Our Vacation at the Lake!

We left on Friday for the lake. Allen woke up Thursday am with a horrible headache and vomiting. He has migrains sometimes, so that is what I chalked it up to.

Friday he was still feeling yucky, but better, so we left as planned.

Here he is fishing Friday evening. We all had a great time fishing!

Also Jordan out in the boat on Friday evening.

Saturday morning Allen woke up with a STRANGE rash all over his back and stomach. We thought Chicken Pox, but it didn't look like anything I googled. Sunday he still had this strange rash, and since we had a family picnic to go to and my pregnant sister would be there, and we had no idea what this weird rash was, we took him to Urgent Care. Chicken Pox! Very strange! He was NOT itchy at all.

Doug and Allen get home from the UC and we discover Jordan also has chicken pox! Poor kids. They volunteered at VBS 2 1/2 weeks before, so I am sure that is where they got them.

So their vacation was spent with the POX! They were NOT itchy though, so that was a blessing. It was incredibly hot and humid. High 90s and equally high humidity. We were all hot and miserable. But mornings and evenings were cool and wonderful. So they enjoyed the outdoors then and took naps all the hot afternoon. They were exhausted with the POX!

Here are some pictures in no particular order of days or activities ::snort::

Jordan on the boat Dad bought them
Me on the pontoon with Doug. We took many sunsetboat rides with no kids! It was lovely!

Tiny catfish I caught in the middle of the week. Little tiny perch I caught the first night.

I'm a BAD Blogger!

I've been silent for almost a month! Can you imagine ::snort:: We've been busy, busy here. I'll give a quick recap and then post some individual posts.

July was simply gorgeous here. Sunny, dry and HOT! We spent time at the lake, went to the beach with my inlaws and nieces and spent a week on vacation at the lake. Jordan and Allen came down with chicken pox while we were on vacation! More on that later....

We came home the beginning of Aug. Spent a few more days in CP quarantine. Isaac never did get them! It was HOT the first week of Aug. and has rained pretty much ever since! We went to the waterpark with my inlaws, SIL and nieces last week. I went to my Mom's to swim today. My sister and her kids were there. It was a great visit!

I'm taking up knitting again. I've read a LOT of books! I'll post about those separately!

We're gearing up to help our friends with the Collide Festival. They are putting on a HUGE Christian Music festiavl this weekend at the fairgrounds. If you live in NE Ohio or Western PA, you cannot miss this! They have over 47 bands. Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay, Point of Grace and Cademon's Call are the ones I'd like to see.

OK, off to post some pictures and individual posts. I wonder if I'll even have any readers left after being gone so long?? Is anybody out there wondering about me :)

Terrific Tuesday

We've had a laid back kind of day. Yesterday was very busy. Monday is weekly chore day, laundry day, get all the work done because we're relaxed and motivated from the weekend day :) Yesterday was also Jordan's first day of work at his new job! I cannot believe how fast they grow up! I'm so proud of him. It was bitter-sweet. Rather like his first day of kindergarten (He went to private K at the church before hs'ing ever since).

Today we woke up to rain. We were going to the lake to mow and fix, but the rain stopped those plans. Basically we've done nothing :) I folded some laundry and the kids did daily chores and put laundry away.

Allen and I ran to WalMart for some bird seed and a clock for his room. We had leftovers for lunch and then I took a nap :)

I ran Jordan to work.

The terrific part is Doug gets to come home tonight :) His first delivery tomorrow is the next town over. So I'll pick him up tonight and take him back tomorrow. I love this sweet surprise of him being home in the middle of the week :)

Tomorrow and Thursday will be spent getting ready for vacation. We're going to the lake for a week and are so looking forward to it!

I finished reading a couple books this week. The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice and Along Came a Spider by James Patterson. I enjoyed both books. I am reading The Seven Pillars of Health right now.

We had a fabulous day on Saturday (the whole weekend actually). We got up Saturday morning and decided to head over to Cook Forest, PA for the day. We packed some food, some chairs and were off :)

We found a great table by the river with a grill. Doug grilled burgers and dogs. We sat around and enjoyed the wonderful smell of being in the forest. Jordan sat at the table reading while Isaac and Allen waded in the river. We watched everybody canoeing and tubing down the river. It was so nice.

After we ate and were cleaning up, we were just watching everybody in the river. About 5 yards up the river a church was holding a baptism service. It was such a beautiful place to be baptised. We just watched them. I was talking to a lady in the restroom before this and she told me her church was there doing a service. She was getting baptised and was SO excited! I was excited for her :)

Afterwards we went to play putt-putt and pet the horses at the stable. I can't believe I didn't take pictures of the horses.

We then drove up to Seneca point. It is SO gorgeous up there. Afterwards, Isaac and I walked a couple trails through the forest while Doug and Allen relaxed by the river. Jordan finished his book and was able to spend time with us after that :)

We went for ice cream, and then a drive around the river and the fire tower road looking at deer.

We stopped at Ridge Campground to use the bathroom before the drive home and ran into friends we haven't seen in 4 years. So we had a very nice visit with them before heading back home.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day! It was SO nice just to "be" as a family and not have to run here, there and everywhere else.

Here are some pictures in no particular order :)

Jordan reading while Doug grilled

Jordan sitting on a rock by Seneca Point parking lot. Wish we could see his eyes.
My guys at Seneca Point. Isn't the view behind them gorgeous?
The view from Seneca Point.
I love how the water sounds babbling over the rocks.

Doug and me at Seneca Point.

Isaac sitting on a rock. It's rather dark, sorry.
Allen and Isaac on the rock. Isaac is trying to push Allen off!
Allen and Isaac wading in the river while Doug cooks.
Isaac, Doug and Allen
Allen looking like Mr. Tough Guy!

We've had a lovely weekend!

Friday Doug was able to get home early, about 4 :) The boys had their last day of VBS volunteering, so we had a couple hours to ourselves. It was quite lovely! And, how did my kids all become old enough to VOLUNTEER at VBS? Weren't they all just so little and going to VBS and my youngest actually crying because he wasn't old enough to go with his brothers?? And now they are volunteering??? I am so glad they did though; it was good for them :)

Saturday was crazy/busy. Doug did errands in the am while I stayed home and made sauce/meatballs for Sunday's dinner.

After errands we had an open house.

When we got home, Doug took the boys to play putt-putt and I took a nap.

Saturday evening we just hung out around the house. It was nice. Neither Doug nor I felt like going dancing. It was nice just to "be".

Sunday was church (but I stayed home. I'm not sleeping well and just couldn't drag myself out of bed). While the guys were at church, I got dinner together and got Doug's food all ready for the week. I cut watermelon and pineapple for him and tossed him a salad.

Sunday afternoon Doug left for work and I packed the boys and dog up and headed to the lake. The boys mowed the lawns and then fished all evening. We stayed the night and most of the day Monday, getting home about 6:30.

We quickly unloaded the van, the boys put their things away and Allen put away the food, and I started a load of wash. Then I ran Jordan to his small group. My brain was fried from reading (2 books while at the lake!) so I:

~dusted/swept my bedroom; finished unpacking
~dusted the living room and dining room
~swept and swiffered the kitchen and back entryway
~swept the dining room
~cycled laundry

After picking Jordan up from small group I:

~scrubbed the bathroom
~soaked in the tub :)
~surfed the Sonlight forums
~talked to the boys
~they were tired and went to bed, on their own, at 9:30! Gotta love the lake! So I went to bed and read for too long.

Now I've been up since 4am and am not feeling very tired. It's 5:30. I'm going to head back to bed and see if I can sleep for a bit. I may finish Bye-Bye Black Sheep first :)

More reading......

OK, I am going a little ready crazy. I get a little OCD when I find a new series I like. I am REALLY enjoying the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. It is HILLARIOU! Grandma Mazur just cracks me up!! The are funny and light reading (I can crank one out in a day and still do my housework :) But there are some colorful characters, some swearing (some books more than others) and some inuendo. So I can't let Jordan read them because of that. Doug is listening to them in the truck though. He just finished his first one.

So since my last summer reading challenge post I've read: (now remember...OCD when reading a series....it's only been since last Wed. that I posted lol)

Seven Up: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read
Hard Eight: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read
To The Nines: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read
Ten Big Ones: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read
Eleven on Top: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read
Twelve Sharp: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

I have requested #13 from the library. It is the latest one so I am waiting in line :)

I'm now reading Bye-Bye Black Sheep, the last Mommy track mystery book. I am really enjoying this book. I think it may be my favorite one in the series.

Then I plan to finish the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson. I have 2 left to go in that one.

I may read some Luanne Rice to get out of the suspense/mystery mode. We'll see.

I'm going to start in on the Alex Cross series, also by James Patterson. I may throw in a couple Nelson DeMille.

I really need to read something other than fluff I think!

So, now you see why I've not been blogging. I've been reading a LOT! But we've been hanging at the lake some and at the beach. So I can't be home puttering around. The kids are off doing their thing and I am reading, voraciously LOL.

What are we using for school next year??

I've finally had enough of a summer break that I can feel excited about planning school. I am not ready to START school (although the routine and schedule to our days that school brings would be nice), at least not the work of school lol....

Jordan will be 11th grade, Isaac 9th grade and Allen 8th grade. What happened to my little babies that were struggling to read?? They grow TOO fast (oops, I keep saying that, but it is SO true). I am looking forward to some of the things we're going to be doing. I'm also looking forward to having routine to our days again. Last year was hard with Doug on 2nd shift. Now he is gone all week, which is also hard, but we'll have routine to our days at least, right??

Jordan:

BJU English including grammar and composition and also literature
ABeka Consumer Math
ABeka Government
Forensic Science (thanks Chris Brock for those links :)
Music~Bass and electric guitar, he's in a weekly small group and also plays on the worship band for main service and also youth group as needed
Hopefully some woodworking with my FIL

Isaac:

Write Shop and Wordly Wise for LA (also SL literature)
Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra (OR MUS pre-algebra if the funds allow)
Sonlight Core 100 American History
Apologia Physical Science

Allen:

Write Shop and Wordly Wise for LA (and some remedial spelling work)
Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra
Not sure about history. In 8th grade I let them choose what they want to study before having to "get down to business on earning credits" in high school. We may not do history for him this year *gasp*
Apologia General Science

Sounds like a good year. I pray that Jordan will do his work and not argue with me. I really wanted to continue SL with him, but he wants "the least amount possible", and is wanting to go the textbook route. So.....we'll see how that works out :)

I've been such a bad blogger!

I'm so sorry to be neglecting my blog. Doug has a new work schedule and isn't home a whole lot. So I am solely in charge of running kids here, there and everywhere :)

Our schedule has been so irradic. I really need to get into a groove. Other than Mondays, there is no schedule to our days and it is making me kinda batty! I haven't been cooking for my kids, other than hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken on the grill if they are lucky, or some frozen pizza. I need to get back into preparing meals regularly. I've been eating about 90% raw, so a huge salad or a bowl of watermelon and I am good to go :)

Yesterday we went to the beach with my inlaws and 11 year old nieces. We had an awesome time! Jordan, Allen and my FIL sat in the shade and played cards for 4 hours. Did I mention it was HOT! About 97* with 90% humidity. My MIL and I alternated between sitting on the beach watching the kids and wading out into the lake up to our chests and talking out there. The water was SO nice! It had to have been 85*. It was lovely and I had a nice time fellowshipping with my sweet MIL.

The kids have been volunteering at VBS this week. It is SO strange that they are all old enough to volunteer. I remember when Allen cried because he wasn't old enough to go with his brothers. Oh...they grow up TOO fast!

I've been planning school and figuring out what curriculum to purchase. Now I just need God to supply the money. I'm trying not to get all freaked out! I know it will work out.

I'm excited about the things we'll be using. I think I'll blog about that next. Yep, the kids are at VBS right now and I've got some down time.

I was going over my list of books for the summer reading challenge and realize I've read 12 books and am working on #13! since June 5th! I just love summer when I have so much more time to read :) I need to take a break from the fluff and read something with some substance! But I'm in the middle of 3 series and I want to finish them all before school LOL......

OK...I'll post next about our curriculum.....

More books read :)

I finished Hot Six by Janet Evanovich and have also read Seven Up and Hard Eight. I am finding this series HILLARIOUS!! There is a little much s*x in it and some swearing. I would prefer that isn't there. It was be a funny series for my oldest to read. Doug is now listening to them on CD in the truck. He's on the first book. I'm reading the 8th one now.

I've also read The Craddle Robbers by Ayelet Waldman. I really enjoyed this one the best of the series. The authors lack of importance of mothering is not so strong in this book. It was a very quick read. Juliet is helping a prison inmate find her baby. She was incarcerated while pregnant and a social worker stole her baby. There were a lot of warm fuzzy moments in it with Juliet and her own 4 month old baby. One more book in the series and I'll be finished with it.

I returned some of the books on my list to the library unread. They were due back. I'm not sure if I'll read them since I am adding on so many other books. I have the next one in the Mommy Track series waiting for me and the next 4 in the Janet Evanovich series. There is one other one that just came out and I hope to read that, too. I am also hoping to finish the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson and start the Alex Cross series. I have a couple Luanne Rice books still. She is a nice read when I'm not in the mood for mystery or suspense.

Books I've Read

I've been busy reading. I'm not going to give reviews, I don't think, but I've read:

2nd Chance and 3rd Degree by James Patterson
Four to Score and High Five by Janet Evanovich
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

I think that is it! I am really enjoying the James Patterson and Janet Evanovich series. I'm going to finish out the JP one in July. I've got the next 3 JE ones from the library and am currently reading #6! They are hillarious!

Long Time No Blog!

I'm alive and kickin'. We've been busy doing nothing lol. It juse seems that I have the same ol', same ol' things happening and that gets a might boring. How many times do you want to hear of our fishing trip to the lake ?? lol....

Last week was very relaxing and different. Jordan and Isaac left on Tuesday, with friends of ours, to go to the Creation Music Festival in Mt. Union, PA. They had a fabulous time! One of them missed me ;)

Allen stayed with Gramma on Tues.-Thurs. so I had 48 hours of blessed quiet (Doug was working). What did I do, you wonder? Not much of anything :) I watched the Love Comes Softy movie collection, all 4 of them. I ate m&m's for dinner lol. I also watched Because I Said So with Diane Keaton. It was cute. Not something I'd let the boys watch though. I went to church, spent too much time online, made 4 or 5 phone calls to friends and chatted with them, read a book and slept. It was lovely.

Thursday Allen came home and we went to the lake to mow grass, came back home and just hung out at home.

Friday I took him to the movies and we saw Pirates 3. It was good.

Saturday Allen and Doug went golfing with my FIL and in the evening Doug and I went dancing.

Sunday was church and then we napped and picked up the boys and packed Doug's stuff for the week.

I love that the 4th is in the middle of the week, so he is coming home tonight and won't have to leave again until Thursday early am. \o/ I just love having my honey home.

So that's what we've been up to. Not much, but it feels so busy!

How about you? How is your summer going?

A Tour of Paradise!

It's ironic that Cynthia commented about if I've ever posted pictures of the cottage. I took pictures yesterday evening to give you a little tour. We call the cottage Paradise, because it is just so wonderful.

We are not roughing it by any stretch of the imagination. We have 3 bedrooms, a sleeping loft, a big kitchen, back room with sitting area and computer area, and 1 1/2 baths. There is satellite television and a computer with DSL internet. It really is wonderful!

Standing on the back dack looking into the back yard. We had a little fire last night and roasted hot dogs and made s'mores.
Standing in the back yard and looking towards the house. Behind the table area of the deck is the sitting room you'll see in the next picture. I guess I didn't upload the other side of the deck. It's where the swing is that I took a nap on. Behind that part of the deck is the computer area.


Sitting area. there is a wonderful view of the lake out those windows! On rainy mornings I sit in the loveseat and watch the lake.

Here's the dining/computer area. Go through that beaded doorway and there is a laundry room (no washer/dryer though) and to the left a 1/2 bath.
This part of the kitchen is behind the sitting area. See through that opening? That is where we sit and lounge.
The view from the kitchen sink. The door to the living room is to the left of the fridge. The door to the back room is to the right. It is a straight shot from the back door, through the sitting room, through the kitchen and into the living room.
Picture of the living room from the small hallway by the bedrooms. The wall opposite the fireplace is the stairway.
The master bedroom. Go through the living room and it is on the left. Behind the staircase.

The 2nd bedroom. This is to the right of the master. And the bathroom is right there, also. Really, really small hallway.
A view of the loft from the living room. There is a single bed up there.
Go up the steps and to the left is this bedroom. It is right above the master. The bed is to the left.
The sitting area is to the right.

So that is our little piece of paradise. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Checking in from the lake!

I decided to bring the boys (and a friend) to the lake yesterday and spend the night. We had an awesome day yesterday!

~Fishing
~Swimming
~Rock skipping
~Lawn mowing
~Camp fire with roasting hot dogs and making s'mores
~I made 3 meals and cleaned the kitchen more times than I can count
~Took a nap
~Took a boat ride
~Read a book
~Boys had a PS2 challenge
~Not enough sleep lol

This morning I woke about 6:30. Everybody was sleeping (for 10 min. anywa). I am about to make some coffee, sit on the swing and watch the sun reflect off the lake.

The boys are carting down their boat. Thank God it will be docked today :) They are going to do some early (well it's 7 now so not quite so early) morning fishing.

I'll make pancakes, clean the kitchen yet again! And then get myself together, clean the cabin, load up all but the food and wait for Dad and Cay to come up. I'd like to visit with them a bit before heading home. Unless Doug is home early. Then I'll not wait for them. I am missing my honey! This week is better than last, but only because I ran myself ragged. I will not do that again!

What have you done this week?

Murder Plays House (A Mommy Track Mystery)

This is book 4 of the series. According to her website, there are 6 books out right now, so I'll definately get this series finished this summer.

In this book, Juliet is house hunting and runs across a dead body. Of course, she sets out, along with her partner Al, to solve this murder. This book tackles a heavy subject, anorexia and bulemia in teen girls. Juliet is also pregnant with her 3rd child during this book.

So far in this series, I've had a hard time with Juliet's views on motherhood. She left her full-time career with the public defenders office when she had her first child, Ruby. But she doesn't exactly embrace motherhood. It's more of something she has to do. She generally feels obligated to be home with her children, mindlessly running them to play dates and school and sad that she no longer has a life. There are glimpses of the joy of motherhood thrown in, just when you think you can't stomach her attitude another second. This book seemed to be less that way!

I've been thinking on this motherhood attitude while reading this book. I think she feels "blah" in her motherhood career because she is viewing motherhood simply as ushering her kids to and fro, cooking and cleaning, etc. Purely a physical approach to motherhood.

She is not a Christian woman viewing her role in motherhood as a ministry. She is not raising her children with her eyes on eternity. She is not embracing motherhood as a high calling from the Lord.

I find that to be quite sad. I think Juliet's view of motherhood may be how I felt if I didn't feel raising my children was a ministry and a calling from the Lord.

So, I like this cozy little mystery series (Jodi's term) and will finish it out. I am glad that the drudgery of motherhood was played down in this book. I did read another book by her (Daughter's Keeper) and am not sure Ayelet Waldman could be considered one of my favorite authors, but I'll keep trucking through her other books when I run out of reading material lol.

Sunday at the lake.

We had a beautiful day at the lake on Sunday! Doug and Allen spent some time fishing on the pontoon while Isaac and Jordan used their new boat! Allen still does not like to hold his fish! So.....Doug is holding the fish and taking the picture LOL.

Jordan and Isaac's boat is not docked yet, so they had to carry it to the lake. It is about 150#, and they have to go about 1 block away. They were highly motivated to carry it down, but not so much to bring it back. They don't have a battery for the motor yet, so they are paddling right now. So I am sure their arms were sore. I told them no more boating until Dad gets it docked LOL. I think they are in agreement with that!


I saw some geese on the water. I couldn't zoom in very close, but they were too cute to pass up.

While all the guys were boating/fishing, I sat on the deck and read a book from my Summer Reading Challenge. After sitting in the sun so long I felt I would cook, I moved to the swing. Doug and Allen came up and found me sleeping there! I had only slept 5 hours the night before, so falling asleep on the swing seemed reasonable to me!

I forgot to take the camera out on the boat ride with us. Ahhh, well. It was gorgeous, take my word for it LOL.

We had a wonderful day and are looking forward to going up again this week. The boys are hoping my dad got up there to dock the boat. If not, I may take them fishing on the pontoon, depending on if we have company or not. I've invited 4 families to go up with us for the day this week. So far I have no definate answers. I've invited our friends for the past 3 weeks. I may quit inviting if people keep saying no lol.

Weekend Recap

Friday~We all went in different directions. Jordan stayed home to work on school in the am. Isaac and Allen went to the lake with my sister (Cynthia, it's a 50 min. drive north from us. I keep forgetting to answer that question). Toni took her 3 kids, ages 4-8, plus an extra 5 year old just for the heck of it. So it was nice for her to have 2 teens to help.

I went for coffee with the girls. We met at Deanna's house. She has 2 little girls, another lady has 2 little girls and the other one has 1 middle school girl and a little boy. It was fun to watch the little ones play in this inflatable water slide thing. It was interesting to watch little girls play. They are so different than boys! And rather squealy! It was luscious to be child free as I watched the little ones melt down as it became lunch/nap time. I realize that I do not miss that part of them being little. I miss the sweet times though.

I came home and Jordan had finished biology and was reading. So I took a nap. My sister had the other two until evening when we met at an open house at church. I rounded up 2 of my kids from the open house (Allen went to a friend's house for a sleepover) and headed to another friend's house for an 8:30 meeting. She, and 3 other families from our prayer group, are going to the Creation Festival in Mt. Union, PA this month and are taking Jordan and Isaac with them. So we were having a little meeting to all be on the same page. Doug came there from work and we left shortly thereafter! It was SO nice to see my honey after him being gone all week!

Saturday~Again in different directions. The boys' boat came in, so Jordan, Isaac and Doug met Dad and Cay at Gander Mountain and picked up the boat. Doug and the boys headed to the lake to drop it off.

While they were doing that, I picked up Allen, brought him home and did morning errands. I went to the mall and braved Victoria Secrets for a professional br* fitting. I was in desperate need of the correct size. I did not want to have some skinny, young thing helping me (an overweight, middleaged mama) and have put it off for as long as I could. But it was painless and it is so nice to have wonderful fitting undergarments! I am shocked to look down and see the girls where they are supposed to be! I feel like I've lost 10 lbs.!! And my salesclerk was wonderful and sweet!

I also ran to Kohl's to get sheets and pillows for the bunk of Doug's truck. He finishes training tomorrow and needed bedding for his truck. I went to Sam's Club at 10:30 am on Saturday! Yes, I am insane! I also braved the local grocery store. Finally I came home and took a nap lol.

We went to the Sat. evening church service, came home and ordered pizza and then Doug and I went dancing. We had a fabulous time! I really, really love our date nights and am so glad his new job has him home on the weekends!

Sunday~We got up about 8 and got ready to go to the lake. By 9:15 I had made honey marinade for the chicken, cut a watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe, cleaned the cherries and made a tossed salad. I gathered up all the snacks and drinks and coffee fixings and had the boys load up. I also did my hair and makeup and made the bed lol.

We spent the day at the lake fishing and relaxing. My inlaws came up in the afternoon for an early Father's Day celebration. Our friends, Joe and Toni, also came up. We had a relaxing meal of grilled chicken, salad and fruit, spent time on the lake taking a boat ride, and just visited. My inlaws left earlier than our friends. We made a fire in the little fire bowl and relaxed with drinks. It was luscious. After Joe and Toni left, Doug and I took a stroll down by the lake, sat on the bench and watched Isaac boat, walked back to the lake and I got things cleaned up and ready to go home while Doug took Allen to the DQ for some father/son bonding time.

We stopped at my inlaws on the way home. Our van brakes are bad, so my FIL fixed them for me this morning. We left the van at their house and brought their car home.

Monday~I went to Curves. Came home and got cleaned up and took Jordan and Isaac to our friend's house to do some work for him. They are going from there to my uncle's house to work and swim. They'll bring them home later. My MIL picked up Allen to come and play with the girls this morning.

What did I do with a morning to myself? Clean of course lol. I scrubbed the bathroom, top to bottom, scrubbed the kitchen and mopped the floor, washed my sheets and hung them on the line, washed 2 loads of throw rugs and hung them on the line, washed a load of laundry (put it in the drier lol) and washed a blanket and will hang it on the line when I'm finished blogging. I also dusted the living and dining rooms. I went and did the car/van trade and brought Allen home. He had a headache. He was going to stay the day. I then ate lunch and took a nap! Now I'm blogging.

So......I feel like we cram so much into our weekends! Mondays I usually like to crash, but I had some motivation today to get things done. The weather is gorgeous! And I was motivated. Plus tomorrow Isaac and Allen have ortho appts. all morning.

So...what did ya'll do this weekend?

I love this series! Hannah lives in Lake Eden, Minnesota. Hannah seems to stumble across dead bodies on a regular basis, much to her mother's dismay.

This latest book finds Hannah judging baked goods at the Tri-County Fair. Her entire family is involved in the fair and the murder takes place there, also. It cracks me up how Hannah can single-handedly (or with her sisters' help) crack the case.

This latest book also has Moishe (Hannah's cat) not feeling well. And then there is the never-ending dilema of who Hannah should marry, Mike or Norman! I am rooting for Norman :) I think they are dragging this out through too many books. She needs to make a decision already.

This is a fun, light series with recipes! There are a few in this book that I'd like to try. Cappuccino Royales are the first I'd like to try and the Walnut-Date Chews look really yummy also.

A Day at the Lake

We had a fabulous time at the lake yesterday! It started out cloudy, and it was cold. But by 2pm, the sun was out. It was still cold...high of only 72*! but it was gorgeous.

The boys kayaked a bit when we first got there. They also fished, but I was at the house reading and won't let them take the camera to the lake. I am the MEAN MOM. However, Jordan's house keys and one of the 2-way radios are in the bottom of the lake. I'd prefer my camera does not end up there LOL.

We ate lunch and then the boys mowed Dad's lawn and the neighbor's lawn. Isaac didn't feel like extra mowing, so John (Jordan's friend and my "other son" since our families have been friends for 10 years) did Isaac's part. He said ten bucks is ten bucks LOL.

I took a nap and they fished some more. Afterwards, they convinced me to take them on the baot for a little shore fishing. I'll be glad when the boys' little boat that Dad is getting them is in. Supposedly this weekend! I hope so! I don't steer right, blah blah blah. But it was a nice ride before the fishing.

Then we cleaned up and headed home. It was a lovely day!

John and Isaac

Jordan They were racing to the dock on opposite sides!
Allen's sandcastle
John, Isaac and Jordan (Notice Jordan's handsome new haircut?)
Allen caught a fish, but it jumped the line. I took his picture anyway :)

Allen uncovering the boat
Isaac caught a nice large-mouth.
And a small one, too.

Portraits

We had our portraits done with Doug's parents, his sister and her girls and our family. It was a gift for my MIL's birthday. She chose the color scheme of black and white. It worked I think. We went to Sears and they did a fabulous job! So here are a few of what we had done.

Doug's Mom and Dad are in the middle

His sister is on the far left and the girls are hers.

Jordan
Our family

Doug and Me...I love this picture!
The three boys! Another favorite......
Allen
Isaac
They did a great job posing the kids. Aren't they a handsom bunch of boys?

Wonderful Wednesday!

I am choosing to look at the positive today! I've been walking around wallowing in self-pity and feeling quite depressed about Doug's new work schedule. I was quite convicted, and encouraged, to read De'Etta's blog yesterday. God is very much in control! He is big and He is Lord and He knows so much! He is a Good Shepherd! De'Etta, thanks for that preaching!

We are having quite the cool spell! It was in the 90s last week. Yesterday the high was 62* and today it will be the low 70s. The sun is supposed to come out today, so we are heading to the lake. The boys will mow Dad's and the neighbor's lawns, fish, kayak, and just enjoy the day. Jordan's friend, John, will be coming with us.

I'll swing by my inlaws' house on the way home. Our family portraits are in! I'll be borrowing her CD and be posting pictures tonight or tomorrow!

Have a blessed day :)

Where I've been....

I know I've been a sporadic blogger. Things have been hectic around here and I've been dealing with some personal struggles.

A couple months ago, Doug accepted a new job, put in his 2 weeks notice and all looked good. He was going to work for a local company and be home almost every night! I was so, so, so excited about this. I've been praying for this. (I've been struggling with praying for things. It seems everything I pray for is a big old no from God. For a long while, I quit praying for things for me/our family. I just didn't have what it took to believe God would actually listen and/or answer my prayers). So I was ESTATIC when Doug accepted this job.

So he puts in his 2 week notice. The new job sounded wonderful. His former Penske boss (whom he had for 12 years and we LOVE her, she is a personal friend) would be his new boss. Four or five former Penske employees were also making the move. It would be familiar and local!

So 3 days after he gives his notice, Deanne (boss) calls and tells him she doesn't think this job will work out for him. They hadn't started the account before he gave his notice, so he didn't have ALL the particulars. He would have been hauling flat bed. Well, the loads have to be strapped down, understandably. The way they do this is by hooking a 4" strap to the trailer, tossing it over the load, go over to the other side and SCALE! the side of the load (about 12' high) and walk along the top of the very insecure load to strap it down. Doug cannot do that job physically with his knees! So....the local job is gone!

Not only is the job gone, but Doug had already put in his notice and they were GLAD! InSight was cutting back on drivers and hours. They didn't even work Doug the entire 2 weeks he had left.

So here he is without a job. I am totally devastated! I really wanted him to be home! And the prospect of NO job, no savings since we've blown through that with his former job. It's been a long 14 months. I felt like I had no hope. I didn't even want to turn to God. What was He doing? How much does He think I can take?

But God did show up in a big way! Within a week of quitting InSight, Doug had a job interview, God provided the money for him to drive to IL to interview, and he was hired! It will be a good job with great benefits, vacation and a nice salary! But he will not be home. He'll be home even less than he was with InSight. He will be working for Sherwin Williams.

So, it took a couple weeks to get a start date. Doug went without work for 3 weeks. While he wasn't working, we spent as much time with him as possible, which is party of why I've not been blogging a lot! The other part was, I was really dealing with my disappointment and anger. I had huge temper tantrums, I cried and cried, I just wallowed in it.

I am trying to snap out of it. I am now resigned to the fact that my husband will only be home on the weekends. I don't so much being alone with the boys and single-parenting it. I've done that for years, basically, since he worked 14 and 16 hour days. But I really miss my husband. He is my best friend and we spent so much time together. I miss bike rides and walks, sitting on the couch talking when the kids are sleeping, intimacy, cuddling, waking up and seeing him. Heck, I even miss picking up his socks every day LOL.

God has provided for us in such a big way! He's provided financially to fill in the gap of no pay. Somebody in Doug's family has helped us out tremendously with bills and even getting clothes for our family! We went shopping Saturday to get Doug new clothes. I had already bought new things for the boys and me. We had many trips to the mall last week! So anyway, we are JCPenney and I'm tossing clothes at Doug. I didn't even look at the price tag. Just knew he needed clothes and many of them! So a friend of ours happens to be there. He starts talking to us and for some reason or another, he is still talking to us while we check out. So I left him in line with Doug (holding some of the stuff) and went to find the boys who were walking around. Our friend bought all of Doug's clothes!!! What a huge blessing. We've never had anything like that happen to use before! Our God is a big, big God!

I still do not understand why my heart cry of having my husband home just seems to keep passing through my fingers. It would have been SO much easier to have him take this job if the hope of him being home wasn't there. But God knows what is happening. He has a plan. Some days I wish he'd let me in on more of it LOL. I just have to put my trust and hope in HIM!

Doug started his job last week. It was a whrilwind for me. The kids were exceptionally busy and I am not used to being the only taxi. So...that is where I've been. Adjusting to more changes than I'd like LOL. I am hopeful to be back blogging on a regular basis. Especially now that we are finished schooling for the summer!

Summer Reading Challenge

My friend De'Etta, over at Choosing Joy, has instigated a summer reading challenge. It looks like a lot of fun, so I decided I'd join in. If you are interested, please click the link (choosing joy) to read all the rules. It is going to be fun! And there are prizes :)

In the summer, I read a LOT of fluff, so don't mind that. I adore reading and always find time to read. My real challenge will be to keep my daily Bible reading and devotions consistent. So that is the top of my list!

Here is the list of things I have out from the library right now, plus a few others that I want to read over the summer. I may or may not read all of these. Some of them are new authors. If I am into something that I just don't like, I'll quit it lol. I've also heard of 3 new authors I may check out. But really, I need to finish up the new series I started.

Personal Reading

Daily time in the Word
Intimate Issues ~ Linda Dillow & Lorraine Pintus
Every Woman's Desire ~ Of the Every Man's Battle books

Family Read Aloud

God Smuggler Reading Now

Christian Life

Heartfelt Discipline ~ Clay Clarkson
Invitation to Journey

Fiction ~ very fluffy, easy and mindless!

The next Tamar Myers book, but I'm not sure where I am in the series
Torchlight ~ Lisa Tawn Bergren (Christian fiction) Returned unread
Love and other impossible pursuits ~ Ayelet Waldman (to see if I like her other books) Couldn't get into it...rather depressing...but I do like her Mommy Mystery Series. Didn't Finish!
Between Friends ~ Debbie Macomber Returned...realized I had already read it!
Land of my heart ~ Traci Peterson (Christian fiction) Returned unread
Beach girls ~ Luanne Rice (a new favorite author) Returned...coulnd't get into it
Blue Moon ~ Luanne Rice Returned unread
The Gold Coast ~ Nelson DeMille Returned unread
Every Storm ~ Lori Wick (Because I've never read her and wonder if I like her...Christian fiction) Returned unread
A Fall from Grace ~ Robert Barnard (new author, never read) Returned...didn't like this new author
Key Lime Pie Murder: A Hannah Swensen myster ~ Joanne Fluke (her latest!) ~ Read
Murder Plays House: A Mommy-track myster (series I hope to finish this summer/fall) ~ Ayelet Waldman Read
"B" is for Burglar: A Kinsey Millhone mystery (liked the first one, we'll see) ~ Sue Grafton
Kiss the Girls: an Alex Cross novel (Hope to finish this series too!) ~ James Patterson (Dad got me hooked on James Patterson and Nelson DeMille!) Read
2nd Chance ~ James Patterson (another series I hope to finish by end of fall) Read
3rd Degree ~ James Patterson Read
Four to Score: a Stephanie Plum novel (very fun!) ~ Janet Evanovich Read
High Five: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Add Ons:

Hot Six: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Seven Up: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Hard Eight: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

To The Nines: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Ten Big Ones: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Eleven on Top: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Twelve Sharp: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

The Craddle Robbers: a Mommy track mystery ~ Ayelet Waldman Read

Bye-Bye Black Sheep: a Mommy track mystery ~ Ayelet Waldman Read

Back on Blossom Street ~ Debbie Macomber Read

The Edge of Winter ~ Luanne Rice Read

Along Came a Spider ~ James Patterson Read

Seven Pillars of Health ~ Dr. Conrad I think? Read

Lean Mean Thirteen: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Jack & Jill: An Alex Cross mystery ~ James Patterson Read

The Midnight Club ~ James Patterson Read

The 5th Horseman~A Women's Mystery Club Murder ~ James Patterson Read
Pretend You Don't See Her ~ Mary Higgins Clark Read
See, I told you summer is very fluffy! So....come join the fun, check out all the rules at De'Etta's blog, and happy reading :)