Home Improvement

It’s always fun to do a few little (or big) improvements around the house. I just thought I’d share a few with you. We recently had the top of our table refinished. Let me just say it pays to hire a professional sometimes. I wish I had taken a before picture, but those of you who have been at our house might remember what bad shape it was in. It was embarrassing! Now it’s so nice. I think the finish is better than the original because you can see the grain and color of the wood better. I’m really enjoying it!

Then I hung some plates above the doorway in the kitchen that I’ve had for years. They were a gift from my Grandma M. Thanks to Iris for the idea of where to put them. And, yay ebay, for the plate rack!

I just took a little trip down memory lane when I was looking at the picture of the plates. Way back when, my cousin Sue and I had some rivalry going on for whatever reasons. Well, when Grandma picked out plates for us (we are the two oldest granddaughters), I was jealous of hers. She got four (!) plates and I only got two. (Insert childish whine.) Hers had pink flowers as I recall, and mine were orange, yellow, and black, of all things. At that point in time, pink would definitely have been my pick over orange and yellow. If I remember correctly (and I might not) she liked mine - maybe because of the cool, octogan shape. We were pathetic. So now, many years later, I'm finally hanging my plate up and I'm so glad I have the orange and yellow ones! I've actually developed an affinity for yellow and orange - in the right places and amounts. Pink wouldn't look nearly as nice in my kitchen and two plates is just right for that space. And I love the octogan shape. There should be a moral to this story, right? I guess it's that we need to trust God to give us what's best because He see the end when we're only at the beginning.

And lastly, I finally made a curtain for the “pantry/misc. storage” shelves in my entryway. I always felt like they were an eyesore. That’s what you can see when you look into the entryway from the kitchen. So, now it looks much better, I think!

The Fans are Clamoring

Well, actually, Iris was just wondering if I'm stuck in the freezer. So, instead of doing my before-bed routine, I'll type out a little morsel here. I've had things in mind to post, but no time. Can anyone else relate to that??

Homeschooling is proving to be quite an adjustment. It seems like it takes so much of our day. I think part of it is that I'm also now responsible for Logan's piano practice as well as Caleb's (Keith did it last year). Caleb is more independent with it, but I have to sit with Logan for most of it and help him. Add to that some discipline/relationship issues between Logan and me, and it can mean a stressful, long practice. Gotta pray more about that one!! Also, we sort of mix our chores right in with school and piano, so by the time we get all of that done, it can seem like the whole day is gone. So, we continue to work at it and I'm praying about my attitudes and parenting style, and we plug along!

As my dear sister has pointed out in the comments on the previous post, next week is a big milestone for me. Rhonda had asked me what it was going to take to numb the pain, or something like that. Well, this is what it will take: a trip to the city! Next week, Keith and I are meeting my brother Sheldon and his wife Darla, and our mutual friends Michael and Connie (who also hit the big 4-0 a little while ago) and we're going to just have some fun in the city! I'm looking forward to a little shopping (the men don't want to do much!), a nice hotel, a tour of the mint, Olive Garden and Perkins (hopefully) and the Symphony on Friday night. Yay!

Wendy and her kids are going to be at Stormer Lake for a couple days (Jeff is working up there somewhere) so tomorrow we're heading up there for the day. We asked Marvin to have a little "field trip" for the kids - show them how the generator works, or something. And we're going to make soft pretzels. And hopefully relax and just hang out with Yvonne for awhile. That should be fun!

I've really been enjoying the CD "Let the Worshippers Arise" by Philips, Craig and Dean!! Their lyrics and music are both so powerful!

And in the "things-you-really-must-know-or-your-life-will-never-be-complete" department:

-It seems like for the last month or more, every time I do laundry, it rains so I can't hang it out to dry. But inevitably, it seems, the day before or after is beautiful and sunny. Why??? I'm a cheapskate and it bugs me to have to dry it all in the dryer. Grrrr.

-We tried on snow pants, coats, and boots today to see what we need for the winter. So, of course the boys had to go all-out and dress to the teeth. They tried to play outside that way, but it didn't last long. It was beautiful outside!

-Josiah has had gooey eyes for the better part of a week. His eyeballs aren't red, but underneath his eyes it's red and swollen. Should I take him to the doctor? The others had a milder case of the same thing and they've all had runny noses...

-I got a little extra spending money so I bid on a place setting of my china on ebay. I got it for $20.50 which is really cheap for Old Country Roses. Then I got the invoice and the shipping is $22.54!! Huh! It's still a good price over-all, but it kinda makes me disgusted that the shipping is more than the price! And I'm sure that's more than the actual shipping will be. Oh well!

-I also bought Logan a dress shirt and tie on ebay. He often begs to wear a tie on Sunday (!?!) and he doesn't have anything that works right now. So I got him something. It might be a Christmas present. Not sure yet. We'll see how much of a problem Sunday mornings are for awhile! :-)

-I'm going to post soon about the on-line course I'm doing now about food addiction. It's been really good! I'm telling you this now so that I have to actually post about it.

-On Monday I'm going to be 40. That's just crazy. How did that happen??

Okay, I'm going to go now before you're all bored to tears!! Night-night!

Eating Out of the Freezer

Awhile ago I told you about the cooking day we did. Several (well, two) of you wanted the list of recipes we made. So, here they are. And I must say, it has been wonderful pulling supper out of the freezer!! So far nearly everything has been a success. Not that little Mister Picky has liked it all, but that's just normal for him. I'm not sure if we'll have too much soup at the end of the month or not. It seemed like we made an awful lot of soup for one month. So, we'll see how it goes for next month...

Soups:

Chili
Lentil Stew
Potato Chowder (made without the white sauce. I'll add that when we eat it.)
Hamburger Barley
Cicken Wild Rice
Vegetable Beef
Cream of Broccoli/Pea (not a milk base. It's a pureed soup - mostly broccoli, peas, onions, celery, spices. I love it and Keith tolerates it.)

Casseroles/Main Dishes/Side Dishes:

Curry Chicken
Chimichangas
Mashed Potatoes
Burritoes
Yumzetti
Chicken & Rice
Tater Tot Casserole (made with a gravy base, not mushroom soup)
Lasagne (my vegetarian, tofu recipe. It's really good. Really.)
Chickenetti
Pakistani Kima (a hamburger, vegetable curry that you put over rice)
Breakfast Casserole
Rice & Veggie Casserole (sort of a Mexican Beans and Rice deal)
Chicken Gumbo
Sauce-baked Meatballs
Meatloaf
Taco Meat

That's 21 different main dishes, but some of them made LOTS. I love leftovers for lunches! I'm looking forward to doing it again, but I think I need some more chicken recipes. It seems like most of them were beef. Does anyone have any good freeze-able chicken ideas?? Or anything else? I don't want to make all the same stuff every month.

So, what are you having for supper tomorrow night? We're having potato chowder and I think I'll try to make bread sticks. Anybody wanna come over for supper?

Hilda the Housewife (and Schoolteacher)

Thanks for the home-schooling ideas! This started out as a comment on my post, but it got too long, so I’ll just post it. You'd think the "after-lunch-while-he's-sleeping" solution would be a no-brainer. I hadn’t really considered it though because I was thinking I want to get it all done in the morning or something. And, that's my nap-time too. Thankfully, my naps are much shorter than they were and sometimes I can even skip them! So we're going to try that. Also, this morning, Caleb took his "table-work" that he can do mostly on his own to the basement and we shut the gate. That worked quite well! Less distractions for him too. As far as Daddy is concerned, he is doing the Bible stories and also the science activities. So that helps a lot. Anyway, today was a better day.

I also had the idea to insert regularly scheduled chores in each morning in place of the school work that we'll be doing in the afternoon. That feels good too. It was okay that Caleb and I were doing language at 3:00 because we had already folded all of the laundry in the morning. I’m thinking of the following schedule: Monday – swimming lessons, no extra chores, Tuesday – clean bathrooms and either dust or change sheets (those last two might not always happen. tee hee.), Wednesday – fold laundry, Thursday – send the kids to their Grandmas – no extra chores, Friday – vacuum and mop.

While I’m on the subject of housework, I’ve been meaning to ask sometime…. What is a favorite “routine” or household tip that really helps you get something done, stay organized, make a job you don't like easier, etc.??? I’d like to hear some good ideas from lots of people. We all have little things that we do that make housework more efficient. I thought it would be neat if we’d share some of our favorite ideas. So, let’s hear it for – and from – all the Hilda the Housewives out there!

Logan's Birthday

I guess it's been a month since Logan's birthday, so it's time to post the pictures, eh? Since he turned five we did a bigger party than usual. We planned a beach party since, well, it was August. Makes sense, doesn't it? It was So Cold! Oh well, the kids had fun anyway! We had the party at 3:00 and then had the Grandparents over for pizza in the evening. You can see how Logan felt by the end of the day. The funny thing is, since he turned five, he finally doesn't take a nap most of the time. Just once in awhile.

School Daze

Yeah, I know it's a lame pun, but I haven't the talent to think of something truly witty. We’re getting into the swing of home-school around here. I think it’s going pretty well. Then I remember that neither of the boys is doing their Language Arts yet. So, there are more challenges to come!

My biggest challenge right now is what to do with Josiah!! I’m asking all home-school Moms for advice. He’s 20 months old and just LOVES to do everything his brothers do. This doesn’t work so well when they’re writing/coloring/cutting at the table. He’s all over and into everything. Aarrgghh! Yes, I’m very willing to use purposeful swats to the backside and I do, but it seems to have no effect at this point. He spends a good chunk of time in his room with a gate across the door and toys to play with. He does well with that, but I can’t leave him in there all morning!! This morning I put him in his high-chair with crayons and a paper – and soon he was just eating the crayons. Later I tried the high-chair again and gave him playdo. That worked well for a little while, and then the playdo ended up all over the floor. Sigh. Is this just something we have to put up with?? Or do any of you have ideas for how to occupy and train him?? When we’re not doing school-work, he’s quite good and happy most of the time.

For those of you familiar with Sonlight, we’re doing Core C this year with both Caleb and Logan. It’s better for Logan, but I find it's not too challenging for Caleb. I’m thinking of what I can do to give him some more to do, but not just “busy work”. Several options I’m thinking of: some really good Canadian History books for kids (anyone know of any?) and/or ACE Science or Animal Science PACEs. Right now he’s finishing up a couple of Sonlight Science books that we didn’t do last year.

On a happy note, we’re really enjoying “The Boxcar Children” right now. That is a book I read many times when I was little, and it brings back memories for me! Also, I’m looking forward to Caleb’s Language Arts (Sonlight). I’ve hardly looked at Logan’s yet so I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to it or not. And here's one little funny. We were reading some "Mother Goose" rhymes today. After I finished one Caleb remarked, "That was lame!" And he was right! :-) Okay, enough rambling. I’d love to hear from you home-school Moms out there that I know read my blog and never or rarely comment.

Who Turned Down the Thermostat??

In honour of the snowflakes we saw yesterday (someone forgot to tell us about global warming!), I'm finally posting pictures of us picking blueberries - in much warmer weather! :-)

We were so thankful for the blueberries this year! After quite a few years of not-so-many berries, they were plentiful this year. Thank you, Jesus! It was also very special to pick berries with good friends from out of town. Carolyn S. and Jennifer M and her kids were here right over blueberry time. We had one little trip out to the bush together. That time Glenda M. and Mary Elaine P. were there too, as well as Lisa's Mom and Grandma! Lots of foreigners in the blueberry patch! That was when we almost had to pry Glenda’s fingers off of the bushes so we could go home. :-) She could hardly stand to leave those beautiful berries there. Jennifer and her kids stayed with us and it was so good to see them again. Iris and I went out a couple times as well and did all the damage to the berries we could!! The picture of the four boys is them having a "moose poop fight". Boys will be boys, after all. In case you're not from the North, this moose poop is hard and dry, not soft and gross. :-) Well, it's still sorta gross, but hey, they were having fun and not bothering us while we were picking! :-)

God of the Little Things

I have a little story to tell you, just to brag on my God a bit. This past spring we had what seemed to be a rash of technological breakdowns. The VCR and CD player both quit around the same time. (Well, "quit" isn't quite the right word for the VCR. It was more like a victim of a murder at the hands of a cute little toddler!) I know our desktop computer also died but I'm not sure of the timing of that one. At the time, God had been speaking to me about living simply, being content, spending less, giving more, etc. I determined to pray for these "needs" and not just rush out and buy all new stuff.

I don't remember what all happened with the computer, but Keith talked to a friend who "builds" computers and we ended up getting one from him for nothing. Since we have the Mac as well, we just needed a basic PC to run a few windows-only programs we use... Thank you, Lord for the computer!

I was praying for a cheap VCR and CD player - although the CD player seemed a bit more of a "stretch" for God. Y'know what I mean? I want a decent little stereo with at least a 3-CD changer. I looked at garage sales, etc, for a VCR, but found nothing. I waited and prayed. Then one day a friend stopped in (I think she was dropping off one of her kids). I had asked to borrow a few DVDs since we don't have many. She kindly brought some and also added, "You said you don't have a VCR. Here's an extra one we have. You can borrow it." I wondered if they wanted to get rid of it and she thought they would part with it for the $15 they had paid for it at a second-hand store. There you go. Answer to prayer, #2.

Now the CD player. That's another story. We waited. I prayed. An "expert" told me that no one fixes that kind of stuff. We looked around and considered buying one. We couldn't find exactly what we wanted. I put the stereo down in Keith's shop since it was dead anyway. I reminded God that I wanted a CD player. We waited. One day Keith came home from work and said he had sold one of his kayaks. I had nearly forgotten he had it since he's never used it since we're married. Hmmm, $200 of unexpected cash. "Say, honey, do ya think we could buy a stereo with that when we go to Winnipeg?" Maybe. So, when we were there last month we looked around. We almost bought one that was on sale but it wasn't exactly what we wanted and we just weren't ready to do it. Then I really wondered when or how we would ever get one.

On Labour Day, Keith was putzing around in the shop. At the supper table he calmly announced, "I fixed the CD player." Get this: he took the cover off and it had a CD jammed in it! That's all that was wrong with it!!! Wow! Thank you, Jesus. I was so excited I could hardly stop sputtering. And that explains that missing CD as well. And guess what it was?!? Jungle JAM! Teehee. So, I guess the $200 goes to a Third-world country!!

This whole thing has been such a good lesson for me! 1) God knows and cares about the "little" stuff! 2) If I don't rush off to meet my own "needs" God has a chance to show me what He can do. 3) Sometimes it's good to go without stuff and realize our "needs" might just be "wants". So, that's my happy little story for today. We serve a wonderful, amazing God who can do anything and loves us each individually and intimately! Wow!

Life With Little Boys

Rock and Roll, Baby!!

This post has nothing to do with rock and roll, or babies! But, I have some seriously good news to report! Today, my dear friend, Rita, (who also happens to be my sis-in-law Rhonda's Mom) came over and we cooked up a storm. I mean some serious cooking! But, I must go back a few months and tell the whole story...

A few month ago I was pondering my up-coming year with home-schooling, parenting (chasing) a toddler, and then having a baby in January. I was wondering how in the world I was going to manage all of that. I was realizing that I simply cannot do it all! I need help with something. I'm sure there are many, many women in the world who can home-school with 4 kids under 8 and "do it all" but I've come to the conclusion that I'm not one of them! So one morning as I was pondering this (I'd like to say that I was praying about it, but I can't say for sure that I was) I had this idea which I think was from God. Keith was okay with my idea, and today it started to happen.

The plan is that for the next year or two, I'll hire someone to help me cook one day a month and I'll put as many meals in the freezer as possible. Cooking is not my passion or first love, so I find the constant demand of it to be quite draining. So, today, Rita came and we cooked like crazy. She was here from 8:00 until after 4:00. I didn't really start until after 9:30, after I had delivered the boys to their Grandmas, but then I worked until supper and still had some clean-up and putting away to do. We made 20 different things today and a few of them were more than one meal. Most are large amounts that will probably make a supper and lunch at least. I can't wait to see how some of them turned out and also just see what it feels like to just pull supper out of the freezer! A few things need to be thickened or have a sauce added that I didn't think would freeze well. One problem I ran into was how to freeze it all. Your can't just stack up a bunch of casseroles or bags of soup or they won't freeze fast enough. I ended up taking a bunch of stuff to my Mother-in-laws freezer so it could all be spread out. Once it's all frozen, I think we can get it all in our freezers. :-)

We didn't get the meatloaf and meatballs made, so I'll do that tomorrow, and since I'm on a roll, I might do taco meat and bbq beef yet. We used a food processor to grate cheese and chop, slice and dice piles of vegetables. I chopped up 12 - 14 cups of onions, and I still had to do a few more at the end. :-) The fun part was that once all the meat was cooked and the vegetables cut up, it was so fast to throw some stuff together.

Oh, and one thing we learned. Don't buy a frozen chicken labeled: "Mature. Ideal for Stewing". What it really means is, "Tough old bird. Not good for eating!!" Rita chopped it up small and mixed it in with the other chicken, so it will probaby be okay. Now I need to drag my weary body to bed and see if I can recover. :-) I might post some pictures of our adventures one of these days... when I can borrow a flash drive from someone!

Sunday afternoon!

I want so badly to post a pile of pictures, but we're having a small technical problem - our flash drive is misplaced. I won't bore you with why I need it to post pictures. Anyway, I'll do that as soon as I can.

In other, more exciting news, we had a very fun scrap-booking day on Friday! Wendy (and Dylan), Iris, Lisa, Leona and I were there and our 14 children were at my house with babysitters. (It's a good thing two of Lisa's are older and could help since one of our sitters couldn't come untile 2:00!!) We "scrapped" like mad and then took a break to go out for lunch for a friend's birthday (Shelley, in case you know her). Then we "scrapped" some more and took a little break for supper. Well, Wendy had to go home and Lisa just kept working and we brought her some leftovers. Leona left before the rest of us, but we were on such a roll that Lisa, Iris and I went until 1:30 or so. Yikes! We got lots done. I could have gone back the next day and kept right on going, but... Real life was calling my name so I stayed home. :-)

Iris had put her kids to bed here and then also came here to sleep. So we enjoyed Keith's pancakes in the morning. :-) Oh, I forgot to mention that when I did get to bed around 2:00, I didn't sleep well at all. Maybe I was just too over-tired and keyed up! Needless to say, a long nap was a necessity on Sat. And today. I feel like I'm still catching up! I'm not sure if old, pregnant ladies should do stuff like that, but it was sure fun!

In other, more serious, news, I mentioned once awhile ago that I have a real problem with over-eating. Sigh. A friend told me about a web-site that looks really good. The address is: settingcaptivesfree.com. They do a lot of stuff dealing with various addictions - including food. Man, it sounds so harsh when you call it an addiction. Anyway, they offer a 60-day online course for free and the point of it is to teach you to fill up your heart with Christ and break the emotional need for food. So, I'm telling you this so that I can't turn back. I'm going to take the course as soon as I have a chance to sign up. There's also a "diet" that goes along with it that I can't do because of being pregnant. (It involves fasting, eating half portions, etc. Basically just eating less food.) But I've made up my own diet restrictions that will be good for me anyway (such as limited sugar or no breads on certain days). I have to say that I'm scared about this because I've tried so many times to get my eating under control and I'm seeing just how much it controls me. I really do want to learn to find my soul satisfaction in Jesus and not be a slave to food!

Keith and the boys are outside building a fire in the fire-pit and Iris is coming over with a bunch of corn-on-the-cob from OH!!!! Yippee! (speaking of food!!) Add to that, Keith's home-made sausages on the grill and s'mores for dessert! The important thing is to not over-eat, I know, so I'll be careful tonight!

This post is becoming very random. Hope you don't mind. I baked bread the other week and it just did not turn out right. It didn't raise much and the loaves were small and kinda heavy. Yesterday I tried again, and I had a new bag of flour. It was called "Best for Bread" (the other time it was just plain old whole wheat flour). I still had the same yeast. Anyway, the bread was gorgeous!! Hmmm. Any words of wisdom about such things? Does flour get old pretty fast? Or was it because I had the "Best for Bread" kind?

Well, I had some more thoughts, but Iris and crew have just arrived. More later! And I hope your Sunday afternoon nap was as satisfying as mine was!!

Random Tidbits

* If you are a part of our family, almost all of your pants, shorts, and capris will be denim, navy or khaki. It's not that I have no imagination, it just works out that way and it's easy to match stuff. Sometimes I have to laugh when I hang out the laundry. Okay, maybe I don't have much imagination. But at least our shirts are all different colors!

* Logan - now 5 years old - still takes naps a lot of the time. If he doesn't, he sometimes falls asleep at the supper table - which is what he did at his birthday supper before he even opened his presents.

* I have 10 gallons of blueberries in my freezers! Thank you, Jesus! And thank-you Twila and my in-laws for giving us some of them!

* If I pick any more berries, I can sell them for $35/gallon. Anyone want some?

* I've entered that stage of pregnancy called "really nice hair"!! I really enjoy it because I know it will fall out like crazy when "Little Herman" is about 5 months old. :-(

* The baby's name (until it's born) is Herman. Like it?

* In desperation, we came up with a new child-training technique. Boys who fight will eat oatmeal for the next meal. We are seeing results, and I just pray I can keep being consistent with it. There was a day or two when they had oatmeal for two meals!

* Josiah says lots of words now: airplane, truck, please, thank-you, bread, bottle, to name a few. He often mimics words which is so cute.

* Josiah is also getting to the "so you really think You're the boss, eh?" stage. Lord, give me strength!

* In the past three weeks plus a bit, we have: sent Keith and Caleb to a reserve up north for three days, left the kids with sitters and gone to Winnipeg for a 2.5 day conference, planned and executed a "big" birthday party for Logan's fifth, gone to Church camp-out for the weekend, had company for 3 nights, and picked a pile of blueberries. Maybe that's why I haven't blogged much!!

* After months of fatigue and sporadic exercise I'm trying to get back into a regular exercise routine.

* Life has slowed down a bit and I'm actually getting caught up around here. I have this week to get my act together (hahahaha) and then we start school.

* This coming Friday we have a baby-sitter lined up and some of us ladies get to have a whole day of kid-free scrap-booking. Yippee!

* Even though I'm almost 20 weeks pregnant, I still need a nap almost every day. Is it because I'm older or is something else going on??

* Caleb got out the Monopoly game this morning and we started a game before church. It was the first time he played and the first time for me in years and years. It was kinda fun. Especially since I smoked him. :-) (And I wonder why he's so competitive?!?)

* After what seemed like weeks (probably wasn't though) of various kids waking up during the night for various reasons, the last 4 nights have been blissfully quiet and Keith and I have been sleeping like absolute rocks for the most part. It's so wonderful to wake up feeling rested!

* My garden has been woefully neglected this summer. Why do I even try to garden?

* The porch renovation that was started in May is not completed yet, but the end might be in sight. Although Keith informed me that it won't get stained this year. I suspected as much.

* Me to Keith yesterday: "One thing I've learned in the last seven years is that I'm NOT superwoman!"

* I'm going to bed now!

I Don't Get No Respect Around Here

Here's a rough reconstruction of a recent conversation around here...

Caleb: "Mom, what does it feel like to be an old lady?"

Me: "I don't know. You'd have to ask one!"

Caleb (with a mischevious grin): "I just did."

Me: "I don't mind because I'm so much smarter than the young people." (I figured that would get his goat!)

Caleb: "Well when you're so old that you forget everything, I'll know more than you."


I can't win!


Well, just so you all know, I'm still alive and well. The summer madness around here is starting to slow down and I've been able to catch my breath a little. It's bedtime now, but soon I will post more details and pictures of what's been going on around here. I know you just can't wait - right, Lisa?? :-)

Because I'm Crazy

I shouldn't be doing this, but here's just a little post to let you know what's up. Keith and I are leaving in 4 hours to go to Winnipeg for the Leadership Summit. We've been planning to go for a long time, but it kinda snuck up on me. :-/ Anyway, my "not caring" last weekend is catching up with me. Oh well, some stuff just won't get done. I'm looking forward to the time alone with Keith and hopefully relaxing some, although the Summit schedule is fairly intense. So, now I need to finish packing, orchestrate lunch, run some errands, take a nap and get out the door to deliver the boys to sitters by 3:00. Hahahahahaha. Talk to you later!

A Little Of This, A Little Of That

Sing with me now... "Our Bible School is over and we are going home. Good-bye. Good-bye. Be always kind and good!" Remember that song? No, we didn't sing it. But, VBS is history for another year and it was good. We had a team of two girls from CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) who did the teaching and games. We were responsible for snacks, crafts, and taking care of the kids. It wasn't a big crowd (27 at the most) but the kids seemed to really enjoy it. I was amazed how they sat and just drank in the Bible stories and teaching. They heard the gospel very clearly. We have a few little boys who want to start coming to Sunday School which is exciting. One is a neighbor just down the road.

The team's supervisor was here for a few days and stayed at our house. It was good to have her here and get to know her. Last night she and the team were here for supper. Afterwards, the girls played and played with Logan. He thought he had the world by the tail!!

This week Keith decided to go up north to a reserve and help our friends, Arthur and Iris, build their house. They left yesterday morning and will come back some time Monday. John M., a carpenter from here also went along. Leonard H. (IA) went in there for the week. We decided to send Caleb along too, which of course, is very exciting for him! Two plane rides and he gets to play with his friends! And of course, Logan was very sad that he couldn't go! How do you decide whose turn it is??? We promised him fun stuff here and maybe chicken hunting with Daddy in the fall.

This morning we tried Iris' 3-grain pancake recipe. I thought this was a good time since I'm pretty sure Keith wouldn't be into trying a new recipe (he's the Sat. morning pancake maker around here.) It was pretty good, but I don't think Keith will be convinced to switch from his whole wheat buttermilk recipe.

The next fun thing we did was have a nice long visit with Twila (formerly from here, now living in IA). That was so nice!!! We ended our visit with lunch at the Chip Van (and Josiah wouldn't eat fries!?!?!) and plans to maybe pick blueberries on Monday.

After our naps, we went out for ice cream (one of Logan's bribes). :-) I found out that when it's 80 degrees and sunny, it's impossible for me to eat an ice cream cone faster than it melts! Logan was an absolute mess! It was pretty funny. I put them in the tub as soon as we got home - and then Josiah pooped in the tub. Sigh. That's life, eh? We're going to have tomato soup from a can for supper! Yeah!

I decided that this weekend I'm going to ignore the list of things I "should" do and just do what I want to do. :-) Well, I will change diapers, feed the kids something, and get ready for leading worship tomorrow. If I list all the things I'm not caring about it will make me feel good, so here goes: fold a load of laundry, clean anything, cook real meals, cut the boys' hair, work on the budget, put stuff away from VBS, assorted paperwork, weed the garden and thin the carrots and beets, sign up for DSL internet (well, that one actually sounds like fun so I might do it! Yay, we're getting DSL!!!). Instead, I think I might pick blueberries, finish a swag I started 3 years ago, and put some old black & white pics in frames and on the wall - another project I started almost 3 years ago. Why does it take so long to get some things done?? Anyway, I think it would be really fun to get those two projects done tomorrow afternoon/evening. We'll see. It would also be fun to watch a movie. I bought "Anna and the King" somewhere for really cheap and haven't watched it yet. Anyone wanna come watch it with me tomorrow night? We could make peanut butter popcorn! I think I'll call my sisters-in-law... (The ones who live here. Sorry, Rhonda and Darla) :-(

Are you bored to tears yet?? I need to go make that can of soup since it's 6:40! I'm sitting on the patio with the lap-top while the kids play outside. How cool is that? And I just looked up at our apple tree and I see apples on it that look almost ripe! Neat! Okay, that's really all for now.