daybook 16

The Simple Woman's Daybook will be posted each Tuesday by Peggy.

FOR TODAY

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Outside my window... the rain has stopped for now, but it's still cloudy.  Perfect for my kids to sleep late this morning ~ they are just finished with breakfast. 

I am thinking... I should go vote in the primary before I get a fresh coat of paint on my hands  ;-)

I am thankful for... a full night's sleep and 15 minutes of T-Tapp this morning

From the learning rooms... we are learning a LOT about painting


From the kitchen... good question.  My menu plan has already fallen apart for the week, and it's only Tuesday.


I am creating... "mouse elbow"  I need to stay away from the computer!

I am going... to vote on our way to the house to FINISH painting

I am reading... the Psalms.  God is faithful to Israel.  He is also faithful to me.  What a blessing!

Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 

Psalm 89:33-34

I am hoping... to see Bob Vander Plaats become Iowa's next governor!

I am hearing... the washer in its final spin cycle, Aaaachoo! from the Computer Geek next to me, Miss Artist finishing her breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, birds singing outside

Around the house... a couple boxes from my last efforts at the purge/pack, Klutz Cat's Cradle book and string (favorite occupation for several kids lately  =)), the Cowgirl is busy drawing, most of the girls are in their painting clothes ready to go

One of my favorite things... hearing a cardinal sing.  I really hope we will have some cardinals at the new house.

A few plans for the rest of the week:  finish painting, make another trip to Lowe's, prayer service tomorrow night, birthday party for a friend Friday night (requires a little shopping), and the four oldest kiddos are going to HuHot for the youth group's Senior Send-Off meal Saturday night.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Not how my husband would have loaded these fence panels, but we got the job done!  Last Monday we (five kids and I) pulled out the fencing, and on Friday we hauled it all away  =)

Link up and read more Daybooks at Peggy's blog
The Simple Woman's Daybook.

daybook 15

The Simple Woman's Daybook will be posted each Tuesday ~ here.

~*~*~*~*~

FOR TODAY ~ Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Outside my window...
it's warm, cloudy and windy with thunderstorms possible later (?)

I am thinking...
I need a nap (I think that quite often it seems...)

I am thankful for...
time spent with my parents yesterday for lunch, then lots of outdoor work accomplished in the afternoon

From the learning rooms...

computer programming with Python (guess who!), teens should be reading missionary biographies for youth group requirement, the Popper should be drilling multiplication facts.  We need to wrap up this year's history (attempted to watch Gettysburg last night, but the player didn't want to play... so the kids played tag outside... Providential?)  The last movie we watched was The Bridge on the River Kwai -- not recommended.  :-(
I am also occasionally thinking on next year's plans...  ;-)  but mostly we are trying to eliminate the excess s.t.u.f.f. currently contained in this house.  (!)

From the kitchen...
I think we have leftovers from Sunday in the fridge to eat tonight  =)  ...taco rice casserole...  Yum.  I love salsa.  ♥  and leftovers.

I am creating...
a plan for locating a cold frame at the new house after reading this (and related posts) at Gina's blog.

I am going...
nowhere else today ~ We've already been to the orthodontist, JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, and Wal-mart today ~ thus, my desire for a nap

I am reading...
still in the Psalms AND I read another chapter from Dancing with My Father last night (!)

I am hoping...
hoping, hoping, hoping! 
that we will be IN before June 30

I am hearing...
the air conditioner and fan

Around the house...
the Cowgirl is reading nearby and Miss Artist is napping on the couch...
I heard the washer or dryer end a while ago -- need to go switch the laundry and possibly attempt something more in the way of decluttering today

One of my favorite things...

I thought this was a phlox, but "Dame's Rocket" (Hesperis matronalis)  is the name listed here.  I think it's what we have blooming here... and I like it a lot!  :-)  The photo above is from the website; our flowers are pictured below.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
declutter, pack, declutter, clean, declutter, pick up primer, cheer Tim on as he runs the paint sprayer, declutter, choose flooring? and declutter, pack, clean, and declutter some more...

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

First crop of hay is baled... Now we need rain, please!

Click to read more daybooks at Peggy's blog -
The Simple Woman's Daybook.

May is crunch time at the house

I had to check to see when I'd posted any house news... not since May 13!   And since I'm needing to go DO STUFF, I'll have to make this quick... maybe bullets?  ;-)  And of course pictures!

• Electrical inspection:  I met the inspector leaving our house at 5pm on Friday, May 14.  Yay!  Weekend for clean-up before...

• Drywaller Tim S. came Monday morning (May 17)... about 6am?! to begin his mad dash at hanging all of the drywall in less than seven days.

Also on that Monday, Mr. Concrete came and poured the stoop  =)

And Bruce ordered our kitchen cabinets (and a few bath vanities) with the directive to deliver in 4 weeks (please??)  Yesterday Bruce said they've given him a ship date of June 10 -- which should mean a delivery date of June 14 -- Yes!  If they don't deliver ours after Colorado (Bruce says it's happened before)

• My Tim has been working at the outside soffit... and the kitchen soffit inside.  And his nephew Kayleb helped with both of those and a multitude of other things.  =)  We're hoping he will be able to come back for a long weekend to tile the bathroom floors ((What?  No pictures of Kayleb?))

• Sometime last week, the septic guys also finished laying in the drain field (first pic is the tank - pretty, eh?) and must have passed inspection b/c they've covered it all up  =)

• I don't remember which day Tim, the Cattleman and I planted the maple tree.  It still looks sad -- Tim thinks it's the beating it took in transit -- just hope it recovers!

And nearby in the 'bare patch' left behind by a hay bale, the Computer Geek and I put the bare root bushes I'd ordered plus a few rhubarb roots brought home by the girls from Grandma F's in Wisconsin.  The forsythia looks pretty good.  Someday we'll get the dirtwork done near the house so we can develop a better landscaping plan -- and move most of these plants elsewhere.

• Friday and yesterday I visited the local paint & flooring store.  We will make decisions on all that soon.

• Today (Tuesday, May 25) Tim S. is beginning with mud to finish the drywall.

• We have permission to put our mailbox in by the fire number, so that's on the nearby To Do list as well.

Meanwhile...

• A week ago Sunday we showed this house to a potential renter -- with an hour's notice since I totally misunderstood what my husband had been telling me for days!  ahem.  The good news I'm finding in this is that if they sign a lease I won't have to show it to anyone else!  Yay!
• I taught the IEW Camp -- which went amazingly well with the blessing of God --  Thank you so much for praying!
• We had our final meeting with our supervising teacher (and good friend) and visited the chiropractor (and good friend Vickie!)
• Two more calves joined the herd (leaving one or two yet to be born?)
• The girls made a different dessert every single day last week I think  :o
• Tim finished planting soybeans on Saturday (and it was too windy to start spraying, so he was able to spend his afternoon/evening with us!)
• achooooo, I've caught the family-sized head-cold crud. I remember feeling a sore throat while eating the Cowgirl's pumpkin sheet cake on Tuesday night  :-\
• Thus, I ate no cake at the graduation open houses we visited Saturday evening  =)  I did have two bites of some leftovers at church on Sunday -- just enough to enjoy but not overwhelm my immune system ;-)
• We found the "perfect" quilts for Miss Music Box & Miss Artist at Kohl's Saturday night  (yAy!  no more online shopping for that!)

Yikes!  Gotta go DO STUFF!

daybook 14

FOR TODAY

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

I will sing of thy power; 

yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: 

for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: 

for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

Psalm 59:16-17

Outside my window... I have shut the east window curtains to prevent some of the sunshine from having its full effects.  We are in the midst of the dog-days of May.  No, it's just spring in Iowa.  Remember our freeze warnings just a couple weeks ago?  Saturday afternoon the temps went from 65 to 85 in just a few hours, and the heat hasn't left us yet.  Today we're supposed to have thunderstorms (according to MSN), but so far it is very sunny.  So, the corn is happily growing finally... but I'm not a corn plant  ;-)

I am thinking... crime doesn't pay.  Though Lowe's might disagree when we replaced several missing tools to their profit.  It's just not quite the right Father's Day gift to pick out a new tool belt for Tim because his old one disappeared.  :-\  

I am thankful for... God's sovereignty.  He knows.  And He is GOOD.  We are so blessed to be known by Him.

Give us help from trouble: 

for vain is the help of man.

Through God we shall do valiantly: 

for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

Psalm 60:11-12

From the learning rooms... the Computer Geek says he has 10 weeks left of Algebra 2  (He wants to finish before his 14th bday in August.)  I should be reading Carson aloud again, now that Miss Artist is home from NM -- just one chapter left in our current volume (not gonna think about the last volume that we should also read before September.)  Mostly we are learning about house construction.  And the folly of tools left unattended  -- the Cattleman lost his toolbox as well.  But won't they be surprised to open it and learn the plastic box is worth more than the few items inside? 

From the kitchen... it's too hot to cook!  I'm thankful for the oven in the basement -- and the leftovers available for last night's supper.  Tonight will be taco salad -- sounds like summer food, don't ya think?

I am creating... the resolve to work my our way through this house room by room... in four weeks or less! :o

I am going... to get off here soon!  ;-)  Nowhere today?  Two trips to the local flooring/paint store yesterday and then to Lowe's last night.  Worked at the house in between -- gypsum dust  :p  We need to work through all the bedrooms here this week -- time to motivate my kid crew (and myself) to reduce their possessions.

I am reading... the Psalms.  I don't really think we are suffering as David did, but I find it interesting to read verses like this today:

Trust not in oppression, 

and become not vain in robbery: 

if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; 

that power belongeth unto God.

Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: 

for thou renderest to every man 

according to his work.

Psalm 62:10-12

I am hoping... my husband will not think he needs to continue working seven days a week for the next month.  We are both so incredibly tired.

I am hearing... music playing from a CD, Miss MusicBox rustling up breakfast for her siblings, the AC fan rumbling

Around the house... flooring samples, paint samples, forgotten library book and video, lighting catalogs to return to the store, magazines the girls have been studying for room color ideas (and that's just some of what's surrounding me in the living room)  ;-)
Mmmm, now I'm smelling the yummy breakfast Miss MB made -- must have been an omelette with onions

One of my favorite things... working with my hubby

A few plans for the rest of the week:  final decision-making on flooring and paint; cleaning, purging and packing in the bedrooms; encouraging our boys to build a mailbox post

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Even halfway through Day 3 of last week's IEW Camp, my beloved helpers were still going strong...
and even smiling  =)

Link up and read more daybooks at Peggy's blog.

I'll add one more post this morning with house pictures, for those who want to see more...  

daybook 13

FOR TODAY  

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Outside my window... the sun is still shining gloriously.  I enjoyed sitting outside in the sunshine at lunchtime today.  No windows in our classroom at IEW Camp.


I am thinking... that my menfolk should be home for supper soon.

I am thankful for...
...the week going well so far, both with the house construction and my little away-from-home teaching adventure.  (Thankful for the prayers of many friends and of the moms of my students ~ and for Mr. C. who takes care of game time with the kids)
...my girls being home again.
...Tim's nephew Kayleb being here to help with work at the house.
...Sophia W's immune numbers came up to 32,000, so she could travel home to NE this week ~ amazing answer to prayer there!

From the learning rooms... I am not thinking about much besides IEW this week  ;-)  The boys should be learning something working with Tim & Kayleb at the house.

From the kitchen... Miss MusicBox is busy cooking supper tonight: chicken packets with cheese sauce, green beans, salad.  Yesterday she made rhubarb custard kuchen with rhubarb fresh from Grandma F's garden in Wisconsin ~ Yum.  I picked up a jar of molasses today for Miss Artist to make cookies for her cousin Kayleb.  Today she made oatmeal raisin cookies especially for the Computer Geek.  How does a person stay away from sugar in this house?

I am creating... not much (blank stares are easy)

I am going... to IEW Camp for one more day tomorrow! to church tomorrow night, to the chiropractor on Thursday (yay!) and to the grocery store (again) ...sometime?

I am reading... lots of student papers. all day long.  10yo boys like to write about gross stuff, did you know that?

I am hoping... and praying that the kids truly profit from our time together in IEW Camp this week.  And that Woodharbor will catch up on their orders so they can get ours done in a timely fashion (!)

I am hearing... girls working in the kitchen (Can we talk about smelling here??  Let's eat!)

Around the house... Good question  ;-)  I'm ignoring the laundry, cooking, and cleaning until Thursday at least (I think the girls can keep it up well enough until then)

One of my favorite things... listening to the kids laugh at Mr. Pudewa's humor ~ and seeing the thrill they get showing their moms their writing for the day  :-)

A few plans for the rest of the week: enjoying the last day of IEW Camp and checking for lots of progress both inside and out the new house ~ drywall going up! soffit going up!  Supervising teacher comes for her visit on Thursday... so I could think about putting away completed schoolwork after that.
Oh, almost forgot ~ graduation parties for Jason K. and Natalie H. on Friday and Saturday evenings  :-)  Next year it will be us celebrating with Miss MusicBox ...although I've suggested she could be a 5th-year senior in high school :o

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
Cake decorating by Miss MusicBox for Rhys's graduation party ~ M.I.S. degree, so this is the 'computer' cake in process... the screen has a smiley face on it, and the original plan was to write "Rhys is happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy..." all around it, because Rhys IS very happy to be done!  :-)

...and the second photo is for Conny, just so she can remind her hubby of which university rules in this part of the state  ;-)  ha ha ha  (Go FAITH Eagles, right?!)

Visit Peggy's blog for more daybooks!

P.S.  Supper is over now, and I'm ready to call it a day!  G'night!  Have a great week, y'all!

IEW camp leader

... that's me.  For three days.  Next week.  Starting Monday.  Morning! (normally those are reserved for weekend recovery)

IEW is the Institute for Excellence in Writing.  It's a great program that I've used with my own kids.  So I'm the likely substitute found to fill in for some sweet lady named Diane who is with her father because he just had a stroke and is not recovering (so pray for her too please).  I'm guessing Mr. Pudewa himself wasn't available if they thought to ask him.  We'll (40 kids aged 9-13yo) watch some DVDs of Mr. Pudewa teaching the "Student Writing Intensive" -- then in between I'm supposed to play the helpful teacher and encourage them and challenge them to improve their writing skills the IEW way.  While their parents are in a different room learning more about Classical Conversations.

I have three days to get a game plan -- and some sleep -- and plan/prepare some meals for my family.  You know, the normal stay-at-home-mom stuff.  Plus maybe pick out some flooring, order cabinets, sleep (did I already mention sleep? You might notice I did not mention ironing.)  Sooo this blog is gonna be quiet most likely. And I'm going to learn what it's like to GO to work all day, and get up and GO again... and again.

My girls will come home Monday while I'm gone.  Tim's nephew will come Monday while I'm gone.  Life WILL go on at home while I'm gone.  And when I'm home in the evening I will still need to be the Mom/Wife -- and get ready for the next day.  Oh, and I'll need to call the chiropractor back and reschedule for later in the week...

What did I tell the CC state manager Erica today when she asked if I needed to think about it a little longer?  "Think long; think wrong."  Ha ha.  I didn't want to think about how much work this will be.  Because Tim had already said, "Yes."  Because I'm going to get paid.  And help my real life friend Jennifer out of a tight spot.  Maybe I'll even make some more new friends!  I'll surely be sharpening my I-35 NASCAR skills.  And when my DDs get home, they'll have an opportunity to be the keepers at home.

God will have a great opportunity

to show Himself strong on our behalf.

Sorry, yet another post without a photo  :-(

But thank you for praying!  

~ ♥ ~

whew

I think I need a nap.

Miss Artist and her aunts and cousin made it here last night (we met them at church, so I fed them supper after).  This morning was French toast and scrambled eggs for breakfast since yesterday's late batch of bread was forgotten in the oven... praise the Lord I got it out before we left for church!   The Computer Geek cooked lunch today -- 4 pounds of burgers on the grill  :-)  Tim's sister Janice was in the early misery of a cold, so I gave her a box of new school books to skim this morning (Notgrass American Gov't and Economics, Apologia's elementary Human Anatomy - yum) - she's a school teacher as well, so we both like to talk/look at books.  And SIL Colleen helped me clean out several kitchen cabinets.  I'll have the Popper help me finish the others another day... maybe.  My folks stopped to deliver some groceries and see Miss Artist (and the others) -- they stayed for lunch too so we had thirteen at table -- Love it! 

Good news:  my dad said his shoulder is feeling better just with the exercises they gave him to do  :-)  His rotary cuff is "torn beyond repair," so the effort is to avoid a replacement.  The doc said if he gets a replacement, it comes with a 25-pound limit for lifting -- so that's more motivation to avoid that option.

The Cowgirl decided to join her older sisters for the trip to Wisconsin to see cousin Christy graduate from college on Sunday, so the Popper is feeling a bit left behind.  But she and the Cattleman are out with Tim this afternoon, so I expect she's having a good time at the creek or something.


House progress:
The lighting order is officially ordered today.  We're still waiting on the sample door to come in at the lumber yard before we make the kitchen cabinet order.  Bruce thought it would only take a few days, so not sure what's up with waiting a week for a door from a company about 80 miles up the interstate.  Tim has been shopping for flooring online -- guess we need to go to a showroom/store when we get the sample door to see what looks good together.  We're hoping Tim's nephew, who should arrive here Monday, will be able to lay some tile in the bathrooms next week before he has to move on to his summer job.  First we need the electrical finished/inspected so he can help hang drywall...

Speaking of drywall, I should go take a picture of the PILES of drywall that the five kids helped Tim unload on Monday (since I didn't have the camera to record them while working).  200 sheets of drywall.  I was in a supporting role  ;-)  helping move the first stack off the trailer, then helping straighten the last pile as it was stacked in the garage... Then I came home and cooked supper... how's that for a supporting role?  But the kids were pretty amazing -- even the Popper was carrying a lot of weight... again and again... and again.  

Hmm, that reminds me that we could all use a chiropractor visit when the girls get home next week.  Guess I should go and call Vickie  :-)

~ ♥ ~  Have a great weekend!  ~ ♥ ~