Sweet Potatoes and Pumpkins

When Grandad dug for sweet potatoes last year, there were none. This year, though, there were lots and some were HUGE! On Facebook, someone commented that the name on the side of the wheelbarrow is fitting. "He is a 'craftsman' of the soil." I like that! It is true!

We had a couple sweet potatoes for supper tonight and they are yummy! I'm pretty sure the one below would feel a family of four!

It was hot and I was sweating while I worked outside today, but it was time to bring in the fall feeling anyway. I liked this hashtag #fallingforfall that I saw this week. It happens every year. I don't want summer to end, but then fall comes and we have some very gorgeous days and cooler evenings and I fall for fall every year.

This time #fallingforfall looks like me sitting on the porch with a cup of hot tea reading my book or one of Aliza's textbooks that I'm trying to stay ahead of her in! It's taken forever, but I have come to really enjoy the porch. The little table is waiting for paint...some day.

A Chincoteague Afternoon

September 7, last Saturday, was 2 years since Gramma died and we made plans with some of my family to have ice cream together. Jeremy and I decided to make an afternoon of it and take the children to the beach. We arrived at the beach only to find out that most of the parking area was washed out by the tropical storm conditions the day before. People were parking way down the road. 

It was about the time of day when a lot of people leave the beach so we decided to do the lighthouse trail and then go back to see if we could find a parking space.

That day the lighthouse was open for tours. I had never been to the top. Anna did NOT want to go to the top so we split up and went in shifts. Jeremy took Aliza and Isaiah first. It's 175 steps in a spiral and going up you can see through the stairs. Isaiah got scared and Jeremy carried him all the way up and all the way down.

While we were waiting, Josiah decided that even though he is scared of heights he was going to go to the top. He did! And Aliza decided to go to the top again with us. Josiah's hands were cold and he held on to the rail for dear life, but he made it to the top and back down.

That's Aliza at the rail! And, oh yes, I was the one with very sore legs the next day. Going down was harder on my legs than going up.

There was a parking space when we went back to the beach! We had less than an hour and there were WAY more people than I am comfortable around on the beach. But we were at the beach with Daddy and the children loved every second of him being there. The beach just isn't what we often choose to do on weekends.

A quick clean up was required and then we met Janell's family, my Dad and my Grandad at Island Creamery for ice cream. I love that Grandad lives here and we can surround him on days like today.

My current favorite at Island Creamery is Snickers Cheesecake in a waffle cone.

This dude chose a chocolate milkshake. How does anyone, even a 4 year old, get a milkshake--with a straw--ALL over their shirt, face, hands and ear??!!

These simple outings and times together and ones that I hold close to my heart.

The First Week of School

Wow. What a week. That was hard. These days are long. Those are the thoughts that I had pretty much all week last week. On the second day of school I was texting Jeremy saying "this homeschooling gig is not for the faint of heart." By Friday evening I had my head on the table telling Jeremy how discouraged I was at the length of our school days and different antics I dealt with and how tired I was. Later that evening, I talked to one of my customers, with children similar ages to my oldest ones, and her days had been going about the same. I felt more encouraged after I talked to her. I think it's just all of us settling back into the routine and work load. There were some tears the first day but none after that. The challenges are pretty much what I expected. I'm being stricter about some things to develop character--in me and the children as it turns out!

Let's talk about kindergarten for a minute. My youngest child is in kindergarten! It didn't really hit me until he did the first Snack of the Week that all of the children did. Cupcakes. (Next week is the most memorable snack of the week.) He got his first reading book on Friday. Granted, it didn't have any words in it, but still!

Isaiah is a super willing learner. I have to remind him to get back to work and stick with it just like the others, but he hasn't fought me about going back to his table. Isaiah is really good about following his teacher's directions and he worked SO hard to make his "t"s. Since he is a young kindergartner, I  can see that he has to work extra in fine motor skills. But, then again, he holds his pencil correctly! He's ready, he's doing great and I'm cheering him on with a smile on my face and maybe a twinge in my heart here and there!

Joy Dare::August

6615. Morning bike ride before a day in the car
6616. Safe trip
6617. Motel excitement
6618. Totally different kind of adventure
6619. Golf cart transportation
6620. Arriving at Grandma's house
6621. Double teaming with Janell
6622. Changing plans on the fly
6623. Grandma's chocolate chip cookies
6624. All of the children enjoyed everything we did
6625. The home we have to stay at in Ohio
6626. Really enjoyed our day at Sauder's Village
6627. Visiting with Grandma
6628. Life is so much better with grace
6629. A great waitress at Eat n Park
6630. Hotel slumber party with my children
6631. Grandma Karen could meet us for lunch
6632. Home
6633. Jeremy
6634. Slept 10.5 hours
6635. Grocery shopping alone
6636. A new winning supper recipe
6637. Spruced up yard
6638. Menno Tea on the porch

6639. Listening to Aliza and Josiah by the fire pit
6640. YouTube plug in to block recommended videos
6641. The feeling that maybe we did something right
6642. All the new textbooks
6643. New favorite Starbucks drink--Blueberry Black Tea Lemonade
6644. School shopping with the girls
6645. Isaiah truly thrilled with his school supplies
6646. Made Lydia talk to me on the drive home
6647. Finally saw Andy and Judy again
6648. Crafting time
6649. Teaching the teen girls again
6650. Trampoline fun
6651. Anna's Dutch Blitz winning streak
6652. Mostly unplugged weekend
6653. Tubing in the stream
6654. Little League World Series
6655. Time with my aunt
6656. Just watching my children
6657. Late night drive home = quiet car
6658. Mexican sunflower

6659. So. Many. Hummingbirds.
6660. Catching up with Mom
6661. Favorite mugs
6662. Advanced copies of books
6663. Daytime thunderstorm
6664. Renee told me how much she loves coming to my house
6665. Josiah made cookies
6666. A little bit of schoolwork
6667. Choosing not to worry
6668. Chincoteague date
6669. Pool party and fellowship
6670. Flexible enough schedule to pick up food boxes
6671. Connecting with Betsy
6672. Birthday party fun
6673. Sabbath rest
6674. Sunday porch sitting
6675. Watched LLWS Championship game
6676. Good test results
6677. Aliza's amazing attitude
6678. Slumber party
6679. Dance shoes ordered = excited girls
6680. Nice time at a new beach with friends
6681. Jeremy can pick up forgotten supper ingredients
6682. Overheard Isaiah: "Me and you are brothers. That means we stay close together."
6683. Picking pumpkins was so much fun
6684. Jeremy bailed me out on supper making for the 2nd time this week
6685. My mighty Grandad
6686. A new park with new friends
6687. End of summer ice cream

6688. An afternoon with Aliza
6689. When the last section of weeks pulls out in one big clump
6690. Evening shopping with the girls