Oh, where do I begin...

  Honestly, I can't remember much about the last week.  I know we have laid more flooring in the house, been to the doctor for wellness check-ups, painted, cleaned, moved some boxes, played with friends, hung out with homeschooling friends, enjoyed church and small group...   I guess I remember more than I thought! : )
  It's been busy for sure! The boys have helped vacuum and put outlet covers on and clean up whatever they can.  Today some of the carpet is being laid...and the boys are excited!  (Don't get me wrong...Josh and I are excited, too!) :)    As we left the house last night, Jake said, "I like that we keep bringing more and more boxes here!"  And Joe kept saying, "Don't hammer on the carpet.  Can I help them put the carpet in?  Don't hammer on the carpet! Can I help put the carpet in?"  (Not sure about the hammering part...)

  Josh headed to school yesterday, only to find out that it'd been shut down b/c the pool pump failed again causing the high school's electricity to go out.  So, that freed his schedule from swim practice the next few days!

  Joe had been bashing left over tile with his hammer (with great delight, I might add).  Jake decided to join him and with the second whack ended up slicing his thumb pretty good.  He handled it well...better than I thought he might when I first saw all the blood on the sidewalk!

  We went to the HS pool Sunday night.  Joe decided to try some real swimming...putting his face in and kicking/using his arms!  He was so excited...and is so eager to go back and practice more!

  Great quotes in the last week...

Joe...in the car heading home late one night..."Can I have a open eye sucking thumb nap?"  (He was tired, knew he isn't allowed to suck his thumb unless in bed, but wanted to suck it in the car b/c he was sleepy, but not sleepy enough to sleep apparently!)

Joe...before heading to the doctor..."Is anything going to hurt, Mom?"  (he was worried about shots apparently)  At the doctor, asking the nurse..."Is anything going to hurt?"  (She gave him an "I don't know" answer.)  Ready for the doctor to come in..."Is Dr Suess going to give me shots, Mom?"  (He was so worked up, the only doctor he could think of by name was Dr Suess!)

Joe...on the way back to Mama and Papa's from our house at dusk..."The moon (pause) and that planet up there...is RACING us......and we're in the lead!"

selecting a fresh tomato to eat with dinner

Found it!

Eating inside for the first time...in the dining room on the floor

upstairs bathroom

boys' room

 

Catch of the day...

    I was watching the burn pile when I heard Jake and Joe shriek in delight.  I turned around to see something hopping and the boys cautiously heading toward it.  Once I realized it was a baby bunny, I told them to try to catch it.  Well, the poor thing must have been scared to death because it's ability to hop or run fast or far was non-existent.  Jake continued to be cautious, but Joe bound right in and grabbed at the hopping creature...finally grasping it in his "not so gentle" way.   With delight he yelled, "I got it, Mom!" and proceeded to laugh in delight. 

   The boys quickly sought to make a "home" for it.  They wanted the nature books out of my trunk so they could figure out which kind it was and what to do to care for it and feed it.  A box with grass in it became its home.  And, of course, they wanted to keep it....but then, after I pointed to Basil (the dog), they were afraid to leave it outside in the box.  So, it spent the night in the box (literally nose in the corner) in the detached garage. 

Power of the Past

   The boys have been saving their money (mainly earned by helping with work at the house) and have looked forward to seeing "the tractor man" at the Greensburg annual Power of the Past Tractor show.  "The tractor man" has parts and pieces of sets that he sells for reasonable prices.  So, they found some deals...and the man remembered them from when we stopped at the Shelbyville tractor show. 

   But...I don't think the boys (or I) realized all that we would really be able to see among the tractors.  I've never seen such a large display of so many kinds and so many generations of tractors.

 I think the oldest smaller tractor we saw was from 1918.

We saw several steam engine tractors (check out this video from the tractor parade)

small re-built tractors
















the saw mill (where Uncle Eric was helping with the demo)...I was trying to make sure the boys understood that this was how the lumber in our house was created.

the threshing machine (from the late 1800's) still usable to separate the wheat after it's been cut and bundled...

baling the wheat after it was separated out

 Ready for the pedal tractor pull...

Watch Joe's tractor pull...

 Joe wins his weight group!

Jake waits his turn...

 Added weight really slowed the kids in Jake's weight group down!

Joe shows Aunt Rachel his trophy!

Waiting for "go" at the needle in a haystack game (finding the 3 objects in the straw)

 Joe found 2 of the 3 objects in his group of seekers.  So, he won $4.00. 
Jake's group had to search for quite a while and they were a tough group of lookers...but Jake ended up empty handed (and pretty straw covered!) :).

 What a fun day!

Sleepy boys

The boys took a nap this afternoon...later than we hoped, but at least it happened after the long busy week we have had.  So, about 3 pm is when they went down for a nap. 

At 6 pm I decided I had better wake the boys up so they could eat and still sleep at night.  I decided to wake Jake first.  So, I gently went to him and said his name a few times. He came out of his foggy sleep a little, so I laughed and said that he needed to wake up...that it was almost dinner time.  He popped straight up and as he sat there, he turned around, looked at the clock and then out the window and said, "seriously? it's dinner time?".  I said, "yeah" To which he promptly replied..."oh, it was a nap!"  

He thought he had slept all day! :)

The downstairs is painted

  Mom and Dad have headed south, but their work will be reminders of their time here.  They helped paint and vacuum the whole downstairs...which is huge.  It looks so nice...and nearly livable! :)

The downstairs bath/laundry room

The family room

family room

Family room toward dining room and kitchen

kitchen...you might be able to see the flooring Josh is starting to lay near the cabinets

school room...it won't be complete until we add the white trim and red based curtains

Olympics

   Our family really enjoyed watching the Olympics each night (at least what Olympics we could stay awake for).  The boys learned a lot about a lot of sports and countries just from watching the events each night. In fact, tonight Joe asked to turn on the TV to watch the Olympics and we had to explain they were over. We'll look forward to the next time the Olympics come around. But until then, we'll enjoy these moments! :)

Jake's finished Olympic work

Joe stars as Michael Phelps!

   If you look closely at the first picture, you'll figure out now what the blue things hanging out of Jake's ears are.  Jen and Andy will probably laugh at this picture! :)

WE ARE PAINTING

  Did you hear that?  No, seriously.  Could you hear us say it? It's that exciting that you actually might have heard those words said loudly enough for your neck of the woods. 

   Painting means we are ALMOST IN OUR HOUSE bc it is almost able to be lived in!  Do you feel the excitement we have?  Even the boys can feel how close it is getting. 

   So, here are a couple pictures taken today.  (I left Thursday with drywall mudding still going on and by the end of today half the house is painted and the kitchen cabinets are installed. Now that is progress!!!!)

Colorado!

  Mom and I took a flight out to Boulder to help Jen find a wedding dress (and other "wedding related" stuff). We were unsure of how long the whole trip would need to be...so we flew in Thurs night and flew out Monday afternoon.  By 3 pm Friday (just two hours after we entered the first dress store) she found her dress...which eased the schedule quite a bit for the next few days.

   Despite additional shopping for the wedding, we did also enjoy eating awesome food at several fun restaurants, running on trails, eating yummy food, biking, eating great food, relaxing on Andy's porch, eating...well, you get the point.  We also enjoyed cool temperatures...especially at night (even requiring the comforter on the bed to be used). :)

  In it all, there was a theme that my mind kept coming to in the midst of conversations and situations...God is big.  To see all the things God has laid into place up to this point for Jen and for Andy as individuals, to see all that God has put in place right now for Jen and Andy as a couple, to see all that God put into place for the events of the weekend to unfold as they did (both in Boulder and back home in Indiana), and to see how God is so present in every place---which especially hit me while at church Sunday morning...as I truly worshiped...in unison...among strangers...the same God we worship across our nation and our world...and with our lives and hearts daily! Wow!

 

First Grade

We have officially begun first grade.  It's been a good first week...and Joe has tried some schoolwork along the way, too.  Jake has already made a clay jar, a mini-scroll, and is memorizing a verse from Proverbs.  He says he is glad he doesn't have to do schoolwork the next 4 days.  But deep down, I think he is LOVING learning.  And that is a delight.


So..."first day of first grade" pictures below!

Look who showed up...

   Last week one day as we were leaving the house, a kitten darted across the yard into the corn field across the street.  The next day, it showed up near the house again and slowly welcomed Jake's slow and gentle approach.  The boys delightedly played with their newfound friend all afternoon...naming her Daisy.  (other options...sunflower, coco, and choclate)

  Papa bought some milk and food for her b/c she seemed so hungry...and she has a bad gash on her leg.  And, so, she has established her little home between the brick piles.  She comes out promptly as we pull in and she hears our voices. 

  So, the boys are excited about their playmate!  And it is fun to watch her play as she practices pouncing and attacking...a stick.  Hopefully she can work on mice around the house and in the barn! :)