A Day In My Life..

A day on the Esh Homestead:

First I overslept...I got up and had a moment of quiet time before getting the kids up. I started the shower, to warm the water for Nesiah's shower. Then I started breakfast. Eggs with leftover meat for the big kids and eggs with cabbage for Bubbie.

Meanwhile the kids kept fighting and arguing, until consequences were threatened. I turned off the shower, so that I could focus in breakfast.

I set breakfast to the back of the stove until the kids were done with chores. I showered Nesiah, washed and locked her hair, lotioned her and dressed her, then stripped her sheets and hooked up her feeding tube.

Meanwhile the kids are now eating and fussing. I laid out the time we need to leave. I ran upstairs to get dressed, quickly sorted laundry and finished some small tasks. The big kids finished breakfast, washed dishes, swept the floor and got ready to head out the door. Elizabeth negotiated with Bubbie to get him to, first pick up the shoes he had thrown ALL over the porch floor, then to change into appropriate clothes to go out the door.

We were now 30 minutes behind schedule. I grabbed Nesiah to take her to the car, while hollering at everyone else to get in and buckled. I discovered that the feeding tube had not been connected correctly and she was now soaked in nasty, stinky formula. So We halted everything, gave her a sponge bath and changed her clothes.

We were finally ready to head out the door. As I sat her into her seat in the van, her pants proceeded to fall down. Sometimes I wonder what she would say to all of us, as we hustle her through life.

First stop was the grocery store. The kids got themselves and Bubbie out, got a cart and waited for me. I got the wheelchair out, lifted Nesiah from the van to the wheelchair and positioned her comfortably.

We got into the store, Bubbie was screaming because he wanted to walk. He did not want to sit in the cart. It took a good bit of negoation to get him to sit in the cart. (I was not about to go back to the van without groceries!)

We grabbed food for us, and for our trip to the homeless shelter on Thursday.

Back to the car and we loaded groceries and kids back into the car. Home, where we unloaded kids and groceries into the house. Everyone pitched in to put away groceries.

Meanwhile, Bubbie is having a screaming meltdown because we need to get back in the car and Peggy's house is too far away!!

We need to reload everyone, and 2 goat milking stands that we need to deliver today. So we manuever, wiggle, argue, push and study the back of the van. Finally we fold down the seats in the back, two children will need to stay home, but we fit the goat stands.

We load 4 kids, 2 milking stands and stack of cardboard into the back of the van and head off to Peggy's house.

We drop off the goat stands and pick up a STINKY billy goat. Peggy advises us to not haul this thing in the back of our van, but we really have no other options. So in he goes. We roll down the windows and drive as fast as we safely can.

We get home, unload Mr. Jingles and let him meet the girls. Excitement is high! 5 months from now, we shall have baby goaties again!

Now it is lunch time.. the kids fix themselves lunch, Nesiah gets her feeding tube and Bubbie gets a sandwich and apple. I address some of the disrespect and sloppy attitudes I am getting from the crew.

While the kids eat, I design a wooden hayrack I want the boys to build. One for us and one for Peggy.

I grab a bit to eat then call the local hay supplier to check hay prices.

The kids clean up from lunch and run laps around the meadow before doing their computer time.

This afternoon, they will do their schoolwork for the day. We start a new Unit Study, which we are excited about.

I will need to finish the chili I started this morning, the beans are cooking in the crockpot, the meat frying on the stove.

The house needs to be cleaned up. Nesiah's program needs to be done.

This afternoon I also have a meeting with a casemanager for Nesiah's disability services through the county. I suppose I should change out of these billy goat smelling clothes before he comes.

My life is always interesting. The older my kids get, the more work I have, in order to keep them busy. But the sense of satisfaction that they get from seeing the rewards of their labors. The boys each made $50 on their goat milking stands. Elizabeth is excited to start her own goat herd with the stinky billy goat. Tomorrow will be a whole new adventure..

The Boat..

The boat..
Every 12 yr old boy wants a boat. Mine have been begging for a boat for months. The question remained. What would you do with a boat?! Finally one day much to their great joy, a friend asked if they could find a boat for their pond. This was big stuff. Momma agreed they could look into getting boat. A small boat.

The boys had seen a boat at a local junkyard. A little orange boat. They just knew it was the perfect boat. So Momma agreed to take them to talk to the guy at the junkyard. They faced their fears and walked hesitantly into the office. They asked for and were given permission to have the boat. FREE of cost.

They made arrangements to stop by later to pick up the boat. A couple days later, the neighbor, we shall call him, Mr. N, took them to get the boat. The excitement was high. They were finally getting a boat. They had cleaned out the garage and prepped a spot for it.

They left with Mr. N in his big truck. (I will add: we don't know Mr. N really well. His wife babysits occassionally and is a friend of Momma) Now this is where the story gets a little sketchy...
The 2 boys, both 12 yrs old went into the office at the junkyard, asking to pick up their little orange boat. After much discussion and no one really knowing what they were doing, they were informed that the orange boat had been taken by the Boss's son. 

 But.... there was good news. They could have the big blue boat. It had a trailer and everything! Mr. N and the guy from the junkyard quickly hooked the trailer before the boys could think twice.
The boys were silent on the way home, at one point one mentioned that maybe his momma would not like this big boat.

They pulled into the driveway. Momma came to the door, her eyes got big, and she scrambled to figure out what she was seeing.  She looked at Mr. N and exclaimed "That is the wrong boat!!" Mr. N dropped the boat in the middle of the driveway, waved merrily  and drove off. 

By this time the boys were feeling a little sick to their stomachs. They looked hesitantly at their mother. Would she blow a fuse?

Meanwhile Momma was just trying to grasp what had transpired and how there came to be a big blue boat on a trailer sitting on her driveway.



First question:
Mom: Where do you intend to use that boat?
Boys: The local lake
Mom: how will you get it there? Do you have a title for it? Does it run?!
Boys: we will figure it out!! The trailer must be worth something. We can do soemthing with it.
Mom: excuse me for a second while I go take a time out and pray before reacting..


After about 10 minutes in the bathroom, Momma had a full out giggling fit because it was just so absolutely beyond crazy. There was a giant blue boat sitting on the driveway, they couldn't even move it out of the way. It was completely gutted. It was almost half the length of the friend's pond.

There was a lesson to be learned here. The boys realized they had made a big mistake. Mom realized that this was an excellent oppurtunity for learning a valuable life lesson. But they needed a plan. they couldn't sell it cause they had no title. They couldn't keep it because well despite all the boys pleas, it wasn't practical. It couldn't stay on their front driveway cause the landlord would not appreciate that.

So Momma called the junkyard and asked if the boat could be returned. They said it could be and offered some lame story about how the other boat had been claimed by someone else. The boys had to go back to Mr. N and ask him to return the boat to the junkyard.

Mr. N was a very busy man and Momma was very concerned that he would wait weeks to return the boat. She giggled every time she looked at that monster. The boys got angry everytime they looked at it. Their dreams were washed down the drain. If only they had a dad. He would surely allow them to keep such a treasure.


Several days later, a young neighbor boy (we shall call him B) was helping the boys work on their wood projects. Momma knew that B loved adventures. So she offered the boat to him. For free! He could not believe his good fortune. Now, Momma expected B's parents to laugh and refuse to let him have the boat.

but... God was looking out for Momma, who was mortified by the boat sitting on her driveway. 30 minutes after B left and the family was eating dinner, they heard a tractor putt putting up the road, it stopped at their driveway.

B and his father hopped off the tractor and examined the boat. Mr. B looked at momma and said "B says you have a free boat and he can have it, is that true?" Momma with great delight said yes!! yes!! please please take the boat!!

Mr. B discussed with Little B. Maybe they could scrap some of the copper etc on the boat. Maybe they could make a clubhouse. Surely they could sell the trailer for some cash. They were so delighted to have the boat. Mr. B told Little B, we must take it out back tho so Mom don't see it.


They took that boat and drove it home behind their tractor. The boys followed in glee. They were going to help B make a clubhouse out of the boat. They ran off to enlist the help of some other neighbor boys. 

There was some question of who had the biggest grin when that boat went down the road. Mr. B who liked his free boat. The boys who did not have to get rid of their boat AND got a clubhouse out of the deal. Momma who was so unbelievably happy to have that boat off her hands. 

Building..

Many years ago, in another lifetime I worked in a woodshop.
I helped build picnic tables, swings and other wooden items. I was only 14-15 yr old. I cut, I measured, I used various tools. I actually enjoyed working with wood.

Fast forward, I am now the widowed mother of 2 preteen, homeschooled boys... they need useful things to occupy their time. They need to learn many valuable life skills. So... I am using those skills that God gave me and I bought them some tools. I taught them to measure, cut, and build things. 

God has blessed me with a son who has a natural ability to build things. Between his natural skills and my abilities we have made these goat milking stands from a couple pieces of lumber we purchased. 

 We spend approx 1-2 hours every afternoon working on these stands. There is a lot of sweat, some frustration and a lot of hard work in these goat stands. Our next goal is to make a hay rack for our animals.

The irony of how God works. Many years ago, I lived in another state, in a culture where I could not even imagine being a single mom of 6 kids. I was young and full of dreams, but even in my wildest dreams I could not dream up that I would need these skills many years later to teach my young boys how to build things. Everything in life has a purpose and everything you do is part of God's grand plan.