Visit from turkeys

 

No – these aren’t the turkeys! Last week, the We Care staff had a prison swap day and we enjoyed having this group of guys over for lunch after they spent time with John in the prison.

These are the turkeys – in our back yard! This morning, before going on a walk, we saw three idling through and then this afternoon after church, there were 9! I couldn’t get them all together – here are 5 of them.

Here are 3 more, and you’ll just have to trust me about the 9th :)

 

While I was shooting pictures of the turkeys, one of the little guys was patiently posing for a picture. We have had a steady stream of hummingbirds this year, usually at least 7-8 at one time. They are a joy to watch.

It is finally feeling a little like fall – cooler temperatures in the mornings make walking more enjoyable. We have been watching a rattlesnake staked out in a dead tree at our neighbor’s hunting cabin! John has been searching for a pistol to take on our hikes. Unfortunately, that particular snake seems to have finished his meal and moved out to find another, as we did not see him this morning.

Genesis 1:21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

This and that

I am not feeling well (cold/flu bug), so please excuse the sporadic nature of this post :)

The net got revenge on Neli! I caught her up on the trampoline again (she gets up by using the big stone step that the kids use), but this time she was all wound up in the shreds that she created. She was so tangled that each attempt to free herself just resulted in her being bounced ... on the trampoline. It was truly a hilarious sight and I wish that I would have captured it on film. I have not seen her on the trampoline since = smart dog.

818 - it's a story in the making, a puzzle unraveling and I am beginning to see the significance ... I think. I'll have to save it for another time, but yesterday 8/18 - our family got great news - my Mom no longer has pulmonary hypertension! Glory to God!

We have started school and so far it has been going pretty well. I rearranged the homeschool area again and I like it better. I can sit between them now which helps when they need assistance. They are both doing pretty well at staying on task and I am doing a little better with organization.

I am taking a big, huge breath because fall soccer and baseball will be starting soon. I have trouble getting back into the groove when a new season starts - trying to get the whole schedule nailed down in my head of who needs to be where when. I am excited for both of them and look forward to watching some fun games.

Very excited to be involved in a Compassion Sunday event on Sept 26th at our church. I ordered the materials today and am praying for some neat things to come of it.

Ok - I need sleep. Good night!

Now known as naughty Neli

I’m doing this for your own good – DON’T be fooled! They start out all cute and innocent looking like this …

Doesn’t she just look soooo sweet?" “What a cute little puppy!” “Aw – how sweet.”

Because, IF you fall for all of that innocence and sweetness, there will come a day when they grow up and then they may do something like this …

 

Yep – shredded!

Does she look even the least bit sorry to you?

I was hoping that it was just ripped and I could sew it back together, but she shredded it! BAD doggy!

 

How about this for “sorry”? Well, she does look sorry, doesn’t she? NO – I said DON’T fall for it!!! You’re doing it again!!

 

Aw man, it’s too late – you’re a lost cause. She has your number and she has it memorized!

If she keeps this up, I’m going to have to change her label from curious to naughty. :)

Finishing some things …

Summer is almost over for the kids’ school break – we will be starting back next week. I’m excited, although the kids aren’t :)

 

We just finished up swimming lessons. Some major milestones were overcome. Hadden braved jumping off the low dive and even enjoyed it. Savannah finally got comfortable putting her face in the water during the last 2 lessons and even held her face in for 10 seconds! I hope they remember a few things by next summer.

These pictures aren’t that great – it’s hard to get good pictures with the sun blaring in, but I guess you can kind of get an idea. I have been working on valances for the windows. The upper left is the main floor –with the open floor plan, we decided on the same fabric everywhere. The middle is Hadden’s room – I hesitated even bothering to put the picture in because it is so bad. You’ll have to trust me that it does kind of pull the greens and blues together. The right is Savannah’s room and even though the picture is hard to tell, I think this one works very well to pull the turquoise and purple together. I still have the stair tower and the master bedroom to finish. I am using my grandmother’s sewing machine and I recently found the paperwork for it – it is older than I am :) How cool is that?

 

Neli is growing very quickly. Overall, she is a very sweet puppy and learns pretty quickly. Up until now, she has been afraid to go up or down stairs, so she lived in the entryway which we liked (fairly well contained, no messes, etc). Just this week, she has figured out how to come up stairs. Ughh. Going down is tricky for her, so now we have to keep a close eye on her.

Have a great day!

They won!!!

Woot woot - they won the grill! Thanks to any and all who voted - I know they appreciated your kindness.

Update on grill ...

Please vote for Eunice B. - NOT EUNICE B or eunice b.

Thank you!