ode to spring

 I'm sitting out on our upstairs porch enjoying this glorious weather. Sam and the girls are in the pool and Brian is poolside doing taxes. William is still resting up from coaching a track meet all day yesterday and John is recovering from a long work day at a new job. We're in that little window of time where the weather is perfect in Texas. 

This morning the girls and I worked in the nursery at church. I had a little one fall asleep on my shoulder and I could almost imagine it was my sweet Dixie. I can hardly wait to see them again this summer! Margaret's 25th birthday is a week from today. She'll be 25! She's the best little momma and wife to Spencer! She wears so many hats and wears them well. 

Yesterday we did yard work and miscellaneous projects including building am arch for our trumpeter vine to grow on over our front gate. It was a group effort: Brian and I and Sam built it and Hazel and I painted it. Brian and I spent a long time untangling and redirecting the vines and then I hung some lights. It makes the front walk so much more inviting! 

Sam played a song swap at Spoetzl Brewery on Friday with his band mate, Travis. It was surreal watching him on the stage with his guitar at the same brewery he'd toured as a tike. The whole set up was so very nice!

I thought I'd have much more to say but I guess not. The masses are waiting for me to get dinner. 

Of Roosters and Rolls

 I haven't worked at the school much since spring break. It just seems like there's a never ending list of to dos around here. I never get bored here at home but I think it's good for me to get out of the house and do other things. Also I just love those kids! 

Well, the eclipse was Monday. Brian worked from home that day so we could view it together. I put together a picnic and we at out on the front lawn. It was overcast and we didn't have viewing glasses but we did get to experience the darkness of 98% totality. The street lights came on and the roosters started crowing. 

We'd had thunderstorms and rain off and on this week. I have two garden boxes and one kitchen herb box and all my plants are smiling. I've planted several roses bushes or vines since we moved here but this is the first season I've had success. My dream is to have a variety of colors outside the fence in front of the house, So far I've been successful with two, a white one and a peach. I had to move three smaller bushes up to the house. They're in the box outside my pantry window where I can keep an eye on them. 

We've had nine hens and two roosters for some time. We have two coops and alternate letting each rooster our with his gals. If they're both out they try to kill each other. We decided that the older rooster, Junior, must go. I attempted the dirty job a couple of times, chasing him with a hoe but he was always too fast, Yesterday both roosters got out at the same time and fought nearly to the death. Brian chased then round and round the yard, whacking at them. He finally caught Junior and wrung his neck as my father in law had instructed. Junior hopped right back up and kept going. We decided to rehome him to the top of the hill. There are enough flocks of wild chickens roaming this town that I'm sure he'll find his place. Now Smitty has all nine girls to himself. 

I made a double batch of orange cinnamon rolls yesterday. That's probably my favorite thing to bake and they make the house smell so yummy!

William and his friend Joseph signed a lease on a place in College Station for the fall. Sam is still in the process of getting his VA loan and GI bill stuff figured out so he can buy a place. The plan is for John to move in with him. By August it might just be Brian and I and the girls in this big old house. 

Sam is playing at the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner on Friday. He and his buddy Travis got slotted for the daytime show, but it's still good exposure. And to be able to play at the historic brewery is pretty sweet!

Margaret called last night and Dixie has her first tooth! I can't express what an amazing human she is! She had her doctor's visit and is in the 30th percentile in length and the 50th in weight. She's almost a year old which is hard to believe! I picked up some patterns at our thrift store and plan to sew her a few dresses for her birthday. They're classic styles like what I used to sew for Margaret. Margaret asked for a sewing machine for her birthday, so I got her one while they were here a couple of weeks ago and gave her a crash course in sewing. I don't know how much she retained. Sewing can be awfully frustrating till you understand how to run a machine well. I don't even know how to all that well and I've been sewing for 30 years. 

Brian signed us up for the Two Rivers Half Marathon in October. I'm on my break from running right now but need to get back at it at some point. I've been shooting for hitting 20k steps every day to maintain some level of fitness in the meantime. I have a membership at the rec center and pop in there every now and then to left weights though not often enough. I have no excuse since I can see the building from my front porch. 

Well, I better get this body out of bed and get Hazel off to school and Olive to her orthodontist appointment. 

post pandemic

 As  was cleaning my room this morning and discovered my old chromebook under my bed and now here I am, blogging after three years.

Life has changed so much since winter of '21! Lets see if I can update.

Margaret finished Navy boot camp and was transferred to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio for corps school. We loved having her close by for the next year. She and her roommate Audrey would sneak away from base and come visit though they really weren't supposed to. I continued homeschooling the girls. We wrapped up the 2021 year and decided to make another go of it for the 2021-2022 school year. I let them decide what history they wanted to study and a foreign language. We studied biology and logic, Texas history, French, art history, in addition to their basics, english and math. We turned the upstairs sun porch into our happy little school room. It was a joy to come out there every morning with classical music playing and the sun streaming through the big windows. We could watch the cats casing each other across the yard or climbing the catalpa tree outside the big window. We grew things, made more art than we had room to display, read hoards of good books, and learned several French songs. I will always look back on that school year with the fondest memories!

William graduated high school that May. We threw a graduation/ birthday party and had a great turnout. Thomas even brought his new girlfriend, Kendra....Scott. It was a funny experience to have the jewelry queen in my home. At the time we weren't sure what to make of this new relationship, but they both seemed in love and so happy.

In the summer of 2021 John began having grand mal seizures. Needless to say it was terrifying. There were so many ambulance rides that I began having panic attacks anytime I heard a siren of any kind. For six months he struggled with seizures even after getting on a pretty high dose of divalproex. Thankfully he has been seizure free since December 29, 2021. Praise the Lord. He had a 24 hour EEG in January and nothing unusual showed up, so we're hoping he can some off his meds soon.

We lost my dear grandmother, Peggy Jean, that August, It was so hard to believe she was gone from this earth because she'd always been so alive.

In 2021 Margaret put in a request to be co located with Sam at 29 Palms. No one asks for 29 Palms for a duty station, so she easily got the approval. I didn't realize that you can request to be located with a sibling but apparently that's a thing. As Margaret finished her training and awaited orders to move to California, we began hearing whispers of her having a Marine boyfriend. She'd been talking to Spencer for months and now they were serious. He was fellow Texan, a rifleman in 3rd battalion 4th Marine infantry division out of 29 Palms. As Christmas approached Sam began to warn us that he planned to bring home a few Marines for the holidays. We were excited. We love having guests, especially military folk. In early December Brian got a call. A very nervous Spencer declared his love for Margaret and intent to marry her. Brian was a little taken aback and asked when they were thinking of getting married. Spencer said over their leave later that month. After Brian picked himself up off the floor, he said he said we should take one day at a time and see how the holiday goes first. If anything, they should wait till after he returned from his scheduled warfare training that would keep them apart for half the year. 

Spencer got to our house the week before Christmas and stayed the next two weeks. We ran him through the ringer, dragging him here there and everywhere. That Christmas in Burnet with my mom was different: we had three new faces: Spencer, Thomas's girlfriend, Kendra and her youngest son, Grey. We played board games, capture the flag, musical chairs, did our usual white elephant gift exchange, sang carols, and watched Christmas movies. We came back home and another couple of Marines came to join us for the next few days. I think I'll always look back at that Christmas as one of my favorite memories of all. 

After all the excitement of Christmas had died down, Margaret and Spencer came to us again and expressed that they very much wanted to get married. We told them we'd rather them wait till July, but would support them whatever they decided to do. And they decided to go right then and there to the Hays County courthouse and get married. They asked if we'd have dinner with them that night to offer any advice, which also ended up being a special memory, as we sat in the booth at Blazer and talked marriage over beer and burgers. Brian and I arranged for them to spend a couple of nights at the acclaimed Katy House, a bed and breakfast in town. Tiffany, one of the owners after hearing their sweet love story ran to Hobby Lobby and bought decorations and such to make their room extra special. 

A few days later both Sam and Spencer had to return to California. It brought me to tears watching Margaret and Spencer say goodbye not knowing when her orders would come through for her to also be sent to California. It could be a month or more. Who knows!

It turned out to be only a couple of weeks and Spencer flew back to Texas  so he and Margaret could make the drive to 29 Palms in her black VW beetle. It finally hit me that she was gone for good. no longer would she come to the house as our kid. She'd lived with us for three and a half years after high school before leaving for the Navy, and then after boot camp she was in San Antonio for a year while in corps school so we saw her often. Now she was really gone and also no longer had our last name. 

So 2022 began with us adding a new member to the family and saying goodbye to our first born. Sam and Spencer left for mountain warfare training almost immediately upon returning to California so the honeymooners didn't get much time to set up house. Margaret got a call part way through the training that Spencer had passed out and had to be airlifted off the mountain. He woke up in a hospital not sure what had happened. Thus began the end of his career in the Marines. His body began breaking down and he was eventually honorably discharged last October as 100% disabled. 

Notable events of 2022: Thomas and Kendra married on 2.22.22. They had a small wedding at the ranch they'd recently bought in Wimberley. The girls started school at Smithville. We'd homeschooled for two years, not counting the half a year the whole world homeschooled, and they were asking to go back to school. Another first is that the girls went to a sleepaway camp for the first time which they thoroughly loved. They'll go for their third year this summer. We made several trips out to California in 2022. Sam traveled quite a bit with the Marines, to Northern California for training as mentioned, to Hawaii for several months, and to Japan for the second time. Spencer was supposed to go along but his injuries kept him home. The wedding we'd planned for he and Margaret had been cancelled when he got orders to go to Hawaii since the dates conflicted, but he ended up not going after all. Even so it was great fun for me to help Margaret with the planning until it came time to try to get our money back on all the things we'd already paid for. In September, Brian and I took a 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii. We spent hours snorkeling and hiking and enjoying each other. We island hopped, cooked together, and even got our first tattoos late one night in Honolulu. Not long after we got back we got a call from Marg and Spencer telling us that we were going to be grandparents! At the time, we could never dream what a wonderful little person was growing inside Margaret! She is perfect. That August William moved to College Station to attend Blinn. For a season we had three kids out of the house and three in.  Thomas and Kendra had a Christmas gala at their home that year with a roaring twenties theme. for a few hours on a Friday night in December we got to pretend we were someone else, sipping Prohibition era cocktails and dancing the night away with people like the governor (well, he wasn't dancing since he's in a wheelchair) and celebrities. 

2023 was a year of change for us. I took a job with Smithville ISD as an inclusion paraprofessional. It seemed like a good fit since the girls were both attending there and I had so much experiencing dealing with neuro divergent kiddos after raising several of my own. It was difficult work, tracking the progress of individuals and having to always be "on" for these kids. It was a shock to my system to begin working full time for the first time in 26 years, but the kids made it worth it. I love people, especially little people. We took several trips in 2023, but mostly to California. I know Joshua Tree NP like the back of my hand now. In February we hosted a wedding/baby shower for Margaret and Spencer at Thomas's place. Kendra sweetly sent over gobs of flower arrangements and champagne for the party. We had a great turnout with our family, Spencer's family, and several Marines and Sailors. John graduated high school at the end of May. My baby. I was so proud of him. He'd taken up a job at a local restaurant at the beginning of his senior year and several of his older co workers came to watch him get his diploma. He saved every penny of his pay as a line cook and paid for himself to take a six week trip to Europe. I was a little nervous after his epilepsy diagnosis but the Lord watched over him and he had a wonderful time. Brian and I spent several weeks in the high desert of California awaiting Dixie's birth that summer. Margaret had a rough go of it and ended up having to have a c-section after three days of labor. Thomas called me up after the birth and said he and the girls were going out there to see Dixie. He rented a place in Palm Springs and Brian and I extended our trip a little longer to spend a few days with them. We all had a great time kicking back in this awesome mid century house at the base of the mountain. 

Sam was discharged from the Marines on August 7th. John flew out to California and rode back to Texas with Sam and another buddy who was discharged at the same time. The next day the fam met up in Port Aransas for the annual beach trip. It felt surreal to have Sam home for good. No more deployments or see-you-laters. 

William had moved back home after six months in College Station, so now we had all three boys living at the Wells Boarding House. It's been fun but not real fun. Its difficult living with so many people especially adults and trying to make it work. I am grateful for more time with them and especially that the girls are getting to know Sam and William better. We have lots of movie nights and the boys stay up late playing Mario Kart with Hazel and Olive. The boys have been great about driving the girls all around to the activities as needed and picking them up from school. 

William has amazed us and is handing college like he never did high school. He made the dean's list and honor society. He was hired as a sub at a classical charter school this year and then as their athletics coach. The track team has done better than ever under his direction. We're so very proud of him! He hopes to move out soon. Sam got a job working grounds maintenance for Smithville ISD. The girls love seeing him riding the mower outside their classroom windows. He hit the ground running in his music career as soon as he got out of the Marines and began playing gigs around town. Almost every night finds him either playing with other musicians in local pickers circles, practicing or writing songs with his band, or doing solo gigs around the area. He is house hunting for a place to buy and is also hoping to start college in the fall. John plans to start school in the fall as well and hopes to move in with Sam once he gets a place. 

I suppose that catches us up to date mostly. I'll try to not go three years between blogposts next time. 

 We finally heard from Margaret! We got the form letter with her address on Friday and then she called on Saturday! It was so good to hear her voice though she sounded weary. She survived the 2 weeks of quarantine and an additional 2 weeks of isolation. She started bootcamp after Christmas and is finishing her third week by now. She was nominated by the RDCs (drill instructors) Athletic Petty Officer for which she was very excited. She has distinguished herself as determined and hard working and the RDCs know her by name. No surprise there. She’s always been a hard worker. The other day we received two long letters from her. It was so good to read her detailed descriptions of what she’s doing and what it’s like up there. Can’t wait to hear from her again!

Brian and I went to Blazer last night. We go there just about every Wednesday night for date night. Brandon and Frank ask about Margaret and we were finally able to give them an update. Nicole made us each a great Old Fashioned and we shared the Big Bend salad sans the goat cheese. I am so not a fan of goat cheese. Bleh.

I repainted the girls’ stairs over the last couple of days. They had been white but that was so hard to keep clean so I painted them Sherwin Williams “unusual gray” and they look so much better! I love that color! I think I might find other places to incorporate it into the house.

My lounge chairs for the pool came in the other day. The cats approve. 

I’ve been keeping up with my 20k steps a day goal. On Wednesdays I usually get more because Brian and I walk to our date then usually walk around town a bit. Last night I got almost 25k. This is without getting any other intentional exercise. I have realized that I just move a lot during the day. I don’t think I sit down hardly at all unless I’m driving somewhere. I would like to start running again to get my heart rate up. I’d just rather wait till it warms up before I start. I so don’t like running in the cold!

 We still haven’t heard from Margaret. I eagerly check the mailbox every morning (our delivery comes early) and still nothing. She’s been gone a month and a half now and the last we heard from her was a month ago to tell us she had covid. I’m sure she’s doing well, it would just be nice to hear some news.

We had snow on Sunday. It was beautiful and such a special treat for us in south central Texas. 

I’ve been trying to keep up with my resolutions. 

* I’ve stayed up with my Bible reading for the past 12 days.

* I amended my step goal to 140k a week instead of 20K a day, basically the same thing just a little more reasonable. 

*I don’t think I got 3 hours outside every day this week but I’m sure it will average out over the year since I spend almost all day outside from March to October.

The girls are getting very efficient with finishing their school work. They get up early and get out the cart that has the books on it and get started on their own. They like to finish quickly so they can go ride bikes. They play outside most of the day since we moved here. 

We are hoping and planning to purchase the lot across from our house soon. It’s a 4 and a half acre field between us and the train tracks. We were told the owner was cranky and would never sell to anyone though many have approached her about this land. She came by to meet us after we’d not been here too long and started hinting at wanting to sell. She’s recently said point blank that she wants us to have first dibs on it ahead of the developers that have been hounding her about selling for years. She has no interest in keeping the field, it’s been in her family for a generation or two and they don’t use it for anything and are tired of paying taxes on it. We would love to have it and find ways to generate some income from it by leasing it for a horse or two or some other purpose. The girls have wanted animals (besides cats) to tend though we don’t know the first thing about animal husbandry. 

We recently purchased a small lot across the road from us that has a manufactured home on it. We intend to sell the home when the tenant’s lease is up in the spring and move it off the lot. Our dream would be to move an old house on to the lot or build something for an investment property. When we were considering moving here our two biggest concerns were these two lots. Who owns the land in front of the house and what would become of it long term, and how can we get that manufactured home off the property across the street or at least clean up the lot? Within a few months of being here both properties basically fell in our laps! We continue to pray for God’s wisdom to know how to best use them.  

The girls are wanting breakfast. I’m off.

1.6.21

We haven’t heard from Margaret yet and it’s maddening not know how she’s doing! She left over a month ago for Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin to quarantine for two weeks before starting bootcamp in Great Lakes, IL. We got a call almost two weeks later from her saying she tested positive for covid (no symptoms) and would have to do two more weeks of quarantine. That was the last we heard from her. I run to the mail box every day hoping for something, even the form letter saying what division she’s in would be wonderful. 

Last night Brian went over to Block 16 where they gather on Tuesdays to “pick” and sing. So this guy about our age bought this old brick school building and made it his home. The place is massive and takes up an entire city block in the historic residential area. He hosts a pickers night every week on the property and in winter months makes a roaring fire in a big fire pit. I usually walk over to watch at some point. It’s been a great way for us to meet the neighbors and Brian likes being stretched a little  in his guitar and singing. 

The kids start back at school today. I had better get going.

Resolutions

 While I have a moment I want to jot down the New Year’s resolutions that I’ve committed to though I briefly listed them in another post the other day.

1. Read through the entire Bible. 

I have been using R. M. M’Cheyne’s method for about 25 years now. I don’t usually make it through the whole thing every year, but I try. It has you read through the Old Testament once and Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament twice. It is quite a lot to keep up with and sometimes I have to listen to the audio Bible when I fall behind, but it is the best method I’ve come across - not that I’m an expert at Bible reading plans. This past year I made it through the whole thing and I was so blessed to spend so much time in the Word getting to know the Lord! 

2. Get 20K steps a day.

I haven’t been running much since we moved. I hurt my foot and that put me out of commission for a few months and then I just got focused on other things with the house and homeschooling, etc. You can only have so many interests and hobbies and running became less and less important to me, especially since there aren’t any races anymore due to covid. I’m not as motivated when there’s nothing to train for. So to keep me in shape I set a goal of 20K steps. Some days this is very easy and doesn’t require much effort outside my daily tasks. Other days I’m asking Brian to dance with me at the end of the day to get in 4K more steps. Brian got me a 20 lb. weighted vest for Christmas so when I go for my 4 mile loop walk I usually wear that for an added workout. In addition to that I’ve been working on hand stands for core and upper body strength. 

3. Get 1000 hours of outside time this year. 

#3 and #2 go hand in hand. I love being outside so this one shouldn’t be too hard.

What I like about these resolutions is that they’re very measurable. I’d like to set a goal for book reading this year but I haven’t sat down to think of how many is a realistic goal. I read so many in 2019, and started out 2020 reading but got too busy with home projects when we decided to move. I very much prefer paper books to E or audio versions. We have a lovely little library I can walk to on Main St. so I’m all set up to read a bunch this year. I just have to do it!

Not sure if I have any readers of this blog, but if I do, did you make any New Years resolutions? What are they? Are they different than what you resolved last year? Do you have a strategy for how to stick with them?