Trampolines & Amish Wedding Receptions

I should be heading to bed as it's almost 11:00 pm but....we were outside until almost 10:00. It's been a busy day - with both routine and new experiences. This morning a friend from church dropped off her son Brent - same age as my Son2 - for the day so she could go to work. All 3 boys played together very well for most of the day - alternated between being inside watching TV or doing PS2 or outside - riding scooters, rollerblades, playing with the water hoses or attempting to set up the new trampoline (that's been in the box in the barn for over a year now). I was really proud of all three boys - they got the parts out, sorted and lined up in the right order. They even got them started put together - until they were physically not strong enough to go any further. I wasn't either - so they willingly put everything back in the barn. In the meantime I worked on getting the mowing done on our two acres. I also knew I needed to get the gift wrapped and card made for the Amish wedding reception I was attending this evening. When Brent's dad came to pick him up he helped get the frame for the trampoline together....using a rubber mallet and me standing on the other end of whatever piece he was working on - holding it together with a log between my belly/hip and the frame. I simply can't describe how it looked.

By 5:15 I was still outside - gift not wrapped, card not made, still in sweaty, dirty shorts and t-shirt - and needing to be at the reception dinner by 6:00 pm! Quick shower, change - get card and gift together - head to car. Son 2 accidentally drops the gift and it shatters - still wrapped. So I head off with it in the car - knowing I can't deliver it. It was rather overwhelming to pull into this Amish home - filled with both Amish and "English" that I didn't know. I was made to feel very welcome and well fed. Probably my most enjoyable part of the evening was beginning to get to know just a few of the children that were there - trying to figure out who belonged to who and getting to play with a couple of babies.

Then home to spray the fruit trees, finish putting up the trampoline with another friend's help and finally inside to clean up (again). There's dishes to be done yet tonight and laundry that should be cared for. Yikes - a woman's work seems never to be done.

For You Sis

I was reminded tonight that the purpose of blogging was to write stuff. Small problem - I haven't been able to think of much to write about. Actually that's not true - I think of stuff but by the time I get time to sit at the computer it's gone - guess I need to carry a notebook and write down at least the initial thought so that I can explore it later.

We had an amazing - for lack of a better description - thunderstorm this afternoon. Very dark sky, heavy downpour, pea-sized hail. Pea-sized hail doesn't sound like much but I haven't seen hail at all in the 2 years I've lived here. Both Son 2 and I got soaked running from the house to the barn and back - loved hearing the rain on the tin roof. (We actually went to the barn to close the door to protect the topless lawn mower.) It rained hard for about 15 minutes or so then quit and the sun came out. Thankfully my flowers didn't seem to be damaged and all got a good water. I'm slowly getting a perennial flower bed in. Actually this year I added some Gerbera daisies - dont' think those are really perennials. However I'm hoping that the seeds will come back next year. In the meantime, I have these cheerful, colorful flowers to enjoy while I'm waiting on my purple coneflower and shasta daisy to open.

This evening - after the storms had gone and the sun had come out for abit - we saw a doe in the yard under the apple tree by the fence. It probably stayed 10 or 15 minutes before it hopped back over the fence and disappeared into the woods. Of course I couldnt' remember where I'd put my camera so didn't get a picture this time. However I guess I need to go out tomorrow and take pictures of the flowerbeds I'm getting in.

Ok...I've rambled on enough. More another time.

Unmet Expectations

Tonight I sit here recovering from a bout of tears - over unmet expectations. I'm struggling with my past insecurities and questioning again the wisdom of making such a major move as moving from OK to IN. After all we still don't have any family here in IN. Of course - if we still lived in OK we would see my family much more rarely adn likely not see Mike's family at all. However I would still have a regular steady job, health insurance for myself and the boys. And I would still have friends that showed up to events involving the boys and were supportive. My darling Son 1 said that he couldn't imagine still living in OK - quite a compliment coming from someone who so deparately didn't want to move - let alone move this far away.

I expected - when we moved - that we would have been able to get into a church that I could make friends at without it taking two years. I expected that we would have regular times together with S & C and their family - and that C would be willing to mentor the boys. I expected that when I needed help the help would be there - somewhat willingly. I didnt' expect to feel like I was an imposition when I needed help getting a vehicle from one place to another - as it's impossible to drive two vehicles at once. Or when I needed someone to talk to. I expected that there would be people willing to attend the boys' events and to mentor them to be godly Christian men.

I question the wisdom of this move - yet I think back to the fact that I literally walked into a bus route rather than having to sub. I think back and realize that long before S found this house I had seen the "for sale" sign very late one night when we were coming for a visit - in the dark. I think back on how fast my house in OK sold even being in poor shape. And I realize that God's hand was in those details. So He knows the situation now - He knows how much I hurt inside over the job switch, over the loneliness and not fitting in; I have to believe that He still has a plan and that He is still in control. But the loneliness is HUGE and the responsiblity of being a single parent is also huge.

Wow

Wow. I did it - set this up myself. It's pretty easy as far as the basics are concerned. Now just to learn how to customize it and make it look neat. :)

It's been another busy day - watching my friend's kids; picking up a mess of plants that were otherwise going to be tossed in the trash, prepping strawberries for canning, trying to find the owners of the beautiful black lab that showed up in our yard this morning. Turned out her name was Sadie - and she's now back with her owners. I'm relieved as I really didn't want to turn her into the shelter - she was fairly young, looked to be in good health and very sweet. Also managed to work on #1 son's room - got that mostly done as far as getting it picked up goes. He will be responsible for keeping it neat. Now to get teh carpet out of #2 son's room and all those plants in the ground or bigger pots. Yikes.