Today was Justin's 12th birthday! Happy 12th birthday, Justin! We almost missed celebrating it because we've been so busy with school, the box moving project, and life in general. Poor middle child. Thankfully, Justin is the most kind hearted, easy going as far as working with me in times like this, thoughtful, loving kid you'll ever meet. That's why it seems that the girls like him a lot. Especially those "odd, weird homeschooled" girls. Just kidding, we really aren't that weird, are we? I am one of those odd/weird homeschooled girls and I did find a kindhearted, but honest, loyal, super smart guy to marry. So, it's all good. Hm, Justin, what else to say about him? He's 12. His head is in the clouds nearly all the time. His growing pains are out of control and he has to take a mixture of homeopathic sleep aid meds and either rub essential oils or menthol creme on his legs every night until the whole house stinks like it. And even then he can wake up often with more pain. He loves Pokemon' and Minecraft. He loves Crave (youth group), Core class (Sunday school), and Bible Bowl. He plugs away at his studies and sometimes surprises me with how much he knows. He loves Rick Riordan's books like Percy Jackson and has studied so much Greek mythology that the next 6 weeks of our history which is on Ancient Greece, should be a breeze to him (if he can get his head out of the clouds long enough that is, lol). "Hey, Justin! Where's your nose?!" is our favorite phrase because of his aloofness. He finally has an old 8 gig iPhone to use as an iPod, although he can't download many apps on it. His friends are Bryce (moved to Georgia), Daniel, Kylie, Jordan (girl), (all in Bible Bowl and Crave with him) Paige (Crave), Devon (neighbor and Crave), and Zach (neighbor), just in case he reads this blog someday and wants to remember who he hung out with during this time of his life. His favorite color is still bright neon green and his favorite foods are still tacos and pancakes and cornbread (not together of course). He likes to bake, too, and sometimes draws his Pokemon' characters. He doesn't sing or play piano much, and isn't interested in choir. And he doesn't do sports. He's long and lanky, and always has been. He wears a size 4 shoe and still can fit in size 8 pants and a kids' medium tshirt. Yup, he's my "little" boy vs. Benaiah who is my "big" little boy. We love you, Justin!
I have so many other topics I could bring in here. I'll save a couple for tomorrow's blog. But, I've been taking my B-12 and it seems to help improve my overall mood a bit because it helps the cycle that has seratonin and melatonin in it to function properly. That being said, I've had plenty of outburts as well. These are the rawest emotions I've ever had and they just come out. I am not afraid of them this time. I want to work through them. And all 3 older kids know that. They are well aware of me being on edge because I dropped a medication and this is a process and I'm working through it and have no intention of staying like this. I can't play "nice" like I used to. I'm trying to, but I literally can't. Thankfully, I have a moment, and then it's over, and we move on and have happier moments. 'Nuff said.
One big point of conflict in my heart and head are these boxes. These boxes that I have had for over 7 years. These boxes I have gone through a couple of times (or more than that) and that we moved to Canada, and then to either the condo or the storage barn, and now we are bringing to their final resting place, our new house. I say final, because, really, I need to keep reducing the number of boxes and if we stay here even 5 years, I'd like to say I've gone through them again a time or two. But I have lots of guilt. Guilt for making my husband and son move those boxes multiple times in multiple configurations. Guilt because so many people don't have even an extra pair of clothes and I have way too much. Guilt because "minimalism" is all the rage and I know I will never be one of "those" people (I'm kidding, I do idolize and admire those who have gotten to that stage with their stuff, but in reality land, I will never get there.) Guilt that managing this stuff takes away from other pursuits like spending time with family. And yet, I know I've come so far already from what I grew up with. I HAVE gotten rid of bunches and bunches of stuff. I touched nearly every category just 1 1/2 years ago before moving back here from Canada. I have identified categories that I need to tackle next or again. But at the same time, I also know, that we've entered the school year, and that takes a huge chunk of time no matter which way I slice it. It has upset me this last week that we had to jump on this project quickly because we were KINDLY asked to. But I am also proud that we HAVE worked hard, we are making progress and that with all these boxes here, in my line of sight, they will bug me enough that I WILL tackle them. And I have to remember that I absorbed ALL my parents' leftovers. And they were hoarders. Almost hoarders that could be on the TV show hoarders. My mother choose us over dealing with the stuff. And that is awesome! There's a balance to be had between projects and homeschooling and blogging and cleaning and staying healthy. It's a hard balance to find, and I'm still finding it because it's ever shifting. But if Jared is content enough with my progress, then I am, too. He is not putting a guilt trip on me. I'm putting the guilt trip on myself.
So, we've made huge progress, we are getting the termites treated soon (which affects how we arrange the garage for the cardboard boxes), and the rest of the boxes will be brought over in the next week (hopefully barring everyone's schedules). The shed looks awesome! It's not fixed and I'm nervous about that, but it swallowed up more boxes than I thought it would with room to spare and it's organized! The garage will probably not be and certainly won't stay organized because of moving around for termites and other projects, but I'm ok with that since I will either get rid of that stuff and/or combine it with and into other tubs for longer storage in the shed. The tubs I prefer are the most expensive on the market (Rubbermaid roughnecks, not any other Rubbermaids either), so I would rather not buy anymore. So, we'll see.
This is all appropriate with the 6th anniversary of my Dad's death coming up on the 19th (today is the 9th). He was the keeper of stuff. He was disorganized. His parents were hoarders. His sister is a borderline one, too. It runs in the family and thankfully, I'm the only one who has inherited the gene. My parents worked themselves into the grave. I, my siblings, my kids are their legacy, not their stuff, and yet, I need some of their stuff (the homeschool books, baby clothes I will pass down to other grandchildren, the bassinet). In fact, I wear an old wedding ring that might have been their first set of rings or from my dad's previous engagement or my mom's previous marriage. But, there's still lots that aren't essential. Take a picture and move on. I get it, and I will, in time. Have patience.
Meanwhile, we have these to take care of:
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| Superman doing his superflying in his superhero pj's! |
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| Ew! I love to eat mushrooms, but I don't want them randomly growing in my yard and having my kids and dog step on them. Moist shaded area of the yard from the big tree next to the big tire swing. Yuck! |
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| At first, I thought it was a hornet flying around from us knocking the hornet down from inside the shed. But nope, just a moth. And this is one reason I am very careful not to put cardboard boxes or uncovered plastic ones in the shed. All boxes must be moth proof, mice proof, wetness proof, or, I have to be ok if one of these things got them. For example, we put out cardboard boxes today, that have all of the kids' completed school papers. Now, I know I don't need all of them, but I haven't determined what to keep of them yet, and with us not always knowing which state we'll be in and what homeschooling laws there are, I've kept them for now. But, will I be deeply upset if 90% of them got ruined? Probably not. I did put tubs with pictures in them out there, but only because it is getting cooler, not warmer. My goal is to have gone through cardboard boxes in the garage this winter and bring the pictures at least into the garage for longer term storage. Not ideal, because it's not directly climate controlled, but it is much cooler than the shed. They are all in tubs. Those kinds of things. But, hey, I guess this goes along with that verse that says something about moths and rust will destroy your physical belongings but the Word will never be destroyed, right? Ok, now I have to look it up. (sorry, I'm not the Bible scholar in house). Here: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths
and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 So, there you go. It's what I wrestle with constantly, believe me. |
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| Making lunch for himself because "he's a big boy now!" (Pull ups commerical). |
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| This van swallows up a ton of stuff! |
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| And one in front for good measure. |
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| You know, there is weed killer for that. But no, Mr. Pyro uses the trusty ol' blowtorch. And yes, it was still smoldering an hour later and it still smelled like gas (which he poured on them first, from the mower gas can) 24 hrs later! I think the blowtorch gets more uses than duct tape around here! |
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| He thinks he strong. Carrying 3 boxes without any shoes on. What a body builder! Lol! |
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| Aw, he found his chickies! I'm glad he still loves them because they were a gift from one of our Canadian friends I think as a belated baby shower gift. I can't remember, but it was way before his 1st birthday I think. If not, it would have been for his 1st birthday because we left Canada when he was 16 months old. |
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| Drumroll.....the shed swallows up TONS of stuff! I'm super happy about being able to see ALL the numbers and/or words on the tags without having to move anything! This side is papers and keepsakes from the kids over the last 15 years on the left (which were actually put up on the boards on the rafters the next night as I write this and replaced with toys that will be rotated in and out), the pictures mentioned above, my childhood keepsakes, and then the leftover Howell keepsakes (not crafting.) |
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| This side is the last of the fabric and other handicrafts I have from my mom, and then the 2nd half in the back is the baby clothes/gear plus clothes for Justin and Abishai to grow into. Remember, I went through all of the girl clothes before we moved back, and I'm going through the boys' clothes as Abishai goes through each size. I do have a lot more of those boxes but they are cardboard diaper boxes and won't come out here until they are in tubs. We added a few more in there today. |
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| A guy asked if he could check something in our yard today because someone was stealing internet from someone else in the neighborhood or something like that. So, Abishai saw the flashing lights and thought it was a fire truck. We told him what it was and let him look at it from a distance and pose for the picture. Abishai now knows what "take a picture" means and this is his toddler pose with the scrunched up face, so cute! |
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| Ah, the reason librarians love homeschoolers! We help to circulate the books! I love being able to get online and order anything I need from the county wide library system and have it delivered to my branch. I have never used the intra library loan program, but I've heard it works well, too. Some of our books come from Christian and Catholic schools from the around the city as well! I love that they are all connected! I love picture books, especially for history, because it brings it more to life than just reading black and white novels. I have some of those two, though. India and Greece are what are in these stacks. I separate them out in piles: on the far left is for Keturah to mainly look through, but Justin can look too. In the middle are picture books that they both can and should look through. Then there are novels we probably won't read but I get just in case I don't have something, as well as longer picture books for Justin. And finally the pile on the right I think is mostly from our collection and mostly for Justin. This is just for history. So, we may have 1,000 books at home, but there's always more to explore. Actually, I have very little on both India and Ancient Greece. I was super surprised about that. I have much more on Ancient Rome though. But here is our "feast" as Charlotte Mason calls it. |
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| We went out to eat at El Rodeo (which is right next to the library and on our way to church actually) after church for Justin's birthday supper. Normally we don't eat at 7pm but Grandma was leaving on Sunday for her annual trip to Austria to volunteer at House Edelweiss. Jared went there last there for a slightly different reason. Justin's main present was his trip to CIY, but you can never have too many presents, so,.....he got, you guessed it, more books on how to do things on Minecraft! He's already making plans on how to use the hacks! |
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| Birthday dinner, tacos! Gary doesn't like Mexican, but he'll go when it's for a birthday boy! (Gary had fish, btw). El Rodeo has been around for a long while now and it's always been fast and yummy. Abishai LOVED the chips and dip and even stood up on his chair to reach for the dip that was far across the table. He ate too many chips though and didn't eat much of his dinner. |
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| End of the night, stir crazy Abishai, was ready to run around the table, but Benaiah scooped him up. He laid his down for a second and then pushed away. |
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| Birthday spankings outside! Another Johnson tradition: birthday spankings according to your age and then a pinch to grow an inch! Love it! |
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