A Day in Photos...backwards

these loaded from the end of the day to the beginning...
jack and i started our day in the garden while esme slept...and found carrots and parsnips! jack was utterly delighted by their size...the ones from last year were more like carrots for elves.
esme slept a while, so we next cobbed a little...jack found the wheelbarrow full of water and hopped in =)...so he and i took an outdoor shower when we came up the hill...and were nearly caught by an arriving david to help josh build a chicken fortress of sorts. the job now is counseling the chickens into wanting to stay in the pen...i looked closely at them today and thought i saw some marked differences between same breed chickens...meaning we have a lot more roosters than we bargained for....still not sure about this but it is a little fishy that we are EGGLESS! i think we have been raising roosters on an organic garden diet.
david caulked holes in the roof....for which i am grateful...josh was honestly considering getting up there himself...i mean, he could have broken his neck! o wait....
the kids and i were hot today...so we unloaded the kitchen pantry and played percussion on the pots...and oatmeal containers...which quickly turned into jack wanting to tape them to his shoes for stilts...this almost broke an ankle so was short lived =)
really nice day...
quiet and wonderful time with my family....
just hanging out together...i am so blessed...
o! here's the pink bathroom!
it wasn't supposed to be this pink....or purple...so we have actually added a gallon of white to the mix and re-painted it....much better

Tablecloth

my dress is made from a tablecloth my greatgrandma made!
and then my friends anne and heidi took it and transformed it =)
and flowers were just from greenery outside and friend's gardens...i wanted different shades of green...

Photos of Photos =)

last night i took out our wedding albumn....i love to look at it...what a blur that day was and how wonderful. i took some photos of some of my favorite shots...sorry about the flash....but you get the idea..
i realized that most of the athenian friends of ours didn't know us when we married...we married at the botanical garden's chapel...a place where my mum and i used to come and walk and chat when i was in college.
anywho...
off to bed now...

David, Wayne and Ingie

we had a most lovely evening with wayne and ingie and david....we ate some yummy food which was cooked for us by mollie's church =) plus strawberries and fresh figs brought by our company...
a raging storm brewed while we were munching on dinner...which scared jack (tunder and lighting)...and a tree came down on faust farm so kelley couldn't make it home....so, david and josh went out with a chainsaw (josh went for moral support), wayne went up and laid down with jack to ease his "tunder" fears, ingie made cookies while i tried to put esme to sleep and i kept wondering if cash the dog was going to take advantage of the loud rain and chickens hiding under the house (they have a coup!) to eat some cordon bleu.
it was a fun evening...we all ate too many cookies (or was that just me)...
kelley painted the new bathroom today! i am about to go and check it out....will post a photo tomorrow!

Peppers, Mattresses, Cute Esme and a Redwood Tree

david, our new friend, gave us LOTS of veggies and meat...i have been shelling peas and limas and putting up squash and such..and today cut up lots of peppers to freeze and use them on pizzas and stuff...the colors are just gorgeous!

so, here is my plan for the playroom...the playroom which is not yet finished but as the day grows closer and closer, i have already begun to design it in my head. bottom toy line for jack is that even though he likes toys, most loose their luster rather quickly....except for mattresses!!!
here's our sleeping set up (yet another reason we are yearning to have the rooms finished soon!) josh and jack sleep in the bedroom on single beds...with a little crib mattress inbetween...for jumping and playing... esme and i sleep in the loft-ish area...she's in her crib and i am in a single bed too. well, being so hot, we've spent a lot more time inside this summer than our usual outside-almost-all-the-time schedule. jack has taken to making bridges with the mattress, tunnels, slides, he totes it around and naps on it...he loves that mattress!
so when the playroom is finished i want to collect lots of these mattresses....
think of all the fun!
forts...crash mats...princess and the pea re-creation theatre! endless, i say!
anyway, if any of you run across a good looking one while thrift shopping...please snag it for me..i'll reimburse you!

and finally, we had a lovely visit from shawn and tamara...shawn and josh have worked together with their tree businesses for a couple years now and we've developed a friendship through it...what neat blessings come from seemingly banal things in life. anyway, my photos turned out blurry of them...but the redwood tree they brought for josh didn't! they also gave him a 3 month subscription to netflix!

OLD photos

So, josh is on the laptop watching a great documentary about corn and how it rules our lives...
so i am on the old computer with all old photos....
so i put a few photos from ol' times =)
the first if jack at esme's age now...i didn't think they looked alike but now i think they do!!!
the second is the site of our trailer we lived in when josh and i first moved here...which is now my garden spot! you can see why i had to haul in lot of dirt and used the raised bed idea....the soil was SO dry and empty of nutrients...
the third is another snap of us at the beach when jack was 5.5 months old....
i can't get over how similar they are!

today was good....cobbed with jack in the morning, played in the sand. then the kids and i went to the feed store and bought a bale of hay and chicken feed...josh had an xray...the radiologist told him he was lucky to be alive....that isn't lost on us...we are daily grateful to God for his life and that he is continuing to heal. his spirits are getting ansy...but all in all...he's great.

we are eating more cookies. the sugar fast is so out the window and down the street. sugar is just so comforting!

off to bed now...sleepy...esme up all through the night still...

Prom

sooo, there is a lady at church in her early 40's with endometrial cancer...i haven't actually met her but have heard that she is in need of some funds to help her through the treatments and being out of work.
i have also heard of people having adult proms =) and thought how fun this would be as a fundraiser...i called leslie moody last night and she is thinking it over logistically...with the possibility of having it at the portico...which, might i say, has a promesque sort of feel about it...big room with huge ceilings and a stage...ahhhh, i can see it now.
i even thought i could freeze and large block of water and make an ice square which josh could ice sculpt!! ha! not quite sure what he'd carve...or could carve ...but how hilarious that will be!
any ideas on this topic would be great....what are cool prom ideas?
claredms@yahoo.com

Surprise Visit from Beth and Bryce

it was SOOOO fun...i was eating standing up in our kitchen when i noticed a tanned, longer haired bryce walking down our drive! they were returning from a beach trip and stopped by "on their way" ...i think it was a good few hours out of the way actually....but how fun for us to visit for a while...beth looks great pregnant....and hasn't had any pregnancy issues...like being sick etc...just happily pregnant. josh and bryce had a good conversation by the compost pile! ha!

Friends

alfred our neighbor showed up today and cut our front pasture...josh loves it when it is cut and we just don't have a mower to do the job....it will give josh great joy to look out on it so nice and short....how thoughtful!!!
and kelley and adam here again working like crazy on the extension...it is looking AMAZING and coming along so fast! between all that pete did and now they are doing, it is going up like a flash...they put ceilings up today in the kids rooms...the hope is to finish the upstairs and cut the hole through to our existing house so we can start using it...and then finish the downstairs...and cut that hole when it is completed...all so exciting as we can see the end of the tunnel.
and this evening, we ate salmon!!! a meal from ellison and marybeth...it was DELICIOUS...we felt like a king and queen...and a little prince =) jack likes salmon.
AND THEN, betsy from church showed up with an armful of goodies....grilled chicken, salad, cheese, bread....CHOCOLATE...i don't think she made it to the gate before i'd happily relished in 8 of the almond nestley morsels...
again, we are just overwhelmed by the community which surrounds us...o! also received cards in the mail too! i can't help but feel so loved...it is truly wonderful.

Popcorn and Peter Pan

jack LOVES peter pan...we rented it once upon a time and he just adored it so.....
so josh and i bought it off amazon...it arrived today and i popped popcorn (the old fashioned way....i'd forgotten how fun that is!) and added a little salt and sugar...they curled up and watched it....it was so sweet to watch them watching =)

A Perfect Morning

esme woke up at 5 and she and i tootled around the house until jack woke up at 7...she and i watched the morning begin and quietly snuggled in the big chair downstairs...as jack was walking down the steps to say "good morning" esme was dozing off for her morning nap....
so jack and i walked to the cob and played...we both were covered in mud and quite happy when our tummies started to rumble....i made blueberry oatmeal and we had it with oranges and tea on the front porch...
the beans are planted in the shade....until about 9 am...so when they were still shaded, we picked and watered the garden....and discovered the tomatillos are ripe! i think i make salsa verde out of them....josh found a recipe on line...looks good....will blog about it i'm sure when it happens...
anyway....when i was finishing up picking, i saw jack pulling his "potty" out from under the house...we put it there when we realized he had zero intention of using it....he wanted to clean it so we got out the soap and water hose and set to work....ended up with him stripping totally down and playing in the water....his laughter always makes me feel so good.
it was just a lovely morning.....getting to spend one on one time with each munchkin....i love them so much sometimes it hurts...
josh woke up around 10 (veeeerrrry unusual) and said he'd had a pretty good night....he is feeling better each day....and getting more rest which is just wonderful for healing...

Sunflower for Daddy

jack really does have such a sweet nature...he is very aware that daddy doesn't feel well and that his neck specifically hurts...and asks to do things for josh...like pray for him and pick him flowers...he was certain yesterday that josh needed a sunflower...so we went out and picked one...he was so happy to give it...
children even at this age can be so perceptive...
mabry saw josh in the car when we were heading home from the hospital and later told marybeth "my neck hurt" and put her little hands up to her throat...mb thought maybe she felt sick or something but then alluded to josh....and mabry said "yes, i love him"...!!!!!!
that just melted josh's heart.

Updates

Well, in the fray, someone forgot to schedule josh's xrays...but the doc felt good about letting him wait until next week as his pain is increasing improving and nothing new has developed. so, he'll have an xray next week and then we'll go from there...

the bummer news is that i found out about the disability policy....it has to be held for 60 days before it can be used...so it is a no-go. josh is worried ....but we both know that God will provide....his truck is still for sale....hopefully it will sell soon

ok....esme hungry again ...my little weed =)

Early morning walk to the cob

esme is up early these days so she and i stroll around outside for a bit when it is so cool and the sun is just coming up. we wandered to the cob site and snapped a few photos yesterday morning...i'm not working down there a whole lot lately but here's come progression shots...

Sitting in the Recliner

esme and daddy snuggled in the recliner last night....
esme is sporting a nightgown which belonged to her daddy =)

Molly and Andy

andy took our 4-runner and fixed the brakes on it. soooo wonderful...i didn't know they were so bad...and molly came and spent the day...took jack for a walk to the creek...he LOVED it...and when i tucked him in last night he said he wanted to pray for "daddy, anny (andy), molly and mamma" i love that he gets to hang out with people who love him so....

Molly brings a Recliner!

Molly came for a visit today....and she and kelley traded out the LARGE old seat in our living room for a great recliner!!! it even has a secret compartment in the armrest which once upon a time housed the working vibration mechanism =) it is PERFECT...josh, when he got a chance...we were all playing on it, sank down on it and could just sleep with ease....
(ps...thank you ben for the offer on yours!)

Goodbye Boss

last night we had a raging storm...we watched it roll in from the west and then listened as it dumped buckets on our roof (and garden =))...the dogs who are usually happy on backporch futon took refuge under the house and the chickens ran to their house....each to her own. but right at the storm's peak, we heard commotion under the floor. harry and cash were going crazy....josh glanced out as he could in the rain and saw a 3rd creature....we didn't think much of it at the time but now figure it was a racoon or possum...something which likes chicken for supper. this morning when we weren't cock-a-doodle-dooed to waking, i went searching and found the remains of 1 of our pretty roosters...boss. i buried him under a peach tree which has long been needing to get its feet under ground...it is a bit shabby so i hope boss can help it back to life.

on a happier note, we had a lovely day filled with marvelous company...but josh is watching a movie on the downloading computer....so i will write and post photos tomorrow...but it was great....and the urchins are sleeping....and i am not far behind. xray tomorrow to check on josh's neck...he was able to stay up for much of the day today and it markedly feeling better.

We are doing well

esme decided last night was party night...she had so much planned for me! little did i know she wanted to chat and go over her schedule each hour on the hour =)
the little pickle isn't too much of a sleeper...
but is simply too adorable to get even the slightest bit mad at....
8 of the 10 times i got up, josh was up too...thank goodness for itunes (he downloads movies...i think last night was a "rocky"marathon) he doesn't like the side effects of the pain medicine so he is trying aleve instead and it is actually doing pretty well with his pain...today he hurts much less anyway..so between the 2, he feels like he has rounded a corner.
i have a sneaking suspicion it is going to be harder and harder to "keep him down" as he feels better and better...we go for an xray wednesday to see how it is healing...
on wednesday too, i will find out if the disability policy i took out on josh literally 10 days ago (isn't God amazing) will go through...not sure if there is a waiting period or not after applying...
boys are asleep and shockingly, esme is not =)

The Couch

housed josh for most of the day. sleeping is PAINFUL for him...the pressure i think is just so much on his neck...
i picked up jack this morning half way from joan in buford...he had a wonderful time with her...and i am so grateful for a couple days to have just focused on josh (and esme...but not in the same way my attention is required as with jack)....
he wanted to be right next to his daddy...notice his feet in the air on the couch =)...he didn't quite fit to lay down so he snuggled where he could.
andy came over this evening...and snuggled the kids...they love their uncle andy...
he and josh and chatting on the porch right now...i just got the kids down to bed...a peaceful evening and another one where we are just grateful to be alive and well....