One week until school starts ...

Friday was my final day with little Winston, my nephew. We miss the little guy but are kicking into gear this week to get things ready before the busyness of school engulfs us. Mike has also taken time off to do some things as a family ... the museum, swimming at the big Greeley pool, maybe a movie ... it should be a fun, jam-packed week.

Today I'm baking, cooking and lesson planning. I made a quintuple (is that a word?) batch of muffins this morning and am starting some enchiladas now. We'll bring kolaches with us on one of our outings this week so I need to tackle that too. BUT I'm really trying to not get distracted cooking (which I enjoy) so that I can focus on school plans (which I don't enjoy). For some reason I don't mind planning for cooking but I don't enjoy planning for school. Probably because my idea of school is watching bugs or planting a garden and not teaching the sound of vowels (sorry, Marcy, Sophie must get it from me).

Corn Chowder with Cheese Biscuits

It's cool and cloudy today so I made corn chowder (with fresh corn from Tammy's garden) and cheese biscuits. It was a fantastic late summer/early fall meal. Here are the recipes:


http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/corn_chowder/

and

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cheese-biscuits-recipe/index.html

The only thing I might do differently next time is use 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter instead of all shortening in the biscuits. I mean ... BUTTER ... I know the shortening makes them flakey but the butter makes them taste so good! It wasn't until half way through dinner that it occurred to me how sick this meal is going to make dear Lizzy by morning ... ooops ... why does she love dairy so much when it makes her so sick. She only ate one serving of soup and none of the biscuit so maybe I'll get a break. Mercy.

I'm getting antsy for fall. One week until school starts ... more about that tomorrow!

Pool Pics

Mike's been taking the kids to the pool at 3:00 everyday just as it opens (once school starts they close until 3:00 because all the life guards are high school students) and they pretty much have the pool to themselves. A few days it's been hot but several days it's been really breezy and cool and I'm not sure how they've kept from catching a cold.

Luke

Mary (she's horrified a friend might see this picture but I've reassured her that I have a vault of way more horrifying pictures than this one!)

Anna

Rachel ... look at that expression on her face!

Ben and Jacob

Josiah, Elizabeth and Timothy stayed home with me. Timothy sat on a blanket in the grass and told stories to Elizabeth and my nephew Winston ... totally a priceless moment. Josiah just received his "summer reading" from Ridgeview and was reading ... good thing he likes to read.

This was on a cloudy day so you can only see the traces of the foothills in the back ground but on a clear day the mountains are beautiful. The pool has been such a blessing this summer.

Swimming in Produce!

I'm canning and cooking this week. I would like a good stash in the freezer before school starts and I would like to use up as much of my garden produce before I get too busy to process it all. Yesterday I canned 8 quarts and 3 pints of peaches plus 2 quarts and nine pints of Bread/Butter Pickles. The pickles are quick and easy but the peaches are hugely time consuming. Skinning, cutting, boiling in juice, jarring and then processing 5 jars for 30 minutes at a time. But WOW do they smell fantastic! In the process of all this my microwave died (maybe too much steam from the stove?) and the dishwasher is making a grinding sound which can't be a good sign. My stove has one burner out and keeps giving me a digital warning saying to contact a service representative. I figure as long as it keeps working I'll keep cooking.

For dinner last night I made a marinara sauce using everything from our garden. Onions, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, egg plant and basil. It was wonderful! Fresh produce is 1000 times better than store bought.

Today I'm putting beans, chicken and potatoes in crockpots/roaster to cook all day while I load curriculum on laptops and lesson plan. It's the first day in ages where I don't have to drive anywhere. Isn't that a treat?!

The children are acting as if they are in their final days of freedom before entering captivity. Before noon yesterday they had played kickball, soccer, basketball and run through the sprinklers. Mike took them to the pool in the afternoon as well. They were beat by dinner and ate my vegetable extravaganza with very few complaints.

Peaches and Pickles

The kids hauling rocks out of the back of our garden ... why would someone dump two feet deep of rocks in the back of their yard?

Two weeks until school starts ...

Just two weeks ... ack ... I have lots to do. Keeping busy last week actually served two purposes for me - it kept my mind off the miscarriage and it helped me get several things accomplished. I cleaned out my desk which had things stacked in the drawers from our move 3 years ago, I filled out gobs of paperwork for Josiah, I finished my record keeping from last year, created chore charts and made more pickles. I did all this (except the pickles) while "resting". I kept thinking, "why would I rest ... what's being busy going to do ... make me miscarry?" I think doctors just tell you "rest" because they think that will make you feel better but honestly it makes me insane! Just sitting and thinking ... aaaahhhhh... I'd rather be busy! On Thursday I genuinely had to rest and I knew it so I did. I'm not stubborn I just don't like to be idle. I still have to load the kids school onto their new laptops, come up with a rough outline for the little kids history, adjust our schedule and finish canning. I have 25 pounds of peaches and 25 pounds of tomatoes plus my garden produce to work through. Once school starts I won't have time and it's something I really enjoy. I'm also going to wake up the kids at the appropriate time and begin our new chores beginning Monday. With Joe gone a chunk of the day Benjamin will pick up some of his "big kid" duties and Joe will graduate to more late day chores. I'll post our new charts when I'm all finished. Mike's come up with a reward system that I'm hoping will eliminate my need to oversee the little kids chores as much ... I'm skeptical but hopeful. So, I'll close with why I've made all these pickles ...

This jar was full when the girls came home from the pool ...it is now half gone. I've never thought how many pickles our family goes through but I don't think I could possibly can enough until next summer but I've made a valiant effort. I've canned dill pickles, dill green beans, dill zucchini, bread and butter pickles and have ambitions to make some sweet gherkins.

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Job 1:21

After an ultrasound today we saw that we lost our wee little baby a week or two ago and are now in the throws of a miscarriage. Such a sad and disappointing time.

When I was a brand new Christian I memorized a poem ... a pretty sappy poem but not to a 17 year old I guess. One of the lines in it was:

"There are times in life we all must face
as we struggle and fight to win the race.
Times of temptation, disappointment and doubt
when we wonder if pain is what life's all about.
At times just like these in the hours before dawn
that we remember the sunrise and keep pressing on."

For some reason I think of that poem all the time. Because the sunrise of life is just so beautiful. And my sunrise right now is gorgeous ... just blurry. Not only my eternal "sunrise" but my precious life. Despite these trials I am just so blessed. My family, friends, church ... I know I am being carried by the hands and feet of Christ with those God has placed in my life. God's grace and mercy surround me.

Mike's Spurgeon reading for this evening concluded with this perfect end to our difficult day:

"A mother's heart cries, 'Spare my child'; but no mother is more compassionate than our gracious God. When we consider how hard-mouthed we are, it is a wonder that we are not driven with a sharper bit. The thought is full of consolation, that he who has fixed the bounds of our habitation, has also fixed the bounds of our tribulation."

Highlands Ranch Scottish Festival and the end of VBS

We finished up VBS on Friday complete with a few hours of clean-up and then raced to get ready for a weekend in Denver for the Colorado Scottish Festival. I was concerned that Mary would be too tired and distracted after such a crazy week but boy was I wrong. Mary won 4 1st Places, 1 2nd Place and 1 4th Place AND the over best Beginner both days. She is now moving up to Novice! It was thrilling to watch. The boys all stayed home, mowed the church, did laundry, ate junk food and watched boy movies. So, I'd say a good, albeit exhausting, weekend was had by all.

When the girls and I returned home we grabbed a quick nap and then went to church for our VBS Finale. It was a blast! We sang and watched a video of our week and then had ice cream sundaes. It was fun to meet all my kids parents and show off what we did all week.

We took yesterday to catch up on rest and play which has made today a busy day. We cleaned the basement and have worked on the yard. My garden is exploding! I'm able to make a few jars of pickles a day and we're eating up the tomatoes and cukes as fast as they can grow. It's just so fun! I love my garden! I'll post pictures of it when I get a chance!

Day 3 of VBS ... my Rockin' Robins!

The 1st/2nd Grade Rockin' Robins! Aren't they cute?! Two kids weren't with us during the picture which is too bad. Our them is Jesus is the Rock which is why I chose Rockin' Robins for our name.

Sun Rock Kids Camp

We're onto day three of Vacation Bible School ... Sun Rock Kids Camp! It's been a blast! I'm teaching 1st/2nd grade and have 22 kids ... 16 boys and 6 girls! Eeeek! We are all working and playing hard. We get out the door by 8:15 and get home at 12:30. By 1:00 many of us are napping. It's just non-stop singing, playing, crafting, dancing ... what fun! I'll bring the camera tomorrow but for today I'll have to rely on the pictures that Mary has taken. She's a helper with the Preschoolers with Anna and Rachel.
Anna at Game Time ... I'm not sure I want to know what the Incredible Hulk gloves were for ...
This explains the gloves a bit I guess ... it's the back of Rachel ... she's even cute from the back!
Craft Time ... they put the ocean in a bottle ... I told Rachel I thought this was impossible but she assures me it is not ... I'll have to wait to see the ocean until Sunday.
Anna at crafts.