For A Season…..

When we moved in, we had grand plans of landscaping and out buildings. It’s going to take a bit more time than we thought, to gather materials and do it right….. but we started to lay plans on Mother’s Day.

Hubby spent a couple hours mapping out our house and yard on a computer program so that we can mess with landscaping plans. The software allows us to see what it will look like and play with heights and street views until we find what works the best. We will probably start with my English Country-Garden that we plan to do in the front yard. We hope to create a garden with pathways and greens to play on by using nothing but edible landscaping. I’ve been researching flowers for teas, herbs, and medicinal plants that will grow in our area and give diverse colors and textures. To these we will add the traditional garden vegetables and several fruit trees. The goal is to make something both practical and beautiful. Hubby tracked down where the stones came from to do our house, so we will get a pallet of those to start on the fence, this winter. We will start laying out the beds and preparing soil, soon. We may even have some of the garden beds ready to plant for an early fall crop! It will probably take several years to get it all in, but we are going to work in sections and get things growing and tended before adding more. The mock-ups look so cool!

We’ve been looking for something fun to do. We tried PE class and the kids loved it up until they moved it outside into the sweltering heat. (Before it was always held in an air conditioned gym at one of the local churches.) We traveled a bit, then it got rained out, now the kids are concerned that they will be behind since they missed too many classes. They don’t want to be the kid that all the other kids groan about having on their team because they don’t know the rules or how to play the game.

So the search for something fun continues. Recently, we received info on a Contra Family Dance. Sounds interesting. Apparently a couple families were looking for dance outlets for their daughters that did not promote immodesty, coarse dancing, or pairing off with a “date”. They discovered contra dances, like the dances done in Pride and Prejudice…They also include Scottish Folk and Irish Country dances. There is a caller that teaches the steps and calls the dance. You are constantly changing partners, so there is no “date” required and all who choose to dance, may. (Takes pressure off the boys, since we are not encouraging pairing off at this stage and we wouldn’t allow our young daughter to attend in a “date” situation either!) This group has lessons at a church about once a month and then at the end of the year, they have a big dance where they encourage families to dress for the period (Victorian/civil war). The dance includes 2yr olds all the way up to grandparents.

I ran it by the kids to see if they would be interested. The Imp is begging to start NOW. She watched Pride and Prejudice and has been asking when we can sew her costume. The boys like that they can just show up and not have to select a girl or declare a commitment to a girl, just to attend. I think we will hold off on this year’s end of the year dance and wait for the classes to begin again. We can attend those and see if they like them, and then sew costumes for all of them, for next year’s dance. Maybe I can convince Hubby to join in, also. It sounds like a lot of fun and a neat way to meet other homeschool families.

We just had an awesome week! Our friends from Florida came out to stay. We attended a museum, swam, shared yummy recipes, and spent many hours visiting. We were so happy to have them here. Everyone was a bit blue when they had to leave, yesterday. (Even the dog is moping because he misses playing with their puppy.)

We are so fortunate to be blessed with such good friends.

Here’s some pics from the day at the museum…..

The Gang

Boys as Boogers

Imp as a Poo

Mom finally gets to pet her cow!

Lately, there has been several things going on…..

The Sarge has obtained his learner’s permit and has begun driver’s ed. We opted to go with the parent taught version, and now I am not sure that was a good plan. Our first driving attempt was uneventful (as in….. we did not harm or maim anyone/thing) but I think we will continue to stay on deserted country roads and empty parking lots for awhile!

We had the opportunity to go back to Florida with hubby for his business trip. The children and I played very hard and saw as many friends as we could squeeze in. It was a very good week. We missed everyone so much and it was very therapeutic to be in familiar surroundings with close friends. The Airsoft game was the highlight for the boys. Apparently a black bear wandered onto the playing field looking for lunches. One of the dads went all Lord of the Rings on it with a garden tool, making a big show of waving it and yelling, “None shall pass!” The bear finally loped off, but then they had to watch their backs in case it returned. The bear made the game even more “Awesome!” for the boys. The Imp’s highlight was having her girlfriends come to the hotel for to swim. We haven’t had any girlie play-dates since we moved, so she enjoyed that immensely. We are hoping to meet more children either through church or once school is out and the kids are playing outside more.

We are still looking for a church. We found two that we like, but haven’t been able to discern where God wants us, yet. We are still praying about it and getting to know them both.

Yesterday we undertook the adventure to find Xerxes a vet. He was due for his heart worm/flea meds and we needed to get them before his last dose expired. We checked the vets in the area and found feedback on line so that I wasn’t walking in to the place totally ignorant.

I was confident that Xerxes would be good on the car ride over. I had selected the vet close to home so that he would not be sick every time he had to make the drive. Besides, 7 minutes in the car is nothing, I had him traveling without getting car-sick for up to 45 minutes in Florida. I brought the Imp with me to help with the handling while I filled out paperwork. We left with purpose.

The dog hung his head out of the window, while the Imp crooned to him in the back seat. We kept the window down so that he would be less queasy. Quite proud that the trip had been uneventful, we pulled into the parking lot. Just as I threw the car into park, the dog got sick. The Imp tried to stick the bag under his nose, but he leaned out of the open window. There was much scurrying and hollering. I figured it couldn’t be that bad since he had his head out the window. We pulled out “THE KIT” (yes, I have a dog-sick kit in my car) while the Imp kept him in the grass to finish hurling. The dog managed to aim it directly down the window crack of the open window. Sigh. I cleaned up the car and wiped down what we could. The vet’s staff had heard the commotion and had sent a tech to peer through the window casually and report to the others what was happening. Yeah, we’re classy that way. I love to make a first impression with my dog hurling, my daughter shrieking, and me hollering about dog barf.

The dog then decided to do a 2 on the vet’s lawn. Luckily I was prepared and tossed one of the sick bags to the Imp to clean it up. So there I stand with a sick sack and a bag of poo trying to figure out what to do with them. I double bagged the sick sack and tucked it in the foot well. The Imp was mortified and couldn’t find a trashcan outside of the office. By this time the staff had taken its places and were waiting to see if we were going to come in. With a squirt of hand sanitizer and our paperwork, I grabbed the poo bag and we entered the lobby. I offered the poo bag to the desk girl without missing a beat, “Hey, I figured you’d need a fecal sample….so we brought you one.” (Oh, yeah….I planned for this! NOT.) That seemed to break the ice and they made the tech run the test since she was lowest seniority.

The building was ancient but clean. The staff was super friendly and helpful. The doctor was an elderly gentleman with much sage advice about the training of dogs and views on life in general. He asked me to read the dog’s name for him. Then repeated it shaking his head, “Xerxes? I have never heard of a dog with a name like that.” Thinking it was the obvious choice for home schoolers studying the ancient kings, I blurted, “It’s the name of a Persian King we were studying.” He made some sort of snorting sound and murmured something that sounded like, “Now I’ve seen it all.” In the end, we got the meds for the dog, with what little dignity we could muster after our little circus show for the staff. I’m happy to report he made it home without incident (we stopped 1/2 way, at a gas station for a few minutes). Sigh.

The Imp’s dear little hamster almost met its maker this weekend.

She called us to peer into the brightly colored cage to observe how Zamir was flopped across his wheel. Inwardly groaning at the broken heart that would soon follow, we watched the fuzzy golf ball struggle to breathe and explained to the Imp that we cannot take a $1 hamster to the vet. We offered hugs and shoulders to cry on, words of hope carefully chosen….so as not to raise expectations too high.

She prayed for her hamster not to suffer and if it was God’s will to let her keep her little friend….just a little while longer. Zamir slept in her hand and seemed comforted by her ministrations.

The next morning, the Imp reported that he was drinking a little. Zamir shook when he moved and it was an effort for him to get across the cage. She gave him a little piece of veggie and offered water often throughout the day.

Two days later, her hamster seems to have made a significant recovery. He still sleeps more than usual and doesn’t run on his wheel yet, but he is eating and coming to the cage gate when she offers treats. The Imp is very happy and explained that she knows he won’t live forever, but that God let her keep her little friend just a little bit longer. Probably because He knows she hasn’t had a chance to make real friends yet. Precious faith of children.