Fwd: A ton of bricks



Dear Jessie,

I'm exhausted, so I'll jump right into tonight's journal entry.  I love you and hope you have a nice day tomorrow.
Love,

Dad

Physical labor is such a good thing, and so exhausting!  I started this morning playing Master Detective Clue with Spencer, Neil and Isaac. I taught them my techniques for note taking.  Spencer especially caught on and just needs a little practice.  It was fun.  Then we had (second) breakfast of muffins Abbie made.

The major project today was working on the retaining wall Julie wants to put in between our house and the Bates.  We planned it out before lunch then got to work after lunch.  We got most of the digging done today and started laying the retaining wall blocks this evening.  It's a lot of work, especially because of all the tree roots.  We cut some of them out that were farther from the tree, but we don't want to cut all the big roots that are close to the tree.  We are going to have to get creative tomorrow to get the wall built properly. 

I enjoyed a bowl of Breyers vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries again tonight while reading scriptures with the big kids.  Mom was on small kid duty tonight since we were cleaning up outside.

Thankful: I am grateful for a body that can work.  I am thankful for "good sore" – the kind that is worn out and lets you know that you've worked hard, but that isn't injured sore.  Injured sore is just lousy.

Ministering: I was mostly ministered to by a couple people today.  Each of the kids were helpers today in their own ways – Mark helped dig the trench; Spencer and Isaac helped load and unload 2,200 pounds of retaining wall blocks.  Everyone helped sort through the dirt we dug out, separating the rocks to be used as back-fill to help promote drainage.  And when we went to Lowe's to get the blocks and other supplies, we were amazed by the incredibly helpful workers there.  It was really refreshing!

More later…

Two "before" pictures of our retaining wall project.