I just cleaned that place up!

Mother nature should really know better than to do a sister such a dis-service.

BEFORE

AFTER

 I enjoy doing yard work - that is, yard work of my own creation.  I have enjoyed creating several new flower beds in my yard this year; thinning out bulbs and planting new ones.  I love the park-esque feel of our yard with large green spaces and shaded tree areas.  The kids can play baseball, soccer, frisbee, whatever they like while I enjoy digging in the dirt.

I love watching them play on the well manicured lawn, and yes, I take much longer mowing the lawn than needed. It is not bad to leave the clippings in the grass but I do not like the grass sticking to their feet and coming inside. Plus, the more I mulch the greener.  May be a bit OCD about yard work.

I spent several hours getting rocks out of this front bed more as a therapeutic measure to avoid depression than an actual need to be meticulous.

 The beginning of this summer in Indiana has been wet and windy.  Wet and windy.  I have come to understand this is Nature's way of pruning the trees and topping the really big ones.  I just do not appreciate the messes in my yard.

Saturday morning Danny wakes me with "there is a lot of wind Mom.  And there is a tree on our trampoline."

We left all the branches and trees on the ground Saturday because it was so soggy outside after torrential rains and Josh needed to help de-flood the basement at our rental.  We hoped for sun in the next few days.

Sunday was sunny, and with rain in the forecast for Monday, we got our 'ox out of the mire' while we could and clipped and hauled branches away.  Josh was having trouble with his chainsaw, perhaps a curse of trying to work on the sabbath, so we just stripped the tree to it's bareness. 

Tramp frame is bent, but the mat is not ripped.  We'll have to figure out how much to invest in fixing that. 

 We got it cleaned up. We figured out the *obvious* problem with Josh's chain saw on Monday and set to work beneath threatening skies. All the logs are stacked tidily outdoors.  It is raining again today. I keep waiting for summer to come.  I think I will protest doing any more yard work until lit does come.  I already have issue with with all the eternal messes I have to clean up with kids being home all day, much less adding 'nature' to the mix; I'm just not that ambitious.

The kitchen was clean when I went to bed, but the time I got down to the kitchen the next morning - it had been attacked by the other 4 people in this home and left for me.  So very thoughtful.  

Puppets, purchases, and papers

This is the season when all the wheels start spinning, faster, and Faster, and FASTER! Until I no longer have control.  On various days, I choose to give up. On those days, I find myself finding every excuse possible not to shower, exercise, or make progress on massive pending papers.

Yes, it is the end of a semester.  I hate deadlines.  How I have enjoyed learning and researching for 14 weeks, and then the last two it feels like sirens are going off constantly, forcing me to make cognizant sense out of all the knowledgeable stuff in my head.  Bleh.  It is not that I don't want to articulate my passionate feelings about how families shape identities and how family history writing can and should evolve in order to tell the smaller stories that shape a nation.  I really do want to articulate it all; can't we just have a long conversation instead?  Nope.  That would not be as well organized.  I get it.  Please pass the chocolate chips.

The research has been fascinating.  Thanks to the Church of Jesus Christ, we not only have the amazing free FamilyTree.org to work with, we have been given a membership to Ancestry.com.  We have been connecting with family members that we didn't even know we had in order to fill in some blanks in the family legacy.  Check out these gems:

This is the army registration card for Josh's great-grandfather, filled out in his own handwriting!  We had been trying to verify whether or not James fought in WW1.  We know he registered from this, and then....

Here is the application for military burial, which assumes that he did serve active duty.  There are still some mysteries in between, such as where and when, but we have the beginning and the end!  No, James did not die in the war, he died after a poker fight somewhere in Oregon (yet another story we are trying to clarify).

The personal connection to my research material (that is my research revolves around how family history work illuminates family trends, identity markers, and can change the way family identifies themselves) has made it so very worthwhile.  I have already started a couple spinoff projects.  It just feels like there is never enough ways to present the information as they extend into so many spheres.

As part of my physical goals this year, I am trying to be as aware of my body and its reactions to stress as possible.  I like stress, it motivates me on one hand.  On the other hand, it ties my muscles into searing knots that eventually separate from my spine and I collapse in an exhausted heap.  As one might imagine, end of semester is a constant tango between stress collapse and productivity.  In the meantime, I am trying to stay relaxed by adding more....enjoyable...distractions outside of academia.  So we have decided to buy a new home, rent our current home, and be committee chair on the annual school fundraiser.

Our current home cleans up nice. Thanks to the new category of 'shabby chic' all our crappy furniture is stylish.  With much gratitude, we already have renter lined up to move in just as we move out.

The new place will be fantastic.  We have been praying and looking for another house that would put us closer to the kids' school and give us a great yard in a good neighborhood.  God is gracious and does hear our prayers.  In our home search, I found this home listed on a Thursday night, I went with the kids on Saturday to see it, we put in the offer Saturday night, Sunday morning we had an accepted offer.

 We sign the first part of December and will move in the week of Christmas.  What a dream!  True to our form, Josh has not yet been inside this home much like our last two houses we have purchased without him having walked through.  I think it is a good luck charm.

To relax in the evening...

 making felt puppets for Viv's class, our contribution to fundraising along with my time spent planning the event.  Honestly, I am so grateful for a creative outlet right now that does not involve the creation or consumption of text.  We, yes Josh is helping me, the entire cast of animal characters for two Jan Brett books "The Mitten" and "The Hat."  more to come on that....

Magic Playhouse

October 5th 2013.  A slightly gray and rainy day.  The weather was trying to switch between summer and fall, but the air still held onto the sweet warmth of summer fun.  It was Saturday, and the indoors were already boring the creative and amazing three Button children.  

Mom released them to the outdoors, realizing that a little rain couldn't hurt and you don't honestly catch a cold from getting your feet wet.  It seemed they had disappeared for a bit after some jubilant dancing in the falling downpour.  

Mom watched from the indoor kitchen window as the little people disappeared one by one into the small playhouse.  Although she knew they were safe in their little world, and being in the playhouse was most likely the most dry place to play outside on such a rainy day, Mom was curious.  She snuck out the door to see what was holding them in their little house.

As Mom arrived within ear shot she heard the familiar phrase : "The wind began to blow.
It blew harder and harder.
The house started to spin.
Faster and faster!
Danny squeezed his eyes shut.
Then everything was still.  Absolutely still."

As some may recognize, the children had just replayed the very sequence from "Magic Tree House" reading series.

As they stepped out of the house, the described to each other their new surroundings and the adventure that lay ahead for them.  They were in Easter land!  There were colorful eggs all around.  And danger!  There was danger there....over there!

Mom slipped back indoors, knowing that adults create only the safe bounds in which children are free to imagine, but when they encroach, the magic dissipates.  Mom could wait until they pointed at the picture of Fort Wayne and whirled home in their magic playhouse.

Cheering us on

I feel as though I am not a very consistent person, but I have consistent desires to be one of those people.  Writing falls under that category; I feel as if I loose the vibe than I am too far behind to catch up.  However, recent events have taught me to appreciate even the less inspired entries in the life of the Button Family.

To begin, I feel as though there is great need to send out some more joy and rejoicing!!

Applause for Blogger!
Now this blog contains some of the most precious things to me - pictures.  Within the last month our Mac had a pretty severe heart attack, or stroke, whichever mainstay body organ you would equate the hard drive of a computer.  It died.  We saw some warning signs, but did not take it to the doctor before they called the time.  Within that oh so dead hard drive are ALL our photos.  I know, backup and so forth, and we tried, just not often enough and this was before the invention of iCloud.  Now, all I want for Christmas is my pictures back, which may be possible in a clean room environment by some highly trained specialist, and to me, it is worth it.  Thank heavens I have been putting at least some snippets of life here, with photo evidence.

Hooray for Housewives!
I have had a bit of a showdown with my feminist teacher in my Women's Literacies course.  Some conversations were unpleasant, but I was bold in a way I felt I must (and feel very relieved to have heard echoed sentiments in the 183rd semi-annual general conference) and in a small way, triumphant.  Through persistence I have found a way to make sure feminist theory not overshadow the authentic feminine voice and have determinedly shown a true representation would be more humble and reflective of the sensibilities that make women excellent housewives!  I have felt so inspired that I have decided to formulate a whole years work on the subject, in the form of a master's thesis.  Ah! Finally to be inspired by a cause that speaks so clearly to who I am and what I stand for in an academic community that has been misrepresenting authenticity!  High point: my professor admitted to the class that if any woman were to suscribe to a feminist view point they must admit that feminism, as a body of theory and movements associated with it, has made some pretty harsh mistakes which still hold the name under a wicked lens. Own up to it, and then you are able to really understand what the third wave movement is all about.  And yes, I consider myself a feminist activist, and I will more than likely explain more about that as research continues.

Hats of for Dental Insurance!
We did our before-school-check-ups on the kids' teeth.  After our last multiple procedure visits in AZ for Faith and Danny we had decided to pay dental insurance - and hooray we did!  Faith had swallowed her crown and Danny's two front teeth were rotting at the roots.  Again, Viv gets high honors for having the world's wonder enamel with no needed dental attention beyond a bit of plaque.  End result, three removed teeth.  Faith had the rotted crownless tooth removed and Danny, well, we shall say that hearing the 'original' version of "all I want for Christmas" is delightful.

Last time with front teeth for years to come.

Two small treasures at one big price.

Small and strange perks of Indiana, what fun!

In the small quiet town where Josh practices medicine, the world's largest historic car auction happens yearly!  I think all the citizens of the town also own historic cars, for not only are there lots full of cars for auction prices, every house in town has a beautiful car sitting out in the front yard with a for sale sign.  I can't wait until we have money....I have my eye set on a few beautiful models.  It is a car lovers dream, and here we are in the middle of it!

And three cheers for finding what you don't need!

This is the house that Josh and I had envisioned as our forever home.  In the country with a wrap around porch.  Bonus for being in the correct location.  Naturally, when I saw a for sale sign in the front yard I convinced Josh that it would be worth our while to go walk through it, just to make sure that we didn't miss our opportunity.  Turns out the house is dreamy.  We did our research, and in so doing found an even dreamier home.  We tried to hurriedly get our ducks in a row to put an offer on our dream home, that was for real and for sale.  Turns out, ducks don't like being rushed or herded.  Although we did eventually round up enough of the appropriate ducks, our dream house had already floated out of our reach.  This house is still there.  We see it daily.  But we now know what ducks are ready and which are not and are happy to just stay in our own little pond and keep dreaming.  Dreams are useful, but it makes the most financial sense to live in what you can afford right now.

The sunflowers were incredible and made the house so quaint.

Our neighbor put up the picket fence and I like how nice it makes our home look.

As of Sept. 2nd we had put in a lot of work into this home, and it shows.

Backyard particularly has transformed with grass, fencing, 

and the almost finished garden.

Cycling

A day perfectly rounded.  It began with a luxuriously lazy arrising, adding an additional hour on to our normal rise time. Beautiful breakfast made by Josh and the kids of bacon and German pancakes.  Without delay we were off to a family excursion on bike and foot.  

Three small cyclists were bookended by parent runners acting as crossing guards and guides.  Within a mile of our home is a middle school that has an asphalt track on which we could all circle at our own pace.  Josh and I made a few laps for fitness as the children lapped for leisure.  Danny and Daddy practiced baseball on the in-field and we enjoyed the breezy morning warmth.  Within forty-five minutes the sun and exertion had their convincing statements and we were again riding home.  

Our morning then shaped itself into a fine balance of working together in the yard and cooling off.  I was delighted to have Josh around to assist with the yard work and again the children rotated between childlike entertainment and the work at hand.  We pruned trees, weeded the garden, swept sidewalks and prepared a personal urban paradise.  We dined al fresco in our freshly cut green turf and let the birds serenade the ease of our conversation.  Drowsy, Daddy retreated to an afternoon siesta in the basement.  The kids and I pampered our selves a bit more in the backyard before moving indoors for quiet activity.  I rested, the kids read.

We are all so pleased with the progress our yard has made this year, in another it will only just improve!

 The second grand excursion was to the city center for Buskerfest.  Our happy family of five took seat astride our bicycles and pedaled to the festival.  What a treat to live in a small town city with amenities within child biking distance.  It was our first experiment with city block traffic, and not without a bit of apprehension and tension along the way.  All was safe in the end and we enjoyed a mini street carnival.

The river green way is two blocks from our home that travels directly into the city along St. Joseph River.

 We were drug by one little leader or another from various attention grabbing attractions.  Loud banging on recycled goods attracted Faith and Danny, while Viv shied away from the overwhelming sensory input.  We saw street performers of all color (literally gold, silver, and green), musicians, jugglers, stilt walkers, and unicyclists (one playing the guitar while cycling).  A fine dinner outside of Jimmy Johns afforded us a fine vantage point of all while not having to pay the exorbitant bus food prices.

Faith joined in the drum-line without hesitation.

Danny had the rhythm and was tickled to play along. 

Doing 'airplane' on Daddy's feet took a whole new level with this balancing act. 

Fire eater - Josh sleuthed out her flaming source as vodka.  Not to bad swallowing that after extinguishing the flame.

The kids were pleased with this posing captain. Boy would Disney take them for a loop!

Our ride takes us right past the court house, with a lovely garden and circular paths for extra riding fun.

We came full circle back at home as each of the kids recorded in their personal picture journals what was most important to them each.  Even with nearly five miles of cycling around our city today, they were happy and energetic to the last pillow call.  There will be sweet dreams cycling around in their heads tonight.  I will rest well myself, having had a rounded day with those I love to share the road with best.

Days to Remember

It only takes moments for children to create something which may be deemed disastrous by adults, but to children it is just play.  I am grateful for the mental clarity to remember that I was once a child too and remember doing the very mischievous and creative things that my children are doing now.  They make mud.  They pick forbidden flowers. They build forts all over the house.  They wear five outfits in one day.  They take perfectly organized things and reorganize them.  They play and play and play.  I love them.  Each proud mama moment that is accompanied by a shake of a head and the adage, well, I am sure I did the same thing when I was a kid, brings joy to my days.  These three are more than the 'Three Amigos,' they are perfect partners through every day.  

To accompany their physical shenanigans, there has been a slew of new sayings that have stopped me in my tracks to recognize how far we have come and what amazing individuals they all are:

- While Danny was taking his sweet time to pick out a pair of new underwear from the two packages I had bought for him, and I impatiently requested he move the process along, without moving from his lounging position inspecting the patterns of the briefs he responded "I was just considering which pair I should pick Mom."  Ah. It is something to be considered.

-The latest fad at the Button home as been knock-knock jokes.  I have heard and read more knock-knock jokes over the last month than I had known in a lifetime.  Having tired with the library book versions of the joke format, the kids began experimenting and embellishing their own versions.  Some were nonsense.  Others were variations.  Some had their own sort of satirical humor, such as Viv's favorite for herself, which is a variation on the interrupting cow:  Knock-Knock.  Who's there?  Viv?  Viv who...?  La la la la la.  The satire is in the play on Viv's actually personality - she really does loose interest when asking you a question and diverges into her own singing world before reaching the resolution of the question she first asked you.  Oh my sweet Viv.

- Faith's ballet instructor gave her a mixed CD of music as a gift at completion of the course year.  It contained many of the major ballet music.  Faith was excited to have it played and we popped it into the car immediately.  As she sat listening to the music, poised and relaxed at the same time, she said "Mama.  Certain music makes me have different feelings."  I looked gently in the rearview mirror at my pondering princess and asked how she felt listening to that music.  "Perfectly at peace,"  she responded.   I was happy for the next few moments of the car ride to explore with the children different genres of music and how they made us feel.  How perceptive they are.

-  On a bright afternoon I was doing yard work in the front yard.  Any time I am working in the front yard it is an invitation to the kids to ride scooters or bikes.  This day Danny had tired from riding his bike (he had finally figured out how to get himself started on his own which may have exhausted the mental capacities earlier than usual but I was might proud) and commenced kicking limbs around nearby me as I was trying to de-beard my tree.  Generally my best helper, I asked Danny to please retrieve my pruning shears from the porch.  He casually kicked his legs and said half committed "You've got legs Mom, you get them yourself."  A bit of indignant pride flashed over my nerves a moment before I recognized the phrase, my phrase, as it was repeated verbatim to me.  It was well deserved and I chuckled at my boy for having caught on to my own lazy schemes.  He ended up getting the shears eventually, after we laughed together. 

Saturday is a special day...

pervious view of yard - mostly weeds

In the primary hymnal there is a song for children that states "Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday."  The bouncing melody goes on to describe how we make everything clean and shiny and extra peaceful before we lay down to rest buzzing with Sabbath reverence.  

I had forgotten this morning what I had done yesterday and woke to a hay field!

For us, Saturday is a day to get ready for Sunday, more in the sense of a 'day of rest' from our Saturday work.  With one full day for projects we work as crazily as possible for as long as our physical bodies can sustain it and then crash into bed relieved that the next day we can take a nap and nurse ourselves back to normalcy with ibuprofen and fresh baked cookies.   April has been a particularly productive month of Saturdays.  I was going to document in words what a delightfully exhausting day I had in the perfect 60 degree weather, but realized that my arms are still a bit too tired to support them up to the keyboard for too long.  We started at 8am, as soon as Josh brought home our rental equipment.  I set directly to the tree stump remover.  It was large and a bit intimidating and first - but way fun once I got the hang of it.  We needed to remove a variety for stumps along the old fence/property line between our house and the neighbors.  We were also hoping to create better drainage from our property, which sits 2 feet above  the next, so we are not draining our yard runoff into their basement.  So, I ran that digger all down the line and loosened as much soil as I could in the process while leveling out two massive root systems, lowering one area down three feet to level and then ditching the rest.

I was extra happy for the loose dirt to move it as topsoil to fill in our insanely uneven backyard.  The previous owners of the house had an above ground pool in the backyard and had flattened the ground under the pool - displacing a lot of the yard in severly uneven proportions. I would not have minded the bumps had any grass been able to grow in the depressed circle.  Nope.  Just weeds.  Thus, wheel barrow full by the next, I moved property line to level backyard while Josh delivered the rentals back and got supplies for the fence we are jointly building with the neighbors as well.  

Looking toward property line you see the shrubery.

Looking down the property line, new posts and ditch.

With the rental, Josh operated an auger - the fastest and easiest way to dig post holes ever!  After counting out 21 holes that would need to be dug, and knowing how long it takes, and the massive effort it takes, to dig them, we opted for the auger.  It was a good choice.  Because we are willing to put the fence together ourselves and demolish the tree stumps by ax and will power it saves us some cash.  Plus, we didn't have to pay for topsoil fill for the yard, and we fixed the drainage problem too!  Mostly.    Work in progress.  And work it was.  From early morning until 8 at night for me, 11pm for Josh.  I was happy that both Josh and I have stayed focused on fitness to support all that lifting, digging, and general physical labor.  It will be nicer every year and every month, and every Saturday.

The orangish area had been a really huge tree stump that was built up about 2 feet above our yard level, now it is depressed.

Level. Imagine the green to come!

The Saturday previous I worked through my grumpiness of sinusitis, treating it with paint fumes to renovate the kids' closet.  I had to take out shelving on the left and paint that little cubby of a space 3 times to make it nice.  Between coats I finished and re-finished all the trim (time consuming) in the bedroom and started the checker-board pattern on the ceiling.  

The main purpose was to create a hanging area where the kids could reach their hanging clothes themselves.

colorful 'drawers' to keep their clothes

higher shelves to keep clothes they are growing in to and toys to save.

With the addition of the 'reading corner' their room is getting quite homey. (and yes, we have a lot of paint on the floor, but we don't care since we will refinish the floors in another year.  Lazy = temporary ghetto mess.)