Where HAS the Summer Gone??

Well, here in Northern Colorado, at our house, it has gone to lots of time with the girlies, for various reasons. Grandpa is a whiz at keeping the big girls busy and happy - his company closes for 3 weeks, and it has been good for us. School begins next Wednesday already, so I thought it would be fun to look back at the summer.

I was blessed to have missed the one week that the temps were at the 100 degree mark - I was in Minnesota, where I expected to be miserable with heat and humidity. Oddly enough, the weather was very pleasant for me that week and I was able to enjoy a walk every morning - I need to share the pix I took there one of these days.

Because of the nice weather, when I've had a chance to be home without little people, I have spent a lot of time on the patio doing my favorite activity ---




Right now I'm reading the 5th book of the Anne of Green Gables series. I'm reading them again in hopes of visiting Prince Edward Island when we go to see Kevin in Maine the first week of October. I need to watch the movies again. Best movies ever made from a book - ever.

Speaking of Kev - he was here last week and it flew by. The littles fell in love with him - in fact, it was as if they remembered him, though that seems impossible since they were a year old when he left.




Kev was as excited to see his dog, Callie, as he was to see any human in his life. Sema has done a fabulous job of training this huge animal, even though she has only recently become willing to have a pet!



The big girls came such a long ways in overcoming their fear of dogs in general, Callie in particular. This was HUGE and made Kev very happy.




Kev had either a sinus infection or allergy issues while he was home and didn't feel great most of the time. But I'm so thankful he had this week to catch up on his rest and have time to heal.

The highlight of the week for me was Sunday evening, when he shared with our church family. The Sunday evening crowd is always fairly small, but this group was made up of folks who have known him since he was born, watched him struggle, prayed for him, loved him, supported him financially. Now he opened his heart to them and told them things they had never heard. He did a fabulous job, and was, as the pastor said, very transparent. There were many tears, including mine of course, and even some from him. It was a powerful time. Pastor called Sema up and we surrounded them with prayer as they face many decisions in the next year.




Kev left very very early Monday morning (as in we left the house at 3:30 am!) for a six month internship back in Maine. Thank you so much for your prayers for him and Sema over the years, and please continue to pray that they'll discern God's will for the time following the internship.

Remember last fall when we tore out our old patio and put in a new one designed by DC?

Because our yard is so very shady, we can't have lots of roses or petunias or other summer flowers that I love.

This is my only rose bush, not counting the mini ones that do well.

It's funny - DC says we've had these lilies for years, but I never noticed them before!




DC spent a great deal of time finding plants and flowers that could thrive in this cooler area. They're doing well, and it'll be fun to watch the perennials fill in as the years go by.













I brought this dahlia bulb home from the grocery store one day and watched as it grew and grew and grew - very tall. It had one blossom when a huge gust of wind hit one afternoon, snapping it off flush with the ground. It was sad. But, as so many things in life, it came back from adversity and is growing again - I don't know if it will have time to bloom again, but I'm watching it every day. There are many more things that should be blossoming yet, but we'll see if they have time before the weather gets too cool.





I have lots more that I was going to write and show tonight, but decided to give you a break. I'll be back with the girlies' activities soon. I'll close with some beautiful skies.











Have a great week-end!

Things That Make Me Smile

Smiling is cathartic. It makes the world look better when we find things that tickle our senses. I have been on the prowl for such things this week and have been blessed.

I love autumn - the colors, the sound of geese overhead, the crisp morning air, and the smell of the evening. I love driving around town, taking note of the colors. Unfortunately, we had a couple of really windy days, so many of the trees are looking rather sparse already. But I love this drive down 37th Street on the way to my house.




I love the sound of the twins babbling and giggling when they are supposed to be taking a nap. They have such a great time together, and eventually they settle down for a nice sleep. I chuckled when I spotted one of them chillin' out with her bottle (which they still love a couple of times a day - I know, I know).




I love the option of sleeping a bit later on Friday mornings, when DC doesn't go to work and I don't have the littles here. We don't seem to take advantage of it often - the body clock is set quite early after all these years. But it's nice to know the option is there. It makes me happy to not have to rush every single morning.

It is so much fun to watch the development of the girls - all 4 of them. I know I meticulously journaled all of these steps with my own kids, but it is great to enjoy it again.

It is a joy to watch Care Bear's enthusiasm for life. She has been wearing glasses since she was the age the littles are now, and one eye is badly crossed. But she seems to have figured out a way to straighten it out when she wants to. She asked me to take a picture of her doing this so she could see what she looks like, since she can't see herself without her specs.




And this just melted my heart - she and Grandpa were sitting on the couch reaching Genesis - she got through Chapter 5. She does Bible quizzing on Wednesday nights and this year they're studying Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. The other night she and I were working on it together - she read an entire chapter of Joshua out loud to me, doing a pretty good job even reading those Jebusite, Hittite, Amorite words.




Nothing brightens a week like a surprise lunch with friends you haven't seen in a long time. I have to thank Facebook for getting us back together. They used to live here, but now spend a lot of their time back in Indiana caring for her mom. They spend the rest of the year in Denver. We had a great time catching up. Here they are with my mom and dad - their favorite pastor and wife ever. (In case you wonder, my friends are in the middle!)




I can remember my kids asking me why we celebrated birthdays of grandparents since they were so old. I told them that we celebrate because we still can! It was fun celebrating last night with DC's mom - she's now 91. She got a Snuggli and had to try it out right away. Her sister comes out from Minnesota every year for the birthday.






Another thing that gives me pleasure is having a good book waiting for me when I have a few minutes. I take every opportunity to get in a few pages - including while I am on the elliptical machine, the treadmill, and the recumbent bike at the gym. I finished the new one by Faye Kellerman, am now reading one by Lynn Austin, and I have a pile of 4 that I bought at Women of Faith, written by the speakers.

I'm really smiling tonight because I have two exciting week-ends coming up - my 40th college reunion the first week-end in November and a visit with Kev (and hopefully some blog friends) in Maine the next week-end. Woo-Hoo!

New subject - an update on the patio project. The final thing for this fall took place this past week. I wish I had been out there with my camera, but I didn't know it was even happening. DC roped a friend in on the process - our friend has the equipment we needed to haul in 3 very large moss rocks through the gates. That would have made some great pictures, but here is the end result. It'll be fun to see what the master landscaper does in the spring.





See what you can find to make you smile!

What a Week it Was!!

I've never had a "word for the year" before. This year I do, and it is getting a real workout. The word, if you recall, is "flexibility." I just noticed it's been a week since I wrote a post, which is testament to the craziness of this week. I don't know if this year requires more flexibility than normal, or if I'm just noticing it because it's my word.

A week and a half ago Kristen had a blood test taken. An entire week later the doctor's office called to tell her she had swine flu - a week later! She was passing along germs a whole week before they called? She had a few symptoms, but just wasn't sick enough for this diagnosis, in our opinion. But, to be safe, we had to keep the kids - we couldn't risk them getting the virus.

Two days later, Kristen insisted on a second blood test, because she just didn't feel like she had H1N1. They asked her to come in rather than just giving her the news over the phone. That was a bit intimidating. Turns out she doesn't have the flu at all - but she is anemic. How in the world did they make such a mistake?

So she was given a mongo iron shot, which made her dizzy for a few hours. That night we took the kids to Kentucky Fried Chicken for supper. I don't take my purse in with me when I have the 4 kids to contend with. I just took my glasses case in with me to exchange for the sunglasses I was wearing. I never took my sunglasses off after all.

We took the big girls home, because their mommy was feeling good enough to have them overnight, and she obviously wasn't contagious. I discovered on the way that I didn't have my glasses case with me. I panicked. I need new glasses, but didn't have time to get before going away for the week-end. We headed back to KFC, hoping I had left them on the table. Unfortunately, they weren't there, nor under the table - there was a group eating there.

So - the next step was checking the garbage - YUCK!! The good news? Most of the people in there that night were getting the advetised special "to go" - consequently, no mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, or chicken bones were on top of what I had dumped in there a half hour before. There was my glasses case - I had put them on the tray with the trash and garbage. What a relief! UPDATE: Yesterday (Monday) my glasses BROKE! So now I'm running around in constant dusk with my prescription sunglasses - without them I'd be in a total fog! I'm heading to Lenscrafters today, though I'd rather go somewhere that's not in such a hurry. I pray they do a good job. I can't get along for a week without my specs, and I don't think they're fixable, even temporarily. sigh

Friday morning was Feisty's first ever field trip and Kristen wanted to go as a mother helper. We were so glad she wasn't contagious, so she could do it. The littles and I went to the library while she and Feisty went to the fire station.








Friday afternoon I left with the group from church for Women of Faith in Denver. On the way, two people realized they didn't have their tickets. What did we do before cell phones?? We made lots of phone calls, and discovered that technology is a good thing in cases like this - several of us who had our tickets were able to give them a number which allowed them to bring up the missing tickets on the computer and print new tickets. Who knew??

We finally got to the hotel only to discover that downtown Denver was a real mess - parking was a nightmare. We ended up with valet parking and walked to the bus to get to the auditorium. If you ever have a chance to go to a Women of Faith conference, treat yourself (go to the link to see who all was there). The speakers are so great - I call it inspiration overload. The music this year was a bit loud for my taste, and I was disappointed when Sandi Patti was unable to be there after all. I bought books by almost every speaker this year. Remember Blair from Facts of Life? Lisa Whelchel, who played her, has an amazing story of her years on the show. Sheila Walsh, Marilyn Meberg, Patsy Clairmont, Lucy Swindoll - all have the amazing ability to take something little that happened in their lives and find a spiritual application. Or, in the case of this year, something huge that changed her life and can help us with our spiritual journey. I go from laughter to tears in split seconds.

Friday night after the service, which included a Stephen Curtis Chapman concert (with his two sons playing in his band - Will Franklin, who was driving the car when their little Maria was run over, sits behind his dad as he talks about the tragedy), we headed on foot back to the hotel. After a stop at the Cheesecake Factory (where we consumed way too many calories), crazy as it seems, we had to deal with the fact that we were given rooms with only one bed per room and 3 women per room. Uh Oh. Suffice it to say,we worked it out, quite creatively. but it was a bit of a mix-up. You'll have to guess how we did it!

We ate too much, slept too little, laughed, cried, talked, bonded. Sema was able to go with us and I was so glad of that. We are going to be sure Kristen gets to go next year.

Mixed in with all of the other stuff this week, DC brought in a pick-up load of dirt to fill in around the new patio.

What a goofball!

He also installed these flag stones --

Some fun shots of the kiddoes --

Saying "Bye-Bye"

Calling Mommy, most likely --



Playing teacher - "reading" to the class -- (a friend added the color to her hair, and 4 washings later, it is still there!)

Hauling around something Care Bear created --

And, finally -- the "last rose of summer!"

Have a wonderful week!

A Concrete Tale

We have lived in this house for 31 years. All of our new houses back then had these little tiny pads outside the garage stepping down into the mud which was our yards. We all wanted patios poured as soon as possible, but there was a concrete shortage. There was a concrete crew running around our neighborhood, and we all tried to catch Benny and ask him to come to our house next.

We were one of the fortunate ones to get a patio poured. It was huge and has served us for many years. Unfortunately, over the years the not-so-wonderful soil we have around here shifted and our patios, sidewalks, driveways, and even garage floors have developed cracks. You can see how much the patio settled - the original pad hasn't moved. The biggest issue, though, was that the water from rain and melted snow was running under the house.






When we decided to go for it and spring the money for a new patio, DC wanted it to be more artistic this time. He had in his mind curves rather than straight lines. He spent many days cutting out bushes that were either beyond their prime or would be in the way of the new design. I wanted to get pictures of him working so hard, digging out the deep, thick roots, but somehow it never happened. Here is an example of the kind of bushes he removed.




It will be interesting to see what he comes up with to fill these now empty spots. This rock has been covered up for years - I didn't even remember it was there.











The first crew arrived last Thursday and rattled the doors and windows and my head for a few hours with their jackhammer. What a hard, hot, difficult job - I wonder how anyone who does this can hear or breathe.

















One young guy spent his day moving the chunks of broken concrete from the back yard to the street in front of our house. I had to chuckle when I heard him tell his boss that he now knows this isn't how he wants to spend the rest of his working life! The boss is a wise man - told him that's why you go to school and stay in school.




The next day, the Bobcat arrived, along with the dump truck. The neighborhood boys had a great time watching the truck filling up. I forgot to get a picture of the really full dump truck.

The next morning they arrived with sand and began the next phase - preparing the area for the new patio. DC had drawn his plan on graph paper.














They finished for this day just before a rainstorm started. But it didn't do any harm. When DC got home, he discovered that they had not set it up according to his specs. Fortunately, the owner wanted us to be satisfied, so his guys had to come and re-do the set-up it the next day. DC was able to mark what he wanted in the sand. By the end of that day, it was looking really good, ready for the cement truck early the next morning.






The final morning, the next crew arrived, preparing for the cement arrival. In talking to these guys, I learned that one of them had worked with Benny back in the day when we were trying to get the first patio done - he was 14 years old at that time. Small world.





I can't believe I forgot to get any shots of the cement truck and the guys taking wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of the gooey stuff from the front to the back. DC and Feisty (who was home from school with a cold) spent most of the day sitting in the yard watching the process. It is a grueling job!

Notice the leaves from the wind that blew in that early morning??

I'm guessing that the next thing to happen will be DC enjoying the challenge of creating new beauty around his newly designed patio.