We had a plan...

to host a brunch for Alisa's friend but it got changed.  We will reschedule, but I told Alisa that I would still make Swedish pancakes for her.  They were so yummy with fresh whipped cream and strawberries.

She was happy.  I was happy.  The End.
 

They strike again...four years later

It has been pretty quiet around our neighborhood these last four years.  But the ladies of Mapleridge got a bee in their bonnets and have made their way over to our street again.  I guess they have lots of free time and everyone on their street is following all of their rules.  Our HOA rules seem to come into play when someone sparks another's ire.  This time our neighbor seems to have drawn their attention and no one has taken time to get all the facts.  HOA groups are born for trouble and following the rules inconsistently is not wise!  Alisa and I stood at the window watching...knowing they were going to mishandle whatever they were doing.  Ted spoke to our neighbor when he was out working in the yard the other day, to make sure he was well.  It makes me sad that people treat others in such ways.  If you take time to develop relationships, it would go a long ways.  Mind your own business.  Nit-picking leads to animosity and hard feelings.  When you need to address a real issue, you should already have a relationship.  A reminder to us to slow down and talk to people.  Be neighborly and helpful.  Be kind.  At least this time, there were no masks involved and it was only two people...and no one was home!  We remember how it felt and we spoke up four years ago...but it seems nobody heard our concerns.

My first showing

Ted and I had a date to look at a house...our first with me as the licensed real estate salesperson!  The little bird flew out to greet us.  It was a nice little house, but not for us at this moment.  We shall continue looking!

 

The meat eater

Our resident meat eater is at it again making beef jerky!  

We took part of the meat and made steak bites for supper with a side of air fryer pickles.  It is true...a way to a man's heart...is through his stomach...and it must include a good piece of meat!

Ted has great taste!  And he keeps perfecting his skills.
 

Spring in our yard...

and the deer did not get the tulips before they bloomed!  Hooray!

And today...April 30...it looks like it is snowing!  Such a pretty day!

 

It's been a heavy weak...

helping a friend deal with some hard news regarding her health.  We spend time around the table sharing a meal, conversation, support, and prayer.  Of course, there has to be dessert.  
 

Ted has a guy!

Ted has a guy he has used for a couple different projects...and he called him to do our patio.  He brought his crew and they prepped and measured and formed on a very chilly Saturday. They had everything set and ready to pack down and then pour the cement.  They came on Monday late morning and it was a beautiful day!  In fact, so nice...he wanted to pour the cement!

Ready and waiting for the truck to show up...

It was fun to watch the progress.

The supervisors kept watch over the activity.

They were very creative in working the cement! And he did not fall face first into the cement!

It looks very nice.  They came back on Wednesday and made the cuts and did final clean up.  Now to decide and add the step configuration and some outside furniture.

 

We have had multiple conversations lately

Ted and I have had many conversations lately with each other and with others that revolve around parenting.  "We didn't always do it right or perfect, but God knows our hearts that we wanted to point them to Jesus and seek to glorify God in what we did."  We remember vividly so many important parts in the training of our three chair fillers and we usually always come back to the thought "We would not change how we did it."  Facebook memories have added to this narrative pretty consistently too.  My heart runs down my face when I see these snapshots of our life.

All the formal and informal times of teaching and talking and answering questions and demonstrating and re-teaching...took time!   As Dad and Mom, we often had to slow down or stop what we were doing and bring our children into or along with what we were doing.  My heart...the day Teddy started the driving portion of Drivers Ed!  The hours Teddy spent with his Papa and Dad on Saturdays and in the garage taught him important life-long skills with his hands, not to mention problem solving skills of all sorts!  My heart...the picture Ted took as Ashlynn and I planned meals and made the shopping list for the week!  The hours of voluntary and involuntary help around the house with Mom and grandmothers.  Taking the time to include our girls in the planning of meals.  Having them with me when grocery shopping.  My heart...Alisa finding joy in baking with our little niece!  Showing them how to cook and bake.  Including them in the caring for children that we would babysit.  Making things fun...in how we did the mundane jobs of life.

If we don't teach them how to do all the things...who will?  Let me tell you...they will not do it on their own!  When you were 5, 6, 7 years old...did you want to clean up your room that you destroyed in looking for a certain toy in the bottom of the toybox?  When you were 8, 9, 10 years old...did you want to clean the bathroom that you missed and messed up?  When you were 14, 15, 16 years old...did you want to vacuum up the hair you brushed out of your head that got wrapped around the roller and stuck or mow the yard every single week?  There aren't fairies that show up and do all the work so the children who are now grown-ups can do whatever they want to do in life!  

One day, the children move out and realize there is nobody in the apartment/house that is doing the planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning!  They better know how to do it...or they live without.  They better know how to figure out how to "un-stuck the hair" on the roller on the vacuum and not just throw it away because "it doesn't work".  They better know that cars need to be checked on more than just gas because bad things happen.  They will want to know more than just pushing a button on the microwave. 

Today's parenting style is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion.  It makes my heart hurt when I see missed opportunities that were hard for us...but so cherished now!  Ted helped me see that I was trapped in the same mindset as a Mom.  "It's just easier and faster if I do it!"  I had my reasons why...which Ted showed me there was a way to meet my reasons and still train our children to do what they needed to learn.  "We cannot get upset with them for how they do it, if we don't train them how to do it correctly in the first place!"  I am so thankful that I trusted his leadership and timing in this!  "Our children are smart and have boundless energy.  They live here and will contribute to the running of our home.  God expects us as parents to train them well...in all things!"  Ted set up a system and we all worked together from that day on till they started leaving our home.  They have taken those lessons into their jobs and homes.

Parents push children aside so they can "just get it done faster" or "I want it done right" or "I don't have time to go so slow because we have to be ....somewhere...doing something..."  Children live entitled and demanding little lives.  Which, by the way, make them not so fun to be around.  I say this based on facts, as I was in the classroom over 25 years with many children at various ages with a variety of parenting styles.  And in my opinion, it is not getting better.  Listen to the noise around you when you go out in public.  Children get tired.  They do not need to be signed up for every activity, pick ONE! 

The goal in parenting is to teach and train our children to be contributors to the world in which they live.  Our goal as Christian parents is to teach our children to love and serve out of a heart of gratitude and love for the God who made them.  It takes time...lots of time and discipline (structure, boundaries, and order that is taught as well as caught).  This does not "just happen" magically when they turn 18 years old...it starts when they are young and living in your home pulling their chairs up to your table.  Slow down and take the time to teach them well.  Most parents want their children to leave and do life well...not perfect...but ever-learning, knowing their purpose!  

Our three chair fillers are the example to the words we speak.  Don't take our word for it, you can ask them for their opinion...they can speak for themselves.

Saturday workers

Our guys pulled up a little before 10:00 am to work on the patio!  I'm excited but I felt so bad for them...it was 31 degrees!  Yikes!

They didn't seem to mind and smiled when they would see the dogs sitting at the door watching them.  It took awhile to measure and figure all the things out...the slope and such so water runs away from the house.  They broke up the old sidewalk and formed the sections as they chatted and listened to their music.

They will come back sometime on Monday to tamp everything down and finalize the forms.  It doesn't look like a good week to pour concrete though...cold and more rain moving in...so we will probably be waiting.  I keep forgetting that it is still April...which means cold and rainy off and on...but everything is greening up and budding nicely!

 

Crafty time with my sis

We spent some time crafting on Friday.  So much for being able to do this once a week!  Life gets busy.  We did a couple projects and shared treats.  "I brought you adult cookies!"  Huh?!  Why do you call them that?  "I added two kinds of chips and pecans and then a sprinkle of salt on the top. Brad likes them that way.  They are yummy!"  I agreed.  I shared our monster cookies cookies with her...I used regular size and mini size chocolate chips and mini peanut butter M&Ms.  I need to try another kind of cookie this week...I was inspired by Mari's adult cookie.  I tend to make the same kind all the time...but maybe there is another kind we would like!  Hmmmm?

 

Date Night

This week we went to the school play!  We are so cultured...but we both agreed that musicals are not our favorite.  "There is so much singing."  These students did a fantastic job!  Knowing some of the students, the roles were cast well, in my opinion.  One of the characters lost his mustache and his brother used the mishap ad libbing and it was hysterical.  "I'm hungry!  They should have concessions...especially if it is going to be 2 and 1/2 hours!"  I should have brought him a Snickers bar.  Oh well.  I made him a yummy hot sandwich when we got home.  It was a fun night out and not stressful because we don't have children involved anymore...which is also a strange thing to realize every time we attend a school function now.  "I don't even know who any of these kids are now!"  After I pointed out who several are, we realized he knew half and I knew more because of subbing.  We are already three years out of this scene...we old now!

 

Testing Day

April 17 at 9:00am...was my scheduled time to take my real estate license test!  I left the house at 7:55am and with the route I had to take, I got to the testing center at 8:35.  Thanks to our state road construction practice of closing down multiple major roads at the same time!  I had time to go to the bathroom and check in.

I felt calm and knew I had done all that I could do.  I finished the test with an hour left.  The proctor ran the report as I collected my purse from the locker and said, "Congratulations!"  I said, "Excuse me?  I passed!?"  He laughed at my display of relief and congratulated me again.  Wowee!  Relief and instant tears.  My confidence in these newly acquired "skills" is honestly very shakey.  I know God gives strength and wisdom in our weakness.  I don't know what is ahead...but I did the hard thing...and it took me two months start to finish.

Maybe...just maybe...you can teach an old dog new tricks!?!

Lest you think the old dog can keep up with the young dogs...I crawled into our bed at 7:15pm and was judged by the younger crowd.  My brain still feels tired today as I try to figure out what happens next with the licensing process.