Slip and Slide

What do you get when you mix one slip and slide with two days of rain and a corner of a porch: You get two salamanders and one huge green toad! We have been sad with our lack of frog findings this summer. With the lack of rain and plenty of hot sun we have not be able to catch much amphibian wildlife. That dry spell is over. We went out today in the wet ,62 degree weather and mommy found the largest salamander ever with his buddy in our wadded up slip and slide today. While I was looking to pick up the salamander (the girls actually picked it up) I moved the slip and slide and saw at the corner of my eye a huge green frog. We've been catching smaller wood frogs, so when this monster jumped out, it made me jump, but then i recovered. To see that look of awe and excitement on the kid's faces was what we live out in the woods for. We look at all of this experiences as gifts to us. I feel like we shouldn't be viewing these undercover animal worlds and yet we are blessed to have a bird's eye view of it. We proceed to make a salamander habitat to put our two purplish dudes and we put big man in our kiddie tub that has accumulated 3 inches of rain water from the past weekend. Connor felt like a big guy being able to put the dirt in the habitat . It's in these moments that I feel God's hands touching all of us. We are so lucky to be witness to mother nature up close. My kids are hopefully developing a loving sense of nature and all her wonders. I know I am. It's all out there as long as we take the time to be quiet, keep our eyes open and let the loving stillness of nature be our leader. Just do it and you will be amazed at all you discover in nature and in your children.

Yellow teeth

I love my mother. I love my mother so much that people will stop me in conversation to ask about her and all her ways. I love my mother so much I tell everyone that they have to meet her. Growing up with seven kids (me being the last) must have been a hard endevor. She was always so laid back in the most stressful situations. I figured out the relaxed state she had came from cigarettes. I do love that my mother had cigarettes or who knows how my life would have turned out. Cigarettes gave me a mother who rolled with the punches and knew everything was going to turn out in the end.
Well, my mother stopped smoking about five years ago and she is a little more tense about some things nowadays. She can notice a particular thing about one of my siblings and remark on it to everyone. The latest one is her so called obsession to my oldest sister's teeth. Now my sister always dresses like a million bucks, she socially gifted, she looks ten years younger than she is and takes my mothers comments like a grain of salt. I've heard the comments " Can't you sister wear something other than black" or " I wish your sister would wear pink lipstick sometimes." The newest one is her teeth color. They look fine to me and my sister's dentist said her teeth are perfectly fine for a 53 yr old. Not to my mother. My sister related the conversation they had at my niece's baptism last weekend.

Mom: " Hey darling, have you been drinking a lot of coffee lately?"
Sis : "No mom, not really more than normal."
Mom: " Well your teeth look really yellow."
Sis: " Well, my dentist said they are fine."
Mom" Well, when I went to introduce you to my friend, you smiled and your teeth were so yellow."


Luckily my sister really doesn't take it personal. I said to tell her "At least my teeth are real and we should be thankful for that," but she couldn't be as fast as me. Oh mother, we love you so much and you make us laugh with you and about you. These stories are just the type of memories I will cherish when she is gone someday. Oh yeah Mom, I will not get a perm like 1990 at my senior prom and rat my bangs. I know it was cute, but no thanks.

update

So i am ready to start this new life as a homeschooler. After much thought and prayer, I feel like the right decision is to homeschool my oldest. It was one of the hardest and deepest soul searching I've done in my life, but here goes......

Since we've made this decision I feel like God keeps reinforcing my decision. For example, the day we told McKenna this wave of peace and happiness came over her. She is back to being my happy and joyful daughter. The wave of tireness and depression have left her. This summer has been so happy for all of us. All of my friends can't wait to get the kids back in school and I've feel like they are just into the swing of summer and really enjoying eachother. Connor will be sad when Kate goes off to kindergarten two days a week and we'll be separated. Yes, Kate is going to go to t he public school for kindergarten. My DH feels like that is right for her right now. She really wants to experience this school thing, where McK knows what she is giving up. We will revisit our decisions at the end of the school year and go from there.

All I know is that there is this peace and joyfulness in my house and it's God's love that surrounds them all. If I "remain in him" it will all work out. I just have to put him above all and the rest of the priorities will line up.

Wish me luck!