This Week At Home, 2012, Week 25

Little notes I write to remember each precious day!

Ah, water! 

Monday...

A day at home, my favorite kind of day, by the way, although, I do enjoy visiting others.  Today we worked on our summer enrichment work. And, we spent as much time outside as possible as there is a heat wave on the way later this week. As usual, I had plenty of laundry to do, and I worked on keeping the dishes out of the sink. It still got to 86 degrees today, but with the humidity low, it didn't seem too warm. 

Grace is in the window. 

Tuesday...

The heat wave staring us in the face, I made a conscious effort to make the most of being outside today.  We spent a lot of time just enjoying the cooler air of the morning, a new favorite part of summer for me.  I spent time laying on the hammock watching a honey bee in the mint.  One nice thing is that Jeff is home for lunch this week as he's working at a client's office ten minutes from home.   After lunch, we took our little friend to a park that has a water feature.  Very nice way to spend a couple hours.  The threat of tomorrow's heat makes me dread this heat wave.  I really don't enjoy temps over 90.

Happy boy!

Wednesday...

My day to run!  Ten in the morning, Trevor had to be at a play date across town. I happily dropped him off, and then Grace and I went to visit our newly relocated grandparents.  If only we did not have to dash off so quickly, as we were having such a lovely visit!  But, we had to get back to make lunch for Jeff who was coming home again to eat with us.  After lunch, I went back across town to pick up Trevor.  Four hours went very quickly!  We got home and had a little down time before the evening rush.  As a favor to a friend, I picked up her son, fed him dinner, and took him to church tonight with my oldest two, and took him home.  It's getting hot, so we stayed inside a lot today.  I am glad we were outside a lot Monday and Tuesday.  This evening, Jeff made the difficult call to cancel our camping trip this weekend due to extreme heat and possible thunder storms at the lake.  Bummer. 

Bouncy!

Thursday... Record temperature, 104F! 

If we must survive this very hot day, then having friends to play with inside is a must.
I dropped Grace off at a friend's house, after a quick run through a nearby grocery store and a stop to give my mom a hug.  The friend's brother was dropped off here at our home by his grandmother after their morning 9 holes of golf!  Thankfully, their mom came to get them in the evening. Jeff and I did go to Trader Joe and Costco after dinner. 

Love this park!

Friday...

Another day in the 100's.  This is just so rare for Indiana.  And now the humidity is on the rise, which is not a good combination.   Today we are trying to get outside before 10AM to water and get fresh air.  Then, we are going to work on the house.  It needs a deep clean.  I really dislike having the house shut up and the air on.  The air conditioner is old and if it is really hot outside, it only cools the house to the low 80's, but the humidity is lower,so that helps. I feel for others who don't have any air conditioning in this heat.  We will be inside a lot for the next week, as we will be in the 90's until next Friday, Lord willing a break comes!  The average high for this time of the year is 85. 

Walking in the water. 

We're sticking close to home this weekend.  As long as we are together, we'll make the most of our time.  :-) 
~Jenn

Wordless Wednesday: Dorothy Rules!

This is her annoyed face.  

She's a constant blur! 

Sweetie!  

With her favorite toy, Mr. Piggy Pants.  

Note:  Dorothy is settling in just fine.  We really enjoy her youthful energy, except in the middle of the night, when she will bring us a toy and howl until we play.  That's why her toys get inventoried and locked up each night before bed.  :-)

A Summer Weekend

I think weekends are the best.  Even weekends that don't go according to plan.
Plan C, prevailed, when A and B fell apart.  Plan A was to go camping with our small group.  Plan B was to have the camp out at our house.  Plan C ended up with small group at our house around a fire pit, celebrating a boy's 10th birthday.  But that's not all.  

Saturday, Jeff and the other guys from the group took the kids fishing.  I think it was my kids first time for real.  They caught lots and released them all.  I was surprised how long they were away.  It seems like they all had a great time. 

License to fish!

The anglers. 

While they were away, Ryan slept and I had a quiet morning to myself to exercise, read, and get laundry started.  When he woke up, we went next door to our neighbor's garage sale.  They had a table full of old computer components and out of the blue, gave it all to Ryan.  What a haul.  As a matter of fact, I am writing this on the laptop they gave us.  Ryan lugged it all home and assimilated it pretty quickly. It was a joy to watch him go to work.  He took parts from some of our older computers that weren't working and made two great computers.

Dorothy approves. 

Jeff got home with the other two and we ate a nice lunch of leftover chicken brats.  Then we went to the library and hardware store.  The hardware store was on my list to get light bulbs and wire cages for my tomato plants.  I still need a couple more, but they were more money that I planned.  I may just do an old fashioned stake.

The rest of the afternoon we just hung out until it was time to start the Saturday afternoon grilling ritual.  We're really enjoying our little Smoky Joe grill.  We can grill quite a lot:  6 big chicken breasts, 4 brats, 4 hamburger, 2 peppers.  Not all at once, but in stages it gets the job done. 

Sunday ...  We got to sleep in today!  We went to church second hour, which is a treat.  We got home and enjoyed some of the grilled bounty for lunch.  The rest of the day was spent just enjoying the day together.  Ryan had evening church for youth group.  When he got home, we had blueberry ice cream and watched an episode of Deep Space Nine. 

All in all, it was a great weekend.  Not the one we planned, but the one we needed!

This Week At Home, 2012, Week 24

Little notes I write in order to remember each precious day!

Had the pool all to themselves! 

Monday...

It's 90+ degrees today. I am not a fan of this kind of heat!  So, I was very thankful when my Mom called to invite us to swim at her pool.  Refreshing!  Relaxing!  Just what we needed.  Before swimming, we had a spelling test, did some math, and I worked on laundry.  It was nice to get a little lesson work done.  We didn't do much last week.   I am also happy to report that I am feeling better.  I still need to be careful to keep hydrated and to eat more frequently. 

Noodle fun! 

Tuesday...

Another hot day ahead of us.  It's running about 10 or more degrees above normal for this time of the year.  And, did I mention that I don't enjoy hot days in the 90's?  So, I've decided we must make the most of these cooler mornings.  Everyone went outside to enjoy the cooler air this morning.  I felt thankful for a little break in the heat.  Since I knew the afternoon would be rather hot, we decided to watch The King and I after lunch.  It turns out that the boys were not interested and it was just Grace and I.  The boys built Lego ships or something.  I love it when they are playing together, nicely!  Anyway, Grace and I enjoyed the movie.  The costumes are my favorite part.  

Wednesday...

It ended up being a low key, stay at home and rest day.  I am really enjoying the coolness of the mornings.  We've taken to watering our plants and then I swing on the hammock and the kids (mostly Grace) bounce on the trampoline, until the sun comes over the tree line.  It's glorious! 

We are really loving A Reason For Spelling, well, at least I am!  The kids are motivated to work on improving their scores from the pretest to the post test.  Grace even took the initiative to do extra work.  I like how the lessons are laid out.  I enjoy the story that we read before the pretest.  I think the sentences that they use for the tests are interesting and complex. 

It's still really hot and we are just doing our best to stay cool. 

Thursday...

Another quiet day at home.   It reached 90 again, but there was a little relief in the evening with a line of storms that came through.  I am thankful, of course, but we need so much more! 

Jeff and Grace went to get groceries in the evening.  What a blessing that was to me! 

Friday...

Tonight we are supposed to have our small group over for a back yard camp out. We were all going to go to a state park for the weekend, but, there are a few issues to work out with the other families, like a child with a 103 fever last night!  Another child coming straight from a week of camp.  And I am still feeling a little worn out myself.  The idea of a camping weekend did not appeal to me.   So, we will see what the day brings! 

Have a great weekend! 
Jenn

This Week At Home, 2012, Number 23

Little notes written to remember these precious days...

Dorothy can sleep ANYWHERE! 

Monday...
Laundry catch up day, among other tasks that need tended to today.  Grace and Trevor were invited to play at a friends house and then ended up staying most of the day.  I am still not feeling the best, but able to carry on. 


Tuesday...
The perfect day presented itself to us, and I knew just what we had to do, go to the prairie!   The temperature was in the low 80's with a nice breeze and not too much humidity.  We passed a pleasant morning and early afternoon.  Our membership expires this week, so going was important.  It may be a little while before we get to go again. 

Wednesday...
Today is 7th Grade Fun Day at church for Grace, all day. I'm not all sure what they have planned, but I hear it is to build friendships, so sounds good to me! Turns out she wanted to stay the whole day, so we picked her up at 8PM!  While Grace was at Fun Day, my mom picked me up and we went to visit our recently transplanted from AZ grandparents.  They now live nearby!  Mom and I wanted to help set up their kitchen, which did not take too long, so we also went grocery shopping together.  The boys, meanwhile, entertained themselves quite nicely.  Mom dropped me back home in time for me to make dinner and afterwards Jeff take Ryan to meet up with Grace at youth group.  Jeff and Trevor went to practice tennis.  I had a quiet few moments to myself.  :-)


Thursday...
Our busy day of the week!  Grace and I got our hair trimmed. Nothing special, so no photos, just a trim.  We came back, picked up the boys and went to the library.  On the way home, we stopped at our bakery for bread.  After lunch, we ladies headed out for grocery shopping.  We only went to one store.  We came back put things away and had time to rest before making dinner.  After dinner, Trevor had choir rehearsal as they sing this weekend.  While he was at rehearsal, Jeff and I went to Costco.  We got back to drop off the food and put it away, then out again to get Trevor.  He was treated to a Popsicle and then to a water balloon toss with his choir friends. 

Friday...
Because I had been feeling kind of poorly for the last couple weeks, I decided to go see my doctor.  Turns out I've not been eating enough, so I am hypoglycemic and just need to eat more and not go as long as I was in between meals and at night. 

Jeff had taken the day off, so he and the boys went to the water park while us girls enjoyed a quiet afternoon of reading and baking. 

In the evening, we enjoyed watching Deep Space Nine, after dinner. 

That's our week!
~Jenn

Wordless Wednesday: Prairie Time

It's a New Week!

After a busy weekend, and a warm night for sleeping last night, I am waking up a little slowly this morning, wishing for some coffee that cannot be!  We kept busy this weekend, but not terribly. It actually helped me to keep going. 

Saturday highlights:

• Early morning family tennis practice
  
• A trip through the car wash
• Picking up Ryan from his youth group sleep over
• Attending a family high school graduation open house
• Coming home to grill out 
• Watching Bat Man on MeTV

Sunday highlights: 

• Worship was one of the most precious times.  We thanked God for 27 years of faithfulness to our church.   
• Packed up snacks and headed to a state park pool in the country.
• Found the pool to be not over crowded, even on this 90 degree day.  
• Being in the park, seeing beautiful rolling rills on the way, all soothing to my soul. 
• Came home to grilled leftovers
• Watched Deep Space Nine 

Now, I just need to gear up for a busy week of friends, swimming, helping family, and what not. 

This Week At Home, 2012, Number 22

Monday...
I woke up from a fitful night of sleep, knowing this was going to be a tough week, as  I am feeling weak, nauseated and wiped out!  However, I am so thankful that this is going to be a low key week.  So, I will press on.  Only things accomplished today:  spelling, lots of reading, a little math, dishes, laundry, and dinner.  I finished a great book, The Girl of the Woods by Grace Livingston Hill.  I enjoy Grace Livingston Hill's fiction.  She always weaves the Gospel message into the plot. I recently read her book, Exit Betty.  Her language may be more simple in nature, but the stories are sweet!  They would be great for the girl who is 12+ . 

Tuesday...
I don't have much of an appetite or much energy.  It's another great day to read.  Grace takes care of our little friend this afternoon.  I spent a lot of time reading, Aunt Jane's Hero by Elizabeth Prentiss.  This book was her marriage manual and if you have not read anything by this wonderful author, you must!  I also loved Stepping Heavenward. She writes a sermon delivered through her fictional tales.  It makes me very sad that my library does not have a single one of her books!  Thankfully, I can read many for free via Google Books. 


Wednesday...
Each day I feel a little better, although my appetite is gone and I am still nauseated and weak.  I slept a little better, too, which is a blessing.  Today, Grace had a play date in the afternoon.  I also went to get some bird seed.  We did spelling, math and lots of reading.  I finished Aunt Jane's Hero.  Ryan and Grace had youth group this evening.  Jeff took Trevor to play tennis after a quick trip to Trader Joe's. 

Costco frozen yogurt! 

Thursday...
Still nauseated, but I decided to just press on through it.  Thankfully, I am able to keep going today, because we needed some food.  We hit the library, bakery, and Costco.  The kids and I got our first prizes for the summer reading program.  I received a fine reduction coupon.  Trevor got a couple coupons and a water squirt thingy.  Grace got a water bottle and a little furry friend.  Ryan did not get anything, yet.  He's waiting.  This evening, we all went to the tennis courts for an hour. 

A tree I love near the tennis courts. 

Friday...
Finally not nauseated!  But not hungry either.  It's a wide open day, too!  I think we will wrap up our spelling for the week and then work on the house a little.  I want to pick out another book to read, too.  Reading this week has kept my mind off my things, which was very helpful.  Ryan gets to go to a sleep over tonight with his small group from church, their last blast. 

This weekend is going to be nice.  We have an open house to attend.  Church is having a dedication for the new building. 

I hope you have a great weekend! 
~Jenn

Wordless Wednesday: Garden Girl

Weekend Fun, At Home

Saturday morning, I found a sturdy kitchen cart at a garage sale!  It was only $10!  Now, more than one person will be able to work in the kitchen at a time, as we had so little space to work at the counters.  This may help my efforts to teach Grace to cook, as it was so hard to be in a tight space before.  My kitchen is finally functional. 

We also spread 8 yards of mulch, weeded, mowed, and cleaned off the deck on Saturday.  It's looking so good around here! 

Another blessing.... the range arrived Saturday evening at 9:45PM!  They had some truck problems.  I am just so glad for that ordeal to be over!!!  I made pizza for dinner today.  I also made my baby boy (Trevor) some boiled eggs that he's been craving!  I think a cake is in order sometime this week! 

Today, Sunday, has been a low key day.  We went to the second service, which means our aching muscles could sleep in a little. Church was great as usual.  We studied Psalm 10.  This afternoon, Trevor had choir practice,  and this evening, Ryan went to senior high youth group.  *gulp*  Now we are going to watch an episode of Deep Space Nine and then be off to bed.

Good night!
~Jenn

This Week At Home, 2012, Week 21

Little notes, I write in order to remember each precious day...

Monday...

Today is Memorial Day.  It's easy to forget this day and push through.  I am so thankful to all the friends and family who have sacrificed to serve in one way or the other.  I think of my grandpa, gone now almost two years.  He served in WWII.  I miss his stories of those times he spoke of with fondness.  Yes, fondness, as he was stationed on a boat as a radio operator and did not see action, thank God!

Monday found us at the lake, hot and tired, so we ate a hearty breakfast, packed up and made the long drive home.  I do not take for granted the safety we traveled in.  I prayed for mercy and was granted that request.  I do not take for granted our protection this weekend.  So much could have gone wrong.  On the way up alone there were two close calls!  The weather was harsh and I was ill.  I could have been a lot worse.  I could go on and on!

Inside the camper, one night. 

Tuesday...

The guy was supposed to come back and paint today, but so far he is a no show.  This means I will have another day without a working stove.  *sigh*  If my dear mother had not brought us a home baked pizza yesterday, we'd have starved.  OK, not really, but it was that or another round of turkey sandwiches!  (Thanks, Mom!)

We have started another week of summer enrichment.  The kids seem OK with our plan.  Jeff made us a check off form which is pretty handy to have.

Tonight we'll have leftover (that was frozen) BBQ chicken for sandwiches, green beans, and strawberries.

Swimming at Nana's last week. 

Wednesday...

See how well the new matches the old? 

Stressful morning, until I realized I had the power to make it less crazy! I was worried that the men would not come back to paint today, thus making a longer wait for the stove.  I also knew I needed to get food, take a couple DVDs back to the library to avoid fines, and we were out of bread.  I could not do all the running around I needed to do and wait for the guys.  *Grr*  Thankfully, they came before lunch.  They painted the cabinets and I was amazed at how the paint matches the old.  We ate a quick bread less lunch, then dashed off to the library to also sign up for the summer reading program.  While there, we walked right into their free milkshake program!  Yay!  The kids got to make and drink their own.  On the way home, we stopped at Great Harvest and the kids got big slices of free cinnamon raisin bread!  We got home in time to regroup before the exciting, surprise visit from Grandpa and Grandma occurred.  Grandpa brought his bee suit and the boys got to try it out with the smoker.  Fun stuff!  After they left, I grilled burgers and brats.  Jeff got home, we ate and then the two of us went grocery shopping so that I'd be free to wait around on Thursday for the electrician and mulch.  Whew!

Grandpa suits Ryan up.

Live long and keep bees!

Every 10 year old boy's dream!

Free! 

Banana milkshakes are yummy!

Thursday...

Got up to a lovely cooler morning, so we had oatmeal and then got busy weeding.  I learn a lot of lessons from weeding.  

• If I avoid weeding all spring, it is much harder and I feel super guilty until it is done, so why do I wait until the end of May?  
• Taking care of what God has provided is right and good.  
• Weed killer spray is not really evil, if used sparingly!  
• Take ibuprofen and allergy meds before and then take a shower right after! 
• It never takes as long as I imagine it will take!  

Sometime today a big truck will bring 8 yards of mulch to spread this weekend, so I wanted the beds to be ready.  Despite someone taking time to line them with weed paper in the years past, weeds prevail.  *sigh*

Also, the electrician is coming this morning.  Yay!  If only he can complete his work in one day and then if only the stove is in stock and able to be delivered quickly!  If only!  (Not getting my hopes up, so the slow cooker will be filled with pasta sauce for tonight.) 

Friday...

Getting the house in order for small group before 10AM  is my top priority this morning.  AT 10, Mom comes to take us with her to  see Grandma today, which will make for a full day, but a satisfying one!  The weekend will be one spent dealing with this...

We got one small bed done before it rained yesterday.  I am glad that the weekend is supposed to be cooler.

And the new range is to be delivered Saturday as well.  (Pizza!)
Have a great weekend!
~Jenn