Homeschooling Bachan!

 I may have found a new niche! I could be the homeschooling Bachan. 

Benny has begun school again. I play with the boys on Tuesday so Arielle can get some work done at her church where she is the children's ministry director.  She pulled some books out "just in case" we wanted to do school. Uh Huh! 

I can take a hint. 

This is SERIOUS work. 

Arielle is using Sonlight - I'm quite familiar with their format. LOL  Flipping the pages all nicely encased in sheet protectors - ah...the memories. Who would guess - "These ARE the days you will miss."

Arielle suggested the boys like to sit at the table and draw while Benny does school. We gave it a shot. There was quite a bit of commotion and scuffling over the pencils... Benny bravely soldiered on. 

About this time, it was becoming apparent I would need to dig deep into my bag of tricks from schooling a houseful with young ones around. 

Keep going Benny - you can ignore them! LOL 

I asked the two-year-olds if they'd like to go play in the rec room. They thought that was a great idea. Unfortunately, as they ran off Benny yelled after them, "Yeah - go scream in the rec room." 

They scream so well I was sure someone was hurt. They weren't. They kept screaming and we had a hard time paying attention on the couch where I was reading to Benny. 

We took our books and headed for the rec room. I suggested they play hide and seek. They hid. We finished reading Dolphin Stories and a book about ants. We even got the worksheet done. They were very, very quiet as they hid. ::snort:: 

Bachan for the win! We got ALL of Benny's Day 2 work finished. We picked up the rec room and living room and the boys were having a snack when Arielle got home. 

I might be able to make a second career out of these skills. LOL 

Benny was a bit sad we didn't make it out for a hike or bike ride...as was I. I promised him he would have the afternoon free to play when Mom got home AND we are going on an adventure on Friday. 

I had a fun morning with the boys. I followed it up with 4 hours of work at the Produce co-op, dinner and an episode of Family Affair. 

They're Off!

New glasses for a new school year

After a very full day which included dental visits, and new glasses, these girls are off to their first class of this year of college. It so happens they are both in the same Monday night class. Stacia has been told her Tuesday class is cancelled as the prof is out ill. 

Meanwhile back at home...Michael has a nasty sinus crud... 

Dad is bored with the girls gone. I had to pay $535 for ONE med Dad takes. That one hurt. ::snort::  

I had a meeting with Pastor Scott about online stuff. 

I drove girls to the dentist and the optometrist.  

I'm not sure where the rest of my day went. 

Off they go! 

But at least the girls are very productive members of society! 

And this little guy climbed his first peak with Daddy, and he didn't even break a sweat. It looks like Daddy may have broken a bit of a sweat. 

📷by Jared

I did manage to look ahead to the rest of the week. I have meetings and childcare every single day until next Monday. But who can say no to watching grandbabies????

There seems to be a bit of a shift in temps around here. I am thinking MAYBE fall is here...but the calendar says no and the state fair just started. We still have lots of green leaves, but some of the trees are turning yellow. The devil club have all turned yellow! I saw pumpkin flavored tea in the store. I don't want to blink and miss fall. 

Sunday Afternoon Visit

This has been a great Sunday. 

Everyone was up and we made at out of the house on time. That isn't always the case. We even remembered the milks and cream this week; Stacia didn't have to run back to the house. LOL 

Stacia had the lead in children's church today. She reports it went well. We enjoyed visiting, the singing, the message, the visiting. It was simply good to see everyone today. 

We decided to come home and enjoy an Encore Presentation rather than eat out. Yep, leftovers. 

Cory was busy with meetings, so Arielle and the boys dropped in. 

Benny, Danny & Charles (Charlie? I don't know)

Danny discovered the raspberries. We actually have some berries on the canes this year. They ate their fill. I tried to grow a bed of strawberries and they DIED. We discovered wild strawberries out here and they are SWEET. 

The Rainer cherry trees are still not producing. These little ones are...but they are tart! 

Benny anticipated a great cherry. After eating one he told me they, "Don't taste normal." 

I keep promising someday we'll have good cherries in the yard. LOL 

These two make my heart laugh. They discovered two 1/2 full cans of soda left over from yesterday's gathering. We heard laughing and big smacks...They'd take a drink...smack their lips... burp...and repeat.  Over and over. Again and again. 

We enjoyed our Sunday afternoon visit from the gang. 

We watched a couple of episodes of Manifest tonight. No spoilers. We have 2 episodes left in the series. We watch them together and lately that has meant Sunday night as Allie has been working many nights. Her work schedule is changing with her college schedule so we should have more nights at home together...but then again...HOMEWORK will probably take precedence over Prime video. ::snort:: 

I was gifted this mug by a couple of gals in our girl tribe today. It's the PERFECT mug for Sunday night ice cream. 

#mugshot

The girls have headed off to their room. They're sure to take their time settling in, but they're also planning out their college week. Michael is unwinding by catching up with YouTubers he likes to follow. 

I'm nearly at the end of blogging...I will make sure the planner and wall calendar match my phone calendar and then read a couple of chapters and unwind. 

The Nook Reimagined

 Another rearranging of the nook?!*!*!? 

Yeah. I know. 

When we moved in, we didn't have space for furniture and lots of it ended up in this space we were trying to carve out to be a sanctuary.  It looked great at first, but the furniture was terribly uncomfortable.  Over time the space filled with STUFF.  We cleared it out....and 2 years ago rearranged it...and it worked for a bit of time quite nicely. It was crowded - but I was able to invite women over for tea in the nook...

As we began moving things around downstairs the idea of moving the roll top desk DOWN again was brought to mind. I resisted. I like having everything up here and not having to run down to do business...but then again, I keep getting distracted when I try to work in the nook. Dad ISN'T in the same state he was in 2 years ago. I don't have to be in the same room with him all the time. The nook DID feel crowded. We had added mom's recliner to the room. We didn't have a real desk in the new study. Jamin and Cory moved the desk downstairs again last night. 

Now there's space. We have 3 chairs in here permanently and can easily pull more chairs in if needed. I want to paint the tea hutch and I'd like to find matching cushions for both rockers, matching covers for the tables - or refinish them....but this is the best arrangement we've had so far. It's functional and I'm allergic to clutter. I need to unclutter more...but it is MUCH better.  I needed a place to set my open day timer, I did NOT want it downstairs on the desk. This works. That is the rose from MOTHER'S DAY. It's growing roots...along with the new shoots - that.will.preach! 

Some asked for a photo of the sunflower painting I was blessed to buy for $50 a few weeks back. Here it is. I moved some of the antique photos that were here down to Spare Oom and I was able to move it up. 

I think I may want to paint the "tea hutch"  a baby blue or pale lemon yellow or something. 

Here it is. Two rockers and mom's recliner.  One rocking chair is Michael's Granma Anne's. The tables are Mom G's and are dropleaf. They open to make nice spots for teacups and treats. The lace is my Grams' and Mom's.  The tea hutch was from Mom G. 

It's much more comfortable...I've had several conversations in here already. It is much more inviting without the desk, tubs of Dad's files, and buckets of food. I do still have a tower of egg cartons I should put somewhere else. I must think about this. 

August Family Celebration

 The day began on a rather sad and somber note. Michael attended the memorial service for Pastor John, the pastor where Cory and Arielle attend and serve. She dropped the boys off here while they were busy at the service. I want a legacy like Pastor John's. Our lives only intersected his briefly - but he was a wise man who spent time investing in others, even in those who he only briefly knew.  We had him in our home a few hours, Michael spent a couple of hours in his office, we conducted a parenting workshop at his church...Michael said a common thread from those who spoke is that Pastor John was a friend, a man who cared. We have seen him as one with a heart to invest in the next generation of leaders.  What a blessing he has been in Cory and Arielle's lives.  While they remembered John....we played with the boys. JaRissa and Noah arrived shortly after the boys did. They loved playing with Jared on the trampoline. 

Uncle Jared, Charles and Benny

These two cracked me up! The battery was running down (and did die before the day was over). They were sure they could make it work. They took turns pushing...their chatter delights me. 

I am so glad this month's family celebration fell so quickly on the heels of Stacia's birthday and Allie and Stacia starting college. It was good to be with the adult Gherkins who made it out yesterday. Luke and Krista were able to make it - Krista flies out again tomorrow morning. Izaak was here, he is coming up from classes and fishing to breathe. Jared and Larissa flew home from Juneau Friday evening - Noah is a great little traveler.  CoRielle and boys were here. CyRi and Livie were here. 

Today we celebrated Stacia turning 18, and two anniversaries: Luke and Krista's and Josiah and Carrie's.  We had a taco feed, apple pie/cobbler, ice cream and cheesecake. This may be the last month we are able to enjoy the outdoors during our celebration. Fall is in the air - but SHHHHHH you didn't hear that from ME. 

I take random photos here and there when we are together - but I miss so many people. Not one photo of Michael, Carrie, Izaak, Bre....but here are some I caught, or the kids caught and sent me. 

Benny shares a secret with GG

Why, yes, candles work well in pie.

BreZaak and kids got Stacia all sorts of study helps...

📷by Jamin 

I haven't a clue! 

📷by Jamin 

CoRielle picked up a fun wall clock.

📷by Jamin 

KrUke brought the go cart and 4 wheeler. They were a hit! 

Allie and me

Benny & Cory

Liv and Cy 📷by Josiah

Stacia and Allie 

Livie and Benny

Uncle Cory with all the kids

Noah and Larissa

Noah

Still trying....

Have you seen paint ball balloons? I'm not sure what their real name is, but Luke and Krista brought some. They warned parents to bring appropriate clothes for the big paint ball fight in the yard. Strangely, it was mostly the young crowd that participated. I expected everyone would jump in. Allie and Krista were in the middle of the fun. Near the end the fun was too much for Jamin to ignore, even though he hadn't brought old clothes. He jumped in and the kids chased him around and around the yard. I was in the middle taking pictures and everyone had clear instructions not to get me...alas, Krista's paintball exploded or some such thing.  This was great fun....lots of laughing, screaming and crying. Bella and Benny collided HARD.... They knew not to aim at faces...but to make them explode you squeeze the pellets, and the paint goes wherever it decides to go. 

Instructions and practice

Jamin in the back there

Benny, Gideon and Bella 

Benny and Bella

Benny may have been a bit faster and more determined than Uncle Jamin counted on. He did not give up until he had splattered Jamin. 

Go Benny. 

Get em! 

Krista had one more treat from her time in the Tokyo airport. We love the variety of kit kat flavors one can buy in Japan. My favorite today was lemon. 

When we moved the study around and created a spare 'oom, we decided we wanted to move the roll top desk downstairs. This was a tough decision as I use it and it's convenient in the nook. BUT....as I've said before, I felt God impressed on me to "build a sanctuary" in the nook. Several thought it would help to get the desk down to the study. This has been a whole process of realizing we actually CAN use all of the house however we want now... Michael and I could not get the thing down the stairs....and so we fattened them up and then asked if there were some men at the celebration who could help move the desk. I had already carried all the drawers down. 

 Help? Nah - they just DID it.  Cory and Jamin had quite a following as they moved the desk. 

Jared was SUPERVISING! 

They got it down the stairs and set in the study.  Moving all the furniture around from time to time is good for cleaning purposes. Look what I found stuck on the wall.  I knew that thing couldn't have burned so quickly. 

Shortly after this everyone began to go home. Maybe they were concerned what other projects I had lurking in the background. ::snort:: 

Stacia and I went to the church. Jenni is off having fun and while we don't begrudge her fun, we miss her. Stacia is filling in for her in Children's church tomorrow.  She needed to set up props and games etc. I needed to set up the coffee corner. 

When we returned home Michael had GG in bed. Stacia was checking out gift cards. Allie and I rearranged the nook....and then wonder of wonders...with more seating and space...everyone joined us in the nook for a late-night discussion of the week, the upcoming week and the day. 

It was a good day in our home.