In all the years we’ve lived at this house, we’ve never had a mouse problem.  But in the past few weeks, we have noticed that a family of mice has decided our house isn’t quite crowded enough, and they’ve moved in.  Michael set traps around, but none of the mice was stupid enough to fall for that old-fashioned trick.  Our dog, Mac, even managed to stumble into one of the traps and set it off (he wasn’t hurt at all), but the mice avoided them.  So the next step was that Michael bought some mouse poison.  I was reluctant to take that step, but the mice were winning our war, so the poison was our next move.  This morning a tiny gray mouse scurried along the wall in the kitchen, so I hollered to Michael that the mouse was on the main floor.  We poked around a bit, noticing which places the mouse could use for a doorway, and then Michael went to check the poison bait.  He was tickled to see that all three baits were gone, which means the mice have taken us up on our offer of a free meal.  We hope that soon we’ll notice fewer little scampering friends.

In other news, we had a pretty good day today.  Isaac got his school work done in record time and with a good attitude.  Lilly wasn’t feeling very good today, but fortunately she took many naps, so she was pretty easy to manage.  Amelia is terribly excited about her birthday this Thursday.  We are planning her party for Saturday afternoon.  I hope it lives up to her expectations.  And on top of all the other good things about today, we had a nice rain shower this morning, which is always delightful.  The plants needed it, and it provided cool, brisk breezes coming through the windows.

Tonight we enjoyed our FPU class, and learned all about “dumping debt”.  I have a new resolve to live frugally and put as much of our money toward paying off debt as possible.  Last night Michael and I worked on our budget.  It’s nice to have a plan.

Goodbye, Fair Toad Maiden

This evening we went on a picnic at the Sugar Grove Nature Center. Michael suggested that Isaac take his toad along on the picnic and release her there in that wonderful natural environment. Amazingly, Isaac agreed, so Kirby now has a new home. Isaac was quite sad to say goodbye, but I’m sure he is comforted by the fact that Kirby is going to be very safe there. I’m sorry to say goodbye to Kirby too, but I feel it’s for the best. The photo here is one I took tonight at the picnic area. Isaac is hoping that next Spring he can find another toad to enjoy through the summer. I hope so, too.

Today is the end of the two-week cycle for the children’s schoolwork, so it’s been a busy morning of finishing subjects, taking tests, and being set free for the weekend. It’s always such a great accomplishment to finish a workbook and close it and write a score on the front of it. Whew! I feel like I have earned that grade as much as the children have.

Another nice thing about today is that it’s the first day of Michael’s long weekend off work. So he is here to help shoulder some of the load. It’s always so nice to have a co-worker. One of his jobs today was to take Amelia to the party store to pick out supplies for the birthday party we’re going to let her have in a week or so. We’ve never thrown an actual, official birthday party, so this is an exciting event. We have Strawberry Shortcake invitations, tattoos, pencils, balloons, and cupcake toppers. I’m already getting excited about this event. (Remind me I said that when I’m overwhelmed with last-minute preparations!)

Last night I visited my grandmother. She is in her last days on this earth. She is no longer able to carry on a conversation, so my visits with her require some creativity. Last night I sang out of the hymnal, and then she asked me to read to her. So I opened the Bible and started reading various passages. Interestingly, Grandma was able to complete quite a few of the verses that I would start. She could often fill in the missing words if I would pause. It’s obvious that the Scripture is tucked away safely in her heart, even though she cannot express it very well.

I don’t know why God allows the elderly to linger and suffer in their last days. Perhaps it is so that the youngsters surrounding them will learn valuable lessons about loving and caring for those who are helpless. I took Isaac with me last night, and he was very patient as we stayed and visited with Grandma. He even joined in on one of the songs I sang to her. We sang together, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever…” It seemed like Isaac used the same part of him that interacts with the babies he knows as he was interacting with my grandmother. He was gentle and sweet and used a kind voice as he talked to her.

Grandma is so eager to meet Jesus face to face. She is not afraid of death; rather, she looks forward to death as a release from her failing body. Last night I asked her, “Does God talk to you?” She said emphatically, “Yes He does!” I asked, “What does He say?” She replied, “I love you!” As she said the words, I knew in my heart that it was absolutely true. God is with her and comforting her even more than the people around her. He whispers, “I love you!”, and she understands. My grandmother’s life has been a wonderful example to me, and now, as she faces death, she continues to provide an excellent example.

In hobby-related news, now that we’re not working so hard to remodel our house, I’ve started wondering if perhaps I could fit my scrapbooking hobby back into my life. It sure is a tempting thought, and I think that I could probably find some friends to join me.

In toad news, I’ve given Isaac the deadline of letting his toad go back into the wild by this weekend. The little critter needs a chance to prepare for hibernation, so she needs to get busy before it gets too cold around here.

In house-keeping news, our house has really been suffering from lack of attention. This afternoon I told my sister that soon I would decide enough was enough, and things would finally get cleaned up. This evening when Michael and I left the house to run some errands, I asked Laura to see what she could do to the kitchen, even though it isn’t her job. When we got back home again, I was completely astounded to find the entire kitchen had been cleaned up. Every surface was clean. The floor was swept. The rugs had been shaken. Some extra-dirty spots on the floor had been washed with a cloth. The dishwasher was full and ready to run. All in all, I was quite speechless. Laura was very pleased with herself and her work, and we quickly forgave her for forgetting to put her little brothers to bed several hours earlier. I am so encouraged now about the kitchen, and I’m full of new resolve to keep it clean and tidy.

It is a calm, quiet evening, and I hate to end my thoughtful time here on the front porch, but Isaac is wishing for help with his English homework, and this is as good a time as any, I suppose, so off I go to play teacher again.

We have started attending a class at our church every Monday night.  It’s called Financial Peace University.  This 13-week class is already changing the way we think about our money, and I’m guessing we have even more changes ahead.

The children have their own activities, so they look forward to Monday nights too.

Last night our little class totaled up the amount of debt that we owe not including our mortgages.  It was sobering to realize we owe over $160,000, and we are only one-third of the whole group.  I believe that if our church family can get a grip on our finances and pay off our debt, we will be a much healthier church family and much better able to minister to others.

We are allowed to take a guest with us every week, so if you want to join us, let me know and I’ll give you the details.  It would be our delight to have you there!

So often I’ll write up a long list of goals that I hope to accomplish on a given day or during a given weekend.  Rarely do I ever get all of those goals done.  Usually the list hangs on the fridge as an ominous, frowning taskmaster, reminding me of all the ways in which I am failing to measure up.

One of the things I hoped to accomplish this weekend was to start the terribly-overdue painting project in the basement.  Yesterday I actually located the paint and the paintbrush that I need to use.  Today I told myself that all I needed to do was to get downstairs and paint for a short time.  The day tumbled by, and I sort of thought the evening might allow me to escape to my job in the basement.  But alas, as the designated time approached, Amelia asked if I would be willing to help her practice her piano lesson pieces.  Of course, that is a priority, so I said I would be happy to help.  We had a wonderful practice and I enjoyed our time together very much.  Amelia is such a diligent, focused little pianist.  After that, I went upstairs with Amelia to help her get tucked into bed, and that’s when Lillian woke up.  I knew instantly that my evening of planned painting was not going to happen.  So I scooped up Lilly and took her back downstairs with me.  We sat on my bed and I nursed her.  Judah came in and spent some time with us, and after Lilly was done nursing, Judah brought her some toys to play with.  Lilly’s new trick is to grab a toy and throw it aside.  So that’s all she wanted to do, but that was lots of fun anyway.

As I look back over on my evening, I think I must do my best to forget the frowning to-do list.  Instead, I want to focus on remembering my little girl doing her best on her piano practice, and I want to remember the beautiful chubby baby that I held and nursed.  I also want to keep the picture I have in my mind of a boy playing with his baby sister.  After all, those are more important than painting a wall, right?

Yesterday Laura checked my blog and said in a stern voice, “Mama, it’s been eight days since you posted on your blog.”  I replied apologetically, “I know! I’m sorry. I’ve not been doing well with keeping up on that.”

The good news is that school is going well.  But the side effect of that is that my days are very full and I often don’t get around to sitting and thinking thoughtful thoughts and rambling on in my blog.  The last time I sat to write, all of the children escaped from school and hurried out to the trampoline to play while I was otherwise occupied.  When I discovered they were gone, I decided the peace and quiet was worth it, so I just left them out there while I finished writing.

Anyway, our days are filled with learning and hard work and lots of juggling my attention between children.

Yesterday was our “music day”.  That means we have a full morning of school, an early lunch, and then we hurry to piano lessons for Luke, Laura and Amelia.  We spend an hour and a half at lessons, and then we head home for a break before the next thing.  Isaac’s guitar lesson is at 5 pm, so I have a little time to make supper and then we head out for that lesson.

Yesterday evening I added one more thing to our evening schedule.  The ISU Horticulture Center had a garden tour planned, and their facility is very close to Isaac’s guitar lesson, so I invited Laura to go to the lesson with us, and then I took Isaac and Laura to the tour afterwards.  Turns out, the tour had been cancelled due to all-day rain.  But the grounds were still open for us to walk around, so we enjoyed wandering through the gardens and reading the labels on the plants.  They have a festival planned for next month, so I really hope I can take the rest of the family to that.

Today Michael is off work, so I’m looking forward to having him home.  I always have a long list of projects that I hope we can accomplish, and rarely do we actually get them done.  But it’s impossible not to hope.

The past few weeks have flown by. So many things happening every day. Through it all, one little creature has been a constant. Isaac is keeping a toad on the front porch in a bin of dirt. He named it Kirby. We catch tiny crickets for it to eat. Kirby hides from us every chance he/she gets by burrowing down in the dirt backwards. But interestingly, Kirby doesn’t mind sitting on Isaac’s hands for social time. Perhaps that’s because Isaac’s hands are just about as dirty as Kirby’s natural habitat

Isaac says with pride, “This is the first thing I’ve been allowed to keep that I’ve found!” Maybe I’ll let him keep a snake next summer. A toad is perfect for now. Then again, if I let him keep a snake now, it can eat the toad, and then he’ll have two pets in one!

P.S.  Isaac read this and asked me to post a correction.

Kirby is not an “it”.

Kirby is not a “he/she”.

Kirby is a girl toad.

Now you know (and so do I).