Week ending 8-8-21 Painting the fireplace, new lawnmower, Madalyn comes home

 No more school camps so it was wonderful to have all 7 children home all day everyday. Madalyn came on Wednesday night so then I had 8 children. And this week Kylie comes home and I'll have 9! I can't wait!

Monday morning yard work time: Pulling weeds. I'm not proud of our garden this year. We planted before we moved in, while the Sloops still lived here so we just threw some plants in. I have so many other projects in the yard to do we just don't go down to our garden very often. But it still feels good that we have our own garden (we didn't in Utah b/c we rented a house with no place for a garden. Two years we gardened at a neighbor's) and can pick from it anytime we want. We have zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, tomatoes and bell peppers. Then several herbs.

Lexi's herb garden

Besides the stuff we planted we have everything that was already here. Let me see if I can remember it all.

Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, pokeberry, garlic, asparagus, grapes, apples, cherries, pawpaws, walnuts, pecans, kiwis and figs. Wow! That's a lot! I'm so blessed to have this house.

After weeding I got started on painting the fireplace. I didn't know what I was doing at all but I loved the way it turned out. I ended up painting each brick with primer and then rag painting over it with white paint. Each brick looked different from each other and we loved that. I left the grey cement in between the bricks but it looks brown from a distance but I like that look too.

The view walking into the kitchen as I stopped for lunch.

After lunch the Lowes truck came with our lawnmower! It was a surprise for Thomas as he was at camp when we bought it. Here the kids are waiting as it pulled into our driveway.

Unloading it.

Anxious for that first seat on it.

Mowing and picking up some of the clippings. Our grass was so long there were clippings everywhere.

All done! What a difference!

Tuesday: We spent the day getting ready for Madalyn and everytime I asked Kait to do something she'd jump up and do it and then go right back to this couch and read. She read the whole day.

Pulling out the bottom 2 boards we never got out last week.

I love watching the kids play outside. 

While Tom, Kait, and Kenna went to their first rehearsal I played outside with the 3 little kids. I sat here on the grass doing history lesson plans and loved watching them pretend to be in a play.

Wednesday: Bookmobile day. :)

The elders stopped by to see our paint job and the little boys loved getting shoulder rides and goofing off with them.

Thursday morning: Waiting for Madalyn to wake up after getting in at 3:30am. I love seeing everyone happily reading.

With the lighting it is hard to get a good picture of everyone.

Madalyn wakes up!

I love seeing 7 younger siblings crowd around Madalyn. They adore her.

Doing "My name is Chubby."

Our neighbors who own the cows, the Smiths, came over and built us a tv shelf and it turned out great.

I went on a tiny hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway to a beautiful creek. I've been so busy doing projects and had a hurt foot that I haven't hiked at all but I hope to get back into that.

Friday: Playing ping pong at the Wait's house. They invited us over for dinner and we had so much fun. Sister Wait is the primary president in the branch.

Sister Wait taking me and the 3 little kids on a ride.

Then she took the 5 older kids.

The view from their deck. I love the country houses here. It's so relaxing and rejeuvenating.

Look close to find 2 little boys climbing the trees to pretend to be in the Olympics.

Saturday: Trying again to pull out the bushes but still not getting it to work. We need a better chain.

Taking off another layer of this post. I keep thinking we're done but then I find more to take off. I want to replace it with a cool wood beam.

Eight kids playing in the rain.

How the living room looks at the end of this week with the bricks painted and our new tv shelf and some temporary valances hung up. Still need to sand and paint the beam across the ceiling and put in a new post. And someday replace the ceiling. It's fun to see changes week by week.