"Balance"

Javon is loving his school break!! He draws. A lot. His interests are also singing and running! I love this child of mine as much as all the others and I'm having so much fun watching him become him...:) He is a runner!! He is good. He is fast. He just loves to run! I noticed during the last few weeks of school that when I went out to the bus stop to get them off the bus he wanted to run in the driveway. (1/2 mile) The big boys used to look at me and shrug with a surprised expression. We used to take his back pack and let him run if he wanted to. I know he don't like the bus so I figured he was ready for fresh air in his lungs...:) But lately we are all noticing his love for running! He plays golf in the big yard with the big boys, they like to take the golf cart to find the ball but Javon opts to run instead of ride on the cart! Dave decided to feed his interest and run with him on the vineyard trails. Javon sets the pace and Dave follows beside..:) We love that he has a running interest! He has the perfect form when he runs and I'm planning to sign him up for the kiddie run in BIH and he is excited...:) He also sings! None of my kids ever sang the way he does! He picks up songs just like that and sings them all day long randomly! We are all starting to notice this more and more to so when the other kiddos get annoyed at him I give them that look... "don't squash it!" He asks tons of questions these days! Big boy questions! He is growing up so fast and we all love him dearly! He is six going on seven but he still gets babied by us all..:) He eats tons and tons to!!! Where does he put it!? He is skinner and taller then the other boys were at his age for sure! We love you and your unique personality and interests Javon!!

Today is rainy. I love when we have rain days sandwiched in between the sunny ones! The garden is doing much better and it seems to be taking off. (although still behind!) I'm learning that the Back to Eden garden needs lime and composted heavy to break up the acid. Some of my stuff looks burnt kind of!? Research tells me it needs to be more composted before it does really well. We will keep trying with this garden style since I love that I can be out in it on days like today and not get muddy shoes! I love that the weeds stay under control. I love the no need for tilling. I hope it just figures out how to yield more...!...:)

We have berries! On my way in the drive this morning after a four mile run it was fun to taste three different kinds of God's wild growing sweet stuff! The dark raspberries, a dark raspberry tree and some wild cherries that grow on a big tree. We have them all! The cherries have a big pit but they are small, dark and so tasty! We have so much honey suckle out there to so my runs end at the end of the driveway right now so I can walk in very slowly and enjoy all the tastes and smells of June!! SOOO BLESSED!!

During this month of June I'm finding out how important "Balance" is! I pulled some extra blinds in the house, partly to keep the sun out and partly so that I can't see them when they are dirty...:) I'm trying to find a balance between so much work and life as God sees it... "In Balance"

I'm letting things go a bit more yet I find that as a mom I still can't just let the house go without structure. The kids appreciate structure. God blesses that family structure. Plus we all get grumpy when we have chaos for to long. We also all get grumpy when we have to much screen time to! The kids have so much to do here on our property but they still get bored! I think the word bored today is the new word for lazy...:) We have bored kids way to often! Where is the "Balance"? How much screen time is to much? How many "I'm bored" do we hear before we catch ourselves wondering why ever are they bored!? Little screen time and daily chores take care of many of those "I'm bored" sentences ...:) My kids do best when given a routine or a list. I don't like to be barking orders so I give lists...

I'm enjoying this month with them. I enjoy seeing how well we can all work together. This morning I went with Jordan out on the golf cart to show him the wild cherry tree while the Little's were still asleep, on the way out (in the drizzle) I realized how fun it is to take time for these little things daily. It is fun to take time for little things like that. I love not having that demanding school schedule yet it amazes me every year how we do actually get ready for that routine again. We have campfires nearly every night here... We don't all always sit around them for to long but it burns anyway...:) It feels more like "Staycation" to have that campfire burning on the back porch...:)

We swim 24/7 here... Off and on all day long. The swimsuits are most times wet or damp!

The yard and weeds are growing non stop this year with all these rains! We are finding "Balance" with these as well as we are doing them only a bit at a time. It is more therapy for us then stressful..:) We love it outside! Feeding the birds is fun to but it brings with it a weedy mess! We have humming birds to! So FUN!

Justin is often the one laying around here evenings if he is at home! He plays basketball with Jordan and they golf some but I can tell his evenings off mean more to him then they used to. He is adjusting to going to work at daybreak five days a week and working like a man there! His muscles are sore in all sorts of places as he adjusts to the shop line! He lets me massage oils sometimes but most times when I ask it's a "No I don't need it". I think it would feel awesome and I'd never turn down an oil massage after a hard days work but he does often turn them down.

Sasha... Poor dog! Seriously!!

She seems okay but she looks terrible. Jordan and I took Sash to the vet the other day. They ran tests and discovered her saliva gland is clogged. She most likely punctured it when she was chewing on a stick or something and then it got an abscess. She is on medication and pain pills but she needs surgery to remove the gland! We have to take her to Malvern for that next week! ~sigh~ You should have heard the fuss over her beauty at the vet! I think I'm totally missing something here! Oh well we love her and she has become one of us. The kids love her. The chickens hate her. Marilyn has reason to hate her but she loves it at Jonathans with Mia and they are kind to her. She does not chase the kids on the golf cart like she did so I know she is not feeling the best right now. Justin says she better pump out those puppies to pay for her issues!...:) She also had a slight limp so they tested for Lyme's which also came back a strong positive!

I shot down another hornets nest growing on the porch! Why are these things drawn to our house so much!? One hornet sting could kill Dave so I don't take these growing hornet nests around here lightly! We have six Epipens flying around here right now and Dave keeps one with him at the shop so we are praying for a safe from bee stings summer for him!!

Today we do Jordan's treatment. On our own. We want to do it evenings so he can go to bed soon after infusion but we will need to find a scheduled routine for these weekly infusions. Another shipment arrived yesterday and it caught me off guard when I thought "Aw yea we are now doing these on our own!" No need to schedule with Colleen! We will miss her!

Jordan is doing well. His skin looks great! His weight is maintaining and he feels great. He has red eyes sometimes in the mornings so we are trying to figure out what triggers this. His diet is now mostly gluten and dairy free. He has added regular chicken eggs a few times a week to see how he feels on them. We get sloppy with going so far for his duck eggs plus I can't imagine that fresh organic chicken eggs from the coop wouldn't be better for him then those duck eggs that we keep for weeks at a time?! We are going slow but we are not as picky with eggs anymore. "Balance" in diet
is important for him. We try to get lots of gut healing probiotics into him daily! Garden greens are being used in his foods everyday and he does amazing with eating healthy foods! Salads with a few wild caught shrimp plus a drizzle of olive oil have become his new favorite lunch! He makes his own food pretty much all the time!...:)

We are enjoying June and as we move along with this month we are finding "Balance" is everything. Quiet time, Running, Fun Hobbies, Work, Play, Screen Time, Rest... We try to find the "Balance". We try to be still long enough to listen to God's voice and see his beauty all around us as we enjoy each other during our month long "Staycation"... and beyond...

Our backyard is our most favorite place to be this time of year!

Yesterday Dave and I visited my elderly Dienner Grandparents. Grandpa is still hanging in there as he waits for Jesus to take him home. He has bad days and good days. He likes his couch and his bed! He is fairly easy to care for most days. He can't see to well anymore but he has never failed to know who Dave and I are once we start talking to him. Pray for Mommy Dienner as she cares for Daudy D. Some days it wears her out but she is faithful to care for him as long as she is able. Tomorrow I plan to visit Grandma Beiler in her home. Mom is going with me. I haven't seen her in awhile and as time moves on so fast we don't want to forget how blessed we are to still have them here with us. They have invested so much into me over the years and I don't want to take them for granted! We are Blessed with a Godly heritage and they are a huge part of that!

Have a Blessed Dreary Day... I'm off to find that work/fun "Balance"...:)