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Sunday, April 13, 2014

A very unusual post: short

Jessa ~

I'm not sure if it's because I legitimately had little going on last week or if it's because I'm tired and stressed about my busy week next week, but I foresee this being a very short post.

Last week was mostly all about the basement. Damian came down late Tuesday and left early this morning (Sunday). Poor guy had a cold, though, and felt rotten, so it went slower than he hoped.  He finished framing everything except the furnace and game closets.  And not those because he had to move a drain and change the plumbing and isn't sure if the plumbing needs to be inspected before he pours new concrete or not, and he can't frame until he's got the new concrete down, so he'll call them tomorrow to figure that out.  So he had to move two drains and fix the plumbing on them, which required him digging out large portions of concrete and shoveling (one with a real shovel and one with a hand shovel) out the gravel underneath.  It took a long time. Poor guy! But he did it and that's done! Hooray! He also cut a hole in our garage wall and installed a door, which turned out to be handy when he had to go buy more wood and could just pass it into the basement through the garage. He's coming back Monday night or Tuesday morning and is planning on staying until Friday or Saturday, to get as much done as possible. He's bought the stuff for the electrical, and I'm pretty sure running that is next on his list. I'll let you know next week what he got done! For now, pictures!


Digging what he calls a grave. This is to move the furnace drain closer the actual furnace.
Fixing the bathroom drain. That entire pile had to be dug with a tiny hand shovel. It was a lot.
BJ and Abby peeking through the hole in our garage wall.
Utilizing the hole in the wall.
Damian carrying Abby around Lowe's.

Other exciting news: my trees out front flowered this week!  (And then just when they were full and beautiful, we got a wind storm that blew most of the flowers off. Rackafrackamurmurmurmur.) And then my tree out back flowered! And they survived the wind. Maybe because there's a house blocking the wind?  Or because they were newer flowers and tougher? I don't know.



And random pictures:





In sorting through storage boxes, I found my autograph collection. I was quite surprised to find that I had a personalized autograph of Satan!  (Note for anyone who hasn't gone through the LDS temple: Michael Ballam is an actor in one of the the temple movies that depicts the creation. He plays Satan.)


Random Facebook posts:

Reason to love Mondays: our daily chore for Mondays is cleaning the toilets. It's the one job Kessa gets excited to do and can and will do by herself. It's the only day I don't have to beg, bribe, or threaten her to do chores.

It is unexpectedly awesome.
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I don't understand how pregnant women nest. Who has the energy for that?! Today I had energy and it was gorgeous outside, so I opened the sliding door to get fresh air and cleaned my kitchen. It took the morning, with breaks to help my kids, and I am completely exhausted. How do pregnant women have any energy to nest?! I just don't understand...
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It just occurred to me that the kids I taught in China were Kessa's age.

I think this makes me feel really old. Especially as that was almost 12 years ago.
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Sometimes I romanticize homesteading and fantasize about living off the land.

And then I find myself laying on my bed, exhausted, after having only cleaned off kitchen counters (not even sweeping the floor), cleaning out the hamster cage, and folding one load of laundry.

And then I'm suddenly ok with modern technology and grocery stores.
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I think I've decided that my motivation is much more strongly awakened by projects than every day things. Which is why I found the energy tonight to mow most of my lawn (until the sun went down), and this past week to reorganize my entire storage, but haven't found the energy in weeks to clean the clutter out of my house or put laundry away.
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Happy Palm Sunday, everyone! A friend of mine is writing a chronology of the events at the end of Christ's life on his blog, starting today.

My favorite part of today's post was learning that today is the day that Jews choose a Passover lamb and bring it home to live with them for 5 days before they slaughter it for the Passover feast, giving the family a chance to grow fond of it before they have to then kill it for a remembrance of their salvation.

That very day Christ, the Lamb of God, entered Jerusalem and was chosen by the people as their king and Savior. He would spend the next 5 days in the temple, the house of God, teaching them of His gospel and their salvation. He brings the people to him, knowing that in 5 days he will be sacrificed for their salvation.

The symbolism is beautiful and touching. Please remember these powerful events this week and teach them to your children. Help them learn of this wonderful week instead of just focusing on the candy and fun.
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Actual quote from my lips in church today: "Today is Palm Sunday, so over breakfast I taught Kessa the story of the Triumphal Entry and explained the symbolism between the paschal lamb and Christ."

I then heard the words that had just come from my lips and followed it up with, "Yes, she's four. I kind of go overboard sometimes."

In my defense, I don't remember using the term "paschal lamb" when I explained it to Kessa.  :) BJ's response when I told him was, "Yeah, we're pretty awesome parents." :D
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Kiddisms:


  • Kessa: I'm done with my ballet class.
    Me: Oh? What'd you learn?
    Kessa: How bodies stay alive.
    Me: Oh? And how do they stay alive?
    Kessa: Well, one way is to move around and stretch. And another way is to breathe in and out.
    (Note: We have since discovered that her "ballet class" is really watching Potty Time (the Baby Signing Time show dedicated to potty training), which is one of Abby's new favorite shows. No, we are not potty training Abby.)
  • Me: I know something you're really good at. You're a really good big sister to Abby.
    Kessa: Oh yes, definitely.
  • Me: What color is the flower?
    Abby: 26
  • Kessa: Sleeping with sisters is hard! (Abby can be really hyper at night and take a long time to go to sleep. This is hard on Kessa sometimes. :( Poor girl.)
  • Kessa found an old post-it pad and asked what it was. I told her it was some old paper I had found in a box. “Daddy, do you want to try it out and see if it works?” She then grabbed the paper and a pencil, ran over and told BJ, “Write down how we follow God's plan.”


And... that's all I can think of! Have a great week!
[hugs]
~ Tianna and Co.

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