June Days Flying By

The weeks of summer are flying by!  I took the kids to the Deanna Rose Farmstead nearby and they have a one room schoolhouse.  I love it. 

I told them to look upset since they are in the corner with the dunce hat on.

We went to visit Grandma one day and we saw this beautiful Herron.

I love to see them play together peacefully.

Max gets right in our way when we turn the water on.  He's obsessed.

Our church's camp was about being "uniquely wired" and so we saw lots of robots.  Gwen insisted on being a grumpy robot.  Somehow it fits. :)

Ben did the main speaking this week.  It was a lot of work.  I taught a group of kids.  They were very sweet.

Gwen got her first pedicure the other day.  It was nice to share the experience with her.

We've been hunting rocks as a pass time... and painting some to put out.  Here's one we found.  We are collecting them.

Zeke lost the other front tooth!

More from our church's camp.  They dropped 1,000 balloons on the last day.  VBS has sure changed since I was a kid... good grief.

Gwen turned 9 this past week.  It seems on one side that I've had her for 15 years and then it seems to have gone by very fast.  Can't make up my mind, but I am sure glad she's mine.

Father's day.  I'm very thankful for Ben.  I'd be clinically insane without him.

A strawberry rock I painted.

Running around having fun at a playground.

This is what Kansas skies look like= heavenly.

Gwen's present from us for her birthday was getting her ears pierced.  She was scared, but she buckled down and did it.  I was proud of her.

a summer shower brought a nice rainbow.

We are thinking of adding on a porch to our house and also remodeling our bathroom.  Lots of choices to make and think about.  I'm excited for the new year to come.

The Journey

The Journey
by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice – – –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
‘Mend my life!’
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.

You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations – – –
though their melancholy
was terrible. It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.

But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice,
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do – – – determined to save
the only life you could save.

Who Am I Going to Disappoint Today?

Ever try to live a good and decent life and no matter how you slice it you disappoint people?  I hate it, but it's inevitable.  I'm going to just sit here with all the glorious things that happened today and lean into knowing I disappointed someone today and they made it known to me and feel it and then move on and then tomorrow I'm going to wake up and look around and ask "who am I going to disappoint today?" It's silly to be a 40 something people pleaser.

Albino Squirrel and Other Assortments

Got this DVD at the library.  They guy in the video says that yoga is like no other exercise cause it forces you to think and reflect.  Maybe I should do more yoga. 

Romy's picture of me. 

Romy took her allowance she had saved (gets $1 a week) and got this gear.  She was very excited. 

Saw this blue herron on the way to take a meal to a grieving family.  I love blue herrons. They are graceful and quiet. There are lessons to learn from herrons. 

I made a strawberry castle cake with my new bundt pan for a midevial baby shower I put on.  It was the couple's idea to do that theme... I tried my best. :) 

On my walk I got the closest I'd ever gotten to the albino squirrel.  It was a huge pick me up. 

June Summer Days

These days are sure sweet, but sometimes I see all the wonderful things others are doing and I have a moment of thinking my life isn't that special.  I know it's not true.  There are many moments in the every day mundane that are extraordinary.  Last night I was feeling left out and so I took a 4 mile walk.  By the end of it I wasn't feeling sorry for myself anymore.  I was looking toward home again and thankful. I saw the albino squirrel again, but for some reason I can't get my pictures to upload.  I'll get it on here soon.  I know you all are curious as to the health of the albino squirrel. 

 Here I am at the church we recorded the Irish music at.  What a view and what an experience.

My mother in law is moving, so she found this and gifted it to the kids while I was recording.  Ben sent this picture to me and my eyes must have bugged out of my head.  It's so big!  They are loving it though.  They strip all their clothes when no one is here and swim in the nude.

It's nice to catch the older two not fighting, but having a bowl of cheez-its together.  They really do play with each other pretty well.

The Beginnings of Summer

We have been enjoying summer days so far.  I'm having the kids do Scripture writing in the mornings to help them practice handwriting.  I'm focusing on Psalm 23 because I'd like for them to learn it.  Then I have them do some other educational things like Zeke read to me or practice math facts or Romy working on letter identification.  Today we did a card for Ben for Father's Day.  Here's the link:  CARD

We've also been going to the library pretty often.  I want Zeke to really work on his reading this summer and Gwen too for that matter. 

Someone gave me a packet of Kool-Aid and I made it the other day.  The kids have never had it before and so it was funny to me to see them enjoy it so much.

Gwen saved her allowance money ($2 a week) to buy a hammock.

We've been playing games too.  Zeke is great at this game- Machi Koro.  It involves money and he's good with money.

After a big rain Zeke decided he needed to wallow in the mud.

This past weekend my choir recorded an Irish music CD.  Boy, was it long and hard, but we did it.