Getting better at juggling

I can't believe it is Tuesday again and a whole week has flown by!  Today is my day for updating here on general life at our house.

Here is the schedule that I am hoping to work with for my blogs, in case 

you are interested...

Monday - Health page

Tuesday - here!

Wednesday - Frugal Fun deals

Thursday - Nourishing Gardens

Friday - Homeschool page

Saturday - the kid's pages

I am working with the chore/duties schedule I made last week and things are going okay.  I think that it is a workable plan and we are adjusting to it and for the most part getting things accomplished.  Today I feel like I have all the balls in the air and am juggling fairly proficiently, but the slightest thing could easily throw off my rhythm!

For now, we are done with school and kids are finishing chores so we are going to head outside to the beautiful day.  :-)

Settling in...

Wanted to take some time to update tonight. We had a great visit with my sis Angela and her sweet boys. We really enjoyed it and it helped us to have the extra laughs, extra hugs, and extra hands around during that time. We got almost everything done on my large checklist during the week, and still managed to get out and enjoy ourselves a few evenings.

We are working hard at readjusting to life as it changes. I sat down and made a list of all my duties, divided it into days and tried to make it manageable. I think I have a workable schedule, but we will see how it goes. Hard to plan when there are so many variables in a day. I redid the chore lists also and planned time for school, office, home duties and garden time. It will take some tweaking and flexibility but I felt a bit less overwhelmed getting it on paper. I even divided my blogging into certain days... I have to laugh at myself - such a "list maker"! :-)

Right now, besides the office being moved into the kitchen and all the duties surrounding that, we have 27 baby chickens in the living room, 3 shelves of seedlings under lights in the dining room, and a very energetic puppy demanding love and training running through the house. We are having lots of fun, and going a little more insane each day!

Tonight, Tom and I got the plastic put on the hoop greenhouse that we have been slowly building. We have big plans for the garden, just have to find the time to carry them out now!

The kids are doing well. They have all gotten to a point of realizing that school can be done quickly if they apply themselves and they can have a lot more fun in a day if they just get it done. They have all been spending a lot of time outside lately, Will with his various bugs and critters... Rose running around with the animals... Heather usually with a book. The girls have been building mud cakes lately too which are getting more and more elaborate. I need to get some pics off the camera and post some soon.

Business is staying busy enough to run the two trucks. It has been an answer to prayer. Tom is feeling much better and adjusting well to the changes at work and home. We have been taking turns feeling down and overwhelmed, thankfully not at the same time so that we can support each other.

While Angela was here, my brother Justin and my dad and his family all came up to the shop and helped get some things moved out and into the storage bldgs. My dad then came and painted the front office area for us this week. I will be going up to clean the carpets and then we will hopefully have it all done! The back area has a lot of little things left to clean up and move out but most of the big stuff is done.

I guess that is about it. My brain is turning off for the night. So, that is the Tuesday update for this week! We are thankful for your prayers and for our Father who gives us strength.

Local News Story

We were right across the street when this happened (click title above to link to news story). I went into Food Lion shortly afterwards - yikes!

Calm in the Storm...

"Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:
and they ceased, and there was a calm."
Luke 8:24b

I sit here this Sunday morning - home from church due to Rose's fever (though she is feeling much better today) - windows open, I can hear the birds singing and actually hear Rose too... she is out on a stump in the middle of our woods "having nature time" which involves singing with the birds apparently. :-) Things are peaceful at the moment.

It has been a very difficult week for us. Tom made the decision to downscale his business as things had slowed down lots and there was not enough income to support the salaries of all the men and make payments. It was a very hard and emotional decision for him. We have been blessed to have friends working with us and it has been wonderful as we could trust them and work through things, but it also makes it a LOT harder when we have to let them go. Things are strained, Tom is very sad and depressed and feeling like a failure. It is hard to see him like that, and hard to know how to help when he so rarely gets this way. In all honesty, I have NEVER in our almost 16 years of dating/marriage known him to be like this. Please pray for his spirits to be lifted as he worships in church today, that friends and brethren in Christ would give him the support that he needs.

Yesterday, we moved the office to our kitchen. I will be taking over the office work and job dispatching again... yes, along with being a wife and mommy, homeschooling, housework, gardening, and caring for our animals. It will not be easy, but it is the best thing. We will close our office location, but still operate as usual - just with Tom and 1 other tech. It is a lot of change to process at once, but I know God will give us strength.

At this moment, I am waiting for my sweet little sister to arrive. She drove from MN with her 3 little boys to come be a help to me as I readjust. If she can keep the daily things running while I catch up on some big stuff and get into the groove of office work it will be a HUGE help. However, even if she only entertains the children and boosts my spirits, it will be the BEST thing ever! THANK YOU Joe for sending your family in my time of need. We love you all!

We'll see how it all goes... but for today, enjoying the calm in the midst of the storm.

In like a lion...

March brought a very large snowfall for us, like a foot! This is one of the few big snowfalls we have had since we moved here in '97 - it is very exciting!!! I took some pics of course. There will be more at the kids' pages, and on my photo page. Enjoy! :)

Snowy Sunday night

We had some snow flurries and sleet beginning late this afternoon, so evening services were cancelled. We took the unexpected free time as an opportunity for some family games, something we all love but don't do enough! We played pictionary on a large white board and boggle. It was fun.