You Don't See That Every Day

I don't have a race planned for myself at this point. After all the training and working towards the half-marathon I am just taking it easy and running for fun these days. My girls however are helping me get out the door. Because without a goal and training plan, it's easier to say, I'll run tomorrow .... But my M and M want to run! And we've got them signed up for some races in May. So I get to 'coach' now as I run with them, This morning I took the Lab out first for a 'walk'. Of course this was the one time I didn't bring a plastic bag with me for the dog's you-know-what. And of course, this is the first time she decided she needed to relieve herself.. So I took off running, not wanting her to stop. We ran and ran and ran all the way home. It was a good warm up for me. So after I ran back to clean up what mess she did leave behind, I took off for another mile run. Oh, it felt good to be out there pushing myself knowing it was only a mile. ...

I think the guys have been keeping a secret from me all of my life. And I think I might have just discovered a key to it. Power Tools. > howl < They are So much fun! Seriously, why didn't I ever get to play with these before? OK, I have used a power-screwdriver  before  ... that was some small fun. (**update, it was a power-drill, my mistake. I couldn't even think of the right word!) But today I decided to try and get a little bit cleaned up outside in between rain showers. The side yard is kind of messy b/c of the remodel. I didn't want to get all muddy and wet by pulling the weeds out by hand, so I grabbed the weed-eater. The battery powered, very mighty, powerful Tool. And after figuring out how it works - which is pretty easy - I got to work. I had such fun whacking down those weeds and tall grass I looked for more places to use that Power Tool. Ooh - the raspberries! Earlier in the spring we took out one row of our raspberries. It had just become too crazy, ...

 The many faces of my Little K. who is 2 years old today. She came into this world right on time, arriving on her estimated due date; it was a long painful delivery but so worth it (of course!)  And now she fills our days with smiles, and tears, happy sounds, and frustration.  I often hear the girls call her name, both to play and to get after her for getting into their 'stuff'. My little two year old loves to be outside. In Oregon, this doesn't happen until later spring because of all the rain. I am going to look for some small-sized boots for her to use soon. Little K also loves music and dancing. She will bop along to the radio in the car, which keeps us all happy (7 people squeezed into our vehicle sometimes leads to unhappy moments) Little K absolutely loves loves loves her big brother. They share a room for now, until the remodel is done. And he is one of the first people she goes to when she wakes up. She goes down for a nap if i promise here we w...

I am trying to sell some of my books that we no longer use or need. Some are brand new.  Homeschool Books for sale *Singapore Math – Primary Math series             6A Textbook, brand new $6             6B Textbook and Workbook, brand new $6 each             Home Instructor Guide 6A and 6B, brand new $10 each 5A Intensive Practice $5             Textbook 5A and 5B $5 each             Home Instructor Guide 5A and 5B $10             4A Textbook $5             2A Textbook, Workbook, Instructor Guide and Extra Practice $5 each *Apples 2, Daily spelling drills for secondary st...

April is the month of birthdays around here. 3 of this family all within 2 weeks. Add in the extended family, and it is a month long celebration! Saturday night we held a party at our house for the girls here who have birthdays in April - Miss M. and Little K. We just invited family this time around - and the aunts and uncles gladly came for cake and ice cream, and cute nieces and nephew of course! The nearby cousins came too for all day  play, which made it really fun. It took her a few gifts to get into the swing of it. She couldn't figure out why she was getting presents, and no one else was. We kept telling her, Wait there's more! Her little cousin, only 6 months older, knew just what to do, but couldn't quite get that it wasn't her turn.  My mom went all out and made clothes for Little K. - a new shirt, pants and skirt. K was SO pleased when she opened the gift she had to put them on right away!     Little K also got this sweet home m...

2 year olds have an amazing outlook on life. Everything is so new and fascinating. They are just soaking it all in, and pouring it back out in their speech and actions.  Earlier in the week Little K figured out she has pockets! She was quite pleased with this new concept. On Saturday she wanted to help me make bread. "I bake!" she kept saying   And so she did.  She stirred the flour into the bread.  Never too early to get them in the kitchen.   Later in the day, she found the sunshine - which is a rarer occurrence in our neck of the woods; and so she laid down in it for awhile, after figuring out what it was. The Boy and Dad tore into the doors this weekend. Another step in the remodeling process. They took off the door that leads from the laundry room to the addition, and added the door to the garage..   Here's the door, outside, waiting to be removed from the premises. Anyone in need of a door?? After the do...

Guess who got braces this week - the day before her 9th birthday? Yep, Miss M. She also got me out the door on the first post-race run. The one that hurts the most. Miss-smack-dab-in-the-Middle-child has caught the running bug. She is letting me help her train for a 5k this spring. So yesterday we did a one miler with only one or two stops for walking, and made it in 11 minutes! It also happened to be her 9th birthday! We had a little party at home after Awanas, and she got to have cupcakes with her Awana group too. Later in the week she will have family members over for even more party, cake, ice cream and gifts. Life is good when you're nine.  

The 13.1 mile race is a thing of the past. But what a great day it was! (you'll have to click on the pic. to see me. I'm behind this guy) The sun was out, but not too hot, there was a slight breeze and more importantly - no rain! A big deal for spring in Oregon. The alarm clock at 6:15 am was not welcomed. I was a little nervous as we drove to the race. But my usual pre-race jitters weren't really a problem. G and I started out together. Which was a good thing, and which helped me pace myself really well. G bought a heart monitor for his own pacing awhile back, and so he knew when we needed to slow down or speed up. His fancy schmancy watch also helped with our mile-pacing. Made it to the finish!! I felt so good the first few miles. G however had a hard day. I don't know if it was from planting a ton of potatoes on Saturday, or working on the remodel of the house, or what, but on Sunday he just wasn't running his best.  And so I am trying hard no...

 April is the month of birthdays; And today is a very special one to me. My sweet G turns forty-something today. I recently borrowed some photos from his mother, and scanned them into my computer. I can totally see our girls' features in some of these. These first two photos are at one year old. This next one is 3 years old And the following -- well, I won't give away all his secrets. They were just a few I liked. So how should I celebrate my guy's birthday? He's not really into cake or pie. But ice cream? oh yeah!! We're actually going out tonight - to an auction for a school we are involved with! It will be loads of fun, and good food, and maybe we'll score some sweet gift cards again. We went last year and a had a good time. Later in the weekend - we have our race! My first half-marathon; I'm not nervous ... yet. I'm excited and looking forward to Sunday morning!  

Why do we find accents that are unlike our own, fascinating? I was hanging out in the doctor's office today, because, you know, with 5 kids, that's what you do a lot of. I had 4 of them with me, all the girls. They were getting squirrelly. It was lovely time. And then a man walked in, with an older lady in the wheelchair. Nothing exceptional about that at a Dr.'s office. And then he spoke. And the world stopped. And the children stilled. And we girls all smiled. The man had a Scottish accent. It was one of the best things I had heard that morning - only because I hadn't talked to my husband yet. As my niece said "Accents make life better." Yes, yes they do! It sure made the hours in the doctor's office a fond memory. I have to tell you a little story. It will give you a glimpse inside the life of my husband. His family knows this already about him, but for those of you who don't know him ... he can be a little funny. A few years ago, back when...

 Do you know how long it takes, and how hard it is, to get 5 children to take a good photo? It takes longer than you might think. Someone has to look at their feet. Or the sun is too bright. Or maybe their sister is poking them. I'm so thankful for digital cameras!!            We had a lovely Resurrection Sunday at my sister and brother in-law's new home. The sun was shining! I can't recall the last Easter in Oregon when the sun was shining and it was warm! There was plenty of good food, family we hadn't seen in awhile, and eggs hunts. Oh, did we have egg hunts! First for the little kids, then the other kids and then for the 'grown-up' kids; and then the little kids went and hid the eggs over and over for each other to find. For the first rounds of hiding, the eggs contained chocolates, jelly beans, and money! Yes, some aunts and uncles like to spoil the nieces and nephews. I don't recall ever having money in eggs when I...