Spring Break: Week 2

I started a couple more blog posts last week, but we were so busy, none of them was finished. Maybe if things slow down, I can post them.

This week we're making raised beds. I replanted garlic, since last fall's planting failed miserably. It's late, but we'll see what happens. Tomorrow I hope to get the peas and spinach in the ground. Other seedlings are doing well under the grow light.

Wednesday was a big shopping day down in "the Cities". We had a Lowe's card from Kentucky, so we went to the nearest Lowe's and spent what was left on that. We also had a coupon for Home Depot, so we went a little wild buying plants there. Lynae and I both bought shoes at the Nike outlet. I noticed a Claire's across the parking lot, so we took the opportunity to do something we'd been discussing quite often lately; the girls both had their ears pierced.

We went to Perkin's for supper. It was the most peaceful restaurant meal we've enjoyed in years. We had a whole back dining room to ourselves, with wonderful ambiance and classical music. The kids are beginning to recognize classical composers, which made it even more special. We took some time to pray together while waiting for our meal. It was truly memorable.

Before coming home, we picked up a few more things for the garden at Walmart. Then a handsome young man drove us safely home, whereupon all the children soon tumbled into bed.

And now... it's my turn!

We may have a breakthrough!

The kids had their annual testing last month. The results aren't all that interesting, except for Jon's. He's tough to figure out sometimes... what IS going on in that brain of his??

His results showed that his vocabulary is extraordinary, and he has a very good grasp on social studies and science, but his language skills and math skills could only be worse if he didn't answer ANY of the questions. So basically, the best way for him to learn is to hand him a book and let him read about a topic, rather than using workbooks like we so often do for grammar and math.

Guess what? I found the Barron's Painless Series on Amazon, and I think we're on to something! I handed him the Painless Junior Math book and said, "Here, read your book." No conflict, no frustration. Within five minutes, he was excited to tell me he understands a concept he's struggled with for the five years I've tried to teach it to him. He keeps nodding his head as he's reading, saying, "Ok, I get it now." And the beauty of it is, it's a book he can read again later if he needs to. He just told me, "That's a pretty good chapter (on telling time). Now I don't even have to count the numbers by 5's anymore."

HALLELUJAH!!!

"I can tell today's gonna be awesome. It's warm out, and a good day to be outside. And also, I just learned how to tell time, so that helps my feeling that it's gonna be awesome."

Spring Break: Week 1

This morning was the official start of our four-week spring break. By 8:00 we were at the post office, picking up 21 broilers and 10 layers. By 10:00 we were ready to go back to bed.


The light ones won't be cute for long, but will be delicious in 6-8 weeks.

We (and by "we" I mean the kids, mostly) picked up trash from the yard, raked up the hay that insulated our underground pipes and provided traction for our otherwise icy and later muddy paths, and began the daunting task of bicycle maintenance. We also figured out the answer to an actual question typed into my Spring Break To-Do List: What's the deal with the staple gun? The deal was, it was jammed. Should be good to go now.

Tomorrow we will go shopping for all kinds of fun stuff -- a tub and sand for sharpened tools, a new garden cart, chicken feed, and probably a bunch of other stuff we need but I haven't remembered to put on the list. I'm also in the market for an exterior door, a shower enclosure, and a toilet. Doesn't that sound fun??

Jon gets to visit the orthodontist, too. That should be interesting; he's pulled out three teeth since his last visit.

The rest of our week will likely be rainy, but I think we'll still get a lot done. I'm hoping it will clear up after that, though, so we can enjoy more afternoons like this:

and this:

The Gulag Archipelago

God was there, too:

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kozyrev, whose brilliant career in astronomy was interrupted by his arrest, saved himself only by thinking of the eternal and infinite: of the order of the Universe -- and of its Supreme Spirit; of the stars; of their internal state; and what Time and the passing of Time really are.

And in this way he began to discover a new field in physics. And only in this way did he succeed in surviving in the Dmitrovsk Prison. But his line of mental exploration was blocked by forgotten figures. He could not build any further -- he had to have a lot of figures. Now just where could he get them in his solitary-confinement cell with its overnight kerosene lamp, a cell into which not even a little bird could enter? And the scientist prayed: "Please, God! I have done everything I could. Please help me! Please help me continue!"

At this time he was entitled to receive one book every ten days (by then he was alone in the cell). In the meager prison library were several different editions of Demyan Bedny's Red Concert, which kept coming around to each cell again and again. Half an hour passed after his prayer; they came to exchange his book; and as usual, without asking anything at all, they pushed a book at him. It was entitled A Course in Astrophysics! Where had it come from? He simply could not imagine such a book in the prison library. Aware of the brief duration of this coincidence, Kozyrev threw himself on it and began to memorize everything he needed immediately, and everything he might need later on. In all, just two days had passed, and he had eight days left in which to keep the book, when there was an unscheduled inspection by the chief of the prison. His eagle eye noticed immediately. "But you are an astronomer?" "Yes." "Take this book away from him!" But its mystical arrival had opened the way for his further work, which he then continued in the camp in Norilsk.

Coincidence, or Providence?

Mud season

It's no longer February. And that is a very good thing. In my world, February is the longest month of the year. So long and difficult, in fact, that it takes me well into March to recover. By the time I come to my senses, well, here we are in mud season.

Mud season is serious business here. Much of the outdoor activity is on hold and I, for one, am trying hard not to get stuck in the driveway. (I'm also hoping my guys keep the truck out of rain-drenched fields.) Lynae was right; we're surrounded by puddles. And many of them seem to be headed straight for our basement.

The return of the birds is one nice thing about this time of year. I heard a sandhill crane a couple mornings ago. Toby noticed a robin this week, too. Soon we'll see the bluebirds, the swallows, the warblers, maybe the waxwings. The frogs will come out, and the mosquitoes, the first brave and colorful flowers... and then we'll be well into Spring. Very nice, indeed. And remembering that will get me through mud season, I'm sure.

Hope

Hope: The feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.


You know, right now I am living in a swamp, and so right now we're surrounded by puddles. Not only that, but it's hard to find a decent place to park. It is also kinda hard to stay cheerful about the good weather when you're surrounded by water.

During times like these, it is important to stay hopeful. If we are pessimists about it, then of course it's going to suck! But if we just look forward to the drier months, then we won't even be thinking about the water, and the time will fly.

Keep in mind that no matter what situation you're going through, that things are in God's hands, and things will turn out for the better in the long run, if we let Him take care of them.

Wonderful!

As some of you may already know, we are planning on taking a vacation. I am really excited about that, because it will really be a double vacation. You see, we're going to New York (State) to see some relatives, and then stopping in Kentucky to see some friends before coming home.

I honestly can't decide which I'm more excited about; seeing my relatives, or seeing my friends and my old home. I'm really glad though that we get to do both.

There is one tough part though, and that is finding someone to take care of our animals while we are gone. You see, around here, if people aren't busy all the time, it's usually because they are old. All the kids go to public school, almost all their parents have jobs, and all the older folks that aren't still in the work force are too frail to come over 2 or 3 times a day to feed the chickens and walk the dogs. But I know that the Lord will provide, and that we won't have to worry, because He's good like that.

I won the weasel contest!

There was a contest on Trapperman.com recently to see who could catch the largest weasel. They had a separate division for children, and there were 6 other competitors in the children's division. I had the largest weasel and won the contest, which proved to the trappers on Trapperman that I am a devoted disciple of the Timber Midget, which is code name for Mr. Van Driel.

So I went to the Post Office the other day, and I opened the door and I quickly detected the fragrance of skunk essence. I wondered, "why does it smell like skunk, I haven't ordered anything lately have I?" No I hadn't ordered anything, but I had won the weasel contest. I had a large box, and when I went to get my box from the postmaster, he freaked out, as per usual. Don't tell him I said that, because he's getting better at that. Anyway, I had a large package that smelled like skunk juice, and I carried it all the way home. When I got it in the door, my own mother sent me away with it because of the aroma. I had to open it outside. When I did, I saw I had 3 weasel boxes, an F&T hat, some beaver lure, and some weasel lure. The latter of them was the offending odor which ruined the postmaster's day and freshened the scent on the brand new cap. The hat still smells like skunk, but I keep it where Mom doesn't go too often. The weasel lure was in a sealed jar, taped shut, in a Ziploc bag, wrapped in newspaper, in its own box which was taped shut, and inside the big box, and it still stunk up the post office.

In the adult's division, the two top contestants were Jack Pine Savage (Arnie Peterson), and 2poor AKA Timber Midget (Mr. Van Driel). I forgot who got third place, but I know these other guys personally, and they know me personally.