Monday Mupdate - well, it rhymes :-)

Yesterday, Dot and her mission's group did a car wash and earned over $600 for the house they will be building in Mexico. They had a great time, and even had a motorcycle show up. :-)
Darling said, "Love you," to Dad for the first time. So sweet!!
Dime and Drum are still hanging in there at Encampment. I am looking so forward to seeing them again, and hearing how their time went. Please pray for them if the Lord brings them to mind. Encampment is like a boot camp that lasts 9 days vs. 6-12 weeks. It is very hard, and a challenge for the teens there. They have them up and out doing PT by 6 am. They have classes with tests, PT, and inspections throughout the day. We cannot talk with them, but can e-mail, which they get every night.
This week Deer has art lessons with my brother up north. It will be fun to see the cousins.
Yesterday, we got the dryer working again. Saturday morning the lint fell down the shute when Dunk went to empty it. Papa W and I took the dryer apart and got the lint out, made sure it was working again, and then closed it up. It did work, but there was now no heat. I couldn' t figure it out then, Papa was working on the broken lawn mower, so waited til Sunday. On Sunday I took the back off the dryer again, and had Dunk look at it. After checking fuses he mentions - Is the gas on? Oh brother!! I remembered Papa and I turning it off while we worked, in case we kinked the gas tubing. It works great now!! :-) I had alot of laundry to catch up!
Dunk and Dot had a fantastic Saturday at the Rebelution conference. I'm still waiting for a full report on Dot's blog. :-)

Quiet Morning Update

The boys are off to Encampment, Dot & Dunk are off to their Rebelution conference, so the youngest 4 and I are home for the day. Well, Deer & I might run to town for art supplies for next week's art lesson with Uncle J. Everyone is sleeping in late as Dunk got home at 10:45 last night, and of course they all wanted to visit and hear stories. I really enjoy quiet mornings.

Yesterday we had quite a day with getting the boys off. We ended up spending 1 1/2 hours waiting in the parking lot to meet the van (understandable reasons, but still had to wait). Then 10 mins of frantic sewing on the cap tapes that just arrived, so they have them on for encampment. Two ladies graciously agreed to help me sew on the 3 patches I needed to do. One pierced her finger deep 2 times!! Ouch!! I felt so bad for her, being it wasn't even her own kid she was giving blood for. Thanks, Julie & Lynn, for your help!! I finally got smart and said my last words and good-byes to the boys before we got to the parking lot. Only thing I forgot was their hug at home, so didn't need to do it in a parking lot full of peers. They still remembered and came for a quick one behind the car before they left. I love those boys!!

Last night we went to Elliot's graduation party. It was such a great party!! I loved the "know Elliot" game. Good food, fun times, fun friends.

Gotta go do something else with my quiet morning. :-)

Ramblings

I have no good reason for not posting lately. Unless one wants to count: tired, carpal tunnel like symptoms in my right arm, laundry, movies, can't eat bars and type at the same time. lol :-) Darling doesn't like me to sit and type. She prefers I hold her, or take her outside. The mosquitoes have been crazy around here. In the evening, she doesn't move fast enough to be outside.

Our days lately have been filled with orthodontist appts., friends over, looking for missing books, baking bars, eating bars, watching movies, playing with the slip-and-slide, playing with the hose on the tramp, mowing the lawn, etc. I've done the driving, laundry, movies, baking, and eating bars. No wonder I'm not as skinny as my kids. I got my thyroid levels checked yesterday, and Dot got her pre-trip immunizations. I'm always hoping thyroid is the reason I'm tired. Not because I read a book late, didn't get enough exercise, or a dog or cat woke me up early. 6:15 our dog woke me up today!!!! Good Grief!! I'm on summer schedule!

Occasionally I go through a spurt where we just want to watch a "few" movies. We hadn't seen any for so long. We went to the video store and I found out they had a limit on how many we could check out! :-) I had nine in my pile. They would only let me check out seven. :-) So we've been watching them this week.

It seems like I should have plenty of time to get whatever I needed done, but somehow the time keeps flying by with little stuff. Drum and Dime leave on Friday for Encampment, so we've been getting the details ready for their trip. They have to have 6 plain black shirts, 5 white v-neck t-shirts, 6 black boot socks, 4 black dress socks, etc. That is all doubled as I have 2 boys going! I have 10 patches to sew on. 10!!! That's a lot of pokes in my fingers. You'd think I'd have all those patches sewn on watching movies, but that would be because you haven't watched a movie with a 1 1/2 year old in a while. Sometimes I think I watched the movie in constant motion myself keeping Darling from making noise.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

We're back... Yep, we had a great "vacation" and did all our field trips for the year. :-) I was very impressed with Sioux Falls. (I now know how to properly spell it without checking.) We enjoyed the weather, most importantly the lack of bugs! We could walk outside at dusk without swinging our arms like windmills in a windgust. (We are having a bupper crop of mosquitoes this year.) Dot did a great job outlining our vacation at www.xanga/joy4kitties.

I really couldn't believe all the beautiful parks. We stopped at one huge swimming park to find out how much it cost to swim. The lady told me they had a broken line so were out of business for the day, but there were 3 other swim parks in town I could go to!! This is besides the many other regular parks. I say regular but they were beautiful!!! Nice playground sets and beautiful trees and lawns. They have a bike trail we rollerbladed on, that goes in a huge loop around the city, 26 miles!! I wanted to conquer the trail, but not enough time. lol We'd have to work up to that, and get Duke and Dessert a bike there.

Our favorite park was the Japanese gardens. What a beautiful and relaxing spot. Perfect for pictures. My camera was full and we wanted to relax, not just photo shoot - but wow! Need to go back for more pictures someday. My favorite shot turned out blurry - huge bummer. Need, need to go retake this one.

Our favorite bakery was Daylight Donuts. I'm so glad they are not located close to our home. Our favorite eating out was Olive Garden - ahhh, culinary culture with elegant service. (a plus was Darling slept through the meal :-)

Here are a few pictures from the science museum:

Battleship Memorial:

This is Darling surrounded by one of her favorite things - Rocks! This is while waiting for the boys at the CAP class they visited.

The sculpture walk:

The Zoo:
Included in the picture is the Gentleman we stayed with in his basement, and his grand-daughter.

Fishing on Saturday:

It is great to be home, but we still feel like we are catching up. We are all having an aversion to being in the car. Question: "Want to go.....?" Reply: "No."

With Endless Sight - A Book Review

Summary:
Born into a life of privilege in 1861, fourteen-year-old Belinda never questions her security, even as she leaves Illinois with her family to discover new adventures in the Oregon Territory. But when disaster falls, Belinda is left wounded, weak, and alone. Her faith in God gives her the only strength she knows in a harsh new world. Belinda’s journey takes her to a snow-covered mining camp and a red-roofed brothel in the Wyoming mountains, but not before she must spend a lonely winter with the man who took away the life she knew. Throughout the grief and hope of a strange land, Belinda must decide if her faith is big enough to allow her to forgive.The satisfying conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series, With Endless Sight offers a rich story of family, new beginnings, and the freedom that grace can bring.

You may purchase the book at Amazon.com: With Endless Sight
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601420129

Or Comment by June 14, to win your copy of this book.

Fatal Deduction - A Book Review

I really enjoyed the fast-paced book, "Fatal Deduction" by Gayle Roper. Libby Keating and her twin sister, Tori, are forced to share their Aunt Stella's home in the city as one of the conditions for recieving Aunt Stella's sizeable inheritance. A dead man and a number of crossword puzzle clues pop up for her cheating sister, Tori. Solving these clues and the strange incidences with which they arrive, are necessary for surviving their dangerous outcome.

I enjoyed Libby as a character and her relationships with those around her. She was an inspiring woman who allowed God to work in her life, despite the harsh circumstances she grew up with. In fact Gayle allows the reader to get to know Libby first, and her background later. I felt like Libby kept her sense of independence and purity even while she manuevered through the minefields of her relationships with her sister, Tori, and her neighbor, Drew Canfield. In its interesting conclusion, find out why Aunt Stella wanted Libby and Tori to live together in her home.

The crossword puzzles are included in the text of the story for those crossword lovers out there. This book would make an excellent gift for a friend who loved crosswords and a great novel. It also has a strong thread of the redemption God has for those whose paths were less than perfect. Find out how God used a neighbor, Madge, while Libby was growing up, to be a Christian example of the servant, caring heart of God.

Want your own copy of the book? Comment by June 7th for your chance to win.

Author Bio: Gayle Roper has been writing mystery and romantic suspense novels for more than thirty years and is the author of over forty-five books. She is a three-time Christy Award finalist, the winner of three Holt Medallions, and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine. Her novel Autumn Dreams won Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. She and her husband, Chuck, divide their time between Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada.