Thursday Thoughts // More Pictures & a Patio

We tore down our deck way back in May (which you can read about in this post), and last week we filled the empty space in our backyard with a beautiful patio. My whole family (including Juniper) gathered at the windows to watch the workmen pour the concrete and smooth it out. They did a great job! We're all very excited to be able to play/eat/read out there again.

These flowers popped up quite unexpectedly in the dirt patch where our deck used to be/our patio is now. 

Before . . . 

. . . after 😁

We celebrated my sister, Marah's, birthday the following weekend. So thankful for her. 🥰 Of course, I insisted she and I do a photo shoot together. 😄

Timber-r-r!
(Yep, our relationship, which this pic essentially managed to capture, is pretty awesome.)

Love this one 💗

I really like both of these, even if my arm pose isn't exactly what I'd envisioned. It's a hot summer's day, but I appear to be trying to keep warm against a bitter wind or something. 😂

We're attempting to make the most of the time we have remaining before Connor leaves for college and we resume school. There was a reception for the graduates at our church, which was nice. And yesterday Mom loaded us all up in the van and took us on a field trip to the river to walk around, feed the ducks, and admire the jellyfish from a safe distance away, and then to a restaurant to pick up burgers, fries, and chicken nuggets for the drive home. 

I am so, so blessed. 💜

Ruby and me 😃

Do you have a deck or patio? What's something you enjoy doing with your sibling(s)? Comment below!

Blessings,

Ellen S.

Thursday Thoughts // Colds & a Cat

Well, it's been a full week. A cold started in our family earlier this month, and slowly it made its way from person to person till finally everyone had it. Mom and I were the last to get sick. I had a sore throat over the weekend, and now I'm feeling congested and tired. Because of the quarantine last year, none of us really ever caught anything in a while until now. Ruby had never even had a cold before!

Thankfully, the worst seems to be behind us, and we're on the road to recovery. But I can't wait for this congestion to let up so I can go jogging again!

Those who were well enough helped lug up schoolbooks from the basement and organize them in the main level. We'll be "getting back in the groove of things" in a little over a month, Lord willing - Connor at college, dual enrollment classes for me, and the rest of the kids still in homeschool. There'll definitely be some adjustments, and I'm feeling both excited and nervous about that. 

Meanwhile, Juniper is continuing to grow and make herself at home! She found her way into another toilet (mine) and has gotten used to the loud noise of the vacuum. The other day she was sitting on the windowsill, and Ruby came up to touch her nose and rub her fur. It was the sweetest thing. 😍 I snapped a few pictures, of course. 😉

This naughty kitty seemed very intent on getting to our fish. 😂 We went ahead and moved the poor, unsuspecting victim to the top of a cabinet where Juniper can't reach it.

How has your week been? When does school start up again for your family?

Blessings,

Ellen S.

Thursday Thoughts // Kitten Adventures + Family Pictures

An update on our kitten:

As we underwent the process of adopting Juniper, Mom remarked that it felt like we were getting another kid. The rest of us laughed, thinking she was just referring to all the paperwork she had to do and the huge commitment we were making (i.e., that line "till death do you part"). But no. We brought Juniper home, and she quickly settled in so that she did become like "one of the kids." One-year-old Ruby loves to chase her (and take her toys 😂). Yesterday morning I found Juniper hanging over the open toilet (with her head in the bowl) and Ruby standing by, watching. My instant reaction was "Eww, gross!" Later, though, the scene entered my mind again, and I had to laugh. I think our toilet lids will stay down from now on.

We're currently teaching Juniper she has to stay off the counters (where we have our fish, Garrett). The spunky kitten likes to jump on our kitchen stools to reach this high, forbidden area. She also likes to climb into the pantry and curl up in the "snack drawer," away from little hands. 

We had a tornado warning late one night last week that wrenched us all from sleep and dragged us down to the basement for about a half hour. Juniper, of course, came with us. She found a comfy spot on the couch and dozed off, unaffected by the excitement. 

Our attachment to our sweet pet has definitely grown, and some of us are wondering why we didn't get a cat long before now. Mom bought Juniper a stuffed mouse that she carries everywhere (much to Mom's delight). There was a ball in the mouse at one point, but that fell out when Juniper ripped a hole in the mouse's back. 🤣 When she's not playing with her mouse, Juniper is either napping, chasing a laser, running after balls, wrestling for a string, being cuddled/petted by someone, or eating (she's already gained over two pounds!).

*ahem* In other news . . . 

We had family pictures taken a couple weeks ago (before we got Juniper) and just recently saw them for the first time. I thought I'd share a few with you all. 😊

From left to right: me (Ellen), Connor, Malachi, Mom, Sadie, Dad, Ruby, Luke, Hope, Marah, & Lucy
I love our big, crazy family!! 💗

Just us girls 😃

Did you enjoy seeing this update? Have any tips for caring for a kitten? Comment below!

Blessings,

Ellen S.

Thursday Thoughts // We Got a Cat?!

A few developments have taken place around the Senechal household . . . one of the biggest being that we adopted a super sweet 12-week-old kitten named Juniper. We love her a lot! She's cuddly and playful and tons of fun. As I type this post, she's wandering around the bedroom I'm in. Adorable. 😍

Juniper and me.
(Somehow my fear of all creatures on four legs dissipated when I saw this beautiful kitten. But that doesn't mean I'm an animal person. Yet.)

*heart melts*

Juniper is my sister Marah's early birthday present, which basically means she's Marah's responsibility but the rest of us benefit from her 😂

I also have two new "jobs" now, which I'm excited about. One is writing weekly devotions for our church website.  They're generally written, proofread, and posted by Wednesday. I don't feel comfortable with making the link to that website public here on my blog, but if you're interested in reading those devotions, email me and I'll send the link to you privately. 😄

My other "job" is a volunteer project I hope to do every Tuesday morning. PLUS, I just registered for dual enrollment college classes through Regent University starting Monday, August 23.  

So, yes, I'll be busy in the upcoming weeks, and I think I'll have to set aside doing Monday Musings posts again for the time being. But never fear! I have no intention of abandoning this blog entirely, and I'm still working on providing an alternative email system to Feedburner. As you can see by the title of this post, I missed Monday but may have just begun a new series of posts called "Thursday Thoughts" instead. We'll see. 😃 Stay tuned!

Blessings,

Ellen💗