We are locked in to the 9:15 am swim lessons through July 30th, and it has not been swimming weather! When it's in the 60's in the morning, swimming is the last thing on my mind! But, the boys are doing great. Oldest is in level 4, and youngest is in level 2 on a 1-5 scale.
If you know our oldest, you'll know that he has a very social personality. He asked if he could get together with friends more. We knocked around the idea of sending him to school, when we heard of a new Christian school opening this fall. We felt strongly that we should do something for him, and we thought this was the answer. When we visited and found out about their long school day, we decided that it was not the answer. In my hormonal state, I cried out to God to give us the answer. He gave me a verse in 1 Peter to love people. Huh. So Your telling me I should just love my children and things will fall into place? Fancy that! Well, as hubby prayed, he got a pretty obvious answer: we dual enroll. Duh. We already officially do that for the testing, but we haven't actually taken advantage of it, so next step is to check the local schools for gym/music/art classes. Problem solved! God is good!
I'm also taking a spiritual gifts/Holy Spirit class at church. I love the leaders of it, and I'm really excited to see where it goes. I had some practice at prophecy at my last church, so we'll dust off that gift and give it a whirl. That's right, folks. You can practice God's gifts. You don't have to be perfect. Amen to that!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Cooking with WM, part 1
That's right, folks. I'm gonna post a recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rice--Beans-Haitian-Style/Detail.aspx. This went over pretty well tonight. Comment from the 8 yr old: "Looks gross, but tastes great!" We also had sauteed kale with minced garlic. Not every one's fave, but we were all healthy and full. As I endeavor to go more "raw" or uncooked food, I will try to post what works for us. For breakfast this morning, we had freckle faces. Eyes and mouth were blueberries, half a banana nose, then granola thrown on everywhere . Oh, and I did have a small amount of whipped cream left, from which I made little cheeks. Gotta be balanced, right?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Riding Down Hills with Boys
When this family is without a van, we shall walk (or roll). So, off to the store we went, nothing shall keep us down! It is an uphill climb to the store, but so much fun on the way back. Since we hardly stay at home during the summer, it is hard to suddenly be without transportation. My van door has had problems for...a long time. Now, the ramp has followed suit. We can handle opening a door without fancy electronics, but not a ramp. It is a blessing, though. We were able to visit some neighbor friends at their garage sale, the boys got exercise, and I got a coffee from Caribou!
There has been so much more going on, but this day stood out from the rest, because it was a day of rest (in a sense). The boys enjoyed it, and so did I. Now hubby is installing gutters, and generally fixing the rest of the addition. We had a slight flooring dilemma since we have a low threshold door (for my wheelchair). We can't put actual flooring down, so we went with doing a cool looking stain on our cement floor (like you see at some independent coffee shops). Thank you, Abby, for the flooring idea! The walls and ceiling are textured and painted. We went with sage and chocolate. I love seeing things come together. By the fall we will have it done, I declare!
This weekend, we have a cub scout campfire and fishing day, as well as going to church, as we have missed two weeks in a row. For father's day weekend, we went to see my dad. I really see a lot of my dad in myself. As much as I don't like change, I do have the sense of vision that my dad has. He is thinking of buying property to make into a family/recreational cabin. I love it. That value of property ownership runs deep in my veins. Once our house is paid off, we fully intend on buying land somewhere (down south) to use in the winter months.
We would love to travel semi full time. This is another dream of ours, which brings me to something ironic. My ancestry is mostly found in Denmark, Germany, and Ireland. At one of the free lunches we frequent, I start talking to another mom, who is moving back to Ireland! She also says she loves having visitors! Now I am on the search for a carrier cruise (is there such a thing) that would carry us and our vehicle. With that, I must be on my merry way!
There has been so much more going on, but this day stood out from the rest, because it was a day of rest (in a sense). The boys enjoyed it, and so did I. Now hubby is installing gutters, and generally fixing the rest of the addition. We had a slight flooring dilemma since we have a low threshold door (for my wheelchair). We can't put actual flooring down, so we went with doing a cool looking stain on our cement floor (like you see at some independent coffee shops). Thank you, Abby, for the flooring idea! The walls and ceiling are textured and painted. We went with sage and chocolate. I love seeing things come together. By the fall we will have it done, I declare!
This weekend, we have a cub scout campfire and fishing day, as well as going to church, as we have missed two weeks in a row. For father's day weekend, we went to see my dad. I really see a lot of my dad in myself. As much as I don't like change, I do have the sense of vision that my dad has. He is thinking of buying property to make into a family/recreational cabin. I love it. That value of property ownership runs deep in my veins. Once our house is paid off, we fully intend on buying land somewhere (down south) to use in the winter months.
We would love to travel semi full time. This is another dream of ours, which brings me to something ironic. My ancestry is mostly found in Denmark, Germany, and Ireland. At one of the free lunches we frequent, I start talking to another mom, who is moving back to Ireland! She also says she loves having visitors! Now I am on the search for a carrier cruise (is there such a thing) that would carry us and our vehicle. With that, I must be on my merry way!
Friday, May 29, 2009
The dog blog
Our experience with the pup was short-lived. I really tried to be a dog person, for the kids' sake. She lasted 2 whole months. At least the vaccinations were an investment into a living being, as was her 3 classes of obedience training (that the new owners are continuing!) She just overpowered me, as a pup! Imagine when she would have been full grown! She would not stop biting the boys, and she dug up our yard (she was bored). The boys were chased out of their backyard. Cutie (now Lucy) is on a farm, where she is happy, and can have a job.
The transition went great! We actually got a kitten the day before we gave Cutie to the farm. That softened the blow. I don't think they even said bye to "their" pup when we left the farm that day. Maybe the boys will be cat lovers like their mom :) I will be getting some pics of the new kitty, Silver, on here soon. I never even got any good pics of Cutie, as she was so wild. And if we weren't gluttons for punishment enough, we are getting Silver's sister today. She is at my friend's acreage, at which their 2 female cats had kittens, 9 between them. They are slowly being preyed upon by a fox, so I couldn't say no! Then the conversion will be complete in the Wheelchair Mama household: 3 boys, 3 girls. We're a regular Brady Bunch!
The transition went great! We actually got a kitten the day before we gave Cutie to the farm. That softened the blow. I don't think they even said bye to "their" pup when we left the farm that day. Maybe the boys will be cat lovers like their mom :) I will be getting some pics of the new kitty, Silver, on here soon. I never even got any good pics of Cutie, as she was so wild. And if we weren't gluttons for punishment enough, we are getting Silver's sister today. She is at my friend's acreage, at which their 2 female cats had kittens, 9 between them. They are slowly being preyed upon by a fox, so I couldn't say no! Then the conversion will be complete in the Wheelchair Mama household: 3 boys, 3 girls. We're a regular Brady Bunch!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
A Trip Taken, A Trip Delayed
We're back from our short trip to WI. It was a sad, introspective, family-filled weekend. With respect to privacy, I will not use names. A close cousin died last Wednesday. She was a private, intelligent, outdoorsy, mother of a young one. This last one just kills me. Kills me. Her husband is wonderful, though. A wonderful dad, devoted husband. I wish I could share my whole thoughts of this experience. It would just take too long, and I would end up crying...again.
The boys got the most in depth view of death this time. The burial was in the forest; we all put flowers on the box, it was lowered, and those who felt lead, sprinkled a handful of dirt. Trees were planted afterwards, then we all adjourned to have food on the property (owned by her dad). This is just a short summary, but there is oh so much more. This cousin was the best listener, and a wise person. She had a memory like a steel trap, and she was a great mother. My memories of her consist of her laugh, playing games together, her willingness always to help, and her close relationship to her sister (my other cousin)--their bond was unmatched--I have not seen any other in a sister relationship.
Her sister and I stayed up until 3am Sunday morning. Talking. Laughing. Crying. Reminiscing. Oh, what an impact this death has on our family. My sweet, elderly grandmother (mentioned in earlier posts) was beside herself that she had lost a granddaughter before her own passing. It's just not right. I agreed.
I sit here now, tears streaming down. Reality of a 7-8 hour drive...one way. 4 humans and a pup. We kept our personal reality close by for this trip. I'm glad for that. We don't know how many days we have here, people. I ponder this--every day I will ponder this. I will have no regrets. Every day is a new day. We can always say sorry, always forgive.
Needless to say, our memorial weekend trip will be delayed. I'll have to post happier later, just thought I'd stop in to give you and update.
The boys got the most in depth view of death this time. The burial was in the forest; we all put flowers on the box, it was lowered, and those who felt lead, sprinkled a handful of dirt. Trees were planted afterwards, then we all adjourned to have food on the property (owned by her dad). This is just a short summary, but there is oh so much more. This cousin was the best listener, and a wise person. She had a memory like a steel trap, and she was a great mother. My memories of her consist of her laugh, playing games together, her willingness always to help, and her close relationship to her sister (my other cousin)--their bond was unmatched--I have not seen any other in a sister relationship.
Her sister and I stayed up until 3am Sunday morning. Talking. Laughing. Crying. Reminiscing. Oh, what an impact this death has on our family. My sweet, elderly grandmother (mentioned in earlier posts) was beside herself that she had lost a granddaughter before her own passing. It's just not right. I agreed.
I sit here now, tears streaming down. Reality of a 7-8 hour drive...one way. 4 humans and a pup. We kept our personal reality close by for this trip. I'm glad for that. We don't know how many days we have here, people. I ponder this--every day I will ponder this. I will have no regrets. Every day is a new day. We can always say sorry, always forgive.
Needless to say, our memorial weekend trip will be delayed. I'll have to post happier later, just thought I'd stop in to give you and update.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Finally Goin' a-Campin'
Well, the plans are somewhat in place. We are going to see the land of Lincoln (Springfield, IL). While planning to see the museum and some other Lincoln-ish sites around the area, the kids also want to see castles. We've been reading a bedtime story book on castles lately, so I thought that maybe there'd be some close by. I actually didn't expect to find 3 of them in the state of IL. Unfortunately, they are almost 4 hours from the Springfield area, but they are still on our itinerary as a possibility. While I'd rather go to a warmer climate (AZ, TX), I know that frugality is leading us to travel closer to home.
The boys are staying up later and later. Maybe it's just my laziness, but it's kind of fun to let them be up. We do have a normal bedtime routine, but it can be fun to break that for a season. Why not? They don't have to be anywhere the next morning (usually). It's so great to be free. The boys also attended the final Awana ceremony, thus ending our 08-09 year of Awanas. It's bittersweet to see them moving up to different classes next year. That will put hubby and I in a (possibly) different teaching opportunity--we'll see where God leads.
Looking forward to Mother's day, and having our acoustic, coffee shop set on Sunday morning at church. It will be different, and also be followed by going to my favorite restaurant. That night we will go to my nephews birthday party, so also no cooking there. I know that it is necessary to spend time in the kitchen for my families health, I'm glad to have a break on "my" days :)
The boys are staying up later and later. Maybe it's just my laziness, but it's kind of fun to let them be up. We do have a normal bedtime routine, but it can be fun to break that for a season. Why not? They don't have to be anywhere the next morning (usually). It's so great to be free. The boys also attended the final Awana ceremony, thus ending our 08-09 year of Awanas. It's bittersweet to see them moving up to different classes next year. That will put hubby and I in a (possibly) different teaching opportunity--we'll see where God leads.
Looking forward to Mother's day, and having our acoustic, coffee shop set on Sunday morning at church. It will be different, and also be followed by going to my favorite restaurant. That night we will go to my nephews birthday party, so also no cooking there. I know that it is necessary to spend time in the kitchen for my families health, I'm glad to have a break on "my" days :)
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Just When I Thought We Were Ahead
The only thing left of our debt after our tax refund this year: mortgage, commercial vehicle payment. (As stated in a previous post). Yay! Almost. My van needs new brakes--$600 worth. Exactly what we have in savings. Oh, and I semi-forgot to pay our tax guy from 2008. So we're not out of the clear, yet.
Funny story: we owed our library a good chunk of money. I go up to the counter to pay it. It's under 3 different names. Apparently you can't pay it all in one chunk? I give my name, none owed. Oldest son's name, $55 owed. Youngest son, $28 owed. Husband, $8.75. With each name the quiet, kind librarian guy pulled up, he went, "whew"! Good thing you can't be loud in a library, or he'd be sayin', "Man, lady, keep track of your crap, for goodness sake!"
We may be able to pay the brake thing from savings, and our general fund that goes to house construction (sorry house). That's OK--there are so many more things to think about. Upping our vitamin D intake to fight the flu, praying for our nation, just two examples.
Tomorrow is the last night of Awanas, and for part of that I will be taking our Cutie pup to obedience training. She needs it. She is a biter. I will be interested to see how it turns out. We want to take her camping, but we can't even let her in the house! We're thinking IL for memorial weekend. Not sure where, yet, but there are castles and a Lincoln museum. Any other suggestions?
Funny story: we owed our library a good chunk of money. I go up to the counter to pay it. It's under 3 different names. Apparently you can't pay it all in one chunk? I give my name, none owed. Oldest son's name, $55 owed. Youngest son, $28 owed. Husband, $8.75. With each name the quiet, kind librarian guy pulled up, he went, "whew"! Good thing you can't be loud in a library, or he'd be sayin', "Man, lady, keep track of your crap, for goodness sake!"
We may be able to pay the brake thing from savings, and our general fund that goes to house construction (sorry house). That's OK--there are so many more things to think about. Upping our vitamin D intake to fight the flu, praying for our nation, just two examples.
Tomorrow is the last night of Awanas, and for part of that I will be taking our Cutie pup to obedience training. She needs it. She is a biter. I will be interested to see how it turns out. We want to take her camping, but we can't even let her in the house! We're thinking IL for memorial weekend. Not sure where, yet, but there are castles and a Lincoln museum. Any other suggestions?
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