Saturday

The boys both have stuffy, runny noses so they weren't up to doing much today. Since Allan starts to school Monday (I told him that I wasn't sure if he would be starting school if he wasn't feeling better to which he replied, "Mommy, God's going to heal me of my disease.") I worked on putting the finishing touches on the schedule for next week and pulling all of the final resources I needed. Everything is ready to go! Did a quick cleanup around the house and am now ready to drop into bed...it's been a long week. Philip has had an equally long week and he just arrived home from making copies of his syllabi for Monday's classes and making sure there are enough books for the number of students in his classes. He'll be teaching an extra full load this semester (18 hours) and one of those is a new class. Daniel is really struggling with him leaving every morning. He wanders around the house calling, "Dadddddeeeee..........Dadddeeeeeeeee" Then he puts his hands out and says, "Gone!, Gone!" At first he cried every morning but now it seems that he's starting to understand that daddy will be gone until supper. Oh, Allan surprised us and said the twenty third Psalm this week. Philip had been reciting it to them before they went to bed for the past week or so and he learned it by listening. Good night!

Friday

Tomato canning day! Let's see I believe it made 4 quarts and three pints. Everything I canned this week sealed the first time around...so much for the old wives tale that your jars won't seal if you're pregnant.

Friday morning I went to see the chiropractor. This week was one that hasn't been kind to my lower back.







That afternoon I hung the curtains I found the day before in Philip's office. (The curtains were on clearance at Wal-Mart for $11 :o) BTW: The Thomas Kincaide border - my first attempt at wallpapering) was purchased at a yard sale for $2 a roll :o)













When we got home the boys wanted to get into the pool so I joined them and we had a blast!

Friday evening we went to Mom Brown's for grilled salmon and shrimp (Yummy!) and then came home and crashed. The boys are coming down with something and both of them went to sleep early and slept until 7:30 Saturday morning.

Thursday

Today was the day to finish the processing of the cinnamon pickles so they were canned and they made 11 pint jars. Allan ate almost one whole one himself and then we took some to the Brown's Friday night so I don't think they'll last long. Thursday morning I had some business to take care of so the boys and I did some running around and then went to WalMart. Alex took his nap here and I caught up on some housework that I'd been neglecting.





 Oh, it's been a long process but I'm still trying to get pictures on the walls and curtains hung. The sway I got on e-bay arrived today so I did a grouping at the bottom of the stairs leading to third floor using some of my P. Graham Dunn pieces. It turned out nice (much nicer than the pictures!)

Wednesday

We got a notice that corn was going to be delivered to the school today so I scrapped the plans I had previously so that I could do some (since the squirrels ate most of mine). Kathryn and Alex were here in the morning when it arrived and so everyone (except Alex) pitched in to get it husked. I worked the afternoon getting it cleaned and cooked before we left for church. After prayer meeting I cut, bagged and cleaned up the kitchen and even made it to bed by 11:15. The 81 ears made 28 two cup bags of corn.

Tuesday

Chelsea moved into the dorm so I watched Alex and Kathryn so they wouldn't be underfoot. I made and canned the jelly - though it didn't gel at least all of the jars sealed. I believe it made 18 jars. The ministerial faculty had a get together Tuesday evening and I contributed the brownies. Since all the men were at the Brown's home in KY I had all the Brown ladies and kids here for supper.

Monday

This was the beginning of New Student Orientation week. Philip went back to school on the 11th for Faculty/Staff week so we're getting back into the groove of being on a school schedule. My sister-in-law, Charity, is here to help her sister, Chelsea, settle in at GBS. Monday morning I peeled the cucumbers for cinnamon pickles and put them in the lime water. I cooked four pints of blackberries and extracted the juice to make jelly later then began working on a cake for my nephew Alex's party. Alex turned one at the end of July but we celebrated with the Brown's and his Grandma Fredrick on Monday night. Theme: Monkeys and bananas.

Our Week in Review

We had a very "relaxing" week...enjoying the last few days before school starts. Monday is always laundry day and so not much else gets done. I did fill the boys' swimming pool since it was supposed to be hot later on in the week.

Tuesday we cleaned the house some...a new house isn't really dirty but since by vacuum had been malfunctioning it needed a good sweeping (the replacement part came in the mail on Monday afternoon). We also went and picked up two twin bed sets that we found on the the Craigslist for the boys.

Wednesday we had the privilege of having a long-time friend over for supper. Brother Edsel Trouten was campus pastor when Philip and I moved here. Philip had known the Troutens from their years together in Hobe Sound. I learned to know them over the time I was expecting Allan. Because I was so sick in the evenings on Sunday nights instead of getting in a car and traveling anywhere we'd walk to Brother and Sister Trouten's home for a time of fellowship. Those are some wonderful memories and it was so good to be able to have him in our home again. Sister Trouten is in a nursing home near their home in ID.

Thursday I was particularly drained energy-wise and I didn't do much of anything. I guess I did pull up my corn (the squirrels were decimating it!) and the rest of my beans. Played with the boys in the pool a little while and visited with Tom and Katie Butcher when they stopped by.

Friday's are family days: Philip took the boys to Eden park for a little hike in the morning while I rearranged the boy's rooms so that it's easier to get around. (The picture I included is the way we first had the boy's beds - now they are side by side with a space between the two). Friday evening we got subs and went to Devou Park over the river in KY for a picnic. The boys really enjoyed watching the people on the golf course. We then went to a little park near our house so the boys could play on some children's activity gyms.

Saturday I worked in the basement getting out all my teaching materials and sorting through all my "junk" in general. I discovered that I'll have to continue this project at a time when the boys are in bed because they cart the "junk" all over the basement because they think it's so neat! Not to mention they get filthy. Somewhere during this week I gave the boys haircuts again. I was hoping to let it grow but it's still summer and they were looking pretty shaggy so I gave them both a buzz.

Sunday: Philip had to preach this morning. We went to my in-laws for lunch and then went to check on a tree that has some apples that look promising. (BTW: I've been looking for some Red Haven peaches here in the city...they are already past their peak but I also found out that most orchards are asking $80.00 per bushel! - That's compared to $20.00 my mom pays in PA! That's insane!) While we were taking our naps here at home someone helped themselves to our loose change stash and CD/MP3 player in our car. It was hot today so I left the windows down thinking, it's the middle of the afternoon and in three hours we'll be leaving for church again...one of these days we'll learn! :o(

So that was our week - tomorrow I have two haircut appointments in the morning (husband and father-in-law...{he's a brave man}), and then Allan and I are going school shopping in the afternoon while Philip watches Daniel. I'm wanting to finish putting up decorations in the house this week, we have a party to attend on Saturday, my sister-in-law is bringing her sister to GBS this week, we'll continue to get ready for school and Philip starts F/S week on Tuesday. Another busy week :o) Hope you all have a good one. Oh, the picture of Allan with his sunflower was taken today. It's one of three (out of the 50 we planted) that survived to this point. He was tickled that it finally bloomed.

Getting ready for school

We've made the decision to start homeschooling Allan this fall mainly due to his prompting. He has been begging to learn to read and I'm all for taking advantage of his willingness and enthusiasm. Since there is going to be a new baby in the fall I didn't feel it would be in his best interest for me to do all of the teaching. Since we had already decided to use the Bob Jones Press curriculum for his scope and sequence (adding and supplementing as we go) we'll be using their K4 (exposure) hard drive program. He's bursting at the seams ready to start! He's been wondering when we're going to get his desk set up, buy his supplies (he found out that he has to have scissors and that tickles him to no end), and get started.

While we were at Bob Jones I thought it would be neat if he could meet his teachers. Miss Liston has moved and so we weren't able to see her but Mrs. Lawson took time to meet with us and talk to Allan. I've never seen him so flustered. It just made his day to be able to meet her as you can tell from the picture. I'm getting excited myself. After teaching college for the past 5 years (for whatever reason my students never showed the level of enthusiasm for philosophy that Allan is exhibiting) it will be nice to get back to doing what I was trained to do. I will miss teaching philosophy (I can't believe I said that!) but my niche is with little people - I feel more comfortable there. So when school starts this year I'll probably have trouble sleeping the night before and feel all of those "first day" emotions that most teachers feel but it will be good.

Our stay in SC

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures at David and Teresa Armstrong's home. They were very gracious to let us stay with them. The boys loved the beagle puppies and turtle. Monday evening we had a wonderful supper shared with John and Cathy Parker. Wednesday we went to see the ladies I used to work with at BJU Press Customer Service. That was so fun! The boys were a little rowdy and I didn't realize it at the time but they were getting sick. By that afternoon they were both running fevers so we stayed put for the next 24 hours. Here are some pictures taken at Bob Jones. Allan had a hard time believing that his daddy was born in the campus hospital. They enjoyed the fountains, flowers and construction vehicles on campus.

Mrs. Barbara Tomlinson-Holtzberger

The reason we were in SC was so that Philip could attend the Bible Faculty Leadership Summit which is hosted at a different fundamental Christian college every year. This year it was held at Bob Jones University and since it had been awhile since we'd been in the area for a visit we took the whole family. Tuesday morning we went to visit Mrs. Tomlinson. She rented an efficiency apartment to me for two years while I was living in Greenville. In that time she became a wonderful friend and she treats Philip and I like her children! This was her first time to meet the boys. She's celebrating her 84th birthday today! After I married and moved to Easley she married George Holtzberger but has remained in her home in Greenville.

Trip to South Carolina

We started for Greenville, SC about 10:30 in the morning. Our car had to have some repair work done that morning so as soon as everything was clear we left. The boys traveled wonderfully again (it helped they both took a two hour nap in the afternoon).








I thought that the picture of Allan at the end of the trip was a good reflection of how we felt...we'd been in the car long enough!














Yes, washing the windows is part of getting gas for little people. It also gives them something to do so that you're not trying to occupy them while cars are pulling in and out. Philip snacked on fig newtons while Allan and I did our thing.

Corn on the Cob

Saturday I picked the 11 ears of corn that needed to be taken care of and we ate them for supper. It's good I did because the squirrels found the rest while we were in SC and I'm not sure if I'll get any more or not! Allan very much enjoys corn on the cob. Saturday evening as I was working to get the things done that help alleviate the Sunday morning crunch, Daniel was decorating our walls upstairs with a green dry erase marker. Dry erase markers are great when used on dry erase boards but on paint and carpet it's a different story.

July 28, 2001

We celebrated our seventh anniversary a little early this year since we were planning on traveling to SC on the 28th. Every year we laugh because only once (that we can remember) have we been able to celebrate on the actual day. Pop-pop and Gramme kept the boys while we went to our favorite place to eat...Panera Bread. It's the only restaurant around that plays music (classical) that is conducive to allowing you to eat in peace.






After that we took a drive around the southern Ohio northern Kentucky countryside. One of my favorite churches (architecturally) is in Covington and so we stopped to take a few pictures. The gardens were closed at that time of day so we didn't stop. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening celebrating another year together.