Home and brothers and gardens

Well, it's good to be home. We left Chattanooga around 9:00 Monday night after the kids all went to see Ramon and Beezus (made the girls...well and Travis... cry). We said goodbye to Josh and his family and loaded up in Clifford. It had rained so hard earlier and the lightning display was spectacular. Travis said, "Tennessee is crying because we are leaving". About an hour into our trip we stopped at a Walmart to buy some snacks and some Redbox movies. By the way, Redbox? Maybe the best creation EVER, saves me stopping at Walmart to buy a cheap movie for the ride home that we will likely never watch again.

The initial plan was to stop when I got tired or in Indianapolis, whichever came first. About 3:00 AM all passengers were asleep and I took my 5 hour energy (another great creation). The GPS told me I would be home by 8:30 AM and the thought of my own bed, my own husband (not to mention my other two children and my dogs and my own shower, etc...) was overwhelmingly motivating...I just kept driving. It was one of the most peaceful drives of my life. I never felt tired at all, I got to choose my own music (and was treated to some classics), I got to watch the sun set in Tennessee and rise over northern Indiana. Lots of time for introspection and I introspected the fact that I am remarkably blessed. Gotta do something with that for sure. "To whom much is given, much is expected".

Shortly after I returned and kissed my two sleeping children that had stayed home, I went to bed. I was right to eagerly anticipate my own bed. Samantha and Cole were so happy to see their little brothers they spent the day with them. They went to Marinos for lunch and then to the mall. Samantha mentioned how much she liked the fact that Cole was having fun with Travis and Bryan...sometimes being a part for awhile gives everyone the chance to regain their perspective. Thankfully, Cole was still feeling the love for his little brother today and played indoor soccer with him.

We have talked to Cole a lot lately about being more patient with his little brothers. About how much they would look up to him if he would just spend some time with them. I don't want him to look back later in life, when they are friends (and I am confident that they will be friends) and realized how much he missed by not getting to know them better when they were little. He doesn't always admit it at first, but I think he is listening. A mother can ask for no more:-)

Having a garden as a homeschooler is almost a prerequisite, of course, I'm bad at following rules. So, although we decided to actually plant a garden this year, we didn't do it until early July. We bought some plants (on clearance mind you, so at least if it fails it only cost us a total of 5 American dollars). Kevin mentioned last week that the garden was, in fact, failing. He said nobody was watering it (pretty sure God took care of that this weekend, I know He watered our basement well) and the tomato plants needed to be staked. I, of course, professed a lack of knowledge on how to stake a tomato plant. So today, when he got home from work, he took his little homeschool geeks out in the back yard to play in the dirt. They pulled weeds and staked tomatoes. I asked Kevin if we will actually have any food out of our little garden. He said we would definitely have peppers. Ironically, I do not like peppers, but I will eat one, because we grew it ourselves.