This evening after dinner, Tyler, Ben and I went on a walk down the road.  It had just finished raining and the air was fresh and clean. As we walked we noticed all of God's beauty.  The wheat fields were amber and ready for harvest.  The corn was tall and luscious.  We passed the cattle as they moo'd at the strangers passing by.  Of course we moo’d back.  We visited about what we saw and the happenings of the day.  And then we walked some more; just quiet, no words, listening to God's beautiful world that he has so generously given.  It was a blessed time of relaxation.  It is moments like this with my children that I most remember.  No toys, no noise, no schedule, just time, beauty, and love.  As we headed back the farm dogs greeted us along the way with happy barks.  One little dog followed us home.  We named him Jack.  We fed him a good meal and then took him home in Tim's truck.  Now I can only hope we can visit that little dog again on a walk....hopefully tomorrow. 

Tonight I went to a Bunko party with 27 other homeschooling moms.  I had the best time visiting, and listening to what all the other ladies were doing in their homes.  It was great to catch up after a long homeschooling year. 

 

It is truly a blessing to such wonderful friends who have went before me, and can share their experiences and give wisdom.  It is like a drink of fresh cool water.  There is just something about having other women who have done exactly what I am doing (homeschooling), who can encourage me and tell me I can do it.  They know what it is like, they have "been there, done that."  Many have stayed the course and have reaped the harvest of beautiful, family-centered, courteous, intelligent children.

 

So I come home tonight refreshed and thankful that God has blessed me and made a way for my family.  Thank you Jesus for my friends. 

 

Memorial day, a day to remember those who have given their lives ultimately for our freedom.  I tried today to think what it would be like to lose a husband, a father, a son.  It is unthinkable.  When I look at my vibrant children with all their potential; it makes me think about what our world has lost in the death of young men and women. But, then I look again at my vibrant children, with all their potential and think about what we have gained.  They play outside freely without worry of enemy soldiers coming to take them to death camps.  They learn about Jesus without religious extremists silencing their prayers.  They look to the future with plans not made by our government, but dreams seen through children's eyes. Tonight, I pray that God send angels to comfort the families of those who in death, have given my children, life.   

Yesterday we received good news yesterday about Ryan's CT of his kidneys.  There was no cyst anywhere.  So the original diagnosis from our FORMER nephrologist was incorrect.  We were so excited and happy that Ryan's kidneys are healthy.  We praised the Lord all day long!  However, today I am questioning the competency of our former nephrologist.  We made many changes to Ryan's diet and medication based on the nephrologist diagnosis; changes that we would not have chosen to do otherwise. I am praying about what the right thing is to do.  

 

Last night we had our own family Maverick play off game party. LOL  I made cheese dip, a family favorite, and we all snuggled up on the couches and watched the game.  We cheered, we yelled, we wrestled and we ate, and ate and ate!  LOL  And to top it off, the Mavericks won against San Antonio (finally) in over time. 

 

So a it was a great day for our family, and I thank Jesus for the blessing of my husband and children. 

 

~J

 

Good Morning....I think.

 

The storms last night were really loud and created crying children last night.  So I didn't get much sleep.  I ended up with Ben and Ryan in bed with me by the night's end.  Their still sleeping and I hope they sleep late so they aren't crabby.  I know that I'll have to try and not be crabby...so we don't need a crabby mom and crabby kids. 

 

Ben played baseball last night and beat the last undefeated team in our league.  So his team is now officially in first place.  Benjamin has never been on a winning team in baseball so this is a big deal for him.  He's so excited.  He just wants to get a big trophy like Tyler’s so bad and of course being the wonderful mother that I am, I want it for him too. LOL 

 

We also came home last night and rode our bikes.  It was the first time I put Ryan on the back of my bike.  We all put our helmets on and when Ryan saw his helmet, he was so excited.  He has watched the boys ride their bikes with helmets, so he knew exactly what that little helmet on his head was for.  So cute.  He loved every minute.  I didn’t have any trouble riding with him except the turns were a little wobbly if you didn’t have enough speed.  So that was great. 

 

As most mothers in America I do quite a bit of laundry.  Well I was washing some tennis shoes that were really muddy from my 2 oldest playing in a mud fight in the creek with the neighbor boys (Yes they had permission).  The shoes had sat outside for a few days until I could get to them.  I threw them in the washer and a pair of Tim's and started it up.  A short time later, I checked on the shoes to be sure they had come clean, and to my surprise, my washer was teeming with JUNE BUGS!   It seems the little critters had crawled into the boys shoes and then were beaten into hundreds of little pieces by the shoes in the washer.  There were HUNDREDS of prickly legs, crunching bodies and paper thin wings stuck everywhere in the washer.  So I pulled up my trash can and a roll of paper towels and started literally digging handfuls of dead June bug segments out of the washer.  It took about 15 minutes of cleaning.  Then after a shake, the shoes went back in with some Lysol for sanitary purposes.  Needless to say I didn't have breakfast that morning.  However, I did tell the boys that we might have a secret ingredient to put in our granola to make it more crunchy.....JUST KIDDING! 

 

Have a great day! ~J