This and That

My four oldest kids along with the two neighbors have formed a club. They have many great plans for this club. It is working well for me since they have been asking for odd jobs to earn money with which to buy things for the club. I am encouraging it in every way I know how (the working for money part). When they finally went to the store to purchase supplies, they needed to buy a snack (what club doesn't need a snack?). Do you want to know what they bought? Peaches and animal crackers. PEACHES AND ANIMAL CRACKERS! Of all the wonderful, kid-tempting treats out there (c'mon... Little Debbies, mini donuts, Cheetos), they picked peaches and animal crackers. By way of contrast, when I was little and my friend and I found ourselves with a little extra money and in need of a snack, we bought a bag of Doritos and a tub of prepared chocolate frosting. Yummy... or not. Really, I'm very proud of them for making wise choices, I'm just still in a bit of shock.

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The garden is still coming along. I've been meaning to update, but the last update I had is now outdated. A few pictures from that update:

Lettuce and spinach and peas:


Those cold weather plants are now pulled up. In our garden now we have tomatos, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, squash, cucumber, watermelon, and canteloupe.


And here is my favorite part... an herb garden right outside the door:

basil, parsley, cilantro (that empty space in the middle... we should have planted more... we've eaten it down to nothing and now have to wait for it to grow back), oregano, and thyme

So, we've been wanting a few blueberry bushes also. John bought 3. He brought them home and planted them. Taryn says, "Hey, we have this bush right down here that's growing berries. What kind of berries do you think they are?" Yup, they're blueberries. There are a bunch of them. I guess the last few years have been so dry they have just never produced or at least never matured. At least that's how I'm reassuring myself that I'm not crazy. John says God is laughing at us.

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I am exceedingly blessed to have 6 really unique kids... at least that's what I tell myself. It would be boring if they were all like me, right? But really, God could have put a few more detailed directions there in the Bible for me. On Sunday before church I hear some crying coming from the bathroom. I go to check it out and find Tina. What is she crying about? Her fingernails. SHE'S 7!!! She made a mistake while painting her nails. Rebekah had used all the remover up and now she was not going to be able to go to church. The normal me? "Get over it Tina. They're just fingernails and you are only 7! Get out of the bathroom, quit crying, we're going to church." I didn't do that. I reacted with compassion, I helped her clean up her nails, painted them for her and then stuck on some little sticker gems that I had found (and again by way of contrast, the time I spent doing this for her was time I should have been getting ready, so I went to church unshowered and just haphazardly threw on a dress and sandals... and I was NOT bothered by it. Man, I need that "fancy" gene... where did it come from?). I hoped that I was showing her that I love her and I care about her and that what matters to her matters to me. But did I also teach her that your fingernails have to be beautiful to go to church? If there is one thing that girl doesn't need, it's reinforcement of the world's opinion on beauty. This parenting stuff is HARD. And where's the verse that tells what to do when your kid won't come out of the coat closet, hmm?

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We have a cat. She's a normal cat. That's a nice way of saying she likes to kill small rodents and leave them for us on the driveway... minus the ears. Apparently mouse ears are a cat delicacy. So, with that in mind, what would your reaction be if you saw this while walking down your hallway?

It's quite startling I assure you.
It is actually part of a tail that Taryn found and thinks is a wonderful treasure (?).

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Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. We are having tons of fun, but it's wearing me out. I thought summer would be more relaxing. I guess those unrealistic expectations of parenthood never really go away.