Summer Days

I had promised the children I'd take them to the lake to swim on Friday if they did their chores well during the week.

Friday came and so did a stormcloud.

So, I got them water pistols instead.

But Saturday was mostly sunny, so they took their water guns to the lake.

Along with these awesome masks.

I was surprised that Thomas loved his so much.

He wore it the entire time we were at the lake.  

Not once did he put his head in the water.

As we were getting ready, it was too much fun to take pictures of them mugging around.

Sam's mask was almost too small.

It left these awesome red marks on his face.

Mariah (as always) was totally interested.

Then it became even more fun to mug in the mirror.

I couldn't resist.

The kids loved the lake.  It was crowded at the beach and I admit to feeling apprehensive about bringing all the kids to the lake by myself when only one can swim.  I slathered lotion on everyone anyway.

The kids immediately fell to splashing and frolicking with the other children on the beach.

I wish I got pictures.

The lake was much more fun for me than I expected.  Well, at first I held back in the shade and busied myself with the following occupying me: Where's Thomas?  Digging in the sand  Where's John? Oh yeah, asleep in my arms. Where's Sam? "Be careful!" Where's Mariah? "Don't touch that!" Repeat.

Then, John woke up and I ventured nearer to the shore.

The sand was ooch ooch hot!  So I half dragged the little boys with all my gear trying to keep them from burning their feet.  We made it to the wet sand and cooled our tootsies and I found a nice surprise.

The beach has a nice and shallow decline into the lake. Well, half of it had formed a sort of sand bar where water had been trapped to form a shallow, very warm kiddie pool.

The baby was overjoyed that I'd let him loose to splash to his heart's content.

With him in that little "safety zone" I felt much more relaxed and I just soaked my feet in the hot water and watched everyone play.  It felt so nice!

Thomas dug in the sand the whole time, only entering the water briefly (like when it was time to leave and I already had my shoes on).  He was adorable though, making little rock stacks and hopping on the sandbar.  He got soooo sunburned, poor widget.

Mariah made friends with everyone in sight.  In fact I heard her tell someone that making friends is her LIFE.  She said it like that.  And she's correct.

Sam made some "friends" who were impressed with his mask at first, I think.  They were quite a ways from me, so I couldn't really hear them, but then I noticed them jumping on him whenever he went under water.

I started making my way over there.  No way was I going to let those little fetchers drown my son.

But he stood up and dealt with them and they went back to playing.  I decided to hold my distance but keep watching.

It happened again.  I wanted so badly to go over them and tell them off and drag him away, but something told me he could handle this and it would be good for him.

I think there's an analogy in that for me about how Heavenly Father lets me swim on my own sometimes.

Anyway, it was fun and we're going to try to get swimming in once a week for the summer if we can.

But we'll need to bring more sunblock.  We were all toasted! :)

Finding the Faith and the Funny

Sometimes, things in life are uncomfortable or undesirable.  And sometimes they're painful.

 Like, salt and lemon juice in your internal organs painful.

  But there is a cure- or at least a coping mechanism.  In fact there are two that I find work well.

Yep.  

Because we all need help coping from time to time.

But they aren't drugs or supplements or anything.

I hurt sometimes.

  So, lately I've been trying to avoid feeling too much.  You know, keep it intellectual and practical.  I figured it out all by myself.

  I deduced that all the trouble has to get easier and simpler if I avoid movies and music that carry too much emotional weight.  I don't read thrillers or dramatic novels and I absolutely steer clear of romances.  I even avoid art that evokes too much emotion.

  Happiness and Joy are okay.  But in moderation or it can throw the balance off.  I thought I had my emotions licked. I was as stable as stale toast.

But guess what?  It only worked for a bit.  Because Life isn't about avoiding pain.  We are here to learn and most learning experiences (usually the best ones) involve sacrifice and discomfort.

In fact, I have a theory that no matter what changes we make to our lives, we are still going to have the same opportunities (and challenges) that we were meant to have for our good and learning.

So Avoidance is out.

But then, what to do?  It's all very well to talk about this on a blog, but I can't very well cave in to my inner turmoil when I'm in the middle of teaching my children to be healthy, happy people.

There has to be a tool that helps me deal so I am not debilitated by my (sometimes hormone induced) cray cray feelings.

So, first, I want to say this.  I was meant to have feelings.  I'm a woman and a mother and without vital emotions like worry, compassion and sympathy, my family would one by one die in their sleep.  (I'm absolutely convinced of this.)

But really, feelings are necessary to life, so they shouldn't be repressed to the point of disappearing.  They are what life is all about.  Love, Joy, Happiness.

Assurance, Peace and Kindness.  You get where I'm going with these?

So, anyway, my two favorite coping mechanisms that we can use (that aren't drug related) are some of the tried and true methods our ancestors have employed since the beginning.

IN FACT THEY'RE EMBARRASSINGLY SIMPLE AND OBVIOUS.

Finding Faith in spite of trials and Finding the Funny

God is always there no matter what happens to us.If we can learn his will and seek it in earnest, holding fast to it no matter what, we will have found the trick of life.

And on a lighter note, what happens to us is usually pretty funny from the right perspective.

If one or both of those things doesn't work for you, then maybe that's a trial you need, so I won't interfere.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

Memorial Day Weekend

We were rained out Saturday.  It was a bummer for the kids because we had been planning for over a month (well, all year, really) to go to the annual Buffalo Days celebration in Greenfield.
It is a tradition to attend and participate in the very very important, very solemn turtle races.  There are other exciting things too: a beauty queen contest, a parade, a baby contest, buffalo chip chucking, dancing, live music, craft booths, etc.
There was a carnival in town and everything.
And then it rained.

I woke up that morning and thought, bummer!  My poor kiddos.  And my poor husband who is in Texas this weekend, away from home and working in all that rain.

But my family surprised me.  They were troopers!  When I told the children we couldn't go, they bucked up and when I suggested that we hold our own carnival, they were exuberant!

Rainy Day Carnival

Drag Race

Rules: Teams of two (or three if you're curious how fast you can get it to go) must race to laundry center and back for a best time on a stopwatch.  One person drags blanket with other person sitting on it.  Switch at laundry center for return run.

Cup Bowling

Rock Candy Prizes

Sack race

Fried Chicken for Lunch

Turtle Race in the barn downstairs

Mariah's turtle crossed the circle first for the win!

Sam and I played several rounds of chess.

Then we all headed outside and rode bikes, climbed trees and played with rocks and rhymes.

Sam especially loved the rhyming game; basically every two sentences we said had to rhyme.  There were a few made up words and near misses.  Then Sam discovered the power of saying, "You see".  At the end of his first phrase. 

It was a fun, if a little lazy, day.

We took  a minute to talk about what Memorial Day was about and who it was for.

We learned how to respect the flag and what it means to sacrifice for your country.

Sam asked if a man could ask to quit if the war got bad. We had a good discussion about that and his innocent mind had to take a minute after to reflect on the duty our military men and women honor when they fight for our country.

Happy Memorial Day

Sunsets and Summer Chores

I've always taken the beautiful sunsets here very personally.

To me, they are a reminder of my Heavenly Father's care.

This particular sunset was at the end of April.

The redbuds have now turned green with their heart-shaped summer leaves, but I love the spring here with the redbuds and dogwoods all in bloom!

The garden is in full swing now!  It's no longer these patient, brown beds of promise, but vibrant green blessings!

We have strawberries ripening near the asparagus and the onions, peas, broccoli and kale are strong and beautiful.

Mimi had the kids out there today doing "extra" work, planting and weeding.

Now, around here, everyone is expected to pitch in gratis. Just for the pleasure and privilege of being in the family and on the farm.  But some jobs come with an even sweeter offer.  Sam's grandma has promised a sum at the end of the summer for watering plants and animals.

It's a big, important job.

He and Mariah also make extra money sometimes when they do extra work.

Today they came in with rootbeer and a dollar.  We made floats so they could cool off after their exertions.

It's a blessing to live where there's so much work to be done and such rich reward.

We're lucky to have Mimi and to live on her farm and get to do all these things.

It teaches them so much!

But it doesn't end there. 

This summer, I've changed the chore schedule around, something that must be done ever 4-6 weeks, I've noticed (or the novelty wears off in a really bad way!).

Mariah has graduated from emptying the dishwasher. That's now Thomas' job (with my help, of course).

They each have one job per year of age they are.

I've been so happy knowing the beds will be made every morning and the rooms will be picked up- and I don't usually have to remind them!

Why?  Well, I printed off their chores and posted them on the fridge, along with MY chore chart.

That's right!  I have my share of chores and I'm held accountable this way.  I find that they tend to follow my example.

It is FAR from perfect around here.  There are still tantrums and whining, but the biggest change has been in me because I'm not so worried about what hasn't been done and procrastinating because I feel guilty for not getting to it.  I know it will get done because I've scheduled it, so I have much more time to play.

For my own reference, Here's what my chores look like:

The kids have the same, routine.  We make our beds at the same time, wipe our bathroom sink etc.

Miriam Can 

Always Have a Clean House

& Be Happy 

Every Morning

Make Your Bed as soon as you rise

Swish and Swipe your Toilet and sink (since you're already in the bathroom) :)  

Get Dressed in Clean clothes. Put on Makeup

Brush Mariah’s Hair

Change Thomas and John

Breakfast and Scriptures

Unload Dishwasher with Thomas

Wash and Dry a load of laundry

Help kids finish Outside Chores

Daily Cleaning Duty 

Every Night After Dinner

Load Dishwasher as Mariah clears table

Bedtime routine: Brush teeth, wash face, layout clothes 

Fold laundry during screentime

Pickup house after kids are down

They are responsible for pick up in their bedrooms before bed.

Daily Cleaning Duty

Monday - Dust...everywhere!

Tuesday-Vacuum and sweep all floors

Wednesday-Garbage & organize an area

Thursday-Clean Fridge and get Groceries 

Friday-Bathrooms. 'nuff said.

Saturday -Car and kitchen deep clean

Lay Out Clothes for Church and the week

A Chance to Thank My Mother

...is always welcome!   Hooray for Mother's Day!

I sure do love this lady!  

Mom, we need to do this again, soon! 

Love you!  

Happy Mother's Day

I love these irises...

They grace Mimi's front lawn and I love their color and abundance.  I especially love how much they smell like root beer!  

The kids have caught their first box turtle

They catch several every year and we keep the fastest ones until Buffalo Days.  It's a celebration of summer on our town square with booths full of local crafts and tasty treats.  There are also a few rides, usually.  And the ultimate tradition for the kids is the turtle race.  A box of box turtles (eh heh) is released in the middle of a chalk ring and the first turtle to cross the ring is the winner.  We've never even been a close second, but it's still a blast!