Overheard

Miss E: "Mommy. I'm unhappy."

Me: "Why are you unhappy?"

Miss E: " Duchess L is crying that she wants to be in the kitchen."

It's Raining Squirrels: Part 2

I don't know if you remember the Great Squirrel Invasion of 2011.  To briefly recap, Princess N came running inside to inform us that a mouse fell out of the tree in our front yard.  She had been outside doing her homework when it nearly landed on her.  A couple of days later, I spotted an unfamiliar cat wandering our yard, stalking something.  I went outside and saw it dip its head into the grass and run off with something in its mouth.  I noticed a baby squirrel in the grass and assumed that the cat had run off with a second baby squirrel.  I chased the cat but it got away.  The two squirrels we did rescue took a trip to a wildlife rescue center on the other side of town.  (two separate trips) 

And that brings us to this afternoon.  Princess N was outside working on homework while Lady A and Miss E were next door playing with our neighbor.  Princess N stood up to keep an eye on the younger girls and saw something fall out of the tree.  You guessed it... another squirrel!  Princess N ran inside to tell me while the boy from down the street ran to tell the other girls.  Then the adults had to come take a peek as well.  I kept telling everyone to back off and leave it alone so the mama squirrel could come take her little one back to the nest.  She came down briefly, but the children were loud and close.  After about an hour, almost all of the children had left and the adults had returned to their respective homes.  The boy from down the street came and knocked on the door to let us know that his sister had picked up the squirrel when it began crying.  The mama squirrel quickly returned and with the crowds dispersed, she was able to return her little one to the nest.

I, of course, did what I do best in a situation like this...  I grabbed my camera and took a couple of quick snapshots.

Baby squirrel right after he landed on the ground

Mama squirrel on the left, baby on the right and slightly out of focus

Blending in

Beginning to move (almost 45 minutes later)

Catching his breath

Camouflage

Trying to climb the tree

Nifty little app and website

One early morning, while feeding Duchess L and looking up something else on my phone, I stumbled across this neat app called Instructables.  They also have a website which is just as fun.

On this app, people post (occasionally) complete "How To's."  They include things like "How to maintain your lawnmower" and "How to easily use key rings."  The app has several categories including food... which is quickly becoming my favorite for new desserts to try for our Bible study group.

I have tried the Independence Day Surprise Cake, known here as the "Captain America" cake.  I made a few slight decor changes to these Rainbow Cupcakes for Miss E's birthday.  I made Slider Cakes for our group last week and this week I am trying the Summertime Cheesecake.

Here are a few pictures for you to drool over enjoy!

Slider Cakes

Rainbow Cupcakes (ready to bake)

Rainbow Cupcakes (finished - on left) and "Captain America Cake" (on right)

Warrior Challenge

Princess N is involved in a class at her school called Leadership Development Corps.  On Saturday, she participated in what they call the Warrior Challenge.  It is consisted of a 1/4 mile run, a hill climb, hurdles, a rope crawl, a tire flip, box jumps, sit ups and pushups, carrying weights, and a final run to the finish.

Michael had agreed to participate with Princess N but Lady A really want to join in too.  We got them all signed in and in line to wait their turn to start.  They went in groups of four, starting with the run.

Michael gave them two rules.  Don't walk and don't give up.

Lady A took that to heart.

She started out with the rest of them, but soon was in the lead.  

 She waved briefly for the camera, but quickly turned her attention back to the task at hand.

Princess N was a little more relaxed about the run.

She smiled and waved until I reminded her to pay attention to where she was going.

She put her head down and focused on her running.

 I'm not sure if you can see, but in the photo below, Lady A is exiting the photo while Princess N is just barely coming into the right-hand side. (You can click the photo to make it larger)

At this point, I would guess that Lady A had a 20-25 yard lead on Michael and about a 30-35 yard lead on Princess N.

Then came the hill climb.  Lady A just didn't stop!

I wanted to get a photo of Princess N as well but Miss E decided to walk away from the long jump pit with another child's toy.  Plus, I wanted her to move quickly so she decided to walk slower.

 Both of the girls thought tire flipping was fun.

Of course, Michael thought it was easy.

 I am glad our girls are enjoying being active.

It was so much fun to watch them.

Then came the box jumps, sit ups, and pushups.  Each of the girls was determined to complete the challenges.

Princess N actually had fairly good form for her pushups.  I believe they had to do 10 sit ups and 10 pushups.

Lady A struggled through hers, but she made it!

Princess N was getting tired, but she ran while carrying two 10 pound weights around a cone and back to the start.  I'd guess it was about 20 yards total distance.

Lady A was carrying 15 pounds.  She was NOT going to give up! I love the determined look on her face.

Finally finished!  Princess N was exhausted and it shows!

Lady A was ready to go through it again. She made all of us laugh with her loud proclamation that she "wanted to do that workout EVERYDAY!"

All three of my "Warriors" and the three of them with a little girl who wanted to be in every photo. (If you look closely, you can see the corner of the hat Miss E is wearing in the bottom left corner of the first photo here)

 

The girls

From the left (clockwise):
Lady A
Duchess L
Princess N
Miss E

Ewww!!!

I ate a bug!

Michael & I went for a bike ride last night and I was in the lead.  As I inhaled, I realized that I had just been hit by a bug.  Next thing I know, I felt the bug in the back of my throat.  All I could do was swallow... and try not to be completely grossed out.

BUT........


We rode for 29min and 53sec and went 4.32 miles!!

Mini-goals

I have a big goal.  I know when I want to make that goal, but along the way I have several mini-goals.

One of them was to ride my bicycle for 20 minutes.

I made it 10 minutes a month or so ago.

I made it 15 minutes a couple of weeks ago.

Today... I rode my bicycle for 30 minutes!!!

Guess I need a new mini-goal.  What do you think?

Mosquitos

One memory from my childhood is the mosquito truck.  We played all over our yard and into the neighbor's.  There was a fairly deep ditch that separated our neighbor's driveway from the neighborhood next door.  The mosquito truck would spray along the ditch in an effort to keep the mosquito population under control.  We knew it was time to head inside when we saw the truck since it came at twilight almost every day.

We have been dealing with a booming mosquito population over the past couple of weeks.  No one has been immune to their bites including poor Duchess L who is swelling in a few spots from the bites.  I took a picture of our beige colored front door area a couple of days ago.  It appeared to need quite a bit of cleaning, but it was just mosquitos that made it look dirty.  I sprayed not only mosquito repellant but wasp spray in the hopes of cutting down the number of mosquitos that had swarmed our front entrance.

On Thursday, I picked up Miss E from her preschool.  She walked up to the house while I got Duchess L out of the truck.  Miss E walked back toward me and said that there were a lot of mosquitos by the front door.  I sympathized with her and told her we would get into the house as fast as we could.  Miss E then told me that the mosquitos were talking to her.  I asked what they said. Miss E's response?

"Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.... Miss E!" (think Dora the Explorer)

We laughed for quite a while on that one!  I love the things my girls say.  I am so thankful for the joy they bring, even with the challenges we have faced with stubborn personalities.

She's how old?!?

Miss E was dancing around the living room this morning singing, "I'm four, I'm four!"

She ended with a very crisp, "Oh yeah!"

I think she's happy to be four.

Overheard

I have enjoyed the things my girls say.  I must admit though I think Miss E's comments are probably my favorite right now because she just lets us know what is on her mind.

A few days ago, Aunt Sarah was visiting.  Miss E picked up two empty water bottles and held them up to her face like binoculars.

Miss E: I see you Mommy!
Me: Go put them in the recycle, Miss E.
Miss E: Aye, aye Captain!

And with that, we decided to make water bottle binoculars with a bit of duct tape.  Miss E & Lady A have both enjoyed playing with their binoculars.

Then today...

Lady A was given a beautiful dress, along with some other clothes, by a friend at church.  Miss E wanted to wear a similarly colored dress.

Miss E walked out to the truck and stated, "We're alike, that's why we're doppelgängers."

Then she looked at me and said, "I got that from Phineas and Ferb."

She turns 4 tomorrow.  What am I going to do?

Back to School

Tomorrow school starts.

Princess N is a 7th grader, Lady A is a 2nd grader, and Miss E will be attending preschool again.  I think Miss E is the only girl excited about school.  

While I'm glad Miss E is excited, I tend to agree with the other girls that we still need 3 more months of summer.

We had grand plans.  The ideas of places to go and things to see were good ideas.  The problem was me.  I am just now feeling as though I am coming out of that foggy newborn state of sleep deprivation.  I am thankful that my girls have all slept through the night at a younger age.  When Miss E was about 2 months old, she started going for about 7-9 hours at a time.  When we came back to North Carolina after her first Christmas, she started waking up once or twice a night.  I am a cranky mama when I don't sleep well.  At almost three months old, Duchess L is now sleeping 7-9 hours a few times a week.

And so, our summer plans were sidetracked by the arrival of Duchess L and both her needs and my state of utter exhaustion.  

Michael and I also start school on Monday as well.  Michael is taking an Algebra class while I will be taking Federal Government, Business Computer, and PE.

So, if you think of us tomorrow, would you pray as we each adjust to the new school year?

Teenagers and Preschoolers

Strange.

I thought I'd be older.

But, I realize I am older.  I am actually old enough to have a teenager.  (Mom~ Is this how you felt?)

Princess N turned 13 on Friday.

Miss E turns 4 on Monday.

A teenager and a preschooler.

Wow!

Lots to share

I'm not completely sure where to begin.  Most people might start at the beginning...

This past year has been a year of reflection.  It has been a year of fighting fear.  It has been a year of learning to trust again. I use the word again simply because it seems as though over and over God is having to teach me to trust.

This past year we also added a beautiful little girl to our family.  Before you keel over in shock, let me explain why I haven't said anything until now.

I suspect that I have had several more miscarriages over the past couple of years.  I have had faintly positive pregnancy tests only to see my doctor and be told that I was not pregnant.  I did not anticipate anything different with the test I took last September.

Except it was different.  Just as I began to hope that this would be a take home baby, I woke up to discover that I was bleeding heavily.  After three agonizing hours in the ER, I was told I had a sub-chorionic hemorrhage.  Essentially, the placenta was separating from the wall of my uterus.  While baby looked okay, the risk of a late miscarriage overshadowed my growing hope our little one would make it our arms.  And so, just days before I was planning to share with the world our exciting news, my world was turned upside down again.

Art Show photos

Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went in a whirlwind.  I finished my photography class, with an A of course, and had a couple of my photos displayed in an art show on campus.  We enjoyed visiting with lots of family over both holidays.

Then came January...  We were told to prepare for another little girl.  Michael and I began the challenging task of naming her.  Princess N, Lady A, and Miss E, were not easily named and our new little girl was no different.  We were also told my OB would be moving in two weeks time.  We were understandably upset.  After all, I have never had the doctor that provided my prenatal care deliver any of the older three and it turned out this time was no different.

The days passed with little further concern other than increasing contractions.  I had essentially the same issue with Miss E so I wasn't overly concerned.  We made plans for family to visit and prepared the room for our yet unnamed little girl.  The original plan was for Lady A & Miss E to share with their new sister.  As plans tend to go, that one changed too.

May finally arrived.  With it came the anticipation of finally meeting our little girl.  I counted down the weeks.  Michael and I went walking whenever possible to try to help gravity encourage labor.  At my 37 week appointment, my new doctor told me he expected me to give birth soon.  I heard the same thing at my 38 and 39 week appointments.  By the time 40 weeks rolled around, Dr F said that he really didn't want me going too much past 40 weeks.   The way my clinic calculated the due date, they added two days after the 40 week mark.  So, while my due date was May 24th, I was actually 40 weeks on the 22nd.

After my 40 week appointment, Michael and I decided to wait out the weekend.  Dr F had said he would be on call at the hospital on that Saturday and Monday.  Michael and I wanted to give my body enough time to start labor on its own before we agreed to induce.  I was getting very discouraged and I was convinced I would be the first woman in history to be pregnant for the rest of her life.

Saturday came and went.  Sunday evening, I began preparing for our trip to the hospital on Monday morning.  I packed the girls things so they could go swimming at my aunt's house while they waited to hear their baby sister had been born.  My mom had come in on the 21st of May and planned to leave on the 4th of June. I was very glad my mom was here to help take care of them, but selfishly, I had wanted her to have so much more time with our little one too.  As I was preparing for Monday, I had a few contractions that didn't seem to be doing much.  It seemed as though labor had been starting and stopping for the past couple of weeks so I went to bed.

A little while later, after an especially painful contraction, I told Michael that if I had another contraction like that, I wanted to head to the hospital.  About 20 minutes later, we were on our way to the truck.  All I could think about was Miss E's birth on the side of the road.  I definitely did NOT want a repeat experience.  What ordinarily would have been a half hour trip in the evening time took us closer to fifteen minutes at one o'clock in the morning.

Once at the hospital, I was hooked up to the monitors and we began the arduous process of signing all the consent forms and hooking up IVs, etc.  Just over an hour later, the doctor stopped in to introduce himself.  He was planning to talk with us for a few minutes and then change into his scrubs for the delivery.  I had two contractions with him in the room.  On the second contraction, I said one word,  "Push."  The room became a flurry of activity and our little girl was born just a few minutes later.  Instead of having time to change, the doctor attended the delivery in his cowboy boots, jeans, and a polo shirt.  Only in Texas. :)

Duchess L was born 5 days overdue on May 27, 2013 at 3:05 in the morning after 4 hours and one minute of labor.  She was also born about 5 hours before we had planned to head to the hospital to be induced.  She is a precious addition to our family.

Just born

Miss E loves her baby!

Sleepy girl

I can not begin to tell you how blessed we are to have Duchess L as a part of our family.  But I think even more than the joy she has brought us, I am thankful for the things God has shown me about myself and my family and mostly about His unchanging nature.  Even through the midst of my fear and trepidation, God remained ever faithful and ever gracious.  He faithfully reminded me that He cares for our every need.  Time and time again God provided in tangible ways that just moved me to tears.  Having Duchess L is an amazing thing.  Having the gift of Christ and a Father whose love is beyond compare is even more amazing.  

I am so blessed. 

Hopefully more to come in the next few days.

Has it really been over a month?

I just realized the last post was made over a month ago!

Let's see... lots of things are happening around here. 

• The girls got their first report cards of the year.  Both had As, Bs, and Cs.  Lady A is struggling with reading, but she is showing great improvement.  Princess N is also working hard but Language Arts seems to be our girl's nemesis.
• Miss E is growing up too quickly as are her sisters.  Her speech and ability to express her emotions accurately is alternatingly frustrating and hilarious.  Just this afternoon she told me, "Mama... these girls are cracking me up!"  and "I was angry when Baby Z (a friend) took the red scissors." 
• Lady A turned 8.  She fits in the seat belt in the back of our truck quite well so she has been doing a happy dance over no longer being required to use a booster seat.
• Princess N is trying her hardest to grow taller than me this year.  Almost every night before bed, she will hug me and then stand up as high on her toes as she can, stretching her body to see just how much longer she needs to grow.
• My school is going well.  I have been busy with photography assignments and history papers.  My instructor requires her students to enter the art show the college does each semester so I will be entering 4 photographs, possibly 5.  It is not guaranteed any of my photos will be chosen for the show, but it has definitely been a learning experience.  In addition, I am learning more about mounting photos for presentation. 
• Michael is back from traveling all over the place.  It is quite a blessing to have him home for a while.

That is the short list.  We also have lots of church activities in addition to everything else.  I hope you and yours are well.

First Day of School

Princess N took the motorcycle to school!

Miss E wanted desperately to attend school with Lady A.

Finally!  Miss E was able to go to her school the following week!

So excited!

Deal of the Day!

I got a call from my brother this morning.  Andrew said he was in the area and asked if I wanted to get together with him "later".  I asked what his definition of "later" was.  He said about noon.  I told him I would be done taking maternity photos for a friend by then.  We could certainly get some lunch and hang out.  Andrew said he was here for Endeavour's stop on the way to L.A. and that the shuttle would be on display until sometime tomorow morning.  I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to make it out to the airfield because of the prior commitment.

Instead, almost immediately after we arrived at the park, a low flying airplane came past.  Sure enough, Endeavour was piggybacked on it.  I fumbled for the zipper on my camera case & pulled out the camera just as the plane disappeared behind the trees.

Later, it made another pass, but this time I had my camera in hand.

 

The girls were amazed and I was thrilled that they were able to see it as well.  It has been difficult for me to know that many of the things I grew up with around the space program will not be everyday things for my children. 

 

Fire drills for shuttle launches and regular space flights are intertwined with the memories of my childhood.  I know Princess N has seen at least 2 shuttle launches and Lady A has seen one of the last night launches. (the first night launch since the Columbia accident if I remember correctly)  But, Lady A was a baby still.  Miss E, well, her only experience with the space program of my childhood will probably be what she reads in history books and what Michael and I remember.



Today was a sad reminder of the end of an era.  With so much emphasis on playing it safe, I pray there will be men and women who are still willing to take the risks that so many astronauts and engineers and pretty much everyone who worked with the space program were willing to take.  With our ever changing technology surely there must be some way to appease those who only consider safety with the risks others long to take.

I'm not taking Drama!

Continued from Whirlwind of Schools

My school started on the same day as the big girls.  History is a breeze.  Don't misunderstand.  I have the same professor as I did for my first History class so I know (for the most part) what to expect.  It is still hard work and I still have high standards I must meet, both my own and my professor's.  I am excited though because I know what to expect and what my professor expects from me.

My other class has been a bit more complicated.  Learning the ins and outs of photography have been a great challenge to me.  I do think I finally understand aperture and shutter speed better than I did when I took Photography in high school.  The work in the darkroom has been simply amazing.  Michael has said that he knew I enjoyed photography before, but he hadn't realized just how much of a passion it is for me until I started this particular class.  I have loved finding creative ways to fulfill my assignment requirements and seeing the finished product is rewarding.  Using and manipulating the film to determine the final product is not quite as easy as a few clicks of a mouse, but the possibilities are exciting to uncover.

There is only one issue with my Photography class and I just discovered it this past week.  I have been so excited about the photography that I have somewhat neglected my History class.  I had 6 assignments due between this past Thursday and tomorrow (Sunday).  One assignment was the same as an assignment from the previous History class.  I used my previous paper as a guide & rewrote the assignment.  I have one assignment left to complete (due tomorrow).  I dislike pushing the deadlines for turning in work as I have done with this particular section and I fully intend to manage my time between the two classes better.  In other words, even if the assignments aren't completed until close to their due dates, I will at least have the reading finished.

As for the drama in the title... My very first picture overwhelmed my camera.  The estimate was over $120 to fix it.  I had seen a camera advertised for sale at the school for $200 that had 3 lenses and a couple of filters with the camera body.  Since I was unsure if the camera was still available, I asked a friend if she had a film camera.  She did, but was not going to be home until late that evening and was going to be out of town the following day.  I ended up borrowing one from the college library and my friend got home earlier than she anticipated.  I borrowed hers because the camera from the library was probably purchased when the school opened 40 years ago.  I managed to get my assignment completed and was able to purchase the $200 camera.  All of this occurred over the course of about 24 hours. 

I now have a "new" camera and a new plan for making sure I don't neglect History for Photography.

Overheard

 I have been dealing with a very painful tooth (probably root canal on Tuesday!) and was propped up on the couch trying to wait for pain medication to work.

Miss E walked into the living room and sat down next to Lady A. 

Miss E then loudly (and sadly) announced: "I wish I had homework too!"

It was all I could to not to fall off the couch because I was laughing so hard.  Lady A & Princess N had both been complaining about homework & Miss E was begging for some.

Whirlwind of Schools

Our lives have been a whirlwind lately. 

We made the (very) difficult decision to return to public school this year. 

We still believe homeschooling last year was the right thing to do.  We learned quite a bit about our girls and their needs as far as parenting vs educating.  The older two are enjoying being back with some of their school friends and I am enjoying my time with the little one.

Princess N has some amazing teachers.  They are all determined to help each child in their classes succeed, while placing responsibility on the student to take part in their own education.  Princess N is also very excited about her PE class at this time.  They are working on an archery unit.  Upon finding out that archery was the first unit, Princess N went to talk with her coach about what kind of equipment they will be using.  Princess N sounded a bit disappointed that the draw weight for their bows would be only 6-9 pounds.  (her personal bow has a 25 pound draw) 

Lady A is enjoying being with a couple of her friends from kindergarten.  The boy who sits next to her is really nice and I was able to speak with his parents at the open house this week.  The boy's dad was in the military several years ago and told me that if we needed anything while Michael travels to feel free to contact them.  I love how military and former military members take care of each other.  Four of our past five duty stations have been a good distance from a military base.  We have received so many offers that begin with, "If you ever need anything..."

Back to Lady A and school though... :)  She comes RUNNING home with a HUGE grin on her face almost every day.  This was certainly the right thing for her and her super extrovertedness.  Is extrovertedness a word?  I might need to look that up.  <--according to my spell check, extrovertedness is not a word.  Maybe I should try to get it into common use and then the dictionary can use a picture of Lady A as the definition.  What do you think?

Miss E started preschool at a local church this week.  She is attending two days a week.  At the "Meet the Teacher" night, she marched in and started playing with the other children.  She also gets to sit beside her best friend from church.  On Miss E's first day, she didn't even tell me goodbye.  She was up until almost 11pm because she was excited to go to school just like her sisters.  On Lady A's first day, Miss E grabbed her backpack and kissed Daddy goodbye because she was going to go to school with Lady A.  It was sweet, but she was crushed when I told her she had to wait a week.

And now... I'm going to follow my sweet sister-in-law's precedent.

What is that?

To be continued.....

Replay

ONE MORE TIME!

(click the words above)

Kids these days...

Dear Grandy and Aunt Sarah,

GRRRRRR! 

That is all.

Love,
Me


Now for the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey would say):

We were discussing the merits of having a sleepover in a tent in the yard in almost 100 degree temps versus sleeping in the living room.

Lady A said there might be a lot of creatures in the yard that would be curious about a tent.  I mentioned the squirrels that we see on occasion.

Princess N breaks into song.  What song you ask?  Just click on Read more and play the video.

5 more

Five more classes until I am DONE with math!!!

Five more classes that hopefully will not cause too much more pain.

I was diagnosed with tendonitis in my right wrist this afternoon.  It hurts to write, type, lift, rotate...

But I have five more classes until a two week break between semesters!

Oh, and I still have an A in College Algebra!!

Thank You Jesus!!!

I can breathe a HUGE sigh of relief!

I had a test today for my college algebra course. We spent very little time covering the final two sections of the chapter.

When I sat down to take the test today, there were a few things I could not remember how to do, most being from those last two sections.

I prayed through the entire test (and during all the reviews I did).

I MADE AN 89%!!!!!!!

It is a B, but at this point I am thrilled with a B! I worked extremely hard for that grade, but it was God giving me the ability to recall what I needed in order to solve some of the problems. Even with that grade, I still have an A overall for the course.

And all I can say is THANK YOU JESUS!!!

Overheard

Miss E is full of fun quotes today!

She sat & "read" a book called That's Not My Fairy.

She "read" it quite well until the end when she loudly exclaimed, "That not my fairy!  That Nana [Lady A] fairy!  Where my fairy?"

She then flipped the pages of the book until she found "her" fairy.

um...hello? Jesus?

Miss E was sitting in the backseat talking on her phone (an old cell phone that the girls play with) when she had the following conversation.



Miss E: um...hello? Jesus?

(pause)

Miss E: Jesus? You not let go my life?

(pause)

Miss E: Jesus?

(pause)

Miss E: Mommy, Jesus hung up.

Solve your own problems!

First, my youngest sister bought the most amazing notebook for me.

I will post a picture sometime after I actually take one with my camera.

For today, the quote will suffice.

Dear Math,

I am not a psychiatrist.  Please solve your own problems.

After 10 almost straight hours of math, I am done.

I decided it would be a good idea to review for the quiz I needed to take. Four hours into it, I had only made it through two sections.  Five and a half hours later, I made it through all four sections.

I took a break to motivate the girls on the evening cleanup and took a very short bike ride.  At 8:20pm I sat down to take the quiz.  I finished and had missed one question completely and part of two questions.  That equalled about an 86%. 

The way our class is set up, the quiz is done online and we have 2 attempts.  We keep the higher grade.  So, since I figured out what I did wrong, I retook the quiz.

I finished at 10:43pm.

I'm going to bed.

should have grabbed the camera

Tonight we had dinner with a couple from church... and NINE of their grandchildren...

It was crazy trying to fit 15 people in our house, but I loved every minute of it.

After dinner & dessert, the kids played the Galactic Dance Off on Princess N's Star Wars game.  Laughter was contagious.

There wasn't too much adult conversation, but these kids are some of the most well behaved kids I have met in a while.  It was a pleasure having them here.

Since there were 15 of us, I decided to make Pastichio with salad and Orange Creamscicle Cupcakes for dessert.  There was not much left of any of it...

I think I'm going to bed now...  Good night!

Time out!

The backyard project has been postponed.

While many people are accustomed to working outdoors in record high temperatures, the girls and I are not.

After tying up 2 bundles of sticks to take to the curb last night, I called it quits on the 3rd.  Michael was kind enough to finish it off and carry it around front for me.  It was after 7pm.  The heat index was still over 100 degrees at that point.

At 11:30pm tonight, it is 85 degrees with a heat index of 98 degrees.  At 2:30 this afternoon, the heat index was 114 degrees.  At 8pm tonight, it was about 94 degrees with a heat index of 108 degrees.

Those numbers were the deciding factor in letting the remaining branches sit in our yard. 

6/29 - EDITED TO ADD: We did finally finish the yard.  I woke up early to a heat index of 78 which was also the actual temperature.  Half an hour later when we finished, the temperature had risen 8 degrees and the heat index had risen 22 degrees.  But, we managed to take care of all but the largest branches.  Those would make good fireplace logs...

However, I did promise pictures.  I really should have taken them on day 1 or 2, but these are from day 3 with about a quarter of the branches trimmed and placed in piles.

Piles of branches

More piles of branches - the one in the center back was about waist high on me at that point



Let the sun shine in!

A single vine

Tired toes
Hurting heels
Aching back
Sore muscles

What does that equal?  Why yard work, of course!  Michael decided that he was going to pull a vine and ended up with a 3 (maybe 4) day project.

Pictures to come. :)

Recent photos

The lighting at our church is not the best for photos without a lot of equipment (or a tripod which I forgot at home).  Anyway, here are some recent photos of the girls.  They are actually from last week!

I know most of you are gasping in shock.  Why don't you sit and take a few breaths... the photos will be here when you get back! :)

Love ya!

Math

College Algebra to be precise.

Eight weeks and one day left.

In other words, 25 classes until my final.

This can be done! (somehow...)

Things that make you say... eewwww!

There are some things that just make me want to puke!

Topping the list is the roach that my sweet daughter found in her room this morning. We have not had many inside the house though our garage is often a target. I have learned to open the door at night with a can of wasp killer in my hand to spray the roaches while they run around. Our roaches are NOT frightened of people. They will charge you! So, finding one in the house this morning was disgusting. (note: this is the 2nd one actually inside the house since we moved in 2 years ago - living in SE TX, I'd say this is an amazing record)

And then... I went to lock the front door after the above dd tossed the now dead roach outside. I looked down to see a small lizard. I don't like those in my house either. Yes, they do clean out some of the spiders and flies that find their way in, but they have a tendency to stink when they die. I opened the front door, took off my sandal, and touched it lightly to encourage it to head outside. It was bleeding from the side of the head. Unsure whether it was dead or alive, I called for the broom and dustpan cause there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I was touching that thing while it was bleeding!! Dustpan in hand, I touched it with the broom, and it leapt onto the dustpan. I ran outside, trying to choke down the scream that was rising in my throat, and shook it off into the flower bed.

Overheard

In honor of a favorite Uncle coming for a visit, we decided to teach Miss E what a cow really says...

Us: Miss E, what does a cow say?

Miss E: mmmmm

Us: Can you say 'eat more chicken'?

Miss E: Sure! More eat chicken!


Us: Miss E, what does a cow say?

Miss E: I don't know.

Us: Can you say 'eat more chicken'?

Miss E: Sure! More eat chicken!

Us: Miss E, what does a cow say?

Miss E: More eat chicken!!! and mmmm!

Give me a Grade!

And make it an 'A'!!!

Warning: Craziness Ahead!

Yes.  It is the last weekend of the semester.  I have one more major test and one more major paper to finish along with a short essay.  And I mean short essay, the minimum length required is four sentences. 

Then I need to sit down with Financial Aid to hammer out the details and prepare for the summer semester. 

Then come the homeschooling decisions and the craziness of summer break.  Though I do plan to still work on school subjects with the girls over the summer. 

So, this is short, but I will resurface after the weekend.  I have a paper to write.

Fun Times at the Dinner Table

I stepped away from the table tonight for just a moment.

What I heard was priceless...

Princess N and Lady A were teaching Miss E some "Knock, knock" jokes.

Princess N told Miss E, "Now say 'manma who?'"  (manma = banana)

Miss E dutifully repeated it.

And then Miss E tried to branch out.  "Apple.  My Lego Apple"

Princess N responded with "My Lego apple who?"

Miss E replied, "Lego apple... (something mumbled or otherwise not understandable) red!"

Lady A had a few comments in there trying to get Miss E to repeat what she and Princess N were saying.

I love hearing our girls work together and even more to hear them teaching their little sister.

Overheard

Lady A: (speaking to our overnight guest) What does Darth Vader say when he wants a cookie?

Miss E: (in an inquisitive tone) Cookie?

These girls crack me up!

The latest

I found out this afternoon that my friend also has pneumonia and has been intubated while they treat it.  The next few days should show just how much damage was actually done by the strokes. 

The founder of Hannah's Prayer (www.hannah.org) had several strokes last year and commented on HP that she had found very few quality support resources for stroke patients.  If you happen to know of any good resources for stroke recovery support groups, please leave a comment! 

Thank you for your prayers.

EDITED TO ADD: My friend's sister is taking care of her four children at their home in Alaska.  Please pray for them as well.  The children are homeschooled and very concerned about their mom.  K's sister is attempting to homeschool the kids, figure out a wood burning stove, and life in Alaska in general.

latest update

Here is the latest update on my friend:

 Update ...she is breathing on her own (Praise!) and has some movement on one side. She can respond to some questions with a nod. Please pray that 1)her airway stay open 2)there is no swelling in her brain and 3)the clot will dissolve.

Prayer for another friend

A friend from high school has had a series of small strokes.  She lives a good distance from the contintental US and will be airlifted to Seattle.

Please pray for her recovery and for her family. 

Overheard

Today I dropped the girls off at Rachel's so I could go to the college for a little while.

As I left, Miss E screamed, "BYE MOMMY!!!" from the top of the stairs.

Rachel: That was Miss E?  I didn't think anyone could be louder than Lady A!

Me: Yep.  That was Miss E.

Mandy & Rob

Please pray for Mandy & Rob today as they face one of the most difficult days of their lives. Baby Abigail's funeral is today.

Overheard

Lady A: I need to learn self-control. I need to learn all the fruit of the Spirit.

Talk about melting a mama's heart!

Heartbroken

Please pray for my friend Mandy and her husband,Rob.

Their long-awaited daughter died yesterday afternoon. Baby Abigail was born early at 35 weeks gestation. She underwent major surgery to attempt to repair an issue with her heart. Mandy and Rob are also still grieving the death of their son Aaron who was Abby's twin. They discovered he had died at about 20-21 weeks.

Mandy was able to hold her precious daughter as she took her last breath and her heart stopped.   I am heartbroken for them.

Please pray for this family.

Overheard!

After our recent trip:

Miss E climbs into her car seat just after the truck is fully unloaded.

Me:  Where are you going?

Miss E: Back!

Overheard

Lady A's explaination of why Miss E was crying.

Me: What is going on?

Lady A: Miss E is crying.

Me: I know.  That is why I asked what is going on.

Lady A: I want it my way.  And she doesn't!

Did you remember?

Yes.  It is that time of year. (already!)

Time to change time, or at least change your clock.

Michael & I do not currently own a clock for our bedroom.  We rely on our cell phones for an alarm because they are louder than any other clock we have owned.

I woke up this morning and checked my phone.

It said 7:27.  I unlocked the phone and it said 6:27.  So, to be sure I was looking at the correct time, I turned it off and back on.  By this time, the phone said 6:29.

Okay.  That gave me a few more minutes & I wouldn't need to be rushing to get Lady A out of bed in time to go to church with Michael.

Michael opened his computer and was reading emails, etc when I noticed the clock on his computer said 7:47. I asked if it was right.  Michael checked his watch and sure enough it was right. 

I showed him my phone (which now said 6:47) and told him how I had unlocked it and it had shown the earlier time (now it said 7:47!!!).

Yep.  There it was.  That moment of panic when you realize that you really are late.

You see, it was 7:47 and they needed to be pulling out of the driveway at 8:15 in order to make it to the church on time.

Lady A needed a bath because she went to bed at 10pm.  Actually it was just before 9pm, but I usually change our clocks around 7 or 8. 

Fortunately this year we skipped all the illnesses for my birthday and started this week.  Princess N was sick yesterday so I only had two people who needed to be ready for church today instead of five. 

Even so, there was coffee to make, breakfast to prepare, hair to help rinse, dresses to find, tights to find, brand-spanking new pretty shoes to buckle and a bag to locate to carry the granola bar, apple and Bible.

If all five of us were going this morning, we would probably be leaving about now.  Was an illness the same weekend as the time change a good thing?  This time, it was a blessing in disguise!

Hope you have a great Sunday and that you made it to church on time!


And bonus points to anyone now singing songs from My Fair Lady!

In less than an hour...

...




.....




...WE HEAD TO THE AIRPORT TO PICK UP MICHAEL!!!!!

The girls are very excited that Daddy is coming home.  Even one very tired little girl isn't napping because she wants to get Daddy.

I'm glad he will be home today too!

Julia

Julia's baby boy was born this evening via c-section.  He came screaming into the world weighing 2 pounds 8 ounces.

As I said before, he has a long way to go before he can go home with his mom & dad.  I know they would appreciate the continued prayers.

Update on Julia

Julia and her son are experiencing more complications than just the elevated blood pressure.  Her son will be born via c-section today according to her doctors.

Please be in prayer as Julia and her husband cope with all these unexpected changes.  As well, while there is a higher survival rate for babies born after 24 weeks gestation, Julia's son still faces many challenges.  By being born today at 29 weeks, he faces a stay in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for at least 10 weeks.  He could spend less time in the NICU if he is doing well and more if he is not. 

prayer request

There is an amazing photographer who is in a hospital in Georgia tonight.   She is 29 weeks pregnant with her first baby to make it this far.  (I believe it is her 6th or 7th pregnancy)

Julia is fighting her body.  Her blood pressure is at a dangerous level both for her and her son.  They have made it over a week since she was admitted, but things are looking grim. 

The risk of complications increases every day her blood pressure is unable to be controlled, but at the same time, a pre-term birth is incredibly difficult for both mom & baby.  Julia's doctors are trying to minimize the risks as they try to give Julia's son the longest possible time in the womb.

We know that God already has this little guy's birthday planned, but we hope it is at least 5 weeks from now if not more.

Please pray for Julia, her husband and her son.

Birthdays are fun!

Yesterday was Sarah's birthday.

I baked her cake.

We discussed icing color and design.

I attempted to implement.

After several blunders

We ended up with a circus tent.

It is a cake that will live in infamy.

Birthday AND Anniversary

Today, we have another birthday as well as an anniversary!

My brother and sister-in-law have been married for TEN years today.  I know there have been ups and downs, but I pray that this coming year is filled with blessings for them.

And my brother is also turning another year older.

Happy birthday to the guy who made gifts next to impossible to open!  (did you see your shadow this morning?)

Love you both!

Happy Birthday!

To a pretty amazing kid!

Our nephew, Stealth-Man, is 11. 

Want to know how I know that?

Princess N was born in August.

Cousin David was born the following January.

Stealth-Man was born less than two weeks later on the 1st of Feb.

Happy birthday!

Whew!

First assignments and quizes done!

Now for a quiz and discussion of Romatic literature for English and a test and discussion of Spanish and French exploration for History.

I was beginning to stress about getting everything done and all the studying in this weekend.  Turned out I was looking at the calendar wrong and nothing was due for either class until next Sunday!

Hope you have a great week!

encouragement

We all need it sometimes.

Today it was Lady A who needed encouragement.

She was struggling with her math facts and was ready to give up.  When she first tries learning a new set of addition facts, she is frequently frustrated.  We have come up with several ways to encourage her including having her tell the math that it is going down 'cause she is going to beat it!

Today, we tried yelling.  Now, I don't allow much yelling inside the house.  Quite frankly it hurts my ears because the frequencies Lady A & Miss E reach are painful to me.  But today, we yelled.  Both of us. 

"I am smart.  I can do this. MATH IS GOING DOWN!!!"

I also don't allow much standing on the furniture.  First, I hate sitting down on dirty chairs and second, most of our dining room chairs are so worn out I never know if they will decide to gracefully retire break when someone sits down.

Today, we stood on the furniture.  Well, the girls did.  I kept my feet planted firmly on solid ground.

As I was trying to encourage Lady A, while she stood on one of our dining chairs, I noticed Miss E had chosen to stand up in her chair as well.  That was a bit more precarious due to the fact that her booster seat was hanging off one side of her chair.  As I told her to sit, I realized she was cheering too. 

Miss E was waving her arms in the air and yelling along with us, "Math go DOWN!"

Lady A got the encouragement she needed and after that those math facts were a piece of cake!

Reading the classics

Enjoy!  An interesting telling of the Three Little Pigs.

Overheard

Lady A:  Miss E, can you get me out of this situation??

Miss E: Sure!

Creativity, birthday party and random photos

Mom, Aunt Sarah, and the girls

Excuse me, you're in my way!

Mmmm... ice cream...

It's in here somewhere...

Could it be...?

I am not a cat.

Who is tallest?

We got a little bit of rain.

Well, maybe a lot of rain.

Princess N

Please?!?

Roses are (sometimes) red.

Lady A being silly again.

Creativity at work.  Time for dinner!

Photo Challenge: Simplicity

Hope you enjoy the photos.  There will probably be a lot of photos posted with fewer wordy posts since school started last Tuesday.  Things are going well so far but I will be concentrating on school for both me and the girls rather than on blogging.