Easter 2013

This Easter was a normal one for our family.

We always get ready and go to church, then have a family dinner at the church and then after that, hide eggs for all the kids.

This year was a wee bit different only in the fact that for the first time ever, I bought the boys some new clothes.

New clothes are a big deal in this family. I rarely buy brand new clothes for the boys unless it is something they absolutely can't live without (i.e. underwear). This year I thought it was finally time to break down and spend the money on something nice for them to wear.

The outfits were $20 a piece and up to the moment it was time to get dressed, I kept debating with myself whether or not I should return them and get my money back...sometimes I scare myself with how cheap I can be...

The boys made every penny worth it though. They were so cute as they got dressed. Looking in the mirror and then looking again and again. Caleb told me that he wants to wear his new clothes every Sunday to church and Owen was speechless for once in his life.

 We had a rare moment shortly after them getting dressed. They asked me to take their picture. This never happens! But I agreed (of course!) and so we headed out to the porch.

I told them to pose however they wanted to and this is what I got:

The traditional "Line-Up" pose:

Then they switched to the "Back-to-Back" brother pose:

Then some silliness ensued as their next pose was the non-traditional

"Feeding the Chicken" pose:

Followed by the "Moves Like McJagger" pose:

This one was the "Hands-Somewhere-on-Your-Head" pose:

Next a couple of "Good -Boys":

And lastly, they did some individuals.

Caleb flashed me some gang signs:

Owen just flashed me a big grin:

After all that picture taking, I was worn out and promptly forgot to use my camera the rest of the day!

Orchard Fence (aka Phase 1)

Fencing is one of those projects that I have always envisioned in my head going a certain way.

Dig a few holes.

Put up a few poles.

Hammer a few nails.

Badda Bing, Badda Boom and you're done!

Apparently that is not how it really works.

Who knew! (Don't answer that!)

First there is the measuring, marking and figuring out what supplies we needed. That was the easy part. The hard part was forking over the cash to pay for those supplies. Who knew wood was so expensive! (Again, don't answer that!)

Lucky for us, our neighbor loaned us a hole digging tool (I have no idea what it's official name is!). Luckier still was the fact that Mark's friend Paul was over because this hole digging tool was a two-man job and since it was fairly heavy I wasn't exactly jumping up and down with joy at the idea of helping Mark with it. We put Paul to work and told him he had to visit at the same time. (Friends Beware! This is our new policy - work while visiting! We have lots of work so be sure to come and visit!)

"Hey Paul! You ready! Here we go...So how's the new job going?"

"Lift! Lift! ...So how's the wife and kids?"

"And rest! So what do'ya think of those Miami Heat?"

In close to 10 minutes they had all the post holes dug and ready to go. Swa-eat!



Paul had to take off after a little while and Mark and I got busy putting in some posts. My job was to level the posts on all sides (no crooked fences around here!) while Mark shoveld in dirt and rock. Halfway through filling the hole, we would stop and pack the dirt and rocks with the handle of the shovel. 

Mark got a few phone calls while we were out there, so while he was busy I raked some moats around the orchard trees to keep the water in better. I had already pruned them for this year and staked them down to help them in the wind. They are my tree babies now!

Don't I look professional? I should quit my day job and become a professional leveler... never mind the fact that a 5 year old could do it. We were all out of 5 year-olds around here and the boys were busy with other projects so it was up to me to do the easy jobs. 



Once all the posts were in, it was time for top and front facing board to be put in along the very top of the posts. This meant more measuring, more leveling and we threw in some ladders, cutting and drilling with screws.

This is my first ever blister-on-my-thumb. Not a good place for a blister! This little sucker was stabbed, scraped, poked, prodded and torn open more times than I can count. And that was all in the first hour after having it. This picture is when it still looked halfway clean and decent. By the end of this project is was so gnarly that complete strangers were commenting on it and family members were expressing concern. (Mark remained uninjured during this part of the fencing project but wait until I show you some pictures of what he did to his head when I wasn't around to help him earlier!)

Here is Mark trying to put on the last board all by himself so that I can snap a picture. Once this was done we began to get ready for Phase 2 of the fencing project.

Before we implemented Phase 2, Mark whipped out his new-to-him rototiller. Now Mark is the  guy  who scours Craigslist whenever he can, looking for that "steal-of-a-deal" on things like tractors, four-wheelers, lumber, and lawn tractors/mowers. And until recently - rototillers. A couple of weeks ago he showed me an ad on Craigslist and asked if I thought it was a good deal. It was an older red-colored Troy Bilt rototiller just like the one his parents had when he was growing up (they still have it in fact) and the person selling it was only asking $200.oo for it. Mark was pretty skeptical at that price thinking that it probably didn't even run but we went ahead and called the guy to make an appointment to go see it. Turns out he wanted it gone as soon as possible so we drove to Stanfield that day. The guy told us how he had never really used it and that he didn't even really know how. (Mark had to show him how to put it into reverse). We snatched it up and Mark was as excited as a kid in a candy shop. Apparently that was a great buy - Way to go Honey! (The family that gets excited together, stays together, right?)

This is a picture from halfway down the driveway. The orchard is located to the southwest part of the house on the creek side.

After Mark tilled up the dirt in the orchard and around the outside of it, we had to recheck the posts and make sure they were still level and in the ground nice and tight. 

(Just for David - the tractor is our friend Pauls and the other tractor that has been featured in previous posts belongs to our friend Tyler. We have really good friends!)

Now we were ready to begin Phase 2. Last fall we were given a bunch of used chain link fencing. We had a roll of close to 150 feet of 6 foot chain link and 2 smaller rolls of 5 foot and 4 foot. Have you ever worked with chain link? It is heeaavvvyyy....I'm taking like power lifting kind of heavy. Also, it is loosey-goosey. Flopping all over the place and not doing what it's supposed to. I'll go into more detail in my next post - Phase 2.



This spring break...

Yet another week that makes me stick out my tongue, put my thumbs are in my ears and wave my hands back and forth while at the same time chanting "nea, nea, nuh, nea, nea".  

(Mark just loves it when I do this).

I got started with the fun stuff I planned on doing right away. I stayed up until midnight finishing a book that I started last weekend ( I know! It never takes me that long but I've been busy I tell ya!). It was a Jodi Picoult book and I normally don't allow myself to read these books. For those of you who have never read this author, let me explain. 

I was given the book My Sister's Keeper many moons ago and told to read it - that I would love it and not be able to put it down. I started it pretty quickly and found that yes, I did love it, and yes, it was very hard to put down. So much so that I found myself thinking about the characters throughout my day, imagining what they were doing in that book of mine. I grew to adore the main character, a little girl who is trying to do what's best for her and her family. The more I read, the more emotionally attached I became. As the end crept closer and closer I found myself getting anxious and not wanting the book to end. And then it did. And I was soooooo angry at the ending that I SWORE I would never read another book by that author again. My heart had been broken and I couldn't do anything about it but mutter angrily "That was so stupid!". 

A year went by and a friend recommended another book to me by Jodi Picoult. I told her about my vow and she somehow convinced me to giver this author another shot. I was going on a cruise with my grandma and I went ahead and packed that book with me. This time I thought I would be smarter... not invest so much of my heart into the characters... be cool, be calm and remind myself "It's just a book". 

Days later as I was bawling my eyes out, while sitting on the balcony of a cruise ship in the Caribbean for crying out loud, I realized that I just couldn't handle these books. The book was Nineteen Minutes and I'm pretty sure it took me twice that long to stop sobbing and clean all the snot off my face. 

Fast forward to 2013. Book Club. 

I was sitting innocently in my chair waiting to talk about ooey, gooey zombies and the book World War Z when my sweet friend Jan leaned over and whispered to me "I've brought a book that I know you will love. I just finished it and I want you to read it next."  

Since everyone else had started the book talk, she discretely passed me a book under the table and I set it down by my purse. At the end of the evening I just grabbed it up without looking at it (along with 4 other books that I had swapped out!). Later that same night, I placed all my new books on my night stand table and guess what was right on top? 

A Jodi Picoult book (Duh, duh, duuhhnnnn!)

It was titled Keeping Faith and I just stared at it for a few minutes before I cautiously and carefully picked it up. (I know, right? I'm crazy!). I decided to be brave and go for it. I was smart this time though - as I read, I didn't allow myself to get too attached because I just knew something horrible, terrible, and positively SAD was going to happen at the end. I tried valiantly to keep my distance but by the middle of the book, I just knew. 

Knew that I was going to be sobbing again at the end. 

I could see it coming a mile away. 

So to start my spring break on a happy note (said with much sarcasm) I decided to stay up late and finish the book no matter what. Mark was working so he wouldn't be around to witness my meltdown...

But, guess what. I did end up crying (that's not the part you have to guess - too easy!). 

The book didn't break my heart, it didn't leave me with feelings that life isn't fair, and it didn't make me want to curl up under the blankets and never come out again. 

I LOVED this book! From beginning to end. It scored a solid 10 for me!

(However! That doesn't mean I am going to rush off to the library to go pick up another one by that author. Too risky!)

Whew! Who knew I had so many issues concerning books! I should see some kind of book therapist maybe... or maybe I should become one myself! It does feel much better after getting all that off my chest - I had been keeping all my Jodi Picoult angst hidden away!

Thanks for listening!

Now, on to the real reason for this post:

To show you (and help remind myself when I'm old and gray) what I plan on doing this week with all this time on my hands!

Are you ready? I bet you can hardly contain yourself (said with sarcasm again!)

I will (with much determination) go through the last of our boxes from our move and unpack them. May the force be with me. 

I will cook some new recipes from my new cookbook. I am going to start with the "Knock you Naked Brownies". I have always wanted to make something like that!

I will take down my Christmas wreath and various decorations off my front porch. Of course, that might mean that Mark and I will have to take down our Christmas Lights as well and I just don't know if we are ready for that...

I will help Caleb organize and clean out his desk area in his room (i.e. throw away a bunch of crap when he isn't looking!). Then I am going to make him sit through 12 episodes of Hoarders - Buried Alive and see if he can learn some valuable lessons. (Aren't I a great mom!).

I will head outside and help Mark finish our orchard fence. While I'm out there I may also find something to do with the headless dear target, burn barrel and other various garbage that has blown in). On another note, it was Mercy that beheaded the dear and that is a story I must tell you another day because if you thought my Jodi Picoult rants were long...

Yikes! While looking at this picture I just noticed that the tree on the other side of creek looks like a large menacing bird of prey! What? That's just me and my overactive imagination? I don't believe it for one second. But I do believe that I will keep a close eye on it just to make sure it doesn't start to creep closer...

I will rack up some miles on these new babies. Yes, they are new and yes they were expensive but aren't they pretty? Plus they make me run really fast and say things like "Zoom! Zoom!" when I pass people. (When I get passed I say other things). 

Here's to a fun, fabulous, and fantastic Spring Break!

Character Cash.

Yesterday was our first Wednesday that we were free from teaching our Dave Ramsey class. The new 9-week format is fast! The group that we had with us was Awe-Some!

They were so excited to try out some of Dave's ideas and they were able to see what could be possible if they stopped going further and further into debt. I am so excited for all of them and we are going to keep getting together throughout this year to visit and help keep each other accountable - which is always needed for all of us (teachers included of course!).

What we did yesterday was host a family dinner at our house and guess how many pictures I took? Yup, you guessed it! Not a single one. Here is what it pretty much looked like though:

Maybe that was just me ...

The rest of the fam. looked more like this:

Anyway...

the point of this post was to remind myself in later years about some of the things that Mark and I have tried out with the kids. Specifically one of our latest "ideas". 

Two Christmases ago, I received not one, not two, but three Tim Tebow books to read and while I did read through one, it took Mark a while to get to it. A little over a month ago he finished it and we were talking about it (and the fact that we both think Tim needs to leave New York behind and never look back!) and what kept coming up wasn't actually about Tim. It was about his parents and what a good job they did raising their children. Certain things just spoke to Mark and I and we discussed ways we could try some of those ideas out. 

One of ideas was to reward good character. In Tim's family, this meant that if someone else said something positive about the children's character (appreciating their hard work, honesty, sweet nature, etc) then they could earn a dollar. This didn't include grandmas of course (Most parents would go broke in a year!) but it included other adults that were part of their lives. 

Mark and I both loved this idea. We are always talking to the boys about character and what good characteristics are but have never really found a way to encourage it strongly when we are not around. We decided to give this a try and I can only speak for my little family - but it has been awesome! 

The boys are realizing that other adults do pay attention (often close attention!) to their behavior and that they will speak to us of it. In the past, it seemed like Mark and I brought up the negative things people noticed ("you two were fighting a lot, we heard") but never the positive. Now we are acknowledging all the positive things and by making a big deal about them and paying them a dollar, we have both noticed them striving harder to show everyone their good character. A win-win for everyone involved!

Here are some examples:

Yesterday, Caleb went to his friend's house to do some work on a World War 2 project. When the mom brought Caleb back home she stayed and visited for a few minutes. The kids were all off playing and she began to tell Mark and I how good Caleb had been at their house. Then she went into specifics about how he was so sweet to his friends (pesky but adorable) little sisters - aged 3 and 5. This mother was telling us that Caleb helped them tape things to the boys' poster and he was so patient with them while her own son kept trying to just get them to go away. Mark and I were very proud of Caleb and later we told him so as well as why that reflected good character on his part. 

Owen earned a dollar a week or so again when I received this email from our school counselor:

(names have been changed to protect the innocent!)

Miriah,

 

I just went looking for you to compliment your son, Owen.  I was SO impressed with him yesterday, and I just wanted you to know.  W.  had reached his behavior goal for the month of February – no pink slips for a whole month.  He got to invite one friend to the gym to play with him at recess.  W.  told me he didn’t know who to invite because he doesn’t have many friends.  I told him I would help him.  He then told me Owen is nice to everyone, and he would like to invite him.  We both walked over to Owen in the classroom, and W.  invited him.  Owen looked at him with a big smile on his face and said, “Sure, I would love to come.  That sounds like fun.  Thanks for inviting me.”  It was precious.  Owen is such a kind and caring person.  He really made W. s day.  W.  may have driven him crazy when they went to the gym, but you would never have known that.  Owen was a fabulous guest and helped W. celebrate his accomplishment.  We could use more Owens in the world.  Have a good day.  P.

Wow! That one was a good one and such a neat thing for our family to celebrate as we were all proud and excited for Owen. Proud of him for showing such good character and kindness towards another little boy who needed it and so excited for him that others were noticing his awesome behavior. 

I think we will continue this "idea" for a while longer and see what comes of it...

Today we...

Got busy planting some orchard trees! We put in 2 peach, 4 pear, a cherry, a walnut, an almond and 4 apple. Most are the dwarf variety and the cherry and walnut are located elsewhere. Mark is working on the fencing of this portion though and the boys are helping de-rock the hole area...this is too much fun!





Mrs. Golter

What to read?

I am nice and comfy in my sweats, slipper socks, and favorite GAP hoodie sweatshirt. I have a snuggly blanket on my lap, a warm drink in my hand and a brand new container of honey-roasted almonds on the table beside me. Mark is at work and I just finished reading the boys their bedtime story.



Now, I just need to pick out my bedtime story and I'll be set for the night!

Spring...

This has been a WONDERFUL weekend!

Granted, it doesn't take much to impress me...

but still! 

It has been wonderful!

It started with our Friday Family Night. 

I wanted to take the boys to see the movie Jack the Giant Slayer. 

Mark didn't think it was appropriate.

So of course I had to call upon my trusty friend Google to find out exactly what the movie entailed that earned it a PG 13 movie. 

I found an awesome website called kids-in-mind.com. 

It rates things like sexuality, language, violence, etc and then it will even tell you specifically in the movie what happens to earn the score it has received. 

We finally agreed to go and the boys loved it!

It made me laugh and Mark judged it as only so-so but he's hard to impress.

Then Saturday morning, we all got up early for our first race of the year!

It was a small one here in town but it still counts towards my goal of 4 5k's this year.

The boys participated in the fun run also.

They had to run two laps around the paved track only I don't think they listened too well.

They were off like a shot when the whistle blew and Owen sprinted the whole first lap around. He was grinning ear to ear when he came running to the end only to realize that he had to run the lap all over again! 

He was beat and promptly got passed by several others. Caleb had also sprinted it out at first and then realized that pacing yourself is important! 

They were both just glad to be done!

Ice creams all around along with chocolate coins quickly made them eager for the next run.

Then it was my turn!

I am always super nervous before a race but this one was definitely the smallest one I have ever been in so far! Maybe 25 people? 30? Anyway...

it was still a run!

Here I am freezing and trying to listen to the directions for the route - it wouldn't be cool to get lost!

My friend in blue beside me is Donna. She's a kindergarten teacher who recently did a half marathon and her and her husband follow Dave Ramsey as well. She's awesome!

The boys were cheering me on already...

Mark was so sweet and took pictures throughout the race but I must admit to vanity here and just say that this is the only picture that made it through the final edit team!

Because there weren't very many runners, I ended up getting first place for not only my age group but also first place overall for the girls division! Wahoo! That means I won a free long-sleeved Gore Tex shirt that will arrive next week (I had to tell them my size so they could order it). I also won a free backpack and handmade headband. 

That was all well and good but my actual favorite part was all the food the race coordinators had brought in. 

You should have seen the table of food they supplied! 

It was well worth every step I took that day!

In Mark and I's bedroom I have started to hang up my numbers from different races. I want them to go all the way the the floor and around my window on both sides. 

I write down my time, the race, the distance and usually the date. 

It keeps me motivated!

After all the racing (and much eating!), we came home and all got busy outside. 

Mark and I started planning and measuring outside for landscaping projects. 

It is so much fun to dream about how things are going to look!

We planned in fences, flower beds, a fire pit that will someday turn into a pergola with an outdoor fireplace...

The boys got busy too! We gave them the keys to the four wheeler and told them to go pick up rocks in the pasture. Mark has been working hard on it and it smoothing it out so there are no major high or low spots in it. We hope to plant by the end of this month and there are still lots of rocks in it. 

That's why we had children!

They would drive all around, then pick a spot and work hard putting rocks into the dumper. 

Then they would haul the dumper load over by the creek and dump it. 

Then haul balls back to the house so they could report on how well they did!

Here Caleb is saying, 

"I am number 1!"

or 

"We just unloaded our first load!"

Take your pick!

They would take turns driving and also take turns leaving the other brother behind.

I hope your weekend was as WONDERFUL as mine!