FindingHome

Thursday.

The minutes, days, and weeks seem to be flying by, summer will be over before we know it. My parents will be here Sunday and Nick will come home with them. I am so excited for my parents visit (and of course Nick coming home) and can't wait to sit around visiting with them.

I finally finished painting my kitchen, it looks wonderful. I am so glad I decided to go for the red but what a pain the white trim was next to the red. I still need lots of decorations and things to hang on the walls, but it is looking great. I love to pick up a couple of things at a time at the antique or thrift stores.  I will post pictures after my parents and Nick have seen it in person.

I did a bit of laundry today but that is about it. I also went to the grand opening of a new store in our little town, that is a huge thing when there are not many stores within 25 miles. It was fun. We did a little bit of school today but not much.

Tomorrow I hope to go visit my sister and her family. I always enjoy our visits over there. Her little town is having a trade days tomorrow and we will probably go there and see what treasures we will find there.

Well, I need to go get the kids to bed. I will write more later.          

Tuesday!

Today we had our bi-weekly Bible study at the nursing home. Afterwards we were invited to stay for ice cream sundaes. It was a good visit, we had a couple of new residents visit today. My nephew's study convicted me, I am not looking at my life with an eternal attitude but more in the here and now. I will be praying about this. I wonder what God has in store for my family and I, I wish he would send me a postcard telling me his plans. 

My kids are counting down until my parents come, 5 more days! I should be painting and cleaning but I am hanging around reading. I can hear my mom telling me to sit and read for awhile, it will all be there when I am done. 

I have been changing my school schedule and routine around out of complete lack of motivation and boredom. I think it is helping all of us.  I still need to decide on some books for Nick next year, I will have to decide soon. We are all excited to take some time off when my parents arrive.

Nick is still visiting his father and I miss him alot, we all miss him alot. The house is lonely without him, we are waiting for him to come home.

Our goats seem to be doing much better, they are still a bit depressed but I do not think they will die. The kittens are getting huge and are totally bad , in a kitten sort of way. Our chickens are molting and being stingy with their eggs, I should get new chicks soon but can't deal with it right now. Our dogs have been barking all night because of all the rabbits in our yard, they are driving me nuts. My poor pets, I didn't say one nice thing about any of them.     

I guess that is all I can think of for now. I will write more later.       

Saturday....

Today was a good day. My sister and some of her kids came for a visit. I love when they visit and hope they do so again soon.

My sister and her son helped give my goats some oil and Pepto, they have been pretty sick since they ate whatever they ate that they shouldn't have. They seem a little better tonight, definately not worse. 

My poor family comes over for a simple visit and they end up rubbing my goats' bellies and holding them down and medicating them. Our lives are sure different out in the country rather than in the city.  

After they left I decided to work a bit in my kitchen. I had some huge bags of rice, flour, and sugar that needed to be put in containers so I did that. I then started painting my kitchen and finished it. I am so happy! I am sure I will have some spots that need touching up since it is red so I will do that soon. I also have to do the molding on the top but I had to let the red dry first. I can't believe I am almost done. It is funny how when you just do it, it is half as painful as you made it in your mind. I can't wait to hang some little decorations and curtains.

Nick and my brother in law made it to their destination today. He will be so happy to see my parents and his dad.

I guess that is all for now. I will write more soon.       

More Drama.....

Nick left this morning to go see his dad out of state, he actually spent the night at my sister's house because he was driving with my brother in law. We already miss him alot.

We went to the lake yesterday and had a wonderful time. The lake is beautiful and the weather was nice. The kids had such fun swimming and playing. We are going to go again soon.

When we got home from the lake three of my goats were wandering my yard and had eaten some of my favorite bushes. I think they ate something that they shouldn't have because they didn't want to leave the barn this morning and two of them have diarrhea this morning. They stayed in their pasture all day and I checked on them and they were eating so I left them out there. Tonight I decided I should probably give them some Pepto or oil but they will not even let me near them and without my son I just gave up. It is the male and the mean female that I am convinced hate me , the other two adults would have let me get them.

When we went outside this evening we (Rebekah) found the wierdest thing, queen ants dead by the hundreds all around the outside of my house. I panicked and remembered that termites swarm so checked the internet and do not think they are termites but maybe carpenter ants. No where I searched mentioned them dead though. I can't cope with any more ants at this time, the fire ants have me so frustrated as is. I am posting some pics so let me know if you have ever seen this. Just for more info we did get a fierce storm last night but I know they were not here this morning.

So last night we got our long awaited rain in the form of a terrible thunderstorm. We never got thunder and lightning like this where I am from so it still freaks me out. My sister called me about midnight to tell me they were having a huge storm and I had just woken up from thunder (I think) and was trying to turn on my computer to get the weather. We were also in a severe thunderstorm warning and it was just starting. We had so much rain, wind, thunder, and lightening. Two of my daughters slept through it but three of the girls and I sat on the couch and were scared at each clap of thunder. I don't know if I will ever get used to those storms. We did get our much needed rain, the ground is still wet this evening. I hope it brings some green back over here. We have a chance for more rain tonight and even though I don't like the storms we need the rain.

We were exhausted after the lake yesterday so I didn't get much done today. I did some laundry and the girls did crafts all day. It was a nice day. I will write more soon.

Shopping

I went into town today to get some chairs for my porch and ended up finding the perfect chairs. My sister was also going into town so we met and were able to shop together which I love. I bought 3 chairs, they are dark wicker and beautiful. I also bought a mat for the door and a cute carpet for the porch. I bought flowers and plastic pots in an assortment of colors and a little plastic table. I washed the porch floor and set up all my new things and I love how it looks. I had no seating outside when I wanted to chat on the phone or just hang out on the porch and now I do and have already enjoyed it quite nicely tonight.

I also bought a bbq that was on sale. I know this is unbelievable but this is the first bbq that I have ever owned. I am so excited. It is beautiful and huge. I can't wait to grill some hamburgers and hot dogs and invite my sister and her family to join us (and my parents when they are in town).

The kids are outside playing baseball. Mom you will be sad to learn that I forgot to buy them a new bat at the store today so Nick cut a new branch from a tree to use. The kids were thrilled because he stripped the bark and is letting them use his batting gloves when they are up to bat. It is past their bedtimes and they still need to take showers but I can't bring myself to call them in because  I can here all the fun they are having. I will remember to get them a bat soon.

Well, I am going to go outside and watch the kids play and then drag them in for showers now.

I will write more later.  

Tuesday!

Today was another really hot day around here. I worked a bit on a fence where my goats were getting out near the barn and Nick worked on another fence where the grass is really long and I was too wimpy to go. I hate the bug bites I always end up with and the pokey grass that ends up in all my clothes. Anyways, we will see if we can keep the goats in the field we are trying to keep them in tomorrow.

I worked on painting my kitchen and I am almost done with the first coat, it looks beautiful! I love the red next to my white cabinets, I will post pictures when I am done.

Nick had baseball practice tonight with his tournament team, he is doing good and having alot of fun. They are going to have a small tourament while he is out of town but they are supposed to have another one in July that he will be able to play in. This would be great because my dad and mom will be here and would be able to watch him play for the first time in a long time. 

I guess that is all for now. I will write more soon.               

Monday Already!

It is crazy how fast time seems to fly by. Where did the weekend go? I can't believe it is already Monday and the end of the day at that.

We did school this morning and that went well. I feel as if we are making progress and everyone is doing well. I still need to make a decision about Nick and what to do for high school for him next year, I have been researching different options but can't seem to decide.  

I worked on laundry all day long, drying some on the line and some in the dryer. I can't believe there is still more laundry to do. That is what I get for taking the last couple of days off of laundry duty.

I started painting my kitchen. I only painted for about an hour and then it was time to make dinner. I am painting it red so it will take more than one coat of paint but so far so good. This kitchen paint job has been in the works for many months so it will be such a relief  to have it finished. I hope to spend some more time tomorrow painting.

Nick mowed the yard today and it just showed how dry everything out here is. There were brown recluse spiders running all over the grass, it is so scary. If you have never seen a brown recluse spider bite you should Google it because it is amazing, in a bad way. I do not have a sprinkler system out here so have been moving a sprinkler around each section of our yard to at least enjoy some green. 

We are going to the lake on Thursday with my sister and her family and a  friend and her kids, the kids are so excited. We are going to barbeque and swim. It has definately been warm enough here lately to swim, we have been over 100 degrees the last couple of days.

Well, I need to get everyone gathered up for bed. I will write more later.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

Yesterday was a long day. We went to visit a family from church and it went well. The kids had a good time and I enjoyed my time visiting also. This family invited the kids to swim and then we stayed for dinner, it was alot of fun. This was out first visit to their house.

 After that we had baseball tryouts which ended up being 2 1/2 hours long, it was almost 10 when we got home. I still do not know if Nick will be able to play in the tournament because he will be visiting his dad at the end of the month and they don't know the dates for the games yet. He will just practice with them and see what happens.

I had to finish grocery shopping and get some presents for the birthday party tonight so ran into town with my two oldest girls and did that. I think I got everything I needed. The store was busy and I felt like I was in a hurry even though I had enough time. I spent a more than last month but still did good. I tried to fill in the gaps from last month, things that we ran out of or just didn't get enough of. When we got home we unloaded the groceries and it was already time to leave.

The birthday party was fun, the kids ran around in the sprinklers and we had hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and chips. It felt so good to sit around and just talk and watch the kids. We also had cake and ice cream and then did the presents. I always miss my family during these parties. I got home after 9 again tonight.

Tomorrow we are going to do some school and get some laundry done. I also have lots of ironing to get done and the house needs straightening.

I am exhausted. We are not usually very busy but the last couple of days have felt crazy. Well off to bed I go.......     

Shopping Day Part I

My Home Decor Team

My sister and her kids came over for a visit today. They actually came to be my very own interior decorators . My house looks warm and inviting. I now have curtains in my dining room, living room, both bathrooms, and my bedroom. They look wonderful. They also moved around my livingroom and bedroom, I love them both. The best part is that I only had to buy curtain rods, well the best part is really the end product and the fun we had doing it all. I now need to scout around for cheap area rugs and some lamps.

Tomorrow is church, I love Sundays. I should go into town tomorrow and get the paint for my kitchen but I will probably wait until I go to do my monthly shopping trip. I am getting pathetic, I feel challenged not to run around more than necessary. I did lots better this month as a whole but can even do better next month I am sure.

My kids were thrilled that their cousins were over for a visit. My nieces brought their Faith dolls to play with my girls and their dolls, they had lots of fun. The little ones played outside, climbing trees and playing with our kittens. Some of the older kids were not able to come and I missed them, you know who you are .

Our kittens are all sick right now. I went to the feed store to buy the eye medicine but they were closed. I'm not used to things being closed on Saturday, I'm not sure if they were closed all day or just close early on Saturdays. I will have to wait until Monday, poor kitties are miserable. I did clean all of their eyes and babied them a bit, I hope that helps for now. I am sure you have noticed that I avoid the vet if at all possible, I can't afford to have 6 kittens at the vet. I can't stand to see anything suffer though and treat them as well as I am able to.        

I guess that is really everything for now. I will write more later.  

Pesky Little Critters

Today we went to visit my sister and her family. When we came home I decided to go water my garden and discovered the rude rabbits had eaten the leaves off of my tomato plants. I wanted to cry and then I wanted to eat rabbit stew for dinner but instead I just kept watering my garden and pretended it never happened. Unless I fence the garden immediatly or stand guard of my garden all the time I don't think I can stop this from happening. 

Back to the visit with my sister. We had a wonderful visit today and I left with a huge bag of curtains and lots of goodies to try to decorate my house. I mentioned to her that I would love to put curtains on my windows to soften the look of the house, to make it a bit more homey and she said she had many different curtains that she isn't using right now and I was welcome to try them in my house. I was so happy. I need to get curtain rods tomorrow and I think I have her talked into coming over and helping me decorate. Usually she decorates and I stand there and say that I love it, I prefer to decorate this way. 

The kids had a fun visit with their cousins. They ran through the sprinklers and played outside most of the day. My sister and I talked about my parents upcoming visit and how excited we are for them to come. We will have joint custody of them when they come out  , they will stay with me for half the visit and then with her for half the visit.

My sister also gave me a tutorial on how to make potato soup today, I am so excited to try it out.

I guess that is really all that is going on. I didn't end up washing our sheets and stuff today, we played hooky and went visiting. The good and bad thing about household chores is that they always are there when you get back so it is okay. Off to bed, I'll write more later. 

A double header...

We had a double header baseball game tonight. It is 10:54 p.m. and we have been home for about 20 minutes. I am exhausted and Nick is traumatized, I will be giving him therapy soon. They lost both games, this makes 9 losses and 0 wins. Nick played well. He was catcher in the first game and hit well. He started at first base in the second game but was moved to pitcher in the middle of the game, he also hit well this game. They lost the second game in overtime .  This season hasn't been much fun, between losing and the whole attitude of the team. Nicholas will still be sad to see the season end, the last games will be on Monday.

We did a full day of school today. Everyone seems to be back in the swing of things, it seemed to take a long time after our break this time. I am starting to plan Nick's next year now, my first high schooler. It is exciting and scary all at the same time. I have all the girls books for the next year, well mostly. I am sure I will have to order some more workbooks for the little ones and I am always looking for a new something or other for Olivia. We are pretty much set though.

I was able to get all of my laundry done today, ALL of it! It was so windy that each time I went to hang out a load the other load was done. I heard on one of my message boards that you can use vinegar instead of fabric softener, I gave it a try today and it seemed to work well. I expected to smell the vinegar but was pleasantly surprised when I didn't. The water is so hard that I think the vinegar is a good idea, I'll let you know as I continue to use it. I also made another batch of laundry soap, I will hide it in an old laundry detergent bottle to try to trick myself, I really hate the texture of the soap. It does seem to work as well as store bought and is really cheap to make. Tomorrow it is supposed to be windy again so I plan to strip all the beds and will wash all the sheets and a couple of the blankets. Yippee...more laundry !  

Tomorrow I am going to start my list for my monthly shop, it is almost that time. I think we will be going into town on Tuesday for Sam's and then Wednesday for Walmart. I still have alot of the things I bought but will continue to stock up so that if need be I am prepared. It feels so good to have lots of food in the house. I did notice that I did not buy enough of some things, so will try to figure out the right quantities. I also still need more plastic containers for some of the bulk things I bought.

Off to bed for now! I will write more later.         

The Results Are In....

The rabies test on Robbie came back negative. We are so happy and so are the other kittens because we are not avoiding them now. They are being petted and loved but definately not kissed. My kids are a little more hands on than I would like with our pets sometimes    . As soon as they are old enough I will be getting them their rabies shots. (The kittens not the kids)

We are having chicken parm and spaghetti for dinner tonight. I can smell the chicken cooking as we speak. Yum! I also made extra chicken and didn't bread it so we can make bbq chicken sandwiches another day.

The kids are playing outside. They always make me laugh as I watch them play. I was hanging out clothes and Makenzie walks by with her arm around Kiley who is apparently dying of Scarlet Fever. Rebekah has a bike by her, which is really a horse, and is laying under a folding table on a towel in the makeshift hospital, I guess she also has Scarlet Fever. Kelsey was going out looking for help or scouting for Indians, those indians better watch out. Olivia is on the porch with a kitten because she hates to burn even one extra calorie a day   .

I have been so busy complaining that we do not have any rain and about how dreadfully hot it is outside that I forgot to mention how few bugs seem to be out and about. We have plenty of ants and flies but I haven't really seen many mosqitoes and do not have any chiggar bites so far. This is definately a plus since last year at this time I was overdosing on deet, well I wasn't drinking it (I would've if they said I could) but spraying it from head to toe and still was really eaten alive. I am sure we will get more bugs as the summer starts but I am enjoying being out at dusk and not being attacked. It has also been quite windy the last few days, which I love for some unknown reason, so the heat hasn't seemed so bad.

We are still counting the days until my parents come for their visit. I miss them so much!!!!!!

Well, my timer just buzzed so the chicken is done, I'll write more tomorrow.        

No Rabies results yet.

I pretty much stalked the vet's office with phone calls today and they were unable to get the results. They called the state and I should know by tomorrow morning. Even though I would like to know for sure I am optimistic about what the outcome will be. 

We had our Bible study at the nursing home today. There were two new residents and they seemed to enjoy the study. My nephew Joshua is growing weekly as he leads us all, he is amazing for being 17 years old. God is obviously working in his life, maybe he will be called into full time ministry one day. The activities director at the nursing home who is in charge of the schedule and having the residents at the study  is leaving. Her husband Jerry has cancer and isn't doing well, please remember them in your prayers. It is so sad sometimes, seeing all the elderly patients lonely and sick. The saddest part is when someone suddenly isn't doing well and they quickly go down hill. It seems to happen so fast and it is so sad. I wish we could do so much more for them.   

We had baseball tonight in a town about 33 miles away. Where we come from you rarely go 1 mile or so from home to play, it is so different here. The town was about the size of the town I live in and nice. Nick pitched an excellent game and also hit quite well. We lost, 5 to 9, but it wasn't a bad game to watch. I guess we have another game on Thursday against this team again but it will be a home game. I drove 142 miles today  .

Before we went to the nursing home I stopped at my sister's house for a visit. It felt good to see everyone.

We didn't get too much of school done today (except for Nick) , thankfully we school year round so it is not really that big of deal. It is always hard to get alot done on the days we have something to do in the afternoon. Tomorrow is another day.

For breakfast this morning I fried up some of our garden potatoes and scrambled some of our fresh chicken eggs and the kids were thrilled. If I feed them oatmeal too many days in a row, they feel neglected  and unloved      . I tried one of the potatoes and they were delicious.

Well, I guess I need to go to bed since it is already after 10. I will write more tomorrow.

The Joy of the Harvest

We had such fun today. Well, the day didn't begin with something fun, but it did end fun. I was watering my garden and noticed my potato plants were covered with ants. I decided to dig some of them up, so I called the kids over. We have never dug potatoes before, it is like a treasure hunt. I am sure our neighbors could here us all squealing with delight was we found potatoes. We are from the city and this is our first garden, I can't believe how wonderful it feels to dig up potatoes. We can't wait to eat them. As we were digging my son said that now he knows what the Bible means by the joy of the harvest. WOW! 

Now to get to the sad news, Robbie was put to sleep today. I took him to the vet this morning, he was doing a bit better so I was a little optimistic. I was no longer thinking I would wake up and he would be dead, he was determined to live. He was still unable to move anything except his head. The vet was not sure what it was, but thought there was a possibility it was rabies and so thought it best to put him down and have him tested since he has been around all the kids. I agreed. I almost died when he said it could be rabies, I had just joked about it. He looked at me really seriously and said it could be rabies. I lost my breath for a minute and almost started to cry. I will know tomorrow afternoon what the results are, she told me to call after lunch. He said that if it is not rabies it could be a head injury. I am not sure what could have happened to give him a head injury but that also made sense with his symptoms. He also said that with rabies the animals do not show improvement and Robbie had improved since yesterday. His eyes were really wierd at first, you couldn't see anything but green and he acted like he was blind and then last night his eyes looked normal and he was acting more normal.  

I left the vet in mid hysteria and then realized that our days are really numbered and I believe this to be true. After remembering that I am not in control of my life, God is in control, I felt better. I am now thinking a head injury sounds right, even though I have no idea how he could have gotten it. One of the kittens did fall out of a tree the other night while I was on the phone and I thought it looked bad but when I got up to look I didn't see the kitten. I don't even remember which kitten fell. I would ask for you to pray for my peace of mind but God has already given me a rare calmness about this. If I got a call tomorrow and the rabies test is positive the calmness may be forgotten but for now I feel okay.

Well, goodbye for now.       

June 1st Already!

I cannot believe how fast time seems to go by. It is already June.

Today we went to church, our VBS Fiesta went well. The kids had alot of fun. 

I had trouble sleeping last night. I was worried about the sick kitten and worried about helping at VBS. Actually, I really wasn't worried about helping, I just didn't want to oversleep and miss it. Do I ever oversleep and miss church? No, but I was wierdly worried about it last night. I also hated that the kitten was outside and sick. I was praying it would die fast but it is still hanging on. I have no idea why it is still alive. I just hope that whatever it has is something we can't get. I am not allowing the kids around any of the kittens right now and I am the only one allowed to touch Robbie. If he is still alive in the morning, I am taking him to the vet to be put to sleep. I made a homemade formula that I found online to feed him by syringe but it is causing him to have diarrhea. This is a problem because he is paralyzed so just does it where he is laying. I am trying to keep everything clean and sanitary but it is difficult. I am bleaching the towels and washing them two times in hot water but the whole thing is really making me sick. Anyways, enough or actually too much info about that for now!

I am exhausted and waiting until it is late enough to put everyone to bed. The kids are watching gymnastics on t.v. We had leftover sloppy joes and french fries for dinner, I love leftovers!! From this post I am sure you can feel my mood, a bit depressed and just done. I hope I can sleep tonight and have a fresh outlook tomorrow. Pray for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!     

Another Trauma

One of our kittens (Robbie) is really sick, actually I am sure he will die soon. It is horrible to watch and not be able to really do anything. I have made him as comfortable as possible. My kids are all so sad, especially my daughter Olivia, this is her kitten. She felt better when I told her that if he dies she can have my kitten. You gotta love kids!! I can't believe in the last few weeks we have lost a cat, a duckling, and now a kitten (almost).  I am ready to be animal free, when things aren't going right it makes me want to just quit. I am sure that is not a Godly character trait so I ask for your prayers in that area.

I guess that is all for now. I will write more later.

Friday!

Today was a relaxing day, in other words, I didn't get many things accomplished today.

We did school and look forward to the next two days off. We do not have a traditional schedule usually but ended up schooling all week long. When we are consistant it is amazing how fast the lessons go by. Actually, even when it doesn't seem like we have been consistant and just keep working a little at a time the lessons can also seem to fly by.

We harvested some of our onions today. My daughter Makenzie washed them, chopped them up, and put them in individual freezer bags with about 3/4 cup in each. This way I can use them when I want. The house smelled wonderful and the kids felt really jipped when they found out it was not something we would be eating tonight. Our garden is doing okay considering how dry it is here. I spent a long time watering it and my son Nicholas made sure the wells between the rows kept the water in by reenforcing them with more dirt.

We are counting the days until my parents come to visit. They will be here the end of June and we are so excited. They were with me when I first saw my house before I bought it and were with me when I made an offer on it but had to go home before it closed. I am so excited for them to stay here and see what our little world is like.

I had my son go check on our new duckling this morning and sadly the duckling was dead. The others that had tried to hatch were dead with peeps in their shells and full of ants. I feel so bad for the mama because she has spent at least 28 days on that nest, in rain and shine. She is now lonely and the other ducks are not letting her in their clique.   

The kids spent hours outside in the little plastic pool again today. They are having so much fun. They go in and out of the pool and play many things because they are cool from the water. I love to hear them playing outside and they love when I go outside and watch how talented they are.

Our kittens are doing wonderful outside so far. They are getting braver and wandering all around our yard. They are climbing the trees by the dogs and teasing them like crazy.

This Sunday I volunteered to help at our church's version of VBS. It is every Sunday for the entire summer, with each week the children learning about a new group of people. This week is the Mexican Fiesta, so far we have only signed up to help for this week. Nicholas and I are in charge of the craft, not picking it, just leading it. We will be making paper flowers and marachas (sp?). There is one more craft that I can't remember that we will be making. The classes are 3 hours long (or 3 long hours) each week depending how I look at it     .

It is cooling down outside so I am going to go work a bit in the yard. Talk to you later. 

Ducklings and our day.

It may end up being a duckling and not ducklings, only one has hatched and she has tossed most of the eggs out of the nest today. One of the eggs had a peep in it and she tossed it out so we looked in it and it was dead . I hope for our mama duck's sake that at least another one hatches because she has sat diligently on her nest in very hot weather for her babies. It was so sweet to look in her nest today and see a cute little yellow duckling. UPDATE: I just went outside and she has her little duckling next to her and she has put some of the eggs back in her nest and is sitting on them.

I spent most of the afternoon outside working in my yard. We have been here since August and I have never really pruned my bushes or trees. I am sure there is a pruning rule that I am rebelling against, but I am so happy to see my yard looking like it did when I bought this house (well, closer to how it looked). My goats were very happy also that I was pruning because these are the bushes they would scale goat fencing for when I allow them in the field by my yard. I made many trips to the field they were in today with buckets of leaves and they were very happy.

It is so horribly hot here lately. We were so spoiled last year because we hardly had a summer. It also rained so much more last summer. I hope it rains enough that all the people around here will have enough grass for their animals. When we first moved here it hadn't rained alot the year before and hay was $100 a round bale, this year it was $35-$40.  

We did school this morning for awhile until I was bored and then we played outside. Four of my dughters played in the plastic pool and kept cool, while my oldest helped me by doing some things in the house. I am now starting school again today so we can finish up. I am now tired and can sit through all the questions and enjoy the coolness of the house. 

We had spaghetti for dinner with garlic bread. The kids were all starving after our outdoors adventures and enjoyed the meal. 

We normally have church tonight but they do not have anything tonight as a break after AWANA ended last week. It feels funny not having anything to do tonight but I am happy as well. 

I guess that is everything for now. I will talk to ya'll later!!!

Yesterday I went to visit my sister and we had a nice day. It was extremely warm out but we still wandered Trade Days and I got a cute chicken sugar holder for my kitchen. We then hung around and took turns whining about the heat.

Upon returning home we received a call from a friend from church who was wondering if tomorrow would be a good day to have a visit. We have been saying we would get together for awhile now and haven't worked it out, she lives quite awhile from us. So, of course I said I would love to have them over and started to straighten up the house. I then worked my way outside and trimmed some bushes that have been bugging me forever. It was eight o'clock at night and we were still sweating it was so muggy out. I came in and baked some cookies so that I would have something nice to offer them when they came.

We went to church today and the pastor gave a powerfully convicting message. Around 3 o'clock our visitors called to say that they were on their way. She brought cookies to share also. We had such a nice, casual visit. I was worried it would be ackward but it wasn't. She has two daughters and home schools. They are really sweet. They brought their dress up dresses and had fun playing all sorts of things. I am so glad we ended up getting together and I am sure we will do it again. We talked about school, church, and kids, all of my favorite things. 

Well, I am now exhausted and am going to go relax.