Labot Day weekend Happenings

It's been a great weekend. Friday, Anderson had the day off. It was really nice to have him home. It was so cute; during rest time Anderson told me that he misses being at home with me so that he can have his quiet time. It has been a very tiring week for him, although I know that he'll get used to the full days of school. The intense heat hasn't helped either.
Friday night, Bob and I attempted our first object lesson with the kids. There's a verse in the Bible that says, "Do not be deceived; bad company corrupts good habits." We wanted Anderson to think about the company he keeps, particularly at school. It's very common to believe the lie that if I'm not doing what the others are doing, it doesn't matter if I hang around them while they're doing it ("just an observer"). However, that doesn't usually last that way for long. So, we decided to make brownies with cat poop in them. Bob told the kids that he had stopped at Uncle Erik's house to get cat poop for our special brownies. They watched us make them, putting the poop (melted Tootsie rolls) in the center. Lyndsey was funny because she commented on the brownies smelling good. I wonder if she was saying that because she didn't smell stinky poop. Anyway, after we cooled the brownies, we asked the kids if they wanted some. They said "Yes!". We questioned this, reminding them what was in them. Lyndsey didn't seem to care (no, we don't deprive her of brownies!), but Anderson began to waver. Bob acted like he was going to throw them away since they were ruined. Anderson rationalized that the cat poop probably melted and was all through the brownies, making them yucky. I told him that I didn't think so; maybe we should try to cut around it. He wasn't so sure of that. We ended up telling them that it wasn't real poop, just candy. We explained that a little bit hanging around people making bad choices, even though it seems small compared to the good choices "I" am making, can still have a big effect, just like a little bit of yuck can ruin the whole pan of brownies. God's Word warns us about this. So, I think that we got the point across. It certainly didn't go as smoothly as we had thought it would! Isn't that typical with kids.
Saturday, we were visited by a professional photographer who was trying to get photos for a magazine article. I'll post the link to it when it happens. It was kind of fun having our pictures taken as they were mostly candid. I'm hoping that we'll get to see many of them and maybe even be given a few. We'll see. Bob says the magazine will likely choose the hick picture as a bunch were taken around our old, blue tractor. (Of course, that's where the kids played the longest!) And that would certainly go with us living in NH. 8) After that was over, we had just enough time to get all the kids ready for their sleepovers/visits with friends while Bob and I went to a wedding in Plymouth. It was really nice to get away with Bob for a few hours and celebrate this special day with Josh and Maresy. We also got to see some old friends...it's really funny how different circles of people overlap. We even got to dance! This was very exciting for me as I still struggle with balance and having my body do what my brain thinks it can, but I was able to dance. It was fun spending this time with Bob as it's been a very long time, and I really enjoy dancing.
Sunday, we took a family bike ride to Lone Oak, which is 3 miles away. Anderson did such a good job keeping up! Ethan was THRILLED to be going for a ride behind the bike and just as thrilled when he saw that the destination was ice-cream. I think that he and Daddy ate the most as Ethan had some of mine, Anderson's, and Lyndsey's. 8) This was a really fun family outing.
Afterwards, we went star-gazing in the back yard. It was Bob's idea and we all really enjoyed it. The sky was so dark and the stars so bright. We'll have to do that again some time.


Monday, we hiked Mt. Major with Mom and Dad, Jason's family, Aunt Paula and Uncle Rick, Jen and Danny's family, and Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff. It was so much fun! It was work for me but very good for me. We had a picnic at the top and played for an hour or so. The kids loved playing with Zack and Kayleigh. The weather was just perfect. Ethan discovered a caterpillar and he was so excited! He let it crawl on him and picked it up...not afraid at all! This surprised me as the other 2 never reacted this way. It was fun to watch. On the way back down the mountain, I stopped to pick blueberries. (They were sparse, but I couldn't resist!) So I sent everybody on while I enjoyed nature a bit. After I found the path again, I was trucking down the mountain to try to catch up (carefully, of course!). I came around a corner and heard Ethan noises. There were he and Bob, sitting on a rock waiting for me. Isn't that sweet?! My husband who likes to be on the move and in the lead waited for me. This meant so much. As we treked the rest of the way down the mountain, we had some nice conversation. Oh, this was good for my soul as I've felt lonely for him lately. I'll share the funniest part of our conversation...
We were talking about how my bad hip has become my good hip, as I was realizing that I was relying on my right hip quite a bit as I became more fatigued. To keep things clear ("new bad hip", "old bad hip", etc.), we decided to name my left leg "Raskin" after my orthopedic oncologist. It just fits so perfectly. We then started joking around about, "Rasking up", "Don't pull my Raskin". It was fun laughing together.