Can we have one of those? But so far, it really has been. Other than Reepicheep's ankle injury (which turned out to be twisted and badly bruised, but not sprained and nothing broken, thanks be to God!), it's really been very quiet here.
It's also been very hot, which I suspect is playing a rather prominent role in the quiet we've been experiencing. When it's hot, there is little energy for bickering. Now here's the interesting part: we have yet to put our window air conditioners in. It's in the 90's today, as it was yesterday. Normally we would have both units droning on in the background. But this year, we have the sun room to block all the direct southern sunlight through the picture window, so the house is surprisingly cool!
The whole thing is, we have fans strategically placed. There are two ceiling fans in the living room, both on almost all the time just for air circulation, and a floor fan which oscillates. We have two small fans in the kitchen which we move from the floor to the windows in the morning--they bring in the cool morning air until it becomes warmer outside than in. Then the windows and curtains are drawn shut, and the fans are lowered back to the floor. There is a fan in one window in each of the bedrooms. The one in the girls' room is always exhausting (blowing out), so that it draws air through the hallway to encourage thorough ventilation. The other two are spiffy, in that they have switches that allow them to either bring in fresh air or exhaust inside air. In the evening, through night, and into the morning, they draw in the fresh, cool air, but again, when it becomes warmer outside than in, we use them to exhaust. And in our bedroom, we also have a second fan which is always on, again to just plain circulate the air. This also works to bring the air from downstairs "up and out," so to speak.
Highly effective! At this moment, it is 91 in the shade outside (and miserably humid), but only 78 in the house (and beautifully dry!).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I plan to make some delicious sun tea this afternoon. My Darling has been working so hard on the house, and he just loves tea, and I want to give him a treat. I make it with plenty of lemon and sugar...mmmmmmm.........
Last evening, he (finally) completed half of the upstairs staircase. It's absolutely amazing to me when I see what he has accomplished. I've gone over the pictures that we've taken, (and I would LOVE to post one RIGHT HERE, but Blogger won't let me. If I want to post one, apparently it has to appear at the beginning of the entry. Hmmmm.....sorry about the mini-rant!) and it strikes me as nothing short of miraculous that things are as advanced as they are. We've gone from jack-hammering the patio and yanking out shrubs and small trees (I wept. Really....when the choke cherry tree went, I wept. We tried to replant it, but it died.....*sigh*) to having lights that turn on when you flip the switch and having actual windows and door and now stairs in place. And all this from a man who sells, makes, installs and repairs signs for a living, for Pete's sake!
Everything he needs to know, he either reads about or watches someone else do on a job site so that he can come home and do it himself. From digging the basement to shoring up the foundation to framing to roofing to making sure he knows all of the building codes for our county and state, he has researched this thing from here to the back 40.
And best of all, he goes about it not with a heavy heart or a build up of anxiety, but with a willing spirit of love and gratitude. My Darling with the servant's heart, that's what he is. Truly, this is a man who deserves, at the very least, a freshly brewed gallon of iced tea.
He took the Pickle with him to the shop today so that they could go to Mass together. I'm waiting to hear how this went: the boys he usually serves with are out of town with their family, so this is the first time I remember the Pickle serving by himself. I'm sure it was just fine; he's really been working hard at reverence and obedience, and has been itching to be able to do this on his own. My Mother's Heart prayed for him intensely, hoping that he would be able to do as well possible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For your prayerful considerations:
*My dear friend who is suffering terribly in chronic pain. She is the beautiful Mama to six lovely children, and is scheduled for an MRI in 10 days.
*My friend and her middle daughter, who are suffering with strep throat, for Pete's sake.
*My friend and her family who are trying to find peace within their family.
*My friend and her family who are dealing with a less-than-ideal job situation and are contemplating selling their lovely home to relocate closer to extended family.
*All of the good young people who have gathered in Australia to attend the celebrations of World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI, including dozens from our own diocese, along with our beloved bishop and our dear friend, Fr. E. We pray for their safety in travel, and for their spiritual growth at this time.
*All priests and religious throughout the world, as well as an increase in vocations.
*We pray in a special way for all parents, that they may raise up children who are able to quiet their hearts to hear God's plan for their lives.
It's also been very hot, which I suspect is playing a rather prominent role in the quiet we've been experiencing. When it's hot, there is little energy for bickering. Now here's the interesting part: we have yet to put our window air conditioners in. It's in the 90's today, as it was yesterday. Normally we would have both units droning on in the background. But this year, we have the sun room to block all the direct southern sunlight through the picture window, so the house is surprisingly cool!
The whole thing is, we have fans strategically placed. There are two ceiling fans in the living room, both on almost all the time just for air circulation, and a floor fan which oscillates. We have two small fans in the kitchen which we move from the floor to the windows in the morning--they bring in the cool morning air until it becomes warmer outside than in. Then the windows and curtains are drawn shut, and the fans are lowered back to the floor. There is a fan in one window in each of the bedrooms. The one in the girls' room is always exhausting (blowing out), so that it draws air through the hallway to encourage thorough ventilation. The other two are spiffy, in that they have switches that allow them to either bring in fresh air or exhaust inside air. In the evening, through night, and into the morning, they draw in the fresh, cool air, but again, when it becomes warmer outside than in, we use them to exhaust. And in our bedroom, we also have a second fan which is always on, again to just plain circulate the air. This also works to bring the air from downstairs "up and out," so to speak.
Highly effective! At this moment, it is 91 in the shade outside (and miserably humid), but only 78 in the house (and beautifully dry!).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I plan to make some delicious sun tea this afternoon. My Darling has been working so hard on the house, and he just loves tea, and I want to give him a treat. I make it with plenty of lemon and sugar...mmmmmmm.........
Last evening, he (finally) completed half of the upstairs staircase. It's absolutely amazing to me when I see what he has accomplished. I've gone over the pictures that we've taken, (and I would LOVE to post one RIGHT HERE, but Blogger won't let me. If I want to post one, apparently it has to appear at the beginning of the entry. Hmmmm.....sorry about the mini-rant!) and it strikes me as nothing short of miraculous that things are as advanced as they are. We've gone from jack-hammering the patio and yanking out shrubs and small trees (I wept. Really....when the choke cherry tree went, I wept. We tried to replant it, but it died.....*sigh*) to having lights that turn on when you flip the switch and having actual windows and door and now stairs in place. And all this from a man who sells, makes, installs and repairs signs for a living, for Pete's sake!
Everything he needs to know, he either reads about or watches someone else do on a job site so that he can come home and do it himself. From digging the basement to shoring up the foundation to framing to roofing to making sure he knows all of the building codes for our county and state, he has researched this thing from here to the back 40.
And best of all, he goes about it not with a heavy heart or a build up of anxiety, but with a willing spirit of love and gratitude. My Darling with the servant's heart, that's what he is. Truly, this is a man who deserves, at the very least, a freshly brewed gallon of iced tea.
He took the Pickle with him to the shop today so that they could go to Mass together. I'm waiting to hear how this went: the boys he usually serves with are out of town with their family, so this is the first time I remember the Pickle serving by himself. I'm sure it was just fine; he's really been working hard at reverence and obedience, and has been itching to be able to do this on his own. My Mother's Heart prayed for him intensely, hoping that he would be able to do as well possible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For your prayerful considerations:
*My dear friend who is suffering terribly in chronic pain. She is the beautiful Mama to six lovely children, and is scheduled for an MRI in 10 days.
*My friend and her middle daughter, who are suffering with strep throat, for Pete's sake.
*My friend and her family who are trying to find peace within their family.
*My friend and her family who are dealing with a less-than-ideal job situation and are contemplating selling their lovely home to relocate closer to extended family.
*All of the good young people who have gathered in Australia to attend the celebrations of World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI, including dozens from our own diocese, along with our beloved bishop and our dear friend, Fr. E. We pray for their safety in travel, and for their spiritual growth at this time.
*All priests and religious throughout the world, as well as an increase in vocations.
*We pray in a special way for all parents, that they may raise up children who are able to quiet their hearts to hear God's plan for their lives.
2 comments:
Lord, hear our prayer.
You have a blessed family and I enjoyed reading about them today.
Keep cool, excessive heat warning here too.
Your man sounds like quite the keeper...to do all that he does, and with a willing heart; what a blessing!
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