while the cat's away, the mice will play

we were gone for 3 1/2 days while taking M to SC for college. the plan was for the boys to be home, in order to take care of the animals, in addition to getting some stuff done around here. there is always a concern on the part of a mother when leaving her (teenage) sons alone for several days, and this was no exception. we made some arrangements for them to go to dinner at the homes of several church folks, and also left a list of things for them to do. the intention was to keep them busy, so they would stay out of trouble. it worked fairly well, with only a few bumps. i thought you might like to see the list. here goes, in no particular order-

~weed whack yard

~mow lawn

~coat foundation of addition with tar stuff

~fill in cistern with dirt

~put plastic, drain tile, stones and dirt in back trench (illustration provided)

~finish house wrapping laundry room side

~move shingles into the basement

~plant 8 hosta plants by bird feeder rock

~baked oatmeal for friday breakfast

~BLT for friday lunch

~mac & cheese with hot dogs for saturday dinner

~can stewed tomatoes (they did 17 quarts)

~G bathroom chore

~N clean bathroom closet

~D put wash from washer into dryer

~N consumer math, lessons 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

~G read module 1 chemistry

~N chapter 17 civics

~G geometry-12 pages

~vacuum house, up and down

~dust house

~D change N's bandage daily

~dinner friday night with the G's

~sunday school and church

~sunday lunch at the M's

~N wash and put away dishes

~G feed chickens, ducks, rabbits, dog and cat

~move chickens every day

phew! it 's a pretty long list, isn't it? and to their credit, they did it all, and did it well! they mostly stayed out of trouble too, except for one little thing. but they are all ok, so we are thankful. thankful for God's grace, and thankful to be home together again.