Stuff about US

So, I've been a little slack with my blogging lately. It's certainly not because I've been doing housework either because my house sure is a mess. It's not because I've been reading because I'm still working on the same book that I started right after we returned from the beach. Thinking back since we've been back, I don't really know WHAT we've been doing with our time...except for picking cucumbers and making pickles! Brent and I have been working. The boys started back to Kountry Kids and are working on making that adjustment. Elijah loves it but he is very hot and tired by the end of the day. He is sleeping better at night though. His teacher said he takes a 2 1/2- 3 hour nap every day but he is still exhausted when we pick them up. Nolan is getting adjusted - he is with the school kids now so he is still learning the ropes! He has been reading a lot of books this summer and I think he will be happier when school starts again and he gets to see his friends. His friend, Claire, is going to be at a different school this year though so he's a little sad about that.

We have been enjoying time together at home in the evenings since returning from the beach. It is nice that my work schedule is a little more "normal" now so I get home a little earlier in the evenings. Brent and I have been enjoying the potatoes, squash, corn, and cucumbers from the garden. It is nice when I don't have to spend so much money at the grocery store. I have made 60 jars of pickles so far - bread and butter, dill, and garlic dill. I am going to make some more tonight and who knows how many jars I will have by the end of the summer. I would love to sell them but I don't know who I would sell them to. I also have a recipe for zucchini relish that I was thinking of making a batch of for canning but I just don't know... It won't be long until the green beans and okra are ready and then I will have to work on canning green beans.

Logan, our dalmatian that is ~12 years old, is not doing so well these days. He is on medicine daily for his kidneys, he can't hear much anymore, and he just isn't himself. We are sad to see him declining but we have had him a LONG time.

We will soon be adding some new fainting goats to our family. I will have to be sure and put plenty of pictures up for you to see! And, yes, they really do faint! It is hilarious to watch! I promise it doesn't hurt them...it's just something about their genetics that makes them fall over and "faint" when they are startled.

Nolan really wants a hamster but I just don't know where we would put it. I have promised him that he can get one when we build a house. He is okay with that but who knows how long it will be until that day comes!

Something very sad happened within our church family this week - our minister's son died (not sure what the cause was yet) and he was around my brother's age. That has been hard for me personally because it brought back a lot of memories of those days when my brother first died. I really do miss him. There are days when I don't really think about it, but there are other days when I can't stop thinking about how much I miss him and how much I wish that I could talk to him again. Maybe I will have something that I can pass on to the Torpys' from my experience...I'm not sure, but at least I will understand some of what they are going through and feeling.