New Storage

Brian has been working on a storage space over our family room. It isn't a tall space, but quite large otherwise and in this house of almost no storage, any extra space is welcome.

He had the floor all down and moved on to making a small door from the house into the storage area. He had to move one outlet, but otherwise the project went well.

Cutting the lathe and plaster wall

Ugh, what a mess!
Framing the door
Closed up for the day

Brian didn't have time to finish the project yesterday has he was flying late and had to go into work. I cleaned up the mess and put the boys room back in order. I don't think there is anything worse than plaster dust. (Okay sheetrock dust is right up there.)

Today he put a window in the end for light and ventilation and cleaned up all the construction debris. He still wants to make a nicer door, but the piece of plywood is fine for now.

This will be so nice to have all this storage space. Guess I need to tackle all the bins of clothes that need to be sorted!

Gabe helps with the cleanup

Summer Reading Challenge

One of my cyber pals, De'Etta, is hosting a Summer Reading Challenge on her blog. This is a fun relaxed reading challenge for those of us that love to read!

My summer goal is to read everyday. I have quite a stack of non-fiction and this is a tougher pile for me to tackle, but I hope to get a good portion of them read. Summer is a very relaxed time of year for us. We do a very light school schedule, spend a lot of time outside and in the pool. I should be able to do some reading everyday and more on days when the kids are swimming.

Here is my list:
(Books in progress are red, finished books will be crossed off and links provided if reviewed.)

Fiction
The Merchant of Menace - Jill Churchill review
A Groom with a View - Jill Churchill
Mulch Ado About Nothing - Jill Churchill

Bell, Book and Scandal - Jill Churchill
The House of Seven Mabels - Jill Churchill
Light From Heaven - Jan Karon
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Crime - Tamar Myers
Design for Murder - Carolyn G. Hart
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught - Neta Jackson
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling - Neta Jackson
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander M. Smith
Summer Garden Murder - Ann Ripley
Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer - Dorothy Gilman
Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist - Dorothy Gilman

The Tale of Hill Top Farm - Susan Wittig Albert

review

The Tale Of Holly How - Susan Wittig Albert
The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood - Susan Wittig Albert
Evans Above - Rhys Bowen

Guess Who's Coming To Die? - Patricia Sprinkle review

Family/Parenting/Homeschooling
Ministry of Motherhood - Sally Clarkson
Making Children Mind without Losing Yours - Dr. Kevin Leman
The Socialization Trap - Rick Boyer
Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends - Sarah, Stephen, and Grace Mally
Families Where Grace Is In Place - Jeff VanVonderen
Grace Based Parenting - Dr. Tim Kimmel

Biographies
The Cost of Discipleship - Bonhoeffer
Oswald Chambers Abandoned To God - David McCasland
Acres of Hope - Patty Anglin

Christian Living
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World - Joanna Weaver
Calm My Anxious Heart - Linda Dillow
Humility - Andrew Murray review
Margin - Richard A. Swenson, M.D.

Other non-fiction
My Summer in a Garden - Charles Dudley Warner

Six People and a Truck

Today was just one of those days. They seem to occur after Bri has been home for several days and then has to go back to work. Everyone misses him and everyone is out of sorts.

Dan had been up several times in the night. He is still quite nervous about having the window open at night. It is just too stuffy upstairs to keep it closed, so he wakes us up just to tell us that the window is still open! :-( His wakefulness makes me grumpy and him because he is overtired.
Bessie had her piano lesson today. Load all the kids into the van to take on the 35 minute drive to her lesson and the van won't start...nothing total silence. Call Bri, get a few suggestions, nothing. Usually under these circumstances, I would call her teacher and cancel, but Bessie's recital is next week and she only has two lessons left before then.

Next choice...pack everyone into the truck. It is an extended cap, so theoretically it holds six people, yeah, right! With much adjusting and loading just right, we got four car seats and everyone in the truck. Oh, did I mention that the A/C isn't working?

The sardines...I mean children, in the truck!

The ride to her lesson was uneventful, but warm. By the time we got there tempers were getting a bit hot with the temperature. I opened all the windows, turned the vent on full blast and we headed back home. (Brian picks Bessie up on his way home from work.) The kids actually had fun on the ride home. The wind was whipping through the cab, hair was flying and moods improved.

After Bri got home he was able to determine that one of the many, many lights in the van had been left on for the last two days and the battery was flat. He put in another battery, but the old one on the charger and we should be good to go.

New Garden

One of the weekend projects was to start the work on this new garden at the back of the garage. (Brian did most of this as it was all bull work.) It used to be our vegetable garden, you can still see the raised beds. Brian has made a much larger vegetable garden behind the pool, so this one has been passed on to me and my ever expanding flower gardens.

Before

After

The flower beds will be "U" shaped going along the fence, across the garage and then another arm to the right. We will add another fence on the right side and facing the garage creating an enclosed area with a gate or possibly an arbor. The plan is to also add a water feature in the middle and of course a bench for enjoying the garden.

Fuchsia

Brian came home with two lovely Fuchsia plants for me on Saturday. They are so nice and the hummingbirds just love them.

Weekend Recap

We had a good weekend. We had some fun, got some chores done and enjoyed the nice weather.
On Saturday, we headed out to do some shopping. A few miles from home, the van started to have trouble. We continued on, but Brian was sure it was the alternator going. We did a minimum of our shopping list, adding the auto parts store as one of our stops. We stopped for lunch while Bri picked up the alternator. Some wanted McDs and others went for Subway.

Brian mowed the lawn first as the van needed to cool off. I cut the boys hair and gave the two little girls a trim. All the kids had a fun swim.

Bri fixed the van later on. I am so glad he can repair our ailing vehicles.

Gabe all set for his hair cut

Doesn't he look handsome?

Dan gets a buzz

Bessie had a baby-sitting job after church on Sunday. The rest of us headed out again to try and finish our shopping. The kids wanted to do some toy shopping as they had money left from Christmas. Gabe picked out a GameBoy game, Rachel got some Littliest Pet Shop things, a swim mask and a "Rachel" necklace, Hannah picked out a dress up wedding dress, swim goggles and a "Hannah" necklace, Dan opted for the Little People Farm set and swim goggles. It was a fun shopping trip watching the Littles trying to decide. They are still trying to figure out that whole "things cost money" idea.

We had rolling thunder storms last afternoon into evening. I love thunder storms. Bessie went right from her baby-sitting job to youth group. (Her "client" is one of the youth leaders.)

Monday was another good day.

Brian, Gabe and I went up to the statuary place to get a new gazing ball for my garden. It was closed. I didn't want to come home empty handed, so we changed direction and went to a local plant place. I came home with a nice assortment of perennials and a couple of water plants for my little water garden.

Brian always has lots of helpers

Gabe and another one of his K'Nex creations

Dan hasn't quite figured out the swim mask thing (he has them on upside down)

Brian and I worked in the west side shade garden that we started last week. We had quite a few Hosta plants in a nursery garden. We were able to split some and use the ones in the nursery garden to fill the shade garden. I left a strip at the front of the garden for some other shade loving perennials. It looks so nice.

We also started another garden at the back of the garage.

We cooked out for dinner, although it was too windy to eat outside. We had hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans and tossed salad. For dessert we had Mike's Famous Ice Cream Cake. We used Oreos, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, Heath bar crunchies and Butterfinger candy bars. It was so good, but I think we need to make a smaller one next time. This size is way too much for our family, but would be great for company.

Our version of Mike's Famous Ice Cream Cake

We had a terrific weekend!

Debbie Needs...

My cyber-pal Dorothy issued this dare, go to google, type in ("your given name" needs) and list the first 10 things that come up.

Here is my list:

1. Debbie needs a saddle

2. Debbie needs a break

3. Debbie needs meaning

4. Debbie needs to find out about any licenses or necessary insurance

5. Debbie needs to give it up

6. Deborah needs to lower her voice a few octaves

7. Debbie needs a feature rich system that will be easy to use

8. Debbie needs a lawyer ASAP

9. Debbie needs to re-post her old links

10. Debbie needs to know what the other cyber-Goth chicks are wearing

Okay, Dorothy, I met your dare...who is next!?

Fancy Cowboy Boot

This is my latest cross-stitch block. I really enjoyed working on this one. It is so colorful! The whole quilt is going to be different boots.

The Pool is Ready!

The kids and I headed up to get groceries yesterday morning. That is always an adventure. They are actually quite good and we get lots of comments on our large family, but they are usually accompanied by smiles. We also stopped at the PO and the drug store.

Brian was home by early afternoon. He was able to get the parts for his car and the items he needed to finish cleaning the pool.

Bri does the pool vacuuming

The kids were just itching to get into the water. It wasn't very warm...only 66 degrees, but warm enough for this crew.

Bessie tests to temp...a bit cold, but that won't stop her

In she goes...brrr, this is great!

Gabe takes the plunge

Dan is very brave about putting his face under, but stays on the stairs


Ah, summertime fun

Our water babies

After the kids got cold, they spread out their towels and warmed up in the sun. Thus the summer routine of pool time, play time, more pool time begins.

Bri worked on the car later in the afternoon and got that all fixed, running and back together.

Getting Wet is Fun

The sun was bright and wonderful today and the temp continues to rise.

Mom and Dad stopped by this morning on their way out of town. They are going to Gettysburg and then onto Ohio for Kathryn's graduation. It was a nice visit, but they didn't stay too long.

Brian was home again this morning. He has been doing some late night flights, so he hasn't been going in until later. It is always so nice to have him home during the day.

Within ten minutes of Brian leaving, the phone rang. Bri's car had quit. We all loaded everyone in the van, grabbed a two strap and headed to rescue Dad. We towed him home and then he jumped in the truck and headed out, once again, for work.

The afternoon was spent outside. It was so nice.

Gabe found a little toad

Isn't he cute?

The kids were getting very hot and the pool is not cleaned up yet, so I dug out the little sprinkler and let them cool off. They had a blast and everyone seemed more relaxed after a good soaking.

Dan, what a ham

Gabe and Dan enjoying the spray

The little girls stayed more on the fringes...they don't like being cold

A pretty rainbow

After dinner, Bri mowed the lawn. The kids played on the tramp and rode their bikes. Everyone was good and tired when bedtime rolled around.

Gabe catching a little alone time on the front step with his K-nex

Gardening Sunday

After church today, Bri and I worked in the perennial garden. I had picked up some new plants and a plant swap we had at church yesterday morning. It rained all day yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to plant them.

I was only going to plant the new plants, but it is so easy to get carried away working in the garden. We ended up weeding and mulching the whole east side border. It looks so great now.

Planting in the newest section of the garden
Bri works on the edgingThe finished product

There is still a lot of room in the new section of the garden. I need to divide some things we already have and then go plant shopping. I love to find new and different plants.

This past week, Brian brought home a trampoline. I co-worker had given to Bri for the kids. The kids have been having a great time on it. We are still working out all the ins and outs of the thing and trying to make sure that everyone gets a turn and no one gets hurt. It can be tough at times when you have little kids and big kids. Overall it has been a good thing and I think once the newness of it wears off, things will go better.

Hannah catching some air

Dan gets a ride from big sister

We took a break later in the afternoon to take Bessie to church as the youth group was heading out to do a service project.

Bri and I tackled a new garden we had been wanting to make on the west side of the house. It is quite shady there because of the large maple trees. This was a tough project and I was glad Bri did most of the heavy work. This required taking off the sod and then digging up the heavily rooted dirt. I have quite a few Hosta plants that will go in there as a start. The plan is for it to be a woodland/shade garden.

We got sprinkled on a few times, but the worst of the rain held off until we were done.

Bri using the "persuader"...aka maul

Bri headed out to pick Bessie up from the church. They stopped and picked up subs for dinner on the way home.

Bessie was pleased with how the youth project went. It was a very successful day for us all.

We Love Having Bri Home

Brian took a day off today. He has been gone quite a bit over the last several weeks and he wanted a day at home. He was able to check off a few more things on his project list. The kids and I took a day off from schoolwork to enjoy dad being home.

Bri rotated the tired on the van and changed the oil on the car. Our poor old van is getting close to the end of its time. Brian manages to keep it going. He is hoping for one more year before we need to get a new one.

Next came his vegetable garden. He raked off all the old corn stalks and tilled it once through. He will get a couple loads of manure and then till it again before planting.

The silly chickens love it when Bri does this job. As he goes, they follow him around picking at bugs and worms and scratching in the fresh turned soil.

Dan sure likes pushing around the little wheelbarrow.

After dinner, we treated everyone by going out for ice cream...Yum! Bessie had a new flavor called Espresso Therapy. It is coffee ice cream with chocolate covered almonds. I have got to try that next time. She is so adventurous and loves trying new flavors.

We love to explore new roads that we haven't traveled and tonight we found a new one. It meandered through a series of small ponds. It was very lovely and there were quite a few people fishing. Brian took note of that for future fishing opportunities.

As we were driving, Gabe yelled, "look at that duck" and then Bessie said, "it's a swan". Bri pulled over and I was able to get a picture. It was a Mute Swan and we do see these occasionally around here but not often. It was so lovely watching it dip it's head under for some small morsel and then coming back up.

Layered Salad

This is the salad I brought to the mother/daughter dinner. It is very yummy and looks so nice.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups uncooked small shell macaroni
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 cups shredded lettuce
3 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup julienned fully cooked ham
1 cup julienned hard salami
1 package (10 oz) frozen peas, thawed
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Colby or Monterey Jack cheese
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Drizzle with oil; toss to coat. Place the lettuce in a 2 1/2 qt. glass serving bowl; top with macaroni and eggs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer with ham, salami and peas. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream , green onions and mustard. Spread over the top. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Just before serving, sprinkle with cheese and parsley.

Yield: 10 servings

Mother's Day

We had a very nice Mother's Day.

The choir sang at both services, so I had to be up and out early. I came home and then everyone came to second service with me. The sermon was very good and each lady got a flower.

We didn't have a special meal as there were a lot of leftovers from the last few days. That was fine by me. I really don't mind having reruns.

Brian let me decide what to do and I picked a visit to Lowes. Brian wanted to get me a new garden pond for Mother's Day, so we checked out what they had. I found the one I wanted. Bri will pick it up this week with the truck. What fun to plan where to put it and set it up. They also got me a new pole and hummingbird feeder.

Bessie wanted to pick up something at Michael's so we made a quick stop there.

I figured the youngers should also have something fun to do, so we went to a local park that has some nice playground equipment. We stayed there for about an hour. The kids had a lot of fun. The sun was warm, but not too hot and it was a gorgeous day.

We took a long way home, enjoying some lovely farm country.

A happy momma!