First day of School

She is so Happy, she loves school and teachers and kids---and learning. I am so happy to find my house getting cleaner, having some free time. These past 3 weeks have been very hard. The constant multi-tasking took it's toll, and I just wanted to shut down. So grateful for school starting.

Desirae is napping right now. She came home just worn out from her second day at school.

The new camera/phone is great, and I have alot of blogging to do in the future.

Busy, Busy

August flew by, not sure where it went. It buzzed past me in a whirlwind. This gardening stuff is very time consuming. Watering by hand, because we are on city water and pay for it, takes 2 hrs. We've had 20 days of over 90 degree heat. In that heat, I have to water everything every day. Add the harvesting, and the cooking from scratch.....I discovered my days are centered around feeding the family. What happened??? Because of our holistic approach to eating, I imagine. Next thing I'll be raising chickens for eggs. This is the little house with the white picket fence, where I get to be a stay at home mom. I never dreamed it would be for a child with special needs who needs alot of supervision.

With Dave losing his job last October, and also our health benefits....I am now campaigning in my own way for Universal Health care. So, a portion of my time is devoted to reading and learning, and posting on my Face Book. I was afraid of doing this. I don't want to push people away or offend them, but God has made me fearless in this endeavor. I have a few friends who support this and that's all the encouragement I've needed.

I used to use my blog on Multiply in a more thoughtful way. With this blog, I discovered using pictures. In the future I hope to incorporate the two a bit more.

Desi starts school on Tuesday. I am so happy! The bus picks her up at 7 am and drops her at 12:50. That's almost 6 hrs a day of freedom! I can make jam starting next week! I love my girl to death. I also love my free time. This summer I had mostly girl, and free time was a huge luxury I didn't get but a few times. I think I might miss her a bit about the second or third week in.

Mr. Hoffman is finally employed full time. We should have health benefits in 3 months. I will never forget the fear factor of David knowing his meds were going to run out and not knowing how to get more. God was good, and we found out that he doesn't need meds, he just needs to eat right. But I pray for those who have to choose what to go without each month in order to buy their medicine.

I'm also excited that life will return to normal, and I won't have to pinch every penny twice very soon. I made a game of it, but at times, it was tiring.

The camera has been packed away since our last camping trip. I'm getting a new phone soon with a camera and a chip that will load directly into my computer. A Sprint upgrade. I am excited about it.

Well, laundry need folding, there's a bucket of plums looking at me and more to pick from the tree. Blackberries need picking. Life awaits....

My words to live by

My cousin posted her words on her site, so I'm following suite.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
~~Rudyard Kipling



Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

My Little Camper

About a month ago she started doing something new. She freaks out in vaulted bathrooms. Quite literally.

So, I made provisions, bringing along the training potty when we went camping, knowing all that might be available would be a more primitive facility. When we finally found our spot in the last camp ground in Oregon that weekend.....I coaxed her into the bathroom. She was not at all receptive. When we were finished, the girl ran out to her Daddy shouting:

"Daddy! Daddy! It's a WATER POTTY!!!"

Happy Anniversary!

It's been 9 whole years since I moved in with David. This year feels special to me for some reason. I think it's because we are home. Last year I was still unpacking and feeling quite unfamiliar. This year it feels better, and I have my house and my GARDEN!

We were actually married on Mar. 12 2005 at Grace Lutheran in Sebeka, MN. But niether of us remember that date. It comes and goes, and we might recall it a month later. We had always picked this date, July 28 but, it came too late the year we decided we needed to officially tie the knot. Dave's parents were married on 7-27, mine on 7-29, and it was this time of year that I moved in with Dave.

The second day of living with Dave, it was decided that I needed a car. I had a good down payment, but no credit. He signed for my brand new Ford Focus. That was all the committment I needed to give him my heart! No one had ever done something that huge for me before. And he continues to do these things for me, with us working as team to get things done and accomplish goals. It's a really awesome thing when two people work together with the same goal, and the same moral compass. Last night he watered for me, and then did the dishes.

The most awesome part is knowing how much I'm loved. David is God's love to me in person. How else do you describe the unconditonal love of a spouse?

The frog kettle

Saturday morning....nothing to pick or water. Mr. Hoffman took the dog on a hike. Desi is chasing Tigerlily all over the house. And I seem to have found the time to blog on the frog kettle.

Here it is. Daughter tossed the whistle under the porch, and I haven't retrieved it yet. The lid is still sitting out back with the flower pots. Dave has yet to drill holes in the bottom of this thing. I've never drilled metal, so waiting for him....someday. It belonged to Dave's mom (Lynn), and Dave burned it dry and ruined the finish. I saved it for a planter. It's growing frogs.

A new frog this morning!

July Garden Update

The cucumber hill~

The Pumpkins

Looks like a bumper crop of pumpkin this year. We already have many that look like this, and they are still growing and flowering.

Not everything is doing great. The spaghetti squash leaves a bit to be desired.

The Roma Tomatoes

This will be our first ripe Early Girl.

The beans are producing a meal every 2-3 days now.

And so are the sugar peas.

The onions

The lettuce. Mr. Hoffman doesn't seem to mind the bitterness. My second planting did not take off as expected. I think it may be too hot right now. It's a learning curve for me at this point. I planted more again
The bell peppers are doing well. The hot peppers are not doing so hot. Not sure why. I worry that I over water them, then I worry they are not getting enough. Sometimes these things just take off, with little regard to their care. So, I'm waiting on the hot peppers right now.