Visiting the Groths

On the last of Spring Break, we headed to South Caroline to visit the Groths.  Just as we crossed the border, the big white van (aka Moby Dick) made a loud POP and then a rhythmic popping sound. I quickly pulled over and called Adrian and then Sam (our church's handy man and car maintenance man and knows something about everything man).  We concluded that I needed to drive the car to a local repair shop to have it diagnosed.  That was an adventure!  Going 30 miles per hour on the interstate, even for a few miles, is hair raising!  But we got off the interstate, and stopped at Shelton's fireworks until we could determine what auto shop to go to.

Fortunately, we found one only 15 minutes away from where our friends were and only 6 miles from where we were.  As we drove slowly to the shop, I saw a historical marker and decided to stop and take a quick picture.

 We got the car to the shop and picnicked in their parking lot while they diagnosed the car.  The car had thrown a spark plug and they weren't sure how much damage it had done, but they ordered the parts and hoped to have it done before closing time at 5:30.

Emily came to pick us up and we spent the afternoon at the lake with our friends enjoying their company, the sun, and the house boat.  The kids loved jumping back and forth from the dock to the house boat and back again.  There was a bit of excitement when Mercy tried to jump from the house boat to the dock and landed in the water.  Fortunately, she had a life vest on and did exactly as she should have, she grabbed a rope and called for help.  She didn't freak out too much.  The kids canoed, ran, jumped, climbed, dug, and had a wonderful time!

The auto shop repaired the van for less than I expected, and had it ready by 5:30.  I drove home with no problems and arrived back just before 7.  It was quite the adventure, but a good day.

Art during Spring Break

We started our spring break with some art projects.  The first was painting, the second was building with popsicle sticks, and the last one was mosaics with paper.  I took pictures of the painting and mosaics, but I didn't get any of the popsicle building. 

Avalyn used watercolors and some of the different techniques that she learned in art class.

The rest of the kids used tempra paints to make their pictures.  Sophia and Mercy particularly enjoyed getting to paint.

I was especially impressed with the kids mosaics.  Avalyn really put herself into the project and got some really neat results.

Kyle also did really well.  Keira, Sophia, and Mercy had a great time cutting and gluing all morning.

Project 366: Week 15

For some reason it felt hard to take pictures this week, though I think I took pictures every day but Sunday.  The week went well with starting school again.  And I just realized that I didn't write about what I was thankful for last week!  I will make sure that I do write about what I am thankful for this week.  This is for the week of April 10 - 16.

Sunday: I missed Sunday.  I am thankful for being able to go to church as a family!  Kyle is still dealing with asthma.  I can't even remember how many weeks it has been, but I made an appointment with pulmonologist in hopes of finding a way to help control his breathing.
This picture is from Monday.  Mercy was laying down taking a picture.  I love her happy laugh.

Monday: Patrick loves to play on the little scooter.  I brought it in the house so that he could climb on and off it as he wants.  I was trying to get a picture of him standing on it, when I got this picture.  I don't think it is in focus right, but I love it anyway.  I am thankful for little things that can keep the children happy.  Sometimes, I just need something other than me that can entertain the baby for a little bit.

Tuesday: I am thankful for potty trained children!  YEAH!!! Mercy is finally potty trained!  I took her to get a donut for Krispy Kreme as a small reward for learning how to go to the bathroom.  Mercy asked for a donut with sprinkles.  As we waited in line to get our donuts, I told her I saw a donut with pink frosting.  She was ecstatic.  When I noticed that it also had sprinkles, she was over the moon.  Mercy ate about half her donut, but then realized that her hands were sticky.  She asked if she could save the rest for later and wash her hands.  Mercy is the first child I have taken for a treat who didn't want to eat it all right away!

Wednesday:  We realized that the robin's nest has little hatchlings!  We have really enjoyed watching them and their parents.  I am thankful for getting to watch this part of God's creation so closely.

Thursday: I took a couple of pictures of Megan quilting!  I think she has only quilted in straight lines before, though she may have done a bit of pebble quilting.  Megan has always been nervous about any form of free motion quilting, but she bought a book with some design ideas in it to help get her started.  We flipped through the book to pick one that looked easy and not girly (she was making a water bottle carrier for Clayton).  She tried one that looked a bit like flames and did a great job!  I am thankful for this time on Thursdays to sew and plan and create.

 Friday: We finished the room swap cleaning and rearranging.  Patrick reclined against Avalyn's "cave" wall.  He loved lounging.  I am thankful for the excitement that rearranging creates.  The kids and I are very happy with the room swap and I hope that it will help them keep the rooms clean.

Saturday:  This is the ONLY picture I got on Saturday.  I was busy with all sorts of things, but mostly cooking.  I wanted to get a picture of Patrick walking, but this was all I got.  Just standing and not even looking at me!  I am thankful for this little guy starting to walk.  I love it when the baby walks.

Project 366: Week 14

The week of April 3 - 9th was Spring Break!  It kind of popped up on me, and I wasn't really prepared for it.  I think I was more excited than the kids to have a week of no school!  I sent the kids outside for most of two days, and they did art projects two days, and the last day, we visited some friends in South Carolina.
I managed to take pictures every day!
Sunday: We went to a friends' church to see the baptism of their new daughter.  It was interesting.  There church even has a church bell!

 Monday: I started the great room swap of 2016 (doesn't that make it sound impressive?!).  I pulled the cushie booster out of the closet for Mercy to use at the dinner table, and Patrick promptly claimed it as his own.

Tuesday: Avalyn built a ferris wheel with her straw construction kit.  She got the set for her birthday and has really enjoyed making interesting things with it.

Wednesday: I was really neck deep into the room swap, and this was the only picture I took!  I used the magic eraser to within an inch of it's life!  It really is magic because it got dirt, blood, and snot off the walls in the kids room.

Thursday: I had to take something to my sister's house.  I was determined to take a picture of something interesting while I was out.  I have had trees and the shape of trees on my mind a lot recently.  When I saw some neat trees, I stopped and took some pictures.  

Friday: What an interesting day.  It started early so that we could get on the road to visit our best friends in South Carolina.  Just as we crossed the border, the big white van (aka Moby Dick) made a loud POP and then a rhythmic popping sound. I quickly pulled over and called Adrian and then Sam (our church's handy man and car maintenance man and knows something about everything man).  We concluded that I needed to drive the car to a local repair shop to have it diagnosed.  That was an adventure!  Going 30 miles per hour on the interstate, even for a few miles, is hair raising!  But we got off the interstate, and stopped at Shelton's fireworks until we could determine what auto shop to go to.  Fortunately, we found one only 15 minutes away from where our friends were and only 6 miles from where we were.  We got the car to the shop and picnicked in their parking lot while they diagnosed the car.  The car had thrown a spark plug and they weren't sure how much damage it had done, but they ordered the parts and hoped to have it done before closing time at 5:30.
Emily came to pick us up and we spent the afternoon at the lake with our friends enjoying their company, the sun, and the house boat.
The auto shop repair the van for less than I expected, and had it ready by 5:30.  I drove home with no problems and arrived back just before 7.  It was quite the adventure, but not a bad day at all.

Saturday: Mercy got some play dough for her birthday and really loved playing with it.  She made a dash (Avalyn's robot).

Sewing: March

This month was full of lots of activity and a broken sewing machine.  With that said, I didn't get much sewing done!

Megan and I finished the two baby quilts that we made during our Thursday sewing sessions.  I quilted the improv cog quilt in a loop-de-loop all over pattern in a varigated yellow.  It makes the back of the quilt look awesome!  Now that it has been given, I can say that I hope baby Matthew will love it and get much use out of it.

Megan quilted the pink stripes quilt.  In the horizontal sections, she quilted horizontal organic lines.  In the vertical section, she quilted vertical organic lines.  The binding is incredibly scrappy and ended up making sewing it on more difficult.  It is fun to see all the little bits in the binding, but I don't think we will make such a scrappy binding again!  This little quilt has been given to baby Amy who is due any time now.

The only other sewing I did in March was the piano key border for my Dr. Seuss wonky star quilt.  The top is finished!  I absolutely love it!  I don't know what I want to do with the back, so the top has just been sitting.  Hopefully something wonderful will come to me soon!  I would love to see this top as a completed quilt.

I started quilting Mercy's Groove quilt, but the sewing machine broke again!  Adrian fixed it, again, but I am now really nervous about using it.  I will work up to it, and maybe I'll get caught up on my mighty luck challenges in the mean time.

Yard Work, Before and After

After we went to Gibb's Garden with Adrian's parents, we worked in their backyard for a while to help clean up some of the encroaching woods.  Adrian's mom had already freed the playset from the woods, but Adrian cut the woods further back.  The kids and I drug all the tree branches into the woods.  The kids also used the leaf blower to clean the yard while I weeded around the bushes near the back porch.
We weren't satisfied with that work.  We really wanted to clean up the bushes in the front of the house.  This time, I remembered to take before and after pictures!

If you look closely, you can see the tree growing up beside the porch.  There were also many trees taking root among the bushes. 

Adrian and I enjoyed getting into the bushes and finding where each one stopped.  We were surprised to find that there were fewer bushes there than we expected!You could walk between all the bushes by the time we finished.  We need to go back now to see how it has greened up.  We hope that what we did helped and will make Adrian's parents' house look better for several years to come.

Project 366: Week 13

This week has been an emotional one.  Maybe I'll write a post about it, but for now, I'll say that the accident we witnessed on March 24, resulted in a fatality.  It has been hard to process, though it has been an event that has brought me to pray much more.  I struggled to take pictures just because I didn't feel like it!  This is for March 27 - April 2.

Sunday: I took a picture!  Patrick is often a happy boy, except when he isn't!  He tends to be fussy and demanding when he is eating.  It is draining, but most of the time he is like this, happy and excited about life.  I am thankful for medicine to help Kyle breath.  He has struggled with his asthma for over a month!  We have been working on giving him his medicine around the clock, and that seems to help some.  But I am grateful to have some way of helping him!

Monday: Sophia was so excited to have climbed up this tree!  She was so high, it made my stomach turn, but she was as happy as could be.  She waited very patiently for me to get the camera to take a picture before coming back down.  I am thankful for God's protection of my children!  This one has been climbing since about 6 months old, and has only broken one bone!  The Lord has been good to her and to us.

Tuesday: Mercy (and the other kids) enjoy watching the washing machine.  Who knew that a glass lid could make this machine so entertaining!  I am thankful for the curiosity of children.  I love watching their wonder at the world and how it works.  I gives me new awe as I see what God has done in the world around us through their eyes. 

Wednesday:  I didn't take any pictures, but this one is from Monday.  We discovered that Patrick doesn't really like the feel of grass on his hands.  He will happily sit where ever you put him in the yard because he doesn't really want to crawl anywhere else!  I love the weather we have been having!  I am thankful for this time outdoors before the mosquitoes get too bad and the temperatures get too hot.

Thursday: It had been one week from the accident.  I was amazed that they fixed the walk/do not walk sign within two days of the accident.  I saw the little cross up on Monday afterwards, so we stopped to get a picture on our way to school on Thursday.  It seemed strange to me.  I love going to cemeteries and taking pictures there, but this seemed to be wrong somehow.  It still hurts to see this picture and to drive through this intersection (which I do almost every time I leave my house).  But I am thankful to God for the lessons I am learning from this accident.  Lessons about prayer and compassion, about the impact of one person and reaching out to people.

 Friday: We started our spring break a bit early.  After doing some light school work, and cleaning the house, I let the kids paint!  They had so much fun.  I think I captured Mercy's sparkly eyes!  I am thankful for Mercy's sparkle and enthusiasm.

Saturday: Patrick has learned how to get on top of almost anything he wants to.  He wanted to play with the paint brushes (that the kids hadn't put away from yesterday's project), so he just climbed up on the window seat and had a great time!  I am thankful for this window seat!  It has been so nice to have the extra seating and the kids have really like using it to watch the birds or neighbors or anything else interesting in front of our house.