Our Family Pictures

Family pictures.... UGH!  It doesn't matter who you are, how old your children are, they are always work to get a good picture.  What makes a good picture?  It is different for each family.  Most people like everyone smiling at the camera.  Thats what the typical traditional family picture usually looks like.

It's been over 2 months ago that my friend came out to our house to take our family pictures.  It's been 5 years since our last one.  How did so much time go by without taking one??  Oh, I remember... It's STRESSFUL planning family pictures.  Organizing outfits that everyone likes and will wear, getting a time everyone can be together before the sun is to low in the sky, making sure everyone is ready to smile for the next hour... the list goes on.

Let me give you a snapshot of my three very different children.

Micah- I will stand where you tell me and smile when you tell me, lets just get this done as quick as possible.

Tyler- I might stand or sit or squat in the area around where you want me, I might smile or make a funny face or give you a blank stare.  I will joke and make it much more painful for Micah who just wants to get done, because that makes me laugh and smile and that's what Mom wants from me, a nice smile.

Jilli- I will stand where you tell me and a few other places that I think would be cool.  I will smile when you want me too and also give you a serious face, and a half smile.  I will make slight adjustments while your taking pictures to make sure we get the best angle.  I am happy as long as the camera is taking pictures.

Now throw in Kevin who is more like Micah but with a little more patience for Tyler's antics.  Then there is me, who is more like Jilli because you can never have too many pictures, but lets not have this take all night and lets just listen and follow the photographers instructions because she knows what she is seeing.

As you can see, it's a recipe for a disasterous photo session, but that's the dynamics we are dealing with and honestly, I got a lot of really great pictures (despite all the crazy) that I am having a hard time deciding which ones I want hanging on my walls.

I do want to share my favorite with you.  Back to the whole "traditional family picture", I am not like most people.  I would hang this on my wall because it is exactly what our family looks like right now.  However, the one reason I might pick a different picture to enlarge and hang is because there is one head that is missing.... but if you know Tyler, you know that this is the most perfect picture EVER.  His head isn't in it, but everyone knows that he is the center of attention and making everyone laugh.

So there is a sneak peek at our family picture.  I will probably share more as I slowly choose my favorites, and maybe, just maybe I'll update the pictures on my blog!

Blessings!!

Missing Cats and My Ladies.

I promised I would be writing more... so I'm going to try and stick to that.

Thursday night we all went to bed like any other night.  We woke up the next morning and WhiteSocks was no where to be found.  We didn't think anything of it because he is often off hunting in the morning.  As the day went on and he still wasn't around we started getting a little concerned.  By the evening we were all upset, because it isn't usual for him to go missing all day.

Friday night Kevin and I put the kids to bed then went driving in the neighborhood across the street looking for him.  This is the same neighborhood that he went to the last time he went missing.  We couldn't find him.  Saturday morning Kevin went hiking in the woods behind our house looking for him.  Then we walked through the neighborhood as a family calling and looking for him.  Saturday night Kevin went driving again and at one point he did see a cat in an open field.  He jumped out of the car all excited that he found WhiteSocks, but it was a black cat that went running away as soon as he heard Kevin's excited calls.

Sunday morning dawned and Kevin and I got up early to go looking for him again.  Kevin went out in the garage to go start the car and get it warmed up when he noticed a very thirsty kitty drinking water and then going after the kitty food.

The kids were all up getting ready for church when we all heard Kevin come flying in the door hooping and hollering holding WhiteSocks.  He had been missing for 48 hours.  Where did that stinker go??  PopPop said he went to see his girlfriend, we just laughed until.....

Last night the boys were at youth group and we had to go pick them up.  It was dark, we hopped in the car and turned on the headlights to see 3 pairs of glowing eyes looking at us.  Two pairs were belonging to our beloved WhiteSocks and Phantom (his brother), the other pair was belonging to a cat we tried to rescue 5 weeks ago, we named her "Momma Cat".  

She was a ferrel cat that had been living in the city.  The people who's deck she had been living under, wanted a better place for her and her daughter "Boots" and also Momma Cats brother, "Uncle".  We took all three of them in, but Momma Cat bolted within minutes of arriving on our farm.  We thought she was long gone.  Well.... she is back and causing a little bit of jealously between WhiteSocks and Phantom.  

We have no idea what to think about the new situation, or how this is all going to play out.  Last night we locked all our kitty's in our garage so that we knew they wouldn't run off in the middle of the night.  We are also investigating gps tracking system for our cats.... I know, I know, they are just barn cats but Kevin cannot handle anymore missing kitties.  So, our "barn cats" will probably be going high-tech for Christmas.

We also have some exciting news and it comes in the form of brown EGGS!!  Yup that is right, my ladies are starting to lay!!  So far we have collected around 27 eggs.  I think only 3 or 4 of my ladies are laying right now.  

Each morning is kind of like a redneck easter egg hunt.  My chickens don't follow the norm when it comes to chickens.  They don't roost up high at night and they don't like to lay their their eggs in their nesting baskets.  They are forming little "nests" on the ground in the coop and laying the eggs.  Which can be rather difficult to spot being that there is all dried leaves in there as "bedding".  All the brown colors makes the eggs quite camouflaged.  Then we have one chicken that prefers to go up high on a wood shelf and lay her eggs there.  Nice soft place to lay... NOT!

I can't tell you how rewarding it is to have fresh eggs just a few short steps from my backdoor.  I will have to take some pictures of where the girls are laying their eggs to show you.  One of the awesome benefits to having my own eggs is that I can keep them on my counter.  No more taking eggs out of the fridge and letting them get to room temperature before baking!!  I can't tell you how many times I set out to bake and forget the eggs in the fridge and scrap the whole project because I won't have time to let them warm up before I have to leave.  

Quick farm lesson... When a chicken lays an egg, there is a protective coating around the egg called the bloom.  It keeps bacteria from getting through the shell.  Commercial eggs you buy from the store have all had this bloom washed off of it.  That is why 1. you have to refrigerate your eggs and 2. you are more likely to get sick off of raw store bought eggs.  Also, it takes weeks to get an egg from the chicken to the store, so it's already pretty old by the time we have a chance to buy them.  

Isn't the bloom amazing?!  The more I learn and experience, the more in awe of God I am and how he cared enough to create the bloom to protect a little egg, except that bloom not only protects the egg, but it protects me from getting sick from an egg riddled with bacteria!  Mind blowing... Creator God in all of his wisdom created the smallest of details that impacts so much!  

That's about all for today.  Hope you enjoyed the cat saga... and the farm lesson, I'll keep you updated on any latest developments.  

Blessings!!

Catching Up, It's Been Awhile

Wow, I don't think I have ever gone this long without blogging.  Time slips away and I, for some reason,  never sit down and write.  My days are taken up with my children, lessons, farm chores, regular household chores, cleaning homes, baking, and anything else that needs to happen.

New things that have happened here on our farm:  WE HAVE HEAT!  Some of you know that our furnace/air went out early this spring.  All of the duct work had to be removed because it was just an awful example of a homeowner special.  Because we have to basically put in a whole new system, it will cost a.lot.of.money.  Money that we don't have right this minute.  Now I'm gonna be honest, I never thought to pray for a furnace, I prayed for the money for the furnace, but not specifically for a furnace.  Then on the second Sunday of November, we had missionaries come and speak, one of the things they talked about what how they pray for everything.  So I thought, well, if they can pray for all those things, maybe I should pray for a furnace, so during prayer time, I prayed for a furnace.  After church Kevin went and talked to the heating and cooling guy to touch base with him about our situation.  He in turn tells Kevin that they just removed a furnace that the heat exchanger cracked on it.  It was still under warrantee so the heat exchanger was replaced for free, but the homeowner still wanted a new furnace so they removed the fixed furnace from the home and they were wondering if we would like it installed in our home.

On Thursday of this past week, our new to us furnace was installed.  It's a little redneck, we don't have duct work yet, so it blows hot air into our basement and the heat just rises to our main floor and the upstairs, but it is keeping our house fairly warm and we are so grateful for the furnace and the men who installed it!

Last year at this time a woman from our church was talking about her trip to Africa and she said, in Africa they serve a Big God.  God is everything to them.  Here in America, we don't need God, because we have everything.  Here in America, we put God in a box and don't ask him for the big things.  Lesson learn.  I'm gonna start praying even for the things that seem silly, like a furnace!

Yesterday, we took a drive as a family.  We like to just wander around and see where we end up.  We drove by a sign that said "The Only Possession You Can Take With You To Heaven Is Your Children."  Wow, that one really hit me.  That one little sign put things into perspective for me very quickly.  They are the only thing on this earth that I have a potential to take with me when I die.  My heart is meditating on that... it's an overwhelming thought to me.

Romeo had to have surgery to remove a fatty tumor that had broken open and was bleeding.  Today I had to bring him back to have his sutures removed and have the vet look at him to make sure all was healing ok.  Which it was.  I am so thankful that it wasn't any big deal and our Romey is doing great! I can't imagine losing him yet.  He is such a GREAT dog!  He loves our cats, chickens and children!  He brings so much love and joy to our family.

I have more to write, but time is again slipping away and we have things to do and places to go.  I will try harder to make a point to stop and write.  I have so much to share...

Blessings!

A Daddy and his Little Girl

Most important relationship in a little girls life is the one she has with her Daddy.  Momma's have a huge role, but the Daddy, he is the one that has the biggest influence on his little girl.

Jilli and I have a beautiful relationship.  She is so much like me that I get worried at times.  I pray she has some of her Daddy's great qualities and not so many of my short comings.  She is as happy cooking and baking in the kitchen as she is out in the barn cleaning it or playing with the animals.  She will make a wonderful wife some day.  But as much as we are together and as much as we do together, it's her Daddy that she looks to for acceptance and worth.

The smile that Jilli gets when her Daddy tells her she looks beautiful is nothing like the smile I get when I tell her she looks beautiful.  The joy she bubbles over with when her Daddy tells her she has done a good job has no comparison.  You see, her Daddy is the man, the man who's job it is to show her how a man should treat a lady.  It's her Daddy's job to show her how it feels to be well cared for.  It's her Daddy's job to give her a picture of what she should look for in a husband.  And it's her Daddy's job to give her a healthy picture of the Love that her Abba Father has for her.  I think that's the most important job a Daddy has... to teach his daughter about her Heavenly Father and the love she feels from her earthly father doesn't even compare to the love her Heavenly Father has for her.  It's  the most precious gift a Daddy can give his daughter, the gift of knowledge of her Father God.

So any time I see the special spark between a daddy and his daughter it puts a smile on my face.  I love to watch daddy's love their children, especially their daughters.  I see my brother as one of those Daddy's that has that special relationship with his little girl.  She lights up his life... even at 5am when she wakes everyone up because she is ready for the day to start!  I have several videos that I took of Tim and Lina together that I still watch and smile.  One in particular was when Tim had his guitar and was strumming a song on it and she came right up and started dancing and then she tried to strum the guitar and he changed the chords as she "played" the song.  It was so sweet to watch.  I am so disappointed that I only took a quick picture with my phone of the two of them.  Like I said I have videos of them playing the guitar, and at tumble class playing basketball together.  I took this picture the first day I arrived.  Lina was a little shy around me at first and so she had tucked herself close to the person who she knew would keep her safe.

It didn't take her long to warm up to me though.. she was throwing balls at me and laughing in her mischievous way not long after I took this picture.

Sweet Face

Over the course of my New York posts you will see the many faces of Lina.  Every one is adorable but don't let her sweet face fool you!  This little girl has spunk and an adventurous spirit that is hard to contain!  She will also let you know when she doesn't like something you are making her do.  It's a good thing I have gone to battle with a few strong wills in my 13 years of motherhood so I was not taken by surprise the first time we had a disagreement.  It's all about learning boundaries.  Most kids test those boundaries, they need to, they are trying to figure out their place in this world.  If I wasn't tested by a child I would worry about that child.

The key to the testing, is very basic.  Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

The other day I was sitting with a group of Moms.  One of them has a little girl who is 2.  She is adorable little blond hair blue eyed bundle of sugar that turns very opinionated the minute her Momma tells her no.  As soon as the little girl starts to object (by making loud noises, crying or even throwing an object) the Momma tries to pacify her by giving her other options or giving into her tantrum.  One of the other Momma's swooped in and very quickly told this young mother that her no has to be no.  You can't be wishy washy, give in or allow the child to throw a fit and get their way.  My Mom watched this all take place and in her very loving way told her that this other Momma was right.  You need to place boundaries around your kids, it takes work, especially if they have thrown a fit and gotten their way.  But the blessings in the long run outlast the work right now.  There is nothing I love to hear more than when someone tells me that my children are polite and well behaved.    I can't tell you how many waitresses have come up to Kevin and I and said "your children have been the most behaved children we have had in here in a long time."  Now my kids aren't angels, and Kevin and I aren't that great of parents.  We just followed the ageless advice of "let your yes be yes and your no be no." It's amazing how that one piece of parenting advice can change a whole family dynamic.  Once your kids know that no is no, there isn't fits of rage, there isn't screaming and throwing themselves on the floor.  I have seen some doozies over the years and walk away shaking my head because really, that child doesn't feel loved when they get their way.  It might be a momentary gloating, but really deep down they want boundaries, they want structure, it makes children feel safe and loved.

Well that was a rabbit trail I hadn't intended to write about... Let me show you some of the cuteness that I had to photograph.

We were getting a little reading in before nap time, but she is such a silly thing that she kept squealing and laughing.

Warning... the pictures that follow are are almost to cute to handle.  Her sweet face just begs to be kissed!

Love that little girl....

The Start of New York

There are days I wish I could just have a video camera following me around.  You would all get a good laugh.  Tuesday we moved the chickens to the coop.  Literally moved the brooder (big huge box where I have been raising them) into the coop.  The kids and I slid a tarp under the brooder and then dragged it into the coop.  I actually did video some of that, there was a whole lot of squawking and not just from the chickens!  Poor ladies were all uptight about that move and then when I opened the little door for their first glimpse of the outdoors they didn't know what to do with themselves.  Jilli and I had to carry some out into the run so they could see it wasn't so scary.... but then 4 cats appeared and life got a little scary and they all ran back in.  

By day 2 they have gotten more used to the outdoors and when it was time to put them in bed for the night they refused to go.  I was tossing chickens into the little door (good thing I was a good softball pitcher) and you should of heard the squawking then!  As soon as I tossed one in, they would turn around and run back out.  I probably worked the problem for 30 minutes trying to herd them into the coop by myself the whole time I'm muttering under my breath... "you asked for this... you can't ask for help because you asked for these chickens..."  I also was dealing with 4 cats and 1 dog, all of whom really wanted an up close encounter with these chickens. 

It's been fun watching them explore the great outdoors and start living life as real life chickens!  Can't wait for the eggs to start popping out, but that will still be awhile before that happens.  Probably around Christmas time.

OK, so I promised to show you New York pictures of my trip in June.  Hard to believe we are fast approaching September!

The day I arrived she had learned a new word.  Her nanny was cooking up an amazing dinner for all of us when the fire alarm started to go off and Pria must have said something about fire.  Lina picked right up on that and started yelling "FIRE, FIRE", the whole time I was there if she heard any kind of siren she would yell FIRE, FIRE!  There were a few times that she chose to yell those words that made me laugh... like when we were in a whole elevator full of people.  

Seriously, she is too cute for her own good.  I'm thinking her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins... are all going to have a hard time telling this face "no".  This was the face that I woke up to every morning before the sun had a chance to shine it's rays over the horizon.  She takes the name "early riser" to a whole new level!  I am not a coffee drinker, but she almost drove me to coffee that week.  5:45am was the latest she slept in, and for all of you who know me... that is still considered the middle of the night to me...

Catching Up, Jilli turns 10yrs old and the Kittens!

I have so much to share and write... I have lots of posts already written in my head, but I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and write them out.  Life is busy here on the farm and with my garden, chickens, kittens, and outdoor chore lists on top of regular old household chores there doesn't seem to be much time for just sitting in front of my computer.  This morning it's raining... blessed rain, it's been so long since we have seen you... that it's preventing me from going outside to work, so I decided to take the time this morning to write.

This past week my baby turned 10yrs old.  I'm still having a hard time with that.  It felt like I was finishing another chapter in life.  My children are all now double digits.  But I am still so thankful that even though they are getting older, they still love their Momma and aren't afraid to show it.  Micah curled up with me to watch fireworks on the 4th of July.  I loved every second of it, even though my arms were killing me by the end I wouldn't let go.  He might not let me hold him next year...

Our Kittens are growing bigger every day.  Our barn kittens are so sweet, they all have very different personalities, each one is special in their own way (never thought I would say that about cats!)

Quick introductions....Starting top left and moving clockwise
Tiger cat- her name is Phantom, she is Kevin and my cat.  She is very vocal and I always know where she is because I hear her cries.
Tiger cat with white paws- her name is White Socks, she is Tyler's cat.  She is very cuddly and loves to be held by Tyler.  When Tyler calls her "Hey Girl" she comes running for him and starts purring before he can even pick her up.
The tiger cats are sisters and both are great hunters!
Black cat- her name is Clover, she is Jilli's cat.  She is the smallest one of the 4 and she is so sweet.  She loves her Jilli and if I can't find Jilli, she is usually in the barn or on the porch just holding Clover while she sleeps.
Gray cat- her name is Sparky, she is Micah's.  She is quite a little spitfire and is still keeping Romeo at arms length.  She is always the one we can't find, she seems to be the most skittish.  She is the one who finds all the best hiding places but she is a little lover if you can find and catch her.  She will purr up a storm the minute you pick her up.
The black one and gray one are sisters, I think they were taken from their mom a little early because they don't seem to know how to hunt/kill/eat.  I think the "big girls" are showing them the ropes but as of right now, we haven't seen any evidence that they have eaten anything but cat food.

Romeo has a special affection for little Clover.  When she wears herself out playing she curls up in a ball where ever she is and falls right to sleep.  Romeo becomes her guardian and if you get close he lowers his head right over her as a signal that he is protecting her.  The big old dog and the littlest kitten make a very cute pair!

This is White Socks, I just had to show you her sweet face.  Even though Tyler has been begging for his own dog... This little girl has captured his heart.

OK, enough of the cats... never thought I would be gushing over cats!!!!

Blessings!!

Enjoying Bonding

I don't think I ever truly understood until I became a parent.  In all the years I babysat, I never grasped the enormous amount of trust a parent puts into someone when they allow them to watch their child.

Last week Tim and Melissa put that trust into me so they could take a much deserved anniversary trip to Miami.  They flew me out last Wednesday and I got to spend almost a full 6 days with my very spirited niece Lina.

I loved every minute of the trip... even my early wakeup calls from Lina when she pops her head up and announces the day has begun.

What I think I loved most, is that I really got to know Lina in a way that I haven't been able too before.  It was just her and I, alone in the big city.

I can't wait to share some of what I captured of my week in New York with Lina.  A lot of my pictures were a blur and if you knew Lina you would know why... that girl NEVER sits still, but she is the cutest little Dutch Peruvian girl ever and as I share pictures with you, you will see why...

Blessings!

Life on the Farm Continues...

We have been active out here at the old farm house.  My Dad and I got the garden all tilled up ready for planting.  My seedlings will soon be planted and the rest of my seeds will be going in.

My chickens are on order and scheduled to arrive in June.  I'm actually really excited for the little chicks to arrive.  I can't wait to see how the kids and I do taking care of the "girls".  Jilli is so excited, she wants to name them all!!  These will be laying hens and I decided on two different breeds, both picked for their calm nature, cold adaptability, laying capabilities, and color of eggs.

We will be getting kittens here soon too.  Just writing those words just about kills me.  I am not a cat lover!  As a matter of fact, I dislike cats VERY much!  But, the barn and fields have an abundance of mice and well... cats take care of that problem quite nicely, so... barn cats we will have.  Jilli is of course asking daily how much longer until the kittens are ready to come.

Did I tell you we were having septic problems?  Well, we are, the problem actually is a failed drain field, even though we don't really have a drain field.  It's been quite frustrating trying to figure out what we actually have and how it all works (or in our case, doesn't work).  I will save you the details, but lets just say that the previous owners were less than honest about MANY things about this house. We had to have someone come out and tell us what we need to do for a new septic system and she was the one who "inspected" the old system for the sale of the house.  She said the owner was out there with her the whole time she was inspecting.  The day we closed on the house we asked the old owners exactly where was the septic tank and drain field.  He told us a totally different place than where it actually was.  How is that for honesty...  So now we need to put in a new system, we also need to "cap off" one of the wells here on the property because it will be too close to the new system. Which really is fine because we were not planning on using that well, and it is more of a hazard then a help.

Our furnace needs to be replaced along with the ac.  We turned on the ac last week and there was a leak in the unit in the basement.  It dripped water onto the top of the furnace shorting out the furnace. I had a guy here yesterday that told me it was toast and he wouldn't spend any money on it because he could tell that it had a lot of work done on it already, it was also almost 30 years old.  He started naming all the things he could see that had been replaced or rigged to keep working.  This is also another thing the old homeowners said worked absolutely fine.

Granted these are all things that we fully intended to replace but not 6 months after moving in... and since we were told that they were all working great, we felt as if we had a little time.  I am so thankful that Kevin has "people".  I don't know what we would do if this all happened and we didn't have "people" that we trusted to fix all the screw ups the previous owners did.  FYI, there is a lot of "homeowner" specials here... even down to the furnace, duct work, water heater, and ac.

Other exciting news, I will be flying out to NY for 6 days to take care of Lina while Tim and Melissa take a little anniversary trip.  I am really looking forward to spending time with her.  I have a feeling we are going to do a lot of walking and playing at the park and if it's raining we are going to do a lot of dancing cuz that girl loves music!  It will be an adventure!!

The boys are taking over the cutting of the grass.  They have each had 1 turn at it.  Micah is much more systematic.  He with a little practice will be more like Kevin I think.  Tyler well... he cuts in circles.  That's the best way for me to describe it.  I tried instructing him on straight lines and going back and forth, and he just responded "Mom, my brain doesn't think the same way yours does!" and he continued to cut in circles.  It's a good thing we live in the country and no longer have to be confined by the norms of suburban life because we now have loop-de-loops as cut grass lines!

That's about all the news right now.  Sorry no pictures with this post, I need to get my camera out and take some pictures!!

Protected and Blessed

Last week was an interesting week for us.  Kevin was practicing with some guys from church for a volleyball tournament and he went up to hit the ball and something happened in his knee.  He came home limping and telling me that he needed a knee brace to play in the tournament.

Thursday morning dawned and he couldn't get out of bed.  When he finally did he was hobbling around trying to get ready for work.  I got up and stood watching him trying to walk around the kitchen and told him there was no way he was working and we were going to the ER to get it checked out.  You know Kevin is hurting when he doesn't argue with me about seeing a DR and then proceeds to make arrangements for work.

I drove him to the hospital and for the next two hours he was asked all kinds of questions, had x-rays of his knee taken, they made him take Motrin (yuck) and then he was put in an immobilizing brace, given crutches and then sent on our way with instructions to follow up with our PCP to get an MRI set up to see what damage he did to his soft tissue.

Kevin stayed home from work for the rest of the week.  He pretty much stayed off his leg as much as possible.  We iced it frequently, we also put several essential oils on his leg every couple hours to help with any swelling and promote healing.  He really never used the crutches, but he was a good boy with the brace and kept that on, even sleeping with it on the first two nights.

Then Saturday happened....

I gave all the boys haircuts, Tyler was the last one.  He tends to zone in the shower and usually takes quite a long shower.  I had cleaned up from the haircuts, I was standing in the living room talking to Kevin who was on the couch with his leg propped up when  we heard a big crash.  Micah was, as he likes to call it, the first responder.  He made it to the bathroom door in seconds just as Tyler began to scream.  I was close behind him and what met my eyes shocked me.

There was my son standing in a sea of broken glass, blood running down his legs, holding a towel.  He was screaming "my feet are burning, my feet are burning!"  I told Tyler not to move and I tried to think of a way to get him out.  I was not strong enough to lift him out at the angle that he had to be removed from the shower.  Kevin came onto the scene, took one look at one happened and moved to action.  He hobbled over to the shower, told Tyler to grab his neck and then lifted him right out.  He placed him on the toilet where I could grab him and run him to the kitchen sink to evaluate the injuries.

For about the next hour Kevin and I worked at washing off the blood, assessing the wounds, and pulling out the glass from his legs and feet.  I then applied a wonderful oil called helichrysum to stop the bleeding and help close up the wounds.  I bandaged him up and then he sat next to Kevin on the couch the rest of the afternoon/evening.

Kevin must have re-injured something in his knee because his leg was swollen, his ankle being the worst of it.  Thankfully Kevin called his parents to come over to help clean up the mess.  His parents took care of the entire bathroom, down to removing the last glass shower door, vacuuming up all the glass, washing out the shower, cleaning the bathroom floor, shaking out towels and rugs, purchasing a shower rod and installing the rod and shower curtains (left from our old house).

Tyler's injuries could have been so much worse.  We praise God for his protection over Tyler.  He sustained quite a few cuts, some of them were rather deep.  The deeper ones were a cut and puncture wound all in one, but nothing that I felt required stitches especially since they were on his legs and feet.

Monday morning dawned and Kevin got up for work.  He was walking around the house without a problem.  He left for work and through out the day he sent me texts saying his knee was feeling really good.  On Tuesday we went to an Orthopedic surgeon and had his knee checked out.  The DR put his knee through all kinds of crazy moves and none of them hurt Kevin.  She said that unless his knee starts to hurt again, that he was good to go as long as he remembered he is not 20 yrs old anymore.  She said that she wasn't going to search for a problem if he was feeling fine.

Kevin says he can't remember a time that his knee has felt this good.  One more reason to praise God.  We have seen His blessings and his provisions poured out on us in ways that we never expected.

Two quick prayer requests:

Last week my Great Uncle died unexpectedly a day before he turned 90 yrs old.  Uncle Cornie was such a kind man.  We used to stay with him and Auntie Lu when we went to Wisconsin to visit when I was a young child.  In February when we went to Wisconsin I was able to sit and talk to him for about 30min after church.  I didn't know if he would remember me, but I sat down to talk to him anyway.  Amazingly enough, he not only remembered me, Kevin and the kids.  He proceeded to ask me about each of my siblings and what they were all doing, and even asked about their spouses and children.  The only one he didn't ask about was Lina, but he heard all about her by the time we were done visiting.  He held my hand stroking it just like my Grandpa used to do, the whole time we talked.  Please keep his family in your prayers.  He lived a long and good life and he missed his Lucy terribly and I am sure he is overjoyed to be with her in Heaven, but it is never easy for those left behind.

Kevin received a call on Tuesday from our friend and old neighbor Leisa.  After she explained what she was calling about, she told him that she was diagnosed with breast cancer on Dec 1st, she said that she had a rough couple of months.  She is currently going through chemo and then she will have radiation.  Her beautiful long curly red hair is all gone.  She has a 17yr old son, that helps as much as he can, and she has a lot of friends that have really come along side of her to help her.  Please pray for her, she has a long road ahead of her.

Well, that's it for today I think.  It's currently a dark wet day, I am making the kids do 2 days worth of school today, so we can enjoy the weather that is forecasted for tomorrow.  I think the boys will be learning how to rototill a garden... I'm sure they are going to love it.

Blessings!