Crazy Life in a Big Family

We have so much to laugh over, living as we do in a house with 12 people. Some days it seems more like so much to sigh over, but hey, that happens.
We have a little girl. That means cute little dresses, dolls, an imaginary world where everyone is some animal or other, Papa Rabbit and Mama Puppy and Grandpa Squeaky (why do I have to be Grandpa Squeaky?). It means excitement over pretty shoes, crying for chocolate at 2 am, and loving going places and seeing people.
We have four young boys. Boys mean noise and rowdiness. It means telling lame jokes on the way to church, forming a choir to sing Jingle Bells when a big sister comes in to put them to bed, arguing over Fords and Chevys and Dodges, pretending to be mountain ibexes on the stairs, and always making the sound effects of a whole battalion of artillery.
We have five "big girls". We stress over what we are going to do with the rest of our lives (as if it's in our hands), jostle for the mirror on Sunday mornings, have late night conferences sitting on the bed talking about anything, get hyper over card games, and generally have fun. Another thing we do is silent communication. One time our family was at our cousin's place and there were quite a few other people there, most of whom we didn't know. The five of us were hanging out with three other girls whom we had just met. I came in with a coke. Leah raised her eyebrows and gave a little smile. I shook my head. Leah gave me a pleading look. I rolled my eyes and went out to get her a coke. The other girls said, "Whoa, what just happened there?" We thought, "What, we do that all the time."
We have two amazing parents. The best thing about them is they are strict but reasonable. We have rules, but they are not arbitrary. They make sense. My parents love each other and us a lot.
We have so much to be thankful for in our family.

The main floor part of our addition has been finished for quite a while and we are enjoying it. The basement is almost finished and then we can move in! So exciting!

I have a new watch. My parents found it in a parking lot. :) Now I have a watch that is fancier than I would have bought myself, and I got it free. :))

Justine

Hello

About time for a post, eh?

It is busy here. Let's see - a bulldozer and backhoe working all day, dumptrucks in and out, the septic pumping truck coming twice, the outhouse company coming to drop off the port-a-potty, the inspector and the builder coming...

My mind is busy, too. I have been studying worldviews using the book, The Universe Next Door by James W. Sire. Thus my mind is full of words like nihilism, theistic existenialism, Eastern pantheistic monism. After a bit I thought, "Why do people keep coming up with impossible ideas? Why would anyone believe in nothing? How can Eastern gurus and such meditate without meditating on something, or contemplate with nothing to contemplate?" So then I went outside for a walk to clear my head. :)

Dad in the hole for the foundation. It is about eight feet deep. Notice the water sitting in the bottom. That will have to be gotten out somehow.

Gavin and the dumptruck.

Have a good day!

Justine