Construction Time

George and I are having our "dream pool" put in the back yard. We have been saving since we moved in, and are excited that prices have gone down drastically for the pool we are building. Our old house had a pool, and we knew it was going to be something the kids really missed, so they are happy it is finally coming as you can imagine.

I used the situation as a lesson for Steven. Amanda Lily is a bit young to grasp money and savings, but Steven gets it. He has been buying his own toys since he was 5 and started earning an allowance. (of course both grandma's still contribute to his stash of toys, but George and i do not) (: If there is something he wants, he has to save to get it. He earns money buy washing the dogs, cars, and vacuuming. His money is then divided into 3 cups.....SAVE, CHARITY, SPEND.

When he gets enough in the CHARITY cup, we do something of his choosing with the money for others. The last thing he did was buy Sophia, his cousin, a toy. Not that she needs it, but he was so excited to do it, that I let him. My personal favorite thing he came up with was to buy books for his school's library. He told me most of the books "have yellow pages", and he thought Mrs. Google, the Librarian, would appreciate some new ones. Our school is 80 years old, and I tell you some of the books must be from the first day they opened the doors. Anyway, we went to Books A Million, and he picked out 3 books. He was so proud to give them to the Librarian. She was really touched by the gesture as well. He has also bought ingredients to make cookies and took them to the Eustis Firehouse. My son is such a thoughtful person. He has always been very much aware of others feelings. He is much nicer of a child than I ever remember being. I am so proud he belongs to me. (: He says something daily that touches my heart. I often wonder where he got his big heart. This post has gotten away from my original story, so I'll get back to that. I just wanted to suggest that you all set up a system of checks and balances with your kids. It really helps them not become entitled to stuff.

Back to the pool. Hopefully in 6 weeks we will be swimming in it. My sweet husband has been working so hard in the backyard to get it ready. He and I have transplanted our lemon, orange, and fig trees. That job morphed into making a place that I can grow some vegetables and my herbs. He even built a wall around it to make it pretty. The biggest job of all was moving my oak tree. He used a tractor to do the job. He really doesn't care for the oak tree, and wanted to get rid of it completely, but the kids and I put a bird feeder in it when we moved in, and it has quite a following of birds. So, we begged him to keep it, and he agreed. All the birds still come. The cardinal actually swooped down at our dog Roxy this morning and we all laughed. So, for now, my backyard looks like a bomb went off where we have pulled up the irrigation and capped off the lines. And the dirt gets traipsed into the house. It is hard to keep up, but will be well worth it!

I have a few photos I have been taking to scrapbook of the whole thing.