Day 3 of the dig

Today started at 7 am when it was nice and cool and "The Hole" was completely shaded. Unfortunately, the humidity was still hitting me with every shovel full of dirt/clay. I realized today that I am digging into more clay now, and we'll see how that goes. With the first row of dirt thrown out of "The Hole", I made an important discovery. I finally reached the 2 foot mark. HOORAY!!!

The sides come up to my knees.

I finally finished the digging today at 11:25. I am so glad that I started in the morning rather than then the afternoon. I also hope that with all the exercise and sweating I am doing, I am actually working off some poundage. Is that too much to ask for??

With a 9x12x2 hole dug into our backyard, the kiddos have fun climbing in and out, helping me take dirt out, and even helping me put some back in. Even the dogs take advantage of the space.

We are supposed to get thunderstorms starting tonight and lasting until Friday off and on, and so I hope "The Hole" doesn't become "The Pool."

Second Day of Digging

Today I felt like Bob the Builder. Can I do it? Yes I can! The heat and humidity this afternoon was overpowering at times. I think I personally drank 2 1/2 pitcher full of water today. By lunchtime, I had about half of the hole dug for a second time.

Halfway there for the day.

After many rests and cool downs, and a deliciously recharging dinner I managed to finish for the day.

Finally done for Day 2 of digging.

When everything was said and done I came out smelling like roses and as dry as a baby's diaper. At least I can hope I am burning more calories than what I took in today.

It sure was hot and humid today.

Tomorrow, round 3. It's supposed to be an even warmer day, so we'll see how far we get.

If Ye Are Prepared, Ye Shall Not Fear

With the recent tornadoes in Missouri (one within 45 miles of our house), I have really been impressed upon to get our family a storm shelter. I had a thought of burying a used grain silo. In talking with friends from Church, that idea has been shot down. So, I started researching on the web. They have pre-made concrete, fiberglass, and steel shelters you put in the ground. To say the least, we would have to give them all five of our kids to make even the first payment. YIKES! "Not Gonna Do It!"

With those choices out of the way, some of these same friends from Church suggested me building one. I researched DIY storm shelters online. Hey, I can do that! So, the process has begun. I have started digging a 9x12' ( don't ask why those dimensions, that is just at the time seemed right) hole in my backyard, behind my garage. (See mom, doing all that digging in the back yard when I was little is paying off!) The hole is only one foot deep so far and took me 3 hours of digging, drinking water, digging, drinking water, and so forth. It has already claimed the life of my shovel handle (DOAH!). However, I will yet defeat the Lamoni clay (yes, clay! I was told today that it gets worse the deeper you go.) that lies beneath my yard to save hundreds of dollars.

Plus there are some benefits to digging it myself: 1) save money; 2) sweat profusely in the heat and humidity which in turn helps me shed some poundage; 3) helps me get into shape; 4) gives me a sense of accomplishment; and 5) save money.

Thank goodness for 2 months to get this done.

 "The Hole" after one day of digging.

My Life Story

By Abby

Once upon a time in a far away land there was a little house in a little wood. Inside the house was a little family. I was one of them. I was Abby. I had a dog.

She was pretty. She was black, white and golden. I did not know that my dog would die. Her name was Storm.

One day Storm died. Right now I miss her. I still love dogs.

When that day came I was heartbroken but to this day I still miss her. But now I have another dog named Wilbur.

This is how Wilbur came to be my dog. My mother and father had heard of a family that was moving and they had a dog. They were giving the dog away. It was a black lab and beagle. So we went to look at it. It was black, all black! I couldn't believe my eyes.

One day Daddy found a cut on Wilbur. I burst into tears. I was sad. Very sad.

Now for my family's names: me, Kian, Ella, Felicity, Mom, Dad, Klausy and Wilbur. That's 8 people!

Right now I'm happy with my dog. As you know, I still love dogs but my heart is still broken with love. Reader, I hope that you love dogs too.

The End.

What's been goin' on...

Here's an update of what's been happenin' around the Musser household.

Klaus is growing! He's a chubby 4-month-old who drinks a lot of milk, loves to smile at his parents and his siblings, and sleeps all night. What a wonderful baby. He's everything a baby should be! He'll laugh, especially for Daddy.

Felicity is fiery. She's got a temper which is normal for a 3-year-old. It must be hard for her to keep up with the big kids all the time. She likes to sing (on her terms) and get dressed up in all of the princess paraphernalia we own so she looks like a young, gaudy Queen of England!

Ella is smart and silly. She asks questions like, "When was God born?" and says things such as, "You are in my soul." She loves to read chapter books (keeping up with the big kids, again!) and has started on text books! She rides her bike and plays in the mud and feels awful rich with $10 in her pocket.

Abby has a new dog, a part beagle-part black lab named Wilbur. We all love him. He'll jump up when he wants some attention so that the kids hold his front paws in their hands and dance with him. He's a sober dog so Abby can play with him easier because he's not too boisterous. She loves to play with him. She's an expert bike rider and story-writer. Mostly her stories are about dogs involved in some kind of a love triangle.

Kian has not been as interested in computers of late (what a surprise!) Or maybe it's just because he has to clean his room before he gets to use his computer and he doesn't want to clean his room! His current ambition is to grow up and become a professional Lego Designer. I told him we can look at lego.com today and see if there are any job postings! His birthday is coming; he will be 10. He wants to invite his classmates from his Lego stop-motion video class. I visited the class last week to see how many children this included--I was surprised to see teenagers and girls! That will be an interesting birthday party. He is going to earn his Bear badge tonight for Cub Scouts. On to the Webelos den now! Mommy is especially proud because she is the new Cubmaster for his pack.

Rhyetta is so thankful the weather is changing. It is May! It is Spring! The spring garden is growing. It's not as big as I want it to be, but I'm raising a baby this year and have to remember I can't do everything. We harvested some radishes yesterday that were delish! All of our chickens and guinea hens have died so our yard feels empty without any farm animals. It's alright though because we've got Wilbur now. I feel busy with keeping house, planning cub scout pack meetings, and attempting to school the children. Ella keeps asking, "When are we going to do kidschool again?!" So I'm trying to do a little tiny bit here and there.

Matt is finishing his second year of teaching. Only 3 more weeks till summer. It's been a great year. When he's home, he stays busy mowing the yard, cutting down trees for firewood, fixing bike tires, etc. Most Saturdays he is outside all day working, working, working. But on his new riding lawnmower, it's fun too.

That's life here. Hope you all are doing well!

Gotta Love It!

It's that time of year in the public education arena where students from 3rd grade on up see how effective their teachers have been by taking their state tests. Today my class started their round of standardized testing. Let me just say that there's no finer time in public education that state testing. (Of course I say that with tongue in cheek!)

There are moments like this when you get warm fuzzies all over. Gotta love it!

It Finally Happened...

Our car's transmission has "gone the way of all the Earth." It was a good mini-van, and was well used. We were fortunate enough to have found a new, though slightly used, Kia Sedona mini-van that will hopefully serve our family just as faithfully. We will take our car to get smashed and salvaged, or in other words... take it to the car graveyard.

May we have a moment of silence for our loss...






Thank you.