Busy Times

Sorry I have not written in awhile. These are busy times at our home. Our family greenhouse is bursting with springtime---so the boys have work to get to every day after school. Homeschool is winding down as we are on the last few days of this school year. Everyone is trying to finish up with books that they certainly don't want to see next semester. Our daughter, Hannah has been very busy with speech competition and just qualified to go to the National Tournament in June with her very funny speech about out -houses! and we have re listed to sell our house.....again!



2 years ago my husband could see the economic slowdown coming, and to save money and cut back on expenses we decided to put our house on the market! Well, if any of you have had to get a house ready for market---you will know what I mean when I say I now have an ulcer! We had to repaint, de-junk and clean up around here. We have a large home, and guest house with 2 bedrooms and a very large horse barn with an apartment attached. We also have 10 acres of wooded land and many gardens and flower beds. Getting it all ready 2 years ago was a big job. but we did it----and then we waited.....and waited....and waited. For 2 years I had a nagging feeling in the back of my head that anytime we could get a call for a "showing". That meant that we had a short time to make it look like 9 people did not live, work and do school here every day---24 hours a day. It had to be picked up and tidy and look like a House Beautiful home in a matter of hours!!!



But in 2 years time we had a total of 3 showings....3!!!!!! So of course as time went by and there was not a flurry of activity, things kinda slipped back to "comfortable" around here. Books were stacked up beside beds. Lego castles were left out to admire. My desk was taken over by the paper monster that lurks under it somewhere. Things went back to being a home---not a "House Beautiful".



So this last week we decided to get serious again with selling this place. New cans of paint were bought, old floors were torn out and closets were de-junked again. The Realtor came for a walk-through of my beautifully clean, de-junked house that we all had worked so hard on again. Even my desk looked clean and organized! She did not comment too much on anything, but as she was leaving she mentioned that she would have her "stager" give us a call to come over and discuss a few things about what to do to make the house look "more sell able"!



What did that mean----"more sell able"? Does it mean that she doesn't like how I decorate! Did she not see how neat and clean everything was! Who is this intruder who will waltz in and tell ME what my home should look like!



As you can tell.....I have a pretty bad attitude about this whole thing...I am trying not to take it personally----even though every corner of my house reflects some aspect of me...every picture on the wall has been hand picked and hung by me..cherished photos of dead relatives smile at me as I pass them hanging on the walls.....I know what she is going to point out---I already know what she is going to say....but I am kicking and screaming about it already....



She comes on Tuesday....pray that I am reasonably civil to her and that I don't burst into tears when she says the old portrait of my dead great, great aunt hanging in the foyer has got to go!

My Voice

So last night I slowly lost my voice. I had gotten a little under the weather as the week had progressed since I was in Maryland with sick grand kids. And as the sickness got progressively worse---my voice disappeared. So this morning I could only whisper. Now this is not really good when you have 7 kids at home---6 needing to be home schooled---and lots and lots to do.

Today I was going to give an oral quiz in geography and also do spelling tests and math flash cards. I usually read for about 45 minutes every morning to the kids from a Bible story book, This Day in History book, and a novel----this month's selection is The Day No Pigs Would Die.
But since I could only whisper I decided to postpone the quiz, spelling tests and any other thing that would require talking on my part.

But I had this great idea to let the kids read out loud from the books I read from every morning. I did not think they would want to miss a chapter---esp. in the novel since they all seem to enjoy this particular story. But boy was I wrong! They all let out a collective moan and swore that they did not want to listen to someone else read---esp. since they would not get the voices right!!! They wanted to wait till I got to feeling better and to please not make them read!!!!

Awwwww! I was really touched by that. They DO like to hear me read. They aren't just sleeping or tuning out while I drone on and on for 45 minutes! What a bunch of sweet kids!

But I still made them read---cause I wanted to know what happened in the next chapter!!!

People

People are funny. I have tried to figure them out all my life---but I am always found lacking. My newest wonder with people is something that has puzzled me many times before---but always when it presents itself, I am always surprised!

Why would anyone take a job working with the public when they don't like people? Case in point----today while checking out at Walmart, the cashier helping me was a 20's something young lady. She was sullen and somber----rude actually----and even my 13 year old notice her behaviour. My question is always the same----if you dislike people so much why do you take a job that involves people ALL the time? I doubt it was just a bad day in her case---she just seemed like a sullen, somber person who was bothered that I had gotten in her lane.

I can bet you that if she was offered 1 million dollars to pick me out of a line-up---she would be unable--that is how little she looked at me. She grunted when I talked to her, and did not thank me for pointing out to her that she undercharged me for 4 items. She did not help with any of the bags and seemed put out that I needed to let her see my credit card. Now tell me this---where was her manager----where was the hidden camera monitoring her? In this age of unemployment and people out of work----don't you think that there would be a line of people willing to take her job and be kind and considerate to the customers?

I smiled at her and talked to her and will continue to be kind to sullen, somber cashiers....but I will still always wonder.....

Snow Storms

I am sitting in a hotel room in Denver watching the blizzard of 2009 swirl past my windows. The pool below me has steam coming off of it and looks a little out of place in the mad winter/spring snowstorm.

Snow in Colorado is not unusual; in fact for March it is pretty common place. We are more likely to have snow at Easter out here in the West than at Christmas! But is always seems to surprise me....even though I have lived here for almost 15 years. Each time we get a few springlike days with high 70 degree weather, I get to thinking maybe we will get passed by for our spring snow. I get out the seed catalogs and start planning the garden. I go to Walmart and see if they have any new garden tools that I just HAVE to have. I even go out to my son's greenhouse and see if he has any early pansies or snapdragons that I might plant out to make spring hurry along just a bit.

And every year without fail I am shocked back into the reality of living in Colorado----this time it is suppose to be 12-18 inches worth of shock! An me and my 2 girls and 3 extra friends all in a hotel about 75 miles from home!!!

We came up to Denver for a speech tournament that was to last the entire weekend. We were all looking forward to it so much. Old friends, great competition, and a little time away in Denver. The flowers are blooming up here and the trees are budded out...always such a nice time to be in Denver.

But the snow started this morning and they closed the college down where the meet was being held, and with no option of driving all the way back home we headed for the hotel. What is usually a 15 minute drive turned into a 60 minute crawl, and all of us traveling in our 15 passenger van!!!! Talk about stressful.

But we made it and we are all safe and sound-----the girls are all in their PJ's watching a movie and texting friends. I am catching up on emails and this blog, and springtime in the Rockies is howling outside around the lonely pool below my window sill.

Our President

Ok-----don't get me wrong....I would wonder this if McCain had won and this was happening. What in the world is the President of the United States doing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno? Will this be the way that the current administration talks to Americans? I just don't get it.

Jay Leno is crass and vulgar, interviews some of the most bizarre people in the news and doesn't seem to really add anything to our nation except a handful of poorly written jokes. And our President appears on his show? Is Oprah next---or maybe Dr. Phil or Jerry Springer?

Is this the way that America is going to find out what is going on in Washington---through Late Night Comedy Shows? Whose idea was this? The PR people at the White House are sure needing to get a little higher standard for public display of our President!

And while I am on it.....Michelle Obama was visiting a school yesterday in Washington D.C. In the photo op. the room was filled with young black students all talking with her. Mrs. Obama was talking about her struggling in school and working hard for her "A". She was recorded as saying "I got teased my whole life for talking funny like a white girl----that did not stop me from getting my "A"!" Hmmmmmm! Should that talk bug me? I kinda does---not because I talk funny or anything.....but can you imagine if the table was reversed and something about a black person was compared........Shouldn't everyone get outraged over unfair statements.....even if we are white?

Josiah

We got the call yesterday that we have been waiting for for well over a year.....the call that will change some things around here for good. Our son Josiah, has been approved to fly to San Diego for 2 weeks of training to receive a service dog from Canine Companions.

Josiah has CP and is in a wheelchair. Canine Companions train dogs to be helpers and friends to the handicapped. A dog will be matched to Josiah's personality and disability while he is in California, and then they both will be taught how to get along with each other. Subtle commands and signals will be learned and practiced till they are both comfortable with each other. Then we all fly home with a new member of the family.

My only hesitation is this......the dog has to become a "member of the family"! Now don't get me wrong---I like dogs, have had a dog my whole life, grew up with dogs. But the dog----was a dog....not a member of the family. The paperwork I had to fill out to get this dog was almost as thick as some of the paperwork we had to submit in order to adopted some of our children! I have to promise that the dog will have regular check-ups (I can do that), regular exercise(I can do that too) and that it will have grooming and personal hygiene done each week (personal hygiene???) In other words, I have to brush this dog's teeth! (I think we have a problem)!

OK----that just seems gross to me. BRUSH HIS TEETH! I don't know. Isn't there some product out there that the dog can chew on and get that accomplished without me having to step in? This may be interesting.....

But Josiah is very excited and can't wait to get his new "friend". The dog's purpose is to bridge the gap between the wheelchair and other people and Josiah. This dog will be a magnet for people to come and talk and get to know Josiah and not be put off by his handicap. It should be interesting to see how it all turns out.

Just hope no one gets too close to check out the dogs' teeth---they may be dirty!

Yard Work

About this time of year I am so anxious to get outside and play in the garden. I already have a drawer full of seeds waiting to be planted. The tool shed is cleaned and ready to go with all of my hoes and shovels lined up in a straight row looking like little soldiers waiting for their marching orders. The robins and bluebirds are back----a sure sign that spring is here.

But I live in Colorado----spring likes to tease us for 2 months or more before it decides to really settle down and stay put. Just two nights ago we had a covering of light snow on the ground and the robins were all looking for a warm place to spend the evening! The next day it was in the 60's and a bright sun was melting all the evidence from the night before.

But I am not deterred.....being in the garden is one of the best places for me to be. The warm soil, the smell of the young plants, the bees and butterflies keeping me company. I never ever thought of yard or garden work as a chore----just a wonderful way to spend some time outside.

Well yesterday, in our Pastor's sermon , he said something that made me rethink my favorite hobby. He has been preaching from Genesis and last week he covered the fall of man from the Garden of Eden. Sad story----really sad. But this week he talked about the curses that resulted from that fall......more sad stories.

He talked about the pain in childbirth (been there) and how the snake would crawl in the dust (seen that), but then he touched on how the earth would be cursed and we would have to really work hard to get anything to grow after the fall and that man would have to eat with sweat on his brow all the days of his life.

He then went on to talk about yard work---and how we are always in a constant struggle to keep things looking right---mowing, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, tilling replanting. A struggle that never ends----we always have to keep up with it---ALWAYS---if we want anything to grow.
And then he said----"you work the ground all your life trying to keep it under control---and in the end---the ground will win and swallow you up and you will be buried 6 feet deep in it!" Hmmmmmm...........

Can I be buried in the herb garden right under the mint?