Portsmouth

 Jeremy and I were invited to use our friends' condo one weekend when they were not using it. It came at the perfect time. The children stayed with Grandma and Grandad and Jeremy and I had a weekend alone in Olde Towne Portsmouth. The condo was just so cute and cozy we could have just settled in for the whole weekend.

We strolled around the Historic Olde Towne. There were so many beautiful, old houses.

The green one was my favorite. The top stories had stained glass in the window. Since it was for sale, we looked it up so we could see pictures of the inside.

That afternoon we drove over to Virginia Beach. Of course, that meant a round of mini golf.

Dinner was at a local restaurant in Portsmouth that is in the middle of the marina. It was worth the wait to eat on the water. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

On the way home,  visited Norfolk Botanical Gardens. I love gardens. I told Jeremy that I think gardens are my beach.

I'm sure glad I chose to spend my life with this man. We've grown an awful lot together over the years. I'm so very thankful for him.

The winter orchids were blooming in the tropical greenhouse. We got a little carried away with taking pictures of all the different varieties. I'm not posting all of them!

The botanical gardens are adjacent to the Norfolk Airport. We took our lunch and sat on the hill to watch the planes while we ate. Now I want to fly somewhere!
 

We talked nonstop on the drive to Portsmouth and on the way home Jeremy watched the Master's and we were quiet. I think we were also soaking up the quiet before we picked up our children! 

More Demolition Stories

 The steps got to this point and Jeremy wasn't quite sure if he was going to get them out. That front layer was 5 bricks deep. He spent a week thinking and watching videos and on Saturday he went back out.

 

He and Josiah got the inside layer out pretty quickly.

 I went on to weed a flowerbed and pretty soon Jeremy had something to show me. That last layer was completely broken up.

And Josiah pushed over the last side.

We loaded the bricks into the trailer and they put the dirt back.

Now it looks like we've never had steps. lol.

The afternoon that Janell, Meghan and all the kids were over, I mentioned that the privacy fence was the next thing to go. Janell and I started looking at what it would take to take it down and one thing led to the next. Aliza kicked out the bottom of the slats.

Aliza then loosened the middle and then Janell could lift the slat off the top nails. When the boys came around trying to figure out what we were doing we said, "We are just 3 grown women trying to take down a fence."

Getting the frame down involved Renee, Anna and Gideon.

Then we had to dig out the posts which had about 12 inches of cement and another 18 inches of post below the cement. Gideon and Anna started the digging.

 

Gideon and Josiah ultimately got that post out together.

There was one post remaining. Janell had to leave. Meghan kept looking at that post and decided that we needed to get it out. She started digging...and digging...and digging. I helped a little but was mostly moral support. lol We got it to the point where the post was very wiggly, but we could not lift it out. Caleb, Josiah and Gideon came and they pulled it out for us. Project accomplished.

The next day was another nice afternoon that we were home so the sandbox frame was on the agenda.

The first side came out pretty easily.

The kids did the second side completely on their own.

Then Isaiah decided to buy himself in dirt.

The last side was hard. It was screwed into the deck steps. Josiah and worked and worked to get that board off. I saw so much of Jeremy in him. He would think and try something and then try something else. There came a point where I realized he was not going to give up.

I really thing that board had won. I went inside and pretty soon I heard celebration--he got the board off one screw. It wasn't too much longer that he had that board completely off.

I'm glad Anna could help with the sandbox. She had been pretty sad about losing the sandbox. Being involved in the process made it much easier for her.

 

Easter Celebration

 It was a perfect Easter Sunday. The weather was wonderful and we were with family and able to meet together in church. That's all we needed this year! Mom had so many varieties of daffodils to decorate the table.

 

After the adults stretched out dessert as long as possible, the men hid Easter eggs in the back yard while the children waited on the front porch. And an aunt (me) made the cousins take a picture together. Look at these big kids!

I missed getting a picture of Anna hunting eggs, but I did get one of her in her Easter dress. She could hardly wait to wear this dress.

I think all of us realize that every holiday with Grandad is a gift that we no longer take for grated. He sat on the deck and enjoyed watching the children look for eggs.

Isaiah and Ezra sorted their candy by type and then did some serious trading. Actually all of the children were making trading deals. Grandma had asked each of them for their favorite candy, all of which were found in the eggs. Naturally, then, everyone was trying to trade for their favorite. It was fun and it continued into the next day at our house!

Before church we got a family picture. The colors were not planned! lol.

Isaiah was upset that he didn't have his best funny face ready for the goofy picture...so he got his own silly picture.

Since we have church in the evening, our Easter Sunday was topped off with church. Easter music is just the best. Aliza, Renee and Anna have been working on a worship dance that they prepared for Easter. They did such a nice job and I was proud of them for being willing to try something new and outside of their comfort zone. Dad preached, probably, his most memorable Easter sermon where he dresses up and tells the Easter story in first person from the point of view of Peter. No Bible, no notes--it's all from memory--and really draws the audience into the story as if they were sitting and listening to an eyewitness account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Communion finished off the service.

 It was a big day and I came home with a heart full of gratitude for the sacrifice that Jesus made by coming to earth as a man and laying down his life as a sacrifice for my sin so that I can have a relationship with God and spend eternity in heaven.

Joy Dare::March

 7917. Lego building

7918. Sounds of intense playing

7919. A very sunny morning

7920. Reading with Anna

7921. Celebrating Aliza

7922. Chick Fil A for the youth group

7923. Finding signs of spring in the yard

7924. Opportunities

7925. So many feelings and prayers

7926. Anna was so excited

7927. Some time at Mom's house

7928. 6 great kids at supper

7929. Sleepover fun

7930. Everyone slept

7931. Aliza had so much to tell me

7932. Did more "demo" than I planned on (lol)

7933. A quiet evening after a big day

7934. Working out the budget

7935. After church dessert

7936. Aliza and I could laugh at our poor communication skills

7937. After well check snack with Aliza

7938. Completely relying on God's intervention

7939. Sitting outside to do the grocery order

7940. Anna's scavenger hunt for Daddy

7941. Japanese and ice cream cake to celebrate Jeremy

7942. I pulled off a birthday gift surprise

7943. Windows open = a taste of spring

7944. A winning Mom plan

7945. The first Home Depot date

7946. Pulling together a gift was so much fun

7947. Schoolwork on the porch

7948. Some things working out

7949. Waking up early

7950. Isaiah finishing a couple subjects

7951. Another outside afternoon

7952. A long visit with my mother in law

7953. A little more preparation

7954. Time alone with my mom

7955. Fist tacos turned out well

7956. Bursts of yellow in the yard

7957. Isaiah wanting me to read out loud to him

7958. Evening light

7959. Good Bible study discussion

7960. Josiah laughing with his friend

7961. Everyone motivated to get their work finished

7962. Aliza made cheesecake by herself

7963. Dance costume excitement

7964. Seeing Aliza's dances

7965. Anna's turn to be excited about dance costumes

7966. All the high school Mom feelings

7967. Stopping everything to pray

7968. Watching Aliza grow up and try new things

7969. Isaiah fell asleep on my shoulder

7970. A day to just focus on school

7971. Sitting in the sun, watching children play

7972. Trees starting to bloom

7973. Afternoon walk

7974. Sunday conversations

7975. Reading time

7976. A friend in quarantine = time to talk!

7977. Another morning walk with Isaiah

7978. Anna's mail arrived a day early and she is thrilled

7979. Sent the children back outside after supper

7980. A slow paced week

7981. Green leaves starting on the bushes

7982. Amazing answer to prayer

7983. Joining zoom call from the porch

7984. Having children is all stages of growth

7985. The official preconstruction meeting

7986. A hot enough day that it was more comfortable outside this evening

7987. Scones made

7988. Celebrating Janell

7989. All the details of the day worked out

7990. The boys had fun fishing

7991. The BEST news

7992. Sunday evening family dessert

7993. Ready to face a new week

7994. Trees in bloom

7995. Still learning to enjoy the journey

7996. 10 kiddos playing made up games

7997. Visiting on the deck

7998. Anna doing so much better with division

7999. Learning to live with tensions of happy and sad, understanding and not understanding

8000. Cookie baking instigator

 

For-tea

 My sister has joined me in the 40s club!

The first plan was to go to tea, but, in the end, we prepared our own tea. 

The menu was salad, soup, tea sandwiches, scones, chocolate covered strawberries, macaroons, and...

...cupcakes! A friend of mine bakes from home as a second job. When I saw her post succulent decorated cupcakes a while ago, I knew I had to find an excuse to order some! Janell was definitely the perfect excuse.

Mom put the cupcakes in glass cups with rocks on the bottom. They looked like they were planted and were part of the place setting.

The advantage of making our own tea is that we could spend as long as we wanted talking and eating. Then we watched the first episode of Growing Floret on Magnolia Network. Floret is the flower farm that Janell and I like buying seeds from. We had been saving it to watch together and that afternoon was the perfect opportunity.

There would have been a time when Janell and I couldn't imagine being friends or that we would have anything in common, but now I count her as one of my dearest friends. I can't imagine doing life without her! I'll always admire her ability to listen thoughtfully and then calmly deliver a one line zinger of wisdom.