A Task Completed

This summer I had a goal of staining our very old and tired backyard shed. It came about that the children were excited at the prospect of being old enough to actually help and so it began. I dont know about you all, but I have a terrible time choosing paint colors. I knew I could do just about any color I wanted to as the shed is pretty far from the house. But there would be a few paramaters. Since it is a shed and gets pretty muddy in our back yard, I didnt want it too light. Since the neighbors could see it...and because it would house mostly Chris' tools and mower, it couldnt be too feminine...so we decided on New Pilgrim Red.

I think the hardest part was finding days that were sunny enough to paint this year, but we did manage to get started...but 1 gallon later we were not quite half way. So, purchasing 2 more gallons (this old shed is getting expensive!) we finally finished last week. It looks so much better and my kids did an awesome job helping me prep, paint, clean up, watch Lydia for hours on end...and even make lunch so I could continue to work. Here are the before and after photos:

First Blog...am I late?

Well, it has taken me some time to get a blog site going. I just never sat down to do it before, but decided it was about time to get back in touch with some people. We hope that you can enjoy reading about our family adventures and we also hope that they will be a blessing to you.

As I write this blog, my home is much more quiet that usual, as my parents have had the kids for 4 days. I was hoping to get a lot accomplished during this time, but I am a bit disappointed in the out come. I am almost ready for our school year to begin...but a few more things to do to be completely ready. This year should be interesting with Lydia up and moving. We will need to do a better job with our time during the school day in order to get everything accomplished!

It looks like a good year. We will be using Saxon Math for everyone (1st, 4th and 7th grades) and our core program is Tapestry of Grace. This is the second year using this unit study approach and I am amazed at how much more is there that I didnt tap at all last year. It is full of wonderful history, Christian studies, geography, music, literature and art. Cant wait to delve in! We still love our old standby, Rod and Staff grammar and spelling for everyone - it is classic! and for the first time this year, we will be attempting science during the school year. (we usually do it in the summer - but with all that has happened this summer, there just wasnt time!). The younger 2 will be doing Chemistry from Real Science 4 Kids and Caleb is beginning the heavy stuff with Apoligia's General Chemistry course. Finally, logic for the middle two will be Building Thinking Skills and Caleb will be using The Thinking Toolbox. He loved last years Fallacy Detective and is looking forward to more great stuff from the Bluedorn's.

Chris has had a lot of extra days this year since Honeywell has given them a few weeks of furlough in addition to their normal vacation weeks...so he has been home many days and we all LOVE IT! It has been so nice to have him around and he has been such a help and gift to me. He is taking another week in August off, so looking forward to that! While the kids have been away, we have enjoyed a staycation here in Randolph! What fun. We have eaten out a ton...so it has been a real break for me. Our favorite place is The Tabor Road Tavern. ttp://www.taborroadtavern.com/ Absolutely everything we have had there is excellent and we love the casual atmosphere. Such high quality...check it out for a date night if you live in Morris County!

Well...I hope to figure out all this soon and be able to post some photos...check back to see if I can manage to get it right!