My Second Job...

I'm on the night shift now. I walk around the farm yard briefly looking for things askew...or strange sounds. Tonight on patrol near the barn I heard a frantic meow from one of our little kitties. I was thinking maybe it was trapped underneath the barn so I brought some food over hoping to lure it out somehow. Then I heard scratching and more meowing. I finally figured out it was coming from underneath the lid of a charcoal grill we have sitting in our barn. Poor little thing came scrambling out pretty hungry. I do think he must have been in just today. I'll never know because "no one" did it. Didn't think anyone would fess up when I asked....although I do have my suspicions. And he's 5. We do love animals. Yes we do. Some of them just don't show it in the nicest ways.

With the Girls Gone...

There isn't anything left out on the counter or the bathroom windowsill...

There isn't a fog of hairspray in the bathroom (but I am cleaning off the sticky goo!)...

There isn't a mess on the girls' bedroom floor...

There is a little less laundry to do...

There isn't quite as much food to make for meals...

There's a little less food consumed in the nighttime hours...

There aren't as many movies watched...

There's a little black/white dog and 8 other people who miss them terribly! :)

So Proud!

I am so proud of my two oldest girls (14 and 12) They traveled solo from here to NC to visit good friends for 10 days. They navigated O'Hare like pros. (never having been on a commercial flight before) Now they are making memories, playing on the beach and just having girlfriend fun. The most amazing part is that they packed all their clothes and hair stuff in two carry-ons :)
Have fun girls! Love you! I hope to see some amazing pictures.

We survived!

We made it home from camp and had a great time! I think camp is actually more of a vacation than our "vacations" because I don't have to think about meals for 2 WHOLE days!! The speaker was an 84 yr. old gentleman with a very funny sense of humor. I left with a stomachache after each meeting and convicting thoughts on seeking God.
He reminded me of one of the actors in the movie Grumpy Old Men. What a heart for serving the Lord!

We have piles of laundry taller than me. I think I'll be running the machine the next 2-3 days! Every set of sheets, blankets, swim and bath towel was brought along. I don't think we came home with anything clean. But that's camp.

We really enjoyed having a few CR families join us this year. Felt almost like our adoptive mom's retreat :)

Love talking to old friends and seeing the babies/children of the babies I use to hold. Nothing makes me feel older than that!

I had to laugh when I heard a friend told one of my daughter's how "cool" I was in school growing up and she thought she was a nerd. I had just been talking to someone else about Michael Jackson and admitting that I actually wore a glove on one hand...for a few short weeks. Really cool, huh? :0

Today is beautiful and I know my garden must be full of weeds. Off to work outside. My daughter might be posting some pictures on her blog of the weekend. Check on www.jumpinferjoy.blogspot.com
I didn't take any pictures!

This is SUMMER in IOWA???

Today is July 2nd. We were having a heat wave last week but this morning's temp is a cool 57. Haven't been to the pool all week. The kids are going through withdrawal...so am I!!! We even had chili last night for dinner and it actually hit the spot.
I'm looking forward to a warm up soon. Love that hot, humid Iowa weather.
We're off to family camp today. The kids think it's as good as Disney Land (well...they've never actually been there but I tell them it is) But it IS pretty exciting and we have a bunch of good friends going. I think the Liberians are going to overtake the camp someday :) There will be 18 Liberian kids there this year. Exciting.
Packing is a chore. So much bedding, towels and clothes!!! I'm not a big camping fan, but this is not REALLY camping. The food is excellent, teaching is always good, friendships are wonderful and activities galore. It's a little slice of heaven (wrapped up in Iowa weather!)

Best Thing Since Sliced Bread!!!

I just found out about some cool little things called D-skins. They are plastic little disks that snap onto all cds...games...movies...ect. They protect them from scratches. It ends "disk death". This is revolutionary. Life changing. Amazing! (why didn't I think of that?!)
I ordered 50 for about $25 off of ebay or amazon. Totally, totally worth it. Easy to use. Saves us alot of $$ and irriatation! :)

What Have We Been Doing???

It seems like summer isn't here yet. School is done but the days haven't been that warm lately..so no pool yet.

We've been working in the flower beds, garden and finished (finally!) weeding the raspberry patch. I can't wait for those...they're doing great. I love seeing the kids run out in the morning in their pjs eating them right off the bushes.
I've been selling alot of plants (mostly hostas) on craigslist which I think is just crazy. Can't believe people want to drive out here and buy it. It's been good though...goes in our vacation jar :)


We've registered some kids for school. We have 5 kids that will be starting this fall at a small Christian school where we also go to church (# 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ) Bitty and the two older girls will be home. They will be taking an intense grammar/writing class at the school 4 days a week as well as classes at the home school assistance program. They are both signed up for the high school play which starts in Aug. (Wizard of OZ) so it will be a busy fall full of adjustments!

I'm excited about doing something with the bigger girls' room. They moved downstairs into a spare room and it hasn't looked like "theirs" yet. We won't have the basement or attic finished for a long time...so it's time. We found a great wardrobe on craigslist for the girls. Now their room looks more organized and there aren't any excuses :0
We're looking forward to ideas from Aunt Chelle when they come in July!

We just bunked a bed in the boys' room so that make it look huge. They love the change.

The middle girls got rid of a daybed and we put in one of the extra bunks in their room. So everyone looks like they have a little change going on.

The big girls will have some exciting news coming up but I'll have to let them share that.

We're anxiously awaiting pool days...popcorn and the warm sun. Until then I"ll be wearing a sweatshirt!