happily random

Newest Family Member

It wasn't even one day before Joel had taken Rebekah get a new kitten. I don't think his heart could stand seeing her suffering so. It didn't lessen her love for Bear or her grief at his passing, but it was certainly a distraction to have a new kitten to love and play with. She is adorable as kittens are and each child is getting to know her. Rebekah named her Jasmine and it seems to fit her. Jasmine cuddles with Rebekah in bed at night and takes turns in the arms of every child during the day. She's fought over a lot, whick I guess goes to show her popularity in the household. She is certainly well-loved. 

Joel & I continued work on the chicken coop this weekend... in the cold... and the rain. The temperature dipped into the 50s and 60s and rained all day Sunday. Despite the misery of working in poor weather, we managed to install the siding, the roof & the tar paper for the roof. We're hopeful that we can get the enclosure completed this week so we can get the chickens moved into their new home and out of the makeshift enclosure on our lawn. Aren't you glad you're not our neighbors?

Happy first day of Fall!

Goodbye Bear

We lost a family member yesterday. Rebekah's cat, Brother Bear or "Bear" as we called him, had a stroke on Friday morning. The stroke caused him to lose control of his back legs and he had to be put to sleep. He was just four years old, so young to be taken from us. Rebekah was nearly inconsolable yesterday. What made it worse was I was in Yakima for a Christian Women's Conference and wasn't there to help confort her. But Joel did an excellent job caring for Bear and Rebekah. We buried him today under a grouping of pine trees near our home.

Bear was a typical cat, being aloof most of the time. But each night he could be found cuddled up in bed with Rebekah. He was definitely her cat and she took very good care of him. When he was not sleeping with her, he could be heard running up and down the hallway, waking everyone in the house. Bear was an incredible mouser, catching more mice that I can count, several birds and even a bat! He was very good natured, putting up with all kinds of "abuse" from the children. We will miss you Brother Bear. We love you.

Coop Sweet Coop

Joel & I (and the kids here and there) started building a permanent home this weekend for our family of chickens. The colder weather is creeping up on us (where did the summer go?) and they're going to need a good coop to live out the winter. Being the creative people that we are, we included a storage area underneath the nesting boxes that can be accessed by a door in the back to store their feed. Also, we put in another door right behind their nesting boxes so we can collect eggs without going inside the coop. And of course there is a door for the chickens to enter the coop from their enclosed yard up a ramp, along with door for us to enter the coop, mostly just to clean it out. We're hoping to get the roof and siding done this week along with the posts for the yard and chicken wire for the fencing. I know Joel does this all the time, but I had fun using a circular saw and nail gun for the first time. Gotta love power tools!

Another hole in the head

Well, I've waited awhile to blog about this, mostly because I wanted to get a picture to go with it. It's something I've been considering for quite sometime. Joel has been encouraging me to do it for months (he thinks it looks hot), so back in May, I did it: I got my nose pierced.

Did it hurt? Like you would believe, but only for about 30 seconds. After about 2 weeks it wasn't sore, although it hurt like crazy if it was bumped. It's been over 3 months now and I can't even feel it. I actually forget I have it now.

Why? Many reasons. I think the biggest reason is because I like them. I figure I'm 34 and most of my life I've been pretty conservative, so for once I thought it might be fun to do something a little less so. Of course it only took me a year to get up the nerve to do it. I actually went in to get it done 3 separate times before it actually happened (the piercer wasn't in when I wentin the first 2 times), so it took some perseverance to actually do the deed. But I did it and I'm very happy I did.

What can I say, but it's a little bit of rebellion and independence in my otherwise responsible and structured life. I love it.

Back in the saddle

School began last week and this year we have 3 attending school. Rebekah is in 3rd grade, Lucas is in 1st grade and Tyler is in preK.

I was anxious about Lucas starting 1st grade with his sensory integration issues, but 1st grade seems to fit him like a glove. I had been seriously considering home schooling him if things at school weren't clicking, but I don't think that's going to be necessary. It's mellower (less noise) and more structured than kindergarten. He has his own space with his desk and he's learning to read, which he has been very eager to do. The second he comes home he starts his homework with great enthusiasm. On Saturday he was quite disappointed that he wasn't going to school that day. I am very hopeful that this will be a good school year for him.

It's been a bumpy start for Tyler in preK, mostly because this is his first time away from me during the day (other than Grandma's). He cried his first day which was heart-wrenching, but his teacher said it didn't last long. When I picked him up he was happy and said he had a great time. The next day, he didn't cry, but he wasn't delighted that I had to leave. But once again when I picked him up he was happy, so I'm hopeful he will settle into the routinue pretty quickly. 

Rebekah just loves 3rd grade, as I knew she would. She loves school and was excited to get back to it. I hope that continues. It's nice attending a small school where we all know everyone there.

Prior to our first week of school, we took a long overdue, much needed vacation. I have an album on the right with the highlights. We spent a week in Oregon, several days on the coast and then a few days in Portland. It was good to get away as a family after the chaotic summer we had.

A little project I just finished. It's a curtain rod that I used to hang layouts for display in my hallway. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Oh and the quote above it is this: Life is not measured in the number of breaths you take, but in the moments that take your breath away. I got it through Uppercase Living, which I sell.