It looks like it will be a really nice day. This morning is our last MOPS for this year. We will be having a bit of a party and staying for lunch. I'm taking both boys this morning and Ladger is off to the field with a packed lunch.

Yesterday, I bought a few perrenials and am looking forward to buying more trees and shrubs. I've been transplanting a number of trees already. It won't be long until I have the yard full and it will be disappointing not to be buying more of them :-) I used to think I wanted a nice big patch of lawn but after having lived in Saskatchewan this long, I would rather have a little lawn and lots of trees and shrubs. Even my huge flowerbeds are finally starting to fill in as I keep adding perrenials every year and they continue to get bigger and take more room. This year I'll probably break up some of the bigger plants and spread them around a bit. I can't wait until this yard starts to look like I envision (hopefully at least).

Paxton is getting better at walking daily. He was 'almost' running yesterday. Definitely going as fast as he could. He loves being outside - I can see that we will be having a daily bathtime for Paxton and Rory as they both get filthy in no time.

Where has the time gone?!! Thursday evening, our splurge club met - we had a good time. That was also the first full day of seeding that Ladger put in. He's seeding peas in the field next to our home and Rory was pretty excited when he heard the tractor go by.
I went to school on Friday to teach music lessons.
Saturday morning I went with the boys in the halfton to help Ladger load up his airseeder by parking the halfton as a windbreak. It's been incredibly windy the last couple of days. Ladger comes in with a very black face because of the innoculant he's adding to the seed. Saturday afternoon I made some buns while the boys napped. I'm getting more daring all the time. This time I used my favorite white bun recipe but substituted some dark rye flour and added some flax seed - I loved the way it turned out.
This morning I was up at 6am with Ladger and packed him a lunch and then made a batch of chocolate chip cookies (with Rory) and then we got ready for church. We ate lunch at McDonald's because Rory loves to play there and then we headed for home (and naptime). Now I'm going to work some more on my new music program while the boys are still sleeping. Within the next month, I have a few songs to arrange and then burn on CD for some of my students.

Follow the herd:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

I decided to "follow the herd" and grab the nearest book.

"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so Yahweh surrounds His people, both now and forevermore," Hezekiah quoted."

This is a quote from "The Lord is my Song" by Lynn N. Austin. It is the story of Hezekiah, a king of Judah during the time of Isaiah and Micah (prophets in the Old Testament). It is the second of a trilogy. I really enjoyed this work as it truly has brought some of these people to life in the historical context.


Today is our splurge club so I'm busy cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I just saw Ladger running across the yard out the window a few minutes ago so I wonder what he is up to and what will be happening for lunch. I don't know yet if he'll be coming home or I'll be taking it out to him on the field. And I have no idea what I'll prepare - probably something different depending on where we eat.

This morning, Rory's friend Brett came over for a playdate. They had lots of fun playing in the dirt and then watching as a semi came to our yard for a load of wheat.
Ladger took them both for a ride in the tractor after that and then we had lunch.
Rory and Paxton are both asleep now - tuckered out after all that playing. I admit to feeling a little played out as well.

When the boys are awake I'll take the half-ton over to pick up my last 5 shelves and later I'll put them in place and fill them up. That'll be a good job done!

Tomorrow I head to town and start preparing to have the splurge club at my house Thursday evening. I'm enjoying planning what I'll be serving for this little party.

Ladger probably would have started spraying today if the weather would co-operate. He's anxious to get in the field and if it's too windy, I imagine he'll start seeding tomorrow if possible. And so begins a new season of farming...

Yesterday was quite miserable (the weather) with a very cold wind.
Today is much nicer. Both the boys have a touch of cold but love getting outside. Paxton played in the sandbox for a long time before he got tired of it and then when I brought him inside he dropped off to sleep immediately!! Rory goes from one thing to the next so he's more difficult to watch (when I'm staining my new shelves, etc). At one point I did lose sight of him but sure enough he was in a tractor cab at the back of the yard. He told me he was going to drive the tractor into the quonset. It's a good thing he hasn't figured out how to actually start a tractor up yet. Anyhow they keep me on my toes and my project is taking a long time. On the other hand I spent hours next door last summer with Rory and didn't get anything 'accomplished' with all that time. At least this way I'm working on something when I'm over there by the shop - I don't mind that it's slow going. I've finished 5 shelves (stained and finished) and I have 5 to go. And then it's time to start Rory's new loft bed. I downloaded the plans from the internet and Ladger helped me pick up the hardware and lumber that I need. It'll be fun to get going on that one! I chose the loft bed (basically a bunk bed with no bed on the bottom) so I can use the toddler bed for Paxton and put that underneath Rory's bed. I really can't wait to move the crib out of the room - it'll definitely free up some floor space.

Happy Easter! Lately, I've been thinking and hearing a lot about Jesus' death (especially due to Mel Gibson's movie). Today it's wonderful to celebrate Jesus' Resurrection. He's alive and that's something to be excited about - the ramifications for each of us is huge. My hope, faith and future is based on the truth of what Jesus did in conquering death and the grave.

The Briercrest High School choir did a musical in church this morning but I missed most of it since I was in the nursery. I wanted to sit in the sanctuary with him but he was incredibly restless. We were sitting a couple of rows from the front and once he almost escaped and I could just barely reach him and haul him back as he headed for the stage. And as I hauled him back he grabbed an extension cord and wouldn't let go.
Thank goodness there was enough slack that he didn't pull the plug on the high school team. So off to the nursery I went.

Rory and Grandpa went on a big egg hunt after dinner - Rory was really into it this year - so excited when he spotted eggs lying around the yard. Ladger and I followed around and just enjoyed a little walk outside.

Today was Good Friday and so Ladger took the day off and we went to his parents' for supper and then he went to Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ. I decided to stay home with the boys instead of going. I really think that I do want to see it but at home where I can watch it the way I'd like to - curled up on the sofa with lots of tissue close at hand and a remote control to pause when it gets too intense.

So the boys and I are having a quiet evening together. Rory and I watched Gerbert together and now they're both in their pajamas waiting for Dad to come home before bed.

Tomorrow, Rory and I will be going with Ladger and his dad to look at a truck they're interested in buying. Paxton will stay with Grandma. Rory loves these kind of outings and I wanted to go too as it won't be much more than a week and Ladger will be on the field many hours each day until seeding is done.

Oh yeah!! Paxton walked 6 steps on his own yesterday. It was a day past his 10 month birthday.
Soon, crawling may be done.

This morning Paxton woke me up at 6:30 am. He's been doing that lately - up with the sun. So I have a chance to write a little before I get ready for town. Ladger and I are going. Paxton is staying with Grandma and Rory is coming and we're dropping him off at Brett's house. Brett is in AWANA cubbies and his mom says that Brett tells her he likes Rory. So we have been planning to get them together for a playdate for awhile. It's cute when they start having a social life. There's a little girl that keeps tabs on Rory too. Her name is Lanessa and she's quite the little character. And Rory likes Britney and McKinley too. It's funny because he's starting to ask me to have some of these little people come to our house (along with Clifford the big red dog )

Yesterday was MOPS and we watched a video of Lee Strobel talking about the proof of Easter.
And then we talked about how Mel Gibson's movie is affecting our thinking and Christianity. We had a very special time. Paxton did well in the nursery which was really nice for me.

I've been using a jigsaw to cut up some shelving for my bookcase.
I took the shelves to a neighbor, Carol, to do some routering on the front top edge. She'll probably do them today and then I can pick them up, sand them and start staining. I'm looking forward to having the extra three shelves as well as having much sturdier shelves than the old ones. When I bought the jigsaw for Ladger for Christmas, I had no idea that I'd be the one breaking it in.

Next, I want to make a loft bed for Rory (twin size). That will fit over the toddler bed for Paxton and there will be room for some storage as well, probably. I found some plans on the internet that I'm planning to buy and download later today.

Rory and I are having fun with his 'school'. The other day we were looking at a book that explained how toilets work. Well he's constantly needing to go 'pee' and wanting the cover off the tank so he can watch it flush. I wonder how long it will take before the novelty wears off.
And he's learned about traffic lights. Red means stop. Yellow means slow. And green means GO FAST.

Friday, I was at the school and Saturday was really busy as we had invited company over for dinner after church. Plus I had agreed to play piano for the worship team at church and had a practice that evening.

And of all things - the door key to Ladger's parents' car was missing off the ring and I didn't notice when I locked the car door and went inside to practice. Needless to say, Ladger was less than thrilled to pack up the kids and drive to town to bring me a key so I could get into the car.
Actually he was really kind about it. So I didn't get home until 10 pm and didn't have time or energy to finish a few last minute things to get my house in order for company the next day.
And so I set the alarm for 6:30 am so I'd have lots of time. But Paxton beat the alarm clock and was 'shouting' for me at 6:00 am and was wide awake and ready to start the day - YIKES!
So there went any efficiency that morning just like that. But Ladger gave me a hand and everything was left tidy and dinner just ready to be cooked as soon as we got back from church.
And then I really enjoyed the morning as I participated in the worship music and then had a great visit with some new friends. Elin is from Norway and Shawn from north of us by about an hour's drive and they have two kids (one the same age as Paxton). They also farm and so we had lots to chat about.

I love doing dishes!!

It's hard to believe it's already Thursday - the week has been flying by. Tuesday night I went to our church's ladies's group for a craft evening. I signed up for Spanish cooking lessons. It was awesome! I got our pastor's wife (who lived in Columbia for years as a missionary) to interpret a letter from my sponsored child's mom's letter. He is from Nicaragua. Maybe she can help me send one back in Spanish.

Yesterday, Ladger's mom and I (and the boys) went to town for groceries and brought home pizza for lunch. The boys and I had a good nap in the afternoon and then it was off to AWANA with Rory.

Today is my laundry and house clean-up day. So I'd better get to it