Some funny things...

Micah asked if he could go to a meeting with Elliott for our HOA. The meeting was going to be at our neighborhood park. I was ready for his question, "Daddy can I please go to the park with you?" But I wasn't ready for his plea, "I promise not to throw anything at you!"

A friend made me the cutest little dry-erase board from a picture frame and some cute scrapbook paper. You write with dry erase marker on the glass and, there you have it, a cute dry-erase board. I had previously written "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name" but it got bumped and messed up so I had to think of something else. I have been inspired by chalkboard art lately, and even though this isn't a chalkboard, I decided to try my hand at a chalkboard-art-inspired little sign. I wrote "what is... true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise... think on these things" from Philippians 4:8. I was making each word in its own different font when I overheard two of our girls, "Why does Mom keep putting those three periods together?" The answer, "That is just what Mom does when she can't remember what to say."

On our wall of chalkboards (my continual thanks to Gab for her donation to my decor) one of the small chalkboards had "Don't Forget Your Table Chores" written right at eye level for the kids. I noticed today that nearly all of it was erased, just a halo of its former self remained. I teased the children that they were hoping I would forget what was on the chalkboard. Hannah blurts out, "What we should have done was erase the N and the T so it would say DO forget your table chores!" Ha ha ha... not so far out of the knock-knock joke stage as I thought! :)

Grandma field trip...

We have talked about it for years and never got it worked out to all go together... But finally we did! And we had an awesome time traversing through the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Downtown Austin with Gammy (E's mom). We took the day off from school and hit the road. Here are a few snapshots...

We can't wait to go again... We only saw the first floor! 

When friends visit...

We were blessed by getting to spend a few days with a sweet friend. I didn't get a photo of our shoe shopping... but here is a small glimpse at our whirlwind visit...

We miss you Meg! 

Late night planning...

The school year is upon us. I am still trying to figure out how the summer evaporated so fast... but since it left behind a mostly renovated house and a swimming pool in the backyard, I guess I can't complain too much. The only problem has been that all my mental energy has gone to house stuff, and school starts Monday with me being completely and totally unprepared! Eek!

God is full of mercy and grace, and because of that, I have some time this weekend to get ready for our new year. We are embarking on a few new adventures with this school year. We are pumping up our academic muscles and jumping on board with a co-op using Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) for Writing, and Tapestry of Grace (TOG) for History. We have used Apologia Science in the past, and will again but with a new book, Physics and Chemistry. I keep telling the children that this year we get to blow things up and throw things. They are excited. :)

I don't know how things are going to go. The last two years we did the minimum as we ministered to E's dad during his battle with brain cancer. We are hoping that a more rigorous academic load will help motivate the children to be better stewards of their time (not to mention the promise of a swim following the completion of homework...). 

So now, the big challenge is figuring out how to manage all the spinning plates that will be our daily routine. Chores, and lessons, character training and Bible instruction will be mixed in amongst four teaching levels and tossed between three meals a day. I will be cranking out charts as much for my benefit as for the children.

In the meantime... here are some of our newest finds...

What would you do if you saw something that looked like a pine cone crawling across your driveway? Well, we picked it up and put in it a jar to observe up close, of course.

And this is up close... A naturalist friend of mine told me is it some sort of moth... we are hoping we don't accidentally kill it while we are waiting to find out...

One evening Elliott went outside to lock the cars and found a Red Eared Slider on the driveway by our garage. Not knowing of any ponds nearby, we assumed it was someone's pet. We kept it for almost a week, block walked looking for its owner. Finally, we drove to a creek about twenty minutes away. He happily took to the water and never looked back.

Toad catching is a regular occurrence around here, but usually we don't have a make shift pond for an orphaned turtle set up. But since we did, the children decided to see how well Mr. Toad could swim. He was very tolerant as the children plopped him on the side of the turtle's pool without rocks so they could watch him swim for land. 

 

What's left to say...

I just can't decide what to put on that last chalkboard... Any ideas?!?!?

Wordless blur...

Sometimes I think, "We are busy, but this time will pass, it is just a season."

And then the season doesn't end, the feeling of busyness doesn't leave. Instead, like a weather change from Summer to Fall, the cause of the busy season shifts to a new endeavor. Here are just a few shots of what we have been up to...

The day we found Peepacheep (a nestling Northern Mockingbird) in the trench for our pool plumbing... no where near a tree and not able to fly.

The day we released Peep after he was able to fly and we found the new nest his parents had built. We have seen him in our backyard being fed by his dad. (Did you know that Northern Mockingbird dads take care of the fledglings?)

We took a quick trip to the farm to see Molly, the cow, and Twilight, her calf, just hours old and still not able to stand.

The much awaited finished pool. Now we just need to pass inspection and we can swim!

One of the last photos of Mocha and her puppies.

A trip to the Witte Museum with friends, a nice break from the construction at home.

All dressed up for the eye exam!

"Can I get some of these glasses, Mom?"

 

When friends move...

Three years ago a new couple arrived in Sunday School class and I said "hello" to them in my best bubbly, loud, and welcoming way. Thankfully, that didn't scare them off. :) Turns out, our kids met in Sunday School class as well, and immediately became friends. A few weeks later, the wife asked if our family would be interested in exchanging babysitting for weekly date nights (once for us, and once for them, etc.). Elliott and I had not been regular with going on dates since we, well, dated, so we said YES!

And our friendship began. With a little visiting before and after "the date night hand off" each week, our families grew closer and, in the blink of an eye, a year was gone. After the first year our friends decided to make a move. God orchestrated the events, it was obvious because the timing could not have been more perfect. The location was ideal too, they became our next door neighbors (thirteen houses removed).

So, for the last two years, our children have walked, run, galloped, skipped, and biked up and down the street to see each other. They have climbed trees, hidden under tables, made forts, flown paper airplanes, built Lego creations, and put on plays. We have gone nearly everywhere together, short trips to the zoo, and road trips to science museums three hours away, birding trips across town and across Texas. We survived the "knock-knock" joke phase together, and moved on into the silly song phase. Our families have shared meals, and laughs, and desserts (oh, the caramel!).

As moms, we have shared countless cups of coffee and tea, laughed and cried, exhorted and encouraged. We have bared our hearts and been transparent and real. When it really comes down to it, life can't be shared on the periphery, you have to dive in with both feet.  We've stayed up too late chatting and woken up insanely early to go on various adventures. We've prayed together, read the Bible together, and learned from each other. Sometimes iron sharpens iron in unexpected ways; we frequently said how it was obvious if I was walking in the Spirit if I was on the floor playing with my kids, and she was if her counters were clean.

Scripture reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven". The day we met this couple and learned they were in the military, we knew the day would come for them to move on. We just didn't realize how fast that day would come, or how hard it would be to say goodbye.


My friend and I planned a super yummy "last meal" together for our families on Father's Day. I laugh looking back at all the other "last meals" we've unexpectedly shared in the last two weeks. We started making a "three year" list, instead of thinking of the lasts we decided to mark all the things we will do again in three years when they come back. The kids started figuring out how old they will all be when they see each other again. This evening as our friends stopped by for a few minutes for final goodbyes, the hugs were tight and the tears came fast. It was a great three years. I would do it all again. Even the tears.