Slip and Slide Fun

On the way home from church we stopped by our local Wal-mart store and bought a five dollar slip and slide. This was great fun for a very hot afternoon. So much so that I went back for one more so that we could put them end to end for and extra long slide. The girls went so many times that they created a mud hole in the back yard. Well, with the help of their Daddy as well, who took several turns himself. It ended with a wash off in the baby pool which became a muddy mess. Fun times!

Baby Chicks - batch 1

Sunday afternoon John took the girls and me to a local farm supply store called Rural King. We left there with 6 baby pullet chickens. (I don't really know what, Pullet means, just know that it was on the tag.) The girls had a blast playing with them. John built a pen for them to be in and we decided that we wouldn't put any chicken wire on the bottom of it so that we could move them around the yard (spread out the poopy mess) and the kids could lift the box to get them out. Well, that may have not been such a wise idea.
This morning when John checked on the chicks they were all missing but one who was only partially remaining. Some kind of animal must have attacked in the night. It was such a sad sight with feathers and blood about that we decided to get rid of the mess before the kids saw it.
When we told the girls they were of course sad. However only one daughter cried over it. I think the feeling of loss has been too much on her lately. We called the store to see if they had any more chicks but of course are sold out now. Another shipment should arrive this week. If we get more we have decided that they should sleep in the garage at night from now on. If you have any other useful chicken advice we will gladly accept it as we are vrigin chicken farmers.

Things to keep us busy here

So we are back from vacation and it was time to grasp the fact that we really live in IN now. So the following is a list of activities that kept us busy and our minds occupied this week:
After vacation piles of laundry
First week of teaching Turbo Kick and Zumba at the YMCA
Trip to Lowes to purchase Air cond. window unit (for the house, cause the air doesn't work here)
Trip to Lowes to purchase Trash Can and phone call for trash service
Hanging some curtains
Kids played with their toys - too afraid to go outside because of the snake issue
Trip to Walmart to purchase Moth balls and Envelopes
Envelopes so we can write letters to friends
Filled pany hose strips with moth balls and threw them into trees to scare away snakes
Watered the garden - tomato plants, corn and cucumbers coming in nicely
Drove around town - found a cool park with lakeside beach and a really fun water slide
Another trip to town for a swim in the community pool
John and Jenn started boot camp this week
Tomorrow we have some more "Moving In" projects planned for us around the house

So as you can see we have kept busy around here. I have a feeling we will become a tighter family unit this year since we still have not met any friends yet. But we are trusting in God's plan for us and enjoying each other's company.

Home again

Vacation was a real treat this year. It was a much needed time of rest. However I did put almost 2,000 miles on the van round trip. From Indiana to Tennessee, then to Mississippi and onto Florida and back again made for a lot of driving. Fortunately I had John with me on the way home so I got to ride and even sleep a little on the way back.
We stayed in New Smyrna Beach, right outside of Daytona - provided for us by John's Aunt - thanks Aunt Patsy!!! It was great. The condo sat on the beach with a view of the beautiful water, so we enjoyed playing in the sand, swimming in the pool and the ocean, crab hunting at night, and Anna and I even took a bicycle ride one morning. I also had the privilege of having my wonderful mother-in-law with me. She was kind enough to stay indoors with Clara Bea during the brightest hours of the day while the older girls and I stayed out on the beach. Clara Bea did however love swimming in the pool - I think I will have another fish on my hands.
Saturday we enjoyed the wedding festivities of John's younger cousin and her groom. It was a beautiful wedding set on the deck overlooking the beach with the reception on the top floor of the resort hotel. Kelsey was the flower girl and did a great job overall. She did however freeze up when coming down the aisle and began to cry. She fell asleep in a chair during the wedding ceremony ( it was extremely hot outside, at noon under the layers of her dress) but woke back up at the end to take some beautiful pictures. If you'd like to see some of the pictures of the wedding I will direct you to the photographer's website. www.markdickinsonphtography.com
Click on, view my photos, then click on - other, then click on - Chelsey and Ryan at The Shores. You'll see lots of pictures of Kelsey and some others of our family that made some of the snapshots too.
Well, now that I am back home, it's time to start searching out our place here in Evansville. I started teaching at the YMCA this morning. I may put the girls in a soccer camp the the Y. And then we need to start looking for a church as well. It's always a little sad coming home from vacation. I never like leaving the beach! Seems a little depressing to come home to nobody. We have nothing on the calender now - no events. So come see us - we would love to see a familiar face!

Ready for Vacation

Tomorrow I leave on our long journey to Daytona Beach. I am stopping in Nashville to pick up my two oldest girls that have been visiting there. Then we will head to MS to spend the night at John's mom's house. She will join us for the next leg of the trip. We will probably stop half way the next day and complete our journey on Sunday so we can check into the condo. John will fly in on Wednesday night and then his cousin's wedding is on Saturday. Kelsey is the flower girl and many prayers will be sent out (yours included, please) so that she will cooperate and smile for the pictures.
I am hoping to be able to relax and enjoy some time in the sun and sand. This is our only vacation planned for the summer, especially since John had to take so much time off work right up front to complete the move. We love going to the beach. The kids have a great time in the ocean and on the beach. It will however be an added challenge this year to keep Clara Bea from eating the sand, as she puts everything in her mouth right now.

Weekend Home

We took a trip to Nashville this weekend. My Mom had taken my second daughter home with her after her trip up here too see us on Mother's Day. So we decided to all go as a fanily to visit for the weekend. This was the first time I had been home this year. I hadn't been to Nashville since October - which was a quick drive thru visit. We were of course amazed to see all the flood damage and hear all the stories from our friends and family.
My favorite part of our visit was going to church on Sunday morning. It is always so fun for me to be able to see so many people that I don't normally get a chance to connect with during a normal visit home. So many people that were a part of my life in a small way but a blessings to me regardless. Even a trip to the local Target made me miss home. Just walking through the store I would recognize faces of people I worked with at the YMCA or from other areas of my life. The hard part is that it impacts the feeling of being alone even more. I don't know a soul here in Indiana. I have no emergency contact person. As a mother it puts an element of fear in my life that I should not allow.
But for now I am delaying the process of settling. We are taking a trip to the beach! John's cousin is getting married in Daytona Beach and Kelsey is going to be the flower girl in the wedding. So my preparations for the LONG trip begin this week. I will be packing and doing laundry for the next few days. I will travel to pick up John's mom in Mississippi first on Thursday. We may stay an extra night there to break up the roadtrip. Then we will travel half way on Saturday and finish the journey to check in on Sunday. One week of sand and sunshine will remedy my loneliness! John will fly down and meet us there next week and then it will be a marathon journey home - how many hours, you ask? Not sure and at this point it may be better to Not Know. At that point, life in Indiana will begin.

windows in the sunroom

Yesterday I washed windows and screens and cleared away the cobwebs. My project for today was sewing some curtains for the windows in the sunroom. This room runs along the front of the house. It will be used as our school room / office. However the lights from across the street shine in brightly at night and since we live on a main highway, it will also serve for privacy. Again during the day the sun shines through so it will also provide a bit of shade to cool the room during the warmer months. I used the white fabric that was left here as a basic curtain. It was previously hung with safety pins and hooks in no certain style - obviously used more for purpose rather than decoration. I also took some fabric that I had made valances out of for our previous house. They had hung in our kitchen before. I needed about three more to finish off the length of the room. I found the same beading at Joanne's fabric last night - a miracle indeed. Here is how it turned out. I may still add some hooks to be able to raise the white curtains when needed. I also thought about adding some silk sunflowers here and there - we'll see, that may be a bit much.