We are finishing up the school year--yikes!  How did that happen?  The kids only have 9 more days of school and I've got 13.  The end of the year always brings lots of activity and general busyness.  This is one of the times of year that being a 2 teacher family is tricky.  Brian made a wise choice for our family this year and put his foot down on baseball/softball.  I was so sad because I love it, but he was right.  I generally end up horizontal after 5 pm.  We have enough to deal with our yard, school work (all 4 of us) and Brian's new woodworking hobby.  He has been making tables-- no pics yet, but they are amazing!! Using found materials from our barn, he has made some beautiful creations.  I will try to post pictures soon. 

I have about 5 weeks to go in my pregnancy and am daily being humbled by my need for help from others.  I just can't do the things I am used to.  I mostly feel ok, but the biggest trouble is that on days I feel good I tend to overdo it and end up feeling bad for two days after.  My garden is calling me, but there just isn't much I can do there right now.  We do have most of our cool weather veggies planted and some almost ready.  We've got lettuce, sugar snap peas, onions, swiss chard, potatoes, and flowers.  Soon we need to get phase 2 going.  We got our chickens fenced so I am hoping that we will have better luck with several things things this year. 

Brian and I went to prom a few weeks ago as chaperones and we got our picture taken--which I forgot to bring with me here to post so I will try to get it updated soon.  It was actually really fun--I just had to get over the fact that the only dress that fit was red and I was trying not to draw attention to myself.  I am definitely getting to the point that I draw attention even when I am not wearing bright colors!! 

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there!  I am certainly thankful for my kiddos and the joy that they bring.  I am starting to think about them more and more as "real people" and not just my children.  I've been thinking a lot lately about training and what kind of people they will be as adults.  I am in a new position right now to me with children in a decade span of time as we prepare for our new baby we are also entering the world of school aged issues. 

Random Ramblings

Brian says I am more of an extrovert than I claim to be, and maybe he is right since today is my first day of being home on spring break with only a 4 year old to talk with, and here I am at McDonalds for free wifi and connection with the outside world.

Last week was Brian and the kids' spring break. While we didn't do anything big, there was plenty of fun to be had including Elijah shooting guns with his dad at a friend's shooting range, days with both sets of grandparents and a trip to Indianapolis. We went to the Children's Museum and out to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Honestly we went to Indy because there was a small concern about baby's heart and I needed to see a cardiologist. We didn't really tell people because we were pretty sure that it wouldn't amount to anything and didn't want to cause unnecessary worry. Thankfully, we were right. Mary was born with a small hole in her heart that wasn't detected until after she was born, and it closed on its own. Everything was fine with this baby too, as we suspected, and we were in and out quickly and had almost the whole day to play in Indy.

So my spring break will be at home this week with Emily, fairly quiet and restful. I have a few outings planned, but otherwise I think I will work at the house. I am anxious to get the garden going and we will need to get some new baby chicks. We've already had our first round this spring, but they are gone already. Such is the circle of life when you live close to the earth. Both girls have held dead chicks in their hands in the last few weeks. We cooked 6 of our original 10 when it got unexpectedly warm and we didn't get home until late. The remaining 4 made it to the coop last week, but the kittens got them. So, Brian's next job is to be working on a chicken fence. Our mature hens are laying every day now and Emily loves collecting eggs. Her favorites are the blue ones. She will report, "Good news! There were ____ blue ones today!" Right now we are getting enough to buy an extra dozen per week from the store, but we'd love to be able to be fully self-sufficient and even sell or give some away each week. It's awfully fun keeping them.

Signs of Spring

We are just LOVING all this warm weather. It has been in the 80's for the last week and our yard has just exploded. Trees are in bloom, flowers are growing, we have been sleeping with the windows open every night.
Brian cut a hole in the side of our garden shed to put in a window. We are hoping to use it more as a potting shed, right now it is a small dumping ground for garden tools, hoses, etc.
Elijah worked on the huge mound of straw. We moved several loads to the garden.

Here I am at 25 weeks!

Adventures at Turkey Run State Park

Mary practices her balance crossing a fallen tree
We ended up on a trail that we didn't intend to be on--there was a running river. But the alternative was hike back where we started from (at least an hour), so we decided to forge ahead. It did end up being the most fun and adventurous part of the trip.


All smiles at the end of the trail!

New and exciting happenings from the farm

The girls got new Christmas dresses from my grandma this year. They even wore them on the 5 hour drive to Michigan because they didn't want to take them off.


Brian and Emily at Conner Prairie this fall. We got a membership this year and have enjoyed going a couple of times.
Elijah receives the lineman of the year award at the football banquet



Okay, so I really thought that I would be able to keep my blog updated even though we do not have internet at home, but I have grossly underestimated how difficult it would be to have free time with the laptop while I am in town and without child distractions, so... all that said, if any one still checks this blog for updates I am going to give you the last 3 months in a nut shell.

School got off to a great start. The kids are completely acclamaited to their new school and are enjoying going with their dad each day. Elijah played football--as in the real deal tackle football with pads and really thrived. The schedule was pretty intense and by the end of October we were ready for it to be done. Brian coaches jr high football and then Elijah's practice was after that, so three nights a week they didn't get home until 8:30 pm from school. Mary started riding the school bus home and I met her at home as soon as I could get there, usually pulling in right behind the bus.

Emily is still riding in to Lafayette with me every day and goes to the same daycare as before, which she just loves. It's been working well for everyone. So, it must be time to throw something new into the mix, right? Enter our big news...

I AM PREGNANT!! Yes, you read that correctly. Come June we will have the newest Greene Bean. It has been a pretty uneventful pregnancy so far, with the exception of getting the stomach flu the day before Thanksgiving I have been sickness free. I am tired all the time, but other than going to bed when the kids do, I've been doing great. I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and got to see the baby moving all around so that made it a little more real. If you haven't done the math yet, I am about 15 weeks right now.

We had a great Christmas. It was our first Christmas at our new house. It's been one year now since we moved in. Mary got an American Girl doll, Julie. Brian and I, along with her two aunts, took her to the store in downtown Chicago to pick her out a few weeks before Christmas. It was so much fun and really special for all of us. Elijah is now in the world of video games. When he turned 9 this August we decided he was old enough, so he got some DS games this year and he was pretty happy with that. Emily is 4 now and she will tell you that she is old enough to chew gum. She doesn't swallow it. So, her most exciting gift was a gumball machine. We got to see all of our family from both sides and we still have several days to be at home now, so we are happy campers.

Here's whats up with us

We've been picking lots from our garden--broccoli, peppers, zucchini, green beans
AND...APPLES!! Our apple tree is full of great treasures. We've been juicing to make apple cider and applesauce. Super fun! Delicious and free!
First day of school. Elijah is in third grade and Mary is in first. The year is going great--Elijah's playing tackle football and LOVING it. Mary is doing some new things too-- like riding the bus home.

Greene family updates-summer highlights

Loving that Lake Michigan beach!
Elijah picked up his football pads just before we left for vacation. He's super excited about playing tackle this fall.
Fourth of July
Here we are at the beach-it is hot and sunny and wonderful, just the way Lake Michigan should be.
We went creeking at the big Pine Creek near our house. It was beautiful!

The kids got kittens this summer. The girls are carrying theirs' around in scarves 'baby sling' style.