Summer of Work!

Three summers ago, it was the summer of the Big Trip (a five week car trip down to Phoenix, up the coast to Portland, and back home through the Tetons and Yellowstone).

Last summer we hit the in between spots - Colorado and Utah - for about three weeks. Arches, Bryce Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion...you got the idea.

Well, this summer will go down in history as the Summer of Work... or otherwise known as the Summer Everything Fell Apart!

Monday morning I got up and my shower was leaking in the basement...and I hung some blankets on the clothesline and one of the posts rusted through and fell over. Just a typical day this summer! A few weeks ago we were given the news that our main line of the sewer seems to be broken about four feet from the house, so I will be replacing a retaining wall to our basement steps and in the process also exposing the sewage problem and hoping to fix it.

In the meantime I have had tons of help from a friend installing new cooling systems (the heating part has yet to be completed.) What started out as a bad bearing in a REALLY OLD furnace has turned into 2 systems (one in the basement and the other in the attic) After two months of working on it here and there, that portion of the project came to completion! YEAH! I am SO tired of the attic!!!! But thankful to have that done. (I also got the new clothesline up - but that was not near as exciting)

I also started a summer job. I like to get jobs that are opposite of what I do all year. This job is that. In two and a half days I have spent MANY hours screwing and unscrewing, wiring, and drilling. I have to make no decisions. I don't have children to motivate. I take no work home with me (except the numbness in my hands and forearms!) I am very thankful to have a job to help pay for our new life.

Now it must be said - I realize it is a privilege to be able to take weeks at a time and travel the country. It is a luxury I have occasionally enjoyed as a teacher (when not going back to school or working jobs) and am thankful for it when the stars align and it can happen.

In the mean time I'll be digging. And chopping wood (for our stove this winter). And fixing this and that (like tricycles.) Before I know it the Summer of Work will be a distant memory!

The Casualties Are Piling Up!

Leave it to me. I would be the one to look at my wife and complain about the fact that she happened to run over the riding toy in the drive(we have several). Perhaps it is because I know that it will take MY time and OUR money to get the thing working again.

A bit of humility was handed out today. As I was waiting in the truck it appears that a daughter of ours that was supposed to be getting in was actually riding her bike(the one that wasn't deformed)...and parked it behind the truck. Everyone was in buckled, and I began backing out. So yeah, I took out the right wheel.

I came home this afternoon to see the other wheel totally smashed. Even though it was broken someone managed to drag it onto the driveway for another round!

To the person that is laughing about strategically placing our bikes in the driveway - PLEASE STOP. I don't have tricycle insurance...and if I did it would be tripling the premium right now.

ps2 is good for something

Namely an almost 12 yr old with chicken pox. Not to mention that he has had it for 6 days & he is still in much pain. Actually the first two days were not too bad. A little itching, but mostly controllable & he still ate. Day three began with the discovery of a pox (pock???) on his eyeball. On the white of the eye (good) as opposed to the pupil (bad), but still....
Day five we discovered an odd red quarter sized patch around a few pox. The pediatrician put him on an oral antibiotic, but those little boogers are pretty painful (& are pretty ugly too). He also has them on the bottom of his feet, so he hobbles around like an old man.
Truthfully, he is being a real sport, not complaining or fussing, just kindof getting through it. I do wish he would eat a little, but they are all over in his mouth (& down his throat), so I guess we'll just keep making amazing drinks of all sorts. He loved the mango-yogurt smoothie his dad made him tonight when he couldn't deal with the chimichanga (somehow that word doesn't look right--).
We feverishly tried to sort through all the laundry & chaos from the weekend trip today. Camping just makes such a mess. But everyone slept pretty well this time (except Stephen, obviously, & he really wasn't much of a bother either), & even fell asleep well too. Much improved from the last try.
I should correct myself. Mostly Dave washed & folded, sorted & tidied. I am so blessed by this man of mine, if you are someone who doesn't know him. I worked too, but I seem to always get drawn in to the nose that needs wiped (bottoms, too, I guess), the kids who are arguing, or the lunch I never ate, but should have. He just works. I mean like a fiend.
I am sooooo thankful. It would have taken three days of my piddling to get the house in this kind of shape.
Couple of cute snippets:
Caleb has sucked Ana into his own interest in space; one of her favorite things to do is to sit with him & his large pile of space books as he reads little facts to her.
oh & he took flowers to the neighbor today, putting his Bible lesson from VBS into action.
Maci is completely daytime potty trained; my easiest kid yet (thanks to those consistent Ethiopian nannies, I'm sure). She wears a pullup at night, but I'm thankful to be done buying diapers.
Abi just finished an abridged version of "The Three Musketeers" tonight -- her comment-- "there sure are a lot of murders in this book". It's times like these that I wonder what is slipping through the cracks here????

Summer of Fun is Just Beginning!

So we left all house projects and decided to have fun in St. Louis a few days before going to a family reunion (which will include camping in 93 F humidity).

As we were walking out the door to leave, our oldest noticed a few bumps on his arm and back. We had purposely exposed him to chicken pox repeatedly because he is of age where he should have had it! Well, he is 48 hours in and a few bumps have turned into HUNDREDS! Nothing like hot camping with itchy bumps and upset stomach!!!

He is really taking it all pretty well. What a trooper! We are assuming our littlest two have not been exposed and so it appears that the fun has just begun!

summer days

Every day is a new adventure, really....
or that's how we are trying to look at it. On Sunday afternoon, Dave led his marching band through the exciting town parade & then settled himself in the main floor bathroom tub to figure out why it wouldn't drain during his shower that morning (I mean, clothed & with a few tools & things). When his investigating didn't yield anything, he flushed the toilet a few times to see if that would loosen things up. It did in a way, I guess. I heard water in the basement a few minutes later & called him to find out what was going on (whilst the toilet blew its seal, & emptied itself in the basement laundry tub).
So Sunday night we had the honor of spending the night at my sister & brother in law's house. Darling couple, really. They welcomed us (on account of us not having a toilet to use in our house & such).
Since I don't really understand all the ins & outs of plumbing, I will just say that after the rotorooter guy came we could use everything again, but there is a slippage of some kind about 5 or 6 feet outside our house that Dave will have to dig up & replace in the next few weeks. Or at least he is willing to try to conquer it. We will be replacing our basement walk out stairs at the same time, because they are an injury waiting to happen.
Dave is also working hard with our good friend who happens to be a cooling/heating man, replacing our ancient air conditioners & furnace. Our friend comes whenever he can & gets Dave started on the next step, then returns in a few days to do the same. They are bit by bit getting the work done. It will be exciting to have a new efficient system to heat and cool our home! Yippee (as the little girls say).
We are adjusting to everyone being home & trying to figure out how to function. There is lots of fun but also lots of jobs. The big kids are doing pretty well, but I don't really feel like I know how to manage all the chaos, & arguing & pestering gets the best of me.
I guess I'm still learning. I want to be teachable to what God wants me to be learning & not just "get through this." Pray for us when you think of us. We have so much to learn.

when the two middles were at piano lessons....