SUP

Boys: Mom, can we play soccer this spring?

Me: Soccer costs $100 a child, plus cleats and uniforms… or I could spend the money and buy us three SUP boards*… and we could play soccer in the Fall. 

*Thanks to Amazon opened box section these three boards were marked down from $375 to $125 this winter. The cheapest I see them now is $195. 

So here we are, we have taken the boards out three times already and love them. It is a bit of a workout to pump them up with air. It takes about ten minutes to inflate and 7 to deflate. 

 I figure we have already made our money back compared to if we rented them. Rentals run about $40 for two hours around here. 3 trips x $40 = $120. So it is all a free ride after this. :) 

We are taking them to a lake in a few weeks. Maybe I’ll update you again on how we like them. So far they have been great on the bay. 

Drywall

The drywall has been up since February and we hired someone to come finish it. He came in April. I started painting and now Jared is installing trim. I’ll try to get updated pictures soon.  We are hoping to have the dryer and washer working by my birthday. Hooray!! 

A bunny

The oldest son has been asking for a rabbit for over two years. So for his birthday we drew up plans for a rabbit hutch and his them at the end of a treasure hunt. Jared and he went to Lowes and picked up all the supplies and built the hutch over the next few weekends (which is why the mudroom has on hold since February).  The rabbit was 8 weeks old and able to leave her family this week. She is the sweetest and softest thing. 

Ps. Your kids are going to like different things then you. Remember how much I disliked the Green Ember… it made it on my dislike list of books for the year a few years ago (2019 I think).  Well, it is one of the oldest sons favorite books. Originally this rabbit was supposed to be a boy, but the litter was all girls. So instead of being named Smalls Jupiter, he changed the name to Heather Longtreader. Welcome, Heather! 

Pps. My vote for a name was Pickles Folger from Redwall. 

Books of 2022

 I am just a bit late posting my list of books for 2022...

2021 List (There are links to lists from 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 in that link)

A few notes:

a) I read:
70 books. 
17610 pages
48 pages a day

b) My top three read authors were:
Dale Ralph Davis
E. Nesbit
George MacDonald

c) We really loved E. Nesbit books and they were a balm to our souls when we were sick for half the summer. Literally half the summer (24 days in May, 7 days in June, 21 days in July, and 14 days in August).

d) 39% were fiction (27 books).  26 of those books were read to the kids. I read one fictional book for myself - Our Mutual Friend.  It was excellent. 

e) Winter Holiday, The Enchanted Castle, and The Princess and Curdie were my favorite reads to the kids. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.  The Swallows and Amazons Series is such a treasure of a series. I love it more and more. Books 2,4, and 6 have been my favorites. But they are all such gold.  Anne of Green Gables was also a fun read and Charlotte's Web is always a favorite! 

f) I abandoned books again this year and it didn't bother me. 

g) 46% of my books came from the library. 

h) I didn't borrow any books. I guess all my reading-the-same-type-of-books-as-me friends live in other states now. 

i) I focused on books that we had around the house and only bought 5 books this year. 

I am dividing this list into favorite books that I read to myself and books that I read to my kids. 

My Favorite Reads (In no apparent order)

The Dawn of Redeeming Grace: Daily Devotions for Advent - Sinclair Ferguson

1 Samuel: True Word for Tough Times - Dale Ralph Davis

Joshua: No Falling Words - Dale Ralph Davis

Judges: Such a Great Salvation - Dale Ralph Davis

Suffering Is Never for Nothing - Elizabeth Elliott

Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken - David Powilson

Parenting by God's Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace - Joel Beeke (A reread)

Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles - David Powilson (A reread)

The Bruised Reed - Richard Sibbs (maybe my book of the year...)

Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God - Tim Challies

Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God’s Design

Happiness - J.C. Ryle

Matthew (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, #1) - J.C. Ryle

Reformed Worship: Worship that is According to Scripture

What Happens When We Worship

Our Mutual Friend - Dickens

My Favorite Reads to My Kids

The Princess and Curdie (Princess Irene and Curdie, #2) - George MacDonald

The Enchanted Castle - E. Nesbit

Winter Holiday (Swallows and Amazons, #4) - Ransome

Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, #2) - Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1) - Montgomery

Heidi

God's Wisdom (Making Him Known) - Sally Michael

Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems

Brother Andrew: God's Secret Agent

Nate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer

*** Lastly, I don't have time to organize the whole list like I have in past years, but if you want to see all the books I read you can 1) friend me on goodreads and I rate all the books there (if I really hate a book or love a book sometimes I review it) or 2) here is my google file with the list super unedited and rough.

New quilt for 2023

I'm trying to use up fabric that I love and have had for a long time. A lot of these fabrics have made their way into other quilts dear to my heart over the years. It is fun to work with them again. 

Exploring

The world is beautiful even in the winter! I just love being outside. I am glad my kids will stay outside with me all day.  They are such a great bunch of people. 

Drywall!!

We are starting the drywall!

Walls framed and insulated



I insulated some walls and ceilings. Drywall is next!

This would make a great painting, he said as he pulled out his sketch pad

It is in the washer!!! Next up to cut any loose threads still leftover and it is finished. I’ll try to get a good photo tomorrow. 

Nephew quilt

I made this for one of my nephews for Christmas. It was a fun way to use up some scraps and fabric. 

Day 22 and 23 - quilting and binding

It may not look like much, but this is 4 hours and 15 minutes of work. 

3.5 hours quilting

45 minutes of cutting, sewing, and ironing binding. 

Next up: sewing on the binding with the machine and then hand sewing the second side of the binding. 

Sandwiched quilt - day 21

I love how the thin blue border brings out the blue blocks. It is perfect. And the light grey dots help to soften it up and make it less crazy looking. It is amazing how borders make a quilt look so much different. I considered doing a coral border, which would have made the quilt a bit louder (but more fun), but they didn’t have any fabric that matched at Hobby Lobby and I didn’t feel like spending hours searching for a fabric online and waiting for it to be delivered (although since we were sick for so long, I guess I could have). 

 I spent about 1 hour ironing the top and bottom and another 45 minutes getting it all sandwiched, stuck together, and smoothed out.  

 Next up is quilting! I’m guessing that will be about three hours. This is the widest quilt I’ve ever made so getting it all scrunched under my little machine is going to be more challenging. I’ve made baby quilts that are square, but never a full size quilt.