Routine and Knitting

Mom and dad have lived with us every summer for the past 9 years, so having them here with us feels very normal. The only difference this year is dad's illness. We are however, starting to get into a real routine.

Yesterday morning we got dad out on the front porch. He sat and enjoyed the clean mountain air. While Faith played in the yard with the chickens that are growing rapidly.

On the knitting front: Really haven't had time to sit and knit with all the goings on around here, but I did finish Faith's dress.

Made dad a wool cap to help keep any chill off his head. Here he is wearing it while Faith listens to his heart.

This is another hat I've started him, just to give him options.

Watch out Rocky!!

Mom and dad arrived yesterday afternoon. It was obvious the trip from Suzanne's in South Carolina tired him out, but once we got him settled onto the porch he stayed there for a couple hours. He commented on the view and enjoyed chatting with the kids. His goal before he leaves is to walk the length of our porch. This morning he started his training!

The cancer has definitely weakened his body, but the kids are working on strengthening his spirits.

Family Visits

Suzanne and Renee came and stayed for a couple of nights. We drank a few Mike's Hard Lemonades, watched some Red Sox, ate some good food, and exposed Suzanne to a little of Central Virginia's culture. (The word "culture" is figurative.)

Jacob gave Renee a ride on the 4 wheeler and taught her to drive it. I think she enjoyed this because they did it more than once.

Now we await mom and dad's arrival. Cousin Larry, and it turns out his wife Diane, went and got them in Florida and they left this morning to come here. They are taking the trip slowly and we will pray for their safe arrival, expected tomorrow. With dad's compromised health it is all in God's hands.

Anticipation

In about 24 hours my sister Suzanne and my niece Renee will be here for a 2 day visit. We did just see them in March, and Suzanne and I talk almost daily, but I'm still really excited about their visit. I will be the first time they've been to our home in Virginia.

After they leave my mom and dad will be coming for a visit. They are headed to Massachusetts, where they will live with my brother Joe, while dad receives the best possible cancer care at Dana Faber Cancer Institute. We are all praying the options and care the institute can give Dad will allow him a little more time.

Cousin Larry and his son Zeb will be helping mom get dad from Florida to our house here in Virginia. Although Larry lives in Virginia about a 3 hour ride from us, his tree farm keeps him quite busy, so he hasn't been to see our new house.

Then one of my brothers will be coming from Massachusetts to finish the journey to Massachusetts with mom and dad.

The second week in June our good friends in Connecticut are sending their son, Adam Jake's best friend and our surrogate second son, for the month.

It will be so wonderful to play host and share our hospitality with all our loved ones.

The anticipation of the visits may prove unbearable, then it will be over too soon. Why is that?

Only 6 Acres, But What a Wonder

Our little niche of land, here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is small compared to the vast mountain range it is part of, but it holds some little treasures. Today when Mike, the kids, the dog and I decided to take a hike in the woods near our house we found this little pot of gold.

A turkey hen, that we have spotted and heard in the yard, has laid 17 eggs and built this little nest at the base of a Beech Tree. Very exciting!

Another little gem we've discovered, what believe to be, an Oak Titmouse nest. Complete with 2 little chicks. Look closely you can see their little heads.

Queen for a Day

This is what it is all about! The weather is picture perfect, the sun is shining without a cloud in the sky. There is a beautiful breeze coming through the trees over the mountain. I have my knitting by my side and I'm sitting out in my rocking Adirondack chair on the deck. Ahhhh Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is a day that I can do whatever I want without any guilt for not doing what I'm suppose to. As a stay-at-home mom I can't ask for anything more! I slept until I woke up, 8:30. Mike had the coffee made and breakfast cooking. No clean up for me!! My daughters each made me a lovely card. Haley's was a colorful butterfly card with a heart felt note inside. Faith's was a poem that she read to me herself, her signed name was perfectly legible and no one helped her.

Jacob wrote me a poem that I will share with you here:
I write this poem for my mom...
In gangster speak, "She da bomb."
She cheers me up when I am sad,
She yells at me when I am bad.
During hunting season, she is sad,
She tells me not to shoot my dad.
At the store, she buys nothing stale,
She takes advantage of every sale.
For piano lessons, she pays lots of cash,
If I don't practice, she whoops my ash.
She likes it when I play guitar,
Says someday I will make it far.
She cooks lots of delicious food,
She married my dad, he's a cool dude.
She cleans all day long, until the dust is dead,
She doesn't stop working until she's asleep in her bed.
She somehow manages to get us all to church,
I dread the day when she will ride in a hurse.
Even though she never gave me a brother, I still can say,
"I love my mother." Love, Jake

Now I ask you, "Who can ask for anything better than this?"

What was he thinking?

As a stay-at-home-mom, my oven is a tool in my arsenal that I use daily. When the builder chose this oven he elected to not have it be a self cleaning oven. UGH!!! You guessed it, a 40 something single guy!

Since moving into the house I have had to clean it 3 times. Last night I baked a couple of vegetable quiche for dinner, that ran over into the bottom of my oven. So, this morning was one of those times. I cursed that builder all morning!!

There has to be an up side to NOT having a self cleaning oven, just can't figure out what it is today. Any ideas? Please share.

The Little Red Hen

When we moved from Connecticut one thing (or 13 of them) that we had to leave behind were our chickens. We were able to give them and the coop to a very good family, but it still broke our hearts. In looking for a new home here in Virginia one of the criteria was room for chickens in the yard. If you've ever had your own chickens and a constant supply of fresh eggs you know why this was important to us.

Mike and the kids convinced me yesterday was the day to get our new brood. We had hoped to get pullets (chickens almost old enough to lay eggs), but the farm store couldn't promise when they would get any. We ended up with 5 Rhode Island Reds, and 7 Sex-Link Black Stars, all chicks.

It won't be until October or November that they are laying eggs, but just the anticipation is exciting. Faith has never had the opportunity to raise chicks, she was too young before, so this should prove to be exciting.