... and the preacher kept saying, "God bless ya reeeeal good!" Everyone was SO HAPPY to see us and meet a young family. :) They were very sweet people. The children enjoyed their children's church class but said they didn't want to go back there anymore. I second that... I need at least a couple other young families to be the pioneers. So I called Shelley and will see her next weekend... this time I have the correct directions. :)
Sunday afternoon we rode our bikes a mile down the road to Jason and Rebecca Tubb's house. They are the family with the pool outside and are planning to home school next year. Our children swam while Russ met Jason for the first time and I talked school stuff with Rebecca. They are wonderful people... and seem very down to earth with similar values. They leave this weekend for a week to go camping and made us promise to uses the pool often. I'm already planning picnic lunch and suppers to eat under their gazebo for the next week. :) We want to be good neighbors so ofcourse we'll do our best to use the pool!!!
I'm feeling rather popular this week... there's a CHICKFEST at a church with 3 different lady speakers Thursday evening, Friday evening, and Saturday morning. I had registered for it and now hope to attend one of the nights...maybe 2. I was also invited by a really neat lady named Jill to go to Dallas to see where to shop for spices and several different types of foods that Sulphur Springs doesn't have. They have mexican and american food here basically. When I asked for Tahini or bulgar I got blank stares in the grocery store. So I'll get a couple things... but not much on this trip. I'm more excited to get to know Jill and just see this place. She has her own blog if you want to check it out (www.simpledailyrecipes.com) ... so far I like it and plan to try a couple recipes. Lori and Jennifer... I know you'll like it... her links have lots of great ethnic foods!
Our neighbor Jody and her daughter JoAnna have invited me to go for a horse back ride tomorrow afternoon. I've only rode 4 times but am looking forward to it. We'll go after lunch and be back by 4 PM. I hope I don't melt...it's been in the 90's this week. I'll need to get a cowgirl had or a sombrero to help with the afternoon heat. Tomorrow is Jessica's birthday and she can hardly wait! She'll be 10 years old! I'm amazing thinking back to all God has brought us through in the past 10 years. He is so good to us!
So I've gone from being excited about going to S.S. to the library to actual invitations from people. That's exciting to me. It helps me feel connected to this are a bit more. And it's so nice to know that Russ will be home with the children when I go somewhere, instead of arranging child care. We've also had an invitation to swim at Shelley's Sat. afternoon. Also, Betty Sue's daughter and her family will be in this area this weekend. We really want to meet them so we'll have to decline something else. When it rains it pours... everything always seems to happen all at once.
Russ is all caught up on orders now. We are praying for more orders to keep him working. The money should start coming in for the work he's done next week. We've been told there are busy times and lulls when you catch your breath. We'd like to keep busy for several months to build up our bank account and know that in the lulls we can still make payments. If you feel led to pray for more P.O.'s we'd appreciate it.
I've been really enjoying biking. I only get out about twice a week and have to go before 7 AM. It's pretty warm by 9 AM. The wild flowers on the sides of the road seem to change a bit every other week. There are tall pink and yellow flowers probably 3 feet high blooming long the road now. And many wild rose bushes intertwined in fences. I've only seen 2 other snakes, very small ones, that were run over on the road. That suits me just fine! I enjoy all the back roads and so far haven't been chased by any scary dogs except one Rotweiller 2 weeks ago. I don't go down that road now unless Russ is with me. Since Mom went home we haven't had the chance to go together. It's nice to think that in another couple years Jessica can babysit.
The children will start VBS next week at the BIG baptist church in down town Sulphur Springs. They've also been invited to another VBS this Thur. - Saturday evening. And also one the week after this one at the Baptist Church. For now we'll just commit to one and see how it goes. I remember it as being very fun... but also very tiring. I have to remind myself to not get to busy and have to many commitments going on. There's still many little things I need to get done. The busier we are, the harder it is for Levi to remember the manners we're trying to teach him. He LOVES to be the center of attention and is really good at entertaining and being silly. I still have to concentrate on my facial expression (not to laugh) to discipline him. Today he took some ear cleaner for our dog (which the vet insisted we needed) and emptied it on Katlyn's flip flops, then refilled the bottle with water and was about to drink from it when I caught him. Then he found a piece of glass shaped like a gun, carefully washed it, and proudly showed us his new toy! I like that he can occupy himself and has an imagination but.... I'm constantly amazed at what he comes up with. He even remember the bible story we read last night and told us who Hagar was and how she had the 'bad son' and was Sarah's servant. Was Russ like this too? We have to keep a close eye on that little guy! I just smile thinking of his shinanigins.
The children are loving the pond. Especially if they have someone to swim with them. Russ has mentioned making a dock - which would be great! The pond immediately infront of the house is covered with green 'meal' I think it's called. Kind of like duck weed. Russ rigged up a motorized contraption to mount on a small boat and propel itself with a motor scooping up water from the ground and shooting it 10 feet into the air behind the boat to break up the meal. The whole thing is attached to a string running from one end of the pond to the other and turns the opposite direction at each end to go back and forth. It was pretty impressive! But it only lasted 1 day. Now he's bought something that will break up the green stuff for a fraction of the cost and won't cause a motor to be running all day long. I do have to say that his idea was quite genious!
Well, I guess thats all for now. I hope you all are doing well. We still look forward to hearing from you and the going ons in your lives. Our guest bedroom is available as well... hint, hint. :)
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