EKjourney Backup

I wanted to send out an email explanation of why I am keeping Emily's Journey open but our address book is so out of date that I am hoping an explanation here will reach those who like to read regularly.  Long story short, Phil redid all the settings to this blog post so that it is as private as it can be without actually having log in passwords.  We feel this will be sufficient enough.  I will be giving occasional updates and pictures here. Today is Phil's official start back to school.  He is working full time plus coaching and his first games (scrimmages) are this week.  A busy fall lies ahead!! On the weekends, we are working on deer fencing.  Phil is putting actual pasture fence up where we don't have a privacy fence and then extending all fences up to 8 feet with high tension wire and deer netting.  We are hoping this works!!  It is time consuming and expensive but we would like to someday have a garden that will produce! The children and I ...

After Phil has done some tweaking to the formatting of this blog...we are back to our normally scheduled blogging: Two things...first, we have a walker!!!!! Evi decided that 2 days before she turned 20 months (which is today) that she was going to start walking. It has been funny to watch her. She isn't a typical walker because she already has the skills to get up and go like she has been doing it all along. Yesterday, she was twirling in circles with the other two while they danced to Raffi songs.  Second...we went with Phil on his Summer school field trip to OMSI. The children had a blast as usual!! Phil and I are both tired. LOL! My first day of "real walking" and I am already hauling things by the bucket! Participating in a physics lesson with the rest of the 9th graders.  Sawyer even offered some observations. 

I am writing to let you know that this will be my last blog on my Emily's Journey blog site. I have really enjoyed recording my journey here and sharing the events of my life but I feel that it is time for me to explore a different avenue of journaling. Thank you for your comments and taking the time to share in our lives. Phil will be setting up a private blog where we will post occasional pictures and updates. Emily

Weekends are becoming more meaningful now. With Phil's more "regulated" schedule, weekends are becoming our family time and get stuff done time. I have a new nephew! Edwin was born on Wednesday, at 6:15 a.m. He weighed in at 8lb 4oz and was 21.5 inches long. What a cutie!! I of course forgot my camera when we went to visit (arrrrgggg). Tina had a waterbirth at a beautiful birthing center out in the countryside. I tried to talk them into letting me have him but they didn't seem too interested! Guess I will have to wait until Christmas time to take a newborn home with me. My goodness the end of this week has been crazy! Wednesday, we met our nephew and then Phil had a football meeting. The children were crazy and wild but as soon as I gave structured time we had a peaceful and quiet evening while we waited for Daddy to come home (how I love structure!). That adorable man brought me flowers, jelly beans (ok, those were as much for him as they were for me), and...

Our anniversary was fun. We went to a movie and out to dinner. It is rare for us to be alone and have a date night. It always feels weird when we do! Evi is turning into quite the talker! It is fun to listen to her holler, "tractor" at every farmer's field or her favorite, "shoe!!". That girl loves shoes!! She still isn't walking at 19 months but she jumps with both feet off the ground, crawls, climbs, does squats, walks everywhere that she can touch. She will even walk if you hold on to her just by the tip of her finger. Cucumbers are in full harvest. Not only do we have the fun of harvesting and eating them but they serve so many other purposes as well like dolls, bath toys, bazookas, etc. We eat cucumbers and tomatoes at least one meal a day (if I can find any that the "grazers" have left behind ie the children and Phil). Our figs are just about through for the batch but the trees are loaded for a fall crop. We are still working to get...

I married my best friend and the most wonderful man I ever met!! Life hasn't always been blissful but our marriage has been. In these 9 years, we have been on a constant path of discovering God's will for our lives. It is a different journey than we expected, particularly where we have been led when it comes to our family, but we stand together, side by side, caring for, supporting, and loving one another. I still can't believe at times that God chose to bless me with such a man and that is exactly what my marriage is - a gift, completely undeserved, completely unearned, a beautiful picture of God's love. I can understand so well the Biblical comparison that Jesus gives us where He is the bridegroom and we His brides. Nine years later, I still feel like a new bride - totally in love!!

One of my favorite things about the late Summer and Fall is the yummy food! Here was our breakfast yesterday. Omlets with eggs from my parent's chickens. Tomatoes and cucumbers spashed with olive oil and basalmic vinegar from our garden. Little pears (you see them riping in the background) from my parent's orchard and fresh figs from our garden. I picked everything homegrown right there that morning. YUM! Someday, I will have a whole slew of fresh fruits and veggies from our own garden. That is.... ...if we can keep those blasted deer out!! Ok, this one is kind cute but cute baby deer grown up to strip every edible thing in my garden. How is it that despite Phil's efforts of fortressing in our yard, they keep getting in??? How is that I can run through the yard screaming and throwing rocks and giant bamboo javelens at the deer and have them continue to return. This baby squeezed out in between the fence slats up there at the corner. Evi can't even squeeze ...

well, almost! My goal for the week was to clean the entire house including the garage section of the laundry room. This meant going through every box, storage container, cupboard, drawer, closet, shelf, clutter pile, you name it! I also wanted to dust, window clean, clean out heater vents, mop, vacuum (including under furniture), clean light fixtures, and whatever else needed to be done like deep cleaning the freezer and refridgerator. For the most part, I accomplished this! I was totally burnt out by Saturday night. I pretty much put in 8+ hour days (with Phil doing most of the child care). So...there are only a few small odds and ends left to tackle that Phil is going to do and/or help me with. Hard to believe that cleaning every nook and cranny in an 1150 square foot house (plus some garage space) could take a full 7 days! Next on the agenda is the playroom and what a mess it is! Then it is Fall planning. We will also try and get to the rest of the garage. Phil starts summ...

with an episode of Curious George. Phil crawled up in the attic and rerouted the internet wire so our main computer is now hooked back up. We took a break from housecleaning and went up to IKEA last night. (Another night where the children didn't get into bed until 11:00 sheesh!!!) We picked up a multipurpose children's table and then various impulse items. We intended to get Jubilee a swing for her birthday but didn't know exactly what to get and we found an inside swing. It should be a hit! We also got two children's easles and extra rolls of art paper. Then there were some other small miscellaneous items. IKEA is dangerous!!

Phil still needs to put the slide show up but here the pictures that I have framed.

Isn't this a lovely setting And of course a lovely husband and daughter Jubilee and Grammy. She did great and enjoyed the concert. Sawyer was VERY bored