This age of marvels like laptop computers and outdoor electrical wiring allows me to sit on the deck and write as I watch the boys' Sunday afternoon ball playing. But then the rain came (only gentle dropping that didn't come through the leaves over the deck but I didn't know how soon it would come and ruin my technology) and I moved indoors.Boo-hoo! 

It is exceptionally pleasant today. Nice and cool. Heat is in the forecast for the coming week so we'll enjoy this while we can. Now I sit in a pleasant location indoors and enjoy the cool air coming through the screen. 

Part of my day is being spent doing things in preparation for VBS which begins next Sunday evening. We are doing last minute scrambling this year. The ones who were on to help us, backed out and they were not replaced in a timely manner. We didn't want to just do our own thing so we patiently (with fingers twiddling) waited. The week ahead looks busy with getting all last minute details in place plus regular life.

Regular life includes a lot of baking. Monday and Friday are my bake days. Last week I made 18 pies and 20 loaves of zucchini bread. Strawberries are over and peaches have begun. I still have apples from last year's crop and bought some blueberries. That means three varieties of pies. Melvin and Christopher are my steady helpers and they are getting really good.

From this....

...to this! (Unbaked)

Here is my latest DIY project. A wall clock -found at Amazon.The clock we had here just couldn't keep time and it was totally frustrating. This one looked like something unique and that's my style.

On Thursday two of "my" girls from Kid's Club came over for the late afternoon and evening. We went swimming in the river and played with kittens. They did. I watched. Neither sport being down my alley of expertise. The girls were in no hurry to go home. It makes me sad to think about the homes they have.

My nieces Jean and Monica came to swim with us. Especially because I don't swim and I wanted someone along who knew more about it than I did. It helped to make it more fun for the other two also (who swam like fish!).

This morning contained another rude surprise. An impromptu need to teach the adult ladies' Sunday school class. Again! This happened to me just recently. Thankfully the lesson (Joel 2:17-the end) was full of wonderful things, so there was something to talk about. And I wasn't so totally unprepared as I was the last time.

A lot of people were missing this morning from our regular attendees but there were a lot of visitors! There were only five from our regular class and only two of us that regularly teach. We both looked at each other and said, Not again! The youth girls who were there joined our class so the total number of ladies was 17. At least, being visitors, some were kind enough to share their thoughts.

It was good to come home today and have lunch together around the table as a family. So rare these days. We even sang a few songs. Something we enjoy but rarely find time to do.

The garden is yielding more goodies these days. Zucchini, potatoes and cabbage. Melvin, Christopher and I were transplanting rhubarb (discovered we had at least 19 crowns!) near the potatoes one day and managed to dig up a nice looking potato. That made the boys hungry for new potatoes for supper. So they dug more. A wonderful treat.

And zucchini is delicious in so many ways. One evening I made a dish with burger, onions, peppers, garlic and lots of zucchini fried together and topped with cheese. The family really enjoys that. Another one is zucchini crust pizza. We had coleslaw for lunch today. Delicious cabbage. Especially when you know where it comes from.

A week ago (Saturday) we helped some friends butcher chickens. At least 75 chickens got done that day for three families. They gave us five whole chickens just for helping! Bless them. We had some of that chicken for lunch today. 

 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of
the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my 
people shall never be ashamed. Joel 2:26

Are you praising the name of the Lord your God?

Has He dealt wondrously with you? If you begin to praise Him, you will find that He indeed has.

Large beauty

Small beauty

Motivating boys to work

How do YOU do that?

Mama is going to town today. (Everyone in the house hates going to town but this is a necessary evil that must occur periodically.) There is clean laundry that needs to be folded, slops to be put on the compost pile, more laundry to wash & dry, dishes to wash & dry and garden work to be done. How are 10 (almost 11) and 12 yr old boys going to be motivated to accomplish these things while Mama is in town?

When I returned from my trip to town six hours later, the work was done and the boys were playing in the dirt. (They have a spot under a certain tree where they drive their cars and other matchbox toys, building roads and etc.)

Before leaving I detailed each son's work list, like so-

Melvin
Wash dishes (30 minutes)
Dump slop (10 min)
Fold laundry (1 hr)
Pull weeds from a garden bed $1

Christopher
Dry dishes (30 min)
Wash & dry a load of laundry (10 min)
Fold laundry (1 hr)
Pull weeds from a garden bed $1

"Fold laundry" included hanging up clean shirts and putting them in closets.

Here's the deal- If the job gets done in the amount of time listed in the parentheses, the child receives that amount of money. Thirty minutes = thirty cents. If the job is accomplished in half the time, the child will get double the money. Time listed is thirty minutes + job is done in 15 minutes or less = sixty cents. This method worked well for their older brothers. House cleaning got done lickety-split when I detailed it this way. So I pulled it out of the archives and revisited it today. Ta-da! It still works. 

The garden bed had its own reward beings it was a big job in the heat of the day. 

Here's the tally they kept-

Prayer meeting/Bible study was cancelled this evening due to a power outage at the church house. So we had a nice free evening to relax and ....blog. 

We have new critters around here. This one was ripping around near me while I typed. I managed to get a photo before he tore off in another direction. Most of the time the pose was lost by the time the camera "clicked". See below.

Of Busy Days

When I rose from my sick bed, life came thick and fast. It was rather ironic that when I made effort to blog a week of our lives I ended up being sick a lot of the time. That makes me a little leery of trying to blog another week. 

Last Saturday and Sunday we were at a reunion in Farmville, VA. My birth mother's family got together. We had a wonderful time together- as always. It was very special to see Aunt Ruth and Uncle Mark Yoder once again. They came from Colorado. 

My mother came from a family of six boys and six girls. Yes, a dozen children. One of the boys passed away and four of the girls.

L-R John, Lloyd, Joe, Ruth, Alice (Calvin came later and Ezra was not there)

Saturday evening we had an auction to cover reunion costs. That was a lot of fun. 

Selling a kitten- my little niece bought it

One of the treasures I found was a paperback set of Laura Ingalls books (with the gingham covers). When I got home I discovered that one book was missing from the set. (One of my cousins had found the set in the dumpster!) 

Over time I've picked up some of the books at thrift stores. Knowing I had a few on my shelves I decided to see if this particular one was one I had. Most of the books I have are pale blue paperbacks. But would you know, the very one that was missing from the set was on my shelf! It was the only one with a gingham cover that I owned. Needless to say, I was elated!

Selling the performance of the song," I'm a Little Teapot"

The Schwartz family was in charge of Sunday lunch. Sister Rachel took the planning upon her shoulders. We had grilled chicken breasts, baked potato wedges, Ceaser salad, green beans, rolls and custard pies (3 kinds- plain, rhubarb & Pina Colada). She had me pick up most of the groceries for the meal.

Rachel flew in Thursday. After shopping in Winchester, Thomas and I picked her up in Baltimore, (also leaving a car there for Rosetta who flew in Saturday evening). Then she and I made the pies on Friday. Brother Tim grilled the chicken Sunday morning. 

While at the reunion, our family sang- Sunday morning service. One of my cousins recorded it with her phone and put us on You Tube.

Our school program and picnic were planned here the same weekend as the reunion- which was very annoying. We, of course, were here for the program Friday evening. Stephen was the director this year and he did an awesome job. 

Sorry, I didn't get a pic of the director. Was sitting too far forward.

Saturday was cold and rainy so we opted to head for the reunion rather than stay here for an indoor "picnic" and games. My share of the food still needed to be provided. Too many things on one heap. Aarrg!

My parents went on from the reunion to Honduras to visit my brother and family for a few weeks. My sister Rosetta, her friend Mary and my niece Sylvia went along.

Monday was recuperating day for me. Jail Bible study was that evening and I was in charge of the study. Knowing beforehand that it was going to be my turn and how much was on my plate, I decided to hand out some questions and have more of a share time rather than me "preaching". Good thing I did because I was so terribly tired that day I wasn't able to think very deeply at all. Or even stay awake very much. Are reunions good for a person?

Baking for market resumed this week. Twelve pies and nine zucchini breads came out of my kitchen. Rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb and strawberry pies. A new one for me is baked strawberry pies. It's kind of a gamble to get it right. Any advice for me?

The boys have been diligently planting garden this week. They planted 186 tomato plants. Yes, you read right and it is not a misprint. They had started so many plants that this wasn't even all of them. I guess they didn't know when to stop. They also planted summer squash plants my dad had started and ten long rows of corn. The lettuce is ready to eat and there is too much to eat. Gardens are wonderful things.

Thursday evening I had three of "my girls" from Kid's Club over for the evening. The boys were helping me clean house in preparation for their arrival and I told them girls make me terribly nervous. I know what to do with boys but I'm not sure about girls! 

We had an okay evening then. The guys all went to my sister's house for supper and the evening so we had us a girls' party. I helped them each make a couple loaves of bread to take home to their families. They were pretty pleased to think they could make bread.

One mistake I made was allowing them to drive a vehicle around. Two of them had never driven before and they thought this was the best thing. They kept begging to do it again but once was enough to give me stomach ache. 

Yesterday was our donut fund raiser for youth funds. We made donuts on site in two locations. It was a lot of work and a very successful day! We had gotten a hundred pounds of mix. I envisioned selling individual donuts with the occasional sale of dozens or half dozens. Reality was that by 6:30 am people were stopping by wanting to buy dozens and we were not prepared. We made up all the mix and sold all but about five dozen. 

We had done a trial run for the church Friday evening so we could get a feel for what we're doing. So some of the mix had already been used. At our site we had a half dozen donuts left that sold while we were cleaning up. So we were completely sold out. People were asking when we'll do it again so we think we just might do it some more.

We were very short on help yesterday and then one girl ate a donut and got bad stomach pains so she couldn't work. We gathered round her and prayed and the Lord mercifully restored her to us before very long. We needed her help and He knew that!

My sister so kindly offered to make my food assignment for the fellowship meal at church today. It was so restful to not have food to make this morning. My week was so exhausting and even though I slept in a little this morning I was still very weary. 

Having missed two Sundays, I was way behind with where we were in our Sunday School studies today. We are studying Hosea and we ladies take turns teaching. As we gathered for class we realized that no one was prepared to teach. They all looked at me and said it would be my turn. I could have cried, but breathed a prayer instead, when they told me to direct the discussion. My brain was so tired I could hardly comprehend what we were reading. But people shared their thoughts nicely and we made it through. Thank you Jesus!


We brought Davis, my cousin's son, home from the reunion with us. He'll be here for two or three weeks. Last year it was two weeks so we were thinking that way again. But now there's a canoe trip "in the air" that he would like to be a part of, so he may stay another week yet.

Davis, Matthew and my nephew Mervin standing in a row 

What has the Lord done for you?

His mercy record (verb)! Tell what He's done for you!

Hey, it's warm and sunny after much rain here. What's your weather like?

Sunday

A visiting preacher at church, a new dating couple, a friend/youth girl home from Hillcrest for a couple days. An invitation to lunch. Singing at the old people's home this afternoon. The possibilities are large but my strength is small. A day of rest this shall be.

For lunch I made a rice and chicken dish, cooked broccoli and cauliflower and served applesauce with it. Grandpas went to the elderly pastor's place for lunch with other elderly ones from church. They reported an enjoyable time.

Thomas and the three oldest boys went with others from church to sing for those at Hampshire Center this afternoon. They received a plaque from the residents, saying they were the preferred volunteer group of the year.

The boys brought their Byler cousins here this evening to record some singing for some of their other cousins. Especially for the little cousins- children's songs with motions.

This has been a cool, breezy day. Grandma Lapp called for help to cover her flowers. Can you believe they are calling for frost on May the 16th?! We set our potted plants indoors overnight but the rest is at the mercy of nature.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. Mark 2:27 

Saturday

The rain came around noon or soon after. Cool weather came along behind. The plants went back into the greenhouse until warmer weather shows up.

Thomas and Melvin cleaned the truck for Grandpas to take to Gap Mills next week. They also made sure it was road worthy. 

Stephen left early to help with the food stand at the auction. Austin went around noon. They both returned by early afternoon, reporting a good sale.

Matthew did some more mowing. The orchard and the roadside. The boys also kept the dishes washed, cleaned their room, did some laundry, and misc. 

Thomas got more desk work done. His elephant that needs to get eaten.....one bite at a time. My elephant is house cleaning and decluttering. 

My dear, dear sister and niece came to clean up some of my dirt this afternoon. My, it takes such a little bit of time for two capable ladies to do what it would take hours for the boys to get done. (Yes, there are times I wish for daughters. Forgive me, Lord.)

The sickness slowly let me go and strength is just as slowly returning. My stomach seemed to appreciate chicken, potatoes and carrots boiled together. And it didn't complain too much about yogurt and applesauce either. 

Having recently read a lot about slavery I had to wonder if the Negros would have had to work if they were in my shape? And maybe get whipped because they couldn't keep up performance? And I'm thankful I can rest "peacefully" while my family cares for me and other things. (Sometimes I don't allow it to be peaceful because I see everything that needs to be done.)

In searching through "Grandma's freezer clean-out" I found potato casserole and peas for lunch. Hominy was fried in bacon grease with onions, garlic and hot dogs (good ones, by the way) and topped with cheese for supper. The men enjoyed it with fried eggs and an avocado, tomato, cucumber, onion salad Grandma Schwartz brought over.

Boy funny of the day: Something was going on between some of the boys. "That really blew you out of the water", one told Melvin. He calmly replied, "Nah, it just tapped me to the surface."

Here's a photo of my gifts from the Mother's Day celebration at church. A rose bouquet at my place setting, a pint-sized candle, and a half-cup-sized candle. The beautiful garden gloves were forgotten in my photographing. 

Are your children like mine- they like candles more than you do? 

What scent would you choose? 

Friday

Another day of resting. Efforts at eating were unsuccessful. Things just ran through. Applesauce and yogurt were my food choices. Until this evening. A bit of potato and sweet potato found lodging and have not yet departed. 

Once again the men had to fend for themselves, mostly. The men at work were fed by the main contractor's wife. She brought them some chili soup and bread pockets that contained meat. 

The men were helping to set a modular home here in the area. Thomas came home midday because he didn't feel well. Hopefully he won't get what I have! 

Again I had a food assignment to fulfill. Not quite so large an order this time. Three cherry pies for a food stand at an auction tomorrow. (The food stand is a fundraiser for Kid's Club.) I made the filling. Melvin made the crusts. Christopher rolled out the top crusts, doing the lattice work. They did a super job! The fluted edges were my work. They will get that yet, too, I'm sure. By the way, they came and offered their services. They enjoy it. 

No "picture perfect" photo here. 😉

All five of the boys went to school for program practice this morning. Grandpa took the younger ones again at 1 pm for P.E. The last time for this school year! Wow. 

The younger boys also did music lessons in their workbooks here. "School work" is minimal these days. They also worked on the laundry. That never ending job. 

Grandpas are busy preparing for their trip to Honduras. 

Today was actually a mostly sunny day. Beautiful! Only a little rain in the morning. We are very grateful for the rain but the sunshine is ever so welcome. 

Matthew grabbed the opportunity to mow the lawn. The lawn here is very large. It takes awhile even when using a large ZTR mower. 

It is time for Matthew to have a chance at working with Daddy once school is done. Sad day for me when I lose my trusty helper here. But that means the younger ones need to do more here if Matthew's gone. Melvin is learning to mow this year. He is quite happy about that. Boys and machines!

Christopher ended up having stomach pains this evening too. It would be bad if we all went down like dominoes. 😕 Let's hope not. 

Thomas spent the afternoon here getting one of the trailers fit for the road. Fixing wiring and lights, I believe he said. Austin and Melvin were helping him. 

Stephen wants to turn his bedroom into a studio. He was building shelves to set up speakers on. 

It is interesting to watch the boys and their interests develop. 

An eventful day to observe from my bed. 

Where did you spend your day?

Thursday

One plus (albeit small) of being sick is that one has time to write. My, I haven't been so sick in awhile. Fever and unstoppable diarrhea. Well, if you stop eating it almost stops. Talk about totally draining. Literally. 

On schedule for today was taking a meal to a family in church. The mother has been laid up with a broken foot. There was no way I had the strength to do anything so I lay abed and instructed my trusty boys. Matthew, Melvin and Christopher made the whole meal. Oven BBQ'd Chicken, mashed potatoes (with wells of brown butter), salad, homemade Ranch dressing and a pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese frosting. They also made a simple supper of rice and chicken, corn and applesauce for our family. They were quite weary of the kitchen! But I was so proud of them! Grandma Schwartz took them and the food where it needed to go. 

Thomas, Stephen and Austin spent another long day in VA where they are doing the finishing on a couple of log homes. My poor men were having to do double duty today. 

Donna Goff has been doing some webinars that are helpful for home educators. I tried listening to the one on Power of an Hour today but slept through part of it. The power of an hour concept is really amazing. You can find her teachings at mentoringourown.com.  

Rain was falling again today. The other day at the thrift store the owner said she heard on radio that it had rained 14 days in a row. If that is so, this makes 17 days now. Not that it rains all day every day though. Thankfully, Thomas and the boys have work inside and out, there in VA. 

The girls from my class at Kid's Club were giving a program at their school this evening. A couple of my co-teachers went and I had planned to go with them. It was disappointing to miss it. 

My mama keeps working on the laundry piles in the house. Bless her! 

One thing that has given me a bit of strength today is homemade "Gatorade". A cup of water, tablespoon of lemon juice, teaspoon of Sucanat, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. That may not be exactly right but that's what I pulled out of my head for today. The cup of water was more like 12 oz. The boys took turns keeping me supplied with hydrating drinks. 

Mom Lapp stopped by with some freezer clean-out items. People know where food will disappear! My sister  once told someone (about our family), "They'll eat anything that bends." (That was back in the days when we readily consumed sugar and grains.) When I'm well I'll see what she brought us. It will surely be helpful. My freezer is nearly deplete of meat and I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. 

What did (or will) you have for supper/dinner? 

How do you economically keep men fed? (Mine need meat.)