Museum Field Trip

We went on a field trip to the museum yesterday. I was debating on going or not. There were three homeschool things that we could attend this week and I was trying to decide which one would be worth the time, effort, etc. The first was this field trip. The second was a park day with some new homeschoolers we have not met yet. The third was another sort of park day with petting zoo with those same new homeschoolers. I was torn between going to the field trip where I was pretty sure there would be some people we already knew at least a little bit or going out to meet some new people. Ultimately, I asked my niece, Karís what she thought of a previous field trip she had been on. She had been to this particular museum before and done candle making. She told me she LOVED that field trip and had a lot of fun. That convinced me to stick with the field trip and try to catch the other homeschoolers next week. The field trip was a 2 hour program about Native Americans. We had a pretty good turn out of kids and Savannah did know some of them. She was very happy she got to spend the afternoon with them. As it turned out, we had just studied some Native American history that morning. It was fun to see some of the items we had just read about. Savannah and Karís had gotten to the part in their Meet Kirsten book that was talking about Native American children. One of the things they learned was that the Native Americans believed that a baby had three mothers - Mother Earth, their biological mother and the cradle board that they spent most of their first year in. When we got to the museum, we got to see a cradle board. Savannah thought that was pretty cool. One of the guides showed them all sorts of animal skins and talked about tracks, uses for the animal, etc. The woman guide showed us musical instruments and played traditional games with them. They also got to dance around playing the instruments. All it all, it was a good field trip and I am very glad we went. I think I would like to plan another one for a different program they offer.

Applesauce the pioneer way...

Savannah and Karís are still studying Kirsten, an American Girl. She is about 10 years old in 1854. One of the things they did was learn to make applesauce. They learned about how they also dried apples rings by hanging them all over the sides of their houses. The girls peeled and peeled and peeled apples. My hands hurt watching them! I would have used a paring knife, but they used peelers. Then we just sliced them up with the apple corer slicer thingy - my very technical term for it. You just add some water and cook. So simple. Then you add a touch of cinnamon. I had no idea that it was that simple to make applesauce! I think this was a big success with them. I am really glad they are learning so much and having fun at the same time!

Simple pleasures...

Watching the tow truck!

Being silly!

The wonderful spool table!

Earlier this week, we were going about a pretty typical day. I was cleaning up the house, Savannah was working on school. Well, okay, she really was working on her writing assignment. She just happened to be sitting in a chair out in the front yard because the weather was cool. She HAD to get outside - so I sent her out to do her writing. She was in pure bliss! Sebastian was playing Starfall on the computer. Tim called my cell phone. He asked if I was busy. Well... yes and no. We were all occupied doing some particular thing. Nothing that couldn't be dropped at a moment's notice though. He said that the other guys had gone out to lunch and he had volunteered to stay behind to watch the office. He wanted me to bring the kids down and have lunch with him. HOORAY! Our kids love going out to see daddy! At first, I thought I would grab them Burger King. It is almost right next door to his work. Then I remembered that I was trying really hard to not spend extra $$$ on fast food. I quick made some sandwiches for us and grabbed a bag of chips. We got to his work and I am not kidding you - Sebastian's eyes were just scanning the shop. I mean he was just taking it all in. As if he had never been there before. He has been there - just not for a whole lot of time. As I said earlier, it was actually cool out! We decided to eat outside on what is now considered a super awesome spool table. Ummm... it is just a rickety, old construction spool. I am amazed at what my kids find to be such a treat. Eating out back of a mechanic shop, on an old wooden spool, with broken down chairs was such a treat. Daddy got them orange soda - another super delight! That is not all though... a tow truck came to tow off a car. Sebastian was very serious about watching this. "What is the truck saying?" That is his new question to any sound. I keep telling him that I don't know because I don't speak truck, dog, bird, etc. Anyway, when I started my blog, I wanted to write about these kinds of things. Simple, crazy everyday blessings. This lunch on a September afternoon falled into that. As much as there are problems here, problems with Tim's shop being busy and providing work, we are very blessed that he is just 3 miles from home. We are very blessed that he has a very kind boss that doesn't mind when he shows up and sees us all eating out back. We are very blessed that we have the opportunity to drop schoolwork and housekeeping to go meet daddy on a whim. The only thing missing was Timmy. Not that he would have been around to go with us, but I still missed him while I was sitting there. I hope you find simple blessings in your day!

Happy Meals and Power Rangers

My list has been long these last couple of weeks. I am busy - there is no doubt about that. I still try to think of what to blog about as I run around in a crazy frenzy on most days. Two weekends ago, Tim and I took the kids to Burger King. We didn't really have a point of our day. It was on Sunday and we just sorta needed to "get out". We went to BK because they have an awesome playground. We gathered up our books on planting fruit trees. The idea was that the kids could play and we could discuss all the wonderful trees we hope to plant. Sebastian doesn't really eat a kids meal. The child has NEVER eaten a hamburger! Unless you are a vegetarian - this is pretty odd. Generally, I don't want to buy him a WHOLE kids meal just for a toy. Savannah usually ends up being the big sister and just letting him have her toy. On this particular day, I had coupons for kids meals. They were 99 cents and for that price it was worth just getting him one for for fries, drink and toy. When we walked in the kids ran to the display. They are giving out Neopets. I have to admit they are pretty darn cute. Yes, I will say this... I really like some of the fast food toys. Some are just dumb, but some are cute and worth playing with. I actually have 2 or 3 clear storage bins that are separated into various kids meal toys. Remember the Lilo and Stitch toys or the Tigger and Pooh bear ones? We have several different varieties. My only requirement is that they actually play with them otherwise they get tossed out at some point. Anyway, where was I going with this... Oh... so Sebastian and Savannah were opening their toys and they were so thrilled. All of a sudden my mind was SUCKED back to Timmy being little. This boy LOVED Power Rangers with all of his being. He lived and breathed them. (As a side note... Sebastian has never seen a Power Ranger. Sometimes you learn as a parent!) Tim and I went down to Fort Myers for our 5 year anniversary. We arrived a little after 9pm. We checked into our hotel on the beach. We decided to go down and walk around a bit. We found a McDonald's right by the hotel. When we went inside we saw the display with Power Ranger toys. At this point, I was already missing Timmy and we had only been gone for about 3.5 hours. Tim and I began this crazy quest to purchase ALL of the toys for Timmy. The guy behind the counter thought we were nuts. At that time, you could buy the toys without the meal for about a $1 each. We made the guy sort through the boxes and find one of each. Then we took our stash and happily ate our cheeseburgers. We enjoyed the rest of our weekend and headed home. I was so excited to share these toys with Timmy. I don't think there was any Fort Myers souvenir he would have loved more. Anyway, I don't really know what the point was of all this. I guess just to share what is going on in my mind. I was just sitting there in Burger King watching my two younger kids be thrilled with a little stuffed penguin. I could see Timmy's little face being thrilled with a Power Ranger. It made me, once again, realize just how quickly my little ones will grow up. Time... it just goes so very fast.

We remember...

I still remember very clearly where I was and what I was doing when I saw the planes hit. I had woken up a little later that morning because I didn't have to go straight to work. I had to take my sister, Michelle, the catch her flight to Chicago. I woke up and turned on The Today Show as I was going to go jump in the shower. I was in the bathroom and could tell something was wrong with the way the anchors were talking. I came back out to my bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed. I watched and with horror saw the tower get hit. My stomach felt ill. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like all the sound had been sucked from the room. I just sat there and watched and then I cried. I went to the phone and called my mom. I told her that Michelle couldn't get on a plane to Chicago. She was watching too. We were quiet. I spent the next couple of hours just watching and waiting. I finally got myself together as much as I could and I went to work. The place had an odd silence with hushed voices here and there. I went to my very good friend and boss. She told me to go home and be with my kids. I told her I needed to stay for awhile. I needed some quiet time to process what had happened. My kids were 12 and 2 at the time. Savannah had no idea what was happening. Timmy knew, but I don't know how much he processed. During the next few months and into the next year, I knew that the war was coming. I wanted it to come. HOW DARE THEY ATTACK US!!! I was angry, but I had fear. I knew that people would die. I knew that people were sending their husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and grandchildren. I remember thinking I was glad Timmy was only 12 years old. Too young to go to war. I could keep them safe in our home. I was mopping the floor the day they announced the air strikes had started. I sat down and prayed. I prayed for safety for our military and knowledge for our leaders. I prayed for this to come to a swift end. Here we are 7 years later and it is far from ending. Now my little boy is old enough to go to war. He is training right this very minute to go to war. My fear is immense. My emotions are high. I had respect for those families back then, but now that I begin my walk in their shoes... my respect has grown. I am at the very beginning of this journey. They have walked it for so much longer than I. Today, I am remembering the lost and the people that give so much for my freedom. My freedom to teach creation science around my kitchen table. My freedom to wear my Happy Halloween shirt today. My freedom to go out to lunch with my mom, sister and kids. My freedom to make choices. My son's freedom to choose to be a soldier. My son's freedom to be a soldier. Today, I remember and continue to pray for the military and their families.

St. Lucia Rolls

The girls chose several recipe's from Kirsten's cookbook. Kirsten is a 10 year old girl growing up in Minnesota in 1854. She is a pioneer from Sweden. One of the things they learned about was the Swedish tradition of St. Lucia Day. They are celebrating the shortest day of winter. The oldest daughter would wake up in the middle of the night and make these St. Lucia rolls. Then she would put on a special outfit and a crown of candles on her head. She would go from room to room with a tray of rolls and coffee waking everyone up to celebrate. Lucia means light and the idea was that she was bring light to the darkest day. They still celebrate this in Sweden, but they don't use real candles anymore. The funny thing is that Savannah and Karis wanted to tape flashlights to their heads to deliver these. Apparently they do something similar to that now - without the tape - I would imagine! They had a great time learning about this and making these rolls. I think we will be making applesauce next week!

Finished product!

They are rolling oil around their bowls to coat the surface.

St. Lucia baker number 1.

St. Lucia baker number 2.

American Girl Study Week 2

A month or so ago, I decided to toss what I had planned for Social Studies this year. We were scheduled to resume Winter Promise's Sea and Sky. As much as I like Winter Promise, I felt this program was geared to boys. I may do it down the road with Sebastian. I have a friend in Florida (Susie) that mentioned she was doing an American Girl co-op class. Then a friend here in SC said she was doing a class on American Girl with her two daughters. That got my mind thinking. Savannah is going to be 10 next month. My time to do little girl things with her is probably limited in some ways. I do think what we are learning is great for somewhat older kids too. I just decided that I wanted to do the "fun stuff" with Savannah before she hits middle school. I say she is a 5th grader, but technically by her age, she would be in 4th grade. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have put her the year ahead. Not because she is not ready for 5th grade, but because her childhood is short enough without advancing her grade. Anyway, that is a whole 'nuther post. So, I figured out I wanted to do "something" with American Girl. The question was what. There is a prepared curriculum for American Girl, but I really didn't want to spend the $$$ on it. I decided to check out 3 books on each American Girl from the library. For instance - we are studying Kirsten. I got Welcome to Kirsten's World, Kirsten's Cookbook and Kirsten's Craft Book. The Welcome book reminds me of a DK book with lots of pictures explaining different things that happened in that time. Then the cookbook and craft book have projects that were from her time period. I decided to let them choose some recipes and a couple of crafts. Basically we read several sections of the Welcome To book and then work on a craft or recipe. I also want to incorporate lapbooking into this. My friend, Susie, sent me this site that has free American Girl lapbook templates. I haven't quite got this all worked out in my head, but I know it will come together. I know we are going to use the recipe pockets, types of house, and compare and contrast templates. I need to figure out what else we will add to the lapbook. Savannah is also reading the 6 book series on each girl as her reading assignments. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but I can tell you that so far - I think this is working out great! We are having so much fun and they are learning. When they finished the rolls last night, they told Tim all the details of what they learned. Then they headed over to Aunt Karen and Aunt Jennifer and went through it all again. Finally, they went over to Keith and Crystal and the kids. I was so proud of them! They retained so much of the information... way more than I expected! I am so excited about this year, that I am already thinking about next year. I would love to do a geography study in a similar way with recipes and crafts. I think it would be so fun to learn about different cultures that way! Oh and if you are reading this and you have a boy... I think this would still work well for boys. You may have to take the recipes and crafts OUT of the book, so they didn't see the cover. The basics of cooking and handy work are really still a great way for boys to learn. The Welcome to Kirsten's World book does not really focus on her as a girl. It just focuses on the way life was lived back then. Obviously, they would not want to read the readers, but they could still learn plenty without them. Karis is doing a different reading program and still getting a lot out of this. I don't know where the future will lead me, but I can see myself doing this study with Sebastian. Timmy loved to cook and make things, so I hope Sebastian will be similar in some way. It is so much fun! Next up, I will post about their St. Lucia rolls and what they learned about them.

This wasn't in the craft book, but I found these foam log cabin kits. They were actually for a fishing cabin, but we just didn't put the "Gone Fishing" sign on them!

Too cute!

Pictures for Timmy

We grabbed him for a picture before he went back to work.

I forgot to share this funny that he said a few weeks ago at VBS...
A teacher asked him if he went by Sebi for short or was it just Sebastian...
He replied, "Mr. Sebastian." Now he really has the look!

Timmy asked for some pictures, so we did a mini family photo shoot. I know I said I would try to post more since I would be mailing the them to Timmy. I am just amazed at how busy life seems to be at the moment. I have so many things I want to do and not enough hours in the day. I talked to Timmy on Monday night and he was pretty sick with a lung infection. I have been stressing since Monday. I knew something was wrong all day. I am really starting to miss him a lot. I think the first couple of weeks, it was like he was on vacation. Now, I finished cleaning up his room and it seems like he is so not here! I don't like it! I will post pictures of his room - not that it is anything special, but I gotta write about something right? You will notice in the pictures that Sebastian got his hair cut short - short! Now, I keep calling him Timmy. I think the hair reminds me of him as a little boy and I think he is just so heavy on my mind. Sebastian keeps telling me he looks just like Timmy too!

Scissors and such...

Okay, I haven't lost my mind and just posting random things about scissors. Well, not yet anyway... give it some time. Last night I was cutting out strips of fabric for Karis and Savannah's project. I, of course, left it till the last minute and was cutting them at 11:30pm. As I was sitting there in the quiet living room, I happened to notice the scissors I was using. These scissors - the ones in the picture were my sewing scissors from 6th grade. I remember showing up for Mrs. Niles home-ec class. We had to put together a small sewing kit. My mom took me to the fabric store and I was amazed. I loved it! I never did become a pro at sewing though. The scissors weren't expensive or anything amazing. Just plain scissors. I can't believe I still have them. I lose things I just bought last week. Somehow over all of the years, they just keep tagging along with me. As I was sitting there cutting with them, I couldn't help but laugh that I didn't really have a clue. I had no idea that 25 years later, I would be cutting strips of fabric to show Savannah and Karis how to make a braided rug. Funny how time goes. I knew I loved my class that I was in. I loved learning how to make a pillow and how to cook monkey bread. I remember Mrs. Niles talking about how she had two little boys - Dan and Ron. Their initials spelled out their names. Crazy - the things we remember. When she talked about her boys, her eyes lit up. She probably was a great mom. She sure had a lot of patience teach 6th graders how to sew.


The girls are working on an American Girl history study with me. I will try to post more details about that in another post. Their first project is a braided rug. They are going to make it bigger than the original small one that is in the book. I will post the finished product then. I had so much fun sharing this with them today. I think we are going to have a great year of learning and enjoying this study.

The lawsuit...

Awhile back I asked for some prayer for a few things. One of those things was a pending lawsuit against us from our lake association. It was a very, very long story with lots of details. We really didn't feel like we had to join the association according to the covenants. I was even told by three lawyers that it was optional. The thing was that if we didn't join, they could try to sue us for all sorts of crazy stuff like drainage into the lake. They wanted us to pay an assessment that was billed to the previous owners (a bank foreclosure). After several trips to our original closing lawyer, he finally decided to share with us that we had what he called "Plus Title Insurance". Apparently, this PLUS covers more things than the traditional title insurance. Why this man did not tell me this weeks and weeks ago when I first called him, I have no idea. Once he told me this and gave me contact information, I was able to get a claim rolling. They paid the $3800 and the lien/lawsuit was dismissed. We still had to join the association. We are pretty sure that there will be more lake repair assessments down the road and that will cost us money. We felt sure we did not have to join, but to prove that - we would have had to hire a lawyer and fight to not join. Then if we won and didn't join, we would have to hope they didn't sue us for drainage damage. We just decided the easiest solution was to join and hope the assessments came down the road when we could hopefully afford them. That is a whole long story in a nutshell! I wanted to thank anyone and everyone who said a prayer for us. I was really, really stressed about this. I kept just trying to give it over to God and let him figure it out. In the end, that is exactly what happened.

The puppy saga...

Last week, Tim found a puppy while he was test driving a car in our neighborhood. Yes, it is a perk that he lives so close to home! Anyway, first he took the puppy to our friend, Laurie. He didn't want to bring it to me because he was afraid the kids might want it, etc. Laurie took one look at that puppy and said that if it came in her house - she would have to keep it. So, he brought it home to me. I like puppies. I would not say I love puppies or dogs or really any pet. We brought the puppy in and showed it to Savannah. She was in love instantly. Here is the background on puppy issues in our household. Tim has always wanted a Weimaraner - a gray one to be specific. I have told the kids I just don't want dogs. I love our dog Woofie. She really is a sweet dog, but she sheds a lot and just adds work to my schedule. Savannah still wanted a puppy at some point. I told her if we were getting another dog - it would be a Weimaraner. I didn't want to hear Tim say how he always wanted that kind of dog and never got it. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Savannah saw a fluffy puppy at the pet store. She came home to tell me about it. I didn't see it, so it was pretty easy to stay strong. Okay, fast forward to this adorable little puppy in our house. I didn't think much of her the whole morning she was here. The kids were hovering over her. In the afternoon, the kids went off to other things. This little puppy came and snuggled against my feet. She was so calm. I thought it was because she was tired from her morning out. After a long nap, she was still really calm. I called Tim around 4:30 and told him I LOVED this puppy and had to keep it. Now, I know, I know... wasn't I the one that said the next dog would be a Weimaraner pup? I know! Trust me! I know! We had to borrow a cage from Keith because my mom has our cage for her puppies. While Tim was getting the cage from next door, a neighbor saw the puppy. He knew where it belonged. We knew this was a possibility and we had told Savannah if we found the owner - we would have to give it back. Oh, the tears. I actually wasn't there. I was at Walmart. Tim called me. My heart sank. I literally wanted to leave my cart and go home. I couldn't believe how attached to the puppy I was. I thought about that puppy all week. It was nuts. We decided to get Savannah a small puppy. She wants a "lap dog". The thing is that even mixed breeds are really expensive for lap dogs. I mean they are nuts! We looked around over the weekend, but we didn't find anything. Well, we found lots of cute puppies, but the cost is just too much for us right now. We are on the list at the animal shelter. That brings us to yesterday. Savannah put Woofie out back. When she went to let her in - who was waiting for her? The puppy and she had brought her momma dog with her! It was so funny. They had tags with their address and phone number this time. I was proud of my girl. She got the leash and walked them over. Oh, what a cute face this puppy has though. I can't stop thinking of it.

I am back...

My laptop is finally fixed! WooHoo! I have so many things to blog about and not enough hours in the day. I do have new motivation though. I want to try to blog daily or at least every other day. Then I plan to print my blog out and mail it off to Timmy. I figure he will get pictures and details of what is going here. Of course, my mind is scattered as to what to write about first. Obviously, there was Timmy leaving. I actually did pretty well. I didn't cry at all the first week. I think because Jessica was here and I was really busy taking the kids to VBS. The next week was harder though. I did really well until this past Friday. Then I started to go downhill and miss him a whole lot. I have been cleaning up his room. Did somebody not tell my son that if you plan to move out for 4 years, you may want to take your laundry out of the dryer? Then Tim was missing him. He wrote him a sweet letter that just made me cry. I mailed it off to Timmy, yesterday.

Besides all of this, we started school last week. I am trying to get the groove, but it is going to take some time. I have lots of plans this year and it includes other people. That means I have to be organized and on top of things. I need some super, master schedule on my dining room wall that tells me what the heck I am supposed to be doing and when. We are off to the Lake Murray Beach this afternoon for a homeschool day. I am going to leave you with some pictures we took before Timmy left. I will be back to write all sorts of interesting things at some point.

Ramblings from Sebastian...

Sebastian has had a few funnies in the past week or so. Sometimes I just have to stop and try not to laugh at the things he comes up with.

Last week at VBS, we were singing and watching a Bible story acted out. He didn't really want to be still for all of this. He stands up and proclaims, "I'm outa here!" Oh, really? I wondered if he had a car waiting for him out front.

Next up at VBS - several times he tells me he is "about done with this" - It is hard to portray the frustration he had in writing - but I think I probably tell him "I am about done with this" at least 5 times a day. Funny how they use your words on you.

Yesterday during a potty training moment. He is sitting on the toilet trying desperately to poop. He looks up at me and says, "My butt is just retarded." How do you not laugh at that one? I apologize to anyone that is offended by the word retarded (he lives around teenagers - it is a teenager word - right?).

Finally - I threw all of his pacifiers away yesterday. I know, I know - How could he still have a paci? Believe me, I was one of those moms that mocked people with preschoolers and pacifiers. Then I had one of those kids. With my other two, the minute they gave up naps - their pacifiers were gone. Sebastian is still napping. I couldn't stand the thought of the end of naps a year ago - now I am okay with no napping. Anyway, they are gone. I was explaining to him that everyone had to grow up at some points in their life. He tells me very sternly - "I don't want to grow up! I want to go down!" That's my boy!

Laptop down and some other ramblings...

I know I have not been blogging. My laptop decided to go crazy again. I have spent 2 days backing up my pictures and documents to my ipod. I am almost done and then I can try to restore it. Meanwhile, I am left with my desktop. I hate the keyboard on here. It is bad, bad, bad. We also have been doing VBS each night. Oh my goodness, that wears me out! Sebastian is trying to learn social skills though. I keep telling myself it is worth the frustration. My sister-in-law - Jessica - is here. I have been hanging out with her. And... since Timmy left on Sunday - my niece, Tabi, came to visit. I will post pictures of Timmy's parties and other stuff when I get my laptop back to normal. (Pray we don't need to buy a new one!) Check back for an update soon!

Crazy days of summer...

I know I haven't been blogging. I am busy emotionally and physically. My mind is full of lots of things and none of those things seem to be making it to my blog. I have physically been working on things for school and organizing the house. I think we will start back to school after next week and I have high hopes of being super organized. I am not going to promise I will post more about that, but I would like to. Timmy has been home this week and I have been just absorbing that he is home and will be leaving very soon. There is more to write on that, of course. I haven't been snapping lots of pictures either. I don't know why. Savannah took these pictures of Sebastian. It is amazing what boredom can do to a 9 year old girl. Sebastian was only too happy to let her mess with him. My goofy boy. If your are an avid blog reader of mine - you may remember she did this awhile back look here. She took him over to show her cousins and Aunt Crystal. Then Aunt Crystal asked Savannah if her mom knew what she had done. I assured Crystal that I didn't think it would warp him too much. I guess we will have to wait and see when he is a teenager if he has flair for crazy hair.

A new normal?

I have had a busy week. On Monday we had a extremely busy girl scout meeting. On Tuesday, I spent a large portion of the day unpacking toys and games. I - yes - ME - I cut shelves using a circular saw. We bought big wardrobe closets months ago, but they needed more shelves. Wednesday, Tim and I met with a lawyer about this lawsuit and then I did laundry, made bread, etc. Today I went shopping for groceries and some school stuff. I have been busy. At times, my mind has floated to how Timmy is in Florida. I miss him on and off, but in the way that I think he will be back soon. Then it HITS ME HEAD ON... he will be back for just a week and then he will move out. Sure, he will come to visit from time to time and maybe he will move back for a short while till he decides what is next after 4 years in the Army. The reality is that he is moving out. With all the business of the week, I can manage to put it out of my mind as it pops in from time to time. On Tuesday, when I went to get a big box of games out of the closet, I found his baby blanket. It was just sitting there waiting for me to see it. Oh, my heart! I held it in my hands and I could almost feel him sitting in my lap holding his blankie. Where does the time go? Why don't they tell you at the hospital that the hard part isn't getting them to sleep through the night? The hard part is letting them go. Tonight, Tim, Savannah, Sebastian and I sat down to eat dinner. I was tired and Tim was tired. Dinner was not a fancy affair. It was Sam's rotisserie chicken, watermelon and potato chips. I told them to pretend the potato chips were mashed potatoes with gravy. As I said the words mashed potatoes - my mind went immediately to Timmy. He loves mashed potatoes. We have eaten lots of meals without Timmy here. He has worked evenings on and off for a long time. The thing is that I would save leftovers for him to have later. I looked at the chicken and realized he wouldn't be here for leftovers. He wasn't here to listen to my bad joke about mashed potatoes. Again, my heart hurt. I realized that THIS was our NEW NORMAL. The new time in our lives where Timmy is not just at work and will be here tonight or tomorrow. I have heard and read stories about letting your kids leave the nest. I had no idea how hard it would be. I am so thankful that I still have young kids to sit at my dinner table. I don't think anyone wants to see me in 15 or 16 years when Sebastian leaves. I don't know how long it will take to get used to our new normal. Part of me doesn't want to get used to it. I want to say NO - NO WAY! I AM NOT READY! I know it doesn't work that way though. I hope he knows how much I love him and how much I will miss him. I will think of him every time I make mashed potatoes or chicken parmisan. So many times throughout my busy day, I will think of him and wonder where he is and what he is doing. I will miss my sweet boy.

The basement...

As some of you may remember, when we purchased this house - it was MANY COLORS. Keith and his crew painted the entire upstairs and Timmy's bedroom in a day. We didn't do much with the basement because it needed work. It was this SCREAMING RED color. I hated it. My family hated it. The problem was that it needed work. Things like putting casing on the windows, patching drywall, adding a ledge around the border, and crown moulding. Tim is working in the 100 plus degree heat these days. He is tired on the weekend and who can blame him? Sometimes I like to think I have gained wisdom as I have aged. One of the things I have learned is that it is not good for a marriage or relationship to constantly have a long TO DO list for your spouse. We bought our other house in 1999. The house was in okay condition. A few things needed quick attention, but really it was completely fine to accept. I went into overdrive on how I wanted this room to be or that room to be. Tim was on board for a lot of it, but sometimes he would have liked to have done no house projects. It took a toll on us. We finished that house to put it up for sale. The projects were DONE and then we MOVED OUT. When Tim saw how much work this house had, he felt just ill. I kept telling him there was no hurry to get it all done. He really did work to get the upstairs pretty much done along with all that painting his brother, sister and crew did. I kept thinking about that basement and all the work that needed to be done. I decided to go ahead and paint. All those things are not done, but the color change made it so much more inviting. I hung up curtains and put up blinds - you just don't know the windows aren't finished under there. We still need crown moulding, trim and a ledge in parts, but it is so much better. We don't hate to watch tv down there anymore. I have no idea when he will get to those projects and I really don't care. I just want to enjoy our movie space as best as we can without the stress. Amazing what one can figure out as they grow up!

I am not sure the picture shows how SCREAMING RED it was!
It is like a pale blue-green. I think very beachy.

He is starting to think about what he will put in the big fishtank.

It's OFFICIAL - Tim II has joined the ARMY...

This is the letter I sent to family - well two emails combined because I forgot something in the first one.

Hey y'all. Tim II (I really can't keep calling him Timmy now can I?) joined the Army, yesterday. He actually went to MEPS on Monday afternoon. He spent the night in a hotel and was taken to the facility around 5am on Tuesday. I waited and waited all day for a call. Nothing. Around 9:30pm - he called and said he was still waiting to go into negotiations. Around 12:30 AM on Wednesday MORNING - he called to say that he didn't decide on anything. He told them he needed to see more options and that he was not going to sign away 4 years of his life after sitting there for 19 hours. They sent him back to the hotel and told him to come back in the morning. He went back on Wednesday morning and started negotiations again. He said they would not offer him anything in the medical field like he wanted. They only had one medical field option and that was Food Inspector. He didn't care for that. He did finally find one job that he thought he might enjoy. It isn't something like Xray tech that he will have a skill after he gets out, but it is something he would like to learn and will get him through. The official title is Click here: GoArmy.com > Careers & Jobs > Field Artillery Automated Tactical Data System Specialist (13D) . He did really good negotiating for his best interest. He got a $40,000 bonus and $63,000 for college money. That is about as good as it gets! Now for the news that makes his mom's heart sink. He has to go to Fort Sill Oklahoma on August 4th (my dad's birthday). Wow! I was thinking this whole time that he would do boot camp at one of the close places. There are several around where we live. Fort Sill is 17 hours and 8 minutes away. Yes, I checked as quickly as I could. He will do 9 weeks of Basic Training and then 7 weeks of AIT there in Oklahoma. He doesn't know where he would go after that. He is going to be here in SC for a couple of days and then he is going back to Florida for a week or so. I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and hanging in there with me. Now, I need to you hang in there with me some more. I will keep you all updated to where he is and what he is doing. Keep him in your prayers and pray that I don't fall apart when he leaves. Also, can you pray for Savannah - she is trying hard to be brave that he is leaving, but I know she is going to have a hard time! Thanks everyone!

P.S. I forgot to say how PROUD we are of him and the decision he made. He worked so hard to get here. He lost something like 60lbs and studied to get a good score on his ASVAB test. We are pleased with all that he has done!

BROWNIES = BLESSINGS

I was looking for a picture of my sister-in-law, Karen. I couldn't find one that I hadn't already posted on my blog somewhere. The past 2 weeks has been unbearably stressful for me and my family. I couldn't blog because it was all I could do just to stay sane. My wonderful sister-in-law - Karen - made some brownies on Friday night. I know that sounds really simple. Brownies with a Symphony Bar added in the batter. AMAZING! She invited me over to have some. Remember that I try to find the blessings in everyday? This was a blessing! I am far from seeing all the problems worked out. My sister is still in the hospital and hopefully coming home soon. Tim II is still with the military trying to hammer out a deal. So far, they aren't giving him near what he wants. He was there, yesterday, from 5am to 12:30am. That was a long day. My lawsuit is still in limbo. My renters don't seem to be doing the work to buy the house. I don't have a whole lot of money or time to get up to Illinois to visit with my wonderful friends, Sebastian is still not potty trained. These are still all problems on my list. BUT... Karen made AMAZING brownies. She let me come over TWICE to eat brownies this past weekend. The second time, I ended up crying while I sat there. What a blessing to have a brownie and a shoulder to cry on. The week hasn't been as bad as it could have been, so I am finding God's grace.

A butterfly garden...

A quick update on my downer post - things are fixed by any means, but I think I have an idea of our next step on several things. I appreciate the kind words and emails! Right now, we are in a hotel in Georgia - on our way to Florida. We have a busy weekend planned and will be back in South Carolina on Monday. I didn't like knowing my last post was not a happy one, so I needed to add something. A little while back, Savannah and her Girl Scout troop planted a butterfly garden at a nursing home. They did this to earn their bronze award. The girls worked really hard planning and learning about a butterfly garden. Then they had to put their muscle into it. There is CLAY dirt in South Carolina. It was not fun digging it up. In the end, I think they did a great job and was really proud of them!