Getting to the ROOT of it!

It's always something around here.

For the last month or so it has been septics, pipes and water.

A bit of a sink hole developed in the backyard this spring. Now, we have had a LOT of rain this spring so we weren't sure if we should be concerned or not. Just to be safe we had a septic company come out to advise us. That led to our septic tank getting emptied out. It had apparently been a loooong time since that had been done. How they can tell the age of the contents of a septic tank is both interesting and gross, lol. We wondered how our real estate agent and lawyer dropped that ball since it is a requirement when a house with a septic sells. Hmmmm. Lesson learned, move on.

The septic man was very helpful, spending a good amount of time with Greg trouble shooting the possible issues and offering suggestions for addressing them. He could do the job for a price of course, but I appreciate his honesty in telling Greg that it was probably a job he and the boys could tackle. So began the digging. And more digging. The goal was to expose the entire length of pipe running from the pump to the ditch so we could check for problems. (There really is no "we" in this gig, unless you count documenting it the most I have done is deliver a glass of cold water on occasion.) The whole process was interrupted several times by weather, work, hockey and life in general.

Tonight they finally exposed the entire length of pipe. Yep, the entire channel of dirt and stone was dug by hand. More of the "man training" as Greg calls it.

You can tell by the tall grass how long they have been working at this "little" project. The water at the end shows you just how high the water table is at the moment. It's even gone down some.

They pulled out all the sections of pipe and sure enough, just as we expected...they were stuffed like a sausage. A sausage of roots. Ick!!

At least the roots were easily pulled from the pipes. That will save a few more dollars since we can use the same pipes. Greg has a few new items to purchase before the pipes can be reassembled and put back into place and the channel covered back up. The end is in sight now.

Where did all those roots come from?? The HUGE willow tree that we had cut down a couple of years ago. Well, mostly cut down. The trunk is so big around that we don't know of anyone with a chainsaw long enough to take down what is left. The boys have fun climbing it. Any guesses on how many years it will take to rot?? This whole process confirms it was the right move to cut it down.

I am out numbered in our house. Living with boys makes for interesting conversations and eventually they all come back to bodily functions. So, what do you think they thought of the root sausage??? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count!

Yep, that is the father of my children. Pastor. Leader. Nut job!!

That is all for now. Tune in again for more trials, tribulations and other generally odd bits of news from the Ransomville Harps.

Harp Update

We are half way through May already, where does time go?? As usual things around our house have been going pretty much at warp speed. Try as I might, I can't seem to find the slow-down lever, I think it has been disabled. So, here is a bit of what we have been up to since February.

-Kaleb became a teenager in April. He is doing really well in school although math and science still aren't his friends. He is mid way through his hockey season. Wilson School is now into it's third year of having a hockey program and the best that they have been able to do is tie one game. So far it hasn't been a matter of losing but rather by how many goals. They have a mercy rule where they stop displaying goals beyond 8. We were thrilled last game when the scoreboard reflected the actual score, lol. Character building, yeah, that's it. Kaleb calls it something else. But I can say all the kids look better on the ice so they have learned some things and improved their skills.

-Josh did get accepted to the SCA for this summer. He will spend 3 weeks in August in the Delaware River Gap (in PA) doing conservation projects. We are still waiting for final details but he is very excited.

-Greg is now just a few weeks away from his third trip to Charlotte for school. His kidney stone was finally blasted and removed and we are praying for a less eventful trip this time around.

-I hosted the 4th annual Spring Fest 2 weeks ago. We had 85 stampers from 3 states and Canada attend a day of stamping. This may have been the best one yet. It just happened to be that April was the most stressful month I have experienced in years. My job has about pushed me over the edge but thankfully at the moment, things are improving. My caseload is now near 60 and some days I feel like I am paddling like a mad woman and yet the stream is still washing me away.

Here is a family photo taken at Easter.

There is more to say but I am late for work. Until next time!!

Mark the Calendar!

I am posting 2 days in a row! My dad would always say "mark the calendar" whenever we did something remarkable. Sadly, it was usually something like taking out the trash without reminders, lol.

Yesterday I told you about my little shopping obsession. I am not sure you can call it "shopping" if I don't spend money, or very little money. Not only am I saving lots of money and filling up the pantry but there is plenty of man training going on too. The boys are helping me clip and organize my coupons and I take them along occasionally so they can see the pay-off. They have become tough critics lately. If I spend more than $5 out of pocket they call me a slacker!

If you know anything at all about Greg and the boys, then you know they LOVE cereal. We go through some serious cereal and at $4-$5 a box, it could quickly put us in the poor house. When I find a good deal I stock up. This is part of our stash at the moment....

Yep, 30 boxes! None more than $1/box. I give it a month, maybe less, before it is all eaten.

This basket of snacks was completely free. Somehow they taste better than usual ;).

Over the last month I have stocked up a years worth of dish washer detergent, loads of body wash, deodorant, toothpaste and shampoo. Most of it free. You can't be brand picky if you want the best deals. Lucky for me, Greg and the boys eat or use just about anything.

This is my freebie basket I told you about. It is time to empty it out so I can start again.

It is a bit time consuming but so worth it. The lessons the boys are learning are priceless. Kaleb asked me the other day why I give stuff away rather than sell it to make money. We had a great conversation about using our gifts/talents/resources to bless others. We have taught them to tithe but giving goes beyond that. And giving isn't just about $.

We have gotten some good laughs from talking about the trunk of treasures I will gather for them when they go off to college. I hope I am that mom that other boys in the dorm love because of all the cool care packages.

Their only complaint is that they can't score these kinds of deals at Dick's or Gander Mountain.

Until next time...

Best of Intentions

I wish there was a direct line from my mind to this blog! I have "written" some pretty incredible stuff these last two months, too bad it never materialized so you could read it! I would tell you I am getting to it but then I would just be heaping guilt onto myself every time I think about what I didn't do.

So, here are some random things from our house...

**Greg has come and gone to session #2 of doctoral work in Charlotte. A trip to the ER (while out of town) turned up a very large, impassible kidney stone. He has now had 2 "surgical" procedures and has one more to go. He is a real trooper!

**Josh is anxiously waiting to find out if he will be accepted to the Student Conservation Association for this coming summer. If he is, he will be gone for a month long trip to who knows where, doing who knows what with who knows who. We're still thinking it's a good thing.

**Kaleb is now a hockey player. YIKES! I never thought I would see that day. He will be playing on the school's modified team and because ice time is so precious around these parts his practices won't start until mid March and games will be April-June. You know what that means? I get to freeze my butt off even in the summer, lol!

**My job is going well, but with a new governor who know if I will have a job for long. I am all for cutting spending, reducing our governmental overhead, balancing our state budget, cutting waste. I just hope I am not the "waste".

**Watching the news and reading the papers makes me depressed. Gas is going up, wars are breaking out everywhere, people are out of work, things cost more but incomes are shrinking. What is a girl to do? Especially when so much of it seems beyond my control. Well, pray for one. Second...coupon. I have become a bit obsessive of late with shopping sales, clipping coupons, looking for ways to save. I am all about free these days... free shampoo, free toothpaste, free food. This is one thing you may hear more about from me. If I can't keep the prices from rising and I can't make my income go up, then I will work the system to squeeze out what I can. The cool thing is that I have gotten so many free, or nearly free, items lately that I am giving the excess to others. I have a freebie basket on the counter and when it gets full it goes with me to work to share with my co-workers or the food pantry at church. Maybe someone else will be less crunched as a result. There are a few blogs that post great information on making the most of sales, check them out if you'd like.

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/

http://moneysavingmom.com/

http://www.couponsforyourfamily.com/

http://www.givemeneither.com/

**The dog is still a pain

**I am sick, no, make that SICK of winter! Greg and the boys do not share my sentiment.

**I miss my old friends more that anyone will ever know. There is a part of me that feels dead and I know it is due to the lack of girl time. That makes me so sad.

**Our oven is messed up so I can't even make cookies to feed my depression, lol.

**God is still God and He is still good!

That's all for now, the boys and I have gotta run to church.