Wed., Jun. 11 - Tue., Jun. 17

Last Wednesday was another day of RAIN. Of course you have read about the floods. We have been safe and dry, which I have been happy to report to many who have inquired about how the floods have affected us. We live toward the top of a large hill, and previous owners have taken pains to ensure that large amounts of water won't do much damage to our house. We are so thankful! However, on the other side of the hill, I took this picture two blocks from our house. Under normal circumstances, we are able to drive down the road with a (low-lying!) corn field on the left and businesses on the right.



N & J made lunch last Wednesday! It was tuna made with cream cheese and we didn't like it! Too bad. J napped in the afternoon while N & I worked on a few projects around the house.




On Friday we made a bunch more progress getting the house ready for company. We did a ton of yardwork and cooking. Jeremy drove and drove, due to detours because of the flooding, and was able to borrow from some church friends a rototiller and a ladder (ours is still at Mission Valley's building - oops) in order to till the garden and empty the gutters of the dirt in which plants were growing. Judy (Elaine's sister from WI), Larry (Judy's long-time friend), and Judy's foreign exchange student from Thailand, Noon, arrived around 8:30 that evening and stayed the weekend.

While standing on the deck, I took this picture of Justus exploring the garden after Jeremy tilled it.




Elaine had to work on Saturday, so in the morning Jeremy took Judy, Larry, and Noon to the capitol building so Noon could get some pictures. They even got a special tour of it, and ... no surprise here ... saw lots of flood water. For a couple hours in the afternoon our family had the privilege of attending the 50th wedding anniversary of a precious couple. Neither of them married 'til they were in their 30's, and then they had five children a surprising number of years apart from one another. We already know and love one of them and his family; it was very special and enjoyable to meet his four siblings during the party on Saturday.





On Saturday aftertnoon Jeremy and Justus napped, Judy & Noon shopped some, N played a bunch, and Larry and I gardened. Noon likes to help, so when she and Judy got back, Noon was a BIG help with the gardening. Larry is Mr. Gardener Extrordanaire. He would rather garden than anything else in the world. When I explained to him the situation in which I found myself, gardening-wise, having moved in so recently, completed the clearing of the garden spot, borrowed the tiller, Jeremy had tilled the soil once, and now we had another gorgeous day, Larry absolutely JUMPED at the opportunity to help get the garden in. He actually tilled the garden FIVE more times throughout the afternoon, and then we put in the following seeds/plants: onions, oregano, spinach, thyme, 12 tomato plants (and left room for 8-10 pepper and/or broccoli plants that I haven't bought yet), carrots, beets, pole peas, bush peas, bush beans, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, and sunflowers. I am just so excited that I'm about to burst out of my skin. I did not have high hopes for our garden this year, what with just arriving in town and getting it started so late. However, maybe, just maybe, we will have a great garden!!!!! Now I've already begun thinking and planning about the weeks the children and I will spend in the fall doing lots of harvesting, freezing, and canning!!!!!!!!!! This is stuff I've wanted to do for a long time and have never done as much as I wanted/expected to. So ... stay tuned; we shall see.







On Sunday I was so worn out that I actually napped. pffffffff-- And then, of course, was able to function at only *minimal* level the rest of the headachy day. gr It was a wonderful day of worship, fellowship, and rest. And, I even squeezed in a call to my dad, but BARELY, considering my brother and I prefer the same time slot for Mother's and Father's Day calls! lol It was l-a-t-e, so we didn't talk long; instead, I'll just have a good excuse to call again sooner. :) Plus, the children didn't get to speak to Mom & Dad on that day.

Yesterday was a rrrrreally hard day for me. One problem (I'll not detail them all. lol) was having awakened with a migraine. I am, still even today, not feeling great, so my decision, yesterday, to accomplish some hard work was probably not my best, although I survived. It was the day I wanted to get a good start on organizing the children's room. Thankfully I did get some foundational changes made, with great help from Jeremy (and at great frustration to him, considering that the 'organization' system in the children's closet was designed extremely poorly). Still cleaning up after weekend company meant four loads of laundry and three dishwasher loads of dishes. The children were good help to me in preparing supper! N crumbled bacon, chopped cooked chicken, chopped celery, and halved grapes for our Summer Chicken Salad supper. J helped measure and stir the ingredients for the dressing. He learned what a 'dash' is and how to say 'Worcestershire'. lol

Today, Tuesday, Jeremy had a nice lunch in a park with a 'young married' (during his lunch break) who is new to town; we knew him a mite when we lived in NE! He and his sweet wife are parents to a baby daughter. :) I spent a good amount of time watering the garden. We don't have a sprinkler that can do the job, so for now it's by hand or not at all. It was relaxing; I actually enjoyed it. I also weeded in the front flowerbeds. It was so quiet and refreshing; I was actually *listening* to birds' songs, and *hearing* bugs buzzing. There is usually way too much going on all around me for me to hear these everyday blessings from God; I was specifically thankful to Him that life has slowed down to the point that I can do much better about 'being still'. Additionally, on this note, I have been much more determined about guarding my quiet time. Granted, it means I'm "getting less work accomplished", but it is work that needs to be set aside during those moments when there IS, truly, something more important to be doing. N & I made a little recon trip to the HyVee (grocery store) down the street (4 blocks?); I've been in there only twice so far, and have been wanting to get in there to spend some time getting to know the place, so to speak; it will be my Grocery Game store starting next week. I had four items to pick up this afternoon, so this was the perfect time. For supper Jeremy grilled steaks we were gifted last month. I was able to carpool to Ladies Bible class at Starbuck's; it was enjoyable and beneficial in every way (It's cool enough we got to sit outside!!) except for the odor that kept wafting toward us when the wind shifted direction, sending floodwater stench up at us from a large, flooded area behind the stores. (sigh)