Yes, There IS More than Mugs

 My day begins with a photo of an empty mug because I lived a full day before 10:30 a.m. Michael attended a prayer meeting with pastors in the valley. I decided to get as much done as I could before he returned. I got Dad up and going, made an apple crisp, air fried some salmon to turn into sandwich spread, got a pork shoulder going in the instant pot, made scones, swept and realized I hadn't had breakfast or tea....but I wanted to post a #mugshot on FB.

#mugshot

When Michael returned Stacia and I jetted out for our "breakfast" study - at 1100. We haven't had a SET study since women's ministry went on break. We've all been enjoying reading independently and sharing together weekly. This week we discussed college, and what we've read...me from Philippians, Proverbs and Genesis and she from Matthew and Psalms. Once again - I remembered too late for a great photo but here's another empty mug shot. LOL

#mugshot

Stacia left to meet up with a new friend from college. This gal has moved from CO and so Stacia showed her around some of her favorite spots in town. 

Allie had an appointment at the dentist, and I was happy to join her. She had her first cavity filled. I thought I prepared her - and I did for the thing that bothers ME - the shot and that plastic tent thing. Unfortunately, I forgot to mention the drill. She did great but the dentist could have been WAAAAY better at telling her what he was going to do...it was rather routine for HIM. I've not been thrilled at the changes in our dentist office since the founder retired. It was a calm, Christian environment with sweet staff....and now it's all new people - except for the dentist I like - and it's just not the same at all. AND they are not an in-system provider for our dental insurance, so it costs us out of pocket quite a bit more than if we'd go to another who was in-system.  We may switch at the start of 2024. I like a female dentist (smaller hands) and I'm not finding a female on the preferred list. What to do? 

Back at home Allie and Michael discussed a theological issue raised in one of Allie's classes. 

We picked Millie up at the groomers - she will get her own post. 

I was so happy I had put our main entree in the instant pot early in the day....I made a salad; air fried some asparagus and cooked some dilled carrots. We were ready. Jenni showed up. Jenni has been up in Denali for a couple of weeks, and we have missed her. She brought garlic bread which we warmed up while Michael sliced the meat, and I made an onion butter garlic sauce for the meat. We gathered at the table and didn't leave for several hours. I really must remember people may want to "retire to the living room." LOL  We, as a family, tend to linger at the table. After dinner and dessert, we played a round of Farkle.  This was a really good roll by Stacia, but alack and alas, one cannot see the dice. I believe Stacia won? 

I decided Jenni has been over enough to know I didn't invite her for blog fodder; I took a photo.  While we visited Jenni mentioned going to see Hamilton. "One thing led to another," and I bought three tickets to attend as well. We found seats right next to Jenni, Joelle and Laura - we're crashers that way. ::snort:: 

GG went to bed. 

We realized it IS a work night for Jenni. 

We brought the evening to an end. 

August Randomness

Here are some shots from things I never got around to blogging...randomness from August. 

Stacia joined Arielle and the boys on one of our glorious summer days at the local swimming hole. She planned to work this summer, I'm really glad she hasn't.  It's been fun to have this last little bit of childhood with her before she turns 18 and jumps into college. 

Stacia and Danny 📷by Arielle 

Danny 📷by Arielle 

He's cool. 

That smile! 📷by Arielle

Ah - Sonlight Box day! Oh the memories they'll make this school year. 

📷by Arielle

Our new little ladies have begun laying...Quite a bit smaller than the others...but we're getting lots and lots of eggs now. We have 35 hens and 1 rooster for those who wonder. 

Stacia turned 18 this month. She decided she was going to attend youth group until she was 18...but she's graduated high school, she's 18 and it's time to transition out of youth group. It can get so uncomfortable for younger ones entering youth group if graduates never move on. Her birthday and last youth group fell on the night of the Back to School Olympics. She was happy to be able to participate. Allie is a year older but has stayed on as part of the leadership team. She is in charge of games, leads small groups and has also spoken a night or two. 

Allie in the middle, Stacia on the right 📷via Krista G

Stacia is working with Jenni, our children's pastor. She has taken the lead a couple of times when Jenni has been gone. 

Stacia's team in the lead📷via Krista G

August is the month of our State Fair. I've not made it over this year but have enjoyed hearing from those who have. Noah and his folks went to the fair where Noah experienced his first comedian show. 

📷via Larissa

Larissa, Noah and Jared📷via Larissa

Our new pastor began the first week of August. Bre has been helping out with worship. 

📷via Facebook post 

The boys came over one Sunday afternoon and the battery wasn't in the car. Charles and Danny spent a "happy" hour pushing the car back and forth across the yard. LOL 

Push, Charles! 

Cuteness Overload 📷via Larissa

Allie produced this week's announcement video for church. 

Noah went to his first nursery gig at JaRissa and CyRi's church. Larissa sent this photo when she picked him up. She said he had a bit of an attitude about being left. 

📷via Larissa

It's been a busy month! 

Millie's New Look

 Millie has, once again, developed dread locks. We did so good keeping up on her grooming. I had made six appointments in advance, every six weeks. I did not realize at her last appointment that we didn't have another booked. I called the very next day and the soonest they could get us in was 3 months. Millie was a mess....matted. 

The biggest thing is that Millie can't see when her hair gets floppy. She gets jumpy at every noise. She also acts more ferocious the longer her hair gets. LOL 

When Stacia took Millie in the gal ran her hands down Millie's back and said, "Oh, I don't think she'll need a shave." Then she reached her legs and head...yep...a start over. I was really impressed as our former groomer took her to the SKIN when she started over and Millie always had nicks and such when we picked her up. We also got calls saying Millie was having trouble. Millie seems at peace with this groomer. Short - but not SKIN short...

That tail is a weapon when it's shaved. Allie rewarded Millie with a pupacino at home. 

She can see!

Here's the thing - some love her short look. I like longer, but not dreads. LOL  I made her a new appointment for 8 weeks as she is so short this time...and then we made appointments for ALL of 2024. She won't be forced to "start over" again - until 2025 and maybe not then if I remember to make that year's appointments next September. 

Bachan's Not Allowed or One Rainy Day

 In honor of the rain, I brought the boys their winter drinks this a.m. They were thrilled. I hear Dad woke up at 0800 as I left the house. Such are Tuesdays - up and at em! 

Benny and I did a bit of school this a.m. He wanted to save math and Bible to do with mama when the little boys are sleeping. That's fair. 

I soon discovered Benny really wanted to build a fort. We couldn't go outside in the rain because *I* didn't want to get all wet. The 2-year-olds were a bit "rowdy" and building a fort seemed a grand idea. Into the "Wreck Room" they went. LOL  They started with the typical fort. The comforter came off the top bunk....

Danny & Charles

They dragged chairs into the room, more blankets came out... the fort grew and grew.  By the time it was done it was truly amazing. I have no photos as I was not allowed to take more pictures. 

I heard words I was not prepared for, words I've never heard before from the boys! "Bachan's not allowed in the fort!" 

WHAT? 

As my friend Rachel said on Facebook, " Forts are not proper forts if a grandma can wander in Willy-Nilly. "

They barricaded the door. I was shut out. 

It only took minutes to realize the benefits of this situation. THEY were shut in, contained, happy and entertaining themselves. I set in the dark hallway, because the boys insisted on darkness, and caught up on MarcoPolos. It was a win win.  They kept busy for about 1 1/2 hours. 

Right up until the moment they yelled for me to break through the barricade and take their picture sleeping in the fort, which I was happy to do! 

Benny, Danny & Charles

The 2's love me to read to them. Charles especially seems to like to snuggle on the couch and read. He brought a book I know well. I noted the name written in the corner. Benny said, "I must have written that." ::snort:: I assured him it wasn't him...Uncle Alex marked this one. 

A Sonlight read aloud we still enjoy 

We moved on to play a rousing game with Charle's big red therapy balloon.  Arielle came home and I was off. 

I ran to the pharmacy again - I didn't envision multiple trips to the pharmacy each week when we dreamed of retirement. I have requested they give us 3 months instead of 1 month supplies of all Dad's meds. I was told Medicare doesn't like to do this, but Dad is on over 20 meds....this is getting silly. LOL I'm a frequent flyer at the pharmacy. The pharmacist agreed and is working on the situation. 

I dropped off books at the library. 

I took a minute, ok ten minutes, to sit in the parking lot and send two Marco Polos...because I literally can't find a moment or space at home to do Marco Polo these days. 

I ran home and got Dad lunch. He went down for a nap and I....

ran and picked up a new friend Rachel, not to be confused with online Rachel, and off we went to Sophia's for tea/coffee. A funny thing that happened....I kept my eye on the clock as I don't like to be THAT customer. At some point I noted they were sweeping floors and straightening up and I ASKED when they closed. They said 3, it wasn't yet 2. We sat and visited, and I marveled at how much we covered in such a short amount of time... eventually there was us and one elderly gentleman reading the paper. We began to smell pine. They were mopping the floor. I asked if they were closed...they WERE. It was 3....but the clock still said 1:45 p.m. I let them know their clock needs new batteries. ::snort:: 

Ah man - I don't take photos of friends when we get together because I never want them to think I am spending time with them to have blog fodder. Certainly not with a NEW friend like Rachel. However, I SHOULD have take a shot of our mugs! No mug shot today, that was my only mug. 

We decided to pull out all the prepared bits and pieces of freezer food for dinner. Michael and GG have developed sore throats, and I assumed they wouldn't want to eat. I assumed wrong. Nonetheless we made progress on clearing out the convenience food we purchased for dip-netting.  

The girls and Michael have been completing weekly writing prompts. One is picked each week and each write on the same prompt. We catch a moment when we're all home, and I read them all...because I am more about journal writing and such than being TOLD what to write....

3 perspectives on Murder and Mayhem

This week's prompt was "murder and mayhem" and it was HILARIOUS to see how all three treated it differently. Michael's was a humorous rant on alliteration, Allie's delved into psychology and Stacia rewrote the ending of Grimm's Rapunzel.

I'm not sure what happened...we moved on from prompts to talking and the girls went to bed. I looked up and it was 0100 and I told Michael I thought I was going to end the conversation and go to bed. LOL  Which I did. 

I Can Because God Can

A few FB thoughts I shared, posted to remember. 

Dad woke up VERY early this a.m. confused, convinced I was calling him, and suffering a few ill-effects from his over-indulgence yesterday. I found myself muttering, "I can't do this forever," and God is so faithful to remind me through Holy Spirit and His word, "Yes, you can." ::snort:: I can because God can and He strengthens me clear down in the center of who I am. (Phil 4:13, Eph 3:14-21) He rules in my heart/life through faith, I KNOW He loves me and cares, He will walk with me and refill me as often as I come to Him. He can do so much more than I need or think to ask of Him.

Today, I will quit muttering that I can't and will do what He clearly says I can.

And I will drink lots of tea to stay awake. #mugshot

Note: wrote this hours ago and now Dad is at peace, satisfied with breakfast and back on course...actually decided he was tired and is taking a nap.

And I AM strengthened remembering I can do every single thing He has called me to do.

#mugshot

We Went Out - Together

The forecasters have predicted rain showers, winds and flood watches for our valley for a few days. We went to bed knowing we may well wake up to a wet world. I LOVE the sound of wind and RAIN - heavy RAIN on our metal roof. I opened the windows and enjoyed the storm. 

Rainy #mugshot - Mug created over 20
years ago, by Arielle I believe. 

Allie worked late Friday night and was not up when Stacia and I had to run into town to pick up some greens for the most spoiled chickens in the valley. We ran through a coffee stand and discovered they make a great breakfast sandwich - which we enjoyed warm in our car, with a view of the mountains. Stacia dropped off a resume at a place she would like to work a shift or two a week. They didn't sound like they were hiring but one never knows. We ran to the church and set up the coffee corner. We ran to Freddies and purchased milks, coffee and cream for said corner. 

We got home with enough time to say hello and goodbye to Allie. 

We were excited for the evening. We'd been invited out to someone's house as a family for DINNER. Y'all...this doesn't happen often. Four or five years ago we were invited for a game night to a friend's. We were invited over to another's and covid lock downs interfered. We have people over. We've wondered about this...like we assumed it was because we were a big family - but we are no longer a big family. We thought maybe it was intimidating because we were chaplains - but we are no longer chaplains. I suspect maybe people have made having others into their home a much bigger, scarier thing than it need be. Maybe, our culture has gotten so busy we neglect "breaking real bread together" - you know house to house and not at an uber-organized event/potluck. ::snort::  In any event...when we had that wildly crowded party for Stacia (who hates crowds), a friend invited us to their home for dinner! Stacia, Allie and I had been out to their place. Michael had never met Sheri's husband, Chris.  We had about 3 weeks to figure out a fun spot for GG to spend the night because we were determined to go - and their house has lots and lots of steps to the entrance. 

Allie would be working, and Stacia wanted to join us. They are our usual fall back when Michael and I want to run out together. Alex was unable to stay with GG. He often helps us out. I sent an email to Arielle and Bre and asked if either of them would like to have GG over for dinner on Friday night. We'd drop him off at 4:30 and promised to be back by 8 to get him. 

Bre and the kids responded first! It turned out wonderful. I LOVE the kids are spending time in a smaller settling with their GG, and he is able to interact with them more personally. Bella said they needed to think of a game they could play so he would think they are fun. My heart!  I warned Dad not to cheat. Yes, he does. Benny doesn't like to play games with him anymore because he is indignant that GG cheats. I knew Bella and Gideon would be too. Dad seemed surprised I would even suggest he cheat. ::snort:: 

Bre sent me photos throughout the evening - it was like going out when we had little ones at home. 

📷by BreAnne

Dominoes were a hit with all generations. Annie insisted they also play Pretty, Pretty Princess. 

📷by BreAnne

Jojo had absconded with GG's jewelry and brought it back. This was a fantastic outing for Dad. I really think we need to think about doing this on a regular basis. He must get awfully bored with the four of us. 

📷by BreAnne

While Dad enjoyed his time out with Bre and the kids, we enjoyed our dinner with Chris, Sheri and Shae. The spaghetti and salad were spot on.  The apple crisp was yummy - not sure why we don't make more of them. I've told Stacia I will remedy the sad situation. Mike and Chris toured Chris' restoration projects. Sheri and I enjoyed a visit and Shae and Stacia did the same. And then? Chris suggested we go see how the creek/river was doing. We had just enough time! The creek was more like a raging river. 

Stacia and Shae came down in their own UTV. I didn't ask about photos and Shae is a minor, so you don't get to see her charming smile. 

We had such a good evening...being out as a family with friends. The only thing which would have made it better was having Allie along. Sheri said we'll have to do it again when she can make it.  BTW I was feeling very cool in Chris' flight jacket! 

We got home right at GG's bedtime. We were trying to keep his routine as much as possible. We are all thrilled with the success of our evening out.  The evening ended differently than planned when our power went out. 

This was actually better than screen time anyway! 

It's Field Trip Friday!

GG was up and ready early this morning. I made a slide, sent a couple slides to Pastor, ordered Bible study material for September's study, and registered one of our gals for conference. 

I left the house at 0900 to meet Arielle and two of her sons at "the farm." Cory had the day off and kept Charles at home with him as he's been a bit under the weather. 

Benny has been learning the letter "F" this week. He's written it, he's sounded it out, he's looked for it in other words...and today...on FFFFriday, we visited a local FFFFFarm to pick some FFFFood for our dinner table. 

We often visit the farm for Harvest Festival. We love it - it's crowded. In fact, so crowded we didn't do a lot of the things last year. Arielle heard you could go to the farm to u-pick and they are gracious enough to let the children play on the things that are out. It was wonderful. I am glad we went even though it was raining last night and this morning. It cleared up for our trip.  Danny loved the mud after the rain! 

📷by Arielle

They gave us little knives, told us which things we could harvest today and how big they had to be before we harvested them. I'm seriously wondering why I grow a garden. Maybe I should just u-pick. 

It was harder than one would think to find FFFFood as the weeds grow up right with the food. 

Searching for food 📷by Arielle

📷by Arielle

📷by Arielle

Success! 

We picked broccoli, sugar snap peas, zucchini, kale and it seemed like there was something else. I began to envision a stir fry....though I'd already prepped for chicken/mozzarella ravioli.  

When we were done picking the boys played on some of the toys which are around. 

📷by Arielle

Arielle, Danny & Benny

I want to build one of these in our yard....I think it could be great fun. Maybe a roller slide off our deck. LOL It would probably make it easier to get GG out in the yard too. LOL 

We went through the maze. Benny was sure he could beat his mom through - and he did. In the midst of mazing...we misplaced Danny. I could hear him and then it went SILENT as only a hiding 2 year old can be. We called, we searched...we didn't see his ginger head anywhere. 

I heard a bit of a laugh...and then "Moving under." Sure enough, I looked low...

One can move REALLY fast through the maze if one crawls UNDER the walls. ::snort:: 

Back at home the girls were working on homework and Allie was prepping for work. We had a nice talk spanning budget, priorities in this season, time management...college in RESIDENCE takes more HOURS than college online...though I think it only SEEMS to take more time...maybe. One can't go about their normal routine and fit college in the early morning or midnight hours. One has set times to be at set classes...and lots of homework to do one someone elses time schedule. This is totally new for Stacia as global lets the student work at their own pace. Liberty did have deadlines so Allie is a bit more familiar with deadlines...but all the time constraints and deadlines set by those outside of your home....well that's new for both girls. Things like Stacia is scheduled to have her wisdom teeth out one Monday morning. That wasn't a problem at all with Global...she would have done extra work and scheduled that week off. It's a bit trickier now. 

We wrapped up our discussion and Mike and I got ready to go sign our taxes. Yes, I did say taxes. Our accountant assures us we are NOT her latest clients. ::blush:: 

As Mike headed to get ready Dad said he wanted to go on a walk. This is a GREAT idea as he is NOT moving around enough...and he IS gaining weight.  Michael asked which way we were going and said if we weren't back he'd pick us up. 

He made it about a block... and then he sat. I was glad Michael drove up. 

When we got home from our adventure Stacia and Millie had gone to a local lake. 

Yellow leaves on ground

It was a fun day...at the end of a busy week. We closed it with a dinner using all our farm fresh produce and a bit from the produce co-op as well. I made a big pan of stir fry veggies and cashews and we topped our butter/garlic braised chicken ravioli with them. 

Comfort food at it's best. I think I'll go make a steamer (got some sugar free English Toffee syrup) and read or watch some comfort show on Prime.