Nicki Breaks a Leg

For real! And of all days for it to happen... Damien's first birthday. She tripped over something at their place and really did a job on it. Jim said when he saw it, he could tell it was broken. She is having surgery tonight. I feel so bad for her. I hope everything goes well with her surgery.

I stopped over at Chrissy's this evening to pick up Paige and take a few pics of the kids on Damien's birthday. He'll be walking any day now! We were planning on celebrating this Saturday. Nicki might not feel like it though. I guess we'll have to play it by ear.

We joined the YMCA this morning. Paige and I are going to take the fitness classes. The boys will probably play basketball in a month or so. I hope they will let Paige participate in the Tuesday night volleyball. It's supposed to be for adults. But maybe they'll bend the rules a little for her. We'll see! This will give the kids someplace to look forward to going and more things to do to keep them busy.

School is going well. The boys did most of their work tonight so they can have their day free tomorrow. Now that Jesse is getting a little older, I can see him making progress in getting things finished on his own without as much prompting from me. That works for me!

Chrissy's Moving Day

It all happened so fast... Chrissy found a great apartment on the second floor of a building on Main Street just 1 block from Barb and Jim's on Saturday and moved in today! You would never guess from the outside what a great place and how big it is. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a great big kitchen with lots of counter space. There's room for grilling and sitting out on the roof. I call it her penthouse. LOL! She says she feels like she is living in the city. I'll take a few pictures once she is more organized.

So first thing this morning we cleaned out the van, took out the back seat, and started moving Chrissy's things. We got a lot moved with both vans and Jim's trailer. The moving crew was Chrissy, Jim, Paige, Dillian, James, Jesse, and me. Tom and Jimmy joined us later after work for the couch and few big items. Barb was our coordinator and post move organizer and cleaner! We worked on it all day and finished up with some yummy pizza. By the time we left everyone had a place to sleep and things were really starting to take shape. I think they will be happy there.

Fun at the Fish Fry

It was a beautiful day! Jim and Jim started off the day by continuing the deck roof project over at Barb and Jim's house. It's looking really good. I bet they'll get it finished pretty soon. This time they had assistance from James and Dillian. I think the boys were a big help and they stuck with it the whole day!

We ended the day with a fish fry and a fire. Jim caught, filleted, and fried the fish. It was really good! Chrissy made cheesy potatoes and tartar sauce. We brought some stir fry veggies. Chrissy also made some Grandma's mistake bars for dessert. They are made with an oat mixture crust and topping with a rich chocolate layer in between. I most definitely overate. I was fine until I had a second mistake bar by the fire later. I didn't feel so good after that. There was no way I could fit in a S'more at the fire! Will I ever learn?

Official Preview of Jesse's New Workout Video...

Starring Jesse! Directed, filmed, and music coordinated by James!

Enjoy!!! LOL!

Let the Sun Shine!

What a relief! The weather was really nice today. Water levels are going down!

I walked to the post office, over to the water department to pay our bill, and stopped by Barb and Jim's on the way back. They gave me a can crusher they picked up for us. Thank you, thank you , thank you! That will be very helpful. James has been collecting cans and cashing them in for spending money. Those cans take up so much room when they aren't crushed. I'll have to take picture him with his cans. LOL!

Later in the day after school, I took a walk with Jesse and Coco. I took a few pictures while I was out so you can see our house and see how Coco looks these days. She is just as sweet as ever but her legs seem to be bothering her more than ever. Even though her age is catching up with her, she never refuses a walk. She still loves to go out!

I just remembered that the boys went mushroom hunting with Jim last week. They really enjoyed it even though they only found one. They ended their outing with Dairy Queen! It turned out much better than last time they went when Jesse got separated from the group and fell in a mud hole! LOL! He was covered in mud like he rolled in it! LOL! Too funny.

The kids are all ready looking forward to having a fire this weekend. We like doing that a lot. Lately Jim has been asking trivia questions during fire time. That makes things interesting and really fun. And of course there are marshmallows and s'mores! That's MY favorite part.

I hope the power is back on in Cincinnati. You guys got hit pretty hard! When I taked to Lauren, she said they lost their electric for about 24 hrs. The transformer next to Dad and Dory's exploded! Mom lost her power too. Everyone said they had never experienced wind like that before and that it was scary!

I Can't Believe All the Flooding...

It is worse than I imagined last night. We got more rain than the people in the south who experienced hurricane Ike. People are saying their rain guages are registering anywhere from 10.5 to 12.5 inches! So personally we were very lucky to only have a little water in the basement. It has all ready drained this morning except for one corner that typically stays wet when it rains. Hebron Schools and Thomas' preschool at the church are closed today due to backed up toilets and sinks. There were also some homes in Hebron that experienced sewage backups. Barb and Jim's yard flooded. They had apples, toys, etc. floating around. Some roads and a major highway are still under water and closed. The highway is scheduled to be open again late this morning. I hope it works out. What a mess!

It's lunch time now and I'm deciding what to make for dinner. I was able to save a large batch of rice I made over the weekend by mixing it with some cream of mushroom soup, leftover veggies, 3 cans of tuna, and salt and pepper to taste. It seems to be more appealing to the kids since they are now eating it for lunch. It sat untouched in the frig all weekend. Right now I'm leaning toward something simple like egg salad sandwiches for this evening. They seem to really like that around here!

I forgot to tell you that Jim, his boss, and some coworkers got to fly in a B17 bomber last week! He said that there are only twelve still able to fly. When he told me that I wondered if this was really a safe thing to be doing. It was a 30 minute flight. Part of it was over Lake Michigan! He said you wouldn't believe how big it is! There was water as far as you can see like an ocean! There were big ships out there too like you would see on the ocean. He returned safely and enjoyed the experience.

Hail and Welcome to All of the Fine Family and Friends of the 'Shire

I'm so happy you have come by to see us!

Blogging is brand new to me. In other words I am asking for your patience! LOL! I am hoping that this will be a way to keep all of you up to date with us (and us with you) since I am obviously horrible at letter writing and phone calls. My mission (which I have taken) is to keep you up to date with our goings on complete with pictures! And that's quite an undertaking considering I've never posted pictures or been very tech savvy before. So, note to me...learn to post pictures!

I just thought I would mention that our blog's title was inspired by the shire that is home to the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It reminds me of the simple and beautiful life I wish we could all have in these busy and chaotic times in which we now live. I'd live in a hobbit hole for sure if given the opportunity!

Speaking of the simple life, I am rereading the Tightwad Gazette. I haven't read it in years and it's one of those books that are a compilation of articles and ideas that jump out or appeal to you at different times and stages of life. Lots of great ideas for saving money. I highly recommend this book!

The kids are working hard and doing well with their homeschool lessons. It's hard to believe they are getting so much older. I will have another teen in the house next month as James will be 13! In a few short years they will all be teens. LOL! I hope we survive.

Wow!. I can't believe how much rain we've had over the weekend. I read it was 10 inches this morning and it didn't let up until late afternoon. I don't know what we ended up with. I heard the many roads in the county were closed and certain areas were evacuated. Fortunately all we had to deal with was some water in the basement! That was annoying but definitely better than evacuation.

I hope everyone is well and doing fine!