Benjamin Loren Andrew

Yesterday was Ben's 10th birthday. I cannot believe he is already 10 years old! Gosh, it seems like just yesterday that I was feeling them make my incision during my c-section :0)

Seriously, we are so blessed to have such an amazing son! He is so kind and thoughtful! I love that he is always caring toward his friends. He is so smart! I am amazed the things that he remembers! He loves his Savior! I love listening to him share his faith.

God only blessed us with one child, but what a blessing he is! Benjamin, I love you!

Just Sharing

I thought I would share a few pictures of the pots and flowers I have planted so far. There is a threat of frost tonight. I have moved them close to the house. I hope they look this good tomorrow morning!

Buddies

Ben is running track this year. He is not a fast runner. He doesn't seem to find it important. Sprinting isn't really in his vocabulary. However, he is running, he is getting exercise, and this is important!

At this track meet, he ran the 800. He wasn't so excited about it. However, one of his closest friends, was determined to cheer him on. She didn't run a race, she didn't want to. She through the shot put. She did run beside him the entire race to be his private cheerleader! It was sweet. The two of them just crack me up. He is not a very boyish boy and she is not a very girlish girl. They are great friends!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Here in the south we get to start planting a bit earlier than y'all in the north! They usually advise waiting until Derby weekend (that is the Kentucky Derby, no need to say Kentucky here....it is the first weekend in May) but it has been so very warm we went ahead and planted. Daffodils and tulips are almost finished here. The red buds look beautiful. Our hostas are up and the leaves are even open. We have divided them and mulched around them already. We probably could have divided more, but that will have to wait for fall.

Yesterday we planted lettuce, herbs, and 7 pots of flowers. They all look so beautiful. I will get pictures soon. I just pray that it doesn't frost. It looks promising. The weather report looks perfect.

This weekend the garden gets plowed up and we will put in peas, lettuce, and cabbage. I am looking for kohlrabi plants. I cannot find any. I will have to order seeds next year and start them under lamps. I am still hoping to find them.

So, what are you planting? Don't you just LOVE getting those hands into the dirt?!?!?!?!?

Refreshing PTL Meeting

Refreshing PTL meeting....is that an oxymoron? Tonight, we had just that! It isn't often that we have a PTL meeting with good attendance. It isn't often that we have a PTL meeting without an argument. It isn't often that we have a productive PTL meeting. I am not sure why any of these things are true. Tonight, however, it was great. There was a great crowd for the Learning Fair! (Ben learned to make fudge. It was SO good. He is the new holiday fudge maker in our house!) After viewing the projects, everyone settled down for devotions provided by the seventh and eighth graders. We then gave out awards for this grading period. Ben's Young Author's book captured 3rd place. Then came the meeting. We had some productivity! We made a very exciting decision about Heritage Weekend. (HUGE here in Lanesville. A big old farm equipment fair.) PTL always has a booth to sell something. One parent said we needed to not sale anything, but rather give things away so that we can let people know who we are and what we are about. We are going to GIVE things away. I have been hoping this could happen for FOREVER! Very exciting! Then, if that wasn't a long enough list of positives, we voted for new officers. There were more than enough choices for the positions! It was so very exciting! I didn't know there could be such refreshing PTL meetings! We then left, at 8:00! Yes, all of this was accomplished in two short hours! I still cannot believe it happened! YEAH!

Cats

I read Susan's blog and she talks about the need for her cats to hunt and roam the wild. Sometimes I feel guilty because I do not give that opportunity to my cats. Then, I realized yesterday that I do! There are many times the cats go and roam the basement. It IS an adventure down there! They often bring up mice they find. Ellie never kills them completely. He wants to get enjoyment out of them first! Yes, this freaks me out. I am not a country girl. I pretend to be one, but I AM NOT! Well, yesterday I was working in the kitchen and I see Orange Kitty playing with something. It looks like a large piece of black rope. Where did she get that? Then I realize that it is a snake! Grant it, it is not a huge snake. It is very thin and a little over a foot long. YUCK! It appears to be dead. Can they act as if they are dead? This I am unsure of! I hit it with a hoe and it freaked me out! Ben hit it again. It was dead. I bribed him to get rid of it outside. I just couldn't bring myself to pick it up! He used the tongs from the fireplace. Not fun. So last night I just kept dreaming we had snakes everywhere. I thank my hunter cats for conquering the beast, I just wish I didn't know there were any down there in the first place. Rich had opened some screened windows in the basement to air it out a bit, that is probably how it got in. Not a happy thing!

Never Boring

It appears that life is never boring. For those of you who don't live around these parts, we were awakened this morning around 5:35 a.m. by an earthquake! It is my first earthquake! Well, my mom says there was one when I was a baby, but I don't remember it. Ben came running into our room as our bed was shaking. It was a very uneasy feeling. My first thoughts jumped to the fact that there must have been an explosion. I remember the Hollywood Candy Factory in Centralia catching on fire and exploding. The windows at my Aunt Beth and Uncle Wayne's house rattled and the house shook. That was the first thought that popped into my head. They say it was a 5.4 on the rector scale, and it started in Southern Illinois. I can promise you that life at school won't be normal today! We pray there is no aftershock! That would not be fun in a classroom! We thank God that it looks like no one was hurt by this!

Amazing Boys!

Last weekend we spent our time in Indy for the Destination Imagination competition. Ben's group did not advance to state, but one team did. The boys are all freinds of Ben's, so he and Rich went along while I judged. These 7 boys really amazed us all! They were so great! At Conner Prairie we had a picnic lunch. While we were eating, some of them started a contest to see who could do the best a reciting this week's catechism passages. They happened to be about confession. Our school-wide morning openings have made an impact bigger than you sometimes imagine!

Then, we were at dinner. The waiter at Friday's offered to put all the children in a huge booth, and the parents at a different table. It sounded nice. However, we could not see the children because of a wall at the back side of the booth. This made us a bit apprehensive, it was seven boys and a girl under the age of 10. The staff assured us they would take good care of them. We still sent someone over every few minutes to check on them. I saw their food coming and went to pray with them. They had already started praying! I was so very impressed! It was a wonderful weekend!

They even left the swimming pool without complaining when it was time to get ready for the next day's activities.

It made me stop and think about these children. I was thinking about the 3rd and 4th graders in our school in general. I was also thinking about Ben, he is, after all, supposed to be in the 4th grade. Their faith is such an amazing priority to them at this stage in life. They are not bogged down with all the social pressures....they are little sponges. I wish our church started communing at an earlier age. These children seem so much more focused on their Savior then our confirmands sometimes appear to be. They aren't too cool to share their faith. They are not embarrassed to sing their praises. They are a breath of fresh air. Just my thoughts for the day!

Crafty not Artistic

I have always been a crafty person. In the 4th grade I got a large box of plaster of Paris figures and paints with brushes. Everyone got painted plaster as gifts. From that I went to latch hook. Were you a latch hooker? Why did we ever do that anyway? I also made the cute potholders from the loom. I was always up for crafting.

As an adult I got into cake decorating, card making, rubber stamping, scrap booking, painting, and of course jewelry. I have cross stitched also. I enjoy doing so many things! I have a good eye for color, if I do say so myself.

Even though I can craft my way through a thousand projects, I have never considered myself artistic. I cannot draw for the life of me. I don't have artistic handwriting. I also have not had an artistic flair for photography. My friend Katrina takes such cool artistic pictures. She, of course, was an art major. She is SO VERY artistic. I have been envious of her photography skills. Well, I think I finally took a pictures I would consider to be a bit artistic. I really love this picture. Ben is actually in an out-house. Tee Hee! So what do you think? Is there hope for me?

A Hard Day's Work

Today we went to Conner Prairie. What a wonderful day. I didn't realize this beautiful gem was nestled so beautifully in Indianapolis. We are here because I am judging at the DI State competition tomorrow morning. A group of our boys get to compete tomorrow too. We took a field trip to Conner Prairie on the way to the competition.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day! We couldn't have asked for better weather. And, Ben learned how to do all kinds of tasks around the house! I caught it on film, so I know he can do it!

If you haven't been to Conner Prairie, and you are close enough to go, do it! I cannot wait to go back. I wish I could be a worker there! All the employees dress in period clothing and play the role of someone in the community. What fun that would be! They actually do the tasks of daily life. Some were working in the garden. One woman had just finished making lunch, it smelled SO wonderful! Potter was being made and animals were being taken care of. We even got to see some new lambs that were born last night! It was fantastic!

Could I Interest Anyone in a Spot of Tea ?

I've been known to throw a pretty darn good tea party, if I do say so myself. I haven't, however, had one in quite some time. I look forward to having more time on my hands to do that again more often!

Yesterday Rich and I cleaned out our pantry. YIKES!!!!! I should be embarrassed! There were many things in there that were no longer useable. That is not good. This is why one's pantry should not get so out of hand!

I discovered that I had SEVERAL packages of scone mix! I even have a nice variety of flavors. I know I have raspberry, lemon, and chocolate. I cannot remember the others. So, if your interested in sitting down to a spot of tea I can make you some lovely scones and even some homemade Devonshire cream to go with them! Just let me know and we will make a date! I might even whip up some special treats like the ones in the pictures! Yes, I did make these myself :0)

Oblivious!!!!!!!

Today we went to the ball field for the afternoon. Brian and Emma's boys both had their first baseball game, we went to be supportive. It was a fun afternoon. Emma was determined to see her boys play their first games, I don't blame her at all!! So, Brian wheeled her out in the mud and gunk. It actually appeared to go much more simply that I had imagined it would. So, Emma was positioned in a place where she could see her boys without sinking into the mud. I cannot tell you how many people walked up to the fence and stood right in front of her so she could not see at all. Okay, maybe it wasn't that many....maybe 4 or 5.....but it seemed like a TON! Could they not see her and the wheelchair, and her leg sticking out? Could they not see that she couldn't move to see around them? Did they even notice her there at all? How many times are we oblivious to the things going on around us? It made me think about myself and how aware I am. I am sure I could be better, more considerate. I will work on this!

I've Been Tagged

So, Rich tagged me to take the "Which Muppet are You?" test. I bet you all thought I would come out Miss Piggy :0) Well....HA!

I tag Rebekah, Karie (you can post it as a comment on my blog) and Angie! Angie, you really should be adding this to your own blog....oh wait....you don't have one......and why is that again?

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know. You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems. Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green. Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Excrutiating!

Today I held audtions for our Spring Musical. Everyone from grades K-4 are in the musical. There are 6 major speaking parts, that really aren't THAT major, that the 3rd and 4th graders were invited to audition for. Today 17 kids tried out for 6 parts. I should have picked a show with more parts! Everyone did so very well. They are such a talented group of kids. I am having a very difficult time trying to decide what to do. They are all so very good. I hate to hurt anyone's feelings. But, we must do what we must do. It is nice to have so much talent! It is going to be a GREAT show!

Sleep

Is there anyone else out there that thinks that sleep is a waste of time? I really just wish I didn't need to sleep. Sometimes, I try to act like I don't need sleep. This happens mostly at night. I am rarely ever ready to go to bed. I just have things I want to stay up and do, or catch up on the Tivo. I stay up, and then I wake up with a headache, like a hangover. That's where I am at today. I want to act like it is still Spring Break. I want to stay up late. This week there is no catching up a few minutes in the morning. It is time to get up and get going. I gotta teach those little darlings without being a monster! I so wish I didn't need to sleep!