Dellen's Work

Dellen has been hard at work! So hard even that his teacher calls him a perfectionist and we are going to work on "fun work" instead of "home work". He takes a really long time doing his writing home work, and erases several times if he makes a mistake. One word can take five minutes to write out.

Needless to say, I think he is simply adorable and doing a great job. On Monday, he started all day kindergarten. I was so busy running (literally, over twelve miles!) that the day didn't overwhelm me to the extent that I feared it would. Yesterday, I started volunteering in his classroom. I will be in there on Tuesday and Thursday mornings through the year. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I jumped right into this adventure. I've waited nine years for some solitude to do some undisturbed writing at home, and I've simply gone and filled all my mornings and days so far. It was an eventful morning working with the students, and I'm again impressed and so grateful for the teachers that work with and teach and love their students. I was thankful to see Dellen in his class environment, and it will be great to get to know his friends.

Labor

Russ and I have lived with a cracked and crumbling concrete patio for twelve years of our marriage. There was always talk that the parsonage patio would be repoured and we contemplated over the years whether we could afford to fix a patio on a house we didn't own. When we moved, we found it somewhat ironic that the patio of our new home would be in similar disrepair. So, we've been saving for nine months and began redoing our back patio in the most cost effective method over Labor Day weekend. Like all projects that start with the intentions of being complete within a weekend, it has taken right at two weeks. There are still some steps and other cosmetics to finish, but overall we are done!

I've tried to document various stages along the way. It was really a labor intensive project. The boys enjoyed some of their own labor throughout the process as well. Again, I'm so terribly impressed with my dear hard working husband. He has the vision to plan and carry out a project and the strength to carry and move massive concrete! Let alone, perform a wedding on Friday, direct youth helping out at a second wedding reception the next evening, and preach two times on Sunday. His labor was of wide variety that Labor Day weekend. And, I'm sure I will benefit from the fruits of his labor much more than he will. My love, you are awesome!!

Dellen enjoys warming up on the warm concrete after some of the final days of swimming.
I was so impressed with Dellen and Sam. They were such diligent workers; one afternoon in particular!

After actually being useful towards the project, they became inspired to start digging a big hole. It started in the middle of the yard, and was redirected near the back where it wouldn't be so noticeable. I cringed at first with the thought of them digging up grass, but in the end decided grass was not nearly as important as two youth enjoying the benefits of scheming and accomplishing a plan together. I loved that there was no TV, computer, or phone app game involved!
Dellen's preferred measuring technique.
Overall, 143 concrete pavers were laid, in additional to several bricks. Each paver weighs 42 pounds, and we carried them all from a trailer parked in the front driveway. I carried several myself, but again, nothing like what Russ did!


Russ would work off and on at the project at all times throughout the two weeks. Below, he is watering down the paver locking sand that compacts and holds it all together.
The finished result!