Cruisin'

She's waited patiently (mostly) for two months to get behind the wheel. We've been so busy, that we just can't seem to find the time to focus on driving lessons. But now that Gabby has her permit and Caelan is taking driver's ed., we have to get them hours to get their next level licenses. So, when Buck and I recently snuck in a quick lunch date, we decided to choose a day and time to drive and put it on the schedule just like any other activity.

Yesterday was the first day. The girls and I rolled that super-heated, air-conditionerless, antique Kia onto the road. Caelan drove to work, and then Gabby and I took over. We conquered the massive, almost abandoned parking lot that surrounds the area.


We practiced turning the van on and off, adjusting mirrors, adjusting the seat, using the turn signals, staying in the correct lane when making turns, going left, going right, parking against a curb, reversing out into traffic (there wasn't actually any, but we were good pretenders), keeping an eye on the speed dial and heat gauges (my heat gauge was more than the 85 outside; when Gabby opened her window it was like someone opened a refrigerator door for an instant--aahhhh, welcome cool breeze!). We practiced parking on open lines, driving in circles, and .  . .  PEDESTRIAN!!!! (imaginary again). Most of her *pedestrians* made it safely across the crosswalk, but one is going to have a solid limp for a few weeks ;)


Overall, I think she did a great job and learned quickly for her first driving experience. She spent 45 minutes behind the wheel and, though she didn't like to go more than the idle speed of 10 mph at first, she assimilated and improved as the time went on. It takes courage to drive! That's a lot of machine and even the slow speeds feel fast. She does a good job with a long pause at stop signs, she looks all around for oncoming traffic, she avoids other vehicles like the plague (she might have gotten that from her sister :) Eventually, we'll work our way onto the roads, but for the first go, she's got the basics pretty well figured out!

Chicken Bras

This whole situation has been a source of mirth for me and for friends, family, and neighbors online. We've noticed our formerly ugly/molting/brooding gigantic hen (renamed Turkey) has been very fluffy up front. We thought she was just an overeater--but some raised eyebrows by the neighbors and a whole lot of wobbly under her front feathers led me to do some research.



My research led me down an unexpected path . . . chicken bras. Yes, they exist. Apparently when chickens store too much food in their crop, it can get impacted. The crop is the storage hold for the digestive process, and when it gets blocked, it can lead to malnutrition, and eventually starvation in the bird. The crop bra provides some lift and support for the crop and allows the food to enter the digestive system more efficiently. Our bird has had this robust issue for a couple of months, and she fits none of the other categories for lethargy, not drinking, not laying (she's never been consistent with that), but, I thought, "What the hey? Let's make that girl a bra!"



And so, one of Buck's old athletic socks became a form of fashionable support for our Turkey chicken friend. 




Unfortunately . . . chickens don't understand fashion. The other hens are terrified of Turkey when she's wearing her rig. All the while she's chasing them under the trees and into the coop, like, "Guys, it's just me! Where you going, guys? Why are you running away? Hey!!! Come back here!!!!" The other birds are literally trying to fly away from her, feathers flapping in panic every which way 🤣

She looks so ridiculous, we can't stop laughing at her. And when we're not looking she manages to slip out of her crop bra to run free in the wind.



Can't.Stop.Laughing. Oh this poor bird!!!

Batman and a Bear

Remember that project Brennen started working on when we updated his curtains? Well, today we got it finished! Although I ended up doing most of the machine sewing (it's way trickier than I thought it would be!), he was in charge of the stuffing. I might have sewn the stuffing hole a bit too small . . . so, he came up with this creative way to finish his bear-making experience 🤣 When all else fails, use your sword. 



Carefully hand-sewing the final bits behind the neck . . .



And taaadaaaa! Finished product! A very handsome bear and a very handsome boy (who really needs a haircut; it's on the list :)



And since it is superhero week . . . I thought I'd include a pic of the kids' elaborate Bat Cave Lego structure. This thing is amazing! I can hardly believe the details and back story they've included in the project. Too much fun! 

Karate Testing and Superman

The kids conquered another round of karate testing over the weekend. They all scored the highest they could on the "Fit Test" which includes delights such as: timed plank, push ups, sit ups, bag drills, and other muscle-taxing activities. It's good for them!



I mostly got pics of Brennen, because he was most visible from the seats Buck and I chose. You can see Graysen holding bags in a couple of the photos as well. The girls are in the mix somewhere, you'll have to take my word for it :) 







It is also "Superhero Week" at karate. As you can see, one of our little heroes in particular is embracing this week to the fullest :) I love his enthusiasm and sense of fun. These costumes are not going to fit him much longer (there's some valid debate that they've already become too snug :), so I'm glad he go the chance to enjoy them one more time.




Superman stretching . . .



Superman standing . . .




Superman sparring . . .



Superman soaring!!! (sort of :) 

He made me smile the whole class! Black belt is a good addition, we'll have to let the comic book crowd know ;)

Almost 50

Buck goes to bed early. Usually, like tonight, I find projects to work on and just leave the TV on for background noise. However . . . a New Kids on the Block reunion concert in London (along with the Backstreet Boys, who were not really my jam) was playing on some station I've never heard of when I scrolled through the program menu. I switched the channel over--and then laughed for like the next two hours! 

The Aging Guys on the Stage were doing their old choreography, trying to hit the high notes they could hit in their 20s, every woman in the audience was at least my age (some older). All of the *New Kids*--nearly 50 years old, singing songs about teenaged love 🤣

I will say though--I finally caught an inkling of why people go to concerts that feature the music they listened to when they were younger. The lyrics I hadn't heard in 20 years (okay 25) came instantly to mind. Some of the tunes transported me to my middle school bedroom, where posters of the NKOTB and pictures torn from teen magazines were taped to my wall. 

There's this bizarre connection to the past that comes through the music, that makes you remember what it felt like to be that age, to be that enamored with a band, to awaken some of that other version of yourself from a lifetime ago. I had no idea. It was just crazy! And amusing! And a little awkward (some of those dance moves should have been retired when the band broke up the first time :) But it was kind of fun reviving some of that tweeny nostalgia I didn't know I had (and sending Buck this New Kid selfie the next morning, ha!)

Gardening Again

Graysen picked me this pretty bouquet of wildflowers from our hill--almost to the day that he picked me a similar bunch last year! When our neighbors were over for lunch we tried to identify them all, but some escaped our knowledge and research. I guess we'll just have to keep digging ;)



Earlier this week, the kids and I did about a million chores all in one morning! We refilled the chicken food, cleaned out the shed, pulled some of our travel clothes from storage (these are also the ones we will burn if we get the chance; I've been saving up 😄), we deep cleaned the chicken coop and enclosure (the pitch fork was called into duty), we weeded, put up a second fence for the peas to climb, planted more corn, tried to fight back the ant population (which ate us half to pieces), the boys mowed, and then started helping our neighbor with his continuing efforts to waterproof his basement from the outside. As their reward, they both got to drive his riding lawnmower; they were happy campers! 

I'm told these pictures might need some updating--Graysen informed us the chickens were taking dust baths in that front planter where we planted all of our peppers (none of which grew), and Brennen caught a bunch of deer eating those lovely growing sunflowers between the boxes :( He said they also took the tops off of some of the potato plants and stepped on the onions. Grrrr. First time we've really had problems with that this year!










Last year I had the kids make little garden tile mosaics. They've sat in a box for a year, waiting to be placed somewhere gardeny. Our little next door neighbor who will be "Three in July!" saw the colorful squares and wanted to set them in a row. She was a good encourager for Caelan who didn't want to do the project that day :)  I think they're so pretty! Good work, Crew!

Service Project and Baseball

We had a busy couple of days with youth events. The first was a service project aimed at sprucing up the church. There were a lot of "things" tucked away in the closets and storage areas of the church that were inherited along with the building. Broken chairs, old sports equipment, basketballs that lost their bumps, couch covers, Christmas decorations that have seen better days, just loads of things to sort, organize, and sometimes toss.



Outside there was a crew working on fixing--yup, a retaining wall (no!!! our nemesis!!!) Buck wisely chose not to participate, other than encouragement and moral support. However, without a knowledgeable supervisor, the wee little wall had to be built twice :) Good thing it is only two pavers tall.





When the dumpster was full, the youth pastor's wife put the kids to work cleaning the church--vacuuming, sweeping, scrubbing toilets, washing windows, cleaning rugs, emptying trash; it was a whirlwind of work! (Some of which needed to be done several times, because not all teens are trained in cleaning a space the size of a church :) 






At home the next day, I was dealing with this mess. I have to say, printers--ugh! This was supposed to be my wonderous decade-long friend! But then it started off-setting print lines, refusing to spit certain colors, throwing out error codes, grinding like there were coffee beans inside, and refusing to succumb to my online tutorial cleaning and repair efforts. We even invested in fresh ink cartridges instead of refills--to no avail. 

Thankfully, we can return the whole shebang since it is less than two years old. The pricey ink gets returned too. As you can see, I've created (before this fiasco) my own print test sheet. I just save it in my document files for the special times like this when I fight with electronics for the better part of the day (it's been a much longer fight than that, but this was my final straw fix it or kick it morning). Farewell cloggy Epson, let's see who takes your place!



Later that day . . . the youth group scored tix to a nearby baseball tournament. Buck had been hoping to check said tournament out, and a few things shifted last minute at work (so Buck didn't have to be in before dawn), and we joined the crowd. And crowd it was! The youth pastor said this was more than double the 16 or so he'd taken to a baseball tournament event previously. It was a little nerve-wracking for me, keeping track of that many pre-teens and teens, but we all made it there and everyone arrived home safely afterwards. Even the scary weather circling around us didn't put a damper on our evening of fun.






My favorite part of the event was the wave . . . there were a few rowdy boys in the next section over, who seemed adept at inspiring the crowd to participation (for better or for worse). I've seen the wave at sporting events before, but they got it to go in slow motion, backwards, in fast forward, and it became so fun to watch that the players on the field couldn't keep their eyes off the stands!



As the night darkened and the clock stretched past 10 (and the game still had several innings remaining), we decided to head for the hills. 

The one hiccup--no one was allowed to bring a bag of any kind into the ball park. So . . . at the gates, the YP's wife had collected all of our purses and carried them back to her car. Since we were leaving early, she gave us her keys and said, "Just lock them in; my hubby has the spare set with him." 

Easier said than done! Her car had some crazy anti-lock system that I could not trick. If the keys were inside the trunk, the trunk would not lock--in fact, it popped itself open every time I tried :) They also would not lock inside the car . . . conundrum! We couldn't get back in the stadium, and she couldn't leave the 20 some kids remaining at the game. 

Finally, we decided to hide the keys inside the gas door of the youth van, which was parked nearby, but not too nearby. I was worried leaving them, but it all worked out. 

As it turns out, this was probably the boys' last baseball game of the year as seven of theirs (including the one that was rescheduled twice due to rain) were rained out. I think that means they got to play in seven games this season--maybe eight. Even extending it into the fifth month didn't improve the game total. But they did improve a ton in practice :)

Ministry of Meals

Today as I was stacking cookbooks on my counter, I started thinking about my grandma. It wasn't because of the cookbooks, it was because of the reason I had them out in the first place. Meals.

My grandma had a shut-in neighbor who drove her bonkers. This neighbor became such a pest, that Grandma clued us in to a secret code . . . if we wanted to call and speak to her (this was before answering machines and caller i.d.) we had to dial, let the phone ring twice, hang up, then call back. That break in the ring cycle was Grandma's clue that it was family--and not her persistent neighbor--calling 🤣 

Their whole relationship was a mystery to me. They fought over silly things. We weren't allowed to go over to Helen's (for that was the neighbor's name). Her house wasn't safe (holes in the floor), she had some skin condition that was contagious; I'm sure there were other issues our parents wouldn't tell us about, her husband had drowned in a boating "accident" on the river . . . strange half details that kids don't fully understand. But the basic formula was Grandma + Helen = trouble.

Except.

Except when our family would gather for meals. Grandma would pack us all in her tiny house for holidays, birthdays, celebrations, reunions until the house was near bursting. The amount of food that she served was mind boggling, and the number of people to whom she served it equal to the task. But we grandkids knew, that before the best of the dishes were scooped and dispersed on plates, Grandma would get out the containers she kept especially for Helen. She'd fill them to capacity, heap on the gravy, side dishes, dessert, packed and covered and put into the hands of we eager-to-deliver grandkids.

"Do NOT go in the house," our parents warned. "Just leave it on the porch and knock on the door; she'll come get it. It . . . takes her awhile to get up." But sometimes Helen knew that special meal was coming, and she would manage the huge bulk of herself to greet us at the door with a mostly toothless smile and an environmental smell I'll never forget.

I don't know what Grandma's motivation was in this meal provision--whether it was "heaping burning coals" on her enemy's head or maybe a sense of guilt for having an abundance of family when Helen was all alone; it could have been a usually hidden concern for an aging widow of ill health or some sense of duty instilled in her by her upbringing. But I have to think that at the deepest level, there was simply a kindness inspired by God wrapped up in the gift of food.

When the bills get big, my first thought is, "Cut the food budget." It's our biggest expense. Our last shopping trips were restock missions and huge, so for the coming paycheck--milk and bread. Toilet paper if we need it :) That was MY plan.

But then God said, "Hey, there's a new (and very young) family who need to see some of my love--take them a meal. You'll get to hold the baby." Okay, done. Then next day: "Hey, you know how the neighbors want to get together to pray for the neighborhood . . . make them lunch." (I knew they didn't do gluten, but I didn't know they were avoiding pork--would you believe the *bacon bits* I had to make a special trip to the store for ended up being completely made of soy, and the Pork and Beans I needed for my recipe I strained and not a single bit of pork was included; how 'bout that?) God made sure that meal would work, so we could spend that important time together.

Then I see yesterday on facebook that a neighborhood couple who welcomed a baby last week spent the weekend in NICU fighting jaundice in their baby boy. 

"Hey, can I bring you a meal?" 

"That would be great! We've been eating so much fast food lately." Okay God, and gluten free again? Not exactly the cheapest ingredients, but I just happen to have a few things left over from my gluten free start of the year. 

Oh, and that upcoming shopping trip that is going to be on the cheap side? The men of the neighborhood, led by Buck, have decided to throw a block bbq and 4th of July fireworks party this weekend--providing enough of something to feed the 30 people in the neighborhood . . . at the end of each driveway. It is a beautiful idea, and I can hardly wait for it to happen! I love that Buck dreamed it up, texted all the guys, figured out a date that worked for almost everyone, and all because he wants to draw the neighbors together for food and fellowship.

Isn't it amazing when I start worrying and focusing on cutting back that God says, "Nope, that's actually where I need you to give." 

So, the ministry of meals is alive and well in our world, and I pray that it is an abundant blessing to those who receive our family's efforts to spread some love and calories ❤

The Flood of 2018

When it rains it pours (and pours and pours and pours and then pours some more . . .). We've learned to keep an eye on the classroom egress, but we didn't check it as soon as we should have. 

The downspout located slightly uphill from the window became disconnected (we had the contractors who *fixed* the drainage after the big hail storm fiasco a couple years ago come out twice to fix the metal tubes--they were more annoyed than helpful). So rather than pouring out into open yard, the water from the roof cut a straight line along the wall and into our egress. It was filling as fast as if we'd put a garden hose over the edge! By the time I checked, it was thigh high to Buck (you can see the inside water level by the white smudge on the window glass).

"Get some TOWELS!!!" rang through the house. Buck, who had just showered, ran outside in the rain and started bucket bailing. The kids helped me unload half the classroom, all our supply buckets, calculators, a box of Kleenex, the drawer under the bed . . . all nice and swampy. 

I started sopping up water with that towel supply, wiped off the wall, blocked the window with a towel, and was glad to see there was no real damage. The (new) carpet was wet about three feet out from the wall, but running our big fan all night pretty much dried it out. We've still got it running, just for good measure, but tomorrow I'll move all the furniture back. I've been wanting to vacuum back there for a year, so I guess I got my chance! :)




The garden--super swampy! Graysen's poor radishes are tops out only :/ 






Chickens--unhappy birds! They don't like to be wet, but they don't have a lot of choice when their enclosure fills with water and mud. If only the solid washing made things smell fresher back there--it did not. I climbed the mountain to check on them and they gave me a thorough talking to (squawking to? ;) Whew! Mad as a wet hen, indeed! I did throw down about half a dozen pitch forks full of dried grass to give them an out of the mud option. They liked me better then :) 




So, in the midst of last night's storm Buck dug a bonus couple of trenches to move water away from the egress. He also super-drilled the downspouts on--they are going nowhere soon. But you can see we had lakeside property for a wee bit this morning, and a water fall water feature between our house and the neighbors'! It was ankle deep through that entire section, but no more water came into our house (I wish I could say the same about theirs :/ )

Buck headed into the house for a second shower or maybe it was actually the third given the non-stop sky water that soaked him, too.

Graysen's empty critter cage is our ongoing rain gauge. It is partially covered by the overhang of the roofline above our deck. That's a lot of water in not a lot of hours. We're keeping an eye on tonight and tomorrow's storms. I think five inches-ish is plenty for now. And it didn't really cool anything down? Just so muggy and sweaty outside. Ahhh . . . summer. Wait, it's still spring for a few more days. Rain, rain go away? :)

Lest I Forget . . .

I interrupt this blog to bring you random things I feel should be part of the update process.

1. At approximately 10 PM on a recent VBS night, I found myself on top of a chicken coop. Let me explain. Since the loss of our two feathered friends, we've been propping the lid of the nesting area open during the heat of the day. The small entry door on the opposite side draws a bit of air through, and keeps (we hope) any more chickens from pre-baking. At the end of the day, we remove the blocks, secure the latches, and keep all wild critters who would eat our sleeping hens from making entry through the five inch gap. 

Well, on this particular night--no one closed the coop. It was all kinds of dark outside, and I had the assistance of only a small head lamp for my investigations. Since I still am not quite sure how to turn the thing on, but randomly push all aspects of it until light appears, I was completely blinded when I finally found the "on" while wandering up the hill. This haphazard meandering was enough to spook a grazing deer, which was enough to spook me!

As I shone my light into the crack of the box . . . I kept counting to eight . . . not nine. I looked all around the coop, underneath, wondering where the missing bird had gone. My light caught a black shadow on top of the coop; it took me a minute to process that this was not just any shadow . . . this was a baby chicken who had somehow climbed to the peak of the roof and fallen asleep.

We have owls. BIG owls. We have hawks; we have all kinds of things that can swoop on a sleeping baby bird at night. But, none of these swooped. Rather. It was me. I climbed to the top of that coop, probably alarming the inside birds beyond their tiny-brained imaginations, and grabbed the baby chicken (Jessie, Sammie? we won't name names). It FREAKED out. So now, I'm perched (no pun intended) on the roof of the coop, trying to get ahold of a mad flapping of wings and panicked feathers. Having accomplished this feat, I slid back down the coop on me bum (as the say in the Emerald Isle) carrying the chicken like the baby that it is (with claws).

I popped the lid. Inserted the chicken. Headed back down the hill. And had a little discussion with my children. Can you believe they were stifling laughter at my tale of woe and chicken rescue?!! Grounded. Everyone is grounded :)

2. Brennen had a MISERABLE night last night. We were up every two hours. I told the doctor it was like having a newborn that was as tall as me. He was talking in his sleep, writhing in his bed, dry-heaving in the bathroom, and finally, when Buck left for work at three or four A.M., Brennen fell asleep for a few hours (only to be awakened, as I was, by another monsoon-like downpour--post to come!)

So, as soon as the pediatric office opened, we were there. There was a long line of ladies who came to check him out--I think four? People training, people job shadowing, a student, a nurse (who sounded like she needed to be seen by a doctor), and they all decided that he's just got a virus . . . no wait . . . acute pharyngitis of an unknown idiopathic origin.

"That means you have a sore throat," said doctor number four :) 

They also did a rapid strep test at my request. It came back negative, which she said is 85% accurate. They are sending it for a culture, so I believe that is either 24 or 48 hours. My (was it March?) rapid strep was also negative, with a positive culture later, so we will see. He still is not feeling great. I left him home alone (the girls informed me that he is the very first of our crew to be allowed this privilege) while I took the other three to karate, and then did some grocery/OTC shopping.

Baseball was cancelled for the sixth time this season (as I suspected it would be), so Brennen got a decent day of rest. Hopefully tonight will be MUCH better for him and for me both :) And, since Buck is experiencing similar symptoms, we are hoping that this virus runs its course quickly (and maybe is only contagious if you're a male--while we're hoping, we can throw that one in too, right? ;)

Father's Day

There's a storm rolling in, so I'd better type fast . . . Sunday, as you know, was Father's Day. Normally, Buck has Sundays off, however he was working that weird vacation coverage schedule, so he did not. 

The kids and I went to big church to help with the VBS program, and then came home to decorate, set out gifts, and make food. Buck arrived home mid-afternoon, and enjoyed the decorations, opened the gifts, and ate the food :) We might have also both fallen asleep for a solid hour or two somewhere before dinner. Okay, we did. 

I woke up worried about my fried chicken and mashed potato plans! Caelan took care of the corn bread, Gabby had helped with the broccoli salad and coleslaw earlier, Caelan had jello/fruit salad setting up in the fridge, and we were back on track. Whew! Oh, and they all had homemade ice cream (which might have burned up the motor in our rarely used ice cream machine), but I slept through snack time, so I still haven't tried it.



Later in the day, we called our dads, and then Buck went to bed at like 8 PM :) He's a hard worker, that one. And a good dad. And a good husband. I picked a winner, and I fed him a chicken dinner ;)

More Room to Grow

I'm not sure how these pictures didn't get downloaded (uploaded?) from my camera earlier :) We added another phase to the boys' (mini) room transformation into a more grown up space. We moved a couple of toy buckets from their closet to the garage, put one of their small dressers in the closet (which was good, because it previously popped up the a/c & heating grate on the floor which seemed like a sliced foot waiting to happen!), and then swung their big dresser around to face the door. We pulled down the cute little fire engine puppy art they've had hanging up since we moved and replaced it with . . . Buck's John Elway posters from his bachelor days! They still look pretty good, right? For having lived in the garage for nearly 20 years ;) He offered to let the boys have the velvet pirate ship *art* for their room as well, but I just didn't think that fit (any) décor options (ever).


This was our funny find--behind the dresser we moved, these LEGO figures were stuck to the wall! But the way they were stuck looked like they were mid-mission, and had to pull a Toy Story freeze move when we uncovered their plan. We laughed and laughed :)



That same day, Gabby described a treat she'd snagged off the snack tray at VBS. It reminded me a lot of one of my old timey favorites from VBS--the sour cream raisin bar (do you hear angels singing?! oh, right, they don't sing, hee hee :). 

The girls said, "That sounds good." I said, "I've got the recipe." They said, "Let's make it!" I said, "You make it, I'll eat it!" And that arrangement worked out just fine (except they shared half the pan with the skit crew at VBS the next day; pretty sure those were MY bars ;) 

Oh.So.Delicious!!