Art, Cats, Hot Tub, and Skunk

 

We have a new (to us) hot tub!  Obviously there is a story about that!  We bought a little one from Sam's Club last autumn. Since we had never had a hot tub before, we weren't sure if we would use it or enjoy it. Answer was that we loved it.  It is in use almost every day. Given the size of our family, we decided to look into purchasing a bigger, nicer hot tub. This one was for sale about 100 miles from us. Kevin and I drove up, looked it over, and decided to buy it. The previous owner kindly transported it down to us for a reasonable fee.  Then a few neighbors helped Kevin and our big boys get it into our sun room.

It has special electrical needs so that has to be sorted out.

Opal is cute in her box.

Her leg is cute too.

Angela did this.  Like all my daughters, she is a self taught artist. She got interested in paint some time ago and has taught herself how to make amazing pictures.  This is a green gift bag.  I think it is incredible.

Isaac is a big believer in adequate Vitamin D.  Also, Moonbeam likes to sit on him.

Last but not least, let's talk skunks!  There has been a faint whiff of skunk in the air the last week.  Well, sometimes it is more than faint; sometimes it hits us straight in the nostrils and is a most unpleasant experience.  We think a skunk is living under our big deck.

A few days ago, Kevin and I were in the hot tub and I looked out to observe a skunk wandering vaguely around the pool.  I was like, um, Kevin?  Skunk in the pool area.

I mean, what can you do about a skunk?  You scare it and it sprays and you are stinky for weeks!

Then yesterday morning some of the kids were feeling sick so we decided to stay home from church. I got up to find Rose up and raring to go. She wanted to go for a walk out back.  I'm like, cool, good idea.

We were all the way in the back, just starting toward the house, when I heard rustling in a bush very near me.  I expected one of the cats was hanging out and looked over expectantly but...

Dum dum DUM!!!!!

SKUNK!

I am 52 and I don't run very often, but I ran for my life.  Well, I ran to save myself being noxiously odiferous.

"Rose, run, run!!!" I cried.

She did, with enthusiasm. She is young and limber and lithe.

We didn't get sprayed, but it made me less excited about walking our back three acres if I am going to find skunks wandering around like they own the place!

Yesterday Kevin bought mothballs and put them at the entrance holes under our deck. We are hoping that will chase the skunk away.  Skunks supposedly don't like mothballs.

So that's our skunk(s) story.

So far...

Miscellaneous Pictures of Our Family Life

Jet is cute.

Rose and outdoor cats are cute.

Opal is cute.

Rose is cute. Also, this is slime blown up with a straw.  

Opal likes Isaac and Isaac likes Opal.

Impressive, most impressive.

Even bigger!

Miriam and Angela made carrot cupcakes.  Yummy!

Jet likes to suck on Joseph's blanket.

Outdoor art.

Indoor architecture.

Kite flying.

Sarah reading about Israel from our monthly box from Universal Yums, a subscription service.

Outdoor cats cute.

More outdoor art.

 

REALLY Good-bye to the RV

 

So it is on its way out right now!

The truck is not sold. I know what I said in my last post, but the person backed out.  That is a little annoying BUT it is Ok; maybe we will just hang onto it for another month or so.  Our big girls are moving to a new apartment in a month and the truck will make moving them easier.

Kevin is happy to have this done; there is a fair amount of work involved in selling something big.

It is wet and drizzly today. It has been wet a lot.  And it has been cold.  The average temps are down from a normal April.  Yesterday was delightfully warm and sunny but it was also super windy.  I am looking forward to May, when it will definitely be warmish most days.  On the other hand, the chiggers will start hatching (or spawning, or whatever chiggers do) in the hopes of biting me.  So there are nice things about cooler temperatures!

I decided that next week will be a week off from normal school.  The big boys are finishing up their college work, and there is a bunch of stuff that needs done around the house.  Miriam and Angela are very "in" to art, so I have no doubt they will spend hours doing artwork, which is educational as well.

Good-bye!

 To our RV and truck!

Two sets of people came over this morning. The first wanted our truck, and the second our RV.  Money hasn't actually exchanged hands (except for a holding fee for the RV) but both seem serious. So we will soon bid good-bye to both.

I feel a little sad about the RV; it was a place where Kevin and I could sneak away when the kids were younger. But they are older now, and less noisy.  Still plenty noisy at times, but we can tell them to go away and they do!

When we need some time alone, I mean.

One thing I think about often is simplicity. When we own something large, it requires maintenance, it requires insurance, etc.  So the RV takes work.  So does the truck.

Here is something funny about the truck; we have put 500 miles on it in 4 years. WOW!

Naomi even drove it to work for a few months, but work was only a few miles away.

Anyway, this will make our lives less complicated, and we will have money to put in the bank, which is a good thing.

Busy Days, Plus a Cold

 So yes, we have been fairly busy, but what is new?

Also, a cold made its way through the house, which is tedious.  Compared to when we had very small children, it has been a breeze; everyone can blow his or her nose, and I have not been staying awake to listen to coughing children.  So yes, not a huge deal. Still, sickness is annoying.

Younger two hanging out.  On the floor.

Sarah and Isaac hanging out.

New cat visitor!  In spring, the feral and lost cats roam. This one has shown up twice to eat our food.  She or he is pretty.

Opal is happy.

Jet is happy.  He adores soft blankets and sucks on them, which looks adorable and ridiculous.

100 piece puzzle.

Rose and I put it together.  It glows in the dark!

This is funny ... socks!  For Kevin!!  Kevin is the pickiest person in the house about socks. Not only does he want them to match, he even wants the whites to match!  So old socks that are the same style are not allowed to be paired with new socks because he doesn't like that one sock is grayer than the other.

So he just bought 16 pairs of identical socks and is throwing his other white socks away.  That makes me very happy because I was having trouble keeping up with his socks.

(I am more or less in charge of socks in the household.  Kevin takes care of lots of other things.)

I hope to write more about science experiments but for now, God bless you, and God bless Ukraine!

Ukraine and Other Deep Thoughts

 So obviously what is happening in Ukraine is tragic.  On one hand, with a real war  splashed across every news screen, with inflation and gas prices rising rapidly, it seems kind of ridiculous to work on sorting socks and giving away homeschool material as described in the last post.

But...

I can't do anything about Ukraine except pray, and I have been.

I can't fix the high gas prices.  I can worry, but that doesn't help anything.

I have long been prone to anxiety so I have learned not to feed it by focusing heavily on scary news.  I do look at headlines and I do pray, but I don't deep dive into information that will just make me afraid and unable to function well.

I have important jobs at home to be a good wife and mother.  The children need to be educated, and the meals need to be made, and so on, and so forth.

I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I am an evangelical Christian who believes the Bible is true (though there are plenty of spots which can be interpreted as being symbolic, like Revelations and some of the prophecies.  Anyway...)

One of the things I struggle with is evil in the world.  So many people suffering from illness and persecution, from war and even genocide.

I think this is a common struggle for people.  There are those who have concluded atheism is the only reasonable response, with their argument being that if there was a God, He would make sure people wouldn't suffer so much.

Well, I know there is a God. I know it.  Intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, physically, I know there is a Creator God.

The universe is just stupid, you know?  I mean stupid in the sense of being ridiculous.  The physical constants are just right to allow for large, intelligent life like us.  I mean, the constants are so finely tuned that there is no way it just happened by chance.

I believe in the Big Bang, and it is ridiculous too. So finely tuned to allow for a universe where an Earth that supports humans can exist.

Not to mention that the Big Bang includes a ton of material in a tiny volume which then exploded, and where did that material come from?  Time started at some point.  At some point, the universe didn't exist.  So where did all that material come from without the Hand of God?

(For more information on this, Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel describes these issues.)

I have heard more than one person say things like:

1.  I would never believe in a God who allows children to die from wars or starvation or illness.

2. I would never believe in a God who sends people to hell.

3.  I would never believe in a God who says that extramarital sex is sinful.

And so on.

Here's the thing, we don't have to believe in God.  God gave us free will.

But we have very small brains compared to a Creator who made an entire galaxy.  

I don't like the reality of Hell. I don't like kids dying.  

But, I also know that I have a very limited perspective.  I am not God.  He is the King, and whatever He says, goes.   (That is a quote from the Veggietales Esther, which I find hilarious in the movie.  But TRUTH!)

As I've pontificated about before, cultures get wacky easily. I was reading this week about the Last Emperor of China, who was yanked away from his parents at age 2 to be the new Emperor, or the new heir to the Emperor. Something.  Since he was Emperor (or the heir), no one could tell him no.  Seriously had any of those people ever seen a toddler?  If there is one thing a toddler needs, it is someone to tell him NO!  Like, if he grabs a knife, or climbs on top of a tall cupboard, or whatever.

Apparently his wet nurse was the only person who could control him.

The man was a total sadist as an adult, though I think he did repent  of many of his actions at the end of his life.  But he was horribly mean to his servants.  

How did the Chinese culture get to the point where they thought yanking a toddler from his family, and never giving him discipline, and making him into some sort of god, was a good idea?

Wow.

So Jesus is God incarnate, and He came to earth in the womb of Mary, and he grew up and he taught and he healed and then he DIED.

Unpleasantly.  Crucifixion is a horrible way to die.  The Old Testament of the Bible, which was the First Covenant, required animal sacrifice to wash away sin.  Jesus was the final sacrifice.  I think that the blood debt would have been paid if they had just chopped his head off, which isn't a bad way to die.  Crucifixion is terrible.  

There is a lot more to unpack here but it helps me to realize that for all the pain and suffering in this world, Jesus experienced pain and suffering as well to save me, to save the people He loves, from our sins.

So yes, there is a great war in Ukraine and people are dying.  I grieve over it. God does too. Why doesn't He just leap in and fix it?  No idea.  But I AM NOT GOD.  I submit to the reality that I don't see the big picture.

For now, I will pray, and I will ask God to give me guidance, and I will do my work at home, and yes, I will write books, and I will read fun books, and I will take pleasure in life.  

God bless you, Ukraine.  And God bless you, Russia. I have no doubt many people are totally opposed to this war in Russia. It is sad for both countries' people.

This Week

 A week ago, I finished my work on our latest book, Gallant Mr. Darcy, which will be published soon.  Kevin has been juggling all kinds of tasks involving the book launch but I am the Talent, and I don't deal with that stuff.

Kevin's job has also been demanding lately so, kudos to Kevin for managing everything!

So this week my brain veered from finishing the book to dealing with a bunch of little and big projects that had been allowed to lie fallow of late.

A big project involved our 5th wheel, which is parked beside our barn. We bought it 4 or 5 years ago, with the idea that it would be a little "cabin away from home.".  It was; when we still had very small children running around, Kevin and I would retreat there on date nights and watch a movie or just hang out together. Being 100 feet from the house was amazingly relaxing. Instead of hearing yelling and thumping of little feet, we just left the older kids in charge (yes, we did pay them for babysitting, though not a high hourly rate) and enjoyed one another's company.

Then Naomi lived in the 5th wheel for much of a year.  She had graduated from college but had a low paying job, and couldn't afford to live on her own yet.  But she could live in the 5th wheel, which she did.  She is an introvert and the sheer number of people in our house was not easy on her.  

Eventually, Lydia graduated and got a job, and they moved out, and are enjoying being on their own very much!

Oh, and Naomi got a much better job in computers.  Yeah!!  Praise God!!

Lately, we haven't been using the 5th wheel much.  We are in the hot tub enjoying one another's company, or we can watch movies in the basement or even on the computer without a lot of interruptions. There is a big difference between having a toddler and a 7 year old!  Rose is still very active and busy, but she can leave us alone when necessary.

So, we have decided to sell the 5th wheel, and this week the kids and I worked on getting the inside cleaned out and cleaned.  We had some stuff out there; not a ton, but some. Which means, yeah, I have to figure out what to do with all that stuff!

We had sleeping bags out there and the kids have decided that the living room is a fine place to set up a "tent city".  They have been having fun.

So yes, the inside of the RV looks good, and Kevin will clean up the outside a little, and we will try to sell it.  Probably we will find a buyer; apparently RV's are in hot demand right now.

I went through socks.  Ughhh.  Threw out some that were small or wearing out.  Matched a bunch.  Also found quite a few without mates.  

I went through some of my books and homeschool materials and set aside a bunch of stuff to give away. I posted the best of the lot on a local homeschooling group and a lady promptly said she would take everything. She homeschools and is a teacher at a private school so she said she could use everything.

I am hoping that this is the last gasp of winter. It is currently in the low 20's and we got snow yesterday.