If you beg for comments, they will come.

Annette, I know exactly what you mean about those conversations. The other night I had a lady talk to me for 20 minutes about a garden salad. Yeah, you read that right. A GARDEN SALAD. How much it cost, what was in it, why she didn't like peppers and mushrooms, and one time they put those on it anyway, and she had to pick them out, her husband said, "just eat it", but she couldn't she had to pick them out.....AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dy, just got your email. I have too much to write. Gonna have to call. ;-)

Kim, I have a ton of questions about the Pres. churches and their theology and stuff. Thanks for the well wishes, and yeah......a little scary. Race will probably think I have flipped my lid!

I talked to Race this morning. He is feeling sick. Like, with the flu. Wellllllllll..good, that should work out just about right. (sigh) Have I mentioned that he will only be home for about 3 days before he takes off for another month? Prayers would be appreciated.

Jackson woke up with a head cold, and I believe that he is determined to make the rest of the family pay for it.

Savannah has not been acting like herself ever since she got home. I feel like something is bothering her, but so far, she says nothing is wrong. Hmmmmmm.....

I conquered the refuse heap that was our shed yesterday. The secret is safe. I cleaned the basement, and started pulling the house together. I still don't know what sort of meal I will be fixing. The way it sounds, I may be eating it by myself anyway! (groan)

I am going to take Savannah shopping for new clothes while the boys are in martial arts today. Maybe she will go ahead and let me know what is bothering her. I laid awake last night worrying about this. I'm not sure what is going on with her.

The boys passed their testing for their next belt level in martial arts. They will be graduating to the next level on friday. Austin has a fight demo with another kid. Complete with flips and kicks to the head, etc., etc. They make it look real! Hey, if nothing else he will be able to get a job as a stunt guy! (I still haven't sewn on all those patches!)

Have a great day!
Melissa

I feel like I am talking to myself here.

Race will be home in a few days, and we can hardly wait! I am trying to get all of the cleaning and outside work done, so that we don't have to be concerned with any of that while he is home. Oh....and the suburban needs cleaning out, too.......badly. But when you use your car as a snack bar,gym locker, art studio, and entertainment center....well....hey, she takes a beating!

Problem solved about the game situation! Apparently the coach had the game date wrong...so..cancelled! I can not tell you how relieved that I am!

I watched the last hour of Austin's practice last night. I was sitting on the bleachers with the other moms. If I were to write in this space, the sort of conversations that I am party to whilst sitting on those bleachers, you would all be banging your heads on your computers begging me to stop. I mean it. One topic, led to me yell , " Oh STOP! STOP! TMI! TMI!" Which was met with howls of laughter. I was serious. I honestly do not know how to deal with this sort of thing. I mean, I want to be friendly....but sheesh!

I haven't shared this here, yet, but I have been in contact with the headmaster of Pactum Boys Academy, here close to us. I am encouraged. Race and I will be trying to coordinate a meeting while he is home. Pactum is a day school that uses the Omnibus curriculum for it's older students. This is what we were considering for home school next year as well. Currently the school is in it's third year, and only meets in the classroom on Mon., Wed., and Fri. . Of course, no decision has been made yet, but I am very excited to check out the school, which happens to be at the CREC church that we will be visiting this Sunday. I am really praying about this decision. It's a big one.

Well, I'd better get going. With everything else, I also have 5 patches to sew on the boys' various uniforms. So- I MUST get going. If y'all are reading this...PLEASE comment. Even if only to say...."Snap out of it, Melissa..this is the most boring blog I've ever read". I can take it people, just comment.

Cheers,
melissa

We got through our lessons yesterday, and then the kids spent rest of the day in the pool, until about an hour before baseball practice. Our neighbor came over and swam with them too. They all had a good time, and the kids are just as brown as bears already!

We will be quite busy the rest of this week. The boys are going to be busy getting ready for their Martial Arts demonstrations on Friday evening. They will be testing this week for their next belt levels. Of course, baseball practice continues. On Thursday, the coach is letting them skip practice to meet at the city stadium and watch a Legion game of 15-16 year olds. Great idea. BUT -- Race will not be home yet. I DO NOT want to be the only woman in that group! Seriously.......Let me see if I can picture this for you. The coach is a real live lumber jack...no kidding......One dad is sort of like a giant troll king looking fellow, and he is ALWAYS dirty.....I mean REALLY dirty...clothes,face, hands, everything. One man comes to every practice and brings with him a "Ballistics and Automatic Weapons" text book that he studies. I asked him about it, thinking that maybe he was in competition shooting, or law enforcement or something. He looked at me with a blank stare and said, "No, nothing like that, just something I like to study." Which is all fine and dandy. I could go on, but you see what I am getting at here. AND they all went to highschool together. Can you picture me with this group??? When they were all talking about the outing at practice yesterday, they were all wondering how they would keep the boys in their seats to watch the game, that they would all be up running around the stadium. One dad said, "They aren't going to be interested in the game, they're just gonna be checkin' out the girls." DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FORIEGN THIS CRAP IS TO ME????? I mean seriously, ever hear of STANDARDS? PARENTING? AUTHORITY? RESPECT? MATURITY???? We only have these problems in this small little backwards town. When the kids go to activities in the city, we rarely experience this sort of thinking. For crying out loud....SPREAD OUT THE GENE POOL A LITTLE!
So, what do I do? Do I go? Do I just let Austin go alone.....knowing full well, that he will be the only one there actually WATCHING the game, and that there will be no adult supervision? I really hate this stuff. I wish that Race would be here.

Speaking of Race, he will be home in a few days. I guess that we had better go ahead and make our multiple trips to the dump, so that Race won't know that I shamelessly pile up our garbage in the shed while he is gone. (Do you have any idea what kind of $$ I would pay to get trash service out here?) The yard needs mowing. The house will need cleaning. And I would really like to have at least one really nice meal here while he is home. I have been searching the recipes at www.epicurious.com . I had forgotten how good Bon Appetite is. And they will even give you their choice of wine to compliment the meal. I will let you know wht I decide.

Waving hello to Bridget! You will have mail!

We'd better get going on our lessons. Y'all have a great day!
Melissa

Happy Birthday Emily!

We made it to the new church, Sunday(PCA). I can't judge it very fairly, because the pastor was out of town, and there was a guest speaker. But I must say, that it was a pleasure to fellowship with people who were "like-minded". It's been awhile. But that is the subject of a post that I don't have the time to write this morning! Seriously, these people were very welcoming. We will be visiting another Presbyterian church this Sunday, as long as it doesn't interfere with Race's schedule. He will be getting home that day, but I don't know when yet. We don't want to miss one single second of time that he will be home. But I am very anxious to visit this particular church, as it it's ties are quite close with classical education. Anybdy know anything about CRE Pres. churches?

Mom and Dad brought Savannah home yesterday. They were nice enough to drive her all the way back to our house, which saved me the trip. She had a wonderful time, and she talked and I listened, for a long time yesterday evening. It is SO good to have her back at home. I think that she missed us, too.

Our big baseball news from the weekend, is that the coach let Austin pitch. The first two innings were three up, three down. He did great. This was a huge confidence booster for him. He has worked tirelessly on pitching, but none of the coaches would let him even try. Not even in practice. They weren't interested in seeing him pitch. They wouldn't give him the chance. Well, the stakes are high in the all-stars. This coach gave him a shot, and it ended with the coach telling him to be ready, he will probably use him. Now, in my son's mind, he may as well have just signed a major league contract with the Boston Red Sox. We're happy for him. Hard work will get you everywhere.

Today is Em's birthday. I am guessing that after all of her hard work for the Toddapalooza over the weekend, she is probably feeling every bit her age! Hope not, and hope that she has a great day today.

Gotta get moving,
Melissa

This is what the boys have been doing wheen they aren't playing baseball! Well, they also EAT......a LOT.

Brag Brag Brag........

O.K., so today was a little better. We met Austin's teammate and his family at the batting cages this morning. Austin was tearing up those cages. He was hitting on the 45 mph, 50, 60, and then 70 mph cage. He was switch hitting in all of them with no visible difference at all in his hitting. With A. getting so much attention, Jack decided that he would grab a helmet and a bat too. He jumped in the 45 mph cage and did not let one ball go by him! The family who was there with us was so impressed with the boys and how they supported one another and really wanted to do their best. It helped Jack that this family has a little girl named Emily who is also 7 years old. He is quite smittten, I think.
ALSO .....if you'll allow me to brag for just a second more.....the coach told me that Austin was the only kid who, when corrected, said "yes sir"....and then DID WHAT HE WAS TOLD(gush,gush). They were having a real problem with the boys back talking when corrected, or given a command. The assistant coach FINALLY remedied this by saying that if anyone else backtalked, they would run a lap around the field. And since it was 95 degrees here, that was pretty much the end of that!

I picked enough green beans tonight to have with dinner. Unless the Japanese Beetles get them , I will be over run with green beans this year. Maybe I will try canning them. I have always frozen any extra surplus in the past. We'll see.

I can hardly wait for Savannah to get back home. I would like to really fix up her room before she gets home on Sunday. Nothing major, just a good floor to ceiling cleaning, and arranging. She loves to come home to that.

Race is somewhere on the Mediterranean tonight. He said that he could throw a rock into the Med. Sea right from his room! He will get to visit the ancient library of Alexandria tomorrow. OH, IT IS ALL SO CRUEL TO ME!!!!! How is it that I am dealing with sweaty boys and baseball, and he is traveling around North Africa??!!! He has not studied Ancient history. Not at all....Except what we've told him. Oh, it just seems so wrong!

All said, we miss him. We miss him badly. I can't wait for him to get back home....Even for 3 days.

Tomorrow will be busy. Austin has practice at 8:30 a.m.!!!! EEGADS! Then there is a baseball picnic at 11:00 where they get their trophy's and stuff. Should be really hot right about then. But, then we should be done for the weekend! YAY! What will we ever do with all of our free time!! We are looking forward to trying out the new church, and it helps that Austin and Jackson's best friends(brothers) go to this church. Just pray that there are also some nice girls around Savannah's age. I am finding that as the kids get older, finding good fellowship for THEM is very important. Does that make sense? I mean- boys will be boys.....and girls will be girls....and well....I guess they are going to chose from what is in front of them. SO shouldn't a parent seek out good fellowship for their teens? What is your opinion of this? ANyone? Thankfully, I am still a little ways off from this but the gap is narrowing quickly!!!

Race is on the Mediterranean . Dy is traveling out west with her family. Thomasina is shooting a wedding in St. Lucia (poor, poor girl ;-) ). And Emily is getting ready for the now annual Toddapalooza.

Y'all have a great weekend!
Melissa

It was a blah day today. I just don't seem to be able to focus myself on anything for any length of time. It's as if I am trapped inside the body of an overweight dachsund.............with worms.
I am in hyper-active over drive and running in circles (thus the "worms" part....get it?).

The boys played together all day today. They were in the pool playing" Fat Albert". That's a game that they made up..........and, no, I DON"T want to know how you play it, or what exactly it's about. All I know is that they were howling with laughter while swimming. When they came inside, they picked up what is probably the longest running Monopoly game EVER. It's been going on for at least a week now. And it's Star Wars Monopoly!

Austin had practice tonight, and it was a rough one. Not necessarily for him, but a lot of the players just didn't have their heads in the game tonight, and they made a lot of errors. So the coach was none too pleased. Tomorrow we are going to meet one of Austin's team mates and his mom, (the one that was mad at me....remember? Well, I guess she's not mad anymore...(rolling eyes)), at the batting cages. We are going to try to go early so that the boys will have plenty of time to rest before practice at 5:00. We didn't get home tonight until 9:30! And we only live 5 minutes from the field.

My computer has been trying to choke and die with the Trojan virus. I spent a good part of the day performing surgery on it and nursing it back to life. So far, it's vital signs are good, but what a time consuming endeavor!!!! I don't think that brain surgery on a human takes as many hours!If anyone has any advice about computer safety issues, I'd appreciate it.

There's a ton of stuff that need fixin' around here, and it's all stuff that I will probably just make worse if I try to fix it! So frustrating. I need to hire a handy-man. Wouldn't it be nice to build a little guest house, and have a handy man at your diposal. You know, a nice, older gentleman....preferably British.....not some scary creepazoid loser whom no one else would hire. Are you picturing this? Yes, this would help me. And I have already shared with you about my dream of having a little mexican woman live with us to do the house work and bake the occasional mexican treat. Do I ask too much??? (sigh)

We are missing Savannah. The boys miss her, (though they would NEVER mention it), and Herriott misses her. She is having a good time at my Mom's though, and I can't wait to hear all about it.

We are going to try the new church this Sunday. I will leave you tonight with the words written on the front of their program:

"To all who are spiritually weary and seek rest; to all who mourn and long for comfort;to all who struggle and desire victory;to all who sin and need a savior;to all who are strangers and want fellowship;to all who hunger and thirst after righteousness;and to whomsoever will come, this church opens wide her doors and offers welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."

God Bless,
Melissa

Over the weekend, I got to spend a little time at my friend Janelle's house. I gotta tell ya, it was a treat. They are doing so well. The house is beautiful. Her flower garden is.....well...... I can't even describe it. Even the words "flower garden" aren't enough to describe what she has created there. It is beautiful. It's like stepping into a welcoming garden somewhere in England. Truly stunning. I wish that I had a picture. Her girls are precious. They are growing up so fast and I don't get to see them nearly enough. Her husband was in the kitchen (which, by the way, is laid out in such a way, that would inspire ANYONE to break out the pots and pans!), making an amazing dish from Bon Apetite. It was just really nice. It was truly wonderful to see how things have worked out for her. They really have a nice family. I do wish that we lived closer together.

Austin is doing so well in baseball. I mean it. He's good. For the next 2+ weeks, he will be on cloud 9! Missing all of this All Stars stuff is absolutely killing Race. Thomasina came out to the ballpark to take a few photos for me. She is looking quite stunning these days , sporting a new hair-doo, and all tanned up for the islands!

Jackson is missing Race. He seems a little lost. I am afraid that this is an empty space that I just can't fill. He sees Austin and Savannah really narrowing down their interests, and he wants to get in on the "fame". He is struggling to grab a little glory. He needs his Dad to help him out here. Race understands Jack, because he WAS Jack, growing up. They are so similar in the way that they approach life. I'm not sure that I know what to do here. His little life is being shaped and molded.....without his Dad around right now. Kinda scary.

We all miss Race terribly. Our phone conversations are in 2-3 minute bursts. Race will be home to see the beginning of the All-Stars Tournament, but only for 3 days and then gone for at least another month.....to a place that we cannot follow. The rest of the year isn't looking very promising either. It is beginning to feel a lot like a brick wall.

I can't wait to talk to Savannah, and find out how things are going with her. I am sure that she is having a great time at Mam-maw and Pap-paws house. Please keep my Mom in your prayers, as her back is really giving her trouble, and any bending or lifting just aren't options for her right now. Very frustrating, I'm sure.

I have blabbed on way past my bed time. Y'all have a great Wednesday!
Melissa

Forgot to say...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD!!!!!!!!!!
It seems that Todd and Dy's little guy John share the same birthdate.
Hope that you had a great day!

Savannah

That's a BIG strawberry, Q!

Walker enjoyed his ice cream sundae to the very last drop!

Uncle Todd, Walker, and Mam-maw, at the water.

Aunt Thomasina makes THE BEST ice cream sundaes!

Mam-maw dipping into the Big Jug O' Bubbles for Jack, Q, and W.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!! (Well, it was yesterday,actually.) Hope that you had a great day.

We had a great weekend. Race and I just can't say "thanks" enough to Uncle Todd, Bill, and Pap-paw for filling in for Race with Austin. These men each got out there and threw the ball with Austin.....a LOT. And Austin can really relate to Uncle Todd, because he is just as engrossed with baseball as Austin is. I don't mean just putting the ball in the glove, I mean the players, the history, the facts, the figures, and of course.....the BASEBALL CARDS! Thanks so much. It really filled the gap for him on Fathers Day, when his own dad couldn't be there. And by the way, it made all the difference at his practice Monday night. He looked like a pro! Really turned some heads.

It was so great to be with my family again. Em's boys are getting so big. They are so much fun. One of the highlights of Jack's weekend was when Walker decided to wrestle with him. He is still talking about how funny that was. I hope that Em got some pic's of that!

Savannah, Austin, and Jack pretty much stayed in the water all weekend. Every so often, they would surface to eat, and then back out they went. Jackson and Quentin played, and played, and played! Jack is settling into his role as mentor quite nicely. He loves this. His own brother and sister think that he knows NOTHING, so it's nice to have someone who looks up to him. He adores Q, and sees himself as teacher and protector. ;-)

I talked to mom last night, and she said that Savannah has been so helpful to her, and that she is always volunteering to help her do things. (sniff, sniff.......I'm so proud).

One of her cousins was going to be coming over today and she was really looking forward to playing with her. She also has a friend up the road from Mom that she really likes; So girl time will abound!

I'll write more later, we have a busy day ahead of us. We have some yard work to do, batting cages, martial arts, then baseball practice. So for the hours between 3 and 9, we will be OUT. I'd better get moving!
Have a great day!
Melissa

HAPPY FATHERS DAY, DAD!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY RACE

Race, we love you. We miss you. We appreciate, so much, all of the sacrifices that you make for us. We hope that you have a wonderful day. You deserve one. Be careful and have a Happy Fathers Day!

Love,
Melissa, Austin, Savannah, and Jackson

Bueller?..........Bueller?..........Bueller?........

C'mon, y'all, talk to me. I am home alone, with NO adult conversation whatsoever. I KNOW that you're out there. Anyone?...... Anyone?

Well, Race has visited the pyramids and taken a sailboat down the Nile. The Egyptian museum will be next.

This morning we will be cleaning the house and heading out to the batting cage. We will grab lunch, and then come home to pack until time for Austin's first All Stars practice. After practice is under way, Jack and Savannah and I will come back to the house, make final preparations to leave, pack the suburban, pick up Austin and head to the beach house to spend the weekend with Mom, Dad and the rest of the fam. We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend, but as I look back over this it certainly does not seem as exciting as what Race has going on!

For the next few weeks , if you need to find me, I will be living temporarily at the baseball field. If you come by and we aren't there, we have just run across town to the batting cages (Thank-you once again, Pap-paw, for the unlimited tokens!).

Hope that you all have a Happy Fathers Day, and a great weekend.

Melissa

Well, what a gorgeous morning it was here! The air was so cool, the skies were blue, not a smidge of humidity......and there was a breeze! I grabbed my coffee, and my Bible...and a SWEATSHIRT...and headed to the front porch. Really a beautiful morning. And there is nothing quite like being snapped into existence by a couple of dueling humming birds flying kamikaze style straight for your face! The breeze is still blowing, but the cool air is quickly being replaced by the summertime heat, but it was a nice surprise while it lasted.

As we head into the weekend, we are looking forward to spending time at M&D's beach house for Fathers day. It will be so good to spend time with my family again. I am hoping that I will get to see Janelle while I am home, too. I never get to see her girls, and they are growing up so fast. She is also my new gardening/decorating mentor, so I am hoping that she doesn't start charging me by the hour!

Savannah is going to be staying with Mam-maw and Pap-paw for the week. She can hardly wait! Alone time with Mam-maw, and getting a break from all the boy activity around here is always something that she looks forward to.

Race will be visiting the Pyramids today. ( envious sigh) Hope that he gets good pictures.

We have Fathers Day shopping to do, a visit to the batting cages, and Martial Arts today. Have a great weekend.
Melissa

Lone blogger....Where are y'all???

Austin says "Thank-You" to everyone who congratulated him on making the All Star team.

Dy, You asked about the memorizing the lists. We just learn 5 a week. The older two have to keep a list in their notebooks. They add 5 new names each week. They have to quiz each other on them a few times a week. Jack just does them aloud only. We do memory work in the morning before Bible reading (because otherwise I forget to do it!). Sometimes we go around the table and take turns. The kids actually enjoy it, and the funny thing is that memorization is quite the equalizer. Sometimes Jack does better than Austin and Savannah.....which REALLY puts the pressure on the older two to work at it! Those young brains seem to memorize with ease! You'd be surprised how many captured critters were named Ethelred this week! My OLD brain has to cheat and use the list a lot!

Well, I have nothing to say. Oh my gosh, someone mark it down.
G'night,
Melissa

My pretty little vegetable garden! The broccoli is about done. The bare ares has sunflowers, corn and a row of blueberry bushes. The path in the middle is where Austin dumps all of the grass clippings. Then I use them for mulching around the plants.

This is one side of the garden, there are several rows of different beans here, and then, growing up the trellis thingy are cucumbers.

Here are some pictures of my vegetable garden! Behind the, as of yet, nameless scarecrow, is planted several rows of corn that you can't see yet.

The Adventures of Race

Seriously, I am bursting to relate the story that Race just told me. UNBELIEVABLE! And while I can't put it here, I can say that in the last 24 hrs. he has seen the inside of a hospital (that word is used VERY loosely), taken a wild taxi ride, seen the absolutely impoverished conditions that Christians are forced to live in where he is, and been inside a place where it is doubted that any Americans have ever been before! He is fine, and the hospital wasn't for him. But, Wow.
I really miss him. WE really miss him. Ya know, on Monday night I almost booked a flight that I found to meet him. Good thing that I didn't, because Austin got his call to ALL Stars the next day. It's going to take some fancy driving getting everyone to all of their commitments for those few weeks....AND.....this is a huge deal for him. Can you imagine if niether of his parents were here to see it? I would have died.
Have a great day!
Melissa

Well, Somebody stick a fork in me cause I AM DONE. All of this scheduling on the calander has my head spinning. I am supposed to call the Mom of one of Jack's friends to coordinate going to Camp Hydaway. I am supposed to call the mother of one of Savannah's friends to coordonate Dance Camp. I could go on and on. On a brighter note, however, a friend at Martial Arts invited us to a church that they recently started attending. It is a PCA church, and a fairly new church plant. We would be going this Sunday, but we will be at Mom and Dad's for Fathers Day( I did iron out a way for us to make the first practice AND still get to go to M& D's). I am excited to go. The whole Reformed Church thing is new for me, as I was brought up Baptist. But, when I realized the responsibility for my kids learning about the Lord falls squarly and heavily AT HOME.....well........I had to KNOW what I believed. I could no longer just repeat "what I've always been taught...". Turns out that what I believe leans theologically more toward Presbyterian than Baptist. SO. We'll see. And , of course,it will also have to pass Race's scrutiny as well. Whatever the outcome, I was really pleased to get the invite from my friend. I met Thomasina today for coffee and to give her the gift that we got her for her birthday. Poor thing. Just going around breathless preparing for a week in St. Lucia. I feel so sorry for her. I mean having to work on an exotic island and all.......really........she must be dreading it. Well, for whatever reason, Blogger won't let me indent any of paragraphs tonight, so it must really be a challenge for you to read this. And as you can see, I am NOT cleaning the house this evening (you knew I wouldn't, didn't you?). Before I leave you this evening, I must tell you two things that Jack said today. These should be put on a list entitled "Things That I Never Thought I'd Hear At My House", or something like that. Jack: Mom, do you wanna come see my new pet? He's a spider. His name is "Freaky". Jack:(While holding a small lizard 2 inches from his eyeballs): Mom, did you know that lizards have tiny little armpits??? These rank up there with hearing A's booming voice yell "MOM!" "Have you seen my cup?!" And he wasn't wanting a drink, folks. Picture me grabbing my heart Fred Sanford style. For crying out loud, I grew up in a house with 3 girls. I didn't even know what that kind of cup WAS until last year. ugh. Well, I am glad you made it to the end of this post and didn't stay lost up there in my indent-less message. g'night.

ALL STAR TEAM!

Austin was chosen for the All Star team in baseball. He is elated beyond belief. I am excited for him. He got to tell Race the news on the phone this morning. This means 2 weeks of practices, with the tournament starting July 2. In jeapordy so far, is Fathers Day weekend (we were going to Mom and Dads beach house to be with them), and S.T.O.R.M. Team demo. Hopefully we can iron it all out. Hmm.. No rest for the weary it seems ;-)

Happy Birthday Thomasina

Well we made it through a Monday. I spoke with Race this morning, and things seem to be going well.
We got through school and all in all it was a productive day. My youngest is a bit of a challenge. ALL of his lessons are done in spurts. He is really a very bright little boy......but- the child is NEVER still..........NEVER. He does his work at lightening speed and then-FLASH-he's gone. It's like trying to hog tie the legs of a grasshopper. He reads well, but he isn't really INTERESTED in reading for himself, by himself yet. For his reading lesson today, I had to go back through and change the words on the white board so that the story was silly and yucky to catch his attention. Seriously, the child is distracted by a speck of dust floating in the air! SO. While he reads, spells, skip counts, adds and subtracts.....he does flips, sits upside down, builds with Magnetix, bounces (a lot), and generally romps around the room Gollum-style. He is only still when being read aloud to-which, he loves, so we're still O.K..
Some second grade teacher owes me big!

Savannah is finishing "King Arthur", and Austin is finishing "Samurai Warrior". We are still learning the Kings and Queens of England.......(um..yeah....this will take awhile- but they LOVE the names!) We are hitting Spanish much harder now with Austin, and are looking for a native speaking "tutor" for next year. Latin has helped immensly with learning the grammar in Spanish.

My house is a wreck. I have laundry piles (clean and dirty). My room needs attention, the floors need to be vaccuumed.....and I won't even go into the basement right now. It will all have to wait. Tomorrow will be busy. Have to vote, mail some stuff at the post office, get through the kids lessons, and get Jack and Austin to Martial Arts and Jiu Jitsu. Maybe I can make a swipe at it in the P.M.??

hope that y'all had a great Monday,
Melissa

Petrushka

A thousand "thank-you's" to my most excellent photographer, Thomasina, for the pictures below! The ballet was so much fun, and it brought back so many memories! The production , storyline, and choreography were excellent ! The girls were so confident, and really had great stage presence. They had a blast! The boys totally enjoyed themselves and were enthralled with the story. After the production, they did a sort of "meet and greet" on the stage with the performers. Jack rushed onto the stage with Savannah's roses and asked her for her autograph on his program. He collected many other signatures after hers, as well. too funny. Savannah is already missing dance class, and might take a week of summer intensives. She is also taking a unique watercolor painting class through the Fine Arts Academy. They will be introduced to famous watercolor artists at Randolph Macon Womens College's Maier Museum, before going back to the Fine Arts Academy to be guided in their own watercolor paintings. She is also going to be taking a Theatrworks class for one week as well. In this class they will use story-building methods to explore voice, speech and dramatic expression. Savannah is VERY excited about all of these! In the fall we plan to continue with dance as well as Theatreworks. Ahhhhhhhh.........The Arts! I do believe that she has found her thing.

Backstage!!! Ohh.. look at the excitement on those faces!!!

Yes. she will give autographs.

The Twins, from the early 19th century Russian village.

Dy- Yes Herriott was named after our most beloved English Vet and author James Herriott. But OUR Herriott is a girl.....like Harriet. So there you have it. All Savannah's idea. About the church thing: I always imagine that when I go into a church without my husband and have all my kids with me, that everyone is immediately picturing some loser at home with a brewsky in hand, wearing a "wife-beater" t shirt, with his feet up in front of a football game. hmmm.......... Is it me?

We had a very nice visit with Em, Todd, Q and W. Q and Jack disappeared upstairs before Emily even made it into the house. Jack was so excited to have his cousins come to his house to play! The kids are still talking about how funny W is. He says and does the funniest things! He is really talking now. Q is growing up. He was so funny to watch as he made us play "Guess what my favorite Thomas Train is.." We were yelling out names, and he was giving us hints. Too cute! Savannah got to show Aunt Emily and Uncle Todd the graphics that she is working with on the computer, and Austin got to show Uncle Todd his baseball card stuff. Great visit, but we always wish that they could stay longer.

I need to take a picture of my garden, and post it. It is really doing well. Austin, Jack and I did some weeding and thinning this evening. I have tiny green tomatoes and peppers, and the beans are loaded with blooms. I planted two more rows of corn.

Jackson has his own garden this year. He planted watermelon, beans, sunflowers, and sage! Very diverse.

The boys have been helping me with pest control......and you know what? IT'S WORKING!! Every time they find a toad, or lizard , or small grass snake, they let it go in the garden. They are staying! They are eating their fill of all of those nasty pests that WOULD be destroying my plants. There are still a few attacking here and there, but it is definitely controlled. There lots of spiders (mostly those small ones that scamper out of your way), and we have found several praying mantis. I planted marigolds and basil among my vegetables, because supposedly some pests don't care for the strong scent. Anyway, it's working well for all involved......except the pests.

Well, it's back to school tomorrow, and I still have to get the planning done. We are going to work on getting that pool up after that. Oh, also, the library is calling................that can't be good. I guess that they are looking for the really large basket of books in my living room.(shrug)

Talk to ya tomorrow!
Melissa

frustration

I am really having a hard time focusing. I don't know what it is. Like I am just out of step or something.

Austin's team won their last two games yesterday. I had to sit up on the bank and talk with all of the ladies. I can not tell you how excruciating this is. Not because I don't like talking to other ladies (OBVIOUSLY, for those who know me), but because there is a big fight going on amongst the families over All-Stars......ugh. I was met by several ladies who ,up until yesterday would hardly acknowledge me with a nod. But NOW? Oh, I was everyone's best friend. Each one trying to get me to agree with their view. I was suddenly whisked back in time to the seventh grade. I can not articulate how much I despise being in this sort of situation. In the end, I angered one woman by not sitting with her for the entire game.............I wish I was kidding. Seriously. She's mad. SERENITY NOW!

GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!!

After the games, the kids and I had chili dogs and ice cream sundaes at "Hud's Grill and Ice Cream" which is on the corner of something and something in Rustburg. That was the best part of the day!

I got a phone call from Race. He was looking out of his hotel room on the Nile river! Unbelievable.
Unfortunately, I ruined our phone call by spilling out all (and I do mean ALL) of my frustrations over the whole baseball fiasco. Great going.

I dropped the ball today on church hunting. I guess I'd better get with it. I don't like going into a new church with my 3 half grown kids, and no husband. But that's the way it's gonna have to be. I never know if I should mention him or just leave it alone. What would you do?

We are hoping to see Em, Todd and the boys while they are in town.

I talked with Race's mom yesterday, and she is doing GREAT! It was so good to hear her voice.

Also, I have an unspoken prayer request for a friend. It is just a situational thing, but one that would have great impact on her and her family, and the life that they live.

Well, this is indeed a "frustration blog" as I look back over it. But, I'll get it together as the day goes on. I will be doing school plans today, and working on getting a pool put up for the kids. This is quite a huge undertaking as it turns out. But I think that we can do it.

Please keep Race in your prayers. His work days are long and it is dangerous. He is very good at what he does. I hope that everyone has a relaxing Sunday.

Encouragement, Lego's , and a hairball

I AM MISSING RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There. O.K. I feel better.

My head is still swimming from the past week. Race and I had so much going on. We were together the whole time, but we were so busy enjoying the kids activities, preparing for his upcoming trips, and handling a bunch of security clearance documentation junk, that we looked up- and it was time for him to leave. Seriously, it's all just a blur.

What did we do yesterday? Well, after race left, we watched cartoons and played with Lego's. Seriously. ALL of us. In the middle of the living room. For most of the afternoon. (Keep it to yourself, o.k.)
I did finally get to call Dy, and it is always great to talk to her. She has a LOT going on right now, and it is always encouraging to me to see how well she handles it and just keeps going. This is particularly nice on a day like yesterday, when I am REALLY prone to feeling sorry for myself! So, thanks, Dy.
Isn't it great how God loves us so much, that he provides the encouragement that we need at just the right time? I talked to Dy, got an email from a friend whom I love, that I don't get to talk with much(Kim), I got a call from Janelle, and my Mom gave me a nice compliment on the phone last night. All in one day. All on a day that I really needed it.

We went to Martial Arts yesterday afternoon, and the boys are doing so well. And Austin's demo is really looking sharp. He loves that stuff.

One more thing. Herriott, Savannah's cat, got a hairball yesterday. I know, I know, you're thinking, "big deal. so what". But you can not posssibly understand the extreme duress that Savannah was under during this trial. Hands were rung, tears were shed. And in the end.....when we knew it was all O.K. --just a hairball........A song was composed...in Herriotts honor.

Oh, Help.

have a great day!

Testing. testing. 1..2..3...

Race is off to the M East. He will most likely be missing Fathers Day, Jacks birthday, and our 15 th Anniversary. Sigh.
We had a good, albeit very busy time while he was home this week. We went to the Petrushka ballet. It was AWESOME! We were so impressed with this performance. My photographer has not sent the pictures yet for me to post..(hint,hint). But I can't wait to put them up.

Austin plays his last game Saturday............unless he is picked for All-Stars (weak smile). He has a demo coming up for Martial Arts on July 1st, so that is going to take up some time. And their are several Jiu Jitsu seminars that he would like to attend. Savannah would like to enroll in some of the drama courses being offered this summer through Fine Arts. Can you say $$$$?
The older two, though are really starting to zero in on their interests and wanting to improve their talents and skills, so I figure it is money well spent. And, I must say that it excites me to think that they are confident enough to jump out there into these unknown arenas and give it a try.

Jack is still taking Martial Arts 3 times a week, but other than that he is mostly interested in catching lizards, snakes and toads, which is as it should be. Speaking of snakes check out the eerie pictures below that I took of an enormous black snake in one of our bird houses!!

I have been talking to my personal Master Gardner, and best friend Janelle. She gave me some good advice about how to create some nice looking flower beds around my house. I found a great little nursery close by called The Patch. I have been working on this one little area this week. I will post pictures later. It doesn't look like much now, but I think that it will really be beautiful next year. Folks, you can really drop some big $$ on flowers!!!

Race's mom is in the hospital with a hip replacement and the numbers that we have for the hospital are apparently wrong. So, I will be calling the florist this afternoon to send flowers to their home. I am sure that Frank will deliver them with a smile! We have been praying for them, and the kids are putting together a packet to send her.

I will be posting a lot for the next few months, because Race will be reading this while he is away. Phone communication is sketchy at best. SO, I will spend the next few days catching up with everyone, and planning out our next several weeks w/out Race.

What? WHAT? What's this sticking it's head out of our (empty) birdouse?

He is heading out.

Couldn't even come close to getting his whole body in the picture!

I wanted to wave "hi" to AnnieSue!! Girl, you totally need to be bloggin! I KNOW that Miss M. and little T. are doing tons of stuff that you need to chronicle and share with everyone!!!! C'mon...You know ya want to. Thanks for the comments below.
Dy, I am praying for you guys as you head down this path with the allergies. No doubt it is uncomfortable territory. I know that you will do just fine. And besides if you check your brain at the door.......you KNOW Zorak is going to call you on it! No worries.

Yesterday was a boring blur. Carpet guy came and cleaned the carpets..(I love that man). Got the oil changed, tires rotated, blah, blah, blah. Savannah had her Petrushka rehearsal (only one more dress rehearsal before the big day!), Jack and Austin went to Martial Arts, and Austin went to jiu jitsu after that. Picked up Italian carry-out and arrived back home at about 7:30 to find Race here! He had gotten home a while before and had already ridden his bike, and worked out on his weights, showered and was RELAXED!! He is off for the rest of the weekend, so we are looking forward to some time together. I am trying not to dread his upcoming trips! The kids and I will be looking for a few things to do while he is gone, (preferably something somewhat educational in nature), maybe an overnight trip. Race axed the idea of us meeting in Europe, because he said that the assignment is just too unpredictable to risk it. (I can hear Willie Nelson singing " Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be Special Agents." )

I have officially harvested the first vegetables from my garden! Broccoli! We love broccoli, lightly steamed with a little butter , garlic, and salt. It is shocking how much greener this broccoli is when prepared. Seriously, shocking. And it was SOOOoo tender and delicious. And there's more..........much more.

If you haven't checked out the blogs over on my sidebar, you seriously need to do that.
Have a great Friday!
Melissa

Not exactly what we planned........

So much happened over the holiday weekend, it seems impossible to chronicle it all. I'll just hit some of the best points and move on. ;-)

Austin had a baseball game Saturday afternoon. A double header. Unscheduled. Out of town. (grrrr!) Race and Jack went with Austin to the game. Savannah and I stayed behind and prepared to camp. After the game Race took everyone to see Star Wars, (which, incidentally, we all loved). The next morning, we were up, packed, and heading to the mountains. And.......I guess....... so was everyone else! Our never fail, "spot that no one knows about" was empty. But just down river there was a "village" of bikers who had set up camp about a week ago and had no plans of leaving anytime soon. I have never seen so much stuff! They were revving their bike engines, and blaring loud music, the likes of which I could not identify. (It has always been my experience that "good" bikers listen to Southern Rock........I'm not sure what these, um, tunes were.) Well, needless to say, the thought of camping next to a bunch of men with pony tails was not appealing to anyone. We moved on. All the way up the mountain......nothing. And to admit defeat and try to get into an overcrowded campground? No Way!

So. We put the Suburban into 4-wheel drive and headed up, up, up the "dirt path that no one knows about". Fleeing civilization. When the road has an old painted sign that reads, "ONLY 4-WHEEL DRIVES BEYOND THIS POINT", you should take that very seriously. THIS was a little scary. The lost car parts strewn in various spots did NOT help. The road was completely washed out in several places, and the river flows across the road in one area. Steep mountain on one side, long, long drop on the other. Believe it or not we actually met two cars coming down!!! YIKES! Really tight squeeze! After about 4 miles, we arrived at the top, and where the appalachian trail crosses. No luck on decent camp sites by the river. We got out, and ate lunch.The temperature was 10 degrees cooler up here. We decided that we would hike to the falls. It is about a 2 mile hike. The mountains are truly gorgeous this time of the year, with the mountain laurel and the wild rhododendrons blooming everywhere. And of course the falls are always breath taking.

We decided that on our way back down out of the mountains we would scout for camp sites once more, in case some folks had left. Still no luck.

So. Race decides that we can camp on our own property and by our own creek. We live on 12 wooded acres surrounded by 100 wooded acres, and there is a big creek that winds its way across the back of our part, becoming the property line. We get home and Race takes everyone down to the place that he was thinking of. It was about a 1/2 mile from our house. When we reached the site, Race got everyone working, and within 30 minutes, we had cleared the site, built a fire ring, got the tents up, and had all of the dead wood stacked and ready to burn. It was AWESOME!! And it was OURS!!! We had a blast. The kids played in the creek all evening. Race taught the kids how to use a compass, and then they played a skills game (w/ the compass) using index cards that he tacked on trees. They saw three snakes, (one in a tree!). It was completely still and quiet, except for the sound of the water rushing over the rocks( well, and the kids). At nightfall, the owls started in, and they were right on top of us! While we were in our tents we saw raccoon and deer, all not quite sure what all this stuff was in their space. And I can tell you that a bed of soft pine needles, beats a rock any day!

On Monday night, Race took us all to see our local minor league baseball team play a game. When we got home, we all dropped exhausted into our beds. Great weekend.