Why do chores take so long at our house?

Watch and see the "proper way to make a bed."

What's Normal?

This past week my sister, Joy, has been visiting while my parents are here. She doesn't see us very often but our visits are always pretty much the same ... cleaning and shopping.

Josiah asked me the other day "She's always happy, is she not normal?" Hmmm it's a sad comment that being continuously happy makes your sanity questionable. My sister has a form of autism and yes, she's a cheery yet insecure sort.. and yes, she's not entirely normal but hey, at least she's happy. I've decided maybe I need to be a little more like her ... looking for the bright side of life and being friendly and outgoing ... having a wonderful servant's heart. She is corageous and kind to the unlovely.

Me? I have days when I'm not even kind to the lovely. I complain about things that I really should be thankful for. Somedays ... I cry and am sad for no constructive reason. So maybe I should be a little less normal.

Thanks God, for a brave, sweet, not normal sister.

An old pile of barn wood

The day had already dawned, but it was still early for human rising. Dad got up early and prepared for the day. I woke later (7am) to say, I'm really going to be a help today. Dad went for the table saw rental, while I made the oatmeal, yelled at the kids to get up and dressed for the day. I went for the screws and brackets while dad figured out how the machine worked. So it was 9am by the time creative juices were flowing. It was noon by the time the creature started to take shape. It rained, alot! I had to run to the west end for a math tutor session. We had to rush supper for our newest football player .. and still... through it all, I learned to build a bench.
I used the table saw, the skill saw, power drills and various unnamed gadets. Fun!
Here's my dad
Here's our creation
Here's our victory over a pile of old barn wood.

Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing....

So we made the tire horse perminent, the other swing is made so the kids can change the various kinds of swings we have left over from our therapy swing set. You might note that the patio stone is directly below them... we've bought gym mats now and also put up 3 hammocks. NOW we can enjoy the summer more. We've waited sooooo long to do these jobs. sigh.. it's so nice to know it's done now.









The kids and all their neighbour friends are loving it. I've always wanted this.. it's an answer to prayer to have my children and their friends playing in my yard, happily.

They're up

Hubby stayed up very late to get those swings up and ready for the kids. The horse/tire swing took a bit of figuring but .. it's up. Pictures to follow.
Just thought I'd be fair and post that so... everyone knows.

Get Swinging

We've been married 20 yrs, Sugarwings is 13, and we've owned two houses ... we've never managed to get the swings up. So we finally started. Here's the proof... we're going to monitor the progress.

Grandma's china cups recycled.

Now some of you might think this a bit disrespectful, can't say I didn't warn you. My Grandma left me several china cups and saucers, all of different patterns. For years I've shuffled them from here to there and really not had any use for them. In the quest to recycle, reuse and refuse to spend much money on my yard... in the spirit of that...









Here's what I've got. I like them. I might even sell them ... at the farmers market... looking for a better glue though. So far... they're very popular with the red winged black birds.

Tea anyone?

Rainy Days

Does this weather get to anyone else? It's dreary... If it was raining, at least the plants would benefit and I'd have an excuse for not pulling weeds. BUT NO! It's just a sky of rain not yet fallen. Gray, or Grey.. I can never remember... and it's depressing. Gotta put my caribbean screen saver on my computer so I remember ... there will be sunshine again.

Picking Ditches

It rained, off and on. I prefer that weather to very hot for picking trash out of the ditches. Bethany's dance group is raising money by picking up trash on the ditches of the highway. It was hard work. We started out at 9:30am and our group ended at 4:30. Sore feet, sore backs, sore everything. Its been a long time since my body was THAT tired.

I tried to find catagories for the strange, bizzare and interesting things we found.

Most religious item: a wooden cross with "findthetruth.com" on it.
Most healthy items: Dental floss and milk container
Most helpful to the task: unused garbage bags
Most patriotic item: a small Canadian flag
Most personal item: sorry, can't this is a family blog

Here are some interesting "other" things; Large pieces of car engines, 4 sausages, crazy glue, light switch, licence plate, gloves, underwear, towels, a boot, a shirt, a wrench, dead dog, some other unidentified road kill, and several things I've forgotten.

The top three items found most often" 1. cigarette butts, 2. Tim's cups, 3. cigarette boxes

It is interesting to think what senerio brought some of those items to be at the side of a road...
things that make you go "hmmmmm?".

Bed n Benches

Whilst on my adventure to turn my yard into a haven by recycling things, I had to ask my friend Kathy to return my crib (she assures me she's done with it). I know you've heard of a flower bed, people but headboards and such in their gardens to make it look like a bed. Personally, it's rarely done well and often looks tacky. NO that is not my plan. I found some great creations on the web and I'm going to turn my crib into a bench. Oh, I still plan to use that reclaimed barn wood to make one too... can you really have too many benches? I'm sure I'll find other things to make of them too. Here's a boo at some ideas I found. I love some of them, others are "alright".

Barn wood benches

Due to the constant drain on our finances and the need for a creative outlet, I have decided I'm going to have a great yard this year and we're going to do some interesting things with "recycling". Junk in some people's vocabulary can be pretty cool with some creativity and the right tools. I'm thinking the right tools may pose a problem at times but with the help of friends and family I intend to have some great creations by the end of this summer.

Last week my MIL aquired some old wood from a torn down barn. Now this is something I AM surprised about. I thought people would be happy to get rid of the pile of wood, found out... lots of people charge good money for that stuff. Anyways, I managed to get a good number of boards for free. I'm surfing the web... looking for a good plan for this lumber. I want a bench to put under my tree and that I can enjoy with a very... VERY rustic feel to it. I've aquired a few tree stumps too. The plan has not come together yet, I'll keep you up dated. Here are some ideas I found on the web.

Feel free to vote for your favorite.

Help me solve this mystery

My dh gave me flowers the other day, they opened up and are lovely. I am stumped, what kind of flower is this? They don't really have any smell. They're multi colored and have lasted about a week already. Just curious.

Dance Show ... success

The kids had their Final show for Dance classes. It was a busy and exhausting day for all. They did so well and it was so fun to watch them. Micaiah actually did all the moves in his dance (we were a little concerned about stage fright). Josiah was so impressed with the break dance guy that he's decided thats the only dance real men do. Bethany had 4 dance numbers and there were two shows... SO... she's a little sore today and very tired.

NEXT ... our competition for our girls in Kelowna. We managed to raise over $400.00 from our raffle at the show. We're doing some fund raising next week and hope to get the price of going down .. down... down. The girls are getting ready even though it's not til July10.

Nobody comments any more... Have I lost you?

Expect changes to this blog, I need to know people are not dropping down bored.

Bikes

Yikes! Bikes!
Historically our family is not the most mechanically inclined. Due to the shortcomings of said skills, our bikes are often in need of a little TLC. Other years we've had help from a friend, Garry Engler (thanks!), or done very little to correct the problems letting them become enormous.
This year ... Garry came with tools in hand and gave us a family lesson on caring for your bikes. The boys got to squirt WD40, change a tire and learned how brakes work, etc. The bike from the swamp, well it needs a new gear but other than it's shabby appearance, it seems to be in working order.
What a blessing to have friends who are willing to TEACH us how to do it.
Thanks for your time and efforts ENGLERS!

Give a man a fish and he'll be satisfied for one day.
Teach a man to fish and he'll be satisfied for life.

Room #3

No pictures at this point but we're done all the rooms. There's paint on the walls, beds in place and most decisions are made. They all need their shelves up, and some tweeks but...
We're on the home stretch.
Of course that means MOM has to empty all the drawers, separate the clothes, etc., Figure out what what to do with all the things we "found" that remain up for discussion. OY!

Value of Recycling

Ahhh I have always been a recycler... missionary barrels, hand me downs... etc.
This week, I've found my sons at punching bag (boxing), several exercise items, playmobile, lego and various sundre items.

I'm not sure how this fits into my quest to de-clutter but it is fun. We're trying to get all the children's rooms repainted and set up for a new stage of life, living alone.

Micaiah's room is done, except for adding some shelves.
Bethany's room is painted and we're still struggling with how to set up her furnature, and how to pay for a double bed (doubles as a guest room).
Poor Josiah is sleeping on the floor, his things scattered hither and yon ... till the next time dad and mom have time to work on his room.

Golden Girls

Parkland Dance Hip Hop Girls made us proud on Sunday. They won gold AND They were given the "Best over all" Award. All that and they've only been dancing for 12 weeks!!! They were great. Natalie did a great job with them and she's got talent for picking music and chorigraphy that impresses. Congratulations!!

Family fun

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Matzot Matters

OY! Never wait till the last minute to buy Matzah. I went to three stores to get 4 boxes. Ouch! Too many people before me. I'm glad I got enough for seder and a little each day, I usually like to have some special things made up but... this year we'll have to dole out the stuff so it'll stretch the whole week. Just a heads up.

Have a Blessed Passover

Hi ... some of you celebrate Passover - Haag Sameach! Some of you ask questions because you are interested in Passover - this blog is for you! I just thought I'd keep from getting rusty and write a few things a day about Passover as we celebrate it. I hope you'll realize these are things I'm learning and are not doctrine. Love you all ... here goes.

Check the side bar as it grows during this coming week for Passover tips.

AHEA and more..

WEll... I'm home from our annual trek to AHEA. The next school year is decided, books bought and this year is winding down, slowly.

I am happy that this was the year I had to purchase the LEAST amount of books. More of what Bethany has used in the past is being used again for the boys and we're doing Sonlight Core 5 with everyone. My one stumbling block is stilll Bethany's math for next year. I'm looking at a tutor but ... the cost is making it hard to know what to do.

The Maxwells were great speakers. Sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed looking at their lives compared to mine but I know I'm NOT them so ... I need to find what works best for my family. I'm ONCE AGAIN trying to do a schedule and chore managing so I can do less "policing" of chores this next year. Cross your fingers.. this is NOT my strength. (Eat the meat, spit out the bones.)

Okay... feeling like there's tonnnesss to do before our facilitator comes this week and yet.. somehow I'm NOT worried. The kids look forward to showing him all their work and he's a very gracious man. We enjoy having him here.

I best run. I have chores to police.
Back to real life.

Oh Dear what can the matter be?

I seem to have lost my reading audience... I guess that is what happens when you're not blogging for a long time.... opps.
I hope you 'll comment and inspire me to write to more than cyberspace.

Canadian History made fun!

For all you homeschoolers who want Canadian history but are kind of getting tired of another group of kids going through the same stuff...

here's a great website for you.

www.canadianmysteries.ca

It's history mysteries that your kids get all the info and you have to come to your own decision about what you think happened. They are all true and unsolved.


Have fun!

Disclaimer

My appologies to all who don't have high speed internet or have difficulty seeing the following photo journals of our vacation.
View disgression is advised... jealousy may be a problem.

20 Years and .. all aboard.

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Grande Cayman ; Turtle farm and Hell and back!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Sand between my toes, Honduras

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Caving with tubes, Belize

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Playa de Carmen... Mexico

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Surprise Night at Fantasyland Hotel

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Trying something new...

Make a postcard - it's easy!

We're BACK!

Okay not the best picture ever but ... it does the trick. Greg and I are back from our 20th Anniversary get away.

Neumann's & Dycks were kind enough to make it possible by taking on our kids while Greg and I got away on a trip. More of that to follow soon.


Also this week, Greg celebrated 25 years at Canada Post and they gave him a watch and a "pin". No raise!

I'll try to get a blog in to tell you all about our fun and crazy trip.

buddies who blog

I lost your blog addresses in a recent computer crash... please send them to me so I can visit your blog again.
Thanks

Snowflake Bentley

As we have been learning about Snowflake Bentley our quest to catch snowflakes to look at have often been sidetracked. The Horfrost this last week has been so beautiful. I love to drive through the country on the days when the horfrost is think on the trees. Hope you are all enjoying your winter break and getting rosey cheecks too.