Apparently I'm Not Very Good at Saying Hello Either!

It's been 11 days since I posted this and mournfully said goodbye to half my family to take the other half to a speech and debate tournament in North Carolina.  11 days.  I wasn't gone nearly that whole time, but somehow didn't find the time--or mental energy, maybe?--to reconnect on the blog until now.  It would appear that sometimes, in this virtual world, "hello" is as difficult for me as "goodbye."  ;-)

In real life, the older three boys and I were happily driving north at exactly this time one week ago.  We joyfully reunited with the family here, then dove straight into a busy week.  Highlights included the last week for this school year of Shav's Explorers II class with the SVCC (actually, his last Explorers class ever, since in the fall, we expect he will have moved up to Prep Choir...if he gets in, that is)  ;-)...our biggest snowfall of the winter, right at the tail end of it, which brought much excitement to the household...David's normal gymnastics class...Josiah's normal biology class, for which he needed to do quite a bit of studying this week, since he has missed some weeks for tournaments and needed to make up the work...a gathering of friends, old and new, here in our home in honor of a friend from Israel, Mordechai...a talent show with our homeschool group in which Josiah did one of his interpretative speeches and he and the rest of the kids did a Rubik's cube demonstration...and a Sunday morning service in which Jeff preached and I, along with Josiah and David, led the music.  That, along with the normal work of keeping a household going, seems like plenty to fill up a week, right?  ;-)

Oh, but there was something else.  Jeff and I, along with our watchful chaperone Benjamin, got to sneak away for a wonderful date last evening to a neat, new-to-us Japanese restaurant...

...while Moriah watched a movie and the older boys finally got the chance to play a full, five-hour game of Monopoly, which Shav won, accumulating a huge fluffy pile of money along the way.

So there you go--an extended explanation of my most recent absence, which is really just my way of saying...

HELLO, BLOG!  :)

I'm Not Good at Saying Goodbye

Seems like it wasn't very long ago that I was just returning from a trip to North Carolina for a speech and debate tournament for Josiah; and here we are again, ready to head out for another one.  Like before, Jeff will keep the home fires burning and spend extra time with the younger three while the older three and I head out to North Carolina.  Different town this time though.  ;-)

During the course of my years as a wife and mother, I haven't had to spend too much time away from my family; and I am ever so glad about that.  It is not easy for me to leave Shav and Moriah...

...and Benjamin...

...and Jeff, my groom of almost 20 years.

It's not easy for me to miss all the everyday moments that happen in my family.

As much as I relish the chance to go off and have these adventures and make special memories with Josiah, David, and Tobin, I already long for the reunion to come when we are all together again.

I'm just not very good at saying goodbye...

So That's How They Do It! {A Trip to the DNR}

It's not as if we go on that many field trips (I love field trips and wish we could do more, but it's not uncommon for me to still feel like I'm just keeping my head above water in this role of homeschooling mother of six, so the extra work of a field trip doesn't happen as often as I would like!).  But, as Facebook reminded me this morning, on March 7, three years ago, we went on a field trip.  And here we were again today, going on a field trip on March 7.  :)

This time, we got to visit the headquarters for our local newspaper, a building I have often driven past but never really explored.  Oh, I might have walked into the front lobby once upon a time to put an announcement of my engagement or wedding in the paper...I don't remember.  But I certainly had never gotten the full tour like we did today.  :)

 One of the other moms in the homeschool group we're a part of had set up the tour, so it was extra fun to get to do this with friends.  :)

 At the beginning of the tour, they showed us an OLD movie of how the newspaper was made back in the 1950s or 60s.  Fascinating--not only the process of making the paper, but also the way people dressed and interacted in those days!

And then we got to go around to different parts of the building and see what goes into making a newspaper.

At this point, Benjamin was getting noisy--happy noise, but noise nonetheless--so I took him out of the room and rejoined the group when they finished in the quiet area.

And then, it was on to the noisy area, which suits Benjamin better!  ;-)

 The lady who helped with the tour has worked for the newspaper since 1979 and, needless to say, really knew her stuff!

 The highlight of the tour was probably the actual process of seeing the press run.  Or maybe it was learning that, when the old press was no longer used, rather than go to all the trouble of removing it from the lower level of this building, they simply buried it and poured a concrete floor on top!  Some of the kids were quite fascinated by the thought!

 The speed of the machines was impressive, as well as how all the parts--not just of this press, but the whole organization--work together to put out a newspaper in such a short amount of time.

The next time I sit down to read The Shenandoah Journal, I'll have a much higher appreciation for all that went into making it!   :)

There Used to Be Two Red Sweaters

Once upon a time, we had two little red sweaters.  The first pair of boys to wear them was Josiah and David, followed a few years later by Tobin and Shav.  You can see more about that here.  :)

But now, there is only one little boy in my household to wear a red sweater...

...which actually happens to be totally convenient because I can only find one of those red sweaters!

I'm not sure what happened to the other one; but somewhere along the way, our sweater count went from two to one...

...which matches our baby boy count.  :)

I realized recently that I hadn't yet taken pictures of Benjamin in this sweater; and with spring approaching, my window of opportunity was sliding shut.

Fortunately, today was a cold day--perfect for my picture-taking plan...

...because it would be some sort of a tragedy (extremely minor, I know!) if I didn't document photographically the last chapter of this special little red sweater!

Who knew, when the sweaters were new, that five dear little Fisher boys would get to wear them?!  :)

What Good Is a Brother?

Well, for starters, a brother can give you a haircut when you need one!  ;-)

And a dad can oversee the process!  :)

Not Even One Good Snow

I am looking forward to posting more--hopefully soon--about Josiah's speech and debate tournament in Black Mountain; but since I don't have enough time for that tonight, here's a short little snippet of daily life.  :)

In years to come, when we think back to the winter of 2017, I hope we remember lots of joyful times and sweet moments.  But I'm afraid what will really stand out in our memories is that, to the great sorrow of the Fisher children (and perhaps the Fisher parents, too?), we didn't even have one good snow.

I'm of the persuasion that, if it's going to be cold, we might as well have snow along with it; and I can't imagine having a winter with TOO MUCH SNOW.  This one, without a single significant snowstorm, was really quite disappointing!!

I realize, of course, that in the past, we have had snows in March...and in April...and even in May.  It could happen like that this year, too!  But as each day passes, we're losing hope that we'll get to enjoy even a few inches of the white stuff that brings us such delight.  And, although we would still rejoice in a good snowstorm, we also fear for the fruit trees--especially the cherries and the peaches--that have already begun to put out blossoms.  Last year, the local crop was destroyed by a late frost; and we're on pins and needles to see if that happens again this year (a minor inconvenience to us--a huge financial blow to orchard owners).  If we could somehow save them by relinquishing our desire for snow, we would surely do that!

I have a conviction--not perfectly attained, but something I strive towards--to not complain about anything, NOT EVEN THE WEATHER.  And so, I'm not complaining, simply expressing one facet of our experiences during the winter of 2017.  I mean, who could complain about seeing a hint of real green in the grass on March 1?  And who could be unhappy at the sight of a barefoot, shorts-wearing boy giving his littlest brother an underdog on the swings yesterday?

I mean, really, there is NOTHING to complain about!  :)

But we've already let our wishes be known with the weather authority that we surely would like the winter of 2018 to include an abundance of snow!!!  :)

Wordless Wednesday {The Garden of 2017: We Begin}