Homeschool Formal

 Last Friday was a day where the whole day was planned. I started the day with an eye Dr appointment that I was not looking forward to. Yes, I'm getting glasses for reading. Yes, it took me forever to pick out frames. 

When I got home at 11:00, I was super thankful that everyone was finished with school. It's soooo nice to have bigger kids to help Isaiah with school when I have to do something away from home in the morning. 

We had lunch and I continued the cleaning for company that I had planned for the day. I took a minute to relax and I heard a truck stop and then the backup beeping. I knew what it was. I KNEW that on the busiest day our lumber would be delivered. I had even told Jeremy that it was going to happen. The delivery guy was so funny...he couldn't believe that all this lumber was coming to our house. It took a phone call and a minute to figure out where to have him unload it.

 

It was an "oh my goodness! This is actually going to happen!" moment.

Not much later it was time for Meghan to come over to do Aliza's hair for her homeschool formal. I finished cleaning bathrooms and making beds for Jeremy's family.

Aliza wanted her hair in a waterfall braid. At the last minute she decided to go with straightened hair instead of curls. Her friend had a dress for her to borrow and it fit perfectly. How is this almost grown up beauty my daughter?!

The formal was held at an event venue about 50 minutes away. We carpooled with her friend, Alena, and met at her house to take pictures before.

Janell made wrist corsages of paper carnations and rose buds for Aliza, Alena and Maddie. Maddie met the girls at the formal so we didn't get her in the before pictures.

Alena's mom, Melinda, and I showed up with matching colors so a picture was in order! At the last minute, Melinda and I decided to eat out and spend the evening closer to the venue instead of driving back and forth. We walked around downtown Cambridge and ate a Chinese restaurant.

Meanwhile at home, Jeremy's parents arrived and Josiah, Anna and Isaiah broke in the piles of lumber by climbing all over them and jumping off them. Isaiah was limping the next day from twisting his ankle in a jump.

The formal theme was a masquerade. When we drove in, another guy from youth group pulled in right behind us. Parents weren't allowed out of the cars, but we grabbed a quick picture of the 3 of them out the window!

This group of friends has been such an incredible gift to Aliza. She treasures these friendships. It has been such a joy to watch them encourage each other. They had SO much fun together that night. They danced the whole time. I told Aliza that I'm sure she had more fun in her one formal than I had at all the formals I attended combined.

Knowing that Aliza and Alena had a really big Saturday ahead of them the next day, we headed back to the venue a little early. It worked out perfectly because on our way the girls texted that they were FREEZING and ready to head home. The entire event was outside which I didn't realize was the plan. 

When we got home, Grandma and Grandpa and Joel and Amanda were here because dance recitals were Saturday and I'm saving that for the next post...
 

Taking Out the Deck

 The last piece of demolition was the deck. Originally we did not plan to remove it ourselves, but Jeremy was glad that he decided to do it himself. We saved a lot of the boards under the deck. Now that lumber is the price of gold, we were not throwing away any piece that could be used for another project (like raised garden beds).

Jeff came with his truck and helped Jeremy with most of the project. The first order of business was to move the deck steps to the porch so that we could use the front door.

That plan worked out perfectly.

Next step was to attempt to save the flat piece of deck to reuse. Jeremy knew it was just sitting on beams, but he wasn't sure if it would hold up being drug off the beams. It did! Jeff pulled it off with his truck and moved it to the back of the yard.

Then it was a matter of deconstructing the remaining piece of the deck. They cut it in pieces and used the truck to pull them off the foundation.

At the end of the day we were left with a bare space where the deck used to be! Jeremy left the step out of the doors and will take them out at the last minute. We have 19 years of habit going out the back door to break!

Now we wait to get to the top of the mason's list for the foundation.
 

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.