Sunday, January 30, 2011

lovely weather...sick boys

We have been having some lovely weather the last couple of days...the thermometer today says 72*! Yesterday was nice also...I heard Geneva telling Kylan that she milked last night with the curtains up! LOL, here in the south we don't have solid walls on the dairy barns, there are heavy duty curtains they pull shut when it gets cold...so she was crowing about the fact that it was warm enough to have them open!! Kylan answers back that he went shopping without a coat!

Thorton has been fighting a cold all week, and Thurs morning he woke with a definite fever...about 12:30 Miss Ashley called home and said she was concerned about Quinten. He hadn't been acting 'normal'so I went and brought him home too. He did sleep all afternoon, but other than that, didn't act real sick. By Fri he had fever, and was on the couch most of the day! I thought maybe they would be well by this morning, but Thorton is still coughing and Quinten felt a bit warm...so took his temp and it was 99.1*...fever??? Anyway we were home from church and got to use our churches 'new' conference line and hear the message at home anyway!! What a blessing. The boys had been out for awhile earlier and I think their Daddy wanted to make better timing on his walk, cause he sent them in. Now they have been bugging me for the last 1/2 hour that they want to play ball!!

And yesterday I felt like a 'torn' mom! Maurita and Kylan had got these Krispie Kreme doughnut coupons that they really wanted to use, and we did need some things in Columbia, so Ivan told me to go and take them! I really don't like to do things like that without him, but I knew he didn't want to 'blow' the whole day shopping. And besides all that with 2 little sick boys at home...but we went. I told Quinten if he needed to get hold of Ivan what he needed to dial on the phone. Gwynndon was in and out also...so they weren't totally 'home alone'!! KKD was our 2nd stop of the day...and if I had known...I would have made it be the last one! Soon after that Kylan took up the refrain...'when are we going home' and similar statements! He was pleased at the Goodwill store to find two little houses, that he thought they could use for their train set up. Actually one was a fire station and he thought they had enough fire trucks at home to set around it!! So hope his day wasn't totally in vain!! Last weekend in Helen GA, one of our stops was a model train setup of the country of Germany. Since then Gwynndon and Kylan have a renewed interest in their train set up...Gwynndon is trying to figure out what to use to make roads...

One of the things I found at Goodwill was a complete set, minus #1 of the Thomas Maxwell Bible story books! I thought it said hardbacks were $2 a piece, so I was figuring them at $19...and the clerk said, oh no, theses are childrens books, they are $1 apiece. I sure didn't argue on that one...knowing several years ago I had seen them at the flea market, and they wanted $99 for the set!! I had the first one at home, so now my set is complete!!

When we got home, the gate was shut and the place looked a bit deserted, except for the saw that we heard buzz occasionally from the general area of the swamp. Ivans project that he got accomplished yesterday was working on the 'boardwalk' in the swamp. Sometime ago they transported the 30 ft wheel chair ramp from the neighbors house down there, but we couldn't really use it...as the one end was 3 ft in the air, so you had to take a running jump to get on it! :) After he got that lowered properly, he then proceeded to build more walk. I haven't been down yet for a 'walk on the boardwalk'...so not sure where it goes to. One reported that its clear to the river, and one other said, oh, no, just to the deer stand! So maybe I will go take a jaunt right now to find out!! Later~~

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Trapping...

This is the subject most in 'vogue' at our house these days! The older boys have set traps in the river to try to deplete the beaver population that has taken up residence there lately. The first several days they went diligently checking the traps, and couldn't figure why they were getting anything...till they discovered the safety was still on! We won't tell who was responsible for this! When they got it set properly..they caught one on Sat.

And the little boys...have set a trap...of sorts...in the little shop by the house. They thought a 'big' rat was digging in the trash bags that are stored out there till the load is big enough to take to the dump. Sat I heard them talking about setting a bucket with a board up the side...but no success. So Delvin was telling Kylan the other night that he had emptied something and piled the stuff beside it, then put some smarties in the bucket... Musta worked. Yesterday morning, Delvin came beaming in the house carrying this foot square plastic container with 2 mice in the bottom, all nicely taped shut. Wondering if he could take this to school!!! I am like, I DON'T think so! Then came the tears...so I said, you go ask your Daddy! That always takes care of it for me! In the meantime, Geneva poked her head out her bedroom door with a comical face, wondering what was the subject at hand. I said would you have appreciated that offering coming to school?!? Her quick reply was not really! Well, thankfully his Dad also vetoed the idea.

At lunchtime we were comparing notes, and he had actually caught 3 mice, and one got away in the transporting to the container. Ryan also discovered that he 'stashed' then up by the firepit while they went to school! He thought that maybe we could suggest that Delvin feed them to his cat, and he would enjoy watching that process! Well, when I first gave him that idea, he thought that would be cruel...but I explained to him the fact that it is all part of the food system! Tried to go on to explain that this is what was tearing up their bags, and how much of a nuisance they really are! I also told him that really it was kinda cruel to keep them in the container too! At supper we discovered that he did indeed feed them to the cat.

Oh in the meanwhile when he came home from school, he said Miss Darlene said that it would have been ok to bring them to school! Ivan did talk with her last night, and she was fine with it, he hadn't realized they were already history at the time! So he texted her this morning and said they wouldn't be coming after all! In the meantime, in the house, Kylan even got into the spirit!! He came in all excited...they caught 4 this morning. So they were dutifully packed in the container of yesterday, and transported off to school!! Ivan retexted Darlene, then even called Mr Korver and said that he hoped it wasn't the wrong thing to do, and wanted him to be aware of what was happening, so no big boys tried their powers of what ever, and that they won't have loose mice at school!!

Just before they left I tried to convince Delvin that maybe he should go ahead and feed 2 of the mice to the cat this morning, since the container might be kinda small for 4 of them. He emphatically informed me that he only feeds the cat once a day!!!

Friday, January 14, 2011

projects... perseverance...payoff

Well, I came home from town late afternoon...and Kylan was washing Ryans pickup. It was fairly cold out there to be washing pickups...but Kylan has been faithfully doing the job for awhile now. His payoff was when the job was finished tonight. Ryan had a camera that turned out to be not all that great, so he had got another one. Kylan had a hankering for that camera...so Ryan bargained with him to wash his truck for 4 xs...and it was his. So when Maurita and Kylan left for the supper at Mr Korvers, Kylan proudly had a camera to take with him to use!!

...and we have been quilting in our spare time around here...and the last row is on top. Its not finished yet...but almost. Makes you get a bit more enthused when the end is in view!

Over Christmas vacation Gwynndon started building a trailer with an old camper axle. Ivan decided when he saw that Gwynndon's heart was there, he was going to encourage it along. I over heard Gwynndon saying tonight that he needs to do a bit more tomorrow...and it will be ready for paint. Ivan was quick to inform him that it needs to warm up quite a bit before that will happen! :-) Ryan is even getting enthused about that project. Ivan kinda dropped him a word on the side, that since he might like to use it occasionally...maybe he should donate the treated wood for the bottom...I think those are in the permanent plans!

Since Thanksgiving when Evan S was here from ID, Gwynndon had his abode in the loft. Earlier he had carried the old desk from the shop up there. He found a book shelf in the ole' blue house, and they have a train set on the floor too. Its quite the cozy little place. Anyway he had been complaining lately that it seems a bit too cozy! So I told him that I guess he could put the single bed up there instead of the double one, that might give him more room. This morning he informed me that last night he moved back downstairs...with his bed! I am like what? Well, he decided to put the single bed in the loft, but since hes been enjoying more room in the double bed...he just felt like he was falling out of the single one...so he went ahead and slept downstairs in the double! Not sure what is gonna happen when our 'big' boys find wives!! Guess that comment was a bit off the original subject! LOL!

Those are just a few of the things that have been taking place around here lately!!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Our story of Dec...

The first weekend in Dec, Ivan and I went to PA. All of my brothers and sisters joined us there to help Mom remember that she is now 80! Sun for lunch we invited all the local, mobile aunts and uncles for lunch. Uncle Amos didn't make it on the first picture.





Some of the annual cookie plates...


Dec 14, 2010...our 25th anniversary. The girls prepared us a lovely supper. The bouquet was from Dannys, Garys, and Allens.




The night all the rest of the children were Christmas caroling...Ivan lined up the 'stair steps' to record in history!!


Dec 21 we had all the 'Heges in the south' for Christmas. With Mom and Jean here...we totaled 43...so we had it in the back of the shop this year! Unfortunately...they took lots of pictures of the decor...but no one thought about the food buffet, and while everyone was eating!!




The Fri before Christmas I got a ride to PA and drove Mom and Jean down here for 1 1/2 weeks, so they got to spend Christmas with us this year!


All day Sunday the 26, we had snow flurries...and Mon morning this is what it looked like when we woke up...



This is what has been occupying the little boys attention the last while...Thorton got another set this year to add to the total array!



This has been happening the last 2 weeks...as often as I can 'coax' them into helping me! Andrea is the most willing helper...and she is leaving tomorrow...boo..hoo!