Love this man

Sitting outside on a beautiful early summer Sunday afternoon.  Reading to me while I soak in sun rays.  Wonderful!

Long update

A friend asked for an update, so I am posting what I replied to her as an update here too.

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Not sure where to begin on how we are... I am frankly surprised that God is asking this of me again, LOL!  The office work and phones are keeping me very busy.

The kids seem to be adjusting well.  I am so thankful that we are home, makes it a lot easier!  Heather has started to take over most of the cooking - at least 2 meals a day.  She really enjoys it and it is a big help to me.  She still loves reading and doing her little crafts and projects.  Rose plays with Will much of the time, she is reading more too and has been really enjoying drawing lately and has shown some talent there.  Will is just full of energy and I am so thankful for our land and that I can give him the freedom to run and play and catch critters to his heart's content.  We have had some attitude issues with the additional chores and garden work, but are working through it.

We are doing basic math and grammar and reading books on history as much as we can, but school is definitely slowed down lately.  I decided to give the kids CAT tests this year so I would know what we need to work on next year.  I've never done that, so interested to see how it goes.  My goal is to somehow get 1-on-1 time with each of them, do the testing in the morning and then something fun with them in the afternoon.  Haven't quite figured out the logistics yet though.

I am enjoying the outdoors and the chickens and gardens very much.  All is well so far out there, but so many projects to still be done!  I planted using the square foot gardening method in raised lasagna beds... it's not a huge garden but there are a massive amount of plants in there!  We are all anxious to see how it goes.  The rains have been a blessing and things are growing like crazy.

The house is my downfall right now.  I just cannot keep up, when I am indoors I am at the computer working or on the phone - so things have just fallen apart.  I am planning a yard sale with my sister and friends the first Sat in June (just set yesterday), so hope to really clean out some extra clutter.  We are replacing the carpets in the living room and hallway with laminate and I am so happy to be getting that done!  I am also planning to paint the walls and eventually get new trim.  We will be replacing the 10 year old furniture, which I am very excited about.  Tom and I are going to work together on getting this done gradually, so hopefully I don't go insane with the state of things as a work-in-progress! :-).

My health is definitely suffering from the stress and being so very busy.  I am not making good choices with eating and so have gained back 20lbs :(  I am itchy and tired and bloated and my cycles are getting crazier.  I am sleeping a bit better though, that's a bonus.

God has blessed our efforts with the business.  It has worked out well, better than I could have hoped for. The men that we had to lay off have found good jobs within a couple weeks of us giving them notice and are happy and at the same pay level - amazing!  That has helped Tom feel a lot better and taken away the depression and worry.  We have moved everything out of the shop, painted, cleaned carpets and got our deposit back on the building, the landlords were understanding and kind.  We are using 2 storage sheds as a place to store extra stock and machinery.  I am doing the phones/dispatch/bookkeeping and Tom and 1 other man are running 2 trucks and we are staying busy and enough money is coming in that we are recovering nicely.  We anticipate being caught up on bills by the end of this month and then will start saving for a storage shed at our house where we can put a small office and move the things from the rental sheds into so we don't have that monthly cost.  It is exciting to see things turning and Tom's outlook on things has changed dramatically - as in his expectations and ideas about money and growth have become much more in line with God's.  That is so wonderful and has carried over into our personal finances too.

I had a pretty good Mother's Day.  Tom and the kids took me out for a late dinner Saturday night after we worked outdoors all day.  It was yummy!  Sunday we had church, a fellowship dinner and afternoon service (love that!).  We came home and I took a 3-hour nap which was so nice and obviously much needed.  I meant to have Tom get a pic of me with the kids and forgot, will have to do that soon.  I hope that you all enjoyed your day as well <3

Thank you as always for your prayers and support.

Simple Joys

We have had a great time the last couple days planting the garden. It has been relaxing, but hard work all at once. I have really enjoyed getting lots done outside, with all sorts of projects (see here for details). Wish housework was as energizing and enjoyable!

We have been doing basic stuff for school daily and then going outside to work and play. The kids have been happy to be able to play with the water hose a few times already this year. We will be doing some testing soon to see where we are with their learning and what we should work on over the summer and/or in the fall.

Tom and I (with Heather's help) have cleaned up our screen room outside and started enjoying sitting outside for our coffee in the mornings before he leaves. This always motivates me to read my Bible more regularly, having that quiet and peace in the mornings. My spirits are being lifted and my soul is at peace, I am sure the Vit D from the sunshine is really helping with that too! I have quite the tan going now. :-)

Tom recently found replacement parts for his grill and has it working quite well again. We LOVE to grill out in the warmer weather, use it almost daily - best Father's Day gift ever! We have also been enjoying hanging our clothes on the line to dry. Our washing machine is having problems remembering to spin out the loads, thankfully we have a back-up at the shop and will bring that home tonight and get this one repaired. We are also considering a new refrigerator, ours is 10 years old now and a fire hazard, doesn't seal real well and we really would like an ice-maker. Another thing we have been discussing is replacing our living room carpet with laminate... it really is time to get rid of that, blech!

The chicks are growing and ready to take over their whole house and have some new straw laid. We need to build their outside run very soon also. Carl and Molly are best buds now and Carl is growing up really fast. Cats and bunnies are doing well. Rose found a tiny turtle the other day and has adopted it for the time being. Liz, Will's lizard escaped on Saturday morning when Rose opened her tank - but was found again Sunday afternoon. We were very glad to find her, she is such a fun pet.

Our business is doing well right now. There is plenty of work for the 1-2 trucks that we are running now and bills are getting caught up on. Things seem to be stabilizing and I am growing accustomed to the added responsibilities.

That's really about it in our world right now - work and play, dirt and bugs, clouds and sunshine, animals and plants, rain and wind. Finding joy in it all.

Refreshment

It was very nice to get a break this past weekend and en joy some time with extended family. The kids and I drove down to Georgia and enjoyed camping i n the yard at my brother's for his 30th birthday party. There were 11 adults and 10 children there, we had a nice time catching up and the weather was perfect.

It was good to get a break from the grind here and it has improved my outlook, allowing me to regroup in a sense. We have accomplished quite a bit this week with school, house and gardens. Tom stayed home due to a dentist appt, and he did some housework for me, took care of the animals and put up some new backsplash in our kitchen to surprise me. :-) It is better than the icky walls, and nice to have a fresh look in there. Such a sweet hubby I have!

Things are finally starting to warm up here - this weekend should be perfect for yardwork. I am determined to get the fence around the big gardens so that I can plant them, the beds are all ready to go. Such fun and so invigorating to be accomplishing so much.

A low valley

It's been a hard week.  I was planning to write here on Tuesday but wanted to wait until I was in better spirits... hasn't happened yet.  :(  Nothing horrible happening, I just am overwhelmed and not feeling great and frustrated that I am not taking better care of myself.  I am a hormonal mess right now, blech!

We are getting ready to take a trip down to GA for my brother Ryan's 30th birthday.  It will be good to see everyone again.  I am praying that I feel better physically by the time we leave tomorrow morning and that I am able to relax and leave behind my list of to-do's and enjoy time with family.  Tom is having to stay home for a dentist appt and animal care, I will be taking the kids and car pooling with my sis and her hubby and family.  We leave tomorrow morning.

It's been cloudy and rainy this week, probably hasn't helped with my mood.  I haven't gotten a thing done outside all week, which is frustrating, though I am thankful for the rain.  I will try to get out and walk around the yard at least this afternoon.  I need to trellis the peas and fence the strawberries which shouldn't take long.

I've been working on the house and lots of paperwork and business website updating, all good stuff to get done.

That's all for now, will try to be more cheerful next week!  :-)

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.

A productive day

Today, I am feeling almost 100% better. :-) I got lots more done. Cleaned up a bit, got the kitchen completely clean before bedtime tonight - hooray! Also made laundry soap, started a batch of kombucha tea, got all our chores done, played out in the snow flurries, got my shopping list and coupons together for tomorrow. I was very excited when I posted a few "wanted" ads on Craig's List and got responses from people willing to do some bartering... for fence material, a shed (will be a chicken house), and a bunny! So, a good day and now I am off to watch a movie with Tom and go to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as good.

Here are pics of the laundry soap. After setting 24 hours it thickened up and I am impressed with the consistency, I added some lavender so like the smell so far... the price is great! We'll see how it goes when we use it.

Update: I have used the laundry soap for several loads now, and I like it so far... I am still not completely sure, but don't have any complaints at the moment. The price breakdown: Arm & Hammer Wash Booster $3, Borax $3, bar of ivory soap (cheap, believe we got it free on a deal). We used only 1 cup of each and 1 bar of soap... so the boxes we bought will go a long way. It made a huge amount of detergent as you can see! I will update again if we decide we don't like it, but so far so good...

Visit to the Manatees!

On Tuesday, Kerry, Cindy and I took the kids to see the Manatees at a Tampa Power plant where they have a viewing area and small museum. This is free of charge and was enjoyable. It was actually cold that day - which is a perfect time to see the Manatee as it brings them in to the warm water around the power plant. Dave works at TECO and was able to log in to see a live cam of us on the viewin platform and we were able to wave at him - that was pretty cool!

First Real Snowfall of the Year

We had one day when we got flurries for about 5 minutes and then it stopped. Tonight it snowed enough to have a light ground covering. The kids went out and played for a couple of hours. They tried to sled down our little hill in garbage can lids and the wading pool. Will rolled a fairly large snowball, which surprised me. The snow was pretty - but won't last long!

Autumn flowers

We have had a lovely mild fall. I love that we once again have the windows open day and night and are enjoying fresh air and breezes indoors and out. The children picked this sweet little boquet for me the other day. Lots of flowers have given us a bit of revival and a fall bloom this year. The rose bushes, the lilac, black-eyed susan, morning glories, etc... The purple lilac in this boquet was actually growing wild near the back of yard. We will likely try moving it up near the other one so we can enjoy the beauty and sweet fragrance more.

This evening I looked out our bedroom window around 5pm and saw a large buck standing at the edge of the yard not far from the house. I grabbed my camera and almost got a decent pic but he heard me and lept away - as he ran I suddenly saw 6-7 does at the back of the yard also go leaping through the woods. Wow! Still plenty of daylight and they were all right there grazing. I can hear them outside now walking on dry, crumpled leaves and munching on whatever they can reach.

We are planning a garden for the spring. I hope that we can keep them out of it! :-)

A Good Day

The kids and I had a great day today. We've had good days overall lately, but today was great. Tom was home this morning until after lunch and he worked outside, burning wood and mowing - he is working hard to claim the acreage next door for a yard. The breeze was cool and the burning wood smelled great, with a hint of cedar from the saplings being mowed and burned (a shame, but there are so many of them!). It has been around 70 during the day and 50 at night here, perfect for open windows and warm blankets at night, socks and warm drinks in the morning. I love the fall!

Back to our day... we got to work on school on time after breakfast with daddy (rarely happens) and I *think* the children are starting to get the idea that if they work quickly without chatting and goofing off, they will get done in plenty of time for outside play and free time in the afternoons! That is what happened today. :-) Heather finished up by lunchtime and Rose was done by 2pm (she is SO easily distracted, she is the one that dawdles the most). I was able to lay down and listen to a homeschool talk radio show while closing my eyes for about an hour - aaaaahhhh, lovely. The kids ran around outside and then did a replica painting of the Cretan "Toreador Fresco" on paper in preparation for doing it on wet plaster later this week. They had fun with that and really did great jobs!

We then worked together in the kitchen until Tom came home. Rose pretty much single-handedly made dinner. Browned hamburger with seasonings, cooked and mashed potatoes and then threw them together with a can of peas and a can of corn. Will scooped the flesh out of 2 small pumpkins and a spaghetti squash I had cooked this afternoon. I threw the pumpkin together with ingredients for a pie and Heather made the crust all by herself! Yummy!!!

We are making some routine changes and really enjoying our busy days AT HOME. I wake up in the morning and sigh with relief that I don't have to run around anywhere but here that day. We enjoy our Fridays when we go to classes, run our errands and have dinner with friends - but SO enjoy our days at home too!

Today I also got a good bit of housecleaning done. Our dishwasher is not cleaning well anymore, so we finally gave up on it and demoted it to a drying rack. So, our new system is that each person is assigned 1 cup, 1 plate, 1 fork, 1 spoon and they are responsible for hand-washing them at the end of each meal. I do the extras. Ideally, we will not have big pile-ups of dishes this way. I got that organized, washed up all the dishes, did 2 loads of laundry, washed and re-organized counters, swept and vacuumed floors, scrubbed our bathroom, cooked or froze the produce I had sitting out, made 3 meals and a pie - hooray!

I am planning to have a yard sale in a week or two and am working on getting things together for that. I have lots of closets and piles to sort through, hope I can really minimize some of the clutter around here, and make a few dollars.

I am now working on finalizing our new budget, paying bills and making a home-management schedule. Tomorrow I need to start working on a menu and grocery list. We have a church picnic on Saturday, so I need to try to get next week's school planning done on Thursday/Friday.

Goodnight everyone!

Hooray! A rainy day!

We are so thankful for the 4" of rain that we received over the last 36 hours. It was a nice, gentle, calm rain - perfect for the ground to soak up. We opened up all our windows and enjoyed the sounds and the cool breezes and the clean scent of rain. It was wonderful! We had been in a drought, with huge cracks in the dry, dry ground. Everything was brown and dying. So we are very thankful!

Oh, and we had a visit from a pair of hummingbirds drinking from a feeder hung in our open window. Seemed one of them was at the feeder every 5 minutes throughout the day. I wonder if they need to drink more to stay warm? There is a picture on my Photos page. I took about a hundred and that one is my favorite. Fun, fun!