Soaring With the Haaks

Daddies and Daughters

2012-02-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

This past Friday night was the annual Daddy/Daughter Dance in our small fair town.

It is a night where little girls get to be the Princess and the daddies get to be the Prince.

Weeks before-hand, outfits are looked over, tossed aside, picked up again, re-tried and (this year at the very last day) decided upon.

It's the one day Precious Jewel is excited to wear a dress; let me get near her head with a blow-drier and a curling iron and I allow her to borrow a bit of lip-gloss and sheer eye-shadow.

She is the Princess for one night and Daddy is her Prince Charming.

This is the first night in 3 years that Luke hasn't had to ask off for the Dance or ask his dad to take her because work wouldn't allow him to switch evenings with someone else.

Both of them were in daddy/daughter heaven.

I've been reading Dr. Dobson's Bringing Up Girls book and I want to share some of the little Proverbs that he pulled out of another book titled Father to Daughter: Life Lessons on Raising a Girl. by Harry Harrison.

Take part in her life now. Don't wait until she's 15 to try and develop a relationship.
Her mom will show her how to bake chocolate chip cookies. You show her how to dunk them in milk.
Teach her to count. First her fingers. Then Cheerios, M&Ms, dandelions, and fireflies.
Be prepared to watch Walt Disney movies with her some 200 times. EACH.
Never. ever, make fun of her. EVER.
Relish the moments when she toddles (or walks) up and for no reason at all throws her arms around your neck. Resist the urge to buy her the world.
Never forget that supportive fathers produce daughters with high self-esteem.
Read to her often. Very soon, she'll be reading to you.
Give her a picture of you to put in her first purse. If you're lucky, she'll always carry a photo of you.
Make a Valetine's Card---EVERY YEAR.
Ask her about her day, every day. Share her wonder.
Keep her secrets. This way she will begin to trust men.
Encourage her to be kind. Even to the girl nobody likes.
Make up stories to tell each other at night. Stretch her imagination.
There will be days when you think you've raised an alien. Those are the same days she feels she's being raised by one.
Never laugh at her dreams.
Tell her she is the daughter you always dreamed about.

There were so many many more of these in the chapters Fathers To Daughters. Some made me laugh. Some made me cry. I, as a daughter myself, agreed with them all.

Worn out after a long night of dancing with her daddy.

Begging to dance again the next day with her daddy. Nater Mater asked to join in and a game of Merry-Go-Round began.

Thank you honey, for being the kind of daddy to our daughter that she can look up to and be proud of. Thank you for loving her.

The First 93

2012-02-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

One Gift in Your Fridge

(more like in a basket, but you get the drift) : )

(someone had given us 4 dozen farm fresh eggs)

A sweet friend of mine asked how this year's New Year's Resolution was going.
Remember I said that I would join the Ann Voskamp Challenge and write down 1000 Gifts (things to be thankful for)?
She gives you 3 things you can look for each day. You can write down whatever you want, but it has been like treasure hunting each day to match the things she has listed to be thankful for.
I finished the month of January missing only a handful of days. I simply went back and did my best to remember the things that stood out those days.
January gave me a list of 93 things I can look back on and say that God is Good if I choose to do the hard act of Looking and Seeing.

Inside on a Plate:

(This was hands down the best chocolate cake I had EVER eaten and it was made by my sweet sister in law for my birthday surprise. It's a good thing my New Year's Resolution wasn't about weight loss or health because this thing would have not been a good start. Layers of double chocolate cake with caramel layered icing and then double chocolate frosting says "I LOVE YOU!!!")

A Gift You are Seeing

(my sweet nieces came and stayed a weekend with us. It was the first time ever since they've moved back from China. Anna was on the front porch loving on all the half-grown puppies).

One Way you Witnessed Happiness Today
(Good Lookin' losing his first tooth)

A Gift that made you Quiet

(my mentor for my mom's group gave this beautiful little tree to us mom's with a Scripture attached.

It had been a difficult week and I'd not wanted to count gifts. I cried. Took a Picture and wrote it down as one of my gifts for that day)

A Gift Inside

(Watching this rambunctious little hooligan running around with my birthday balloons all wrapped up in his legs).

A Gift Outside

(bare trees against a winter sky, family, a hike to the creek on a warm winter day)

A Gift Beside Me

(Children all cuddled together with us during a family movie night. One had fallen asleep and was already tucked into bed)

So, there are a few of the gifts I've sighted and counted this past month.

I think that by writing them down they are like stones piled together until they are so numerous that we can't help but see that God is right there wading through some of the muck of life with us. He is daily giving us gifts. Some simple. Some big. We must simply make a habit of looking.

Everything Tastes Better with Cheddar!

2012-02-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

We did it again! My Cheese-Loveing friend and I successfully made Cheddar Cheese for the second time!

It is a much much longer and more involved process than Mozzarella (which I am totally in love with).

Before Christmas she and I tackled Farmhouse Cheddar. It's a Cheddar shortcut. It's great to use when you want to made a Cheddar type of cheese but save time in the whole process. It's a little drier than regular cheddar but really yummy and it's ready to eat after just 4 weeks of aging.

We did that and it was so yummy! Sharp, strong and our kids didn't really like it but our spouses did.

This time around we tried the Stirred-curd Cheddar. Still not quite the same process as making traditional Cheddar, but more involved and it is supposed to age for 2-6 months.

We heated and stired and added our started and let it all set according to the directions.

Mind you, there were 8 children ages 6 and under running around.

Honestly, she is a waaaaaaayyyyyyy better cook than I am. I don't even pretend to enjoy cooking.

Like my mother, cooking her stress-relief. But, I want to learn more and the more I am learning, the more I am loving and realizing just how fun cooking can be....minus Junior hanging on my leg or trying to dip fingers into a kettle beside us.

We tag-team each other well in the whole children's dept. and I think that's another reason we enjoy cooking together...or rather I am finally learning to love to cook.

I am also leaving the baby-stage of my parenting life...sniff! sniff! I've always much rather cuddled and played with our kids than cook a gourmet meal.

But, I digress. This whole learning to make cheese has been a whole new learning experience for me!

Ok. I rather forgot to take any of the next 7 steps worth of pictures. We were giddy at how it was turning out and I totally forgot about the camera.

This is what the curds looked like though after they had been maintained a 100 degree temp and stirred every 5 min. for an hour. They were already tasting really yummy and had a squeeky feel on your teeth whe biting into them. Hmmmmmmm!!!!

Then we were to line a 2lb. cheese mold with cheesecloth and place the curds in the mold and press at 15lbs. for 10 minutes.

She had the mold, but neither of us have a cheese press.

Sister-Ingenuity and Creativity enter here. Yes, those are bench weights next to her cute little toddler.

Yes, we used bench weights to press our cheese.

The cutting board in a baking pan acted as our drain for the excess whey that was to be pressed out.

Then we wrapped that block of cheese like a baby and set the weight on top.

This is what it looks like after the first 10 minutes of pressing.

Then we stuffed it back in and pressed it again with a heigher amount of weight for another 10 minutes.

I left to pick up my oldest two kids from school at this point. It had been right at 6 hours of stirring, cooking, draining, cooking, stirring, etc. etc...

All that was left was to press it for another 24 hours at the 50 lbs. mark and then we could dry it and wax it.

Let me just say, it was supposed to dry for 2 days and then wax, but she called me last night and asked if I wanted my half now. It tasted too good to wait for the minimum 2 months that we were going to have to wait and she and her family were going to go ahead and eat their 2 lbs.

I was at her house in 10 minutes and picked up my portion to bring it home to eat our half.

Ohhhhhhh! It was yummy!!!!

One of these days we'll do it again and let it age like it's supposed to. For now, my kids are getting snacks of crackers, cheddar, and sausage slices. Hmmmmmm!

When Life Hands You Lemons, You Make Lemonade

2012-01-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was one of the rare weekends that Luke had off of work.
His schedule has honestly been really difficult to deal with the last 3 years and I am excited to announce that he got accepted for a new position at work!!
No raise is included but I don't care. He will be home every other weekend and almost every evening!!! That is better than any raise after the schedule of these past 3 years.

Just attending church together again as a family is HUGE!!!
We can plan Family Nights and Date Nights again! Those have been really hard to plan when he's not home in the evening or on weekends.
We can know what is happening in our lives more than a week in advance and maybe I won't have to take trips by myself with all the kids nearly as often.
The perks are endless!!

This past Sunday, we were all geared up to pick up Precious Jewel from Grandmama's and head to church when a wrench was thrown into the plans.
The brand-new-tire that we'd just bought to replace the slashed tire that had thrown our day awry the day before, caused a few more problems. Two of the bolts sheered off when Luke was changing it and we were left stranded in the driveway. That has never happened before.

We were both frustrated. It's rare he gets to come with the kids and I to church. We both have felt disconnected. He--because he never gets to go. I--because I'm always with the kids and little kids in church are a handful to say the least.

But, but God also knew we needed a day to JUST BE. A day to be together as a family and that's what he GAVE us in the broken tire.

While Luke and I were totally frustrated, the boys in their child-faith saw this as an opportunity to take a hike together.
So we did, and the time spent enjoying, soaking in, climbing over, around, under and through His Creation was priceless.
He even provided a semi-nice day in the middle of January when it should have been freezing cold.
So off we went.
Luke. 3 Boys. 3 Dogs, and 2 Cats (Precious Jewel happily stayed stuck at Grandmama's).

Following a well-worn deer path

The cats silently stalking us

Every time we are down here, I think of the book "Girl of the Limberlost" or "Freckles."

It's Beautiful. Peaceful. Magic. Color is intense in the woods.

The dogs were in "hike heaven."

This is Junkyard...that cute little puppy from the fall. He's gotten huge.

He looks a little upset but really was just curious as to why I was shoving a camera in his face. I took his picture right before he slapped his big wet tongue all over my camera lens.

Snowball is getting big too.

Right now she's about the size of the labs even though she's a couple months younger.

She already can almost look Nater Mater in the eyes and will soon tower over him.

All the dogs LOVED the water; splashing through it like it was 100 degrees in the summer.

It was funny how the cats climbed down the ravine and all the way to the water. We spent 2 hours exploring the bottom examining animal scat, plants, bushes, and animal dens. I'd never seen them so excited over poop before. : ) But fresh deer poop is pretty exciting to little adventurers.

So next time life gives us lemons, we'll take them and make some memories.

A Day of Firsts!

2012-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

We'll start with the best last. Good Lookin' lost his first tooth!!
He's been asking for months now when it would be his turn to loose a tooth.
Today, he noticed it was slightly wiggly. Aaaaaalllllllll day long he worked and wiggled and snaggled with his tongue to get that tooth out.
And at dinner tonight, he started crying. Sobbing really because the thing started bleeding in his chicken and rice.
I have a fairly strong stomach mind you, but the sight of that nasty little tooth bleeding in his food and him sobbing nearly made me hurl in my plate.
He refused to go to bed until that thing was out and I knew from previous children that it was a hopeless cause to make him go to bed until it happened.
Out came the toothbrush. and after just 2 minutes of brushing, it popped out onto the floor and we all did the "Happy Shriek and Cheer the Tooth Dance."

It's been a Big Day because he and Naters also started back to Pre-K today.

Good Lookin' went last year and blossomed. Nater Mater was old enough this year and fully potty trained, so we signed him up too! There are several sibling groups this year which is a lot of fun.
They had their backpacks on before breakfast with their letter of the day item tucked safely inside.

They were both so cute. Timmy was the big brother so proud to show his little brother around. Nater Mater was excited to finally get to "go to pwe-skool wif Timmy."Both boys remembered the Bean Table from last year and I thought Good Lookin' was going to dive head-first into the pile of beans.

Happy First Day of Pre-K Good Lookin' and Nater Mater!!

Now if the Tooth Fairy can just remember to complete your happy day. ; S

21 Questions to Ask Your Kids

2012-01-10T10:33:00.001-08:00

21 questions to ask your kids

Living Creatively posted this on her blog yesterday. So Much Fun!

Copy this note, ask your kid the questions and
write them down exactly how they respond.

What do they really think?

For reference my kids are:

N (3-yrs. 4 mo. old)

T (5 1/2-years old)

B (7 1/2-years old)

A (9-years, only girl)

The kids had to help Naters. He totally didn't get this whole question thing.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?

N "Pull up your pants"

T "Give me Kisses."

B "I love you."

A "I love you."

2. What makes Mommy happy?

N "sad"

T "Giving you a kiss"

B "Time by yourself."

A "Giving you a hug and kiss."

3. What makes Mommy sad?

N "your sad"

T "When Grandma Gumm died."

B "When somebody dies"

A "When we disobey you."

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?

N "cheese!"

T "Tickling me!"

B "When you are trying not to laugh and that makes me laugh. Usually when someone is naughty."

A "Tickling me!'" (hmmmm...theme here)

5. What was Mommy like as a child?

N "happy/ you sad"

T "I didn't know you as a child! How would I know?"

B "You were funny and liked to tell jokes."

A "You liked Rainbow Bright and Barbies!"

6. How old is Mommy?

N "I like jumping"

T "20" (That's as high as he can count).

B "39"

A "34" (she knows)

7. How tall is Mommy?

N "you sad" (I think we broke the record player here.)

T "9 inches! That's pretty big? Why don't you ever measure yourself?"

B "5 ft 4 in" (not bad)

A "5 ft. 9 in" (She's close. I'm almost 5ft. 8in.)

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?

N (he gave me a hug)

T "Play with me! Spend time with us kids!"

B "Play with us!"

A "Hang out with your girlfriends or daddy."

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?

N (When I asked, he stood on his head)

T "Laundry" (oh joy)

B "Laundry" (oh this is a re-occurring theme!)

A "Babysit little kids." (Always)

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?

N "pretty toe nails"

T "Because you are pretty!" (good answer kid)

B "You could become President."

A "A good artist."

11. What is Mommy really good at?

N "ahhhh help me!" (said as he is falling off the couch)

T "Laundry?" (ugh) "Oh and you're really good at sharing."

B "Art, drawing"

A "holding your temper." Laundry, chores." (sigh)

12. What is Mommy not very good at?

N "being daddy"

T "You are just good at everything; except keeping up with laundry."

B "Building houses." (random)

A "You can't keep up with laundry." (geeze! I wonder why!)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?

N "give kisses"

T "Babysit"

B "Babysit"

A "Babysit" (I've done that since Ben was 11 mo. old and she was 2).

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?

N "Cake"

T "Cereal?" (that's his)

B "Rice and Beans" (see previous posts, but he's totally wrong. ; 0)

A "cheesecake!" (right on!)

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?

N "kisses"

T "You let me give you kisses."

B "You take care of us."

A "You are good at art."

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?

N "Mama Bear" (from the Bearenstein Bears)

T "Webkinz!"

B "Minnie Mouse!"

A "Molly The American Girl Doll. You looked like her and you lived back then." (right on the first, but not THAT old! She was a WWII doll!)

17. What do you and Mommy do together?

N "Jump"

T "Go outside and play tag together."

B "Cuddle Nights"

A "Scrapbook" (girl after my own heart)

18. How are you and Mommy the same?

N "Bang"

T "We're not!" (He wouldn't give me anything)

B "We both like to cuddle"

A "We both like to scrapbook."

19. How are you and mommy different?

N (He stands on his head)

T "We look different."

B "I'm a boy. You're a girl."

A "You have brown hair. I have blond hair."

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?

N (Tries to jump over me)

T "You give me kisses!"

B "You say you love me!"

A "Hug me and cuddle and talk with me"

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?

N "the Bathtub"

T "On a date with daddy"

B "Chinese Restaurant" (Ummm...we haven't been there in a year. I think HE likes it there.)

A "On a date with daddy doing something special."

The next interview with be their news and ideas... I want to keep doing this
every year. :D

If you do it, please let me know!

New Year's Resolutions a week or so late

2012-01-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

I was looking back at my New Year's Resolutions last year.

God has done so much in my heart this past year. I'm calling it the Year of Restoration.

Several relationships that I thought had failed or were a cause of intense heart agony have been put on the path of restoration.

Honesty, Forgiveness, Grace and Prayer have been my mainstay these past 12 months.

Many many many tears and questions and soul searching have been poured out on the altar.

Much of my own heart ugliness that is hard to admit and my way of relating has needed an over-haul.

When I made my resolution to just be in the Word every day, I got way more than I bargained for.

I didn't 100% succeed in my determination to read my Bible every day, but I did succeed in opening even more; uncovering even more of a heart that is desperately in need of God at the helm, and handing things over to Him. And, I didn't quit reading altogether if I'd missed reading a day or two.

I know I have a lot of room for growth. A HUGE amount really, but that is good. Life would be boring if we didn't have something to learn from?

This Year for my Resolutions, I've joined Ann Voskamp's challenge of Daily counting the Gifts that God puts in our lives. "In EVERYTHING give Thanks."

I'm still not sure what EVERYTHING means. I still have heart-ache from some of those relationships. Tears still fall. Questions still remain.

My marriage still needs a lot of work (I need a lot of work).

I haven't quite figured out How to be thankful in the midst of another recent huge loss in the family that has left me questioning His methods and plans and even goodness. But I do know this, HE IS GOOD.

He is the Master Planner as our Mom's in Touch Prayer Group emphasized this morning.

He has the perfect program and method worked out before-hand. I don't need to argue or fight Him on what I don't understand.

Jer. 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for a Hope and a future."

My job this Year:

To Count the Blessings no matter how small.

Will you join me?

Christmas Life

2011-12-29T18:02:00.001-08:00

I have about a zillion pictures that I took this year that most likely will go un-posted for some time. Or, until that time when I have nothing else to do and then I might pull out the pictures when everyone else is putting up green for St. Patricks and I will reflect back on this Christmas Season.
This Christmas Season has given me time to Reflect.
To Listen.
To Be Quiet.
To Cry and To Laugh all in the same moment.
To Remember.
It has been a deeper Christmas.
One surrounded by both Sorrow and Joy.
One filled with emotions of Grief, Anger, Relief, and Praise.
It's been a Christmas that has reminded me that the first Christmas was a messy one.

Luke's grandma became seriously ill just a few days before Christmas.
She fought for life until His birthday.
Christmas morning, while I was singing Carols back at home in the church that I had grown up in, she drew her last ragged breath and flew home to be with Jesus.
There's nothing quite like holding your sobbing 7 and 9 year old listening to them ask why Grandma has to die on Christmas.
There's nothing like being give the privilege of a in-your-face explanation for the birth of Jesus and being able to explain it to your tearful children.

The Pastor that morning spoke of death. Death is a part of the Christmas Story. I thought it a little odd that he was preaching on the "dark side" of Christmas. The slaughter of the innocent babies in Bethlehem. The cruelty and in-humanness of King Herod. The violent world that God chose to send His only Son into as a completely helpless baby to be cared for my a couple of homeless teenagers. Why?

To free us from Death. To deliver us. Christmas is about deliverance from death. Deliverance from the pain of this world that we can know the hope of life.

We arrived home from a beautiful service to the phone call of her passing. The Pastor's message was even more meaningful.

Christmas was one of Grandma's favorite times of year. Christmas was when we lost Grandpa just a couple of years ago. Christmas Day was a good day for her to go home to be with the Child-Grown-into-Man-who-came-to-Save-us. Christmas is the day her body was freed from her dementia and inability to form a complete sentance. Christmas Day is the day she was set free.

I sit here. All the activities and plans of our Christmas were either re-arranged, thrown out the window, or are on hold. The memories I so often try to create for my children don't seem to matter as much. The cookies, the presents, the advent calendar I have intentions to do but have failed to do all year but one, the caroling, the pageants and the plays.

Christmas comes into focus when the reason for His entering into our world is to save us from death.
Christmas Sings Life.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year.

All the little things that make up our family's Christmas traditions are added up together until my cup overflows with the love of it all.
It's that moment when you stop and look at a stack of boxes on the counter and get all tingly inside because it signals what is ahead if I so chose to over-look the business of it all and focus on the meaning of why we celebrate Christmas.
Christ's birth.

How in the world did these 3 boxes remind me of Christmas?
They have nothing inside of them that speak of the 3 wise men. They were honestly filled with a couple of books, some sow suits and something else that I can't even remember. But somehow, the gifts, still yet to be wrapped in Christmas finery, standing next to my little cupcake stand filled with votive candles and glittery balls whispered "it's coming" into my ear and that little thrill of anticipation I get coursed through me.
It's time for the gifts to be added together and build up to the culmination of remembering Christ's Birth.
It's the good stuff.
The stuff that says life is Holy if you chose to see:
Behold:
Baking cookies with my children:

Good Lookin' and I had made up dough enough to made 14 dozen cookies one afternoon while the baby took an incredibly rare afternoon nap all at the same time. It was our sweet afternoon together.

Two days later, we rolled it all out and spent an entire day cutting, slicing, re-rolling and baking all 14 dozen cookies.

Almost-tween hands next to rapidly disappearing baby pudge.
My babies are rapidly growing up before my eyes.

Sweet happy spirals of Christmas cheer.

Never mind that a certain pre-schooler thought it just as fun to throw sprinkles in the air and watch the "color rain!"

Behold:
Gifts of Good Cheer

Behold:
Ice skating together as a family

This is a new tradition that we started a year ago thanks to the college student that lived with us for a time.
Some of us were not so enthusiastic about the feeling of heavy skates on our feet:

Others of us sobbed for the first 30 minutes terrified that we were going to fall.
(Not Luke) He knew he would fall and that is part of skating and part of life.
It's the getting back up and on your feet and skating on that matters.

Watching and pouting from the side-lines is not nearly as fun as gliding on ice.
He figured out it truly was fun about 10 minutes before closing time. ; )

Some of us have waited so long that it doesn't matter that the old skates don't fit and that our legs threaten to fail us. We are determined to enjoy the day because, by golly, we've waited a whole year for this!

And although we aren't fabulous, we can certainly pick back up where we left off the year before.

And then there are those of us who are there to make a new friend wherever we go because life is just that much sweeter when you have someone to share the fun with and to encourage...even if you may never see them again.

It's that eureka moment when you realize that even if you do fall and the ice is hard, you can always get up again, and glide on with the aid of a helping hand and it is all about being together and cheering on another on and that is fun!

Watch out mom. We are all standing on our own!

Behold:
They are all happily chewing on their Christmas bones that the kids begged to give them early.

Behold:
Gazing into the valley at the milk cows below.

"DOWN THERE is where you miwk comes fwrom!" I overheard Nater Mater tell his little friend.
"Uh-huh" was the (I already knew that) smug reply.
They are so certain of their little worlds. ; )

What are your Pre-Christmas Traditions that warm your heart?

Christmas Season and Christmas Programs

2011-12-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

The Season of Christmas has begun.

It began about 3 weeks ago at our house with the first of 3 Christmas Programs of our kids that we attended this year.

Every year for the last 15 or so years the 2nd grade music teacher has led 300+ kids in a delightfully cute, funny, tear-inducing (for the those proud parents), crazy program at the local University.

I remember watching as a college student and loving those cute little nose picking, crotch-shrugging, loud-sing, laughing (some pouting), wiggly little 2nd graders sing their sweet little hearts out to an adoring college crowd. We college students love it. It made us long for home and little kids, and family and all things not dorm-life-or cafeteria food-like. It made me remember that sweet childhood that was so long ago and yet just yesterday.

Then last year Precious Jewel hit 2nd grade and she was one of those cute little kids singing her sweet and nervous little heart out to the college crowd.

This year, it was Mr. Smiles turn.

He had been chosen for a quartet singing Silent Night and was ecstatic. Precious Jewel had the same part last year and he was excited to follow in her footsteps.

Have you ever seen 300 little 2nd graders all crammed onto one stage?

CRAZY and so dang cute!

His music teacher is BRAVE!

They all sang for the 10:30am Chapel Service and then we went again that night to watch them all sing again for the families.

Nater Mater was NOT duly impressed. He found it much more entertaining to crawl under the pews and grab the unsuspecting victims ankles in front of him much to my horror and embarrassment.

Mr. Smiles has a sweet bell-like voice that rang out when singing Silent Night and he took his part very seriously.

So seriously, that before the morning's performance when they had all the kids practicing BEFORE chapel and no one was there, he nearly dissolved into tears.

When Luke was able to catch him on his way to a bathroom break before all the college students started flooding the chapel, he asked him why he had such a long face and was refusing to smile when his music teacher kept asking them all to smile.

He, near tears and angry, replied that everyone had missed it all and he'd sung to a bunch of empty seats. They'd been working for months and no one saw him!!

We assured him that what he's just done was dress rehearsal and that the REAL program would start in just a matter of minutes.

Shining eyes and smile returned!!

Some of us didn't make it all the way through two performances that day.

Two weeks later: We had our little church program that a mom helps direct every year.

Every year, there are more and more kids and I have to say toddlers are stinkin' adorable.

The 3 tots in front happily sang along and performed all the hand actions during practice that morning before people arrived. Later, not so much.

Mr. Smiles and his little friend, who is also in 2nd grade, sang their Silent Night solo in front of the whole church...giggles and all.

I had to say that I got choked up. Good Lookin' happily participated this year.

He Happily Participated for the first time at the age of 5 1/2. Every year before that has usually been preceded by a Fit. Refusal. Tears. Stomping of Feet and general holiday angst. No cute singing and I've learned it's best not to push the issue and he sits on the front row with me while I've helped encourage the others.

This year though, he wanted to be by the side of his sweet little friend whom he has declared he will marry when he grows up. Sigh a happy mother's heart...not because he performed, but because he was so cute and I finally got a picture.

"Rock baby Jesus SWEETLY" they were all instructed. Hehe

Now during the actual performance for the parents, Nater Mater and his little friend thought it would be more fun to entertain the crowd than perform for them. Jumping on and off and eventually log-style rolling down the steps was much more fun than rocking baby Jesus softly. Ahhh, once again, boys have a way of keeping a prideful mother humble.

That night: Christmas Program Number 3

Precious Jewel has joined a Children's Choir this fall instead of another year of AWANA.

The girl likes to sing and we thought it best to get stuck in her mind some of these powerfully-packed and Message-filled songs instead of Lady Gaga or Miley Cyres that she often hears via friends. Many of the songs are filled with Scripture and while there is nothing wrong with many many secular songs, at this stage in her life we want to help fill her mind with ones that will speak to her heart. We're in a heart battle with her right now and she may not realize it, but these catchy tunes she has practiced week in and week out are far more fruit-producing and heart-softening than any talk we could have with her about music, books or movies that her friends and her giggle about.
She also was chosen for a solo for a beautiful song I'd never heard before.

And once again, another program attendee has bit the sleepy dust.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Thankfulness begins with Looking

2011-12-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

"The practice of giving thanks...eucharisteo...this is the way we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes. We don't have to change what we see. Only the way we see." --Ann Voskamp

I Need to see beauty every day.
I need to be fed by His Word every day or I will starve.
This is My daily manna.
We can't keep it still good from yesterday.
We need it fresh new.

I see Jesus in my children's faces.
Behold: His glory in each of their creations.

My curse? My poison?
Ingratitude.
Wanting to control what I cannot.
So I pursue harder, faster, but it eludes me.
Running, laughing and mocking just in front of me and I can never grasp it.
This may be a relationship with friends. This may be a relationship with my child. This may be a relationship with my husband. This may be material.
The poison of discontent spreads further and the depression deepens.

The remedy?
"How we behold determines if we hold joy.
Behold Glory and be held by God.
How we look determines how we live...if we live."

"Faith is the gaze of the soul."

"Looking comes first."--C.S Lewis
What are my inner eyes seeing?

Beholding: children searching for the last colored leaves in the grass.

"How my eyes see, perspective, is my key to enter into His gates.
I can only do so with Thanksgiving.
If my inner eyes has God seeping up through all things, then can't I give thanks for anything?"
Even strife? Conflict? Anger at a perceived injustice?

In order for me to help my children see, I must be able to show them How to see by learning this eucharisteo myself.
How do I walk a daily thankfulness myself?

Behold: Grandparents who love their grandchildren.

Behold: Hayrides on Thanksgiving Day

Behold: Cousins who live close and who love each other.

"If we don't intentionally commit to the hard practice of seeing, don't we die in barren wilderness? Anger, frustration, emptiness?"

The raw inner life of mine cuts like sharp hay poking through clothes designed to cover, protect.
Do I let worry, stress steal the joy from my life?
Do I let thanklessness and refusing to do the hard act of looking, steal the Joy He has purposed for my life?
Or, do I let the WORD; the Daily Manna clothe my heart and point me to Him.
"Give Thanks" He whispers.
"Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; Trust also in me" (Jn. 14:1)

Behold: the magic of sun rays on a cool Thanksgiving afternoon.

Happy 9th Precious Jewel!

2011-12-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

My sweet sweet baby....

.....has just turned 9.

Nine is one year away from the tween years (which someone had to explain to me is that age between the single digits and the teens).

Not so sure I'm ready for that.

She has been begging for 3 years now for me to put a canopy on the bed Grandmama bought for her when she turned 6.
It apparently didn't come with a canopy.
I've priced them on-line and have refused to pay for what I've found.
Limited funds bring out the creativity but my creative juices have been a little on the low side as of late (that and our little town has no fabric store and I have to drive 45 minutes to buy what I'd need...with 5 little boys in tow. I'm just not ready for that insanity.)
This year I vowed to fulfill her wish of putting a canopy on her canopy bed.
Luke and I snuck into her room Thursday night late after she'd already been asleep a couple of hours.
A canopy-less canopy bed really is a sorry sight and I have no real excuse people for it taking me 3 years to put a canopy on that thing.
Yes, that's her all tucked in bed surrounded by her animals and dolls.

30 minutes later....
Tulle is AMAZING!!
Pink Parisian fluffiness waited for our fast-fading Princess to awake.
(I still have plans to rip down the flower boarder and black sharpie scroll-work instead.
It might happen before she turns 13).
I then want to get her a black and white zebra throw to complete her wish list.

She was up before dawn squealing and bouncing us awake "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" (we'd set the alarm for 5:30 to watch her reaction. Obviously you can't beat enthusiasm. It was bouncing us awake).

Since starting school, we have let each of the kids, on their birthdays, stay home.
They LOVE it.
My dad started a tradition of taking us out for breakfast on each of our birthdays.
Luke and I have carried that tradition on with our children.
While everyone else was eating their breakfast, she opened the gifts that we had bought her and the one my parents had mailed from Mexico.
For 4 months she has been eyeing a Disney World bag peeking over the side of my shelf way up high in my closet.
I've threatened her with "I will give it to your cousin if you climb up there and peek when I'm not looking" (I have memories of doing that as a child).
She has taken to asking when she gets her Disney World Present instead.
Hmmmm....."Do you think I should wait until next year?" sends her into near convulsions . ; )

Then she opened it Birthday morning and discovered her first charm necklace.
More shrieks followed. ; )
And, then it was off to breakfast with her daddy before he had to leave for work.

Later that night a sweet little friend from school came to spend the night.
I took the two of them on a Christmas Home Tour.
It's a highly anticipated time of year when 4 to 5 families in our community decorate their houses to the hilt for Christmas and then open them to the paying public.
People come from all over and last year I felt Precious Jewel was old enough to enjoy the 2 1/2 hour home tour without getting bored on me.
This year her previous school's Principle's home was on the tour.
Luke met us with the boys so Mr. Smiles could go and see her home as well.
We also ran into several of her classmates and they enjoyed "oooooohhhhing" and "aaaawwwwwwing" together and exclaiming over their Principle's home.

After coming home and tucking 5 tired and excited little kids into bed, I finished up her cake.

Last year's birthday was all about pink and girly things and while it was delightful and fun, I also wanted to cry at the same time.
She was growing up far too fast and right in front of our eyes.
This year, after seeing her 1-year-old cousin's birthday, she decided she to wanted owls!
Yes, I said 1-year-old cousin.
My daughter may have been turning nine and has begged for an i-phone, laptop, her own make-up (none of which she has received by the way) and she may have learned to roll her eyes and huff with the best of them, but she is still a little girl in many ways.
I was more than happy to come up with whatever owl things we could find.

The cupcakes and cake were from Pinterest.

Pinterest also provided the craft idea which I cut out and sewed together ahead of time.

They got to pick the owl and wing colors and we gave them them the eyes and beak.

This was something even the boys could be included in and with the help of my sister-in-law, Luke and Mother-in-law we helped the girls hot glue everything together.
(I'm all about the hot glue even though the on-line video said to sew it).
Pshshshs... who needs a sewing machine when you can just glue it all together?! ; )

Then we stuffed those babies!

The extra stuffing also became a giant nest on the table for all the completed owlets and the boys thought it also made great fake snow.

Look Whoooooooooo!!!!

Then it was off to presents and cake (of which I realized later I took NO pictures of her blowing out her candles or in front of her lit cake). : (
She is and always will be the daughter close to my heart.
We girls gotta stick together.

Another set of Tonsils

2011-11-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Nater Mater had his tonsils out yesterday and he rocked his surgery. He didn't even cry or fuss about not getting breakfast or his typical morning, first-thing-upon-arising sippie cup that we can't seem to shake the habit of.
His behavior on the whole sippie cup thing probebly had a lot to do with us pulling him out of bed at 5:45am and popping him un-expectedly into a warm bubble bath in order to give him the required pre-surgery scrub-down.
I think he was simply in shock and forgot to ask for the cup. We then whisked him out, dried him off, clothed him in his favorite Lightning McQueen outfit and carried him to the warm car.
Not once on the whole 45 minute drive to the hospital did he ask for his suppie cup.
Even after we got to the hospital and waited on all the paper-work and sign in and check-in rigamaroll he didn't ask for the beloved cup.
Thank you Jesus! This was seriously a concern of ours. Some kids have pacifiers. Some kids have blankies. This kid has a sippie cup and he ain't given' it up without a serious fight. (One that I'm not willling to take on right now).

He was excited about the Tiger Gown they gave him to wear. He has a little stuffed tiger he sleeps with at night (not as important as the cup of water that he loveingly cradles every night), but none-the-less loved.

He was really excited about the 3rd floor room with a view where we allowed him to climb into the window sill and watch the cars coming and going out of the Parking Garage across the street. Still no request for sippie cup. So far so good.

He was even more excited about the half dozen Lightning McQueen stickers that the sweet nurse brought him to play with while we waited for surgery. She had astutely noticed that he was decked out in Lightning McQueen gear from head to toe including his socks. He stuck them all over his legs; stood up, gasped when they pulled on his leg hairs and begged me to help him "get dose off!"

He moved them to the front of his Tiger Gown instead.

We passed the waiting time by reading stories, re-sticking stickers to other body parts and playing in the huge window.

Both Luke and I were nervous. Both of us have had this lingering fear in the back of our minds of this surgery. The last time he was sedated was a nightmare. The vomit. The limp and gray little body still stand out clearly in our minds.

His ENT ran extra tests, extra bloodwork; even a bleed-time test where they cut his arm and made his sit there with a pressure cuff on until he quit bleeding to see if he also has signs of the bleeding history that runs in our family. What just-turned-3-year-old gets his arm sliced and sits still while the nurse dabs around the cut every 30 seconds? He did. Everything came back normal.
We've prayed a lot about this surgery. Do we go ahead? Do we wait and continue on the normal allergy path? The constant up and down at night with breathing masks and an irrate and scared little boy has all pointed yes. The history of anesthesia said no.

We reviewed all the medical history and the circumstances around the last sedation and gave the green light.

Then at 8am, they brought him his "goofy juice;" told us not to let him try and walk because he'd fall over and said the'd be back in a few to take him to surgery.
He was truly loopy and when the nurse came and "vroom! vroomed!" him out the door and down the hall, Luke and I stared long and hard after that hospital bed, turned around, shut the door and cried together.

We prayed. We prayed for the doctors. We prayed for the nurses and we prayed for his little body to respond the way they said he should.

Thirty minutes later I heard what I thought was him wailing down the hall. That wail was the sweetest thing to a mother's ears. About 20 minutes later they wheeled him back in. The sweet nurse said she'd been holding him in recovery while he cried for "mommy."

He was horse. He was scared and he wanted mommy. He thrashed around for another 30 minutes until they brought him some more medicine that calmed him down and knocked him out again.

His surgeon came in and told us that everything went well. He said the adnoids weren't large but they were currently infected. I was surprised. He hadn't been sick since his broncitis a couple of weeks previous. The surgeon said that it looked like they were possibly chronically inflamed due to his allergies and that taking them out had been a wise idea. He also said that when they removed the tonsils, they were larger than when they had looked at the exam. All-in-all, he should start feeling better and hopefully this will help with his allergy symptoms.

He slept for a solid 2 1/2 hours after that and didn't even flinch when a nurse came in every 15 minutes to take his vitals via his big toe.

It was then that I noticed I had put on a pair of socks that morning with a hole in my big toe. Oh well. I'm sure they've seen worse.

Another nurse came in and said that we needed to wake him and make him drink. He could have the beloved sippie cup as long as we didn't think it would hit the back of his throat. Ummm, no. Not unless his mouth suddenly grew 3x larger. We woke him up and handed him his long-lost friend. He took one sip and cried.

The requirement to get out was he had to drink a whole 8 oz. Mr. Smiles and Precious Jewel never did quite get the required amount down, but were released after 4 1/2 hours. I wondered how we were going to convince a 3-year-old to drink when his throat had just been cut up.

The nurse told him he could have anything he wanted: Apple juice, milk, slushie, sprite, etc. He lit up and horsely whispered "juice!" She took the cup and brought it back with the requested liquid and in less than 10 minutes he drank it ALL. She looked a little a bit surprised and then declaired he could go home!

We were surprised. That was it?! Well, lets go!

We drove our precious little package to the Pharmacy to pick up the Rx he would be needing the next several days and then drove home.

All-in-all he's doing great! Friday was his worst day. He cried or slept most of the day much to the dismay of his little friend that I sit for.

We're still waiting to see if this will help his sleep at night. Right now we have to wake him up every 4 hours to give him his meds. and make him drink.

I'll let you know.

Goat Yogurt. I did it!

2011-11-11T12:12:00.001-08:00

It worked!!! I finally got it to work. I have tried making yogurt for Mr. Smiles for some time now and it always flops. He loved yogurt, milk, cheese before all the diagnosis of the milk allergy. It just didn't love him. At all.
But the yogurt I have tried making for him wouldn't set and is just at runny as milk. So this time, I ordered some starter from a goat milk supply company and then waited for time (and the courage to try it again).
Then, thanks to another website I found via Pinterest, an easy peasy recipe came along and I thought, "I can do that! "
All it took was my crockpot, timing and a heavy bathtowel.
I have bought goat milk yogurt before and tried using that as my starter. Every recipe says it should work. It hasn't. But the starter from Caprine Supply Company where I get all my cheese making supplies and goat milking supplies also carried a starter that could be used in goat's milk.

So, I mixed all the ingredients, followed the directions to the letter, covered it all with a heavy bathtowel and then waited.

The next morning? Yogurt!!! Real spoonable yogurt. It was a little liquidy on top just like when you first open a carton of yogurt, but then it thickened up in the refrigerator just like the store-bought-cow's-milk stuff.

Mr. Smiles was so excited that he then asked if I could make him blueberry yogurt: his favorite.

Yup! I yanked open our freezer, gleefully grabbed the berries we had picked last summer, and dumped a cup (or two) into the blender with a handful of flaxseed and honey and turned that baby on.
Viola!! blueberry (and may I say very healthy) goat's milk yogurt that Ben ate right down before I took him to school.

So, excited for him because it has been 3 long years without his beloved yogurt and now I can make it by the gallon!

Camping Failure 101 and other Weekend Highlights

2011-11-01T12:13:00.001-07:00

We finally did it by golly...
even if we only lasted about 12 hours!
We went camping together as a WHOLE Family last weekend.

Luke only has one weekend off a month and the last 2 months he's been gone on that weekend.
And, you can't take the whole family camping when the whole family isn't there.
So, we have all been waiting patiently (and sometimes impatiently) for daddy to be home on a weekend so we could use the tent we'd bought this summer.

We had planned on going to this beautiful spot about 2 hours away, but by the time he and I both finished work, had the van all loaded, goats milked, puppies locked up, etc... etc... we decided to just go to a place 30 minutes from home.
No one likes setting up tents in the dark with 4 hungry kids waiting 2 hours past dinnertime for me to cook dinner over an open fire.
No One.
We decided not to push the issue.
Little did we realize just how cold it would get.
Little did we realize that if your sleeping and tent gear is marked for 45 degrees that you really should not try pushing that mark when the night lows hit the upper 20s.
Blessedly, I had brought pads and an extra sleeping bag to sleep on and a huge down quilt that covered at least 3 of us 6, but that left the other 3 of us freezing....
ALL NIGHT LONG!
At about midnight when Precious Jewel climbed uncontrollably shivering into my bag (a cocoon-style bag that is NOT meant for 4 pairs of feet), I began to think that it might be worth waking everyone up and packing up all gear to drive home.
Within 20 more minutes, Good Lookin' crawled shivering into the bag with Luke.
We began discussing out-loud if it was worth staying and getting no sleep or leaving and risking kids thinking they'd had a nap and still getting no sleep.
The 2 hot-pocket sleeper boys snored on and the 2 skinny cold sleepers smashed up nuxt to us stopped shivering (we decided to stay).
Needless to say, I also forgot flashlights of any kind.
Who forgets flashlights when camping?!
That is the funnest part of camping...telling stories in the tent at dark with a flashlight in your face!
This also became an issue when child #2 wakes up to use the bathroom...in the cold...in the dark.
The bathroom....a dark outhouse-type building that is unlit and a full 100 yards away.
I'd also forgotten toilet paper.
Also not a good score for camping record keeping.

We did SURVIVE the night and before dawn broke over the misty hills (cue dramatic music now), Luke was up and building a fire, so there would be at least a little bit of warmth for the kids to crawl out too.

In spite of the cold, it was pretty.
Really pretty.
I had anticipated a morning of hiking and taking hundreds of gorgeous pictures of the beautiful fall that has exploded here.

I settled for a 20 foot walk to the lake for some pre-sunlit pictures of the mist rising off the lake before Luke's call to pack 'em up and move them out came.

We were going home where we could warm cold little bodies (and big ones), take hot showers and drink hot chocolate (since I had brought the hot chocolate but neglected to pack the kettle).
Next time, I'll make my usual packing list DAYS in advance...weeks even!

That, and we told the kids no more camping trips until next June when we're sure to have a night that is at least 45 degrees.

Amazingly, (the troopers that they are) the kids said they had a great time and didn't protest when we told them they could hike in our own woods...after the sun warmed up the day and we'd all thawed out.

And, it always helps to bribe them with the promised S'mores by taking off the grate to our fireplace for them to roast marshmallows in.
Did I mention that it's a gas fireplace?
There is no real coals and they lit every marshmallow on fire....over the living room carpet?
Deep Breaths.
I have chills just thinking about it.

But, they were happy and so were we.

The next day of our wonderful weekend with daddy, we finally gutted...

...and carved the pumpkins that had been bought a month previous.

It may have been the day before Halloween but you can't do the annual pumpkin carving without the Master Carver to carve!

I must say, he did a pretty good job of fulfilling each kids wish.

These Ordinary Days

2011-10-26T10:13:00.001-07:00

It's Fall here in the Ozarks

Today I looked out and noticed the trees had suddenly seemed to explode with color...waving around their brightly colored leaves like Joseph showing off his coat of many colors.

Soon, it will all be gone.
I'll go back to longing for days of sunshine, kick up an extra dose of Vit. D, and thank God once again that I now live in the South where winter is not so cold and sharp.
It been a quiet month.
Normal busy, but quiet.
I've been writing down my list of Thanks.
Another friend called it her "beholding list."
Beholding God's handiwork and blessings.
I like that.
Moments to Behold.
It sounds Holy.
It sounds like one should stop an ponder who gives us these moments to "behold."
Where do these simple moments of His Goodness come from?
We completely miss them if we don't slow down to look.

Here are a few of the things I wrote down in my Gratitude Journal to behold.

Behold# Sweet Kittens who live their lazy lives on our back deck basking in the sun.

They are my kid's friends. These are their children that they carry around the yard like baby dolls wrapped in blankets.
These are the friends that they naughtily launch out the front door by their back legs when caught sneaking into the house and under the kitchen table.

Behold# Today's leaves said that He loves beauty and peace and quiet.
It was almost reverent to look out at the color.

Behold# A beautiful Fall Day when friends and the 4 kids and I went to a local festival.

I felt like I'd walk back 50 years in time watching these guys cut, core, peel and hand out their apples.

People sat on the curb chatting, laughing, bluegrass music played in the town square, feet tapped to tunes of a different era. A different time.
I could have sat in the shade all day watching people meander past.

The usual and unusual hawked their wares.

My children have fallen in love with these colorful animals and save their nickels, dollars and dimes just to search the whole place and buy these.
My favorite vendor?
The doll dress maker (of which I was so busily drooling over her work that I forgot to take a picture).
My other favorite?
The classic wooden toys.

Behold# Large Bubble Blowing Stick.

Mr. Smiles launched it to the side to create "the world's largest bubble" and promptly lassoed a giant drippy bubble over an un-suspecting lady passing by.
I was horrified.
She was shocked.
Mr. Smiles was embarrassed but delighted.
Can I hide now please?

Behold# The joys of little boys, babies and bubbles.
Baby belly laughs anyone?
Nothing can be more cute.

Behold# Little boy who desperately needs a haircut and allows himself to be put in ponytails just for the humor of his sister.

(He got a haircut that afternoon).

Behold# Daddy is home for a day.

And, he finally gets to put up the lattice work on the back deck that we've been talking about since we moved into this house 3 years ago.
No small child is allowed out the back door for fear of the wide rails and the 2 story drop off the back deck.

Behold# Little boys who watch and copy every move a grown man makes.

They pulled out all their "power tools" and worked at the kitchen table just like "daddy" (Mr. Luke) until they were allowed outside.

Behold# Fall gourds and the wonder of toddlers and preschoolers.

Behold# I finally answered my daughter's request to paint the Eiffel tower on her bedroom wall.
I'd agonized how I was going to do that until I saw a picture on the Internet.

Easy Peasy Pie!
Black Sharpie anyone?

Behold# Friends, their sweet kids and fire pits.

Little boys and sticks and fire make for dangerous entertainment.

Gooey Chocolate and sticky marshmallows sandwiched between graham crackers make for a simply delightful and horribly messy evening.

Behold# little friends to climb and jump hay bales with.

Behold# Unplanned captures of quiet moments that are sweet and rare.
He was sitting in the window singing Be Thou My Vision when he thought no one was looking.

I interrupted the moment and he hopped down to roll the pumpkins across the living room floor, around the couch and out the front door.
Just because.

Behold# Cardboard boxes and the hours of entertainment they provide...

...until they are played to bits.
(withing about 48 hours in a house full of boys).

Behold# I want to stop and give thanks and be full of his wonder in these Ordinary Days

On Coffee Filters, Rainbows and Markers on Glass

2011-10-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've been back in the crafty mood with the kids.
I'm sure this is partly due to us being indoors a little more with all the crazy up and down weather we are experiencing right now.
The boys being confined indoors? Not so liking it.
So, I'm trying to keep them occupied and be creative at the same time.

I found these old coffee filters waaaay back in the back of our cupboard that hadn't been used in 2 years and amazingly enough, I hadn't thrown them out yet in my endevour to declutter.
Our coffee maker doesn't use the paper filters, but still, they were there taking up space and I have re-purposed them to the craft cupboard.

Coffee Filter Flowers

Water Color Paints at the Dollar Tree and Coffee Filters occupied a child who was sick two days last week, her little brother,

and 2 high energy toddlers on a cold rainy day.
(Gotta' love the sippie cup love this one still has).

Then, then yesterday Precious Jewel came home from being out with Grandmama and brought the other kids a fun surprise.
Window Markers!

Have you seen these?
They are so much fun!

Good Lookin' has surprisingly been the most enthralled...decorating nearly every square surface of our front window.

Mr. Smiles immediately colored snow flakes on the back door.

And I had lots of fun adding stems and swirls to their coffee filter flowers!
Happy Fall!

Fun Fall Craft

2011-10-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

I found another fun and cheap fall craft to do with the kids off of Pinterest this past week and it's the perfect time of year to try it with the kids.
I had 4 of the kid's little friends over this past Sunday after church.
Luke was working and honestly they do better with friends over on the weekends when daddy is gone.
The girls all wanted to do some painting while the boys were marching around in the yard with their light sabers.
I had them all collect the biggest leaves they could find that had already fallen and bring them inside where I had set up the paper and tempera paint.

I still have a little bit of tempera paint left over from homeschooling Abigail in Kindergarten 3 years ago.
I'm going to have to find another source that has those same big bottles of tempera paint because they came with her curriculum and they lasted these 3 years!!

The girls had so much fun. The more colors they used the better it looked.
We learned you have to turn the leaves over and paint the rough spinney side.
I want to try water color but I'm not so sure it will work.

Then you flip the leaves over and press them onto a piece of paper.
I have loads of half-printed-on scratch paper and they just stamped onto the "clean" side.

We were able to stamp and peal the same leaf multiple times and the design was more detailed each time they stamped and pealed.
They were so cute on how they carefully pulled off their leaves to reveal the colored rainbow leaves.

Pretty rainbows!
I want the kids and I to do some more with just fall colors and then cut them out to hang in our front window.
Wouldn't that be a pretty fall garland?

In Love with Fall

2011-10-07T19:44:00.001-07:00

And on a completely different note:
Fall Decorating is the Easiest of all seasons...at least if you live in the country.
I think though that anyone can collect Fall items to decorate with.
We have these huge nuts that are falling by the dozens every day in our yard.
The kids love them.
The Black Walnuts we also have falling everywhere simply trip you up and twist your ankles.
We have about 5 different nut trees in our yard that are dropping like crazy right now.
The squirrels are running around like the mad little creatures they are; dashing down the trees, into the yard, grabbing and running for their little lives before our crazy puppies get to them.
They are impossible to get pictures of this year.
The puppies think it's one huge game of chase and tag.
The squirrels?
Not so much.

They are huge!
You have to put them in the freezer for an hour or two to kill any little "friends" that might show up in a day or so after being brought into the warm house, but after that they are great decorative items.

I've given the kids buckets to collect whatever nuts they want and it's another form of treasure hunting in our little neck of the woods.

Then we put them in these fabulous-for-anything Mason Jars along with Christmas pine cones and Dollar Store leaves and they make a great little Fall Decoration!

Little Friends

2011-10-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures about a month ago but am just now getting to share them.
This is the daily dream of little boys.
If I let them, every day they are outside exploring, climbing, "hunting," imagining and making a new adventure.

This day, for some reason, I had no baby and instead had a little boy that I babysat for last year. Nater Mater asks to see M almost every day.
If I say no that it's not possible, he begins to cry and asks for J and S.
Change is hard, so I try to set up play dates for him to see the little guy.
Even small children make special friends.
These two have a special little bond.
This day, I told them that I could take them to the hay bales that are lined up row upon row in front of our property.
They are an invariable wonderland of adventure

Our nimble and oh-so-tame kittens-now-almost-cats bound after them and spring up onto the sides up the bales much to little boy's delight.

Good Lookin' can jump from bale to bale with relative ease; spanning the sometimes wide gaps that were left this year.
His skinny legs propel him from bale to bale in a surprisingly graceful action for one so un-coordinated.
He gloats that he is "big" and the "little boys" have to be helped across.

They are fine.
After just a few short minutes on top of the terrifyingly high bales they would much rather plant their feet on the firm ground to play hide and seek. They are forever searching and running in the tall grass between the huge bales.

Friends are important to even little people and i want to help my children create healthy friendships even when small.

There is nothing quite like the love of a friend.

On Loss and Awakening to Joy

2011-09-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Luke and I lost a dear friend and mentor to death this past week.
An older gentleman whose precious wife had died just a few short years back and he has followed her Home.
He has been battling cancer for some time and his battle is finally over.
A huge hole is left in many people's lives included mine.
I lived with them during a May term while I was in college. A whole 5 sweet quiet weeks to get to observe and learn from two precious people. June taught me how to make sweet breads using whole wheat flours and grated carrots and chopped apples. Nathan taught me to appreciate gardening and showed me his gardening and horticulture books. He was a Master.
It was at their house that I prepared for my wedding. The last night I slept as a single was in their white guest bedroom with the antique furniture and little night shade beside the bed.
It was in their hall bathroom that I attempted to curl my fine straight hair before putting on the little tiara and pulling down the thin white veil.
They had hung up the art work I had given them on the living room wall all matted and framed and pretty. Nathan gave it back to me when June died. He told me that he wanted to be sure I got it instead of someone else when he passed away.
That seemed so far away, but it was just a week ago.
When I was hugely pregnant with Nater Mater he drove over to our little house with a trunk load of spirea transplants. It was enough to plant along our entire fence line and still give some to a friend.
A year ago he gave me a 5 gallon bucket of daffodils and tiger Lilly bulbs he was thinning out. The kids and I dug random holes all along the tree line, placed them in and covered them up. They bloomed for the first time this past spring.
Every week he asked after my family who has been spread all over the world. They were a couple who cared, loved and gave freely and deeply.
I am still wading through the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.
I say wading because it's a book I want to digest while reading and some pages take several readings for me to digest it.
Life Giving Words need to be chewed carefully and thoughtfully and some days I have to come back to it several times for that to happen.
The same happens when I read Scripture. I can't just speed read through it and "get it." I need time and quiet and space. Time I don't get much of in this season of my life.
I read this the week Nathan died. I cried. Hot tears running down my cheeks blurring my vision. Her words are in purple
Daily discipline is the door to full freedom."
Joy is always worth the wait and fully living worth the believing.
But awakening to joy awakens to pain.
Joy and pain, they are but 2 arteries of the one heart that pumps through all those who don't numb themselves to really living (or run away from it).
....LIFE IS LOSS.
What will I lose?
Health?
Comfort?
Hope?
Eventually I am guaranteed to lose EVERY earthly thing I have ever possessed.
WHEN will I lose it?
Today?
In a few weeks?
How much TIME have I got before the next loss?
WHO will I lose?
And that is the definite: I will lose EVERY single person I have ever loved. Either abruptly or eventually. All human relationships end in loss....
What in the world, in a world of certain loss, is GRACE?"
I then stopped and wrote more Thankfulness for my day.
1. Dimples in grinning faces
2. rosebud lips dripping with a sweet Popsicle
3. Little boys pretending to be kittens
4. warm eggs in a next
5. treasure hunt for eggs
6. eyelashes on sleeping cheeks
7. gossamer spider webs outside my kitchen window
8. Dew drops on the web
We give thanks for a reason. For us. For His glory.
All new life comes out of dark places and hasn't it always been so? Out of darkness God spoke forth the teeming life...
Out of the darkness of the cross, the world transfigures into new life.
Loss is suffering.
And there is no other way... It is the suffering that has the realest possibility to bear down and deliver grace. And grace (that only God can provide) that chooses to bear the cross of suffering OVERCOMES that suffering.
This is how we LIVE in life THROUGH PAIN.
Eph. 1:11-- He makes all things work out according to His plan."
Is this how I learn to let go of things I know I should? Is this how I move on? Is this how one moves forward after the loss of a child or the struggle of infertility or both? Is this how one allows ones self to open their hearts to love and loss instead of holding it closed and tight? Is this how one can forgive after being rejected or slandered?
It sounds simple, but it's not.
It's excruciatingly hard.
I want to ask, 'Lord WHY?"
When?
How Long?
He says eat of my Daily Bread and be filled.
I know in the end. The Final End. His Return that all will be set right and there won't be any pain or suffering or loss.
In the meantime, I live Daily IN HIM drinking in His Word to heal an overwhelmed and weary heart and I can live in Joy. I can look out my front window every spring and see the daffodiles and Tiger lilies bloom and remember dear friends.
I can give Thanks and see the Joy in the little details of life.
True Contentment and JOY.

Church Family Camp pt2

2011-09-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

The next morning dawned bright and early once again and I realized a mistake I'd made.
In my wanting to be near adults and not away from the camp (you know, in case we had to make a run for it in the middle of the night if lightning started up again), I had pitched my tent in the middle of all the cabins.
Tents get light early.
Kids wake up early when it's light.
Kids are not easy to keep quiet when they are excited about camping out for real for the first time.
Kids have to pee as soon as they wake up.
Oh dear, the bathroom was not close.
I was tired.
I was cranky.
I had not slept much that night and wanted them to go back to bed.
They wanted to practice somersaults and hand stands in the tent.
They wanted to roll to the bottom and crash against the side and make the whole thing shake.
I yelled.
I, for the first time in my life, told my kids to "shut up!
You're going to wake everyone else up around us!"

Instantly, their laughter turned to tears or anger and I covered my face with my hands and cried.
I wanted to go home.
Nater Mater marched around the tent singing, "shut up! shut up! shut up!" Giggling and looking naughtily at me.
Good Lookin' joined in "shut up stupid! shut up stupid!" and marched behind his little brother.
Double blow to my already deflated pride.
I hadn't said THAT!
I gathered them up, apologized to them for saying the forbidden and asked for their forgiveness.
Precious Jewel asked if I had to lick soap since they had to if they said those things.
I said yes, they could watch me later if they insisted.
She gleefully accepted.

The rest of the day went well.
I stumbled into breakfast far too early, but they had been up nearly 2 hours already and I couldn't contain them in the tent anymore.
When I was told that breakfast was not yet open, I pulled out our pound of animal crackers and told the kids to have as much as they wanted.
We waited until everyone else arrived and it was officially time to open breakfast.
Hot chocolate...can I say I love it?
It keeps cold and hungry tummys quiet and mommas happy.

Much of that morning was spent stomping around in puddles and wet clothes and finding treasures like frogs and bugs.
Good Lookin' loves his little friends and I'm glad that even though he is ALL BOY he doesn't mind that his closest friends happen to be mostly girls.
It's who is in his Sunday School class and who we mostly play with.

The kids followed around the one college student who had also fattended like little mice after the Pied Piper.

Later that morning we had a small worship service.
Oh yeah, can those kids dance.

But sitting still for long is another story.
I ended up with most of my little Sunday School class beside me and I gave them my camera to keep them occupied.

I have to say, Good Lookin' takes good pictures!

When the music slowed down, I took them to the back.
My older 2 had already been sequestered by another parent to my relief, so I was left with just the younger 2 and their little friends.

Nater Mater spent the first 10 minutes silently rolling around on the floor throwing a fit because I wouldn't let him up on the stage with the worship leaders.
At least he was silent!
i don't know where the child learned that he could throw a rolling around on the floor fit as long as he was quiet, but he's done it more than once and I let a good thing alone.
Throw your fit baby, just don't disturb the rest of us.
He eventually gets bored and joins us anyway.

The other little kids were old enough to sort of know what was going on, but too wiggly to sit still through it all.
I let them each collect as many hymn books and pew Bibles as they wanted and they stacked and lined them up on their laps and beside each other and "followed along."
None of them can read and it was so stinkin' cute.
They had their little fingers on the music notes and random scripture passages and thought they were so big.
They WERE LEARNING. They just didn't know it.

After Chapel and in spite of the cold, we moms finally said yes to swimming. There was a break in the rain but it was still freekishly cold for getting wet on purpose.

It's doubly cold for those who don't possess an ounce of body fat.
Good Lookin' didn't last more than 5 minutes before he begged to go back to the cabin and get dressed.

The others had a blast for all of about 15 minutes before the cold water and air drove them out too.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend in spite of or even with the heavy rain and cold.
I am so blessed to be part of a church that loves each other like a family.
No church is perfect but we do Caring for Each Other and Encouraging Each Other and Inter-generational well.
I believe it leads to good discipleship and healthy families who can minister to others around them better.

And I hope that we can do it again next year with Luke along.

Church Family Camp pt 1

2011-09-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Camp
That wonderful word that evokes so many memories if you have been blessed to be able to attend.
Our church decided this last Spring that instead of the Women's Weekend Away they would do a Family Camp.
A good chunk of the families with young children signed up and attended and it was a wonderful weekend.
Luke, once again, had to work the weekend (I hate this part of his job), but encouraged me to go ahead and take the kids and go for the weekend.
I hemmed and hawed and balked, but deep down really wanted to be a part of it all.
I love the inter-generational aspect of our church.
It's a family.
So, I packed up the tent and all our bedding and extra clothes and drove the 2 hours to where the church had rented out a camp facility.
It rained nearly the whole weekend.
It rained and I had brought a tent where nearly everyone else had rented cabins.
It didn't just rain.
It monsooned with loud thunder and crazy sharp mountain lightening.
And I had arrived there after dark; in the rain with 4 kids and had to set up a tent.
I glared at my campsite.
I wanted to go home.
But a dear sweet friend (who was also husband less that night) greeted us and kindly shared her cabin for the night.
It was her and I and 11 KIDS!!
Holy Cow!
I was crazier than I thought!

It was so much fun (until you know, 11:30 when they were still all awake)!!!!
It was like being in High School all over again being a Camp Counselor to a cabin full of crazy hyper kids!
Only they ranged in ages 3-9!
And, I NEVER DID THAT IN HIGH SCHOOL!!
I thought being a Camp Counselor was commendable and crazy.
I'll take my Lazy Lifeguard Chair and bask in the sun thank you very much.

But to watch these kids interact--my kids--my friend's kids, was so much fun and to see the excitement in their eyes at getting to sleep on multiple metal bunk beds with all their friends; it was priceless.

Mrs. Melody even made hot chocolate for whoever wanted.

A Memory Stamped into impressionable minds and made permanent.

I will admit that at 1am ish, 2am ish, 3am ish and so on, I was not so keen on sleeping with a bunch of little people when Nater Mater decided to wake up with leg cramps and all wheezing with his allergies and I had to keep him quiet.
My bed at home seemed pretty distant and oh-so-wanted.

The next morning arrived bright and early.
A little too early in my not-so-humble opinion.
But the kids were excited to explore the camp and see their surroundings.

I love Family Camp for the very name of it.
Another good friend of mine attended with 3 generations of her family and Mrs. Susan was great at explaining the Make Your Own Ice Cream directions to some very excited and very hyper and very distracted, wiggly little people.
Patience was the name of this game.

Patience and Waiting Your Turn.

But Ice Cream in Baggies in just under 10 minutes, was Fun and Fabulous.

I was so glad Luke had reminded to me to bring Mr. Smile's own milk and cheese along because even he got to make Ice Cream with Goat's Milk and it turned out great!

Most of the weekend it rained and rained...

....and rained.
And I'm talking heavy rain people.
Not quiet little sweet rain that you can go out and play in.
This was COLD and LOUD and had a lot of Sharp Lightning.

But the camp had a large gym that everyone could play in and the kids didn't seem to mind the wet and cold at all (until they got cold that is).

Grandparents attract all sorts of little people.

Much of the weekend was simply spent playing games and playing with kids and relaxing.

I have to admit I got a little whiny.
I missed Luke.
I didn't like being in a tent in the rain.
Fortunately, it cleared enough for me to lay my tarp on the sopping ground and set up my tent with the help of friends.
And I was blessed that Nater Mater was exhausted enough that he actually took a nap that afternoon and that it was just raining and not storming.
But, I wanted Luke to be there.
I began to sulk about being once again so busy with kids that I was missing out on much of any adult interaction.
I was feeling sorry for myself that my husband has a job that requires him to work nearly every weekend and he misses a lot of this stuff.
He hates it.
I hate it.
But as I lay there next to a snotty and sleeping toddler feeling sorry for myself that I didn't get to trade child watching time with anyone and I was by myself in a cold tent in the rain, a gentle reminder whispered into my ear, "You could be without him (Luke) altogether."
"You can take this opportunity of forced quiet and seclusion and be with Me."
"You can REST in Thankfulness in a New Day of Life."
And I knew.
I KNEW
I had far more to be Thankful for than to complain about.
I KNEW that this weekend
This Time
This Moment
was a GIFT
Memories were being made.
Relationships were being built
He (Jesus) was There in the tent with me.

That night, I tucked the kids into the sleeping bags and we listened to the gentle sound of the rain smattering on our tent cover.
I whisked away the moisture from around their mats and kissed them goodnight and layed there in the quiet remembering all my experiences as a child camping with my family.
They are some of the best memories I have growing up.

These are the memories my children are making and they may not be how I thought it should look but they are memories just the same
and they are to be treasure.

A Day In Our Life

2011-09-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple people ask what I do all day as a babysitter/stay-at-home mom, so I thought I'd give you a little peep into our lives via the lens of my camera.

6 to 6:30am-- I stumble (or fall) out of bed glaring at the clock on my dresser that laughing blares at me that it is morning already. If one of the kids is not already awake I can get a good 20-30 minute quiet time that I desperately need to get my day going....That and a LARGE cup of Joe with some thick sweet cream.

6:30-- Wake up 4 reluctant kiddos and literally pull them out of bed. (I do have 2 that pop up all cheerful and ready to go most days. The other 2, well, not so much of the cheerful there).

6:45ish-- Pour bowls of cereal for breakfast because I'm not a morning cook and cereal is fast and easy and not a mess to scrape up when I get home from dropping off kids at school. Saturdays are for leisure and warm breakfasts.

7:15-- Load everyone into the car to drive into town and pick up the 2 munchkins I get to babysit all day. I turn on our SPARKS CD or Precious Jewel's Kid's Choir CD so they can practice their verses and songs throughout the week.

7:30ish-- Pick up the munchkins. Turn on Thomas the Train so little W can get excited about the car ride.

7:45-8:10-- Drop Precious Jewel and Mr. Smiles off at their respective schoosl to the tunes of Thomas the Train ringing in my ears.

8:10-8:15am-- I'm usually back at home and getting kids settled into our morning playtime and I can then clean up the kitchen while rocking to the tunes of Baby Bible Sunday Songs that makes Baby B giggle.

These guys LOVE the train set. If Little W isn't out in the front yard golfing (which he usually is), he and Nater Mater are downstairs on the train table chugging away.
The other favorite pass time is the CARS cars that they drive all over the living room floor and car garage that was given to them by a dear friend of mine.

9:30is or 10am-- If Little B decides he's ready for a nap, I can snag 30 minutes or so of time to take the 3 older boys out for their favorite game: EGG HUNTING and feeding the goats some hay.

It's like Easter every day around here. Our 2 loan hens that have evaded the coons and survived in spite of their lack of hen house, have been laying nearly an egg a day. Since they have no real place to call home, it's a daily adventure to hunt where the nested last. Usually it's in the middle of daddy's (ahem) goat hay pile (he hates that).

Last week it was under the goat feed trough (how they don't get smashed by the goats, I'll never know). Today it was on top of daddy's tool bench. Why they think that laying eggs on top of tools is a good idea I don't know, but they did.

Sorry hon, I'll clean off the bird poop tonight when I milk!

If Baby B is not sleeping, well, he comes on the hunt with us. I love those sweet little toes and that mop of dark hair. He's such an alert baby--wide-eyed at everything the older boys are doing.
If it's still between 9am and 10am, Little B gets his bottle and a diaper change. I follow the older boys around the yard or sit on the step while feeding the little guy. Then it's either take the two middle boys potty or change a pull-up.

Good Lookin' has started "wearing" his "baby" since he sees me with Little B all wrapped up in his Moby Wrap now. His "baby" amazingly loves it. Cupcake is an amazing kitten (now nearly grown cat) that gets dragged everywhere.

You gotta' to love the cat head sticking out of the skeleton jacket.

And Good Lookin' asked this past week if we couldn't just get rid of our new puppies and stick to cats. I guess he is an officially declared cat lover.

I threw this picture in for pure randomness. For all you other mommas who have asked how I keep my house clean? Well, now that a baby has re-entered the picture on top of milking goats part-time when Luke is at work and caring for toddlers and pre-schoolers, this is what my house often looks like. Laundry, how I LOATH YOU!!! As my dear sweet hubby has pointed out, at least it's clean. And, the other night he folded most of what was on the floor while I went to bed. Gotta' love that man!!

10:30-11:00am-- Still finds us outside. Now that the heat wave of this past blistering and record-setting summer has passed, we are enjoying the great outdoors so much more. The other new outdoor game--Hide and Seek in the Hay bales that Papa has put in front of our property.

11am-- Finds us back inside (quick wash down in the tub if needed) and getting lunch together.

I have the typical toddler pickiness challenges: Nater Mater won't eat bread to save his life and constantly begs for cheese and juice. Little Will pretty much only likes fruit and milk and chicken.

So, Thanks to Pinterest, I've got some new creative arsenal in my back pocket and have successfully tricked them into eating what they normal haven't. At least I've successfully tricked little W.

Nater Mater refused to eat his PBJ flower petals even though his little friend cheered him on saying, "It's good! Try it!!"

11:30-12noon-- Then it's usually a story, potty and pull-up changing time and laying everyone down for naps. (At least I give it a good go). Little W does a pretty good job of laying down and not running down the hallway. Nater Mater, not so good. I've finally taken to just giving him a stack of books and making him stay on his bed for an hour. If he falls asleep, he falls asleep. If he doesn't, well, he doesn't.At least I get an hour of quiet with just the baby and Good Lookin'.

12:30 to 1pm-- Usually giving Baby B another bottle and attempting Kindergarten with Good Lookin.' I say attempting because we've only really done about 4 days of real Kindergarten in the last 3 weeks. If little brother is refusing to stay on his bed and Baby B is fussy, he gets to go downstairs and play Mario Cart Wii (much to his delight).

2:30pm-- I wake up those who actually took a nap, change diapers and pull-ups, take others potty and load everyone into the car to pick up Precious Jewel from school. Mr. Smiles is brought home by another friend who lives a couple of miles down the road.

We may sit and wait for 10 minutes or for 30. It depends on the day and how far back in the line I got. The boys have been troopers though (It helps tremendously to have a DVD player in the car) and Baby B typically is sleeping, so there has only been one real day of crying or diaper changing while in the car line.
3:15pm-- We drive back home. This must have been taken the day that I picked up Mr. Smiles from school because my friend had an appointment. It was also a very hot day and my air-conditioner could barely keep up.

3:30pm-- Home and eating snacks and getting dirty in the yard. It's a tough life but someone's gotta live it! ; )

These two are finally becoming buds. It took several weeks for Nater Mater to stop asking for his friends from last year and accept that sweet Little W was here for the day instead. Change is hard on toddlers (and adults for that matter). But we all have settled into a new rhythm of relationships and are growing to love each other. I just keep repeating, "You are friends. Friends love each other. Friends don't hit each other. Friends don't bite. Friends share!!!" Repeat after me!!

At first, Nater Mater would yell out, "He's not my friend! M or S is my friend!!" I'd cover Little W's ears so not to hurt his feelings. Now Nater Mater and he will run up to each other in the yard and give each other hugs (if they are throwing dirt in each others hair and chanting "It's snowing!"

Which brings me to the next picture.

4 or 4:30pm-- I bring everyone inside and lately they've been FILTHY. The lack of rain has caused our front yard and drive to turn into this awful dust that sticks to everything...especially little kids who like to sit smack in the middle of it and drive their dump trucks and cars through it all. Yes, it makes fabulously filthy little roads for little boys to create roads out of.

And, it creates fabulously filthy little bodies. I try not to send home the little guy completely covered in dirt. If he's just "a little dirty" I can brush him off and send him home. If he (and the rest of mine) are dirty enough that I don't want them in the house unless they've had a bath, I give him a bath with my kids.
This is just from two fabulously filthy toddlers. They left a ring in the tub that day and I had to drain the water and re-fill it for them, so they wouldn't bathe in their own dirt.

Thank heavens for little boys!!

This is where my day gets tricky and crazy on the nights that Luke works.

Between 4:30 and 5pm-- I need to get kids inside, cleaned up, take little ones potty and change pull-ups and start older 2 on homework, start dinner and usually feed Baby B another bottle and change him before his momma picks him up.

The day I took these pics, I settled Precious Jewel at the kitchen table to start on her Math homework. So far, she hasn't required a whole lot of help, but I know that day is coming.

Then I hollered for Good Lookin' to join the 2 little boys in the bathtub and wash the layers of dust off. (Just to assure you, this pic was taken on another day when I didn't have 2 toddlers in the bathtub, but you get the idea).

I then settled+ Mr. Smiles on the floor beside me in the bathroom so he could read me his homework while I kept on eye on the two hooligans splashing around in the bathtub.

About this time Baby B also gets hungry, so I settled him in his bouncy seat to feed him just in case a certain toddler (mine) decided he was done before he really was and could make a mad dash for the door all nakey.

This day I also took a picture of my hair and the fun things I am getting to do now that it's getting long.

5pm-- Do you remember the books when you were little where you got to choose your own ending? Maybe they still have them, but I loved them. That's what my life feels like. On the nights Luke is not working, things look a whole lot different than on the nights he is working.

Scenerio 1: (Luke Home)

Little boys go home and I get to crazily throwing together dinner while the 4 kids goof off in the living room or downstairs. They come up with the best self-entertainment. This day, it was stuffing daddy's pants with pillows and knocking each other over.

6pm-- Dinner and then Luke plays in the living or basement with everyone while I clean in the kitchen. (I enjoy a bit of quiet and NO ONE pulling on my legs for something).

6:30 We start the whole bedtime process which includes showers (if needed), brushing teeth and pajamas. Then it's the highlitght of the evening...

Story Time
I think this is my favorite time of day.
Some days it's some little board book that Nater Mater has picked out and somedays it's a Chapter book that one of the older 2 brought home from school.
We just finished the Book Pinkie Pie by Eleanor Estes and even Good Lookin' paid attention to it because it was all about a cat who could type and "wrote" his own story.

Often the boys are tumbling on, around and over Luke while I cuddle up with Precious Jewel and read. They amazingly catch most of what is read.

7:30pm-- Then it's song time and off to bed and Luke and I get some time to ourselves.

Scenerio 2: 5pm-- Little brothers go home and I throw something together for dinner and then grab the milk pail and go out and milk and feed goats while there is still daylight left.

Pictures end here because I can't take pictures of myself milking goats.

Often the kids follow along and hunt for eggs if we didn't find any that morning. Otherwise they stay inside playing or watching a short cartoon I've downloaded from netflix for them.

6pm-- Dinner (if it's ready) where there are loud voices and lots of laughing and frequent knocking over of drinks by some child who is trying to describe a part of his or her day by flinging his/her arms wide to show how big something was. My floor won't forever be sticky and I want to remember these stories.

6:30--If kids are fighting, on goes another cartoon so I can get dinner somewhat put away before getting everyone ready for bed. If they are playing nice, I leave them alone.

7pm-- Attempts at story time (which often ends in me putting the book down and ordering them all to bed in the same upstairs room where I can just tell them a story and keep them coralled together). Story time does not go as well without daddy to entertain Nater Mater. He has no attention span for chapter books and finds much more enjoyment in launching himself over the back of the couch and onto unsuspecting heads.

7:30-- PJs, brush teeth and pajamas and we pull out our little Jesus Story Book Bible.

I love this little Children's Bible. It is so simple and yet so deep. It takes the whole picture of the gospel and weaves it from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation in such a simple and yet profound way.

8pm-- Then out go the lights and we all pile onto the guest bed or onto my bed in our room and I sing the loud clapping songs first and gradually move onto the quieter more settling ones.

Hopefully by 8:30 I can say that everyone is asleep, but often someone has to be moved or removed from the room and across the hall.

9pm-- Back to the kitchen to finish up the supper dishes and pull out the last load of laundry which promptly goes onto the ever growing pile (see the above laundry picture). I glare at it and more often than not refuse to touch it and head to bed where hopefully I can get off my feet and have some quiet time and wait for Luke to get home from work.

Tonight it's 11:30 and I'm finally finishing the post that I began 3 weeks earlier, but I wouldn't have life any other way. I can count the many blessings each day... from egg hunts to bleating goats, to dirty and happy children to food on the table and I can count myself blessed.

Frog Legs Anyone? And other toddler lunches

2011-09-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

OK. So lately my computer has been publishing my posts without my consent, so if you e-mail subscribers are wondering why you are getting pictures without words and then one with words, that is why.

Somewhat frustrating.

Now, onto WHY toddlers LIKE frog legs for lunch.

I joined Pinterest a few weeks ago and found some fun ideas (and a huge potential time waster spot, but let's focus on the good) for LOTS of Things.

I try not to Pin anything that I wouldn't try, but Ohhhhh it's so tempting.

It's kinda' like looking through the magazines that i browse through in our numerous Dr. visits, but without the pages...and I get to KEEP THEM!

ANYHOW!!!

I started babysitting another little sibling brother set 2 weeks before school started.

(My others moved on us...sniff! sniff!)

The two year old (older brother) is somewhat picky.

It's been a challenge to get him to eat much of anything except snack food...until I found some creative lunches via another mom who pinned them to Pinterest

Spinach wrap frog legs anyone?

They loved it!

Even little W who had eaten virtually NOTHING I put in front of him for the first 3 weeks, ate nearly all of it!

It is the same stuff I've been feeding the kids for forever, but with a twist of the creative.

I just used a biscuit cutter to cut the circles

Put between the two circles the normal cheese and meat and then added blueberries for eyes, bananas and carrot slices for the lily pads and a cookie for desert.

Good Lookin' looks discusted but is really just sleepy.

He ate 2.

Happy froglegs everyone!

On Killing Two Birds with One Stone... or eating ice cream with a toothbrush

2011-09-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

My mom is here for a couple of days this week and she bought the kids a special treat after school today...
Rainbow Sherbet.
I noticed while I was cutting Mr. Smile's hair that Nater Mater was eating his ice cream cone with something other than a spoon (he likes to eat cones with a spoon for fun I guess).
It was his TOOTHBRUSH!!
I had told the kids during dinner that after I was done cutting Mr. Smile's hair and they had eaten their treat that they had to brush their teeth and get ready for bed.

I'm gathering that Nater Mater heard brush teeth after ice cream and decided to kill 2 birds with one stone.
Let's be practical and efficient after all.

Hmmmm....hmmmmmm yummy bedtime goodness!

Happy Tooth brushing everyone and night!

Happy 3rd Birthday Nater Mater!!

2011-08-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's here already!
My last baby has left babyhood behind and has reached full toddler hood
(In many senses of the word)
He's 3!

Three years ago this very hour I was getting ready to go in for the C-section that I was completely terrified of.
My planned At-Home-Water-Birth-Baby decided to change things up on us a bit.
But either way, we were given the sweetest, funniest, curliest haired little bundle of a boy.

And, he is ALL BOY!
Cars, Trucks, DIRT (especially dirt), rough and tumble (he can now beat up big brother who used to sit on him...he he), puppies, kitties and lots of bugs are what make up the happiness of his sweet little life.

He has the worst sweet tooth of my four kids.
Bring on the sugar baby!
(Disguised for his allergic little system in fruit and sweet veggies).

His LOVE affair with water confounds me.
No Fear!!!
None!!!

Lightning McQueen at a pool party...
totally fits with this child.

And here are some sweet pictures thrown in for good measure just because he is so darn cute.

Happy 3rd Birthday sweet boy!

Thankfulness

2011-08-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

I was recently loaned Ann Voskamp's book one thousand gifts (If my computer would allow me to link I would, but it quit about a month ago letting me do links); Google and get it.

I think it may be one of the keys towards me letting go of some things I've been holding onto:

Hurt

Anger

Sadness

Fear

Rejection

I've only made it through the first 4 chapters, but they have already been transforming in my thinking.

A vital key to unlocking the depression that has plagued me off and on my whole life and especially these past three years:

THANKFULNESS

Yes, thankfulness

She knows of what she writes. She knows pain, heartache, misunderstanding, rejection, loss and depression.

She knows the desire for more and the knowledge of the Word, but I think she is going to put the practical into the joy that I can take with me and practice on a daily basis.

Eucharisteo

I've heard this word before. I've never really heard it explained...or I wasn't ready to receive and listen.

Giving Thanks

The how has escaped me so many times when life gets tough.

My first reaction is to whine and complain.

It's an ugly and unloving reaction that poisons myself and those around me.

The how to give thanks when life seems cruel: pain, rejection, scraping by day after day, month after month, year after year when I perceive others to have more, loss of life, loss of friends, just plain loss.

I've learned to live with this. I just haven't learned to live very well.

My parents taught me that hard is a part of life. It is.

But how do you practice and live a life of joy?

I remember them talking about thankfulness and joy.

My naturally emotional and melancholy nature didn't listen with ears tuned in.

I remember my mother at Thanksgiving with the table set pretty; the linen napkins out of the closet and gracing the table, the carefully and lovingly created nameplates above every place setting. The tiny kernel of corn on every plate that symbolized what we were most thankful for that year.

Some years I think I got it.

Thankful for the life of my baby brother when we all waited wanting to give him our bated breath to fill his too tiny lungs.

Thankful for my dad still at his seat at the table after months of doctors, hospitals, illness, tears and the thinking this new un-heard of disease was the end of our family as we knew it.

But in the back...no really, in the front of my mind I still questioned and railed against the perceived injustices and loss that came with all that.

The loss of stability when the already crazy hormones of my growing body was telling me to grow up and leave the favorite dolls and stuffed animals I still loved and talked too.

The loss of stability at home with too early birth and death and illness when I needed stability.

The loss of friends who didn't understand the tears of fear over a real possibility of losing a longed-for-little brother and then losing an uncle and then nearly losing a dad.

It was easier for them to back away.

The loss of a mother who had to care for a tiny too-early infant who needed her every moment and couldn't spend the time I longed for in our night time talks. As a mom who hangs on the edge of exhaustion I now understand, but not then.

The loss of a dear uncle who left a wife and 5 children behind.

I think the loss of friendships was the deepest loss I felt. The years of feeling alone no matter at home or away.

Ann writes of intentionality when seeing JOY.

"Real change takes intentionality, like a woman bent over her garden beds every day with a spade and the determined will to grow up something good and strengthen the heart." (But what do you do when the weeds and animals uproot and destroy what you've worked hard for?)

"I may even have known that change requires more than merely thinking the warm and fuzzy thoughts about a door and a way through and that Greek word, eucharisteo, holding the mystery to the full life and ever after."

But How?

"How in the world, for the sake of my joy, do I learn to use eucharisteo to overcome my one ugly and self-destructive habit of ingratitude (that habit that causes both my cosmic and daily fall) with the saving habit of gratitude?"

How in the midst of loss, melancholy, depressing, rejection, and falling do I express gratitude?

How when holding down my child for the countless time for more tests to determine the why of his illness and then see other issues arise with another child that also calls for tests, and vials of blood and hospital stays and too many needles to count and then weekly clinic visits--do I express gratitude?

How when I find that I have been once again rejected by someone I hold dear, do I express gratitude?

How when I am holding an only hours old nephew that has begun to grow cold and his limbs stiff and lips purple when he should be sucking in the nourishment of life and squinting at the light around him, do I express gratitude?

Where do I find joy in the midst of the Fall when I know that Heaven's joy and perfection is what I'm missing and longing for?

How do I give thanks in all?

I'm not sure.

I've read my Bible and outlined and studied and memorized and prayed but somehow I am still missing or have lost the deep joy in the midst of the painful and normalness of life.

I have fallen somewhere and am struggling to stand back up.

Ann says she started a gift list--

Thankfulness List--

anything went in there.

I see daily joy in the little things with my children, but can I expand that to everything else?

She says, "magnify Him with Thanksgiving." (Ps. 69:30). Life magnifies the world's stress cracks, the grubbiness of a day, all that is wholly wrong and terribly busted...Our lives are little and we have falsely inflated self." (Isn't that my truth)

In giving thanks, it makes us smaller and Him bigger.

This is why our Moms In Touch prayer group has meant so much to me and why I really missed going last year: Thanksgiving.

It sets the tone, the mood of the group for the whole day and a whole new week and I come away (even with life's big burdens now heard) with a sense of joy and contentment and that He's got control and I can safely and happily let go.

It's because I've given thanks and heard the thankfulness of many others.

So I will begin my list.

Some things will go into my personal journal and some here.

But I think I can begin naming my one thousand gifts to be thankful for.

Guess Who?!?!

2011-08-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

I dyed it!!

Back to School and Show Time

2011-08-17T20:12:00.001-07:00

My heart is swelling with sweet momma pride this week.

First, my oldest 2 started back to school this past Monday.

Precious Jewel is now a 3rd Grader and has moved schools.

Mr. Smiles is in 2nd Grade and moved upstairs in his building.

We are really happy with the teachers that both kids were placed with.

Precious Jewel is again in an all-girl's class and her teacher is a sweet lady who has attended our church in the past.

Mr. Smiles got the only male teacher in all of his school. His comment (along with his little friend) was, "He's one of the Secret Agents mom!"

From what I understand, they have Secret Agents that go around the school during lunch, recess or assembly time "catching kids" being good.

GREAT IDEA!!

This is also the week of our County Fair.

In the past, we've done the "normal" family thing and visited the fair, but we've never participated.

This week Precious Jewel was allowed an excused absence from school so she could care for her little goat at the fair.

Last year both of the kids expressed interest in showing goats after visiting the animal pens in our yearly rounds of the buildings.

We decided to give it a go this year with our one little registered Alpine Doe that was born this past Spring.

The journey for "fair preparation" began weeks ago.

Only Precious Jewel showed this year due to us only having one baby. (Her momma came straight from the field and is still difficult for the kids to handle at times. She is also the master at escaping from the pen and eating my garden.)

For the past 6 weeks, Precious Jewel has been drug through the yard, stepped on, had arms wrenched out of joint, and cried buckets of tears all in attempt to train her highly spirited little Doe Morgan to lead.

Yesterday in the Show Ring was the test and they both passed with flying colors.

Since Mr. Smiles was not showing this year, he was not exempt from his first week of school, but the rest of us (including Grandmama and Papa) got to watch her from the bleachers.

Can I just say that it was about 95 degrees and sweltering?!

They had to walk their goats, answer questions from the judge (who Precious Jewel told me was as nice but not as funny as Sharon Osborne from America's Got Talent), and then walk some more and then some more and then do it all again.

We are so thankful for how kind and helpful we have found everyone.

The other dairy goat owners, judges, and contestants have been warm and welcoming to us newbies.

Two other little girls came right up to Precious Jewel on her first evening entering Morgan and showed her around the place, gave her tips on showing in the ring and even helped her walk Morgan.

It did a lot to ease Precious Jewel's fears.

The whole Show lasted about 2 hours and we honestly were totally confused as to what was happening.
Precious Jewel just paid close attention and did whatever was told of her and it paid off!

For her age group and for Morgan's age, she won a Medal and the Blue Ribbon for Showmanship (all that being drug around the yard and scraped arms and legs paid off).

She then won the Blue Ribbon for Morgan's age group (0-5 months).

This ribbon was for the best built and best looking baby goat. (It's still a bit beyond me).

The judges base it upon how wide or long the back and legs and shoulders etc etc....look.

Basically, will she grow up to be a healthy milker and have a long life.

Last, and the one she was so excited about was the Purple Best of Breed Ribbon she got for Morgan.

It meant Morgan beat out all the other little Alpine Breed Goats for best over-all baby.

Way beyond what we expected for her first ever goat show!

Happy Birthday Dear Luke!

2011-08-10T19:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday dear sweet hubby!

I am so thankful I married you.

Once again, you are now finally as old as me!

This year was the first year in our 9 years of marriage that my parents got to be here for Luke's birthday.

They had just arrived from Mexico where they have retired from missions and got to spend the weekend with us before traveling on up to where they will live in the Midwest.

The kids love spending time with them and we got a bonus of daddy having the weekend off...on his birthday weekend!!!

That hasn't happened since I can remember.

We spent most of the weekend just hanging out in the yard.

It was still 110 degrees, but we have a lot of shade and if we went out early in the morning (6:30am) and late evening (8 or 9pm), everyone tolerated the heat better.

Thank goodness for the weather change this last week to cooler temperatures because the 43+ days of 100+ temps and 60+ days of 95+ with no rain was killing our summer..not to mention any and all vegetation.

Grandparents are wonderful for swinging, reading and cuddling with the kiddos.

My dad brought out his accordion which fascinated me as a child and now fascinates my children.

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Happy Birthday to you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LUKE!

Happy birthday to you!

Introducing Ginger and Junkyard

2011-08-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

They are Here!!

Several people have asked for pictures and I've been so busy downloading the pictures of Disney that it's taken me some time to get these.

We picked them up just 2 days after we got back from Florida.

Timing?

Not so great.

I started back to work the day after that.

But when something or someone is ready, timing is not of the highest importance.

We'd promised the kids we'd find them a new dog (or dogs) when our sweet Leah left.

We even decided we'd buy a dog this time around (aside from pound fees) if that's what it took to get the right one for us. i.e. the breed we wanted.

Our list was short; Lab, Boxer, Golden Retriever or another Beagle.

All are great with kids which was the highest agenda for us since we have little people all the time.

All are smart and easy to train (easy is subjective).

These little sweet puppies were given to us by some friends from our church.

I'd been calling around to shelters and kennels and such and then someone told us that our friend's lab had just had 11 puppies.

11!!

Meet Ginger

named after the character Ginger in Eleanor Este's book Ginger Pye

She has a lot to live up to with such a name. She wasn't too happy about her bath when we brought her home, but she sat quietly in the baby pool and just looked up at me with her deep soulful eyes that very clearly communicated I was torturing her.

The cats?

Well, they weren't too sure of these wiggly, playful bundles of intrusion bouncing into their lives.

The puppies very quickly learned that even if someone was batting at your wiggly little backside, it was not wise to play back.

One might just loose some skin off of one's nose.

The puppies would hop and jump around each other in circles and around the kid's feet. The kittens...they were highly entertained.

They would sneak in close to the puppies and then scamper back to the safety of the sidewalk if they felt they were in any imminent danger of being bowled over.

Nater Mater was happy to join them on the sidewalk.

Excuse the continual underwear pictures.

He is totally potty-trained and wants to do it "ALL BY SELF."

So the less clothing, the better when we are exerting our independence here. Shorts just take waaaaaay too long to get off and inevitably an accident happens and tears ensue.

His little friend Cupcake was happy to join in a somewhat quieter boy with a quieter view.

Remember Cupcake who really doesn't taste like a cupcake?

He and Nater are tight friends.

The brother Junkyard was named after the infamous Junkyard dog on the old hit cartoon G.I. Joe

My dear hubby recently has begun introducing the boys to the good old classic cartoons such a G.I. Joe and Transformers and we both love and have instilled in them a taste for the Bugs Bunny and Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.

None of this new stuff please. Just give us the classics and our kids will name their animals in love after them.

Now that the potty training is accomplished with child number 4 in our house, we can begin potty training these guys.

And the Adventure continues!

Florida Trip...Pt.3..The Beach

2011-07-31T18:17:00.000-07:00

Day 3 was a lovely lazy day.

That 3rd vacation day was probably my favorite.

I finally drug myself out of bed just before breakfast at 9:30. Pretty much everyone in our suite was still asleep.

I didn't want to miss breakfast.

I could miss any other meal of the day, but I LOVE breakfast.

And the hotel had these great little Mickey Mouse waffle makers that the kids loved.

(Not to mention myself after I'd sprinkled it with powdered sugar, chocolate syrup, regular syrup and whipped topping. Yes, all of that. It was vacation after all).

We just hung out at the hotel that morning and let Baby K get a good long nap and the other kids a chance to swim in the pool.

Then just before noon we took off for Jetty Park near Cocoa Beach.

On the way we stopped at this great little Pizza place to each lunch.

It was fabulous!

None of my kids have ever been to the beach and Jake and Jennifer hadn't been since A was about 2, so we weren't sure what to expect with all the kids.
They LOVED it!!

The flags were at a yellow and there were some pretty good waves that the kids dove in and out of and were rolled over by several times, but they jumped back up again as if that was something they did every day on our little farm.
I had a hard time getting any pictures of Mr. Smiles because he never came out of the water until it was time to leave!

Doesn't K look like a little 40's synchronized swimmer?
Poor baby was so tired after 3 days of go go go and was not terribly fond of the beach and all that sand that kept getting into her eyes and all that kissable little baby fat.
But she sure made a cute feature on the beach front!

We had to keep a close eye on Nater Mater.
The kid had no fear even after getting tumbled and rolled in the surf!
Several times we had to swoop down and grab him up because he couldn't get himself righted.
Not once did it seem to faze him!
He just went right back to getting smacked in the face and rolled by the waves.
I think he could happily make the beach his friend!

Good Lookin' was the one I was a bit concerned about before this whole trip.

In a word, he was WONDERFUL with just about everything we did!

No fits, tantrums or refusing to do what everyone else was doing.

He definitely let it be known that he was "never going on that ride again mommy! It was yucky!" when he and daddy got stuck in the dark on the People Mover at Disney when they shut it down for about 5 minutes with everyone still on.

But no screaming was involved.

Just 2 weeks before our trip we were talking about the beach and swimming in the water when he broke down in the most heartbreaking little sobs I'd heard out of him in a long time.

He wasn't angry or mad, but he was very very distraught.

After 20 minutes of cuddling and rocking and trying to figure out why he kept sobbing, "I don't want to go to the beach! I don't want to!" I learned he was afraid of...not the water or sharks or being swept away, but the Sun.

Yes, the sun.

He hates the bright sunshine and has worn his sunglasses and hat throughout this long hot miserable summer we're having here.

(It was 105 today, and has been in the upper 90s or in the 100s for almost 2 months straight now).

He's my nature loving boy and loves being outside, but is hating this heat.

Anyhow, Florida was waaaaay cooler than home and he thought it was "wundeful."

Precious Jewel?

Well, she posed in the water, out of the water, jumping the water, under the umbrella, and wherever else I'd take her picture.

I think she thought her day at the beach was her own personal photo shoot.

She got plenty of sand and water time too and it was very sweet to watch her laugh and run with her brothers and cousins.

Everyone was pretty spent for the day by the time we got them (sorta') lined up for this shot.

A few of the little side-liners kept trying to scoot out of line and head back for the surf (mostly the little guy in the McQueen shorts on the right).

But after a bit of bribery and 1 make it or break it shot, we let them run free and we packed up to head back to the hotel.

I could have lived this lovely lazy day for several more days.
I could live by the beach forever.
But forever by the beach is not possible when you live several thousand miles away and even the best days must come to an end.
I'll just look up all these sunny pictures some cold day in winter when the wind is howling

Florida Trip 2011--Pt. 2

2011-07-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

Day 2 started a lot earlier since we decided to skip the parade and fireworks the night before.

We arrived at the park just after it opened and headed straight for Town Hall where Mickey and Minnie Mouse and the Princesses were signing autographs.

The girls were excited to see Mickey and Minnie, but the boys did not share their sentiment.

I think waiting in line for 30 minutes killed all excitement for them.

Even Mr. Smiles who is usually fairly compliant refuse to smile and looks more constipated instead.

I asked him later what was wrong and he answered that "Mickey was way to big mom. Way to big."

Ok. that makes sense I guess.

So, Luke took the boys over to get a Fast Pass for the Buzz Lightyear ride and they also rode the People Mover while we girls went to meet the Princesses.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when we were to meet the Princesses, but it wasn't what I thought at all.

This may sound ridiculous, but it was honestly an emotional experience for me!

Precious Jewel has outgrown the Princesses and hasn't really cared about them for the past 2 years.

But these ladies played the Princess part to the hilt.

They truly acted as if every little girl in line was the only little girl in the world and their best friend.

The girls (including Precious Jewel) fell instantly in love with them.

Baby K was totally mesmerized.

Precious Jewel hugged each and every one of them and they hugged her back with the sweetest genuine heartfelt hugs.

I got teary watching them!

I know. Don't tell anyone. ; )

Belle was funny and talkative and little C just wrapped her arms around that huge skirt and didn't want to let go.

I thought I was going to have to drag Precious Jewel out of the room so the 50 other mesmerized little girls would get a turn to chat and hug and get an autograph with the Princesses.

We made it to the Buzz Lightyear ride only to find that it absolutely terrorized half our little clan.
It wasn't fast but it was loud and very much like being inside a shooting video game.
I'm pretty sure that a couple kids thought they were going to be killed by the Evil Zurgs who were popping up around corners and hanging from the ceiling.
I thought it was pretty cool myself and just kept hollering over the noise to Good Lookin' to "shoot em! Shoot em! Look at all the points your getting!" to keep him from going absolutely ballistic like his terrified cousin 2 cars in front of him who had been placed in a car without an adult.
Hey, who knew that fighting the space aliens could be so intense?
We left there to go find Adventureland and the promised rides for our excited 5 and 7 year old boys.

Cinderella's Castle

Several times a day the characters performed at Cinderella's Castle.

We were passing by when we caught this performance.

Then it was on to Adventureland and Swiss Family Robinson's Tree house.

I am not one for heights, but the kids loved it.

We had planned on a couple more rides, but by 2pm, our 4 littlest ones were near meltdown and needed naps if we were going to watch the Electrical Parade and fireworks later that night.

So we headed back to the hotel and everyone...I do mean everyone crashed.

I slept for 2 hours and could have slept through the night if allowed!

By 7pm, we were headed back into the Magic Kingdom.

It really was beautiful at night.

The kids oohed! and awed! at all the lights.

Luke took Mr. Smiles to the ride he'd been begging to go on since the moment we entered the Park.

The rest of us secured spots an hour before the Electrical Parade was supposed to start.

Then the Magic Began....

Big Ben from Peter Pan

Pete and his Dragon.

Pete leaned over and hollered down to our little group in the front row.

He yelled out to little A much to her surprise and delight.

The Patriotic float was amazing. It had electrical fireworks that blinked on and off.

Our kids being as little as they are thought they were real fireworks at first.

Cinderella's Castle changed colors dozens of times and the fireworks...

....were AMAZING.

Have kids. Will Fly--To Florida and back again--Pt 1

2011-07-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

It all started with the Pink Pig.

Well, not really, but the Pink Pig really pitched in and helped.

Luke's parents announced last Christmas that they were planning on taking all of us to Disney World in Florida this summer.

All of us.

Luke's brother and his family and all 6 of us.

13 people on an airplane and visiting Disney World together.

7 of those 13 are 8 and under.

We began saving our pennies for things we would need to buy or souvenirs might want, so hence, we turned to the Pink Penny Pig.

Luke and I had planned on cashing in that Pink Penny Pig for our 10th wedding Anniversary this next year, but we figured that this was a worthy cause and cashed it in early.

I've had this Pink Penny Pig since I was about 10 and I've taken it to 2 different colleges and every different place we've moved.

Pennies have only gone in; never out.

Being the somewhat obsessive compulsive person that I can be, I never put anything in but pennies. I've wanted to see since I was about 10 how many pennies this thing could hold in dollar amount and I wasn't going to cash it until it was full.

Well, we decided that since we wanted to use it for this trip and since it was up to it's literal eyeballs in pennies, that we could cash it early.

I was a rather poor college student, so most of my money disappeared to college tuition, but pennies went in here.

A whole $126.oo worth once it was all counted and returned in a neat (and may I add disappointingly small) stack of bills.

My first thought was 20 years and only $126.oo dollars?

Then my dear and not-so-obsessive-compulsive husband pointed out, that if I'd allowed myself to put in all kinds of change instead of just pennies, I might have not only filled it a lot faster but had a lot more money.

Hmmmm, we're going to give it a try again and see how long it takes to fill and how much $.

Needless to say, it did pay for all the souvenirs we bought for the kids and ourselves.

Hurray!

Last Monday finally arrived after months and weeks of waiting . We left our corner of the world 6:30 Central Time with 7 very excited children in tow.

My sweet sister-in-law found these adorable little tops and shorts for her girls and matched them for the flight out.
My oldest has gotten to old for me to dictate what she can wear.
Only if she can absolutely match her cousins will she wear what we ask.
The kids did amazing waiting over an hour in one little spot in the airport for our flight.
Grandmama can take the credit for that one.
She had bought each child a new toy and they happily played while we waited to board our plane.

The kids were nervous and excited and a little stressed about flying, but awed by boarding the plane by an outdoor ramp.
I was just hot and a tad stressed trying to help keep track of 3 carry-ons, 2 backpacks, 2 strollers, 3 incredibly wiggly little boys, and 1 very excited 8 year old girl who was firing question after question at us.
Thank goodness they let us check the 3 car-seats!!

The book of choice on Nater Mater's flight---the airplane emergency flyer. Hmmmmm.....

The next morning dawned.......late. We didn't get everyone into bed until around 1am after the flight and then drive from the airport to the hotel.

But, by noon we made it to our destination with kids shrieking in their car seats behind us, "There it is! What does that say? There it is!!" Why are there so many other cars? Look daddy! Look mommy! Do you see the castle? LOOOOOOOOOOK!"

Just the drive into the park is about a mile or more!

Then we parked in the Daisy Duck lot and took bus/train looking thingy another mile into the park entrance.

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law either bought or bought and added decorations to T-shirts so we could match all the kids.

It made it a whole lot simpler to keep track of them in the massive crowds.

Actually, that wasn't the official entrance either.

That ride simply took us to the Monorail (the transportation to and from the entrance which is the ride I think they enjoyed the most).

It was then another mile to the entrance where you scanned or bought your entrance tickets!

I was so glad to have nearly 1 adult to every child.

The sheer number of people was overwhelming.

My sister in law brilliantly thought of or read about and made these little bead bracelets for each of the kids with their names and phone numbers on them if they got lost.

Now we get to enter the actual park!

I think this was one of the boy's favorite rides.

The Speedway.

It was loud.

It was a ton of cars.

And they got to drive all by themselves---fast for them---but in a lawn mower slow sort of way.

Papa was hilarious!

Precious Jewel loved driving for him because he kept hollering she was going to crash and kill him.

Another favorite was the Flying Dumbo ride.

The wait took forever (like an hour for a 3 minute ride), but the kids begged to go again once it was over.

We adults decided that standing in line for 2 hours was not worth 6 minutes of fun and took them to the Carousel instead.

They had all these fun parades that they did at different intervals of the day.

Nater Mater thought they were a tad to loud and was a bit intimidated by the huge larger-than-life characters, but was a trooper.

Other than plugging his ears and refusing to look at the camera, he did great!

Just to show you the sheer number of people.

We bowed out early from the Electrical Parade and Fireworks due to some exhausted little ones.

The kids were too tired to care.

The monorail was closed to exiting traffic, so we were directed to the ferry.

I honestly think that the rides they are going to remember the most are the transportation rides to and from the park.

And after a quick fast-food dinner and a dip in the pool once we returned to the hotel, we tucked everyone in bed early.

We had plans to get them up and hit the park early the next morning.

The Celebration Parade where everyone got to street dance at the end!

The kids loved it!

He Got Them!

2011-07-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

I could just kiss that sweet little face. (I do a lot actually).

He is so excited about his new glasses.

And in the 3 days he's been wearing them, he's not complained of a headache once or cried because his eyes hurt (which he has been doing since his mono last summer poor guy).

I am really praying that it will help him this week and the day we go next week for summer school.

He said he sees a whole lot better and the letters aren't so confusing.

Hurray!!

A Trip to the Dentist

2011-07-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

Can I say that I am in love with our dentist's office?

In love? Really?

Yes!!!!!

We start taking our kids to the dentist when they turn 3. They basically just get used to the chair and loud instruments before anything else. If they get a teeth cleaning, all the better. If not, they are establishing a healthy relationship with the person who will take care of their teeth for a long time.

We had a great experience with our local dentist for the first 3 years.

Patience and Understanding and a Quiet Voice is important when dealing with small children who don't want you to put a spinning metal object into their mouths.

We loved ours...until he said he could no longer work with Precious Jewel because she needed more professional help. AKA: an Orthodontist. (we still love that dentist by the way, but we are now onto the big leagues). And since I don't want to go to several different dentists for my children when they could all see the same one, I picked the one I'd heard about on our radio and made a visit.

This is what we saw when we first got there.

Yeah, AWESOME in a word!

She liked the animals. The boys like the jeep crashing through the side of the building.
This was gonna' be a fun place to get your teeth pulled, jaw widened, and teeth straightened. Hehe.

My sister was here a couple of days ago and came with us for Precious Jewel's Orthodontist Consult. She needs braces pretty bad, but they have to widen her jaw first and make room for the teeth that aren't in yet. Yes, she is just 8, but she's lost nearly half her teeth because she simply has a tiny mouth. Mr. Razorback Gorilla greets you at the front door. You can't see it, but Nater Mater and Good Lookin' are excitedly holding his hand.

Walking in the front door, you have to be extremely careful not to fall into the ravine below where there is raging rapids and I think a crocodile or 2 waiting with open (and may I add very perfect shiny teeth) jaws.
Upon entering the reception area, we are greeted with a Horton Hears a Who type elephant who is about to crash into the giant aquarium. Wait! Stop! Don't kill Nemo!

And yes, Nemo (the real fish) does live in our dentist office tank. So, does Dorey and Joque, and several other whose names I can't remember. Mr. Smiles asked me last Spring if Darla ever came to the office and if the dentist stopped her from tapping on the tank. "Swim free Nemo." I heard him whisper the first time he saw the tank. "Swim free!"

Then there is all the PlayStation 2 areas and Nintendo DS spots to keep one occupied. When Precious Jewel had a tooth pulled last winter, she climbed the snake on the wall behind her and sat in the tree that I forgot to take a picture of. It was her own quiet place.

If that isn't enough to keep your mind of any impending pain, there is a fun surround sound movie theater for your convenience. Seriously. And they truly do kid-friendly G-rated movies.

This time though, Precious Jewel was just here for a consult to see what the next step was in teeth care.

Jaw widening. Now we just wait on insurance approval.

So, you'll have to wait until next time to see what is beyond the reception area.

For now, I'll leave you with the boys playing the Lightning McQueen racing game!

Happy Visit to the Dentist!

Camping...Haak Style

2011-07-12T07:31:00.001-07:00

After 9 1/2 years of marriage and talking about getting a tent the whole time, we finally did it. Luke and I bought a tent a couple of weeks ago! I am so excited.

We broke it in just a week ago on one of the (seemingly) hottest days of the year.

Luke and I took the kids to SAM'S Club and picked out the one Luke had looked at on-line. We wanted one big enough for all of us right now...plus our stuff.

8 man tent for six people (I like my space and most of the people are little--for now).

We decided to start out our camping easy.

The front yard.

(A few of us were excited about getting to sleep with their cats....or so he thought).
Being boys and having that innate ability to turn even a sandwich into a gun or weapon, the tent stakes were a huge hit.

Luke and I have had one real experience camping since we were married 9 years ago. We took Precious Jewel to Silver Dollar City as a 6 or 7 month old and camped with our former pastor from Nebraska. It was fun...if you don't mind not sleeping for 2 days.

Precious Jewel was very happy; she just hardly slept the entire time we were there and when she did sleep was not when we needed her to.

Needless to say, we kept saying we wanted to try again, but have been a little scared....until now.

Our 4th is almost 3 and it's time to step out of our comfort zone.
So, let's start at the very beginning.

A very good place to start...

and starting in the front yard just 10 feet from the front door and the comfort of our beds seemed like a good place to start.

And what would camping be without a campfire?

We've used the fire pit many times before, just not in 95 degree weather. The kiddos weren't all that happy about the heat mixed with the in-your-face intense heat. Not to mention, the little roasting sticks you buy at Walmart are so stinkin' short you might as well just put the hot dog or marshmallow on your finger, but we sure liked the results!

Next time I'll not be so hasty in my spring cleaning and save a handful of those horid wire hangers.

hmmmmmm......gooey yummy goodness!!

I love the little pinky flair!

All their personalities came out even in their style of marshmallow eating!

Mr. Smiles said he'd never had one before. I know (at least I'm pretty certain) he has. Either way, his eyes lit up when he took the first bite.

Good Lookin', being the sensitive and perfectionistic child that he is, was not happy that his cracker broke in half. After that, he just ate marshmallows and chocolate.

Much less distressing...don't you think?

And Nater Mater, well, he doesn't like marshmallows.

Seriously! Who doesn't like marshmallows?

He wasn't interested in the graham crackers either.

He went straight for the Hershey's chocolate bar and ate half a bar before we caught him.

Now that's my boy!

The evening's entertainment was provided by daddy and the Happy Hollisters.

I am loving introducing our kids to all the "old literature."

Some of us were a little young for the Hollisters, so the 1950s The Happy Man and His Dumptruck and a cup of milk kept him entertained.

And did they make it? Amazingly, all but Happy Man boy. And I was quite happy to walk the 10 feet to the front door and tuck him back into his own bed.

Potty Training

2011-07-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time again.
Potty Training--the time when all mothers wonder whether or not their sweet little child will ever learn use the toilet instead of their diaper.
Potty training time is when a mother can look forward to the end of cleaning up someone else's poop and pee. Because you know every woman always thought it would be glamorous to wipe off someone else's hiney. Deep sarcasm here.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my children. I consider it a privilege to kiss their cuts and scrapes and rock them when they have a temperature and read them stories "just because."
However, cleaning up poop has never, and I do state NEVER, been part of the "delights" of motherhood. Especially that poops that finds their way out of the diaper and either up the back of child or down the legs and onto the floor.
Motherhood is a joy. Poop is not.
But we do the yucky along with the lovely because they are our treasures.
Sweet Precious Jewel potty trained just before the age of 2. Then we took a 2 week trip to see my parents in Mexico. It was rather distracting for an almost 2 year old and she couldn't be bothered with using the toilet instead of her diaper. It was 6 months before she re-trained successfully.
Mr. Smiles was a breeze. He was just within weeks of turning 2. He was speaking in full sentences and I thought, "why not?"
I thought boys would be difficult. He wasn't. But, I think it's because he is so close in age to his older sister and he already copied everything she did. Potty training was honestly done by her and not me.
I just took him to the store and let him pick out his favorite underwear and then told him not to poop on Thomas's (the train) face. He took that duty very seriously and trained completely within just 3 days much to my surprise and delight.
Good Lookin' was also very articulate by the age of 2, and was showing signs of wanting to get rid of the diaper (by the way, I used cloth with my first 3 and I think that also has something to do with potty training early).
However, I was just a couple of weeks from due with Nater Mater and we were facing a move as well as a possible C-section. I did not want to try potty training at the same time. Who really wants to drive themselves crazy with more than they have to? Not me.
My mom came right after Nater Mater was born and stayed for 2 weeks. She noticed that Good Lookin' was ready and she potty trained him. Again, quick and easy, but I can't take the credit.
Now for child #4. He is a bit different in some ways than his older siblings.
The most obvious is that at the age of 2 he was NOT talking in complete articulate sentences. No, he only had about 6 words and that worked just fine for him. His older siblings understood what he wanted and doted on him, so what was the point of actually forming the words? (my theory)
He also is the child I only used cloth on for the first year and then put him in "store diapers."
Needless to say, he is now almost 3 and just beginning to potty train. I don't really care.
So far, I've never met anyone who went off to college un-trained and I'm fairly certain he'll be trained before he starts Pre-K in the Spring.

We tried starting a month ago. After 2 weeks of him totally not getting it and instead thinking it was funny to "poop on Mater's head," I decided to back off and try again later. Just this past week, he was out in the garden with me watering the plants. He decided to strip off his diaper and play in the water. Suddenly, he looked down and SAW he was peeing. He was delighted!!! Totally and absolutely delighted!
He then tried to go around the yard and pee on every tree stump and small bush and blade of grass that he could get to. He grew a little frustrated that his "pee not woking mommy!" I laughingly explained it would soon again and that he could pee on the grass later. "Otay mommy."

This is my attempt to get him to use the toilet. Polar Express worked for his older brother. It did not work for him. He peed right over the edge and onto the floor and then asked "why mommy? why?"

I roll eyes and clean up floor.

He's got it now thanks to the grass and yard!! And he no longer grins when he poops "on Mater!"

I am still letting him go around in just his cute little undies.

1. Because we have no neighbors and no one knows where we live.

2. His siblings don't care and neither do I.

3. It's so much easier to just get underwear off than a pull-up or pants when you are not quite 3 and not so coordinated.

Now, if I can just toilet train him, I will consider myself successful. So far, he simply likes to run out to the yard and "pee in da' gwass mommy. pee in da' gwass.

New Puppies!

2011-07-08T16:40:00.001-07:00

Here they are!! We don't have them yet. The puppies are only 4 weeks old, so we won't get them until the first week of August, but the kids are sooooooo excited! This little girl is Ginger. She's named after Ginger in the book by Eleanor Estes. No matter that Ginger Pye in the book is a boy; it's the color that counts.

We haven't exactly decided which boy we want yet. We know we want the brown girl, but the boys are still un-decisive about what boy we'll bring home. And yes, the name is still Junkyard. I'm hoping they pick the biggest one. At least he'll fit his name!

When we saw them last week, their eyes were still mostly closed and they were still scooting around. This week, everyone was bright-eyed and taking wobbly little puppy steps. So cute!

We can't wait until they are weaned, and having two should help the separation from their siblings. More picture to come when we bring them home!

On Making Simple Goat Cheese

2011-07-07T13:56:00.001-07:00

FINALLY!!
Here is the post several people have e-mailed or face booked me for.

Also, my dear hubby bought me new camera. It's a little cannon that I can keep trading up for if I want. Thanks Wendy for telling me about that. I had no idea Cannon had an upgrade program. Luke knows how addicted I am to taking pictures and that we are going on our first huge vacation in just a few weeks.

Anyway......How to Make Goat Cheese.
Just a preface here: I am no expert. This is simply what I've read and have attempted with the resources that I already have on hand. This type of cheese is most like Chev re or Cream Cheese or Ricotta.

First things first, when you are making Goat Cheese you need one of these or access to their milk:

(We can hook you up if you want.) ; D
We use all stainless steel equipment because it is the easiest to sterilize. I am lucky that my dishwasher has a restaurant-type sanitizer cycle because I truly truly HATE the amount of dishes that milking goats produces on top of the normal amount of dishes that a family of six produced....as well as babysitting 9 months out of the year. I think I'd go insane if I didn't have a dishwasher.

Next: You need to hear a gallon of milk to 190 degrees in a sterilized (and I prefer stainless steel once again) pan. Stir it constantly. Boiled over milk is absolutely disgusting and hard to get off your stove once it's burnt on. (trust me, I've done it several times).Once your milk has hit 190, pull it off and let it cool down to 100 degrees.

Once it has cooled, you can add either 1/4 cup of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR or LEMON CONCENTRATE. I haven't found the taste to be much different between the two.
Stir it up and it will curdle like this:

(Now I understand the little rhyme Little Miss Muffet who sat on her tuffet eating her curds and whey). I used to think it was porridge. It's not. And the thought of eating or drinking this is utterly revolting.
If you have Cheese Cloth great, I didn't and didn't want to buy it if I didn't have to. I have some old flour sack tea towels that I washed with unscented soap (I have to for our allergy kids anyway) and then dried without using any fabric softener. The idea of possibly tasting fabric softener is kinda' gross too.

I hung it over my mixing bowl and put a rubber band around the edge of the bowl to keep it from slipping off. We also have a milk filter for filtering the milk right after milking. I use one of those on top my cheese cloth to catch all the curds. It's not necessary though. Let it drip all through. It might take an hour or more.
Then I hang it up and let it drip for a couple hours more...squeezing it every so often to help it along. I jimmy-rigged it here in my cupboard. I fell out a couple of times until I sandwiched it between my plates.

I spooned out the cheese and scraped the sides of the cloth to get all I could (another reason not to have used fabric softener if using flour sack type dishtowels.

Here's your finished result with a little sea salt and chopped up basil from my garden! I'm going to get some sun dried tomatoes and make another batch with that and garlic.

Hmmmmm!!!! It's really yummy on crackers or as a veggie dip.
And EVERYONE but the one boy who we started this all out for likes it. Fortunately, he likes it in dishes that I've started cooking it with and I can start making some of his favorite foods again that I haven't made in two years.

His little brother loves it though...especially with some chocolate chips that he got into while I wasn't looking.

Our Summer

2011-06-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Life is hitting a nice rhythm this summer in our little corner of the world.

This week was fabulous with NOTHING PLANNED! I've cleaned house, had a couple of play dates and played with the kids.

The second week the kids were out of school they (the older 3) attended a great VBS at a local church in town.
Then last week I sent Precious Jewel to another one and I spent the week pricing stuff for a garage sale that I was in that Friday.

I had been hoping that my 2 trips to town a day would end when school ended, but that didn't happen until this week and my gas tank and pocket book thanked me.

It's been fun though. The kids loved VBS and were so blessed with some great staff. Precious Jewel came home at the end of last week with a chunk of Scripture memorized and was proudly reciting them to anyone who would listen. We were all excited that it coincided with the current book we're reading together as a family...Little Pilgrim's Progress. Mr. Smiles got it for his birthday at the end of April, but we were in the middle of reading Ginger Pye (another old and fabulous children's story. So, we just started Pilgrim's Progress a little over a week ago. Some of the wording is a bit archaic, but I read about a sentence ahead while I'm reading out loud and change whatever wording they wouldn't understand. Sometimes I'll read what is written and they'll look at me like I've grown a third eye. I'll explain it to them and later that day hear them trying it with each other. REALLY FUNNY to hear a 2, 5, 7 and 8 year old re-enact the story and hear, "now get thyself up from thy despair! Let us go and make daisy chains for the baby to please him!" (drag un-willing, yelling 2 year old over to the dandelion puffs and try putting them in his hair). We're on the second half of the story where Christiana takes her younger siblings to the Celestial City.

Another fun tidbit....we are getting puppies!!! Yes, more than one! The kids are so excited and it's making it easier to let go of the dog we currently have. Leah isn't really ours. She is Jessica's, who lived with us a year ago during her Senior Year of college. We knew the day might come when we would have to give her back, but we are all really sad. Dear Mr. Smiles breaks out into random tears at times crying that she is leaving and then crying for Princess, the dog we had to get rid of because she kept burying dead chickens in the sandbox. (You all remember the maggot eating story). Anyway, a family in our church is giving the kids some sweet little black lab puppies and yesterday Luke and I took the kids to go pick out the two we wanted.

We decided on two because after getting rid of our ankle biting yappy little Thomas who naughtily chased Papa's cows and nipped at the heals of our new goats--even after nearly killing him with a shock collar, poor Leah became very depressed. She missed her annoying little companion (after she'd put him in his place by nearly killing him several times). The two had become fast friends and she moped for weeks after we had to take him to the pound and get rid of him. Mr Smiles has been crying for Thomas too now that I think of it. We haven't had a lot of luck with dogs. They have been sweet and great with the kids, but every dog we've gotten (all pound puppies and strays) have terrorized the local chicken, cows and now goat population. Not good when you are trying to start up a small farm from scratch or live next to any other people who own livestock or poultry. "Excuse me dad, but your cow's milk production might be low due to our ankle biting and un-trainable chihuahua-corgi."

We are hoping that by getting two: 1. they will keep each other company, and 2. getting a puppy instead of an adult dog, we can train it NOT to terrorize the animals. (Although, Leah doesn't and that makes us sad to let her go for that reason as well). I even trained her not to eat the sole chicken that has somehow survived the possums and coons in our woods. We need to name that thing because I find it in random places curled up with (I kid you not) the cats or Leah. Yesterday I walked out to find the chicken tucked in next to our very pregnant Nubian goat.

So....now that my animal tales are about done, we are naming the puppies Ginger (after Ginger Pye) and Junkyard. Of course the boys came up with that one. It better look mean when strangers come because calling out "Junkyard" to a happy drooling dog is gonna sound stupid.

Oh! On another note, the momma goat that I found sleeping with the lonely chicken yesterday had her baby this afternoon! She had JUST had it when we were walking out the door to get allergy shots. Needless to say, I'm sure the Allergy Care Center has not had a call that someone couldn't come to get their shot that day due to watching a baby goat being born. The kids insisted on seeing if she would have another and we waited for a good hour only to watch her deliver the afterbirth. GROSS! Not nearly as entertaining.

That's our summer so far!

Blessing!

It Broke!!

2011-06-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

My camera broke!!

I have a little hand held point and shoot, but takes good outdoor pictures Nikon that went dead yesterday.

DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!

ARG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't get a new one for several months! : (

I record EVERYTHING with this little piece of technology!

I Never Thought I'd Google That One!

2011-06-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

Ok. I thought my kids had eaten every gross, strange, disgusting thing out there that was (mostly) non-toxic. Was I ever WRONG!!!
Precious Jewel at the ripe old age of 9 months ate a dead fly on the kitchen floor. I was not a germaphobic mother at that time, but I was waaaaaaaay more so than I am now. I shrieked at this sweet happy baby drooling clear wings, snatched her off the floor and nearly drowned her, I'm sure, trying to rinse her mouth out. She flailed wildly and shrieked back and probably thought momma had lost it. (You ain't seen nothin' yet baby).
Then (a very short time later) along came sweet little Mr. Smiles who had this thing for our dog's tail. If he could stuff the tail into his pudgy little mouth before momma could get to him, he would. I had thought flies were gross, but a dog's tail was far worse. I'm convinced he soon began to use his little tail stuffing maneuver just to tease me because he'd rapidly crawl over to our sweet little hound and go to chewing on her tail while watching me leap across the room to try and stop him. My leaping usually involved impaling my foot on a wooden toy or two and hopping and hollering while on my way. He never seemed bothered. It just made him grin and shove the tail in farther.
Our dog. She just sat there soaking up the baby drool and attention.
The little traitor.
Mr. Smiles also ate a few dead bugs, but by then they didn't freak me out as much. What's a few dead bugs compared to a disgusting dog's tail?
I hadn't seen nothin' yet. At the age of one, our very oral Good Lookin' ate the grossest thing yet.
We were outside painting our tornado shelter that we'd just had installed in our backyard and I'd set him in his favorite location, the sandbox, to keep him from crawling off as he was apt to do. It was literally 5 feet from where we were painting and he rarely moved from it when placed there. Should be safe right?
Precious Jewel and Mr. Smiles were each given a paint brush at the ripe age of 3 and 4 and told to commence painting. They happily sloshed away painting everything from the shelter to the grass to themselves and our legs. I looked over to where Good Lookin' was supposed to be playing and saw him trying to dive headfirst over the side of our sandbox. Did I mention that it was a huge old tractor tire? I walked over to help him crawl out and noticed something peculiar on his face that did not look like sand. Then I shrieked my freaked out mother shriek that calls all good father's nearby to come running.
"He ate them! Oh my God! He ate them! Oh help! Princess (our dog) buried one here and he ate them!!! Help me Luke! Call 911 and help!"
Of course, Luke panicked not knowing what I was screaming about. Good Lookin' was spitting and I was still shrieking and causing every small person around me to dissolve into terrified tears. (I don't handle extra grossness to well, but I'm working on that).
Luke grabbed our wailing child from me and ran to the phone. I called poison control in a panic.
"He ate maggots!" I sobbed to the confused operator.
"He ate what?" I'm sure the guy thought I was drunk or something.
"He ate maggots!! Our dog buried a dead chicken in his sandbox. We don't own chickens but our neighbors do and our dog killed one and hid it in his sandbox. He ate maggots!" I blubbered away.
I don't know if the guys was laughing or not or thought I was just one of those highly neglectful mother's. I was too hysterical to care.
He told me to calm down and explain to him what had happened. I gulped (still gagging) and explained that we lived near a chicken farm (not ours) and that our dog loved to catch the chickens that escaped and eat them of course. "She's a good dog really! She just likes to eat them!"
He then asked if Good Lookin' had eaten any of the buried and rancid chicken.
"I don't think so, " was my tearful reply.
The guy kind of choked back (either gagging himself or trying not to laugh) that maggots have never been proven to honestly harm anyone, but dead chickens have. "Just keep an eye on him and maybe chain your dog."
We got rid of her instead much to our true sadness and the children's. They still ask about her and want to go visit her.
Then, this last week was our latest (and hopefully last) disgusting-toddler-eating-an-inedible-food episode.
Cat Poop.
Yes, I said cat poop. Are you nearly ready to pass out with me? I was.
This is the child who is mildly allergic to cats as well.
Nater Mater came to me grabbing at his tongue and spitting, "yucky, Cupcake yucky."
"What cupcake?" I asked wiping his mouth thinking at first that he'd eaten a rock or some dirt.
"Cupcake yucky" he repeated. (Cupcake is our baby kitten)
Where was I you ask when he ate this? About 5 feet away helping to tie his big sister's crazy double-laced shoes that I will never buy again.
I gave him some milk and cleaned him up and brushed his teeth still not realizing just what part of Cupcake he had eaten. I thought he had gotten some fur in his mouth. "Cupcake poop yucky." He stated again.
"Cupcake poop!?!" (insert slightly raised, squeaky, trying-not-to-shame-the-child momma voice).
I have gotten better at my reactions I have to say. I calmly gave him some more milk and then loaded all the kids in the car to head to a friend's house as planned. She was supposed to watch the 3 boys while I took Precious Jewel shopping to find some summer shorts.
He seemed just fine, so I dropped him off and continued on the afternoon as planned.
The I got the call.
My friend oh so sweetly said in my voice-mail that Nater Mater had just thrown up a large amount of whatever. That they'd cleaned him up and he was playing happily as normal. I could come get him or leave him. Whatever I thought best.
I turned around and drove back to pick him up.
He threw up about 6 more times in the course of 24 hours each time stating that "Cupcake bad."
"Yes dear, Cupcake's are not meant to be eaten."
I googled (I kid you not) Help! My child ate cat poop! You would be surprised at how many other children out there have survived this oh-so-disgusting cat poop and kitty litter eating disaster.
We also saw our Pediatrician the next morning who also told us to keep an eye on him over the weekend, but that he would probably be fine once it was all out of his system.
Can I add that these are the stages that I am glad my children have grown out of and are almost grown out of?
Now, if I could just get them to eat vegetables.

Summer's Bounty and a Dog Story

2011-06-11T14:46:00.001-07:00

The delightful days of summer are officially here and we are enjoying them to the fullest.

The oldest 2 have been out of school one week and so far we have stayed very busy.

Thursday morning we packed up early (for summer) and headed out to a "you pick" blueberry farm about 45 minutes from our house.

We go every summer.

The kids begin asking when it's time to go blueberry picking as soon as there is even a hint of warmth in the air.

Sometimes, that can even be in the dead of winter around here.
The local patch we go to is so clean and well maintained and it's one of the highlights of our summer.
Nater Mater's first picking experience happened when he was about 9 months old. I took an old quilt to spread out between the rows and let him sit on it and play while we picked. He still wasn't crawling yet, so I wasn't too worried about him crawling off into the rows like his next oldest brother had done and scared me half to death with 2 summers before.
A collie dog came up to where I sat him on his blanket and curled up next to him much to Nater Mater's delight. He pulled on the dog's hair trying to stuff fist fulls into his little mouth before I could grab him. I didn't know the dog and even though he seemed nice, I had horror images of a faceless child and rushing to the hospital. (my older brother nearly lost an eye to a dog when he was less than 2 years old).
When I scooped Nater Mater up the dog jumped up on me and whined pulling at Nate's shorts. I was horrified thinking he was attacking us and pushed it away, pulling the other kids behind me. The dog continued to whine and follow closely behind me and Nater nipping at his shorts whenever it got the chance.
Finally, I figured out the dog thought I was kidnapping my own child! It hadn't seen me be the one to put him on the quilt and was trying to keep me from taking off with him.
Of course by now Nater Mater was screaming in terror at a large dog trying to pull him out of my arms.
I ended up going back to the quilt and sitting down and (yes, in public) nursing a then-frantic-baby just to calm him down. It was a hot morning and the car would have been over a 100 degrees and I wasn't about to drag the other 3 into it to sit with me while I nursed.
The dog licked my face and whined and then seemed to accept that I was the mother of this pudgy little guy who had tried to eat it's fur. It promptly laid back down on the quilt next to us and looked as if were sleeping.
Nater calmed down; finished nursing and I sat him back again next to this modern day "Lassie" who promptly licked Nater all over his face much to my disgust and Nater's delight.
Anyway, I will never forget that blueberry picking experience.

Needless to say, we enjoy the results of our hard work.
I bag and freeze and, if I am careful, enjoy fresh blueberries until around Valentine's Day of the next year.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Oh the Joys of Whoopie Cushions and Boys

2011-06-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Creeks and Such

2011-06-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

We have found another spot on our little creek where the kids can actually learn to swim this summer.

I love the spot right behind our house, but it's calf deep at best and the only one in danger of drowning is Nathaniel. The others would have to knock themselves out and land face first in order to drown. Not that I want any of my children drowning!

But you can't learn to swim if the water isn't deep enough.

A pool pass is a bit out of reach this summer. We're saving for our first-ever-away-from-home-and-not-at-a-friend's-or-family-member's-house vacation.

I want the kids to continue to learn how to swim though.

I have taught lessons for years and all you need is water deep enough and a lot of practice.

Each of the kids made huge strides last year and I don't want them to lose that.

Hence, our hunt for swimming holes.

There is an absolutely perfect one just a couple of miles up the road from us where the water is over even my head in one area and ankle deep right next to it for those that still can't swim.
You can jump off the stair-step ledge....

....or wade your way into the COLD water.

Throwing dozens of rocks at the unsuspecting minnows is another favorite pastime.

And we mustn't forget to learn how to skip rocks!

I plan on going to as many different creeks and lakes as possible to enjoy every bit of this warmth and sunshine that we are finally seeing.

How are you spending your summer?