summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Monday, June 21, 2021

the rustling of the leaves...

 ...the cottonwoods have that distinct sound, and we are surrounded by them.  It's a breezy day, maybe some storms, it's humid, and warm already.  I like a dark, stormy summer day.  If I could choose a good day, it might look like this:

Home alone, with a really good book, on a dark and relentlessly rainy summer day, the rain just pounding on our metal roof, with some good gusts of wind, maybe some thunder and lightening.  Coffee, of course.  There is something comforting in a dark rainy day, and I'm weird, because if the sun comes out in the afternoon, filling the house with light, it breaks the spell, ruins the mood.

We don't have much on the agenda today.  Sonja is at nursing school orientation, Jonathan is doing landscaping at church, and the little girls are done with school, and still sleeping.  Paul is working from home, and I'm lazing around.  I haven't done much today, but that's okay.

Yesterday was one of those gorgeous days, could not have been nicer.  The sun was hot, the pool was cool, and the dinner on the deck:  mmm good.  We grilled burgers and coneys and sausages, had pasta salad, broccoli salad, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, and strawberries.  Dessert was extra fancy, I brought out the dozen donuts with a knife and a stack of napkins, and cut pieces off the ones they wanted to try.  


Evelyn with little Tennyson
Camille in her hat, Char in the black hat, Evelyn and Wulf...
Heavenly:  Wulf in the pool with a popsicle!
Me...

Emily with a popsicle...




Jon with Tennyson, and Paul, on the deck after dinner..

This guy will sleep anywhere...


Paul with our five boys a few years ago, at the cabin in the woods...

Camille is up now, we have to make some spontaneous plans...

4 comments:

Terri D said...

Glad you got a little downtime, my friend. I feel your love of those dark and rainy days. Gives us a reason to kick back and enjoy some time with the feet up, a cuppa, and a good book! Love the pictures you shared! Your pool looks great!

Katie said...

Della, congrats on another nurse in the family! Is this the 4th? That’s amazing. Are your kids inspired by their older siblings or do you think they’re drawn to medicine??

16 blessings'mom said...

Terri, yes, time with the feet up, my favorite! The pool is amazing. It's just an above ground pool that we installed ourselves, but it's perfect for us, and we enjoy it so much.
Katie, we have four nurses already: Emily, the oldest, although she is now a nurse practitioner, then Mariel who is an outpatient oncology/chemo nurse, Aaron works as a nurse at Stanford in California, Molly is also a nurse, so Sonja is #5! She wants to be a nurse practitioner too. She would love to be a doctor, but med school seems long and daunting. (Joseph also went to nursing school, but only lasted on semester, he said it wasn't his thing...he's our artist...(he's doing well, too, apparently he designed a card like a Pokemon type card, which is popular). I'm not sure why they're drawn to medicine.

Joybells said...

Della, is that really you in the picture?!!! You look even younger than usual. ;)

Enjoy the day and the rearranging activities. Today is the last day of school for my girls. I'm looking forward to tackling their bedroom closet this summer, and maybe "moving in" at last (after 3 years, ha ha).

Joy from Salem