Backyard Project 2009

We decided on New Years Eve that on New Years Day we would start making some changes to the back yard, and slowly start fixing up the house. In 4 weeks I think we have come a long way, though there is still a long way to go. But here is the progress so far.

Before

After

You can kind of see the old oval garden and where everything used to be in this picture. What a huge difference 4 weeks has made.

Overgrown Trees Before Trimming

After

Our Christmas Tree (now named Tyson

after the guinea pig buried under it)

Notice the pile of dirt in the lower right corner of the picture...

That used to be the big oval garden in the middle of the yard

Our new Fire Pit...the pile of dirt to the left was all

that remained of the oval garden

All signs of oval garden are now gone.

I wonder what will pop up next!?!

The new path begins...

The bricks are outlining the new path, they will be moved,

dug down a little and put back into place.

The trees came down real easy, but the roots were another story.

Where did all the bricks go????


There they are!!! This will be like a raised patio with bricks
built around the fire pit so we can entertain year round.


The new garden for Jessica will have drippers,
like "Tyson" the tree and the fruit tree behind it do now.
But the shape will change just a little bit to
match the flow of the walkway better.

Those are the roots to the trees that were behind the sheds.
They each took anywhere from 4 hours to 2 days to remove.



Once the last stump is removed and the dirt is leveled out,

the small shed will be moved to this corner. This last

stump has taken 3 days so far and I suspect it will be

another day or 2 before it is added to the fire pit.

David's Busted Up Body

A few days ago, someone ran a stop sign right in front of David while he was riding the BRIGHT RED scooter while David was going about 35 mph (full speed for our little scooter). He was returning from a soda run to the gas station about 3 blocks away, and it was dark outside. Luckily Jason and Art both have medical backgrounds and were able to clean out his wounds and immobilize his foot. A word of caution...THESE ARE GRAFFIC PICTURES AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER VIEWERS...

You can't really tell from the picture, but the hole in his elbow is about 1/2 inch deep. You can see stuff you shouldn't be able to. Pretty gross. Jason had to cut away dead tissue from around it. I am so proud of Jason for being able to do that kind of stuff.

Yesterday when woke up and his leg from the knee down was completely purple and he could no longer take the pain, he decided it was time to go to the base hospital and have it checked out. It is official. He has 4 hairline fractures in his foot (the doctor was suprised it wasn't broken all the way through), sprained knee and ankle, and torn ligaments and tendons. He is in a knee immobilizer and a stirrup cast on his ankle. They also gave him a shiny new pair of crutches to finish out his new look. Luckily they said that his open wounds were cleaned out good, so they didn't have to go there. He will be spending some time resting before he can get back to the yard.

January Update

Here we are, already another year has gone by, and though times are still tough, we are still together, and still in love, and still working to better our lives. Jason and I were relieved when this last Christmas came and went and he was still employed after being laid off right around the holidays, 2 years in a row. We find comfort in the fact that he is able to find work with some ease.
Jessica is doing really good in school. She was on the A/B honor roll for the first trimester. She has a great teacher that realized early on that she needed different attention and was not a problem child. He is helping her to grow and learn very quickly. In her class the teacher has jobs that students have to apply for. Jessica is already filling out job applications and attending job interviews and being offered paying jobs (class money). It is something I have never seen in a 5th grade classroom before, but the way her teacher does it, keeps the kids so excited. Jessica has found a great friend, Erin, and they hang out every chance they get. They love to have sleep-overs, and are able to help each other in school as well. They are both in the same class, and have different strengths and weaknesses. Their teacher has placed them in seats next to each other, so Erin can help Jessica with her focus, and Jessica can help Erin with her math. It works out great.
I have decided to join tae kwon do with the Jason and Jessica. I have been attending for a whole month now, and I am not quite as sore anymore. It has been really good for my body, and on the days I attend class, I sleep really good. We are trying to make it to North Carolina for the International Tae Kwon Do Festival in April, Jason and Jessica will go for sure, but I will only go if we can come up with the money. Our current project is a "Break-athon". We will break boards to help raise money for the college scholarship program that Black Belt World has. When Jessica is ready for college, if she is still attending BBW, she can apply for a scholarship from them to help out.
We are all testing on February 7th for our next belts. Jason and Jessica for high yellow, and I am testing for high white.