Grove Family Update

It's a lovely summer day today and we are having a busy morning on the "Almosta Homestead Ranch". No, that is not a fancy name for a Spanish-style farmstead. You might need to read it a couple of times to get the pun. If you don't get the pun, you can chalk it up to my odd sense of humor!!

Last night I washed a load of stuffed animals. I know, that sounds kind of weird. But we've been having allergies galore lately so I thought that might help. Besides, the kids each got a new stuffed animal yesterday at the "National Night Out" that was held at the park, literally in our back yard. The local law enforcement, fire department and ambulance department were there, handing out T-shirts, whistles (which we confiscated when we got home! ACK!), stickers, bracelets, can wraps, and other goodies. There was also a pig roast (I haven't been to one of those in a long time - probably since one of the last weddings on my Dad's side, yup, a pig roast at a wedding!) and that pig's head was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. Peachie got the apple from the pig's mouth - but didn't eat it when Kyle pointed out WHERE the apple had been! Besides the barbecue they had ice cream and root beer. Yum! The little ones thoroughly enjoyed the inflatable jumping thingy (you know, the jumping thingy they go inside and jump around in) and it had a slide down the side. PeeWee wore himself out with all the activity. It was a lot of fun and many people from our little community were there. Plus I didn't have to cook supper!!

Peaches and Pickles are heading to Bible camp next week with our church youth group. It is held in Chetek, WI - and they cannot wait. I'm excited for them and praying they will grow spiritually, along with all of our teens.

We are still praying about/waiting on the Lord concerning whether or not to move to Moorhead or stay put. We have not yet gone to the bank to see if we might qualify for a loan with decent terms/interest rate that would buy us a house in the country within our budget. It would be nice to be putting that money each month into home equity. But then again - it's convenient when something needs repairs to just call the landlord! Please keep praying God will show us which direction to take.

It seems the weather has been especially nice this summer - not too many unbearably hot days so far. The house stays pretty cool if I shut everything mid-morning on those days it is promising to be hot. I'm thankful for that since we don't have AC. (Well, we have a tiny window unit but don't use it because it can't keep up!)

I hope this note finds you enjoying your summer and doing something you truly love. I'm off to work now on the Almosta Homestead Ranch. Gotta feed the critters and muck out the stalls!! ;)