Brothers

I think Samuel is getting a good look at how he is going to look in 13 years.

Except for the hair color, and the fact that they are 13 years apart......they coulda been twins.

Earth Day

Its amazing to me how popular "Earth" life has gotten.  Not that I find this upsetting, actually its a wonderful thing, but it kind of just exploded.

Happy Earth Day!!   Is this a holiday?  Will it become a holiday?  The amount of attention it is receiving is a bit bordering on worship, but if you keep it in perspective, it is a good thing. 

Chloe has been a recycle nazi since I can remember.  She is so good.  We are not allowed to get lazy about recycling around here.  In fact one time I went to the store AND FORGOT MY CANVAS BAGS!!!!  She was so disappointed in me.  I quickly got over my guilt, but try real hard to remember my canvas bags, of which we have loads of, before I go out.

Chloe even gets her college books from Cheggs.

You can rent your books from them, and they will plant a tree!!  Its book recycling at its best.  Side note here, I REALLY like the part about not having to sell your books back or missing the sell back 2 day frame and then having these books around the house for FOREVER.  She has tried to get her friends to do this.  I'm not sure how successful she was, but she will do her part.

Chloe & I went to Macy's this past weekend, and I was shocked to see that about every other shirt has to do with recycling!!  AT MACY'S!!!!  (and they sell canvas bags too!!) I mean, yes of course we see them all the time at EMS, which is were we got John & Lance's stuff.  But Macy's??  WOW!! 

Let me tell you though, they were not worth the $38 price tag.  They were so cheaply made and the fabric looked almost thread bare.  Hmmmm. I prefer not to pay so much for clothing, but sometimes I do if it will last.  As with the boy's clothes.  John has EMS shirts from about 10 years ago.  That get constant wear.  And they still look decent.  These Macy's shirts wouldn't last the season.  So what if they donate a dollar??  I can donate a dollar anywhere and get a better deal by not paying 37 for a t-shirt worth nothing. 

Okay I am off my soap-box.

In fact, after what I am about to say, some people may want to hurl me off my soap box.

The one thing that I am not earth friendly about, is my car.  I have a Suburban.

I love my car.

I told my kids I will do everything else,willingly and usually joyfully.  But I am not about ready to give up my car.  It is one of the most practical things we own.  We take everyone everywhere in that thing.  We lug around furniture.  John uses it when his car is in the shop.  Yes, it is a boat.  But it is my boat.  And I love it.

Computers,gadgets, and eventual entertainment.

So, isn't it funny how the younger generation "gets" the new stuff so much faster then their parents?

I remember when I was a kid, and my parents would get a new gadget, and I would figure it out for them, and then explain it.  I remember thinking,  "  Geez, when I get to be their age, I'm going to be so darn smart, that I won't need my kids to explain nothing."

Yeah.

That didn't work out as well as I had hoped.

So, anyway, my child show this video to me, which made me wonder, is the computer THAT great that you would spend THAT much time on it to find this eventually??  But then he told me his friend sent it to him.  Which goes back to the same question, but a different person.

Anyway, I have to admit.  Its a good one!! 

The Evolution of Dance

Definitely worth watching if you remember way back when.

Feeding the masses

My mom was over at the house today.  We were working on her Bible Study Fellowship study.  We somehow got on the subject of the monthly food budget.

I have a friend who religiously goes through the Sunday paper to check all the sales, cut out the coupons ( from about 6 papers) compares and plans her weekly trips to various supermarkets to get the best deals.  And then does it again the following Sunday.

My philosophy is, if Costco, the fruit market or Trader Joe's doesn't have it, I probably don't need it.

Yes, there may be times I can get something at the supermarket for a little less. Yes, I could enjoy getting double coupon ( and admittedly sometimes I do) ( by chance more then purpose).Yes sometimes a variety in the shampoo we use would be lovely.

 But in the end,  a good game of Scrabble with my husband is so much more delightful.  Going over a friend's house for tea is more valuable.  Going for a walk ( in good weather) with one of the children, going to my parent's house or even sitting with my neighbor, Miss Sophia, quietly watching the world go by, but enjoying the companionship, is worth so much more to me.

I have felt guilty for YEARS over this.  I finally accepted myself for who I was in this.  John likes me better this way.  I think he prefers me spending more time on reading a good book to Samuel, then stopping at the next great bargain.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE BARGAINS.  But sometimes the best bargain for me is once a month shopping at Costco, once every 10 days shopping at the fruit market, and once every 3 weeks at Trader Joe's.   No going to more places and finding stuff I didn't realize I needed until I saw them.

So, my budget works for us.

And we are all okay with that.

Smarty Pants Club

Chloe got inducted into the Smarty Pants Club at her college last night.  It actually has a more dignified name, but I keep forgetting what it is.

She was voted as Vice President for the next year.

Here she is after the awards ceremony.  They gave everyone a white rose & a candle. It has significant meaning.  I forget what it was.

Chloe & Samuel.  

Chloe & Her dear friends from high school years. AnnMarie is such a joyfilled child.  I am glad they are friends.

So, I understand that the Smarty Pants Club is quite serious, and am so glad my daughter is a part of it.  :)

ALmost time!!!!!

It was 73 degrees here yesterday.

73 degrees!!!!

After finishing school yesterday, Samuel & I went out to the backyard yesterday, and had a blast.  We even got on the trampoline together, and laughed & laughed.  My across the street neighbor just sat there and watched us.  Probably laughing at me jumping on that trampoline in my dress. 

Once again, I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt.  I saw my bleeding hearts popping out of the ground!  Oh, I can't wait.

I spend a small fortune on flowers for the house.  But they are oh so worth it.  It just looks so pretty. I love to drive up to my house, and see the pretty colors as I park.

Growing up, my dad created an English garden in our front yard every year.  People would slow down when they drove by, just to look at it.  Some people actually stopped & got out to look at it, and sometimes, even knock on the door to ask questions.   And the back yard was a mini farm.  He grew more fruits & vegetables then anyone I ever met.  (I can't grow veggies.  John does that.)

Yes, I grew up with beauty and color. And though I am not as good as my dad, I will still try.

And I can't wait.

Beautiful Speech

Chloe asked me watch Pride & Prejudice with her this evening.

And she knows she doesn't have to ask twice.  I have seen that movie too many/not enough times.

It is her personal favorite.  I am more inclined to say, my favorite is Sense & Sensability.

Still the point is, it is amazing at how irritating Elizabeth's mother could be.  Oh my.  So often I would say out loud, can you please stop talking??  To which Chloe would comment, " She can't hear you , mom".  

Tonight, it made me take stock of my life.  Am I a busy body?  Am I a ridiculous talker.  Where on earth are my priorities? And I a blessing?  To my children? To my husband?  To my King?  

This is the first time when watching, it made me reflect back to myself.  Mind you, she has always irritated me.  Just in the past, I would focus on Elizabeth's attitude of honoring her mother inspite of herself.  Admirable, truly.

But tonight, I thought, HEY, I'm a mom. Am I like that??!?!??!?

Oh Precious Jesus, make my speech be beautiful.  May the words of my mouth ( or lack there of) glorify You.  

I'm glad I watched the movie tonight.  

BTW, Chloe feel asleep at one point.  But don't worry, I woke her up for the good parts.  :) 

Stress

It kind of says it all........

Sleepers

Do you have a sleeper in the house? 

I do.  Chloe is my sleeper.  Since she was little, she loves to sleep.  That has never changed.  I always told John, if this dear child of ours ever is blessed with a husband ( not that I don;t think she will, but I am  more in the camp of "never decide God's plan for our children's lives")  We need to tell her dear husband what a crank she is when she is woken up from her favorite thing in the world.  We will tell him after the I dos. lol.  Not to say she is lazy.  She is not.  She is actually my busy bee.  But she does love her sleep.

Samuel on the other hand is the complete and total opposite.

He was 6 weeks old when he decided that he only needed a 20 minute nap in the middle of the day.  And THATS IT.  This is after falling asleep at 2am, and waking up at 7:30 am.  

I took him to the doctors in tears, begging for her to do something to fix him.  After some tests, it was concluded that some babies just don't need as much sleep as others.   As long as they are growing normal, acting normal,doing everything a baby should be doing.  

BUT THEIR MOTHERS NEED TO SLEEP!!!!!!!

He is still a non sleeper.  So, on Wednesday, when he woke up at 7, went back to sleep at 9am and I finally woke him up at 6pm out of a deep sleep.  You know he is sick and fighting something.  I don't need to take his temperature.  I don't need to see a runny nose.  I just watch him sleep.

And it is so disturbing to me, I check on him about every 20 minutes.  It is such an unusual sight.

It was a 24 hour thing, for we are back to normal. 

I asked him one day, what he does in the dark of the night. He said, " I am thinking, mom"  He is 9.  How much can a 9 year old think about?????

Moving

So, Josiah's family moved across town.

Moving day(s) are the pits.

I would actually stay in this small house of ours, just so as not to have to move.

I went over to help them clean & organize their new home.  I love to clean things when they are so open & spacious!!  I must say , though,I am amazed at the amount of STUFF one can accumulate.  Myself included I am sure.

Jane is also a homeschooler like myself.  And as any homeschooler will tell you, books are a nightmare in a blessing disguise.  We can't seem to get rid of them.  They are like ball & chains around our ankles and we will never get rid of them to the point of death.  You can pry them off our dead cold fingers.  Thats about it.  We love books.  They become like family members and therefore becoming almost sin-like to get rid of them.  We may consider loaning them out, but only if we have a clear understanding of who you are, and can be trusted with such a precious possession.

Yes, we homeschooler are ridiculous that way.

BUT WE GOT RID OF BOOKS!!!! Books that we know she will never use again..

I finally talked her into it, and feeling guilty that I did such a thing, I came home and have started getting rid of books in my house also.  After all, organization and being able to control your stuff is much more valuable then stuff itself.

Right?

Maybe?

Hmmmm.........