our crazy life... (and hello again!)

the latest project...and our crazy life

we hadn't gotten a call about fostering for a long time, so we decided to launch into a major project that was desperately needed...replacing our old timber retaining wall

we scheduled a neighbor's excavation company to come remove the old wall and stairs and dig a trench for the new foundation, wall and back fill...we ordered 200 new concrete blocks to replace the old rotten wood...and hubby took a week off work to do the job (with help from me and the kids)

then we got a call about a family of three children that may need a home

yikes!

unfortunately we felt we had to say no to the family, but later found out they did not need to be placed at this point...please pray for the little 7, 4 and 2 year old kids whose names we don't know

so...we launched into our excavation project with full force...

above  you see the old steps and part of the wall that was falling apart

the excavator and dump truck that hauled away the old timbers

the lovely new channel, just waiting to be leveled and tamped down

below:  the delivery of 6 pallets with new concrete block--that was very cool to watch!

After that we got another delivery of about 8 tonnes of CA6 (gravel)...we spent most of Saturday and Sunday afternoon (there was a cow in the well) working with a small scoop tractor to move gravel and a power compactor to compact it.

tomorrow we are expecting a much larger load of 1 1/2 inch rock (for filling the cavity in the block and behind for drainage)

well, that's it for now!

Never come between a girl and her cats

Evidence of a mouse in the house for the first time today.  The cats are coming back in!  I'm a little concerned for the leather furniture, but I'm even more opposed to the mice.  Yikes!

Labor Day Camping Pics

Just a few fun pictures from our camping trip in September.  It's been a tradition for years, and we love it, even when it rains or is unbearably hot or whatever...

We had worship on Sunday in a small amphitheatre and a few people even stopped by to listen.

 Worship in style...

 Relaxing by the campfire...

Piano Recital

Katie played this song for her recital which honored her piano teacher for 30 years of teaching piano student and playing piano in church.  The group are current and former students who came to play in the recital.

More fun stuff--Father/Son Canoe Trip

 At ages 80 and 42 this father-son combo couldn't be held back.  They embarked on a two-day canoe trip along the mighty Illinois River on a beautiful fall day.

 

Picking them up was a little more traumatic (at least for me!) as I had some trouble finding the place where they ended up down river.  Also, the truck battery died before I found them and there was no one around to help me jump the truck!  Thank God for a good Samaritan who pulled in when I waved him down!  He not only jumped my truck but when I told him why I was there and what part of the park I was looking for, he said he'd seen my hubby and his dad!  He told me to follow him and took me right to where they were!

Summer pictures--Marineland

 The dolphin show is always awesome!

 Feeding the deer!

 Visiting Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario for what may be the last time!  This has been a summer event almost every year since 2004.  I managed to sprain my foot the day before and got wheeled around for a day as a result!

Summer in Pictures--Boating

 August's kayak got a fair bit of attention this summer.  He named it "Polar Bear."  We took it out on the Illinois River, Clinton Lake and another small lake near Aunt Letha and Uncle Rich's cabin.

 Katie's boat "Manatee" was found in Oma and Opa's garage while we were helping them move.

She was seaworthy after all!