Tree Hugger

 When Lydia was little, she loved this particular tree in the park.  She'd give it hugs every time.  Now the tree is dying, so I wanted a picture of her in front of her tree:

Here is the original post, when she was two: Barefoot Kentucky Mama: Tree Hugging  I don't know why the pictures don't show up unless you click on them, but it is worth clicking to see sweet baby Lydia!

Also this week, we got shaved ice:

Malachi read Invitation to Valhalla by Mike Whicker:

We did move his bed back downstairs a few days ago.  He is healing but still sore and swollen.  Luckily, his friend is back from Alaska and visited yesterday and today to amuse him.  

Additional Vacation Photos, a Surgery, and Flowers

Last week, Malachi had surgery to repair 2 childhood inguinal hernias.

He's healing and overall doing pretty well, but it's slower than he'd like.  My parents came to watch the younger kids during the surgery, and Mom made chicken and rice soup, which Malachi really enjoyed.  He was also treated to a care package from my sister's family, and the treats my parents and his siblings picked out for him.  He's been sleeping in the middle of the living room, so he wouldn't have to keep going up and down stairs to get to the bathroom, but I think we will be moving his bed back down tomorrow.

Malachi didn't get to go with us, but Nathaniel and I took Lydia, Gyunay, and Emry to the Bulgarian reunion picnic on Saturday.  Elijah stayed home to look after Malachi, and Pilot was working.  The kids had a great time.  I was happy to see friends we had not seen in a very long time, and I was even happier to see the kids interacting like it hadn't been that long.  After the picnic, we visited with Nathaniel's sister's family for a while, went to Korea House for dinner, and headed home exhausted.  

I've had a rough time getting my garden going, with the weather and the deer interfering so much, but the flowers sure are pretty:

 

Book Review - The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kipp by Sara Brunsvold

 

I started reading this book yesterday while my son was in surgery.  I finished it today.  It is an incredible book.  Rare is the novel that leaves the reader yearning to be a better person.  This is that novel.

In turns funny, sad, poignant, and uplifting, this story follows the unusual life of a quirky Christian lady and the young reporter sent to interview her.  This story isn't just clean fiction with unobjectionable themes; it is unapologetically Christian.  Mrs. Kipp's life exudes the faith and her deep love.  I cried several times reading this book, but I left it inspired.  The story has good character development and is engaging throughout.  Well done, Ms. Brunsvold.  This book is a real gem.  I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

Lake Michigan

We went to Warren Dunes, and the kids, Nathaniel, and I hiked up the dunes quite a bit easier than last time because the sand was damp from earlier morning rain.

We ate a quick picnic lunch and changed into our suits in the van since the bathrooms were closed due to a power outage.  

And then we enjoyed Lake Michigan.  The sun came out as we were in the water, and it felt great.  The kids loved the gentle waves.

We stayed for a few hours.  The kids loved finding pretty rocks on the shore after they were done swimming.  Luckily, the bathrooms were opened just before we needed to change to go out for ice cream.

 

At the Beach in Indiana

 We returned home from a nice trip to northern Indiana.  We spent a lot of time at the lake:

The older kids really enjoyed taking out Grandma's paddle board:

Elijah was only with us for the weekend, since he came back home to work through the rest of the week.  

Gyunay turned 10!  He is very happy to point that out to anyone.

And we did all enjoy a great fireworks display:

I'll have more pictures up tomorrow from our day trip to Michigan.  

Also, bad news.  Our ducks all died due to a ninja raccoon.  It was really sad and ugly and defied everything I thought I knew about raccoons.  So no more ducks for now.  The chickens and turkey are doing fairly well, although the turkey keeps calling for her buddies, the ducks.  We now have 1 turkey, 5 pullets, 2 cockerels, and 10 hens.  

June Harvest Totals

 Chicken - 14; total 72.4 lbs

Chijimsai greens - 2c

Eggs - 170

Garlic bulbs- 21

Garlic scapes - 6

Kale- 2c

Lettuce, Little Gem heads - 3

Onions, walking - 2

Radishes - 23

Turnips - 2

Mizuna, Radish pods, King Tut peas, Pea Pods, Mint, Sage, Oregano, Thyme, Chives, and Rosemary