greetings from zambia!

for many years now our family has made shoe boxes for Operation Christmas child. it's a part of our family tradition, and often part of my kids' Christmas present to fill a shoe box full of little goodies- practical as well as fun- to send halfway around the world to some child who has nothing. it's a reminder to us on Christmas morning, amidst the flurry of presents and paper, gifts and giving, that somewhere there is a small child opening our boxes. what they have received in their carefully packed box may be the only worldly possessions they own. good reminders for us, who have so much!

M has gone on several mission trips with a local church to Charlotte, North Carolina, to work in the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child distribution center, getting the boxes ready to ship overseas. she has also taken Operation Christmas Child on as her own personal mission throughout the year, saving most of her tithe money to buy things for shoe boxes. last year she did 17 boxes, just herself, in addition to the mission trip! she has a very generous and tender heart for others!

here are a few pictures from that trip (ignore the date on her camera- she forgot to set it) you can see the massive warehouse, all full of shoe boxes. boys and girls, from ages 2-14 receive shoe boxes especially packed for them. the volunteers go through all the boxes to make sure that nothing inappropriate is in them, as well as to make sure they are filled up all the way. then they are sorted according to age, and boxed and ready to go on the cargo planes.

usually, M will include a little note, as well as a picture. today when dave and A went out to the mailbox, there was an air mail letter for miriam! from Zambia, Africa! the little girl who received M's box took the time, via a translator, to say thank you for her shoebox! her name is Glorious Musonda, and her father is a pastor. she wanted to tell M that they all appreciated her gift- her mother and 3 sisters as well! also enclosed was a picture.

how amazing that on this hot august day we receive a letter thanking us for something that we did all the way back in October! (i say we in the strictest editorial sense of the word!) it's just a reminder that God is always working, even when we can't see it!

and if you've never done a shoebox for OCC with your children, or even for yourself, i encourage you to do one this year! you won't be sorry- and look how we can bless the lives of others with this small act of generosity and kindness!

i knew there had to be a reason!

i love being a mom to 6 children! being a mom is the job i believe God has created for me, and most days i really enjoy it. there are some days, though, that i think we had about 3 1/2 too many children. and then there are other days that i call Dave at work, and say "remind me- why is it that we homeschool, anyway? what's wrong with sending the children away? to school? for 7 hours a day? so i can drink a cup of coffee all the way through? hot? we know lots of families who sent their kids to public school and they turned out just fine!" but homeschooling is another job that i believe God would have us do. it's been really good for our family. and though i like talking about homeschooling and curriculum as much as the next mother, that's not what I'm writing about today.

yesterday i stopped at CVS for a sale item, just a quick stop, really. but as i was backing out of my parking spot, i backed into another person who was simultaneously backing out of theirs. CRASH! oh brother! we got out to survey the damage, and it was minimal. neither of us was hurt, and there were just a few scratches on the vehicles. we decided to exchange names and phone numbers. he said don't worry about it, we'll just take care of it. i felt the same way, so off we went.

well, you can guess where this is going. after a flurry of phone calls from insurance agents, and adjusters, it's apparent that he's changed his mind. the insurance companies will split all costs 50/50, since (as dave said- we both didn't pay attention to what the sam hill we were doing!) it's equally both our faults.

today nationwide called, and the insurance lady wanted to talk to me. no problem. i answered a few questions, and then she dropped the bomb. she wanted me to take my van to have an estimate done on the repair cost. (and remember, i'm already doing the same thing for my insurance company.)

i politely told her that i would not have time to do that. she proceeded to tell me that the garage was only a few miles away. i firmly, and once more politely said, no ma'am, i really can't do that, even if the garage is only 8 miles away. she started to get a little huffy with me, giving me all sorts of reasons that i should do this for them.

then i pulled out my trump card. ma'am, i (politely) said, we are in the middle of MAJOR home renovations, i have 6 children, and we homeschool. i am already taking my van for an estimate, and i don't possibly have time to run all over creation for another estimate with your garage. you'll just have to send your adjuster here.

there was a moment of (stunned?) silence. then she said, yes, ma'am, we'll be in touch and send an adjuster to your house. after confirming my address, she said goodbye.

well! there have to be some perks for having such a boatload of kids! and today we got to experience just one of them! hooray for large families!

gardening with the jolly green giant

welcome to today's post- i'm posing as the jolly green giant, in case you couldn't tell! (A took this picture, btw) i should consider using this particular angle in all the pictures of me. it does wonders for my *girlish figure* ahem... our garden is doing pretty well. we have potatoes coming along nicely, and one of my favorite things is to put on a pot of water, and then go out and dig potatoes. A loves to help- it's like a treasure hunt to find all the potatoes. then we bring them in, and after scrubbing them, drop those babies into the boiling water. less than 20 minutes from garden to belly- it doesn't get any better than that. yummy with butter and sour cream!


we still don't have tomatoes- due to the northernness of our county, but we have loads of green tomatoes. i can only hope that they will have time to ripen before the frost! but meanwhile, we have peppers, squash and cucumbers. yesterday we had guests for lunch, and i was able to serve food that we had grown ourselves- almost the whole meal! we had a yummy crock pot chicken recipe,

new potatoes with butter and sour cream, and a wonderful medley of fresh veggies- peppers, garlic, onions, summer squash and zucchini, with canned stewed tomatoes. there was also fresh herbs- basil, chives and lemon basil. i got the recipe here. however, i didn't serve it over noodles, and i didn't have fresh tomatoes, cream, arrowroot or thyme. so it really wasn't that at all, just sort of loosely based on it. but golly, it was goooooood! you should try it!

I'm really enjoying that i can go out into the garden and harvest things for my family to eat- it' s very satisfying to be able to announce at the table "hey guys- we did this! as a family!" plus, it makes me feel all old-fashioned pioneery and frugal!

it's rewarding (and delicious) to eat the fruits of our labor!

and just when we thought we were running out of things for them to do!

on friday we had a tri-axle load of wood delivered- about 6 cords worth. it will be enough to get us through the winter, with some to spare, hopefully! we have an outdoor wood furnace- a woodmaster 4400. the principle of an outdoor wood furnace is that it heats your home with wood, (duh!) but the stove, and more importantly THE MESS, is outside. the stove has a large water jacket surrounding the fire box. the water is heated, then pumped into the house, through the heat exchanger, and then upstairs through the hot water baseboards. so, we'll have a nice and toasty warm house, without all the expense of fuel oil. even though this load cost us $700, that is much cheaper than it would have cost to fill our fuel oil tank at the old house even once! i have a handy-dandy chart that i can use to compare different kinds of heating options, to see which would be more cost efficient. (you can find something similar to it here ) dave will cut all the wood into lengths, and the boys will be working at splitting and stacking it all. in addition to saving tons of money, we're also proving the old saying "he who heats with wood warms himself twice!"

daddy's country girls

dave has been enjoying his new tractor, and already it's been a big help! we've moved dirt, stones, rocks and trash with it, and the tractor does really make things easier. i know that the boys especially have appreciated our new work horse, as everything that it (he?) does, they don't have to !

A really enjoys sitting on the tractor, and pretends to drive. and the funny thing is, she's really smart, and knows that to drive a tractor properly, you need keys! she goes to daddy, and says "teys? teys?" just like some other people that we know!

Guest Friday- M's view

i'm happy to introduce M, my oldest daughter, as my guest host for this friday. she is leaving in just a few weeks for college. she's enrolled as a freshman at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, where she will be studying nursing. M plans on being an RN, and possibly traveling to the mission field to serve. we are very proud of her, and will miss her terribly while she is gone. ---jennifer

Today we will take a break from the house, amazing though it is and look at an entirely different subject.

I am currently an employee of the Bradford County Manor, a local nursing home. I hold the position of a CNA, or Certified Nursing Assistant. This is a big, fancy title that really means I am the doer of dirty jobs and a professional bottom wiper. I once had a resident ask me if I was good at wiping, to which I replied "Absolutely. I'm even certified by the state." It's true.

Thankfully however, my job has many other aspects that have to do with the residents and their activities of daily living. I help dress, shower, bath, toilet, ambulate, transport, feed and change them. Not everyone needs the same level of care. Some residents may only need me to deliver their meal tray and get them a bedside commode at night. Other residents require me to perform all the care, and do not participate at all.

I don't really think anyone can fully understand what being a CNA is like unless they have, as the popular saying goes, walked a mile in their shoes. Being a CNA is definitely different from any of the other jobs I have held. It has given me a lot of experiences in a large number of areas. It has also opened my eyes and made me think. There are a ton of things that I could tell you: like how strange it was to do post-mortem care, how hard it is when some you are trying to help thinks you're trying to hurt them, what it's like to listen to someone yell all night long, how disgusting it is when poop gets where your gloves are not, and some of my fears, such as someone going to the bathroom while I'm giving them a bath. There are so many other things to tell, too. However, I realize that a lot of them would be rather disgusting to read about, besides which it would take a LOT of typing to get them all down. I'll try to stick to relating just a small part of what my job is like.

For one thing, I am constantly aware that there is a real art to dealing with people. I mean, a real, complex, hard to grasp art. How a resident acts and respond to me as a caregiver has a lot to do with my approach when I first enter the room. It also depends on my personality and the resident's personality and mood. Each resident is different, and requires a different approach on my part. I have to check myself to see if I am approaching a resident appropriately. For some residents I need to be nice, smiley and sweet. For some I need to offer lots of choices and explain every little thing that is going on. Others require me to be firm and decisive. Sometimes it's a very hard thing to accomplish. Occasionally there is that resident who will try to take advantage of the fact that I don't normally care for them. It can be hard to distinguish the line between providing the proper care and getting walked all over and taking advantage of. Overall, it's helped me realize that when I get a sharp answer or response from someone else, rather than think it's all them, I need to check myself and see what my attitude is. As a Haitian proverb goes, as you come you will be received.

Another thing that is really critical to being a CNA and that is also a valuable thing for life in general is time management and handling stress. As a CNA, as soon as I arrive on my unit, I undertake the responsibility of caring for my residents. On any given night I can have anywhere from 8-12 residents, depending on what the unit census is and the number of CNA's. Time management is critical. I need to make sure that all my residents get the care they need, ranging from being toileted, fed, dressed, changed, washed up, given their snacks, and put to bed. I also generally have one shower a night to give, various vital signs to get for the nurse, and all my charting on the care I provide. I have to figure out who needs what, when and then divide my time accordingly so that all my work is done by 11:30 pm. I have to make sure I am making the most of my time and not wasting it diddling around doing nothing.

Coupled with that time management is a lot of stress. 12 residents is a lot of people to be responsible for. They are depending on me, and I am responsible for their basic care. Any bruises, skin tears, injuries, or complaints are on me if I don't do my job correctly. I have to be able to deal with the knowledge that lots of people want me NOW, several call bells going off at once, as well as the requests for help from co-workers. Sometimes, it seems like more than I can handle.

But I've learned that when someone keeps constantly ringing their call bell, a resident I am trying to help is cursing me out, everyone thinks they are the only resident and forgets that I am just one person, or someone has been yelling all night and refuses to stop that I just have to keep smiling. I have to keep going. If I don't keep going, my residents won't get the care they need. So when I want to quit, cry, scream, or feel like I belong on the dementia/Alzheimer's unit, I ask God to help me. And you know what? He does. Every time. Every time I feel like I've lost my mind, that I just cannot deal with that rude, ignorant, or annoying resident one more time, or that the night is never going to end, the night does end. God gives me the strength to roll that very large person one more time, the mind to think about what I need to do, and the patience to deal with that rude, ignorant or annoying resident one more time.

Despite all the craziness, and maybe because of it, I love my job. Singing "Stay on the Sunny Side", dancing, bantering, talking and laughing with my residents makes it all worth it. Even if eleven of my residents curse me, yell at me, hit me, spit at me, or are rude and inappropriate, the smile and thank you from the twelfth is enough. And yes, a paycheck every other Friday helps me endure, but only God can help when the nights are terrible. He is the one who has shown me the joy in my job and made me thankful that I do what I do. Even if it is only for a season, I am thankful that He has allowed me to do it.

it's all about love!

I've been doing my blog for awhile, and it's really kind of fun! it gives me a chance to *talk to adults* and build a little community of fellow travelers. it makes those crazy, wild and hairy days just a little bit more tolerable if i think that at the end of the day i can blog about it, and all the hordes and scads of people 7 people who read my blog can chuckle with me.

but, i was thinking- maybe you're sick of all the blessed pictures of our house. i mean, how many times do you need to see the big, huge mess around here anyway? it's not like we're the only people to buy a big old house, and spend every single second and cent fixing it up. and even if you do find our historical renovation interesting, do you really want/need a pictorial blow-by-blow dramatization? it's not like we're Bob Villa and "This Old House" for pete's sake! (most days we're probably more like Tim Allen and "Home Improvement"!) and what's with all the pictures of A, BTW? i thought you had 6 (SIX) children?

so, in the interest of you, my dear readers, I've installed several new widgets in my sidebar. yes, that's it- over there on the right, above and below my profile. go ahead and look at 'em. first, you can tell me what it is you'd like me to write about, and I'll do my best to ramble endlessly expound profoundly on any topic, even if i don't know what the sam hill I'm talking about. and better yet, you can subscribe to my blog, and all my witty and fascinating new posts will be cyber-winging their way to you!

so come on- all 7 of you- show me some love, and tell me what you'd like to hear about!

he's a ditch digging fool!

D has had a very busy summer- he's been off traveling with the sea cadets for several weeks this summer, and although he works hard while he's here, the other 2 boys have done much of the digging in his stead. D had only 2 more days to go before he left yet again, so i gave him this ditch to dig, since i knew that he would be motivated to get it done. he did an admirable job, and it took him less than 2 days. (this is one of the 2 ditches that we dug to help alleviate the water problem around the foundation. the rainwater was literally pouring into the cellar, so this project was moved to the top of the list. )

he's hard at it, and making good progress, too!

A wants to help. she went to find a shovel all by herself, so she could help her brother.

the ditch is done, and as you can see, it's pretty deep! they have laid (lain?) the drain pipe in and we should have a bone dry cellar the next time it rains!

everyone is happy now! dave gets to use his new tractor, N does not have to shovel all the dirt back in by hand, (D left again wednesday morning) and it's just a little bit easier to get into the house without risking life and limb!

it was a big day!

dave and the boys have been working hard on this foundation project for a while- it seems as if it's been months and months, but i know that's not so! there is dirt, wood, tools, dirt, stones, tools, mud and dirt all over my front yard. did i mention that there is dirt all over? heaps and mounds of it. all over. my front yard. you cannot get into the house without a.) leaping over a large hole b.)precariously balancing on a board placed over a large hole c.)walking through a large pile of dirt or d.) all of the above. but as of today, i can *almost* see the light at the end of the tunnel. the cement truck came bright and early this morning, and we poured the footer, so now we are on the upside of this project. and since i know that the hordes and scads of people that read my blog my mother-in-law wants to see pictures, I've posted a plethora of pictures for your viewing pleasure.

building the footer form

the footer, on the other side

firming it up, to make sure that it won't move as the cement is being pumped in

all ready on this side!

dave is doing some last minute checking.

thar she blows!

the boys and dave are hustling to get the cement where it goes.

check out the muscles on that buff looking kid! that's what working all summer will get for you!

all done- and they've started working on the drainage issues. that's what got the house into all this trouble in the first place. 120+ years of improper rain drainage can lead to big problems. trust me! this corner of the house is where my rain barrel will go. i have pleasant visions of watering my kitchen garden, which will be here next summer. i will be daintily stepping on my rock path, while wearing a straw hat, carefully watering my herbs and collecting my fresh lettuce and tomatoes for dinner for my family.

OK- back to reality and the rocks, mud and dirt. but i can dream, can't i?

it's nice to know that i'm appreciated, by golly!

last night i decided to go for a bike ride. it had been one of those crazy, wild and hairy days, and i just needed to get out for a bit. after i put the girls down to bed, one of my sons was gracious enough to let me borrow his bike, and 2 sons helped get the seat adjusted. i did my best to ignore their incredulous questionings asking if i even remembered how to ride a bike, and did i know how to use the brakes? so off i go, just a tiny bit wobbly, and i hear them saying behind me- "be careful, it's a busy road." and "come home before dark." I'm feeling just a little less frazzled and comforted to hear their concerned send off, when i hear one of them say to the other- "yeah, if she gets hurt, who will cook for us?"

like i said- it's nice to know I'm appreciated!