Love in the Afternoon

Link love that is.

Make It From Scratch

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Money Stories

Carnival of the Recipes - Anything Goes
next week- Anywhere but here. Recipes from somewhere you don't live.

Carnival of Homeschooling

Carnival of Family Life

Vegetarian Carnival

Roller Coasters, Water, Guests & Shooting Stars

Wow where has the time gone? Finally, it looks like we have a week that we will not be running crazy. In fact, there is not a single thing on the calendar for this week. So that means I will be busy catching up on the garden, the house, and anything else that didn't get accomplished in the last few weeks.

The three oldest had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa at Geauga Lake. Kellen was thrilled because he is finally tall enough to ride all the rides, and because Uncle Kent went to take him on those rides that Grandma and Grandpa aren't so thrilled with. Kellen wasn't brave enough to try some of the bigger coasters, and that is ok. He did promise Uncle Kent they would go on them next year. Lydia and Nolan were perfectly happy with the water park and the kiddie rides, and Nolan did fine with his stitches.

After coming home Tuesday afternoon, Kellen and Lydia spent the rest of the week with Ashely and Miles at a VBS day camp, put on by a friend's church. The camp was from 10-4 with lots of singing, fun lessons and swimming. They had a great time.

Saturday was busy too. The guys went to get hay. I went to a consignment sale. Saturday night Tim and I sat out on our deck to watch the meteor shower. It was so relaxing we grabbed a couple of blankets and pillows and slept out there. It went pretty well until the dog discovered us, at 4:00 AM and thought it was play time.

Sunday, we thought we would finally have a quiet, relaxing day. Wrong. Mamaw and Papaw got a call at 7:00 AM. Two of Papaw's sisters, a brother-in-law, and a niece were nearby and wanted to stop in. We all decided to skip church for the visit, and that we should all, as in 16 people all, eat lunch together. Why so many people? There are 6 in my family; Eric, his two kids, and his girlfriend who is staying for awhile; Mamaw and Papaw; Hazel and Terry who were staying in their camper this week; and the four guests. Tim and I spent most of the morning getting lunch
together. The afternoon was relaxing though. We sat around and chatted with the relatives.

I didn't actually hear this, but Tim said that my aunt, who is Amish, made a comment about wishing she were able to live the simple life like we do down here. After I got over the irony of that coming from someone who is Amish, I wondered if anyone who knew what the summer has been like around here would actually call this a simple life.

We slept on the deck again, this time with five kids; Vivian slept in her crib and we invited Eric's kids. We were all so tired, I'm not sure any of us made it past 10:30, let alone to 2:00 AM, the predicted peak of the meteor shower.

We are all exhausted. You know the fun I've had with Nolan and his naps. He hasn't fought his nap for days. Kellen and Lydia were both dragging today. I think Vivian may be the only one who is herself. And this is the simple life?

Isn't it my birthday?

Vivian and Gage

Wordless Wednesday

Quick Update Quick Links

How many days has it been since I posted here? Life has a been a whirlwind! Nolan is doing fine. You'd hardly know anything had happened to his leg. The only time he complained was when I changed the bandages.

We made a quick trip to Ohio over the weekend. We went up for our nephew Gage's first birthday party and to leave three of the four kids with Grandpa and Grandma for the annual trip to Geauga Lake. The kids were thrilled to be going. They are coming back this afternoon.

Now you might think with three of my kids gone, I'd have a nice relaxing and quiet week. Quieter? Yes, but relaxing? HA! It has been non stop on the go working on laundry, groceries, gardening, canning, and getting clothes ready for a consignment sale this weekend. I still don't feel caught up! It will get done, and I have all winter to relax right?!

More later. Here are the quick links for today.

Carnival of the Recipes - Crockpot recipes. Next week, anything goes.

Make it From Scratch

Carnival of Family Life


Festival of Frugality

Outdoor Odyssey

Did I say I was picking beans today?

After posting that, I was getting a few things finished up and heard the scream that every mother knows means someone is really hurt. It was Nolan. He and Lydia had been playing on a trailer and he fell, catching his inner thigh on the corner. When I saw all the blood on the ground, I was concerned. When I saw the fat bulging from the wound, I knew we were headed to the E.R.

Four hours later we left the ER with four stitches, and headed to the store for a prescription. Almost two hours later, we headed home where I now sit surrounded by laundry, garden produce and groceries piled around me, frozen by the enormity of my to do list. I thought that taking a small break to check email and blog would help, but I just looked into the kitchen and it still looks overwhelming. Ah, better get moving nothing is getting done with my rear in front of the computer!

The Final Touches

All the girls were primping before the wedding. I am not sure if Vivian was going for the Mountain Dew or was trying to get on the primping. Either way it was pretty cute!
Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Morning Links. . . On Wednesday

Um....... I forgot all about the links yesterday. Forgive me? Here they are a day late.

Make it From Scratch

Carnival of Family Life

Festival of Frugality
Frugal Babe did a great job hosting, giving you a quick summary of the submissions! Go check out the ones that catch your eye!

Money Stories
Personal stories about money in the context of a presidential debate.

Carnival of the Recipes - Just say no
Recipes for restricted diets. Next week - It's Too Hot to Cook - Slow Cooker Recipes

Vegetarian Carnival

Enjoy your Wednesday links. I'm off to pick beans!

My Head is Spinning

What a whirlwind the last few days have been. We traveled to Northeast Ohio for a long, incredibly busy weekend. We had a wedding, a new baby in the family and more family and friends to visit with.

We usually stay at Tim's parents, but with all the preparations and the bride and groom living there, we felt it would be best for us to stay elsewhere. We asked Heather and she graciously welcomed us. Don't let anyone tell you blogging isn't valuable. Tim and Heather were close in high school, but we kind of lost touch when we got married. I would never have asked to stay there a year ago. Since she started blogging though we've all gotten to know each other again. It was a wonderful time, and was very convenient as she lives in the middle of the places we needed to be. By the way, if you haven't seen or tried her recipe for Chicken Wraps, I can tell you first hand that they are excellent.

Tim and Lydia were in the wedding. All of Friday evening, and all day Saturday were committed to the wedding. Everything was beautiful and went smoothly. Tim sang. I haven't heard him really sing for a long time. It was nice and made me think of our early days of marriage when he was a music major and performed a lot.

Tim and Mitch (the middle brother) both got chocked up during the ceremony and reception. I guess it was hard to see their baby brother all grown up. Gail (Tim's mom) tells stories of how the older two would dote on Kent when he was little. Here he is all grown up with his lovely bride, Kerri.

Sunday we went to our old church. It is always so good to be there. It does make me slightly homesick though. We got to chat with several old friends, and found out that some of them read the blogs. I always find it interesting to find out when people are reading that I didn't realize did. I'm glad they do. Keeping up with friends is one of the reasons we started blogging, but I have to say I wish it were a bit more two sided. So those of you who are reading do me a favor leave a comment, shoot me an email or start a blog! I want to know what you are up to too!

After lunch with friends, we headed to the hospital to see our newest niece, Avery Skye. What a doll. New babies always amaze me. It is hard to believe my "big kids" actually started off that small. Jake posted more about Avery on his blog.

From there we headed home, rolling in about 10:30 PM. Since then it has been gardens, animals and laundry. We all were wiped out, even Nolan who did not put up any fight to his nap on Monday!

Ah, but the excitement doesn't stop there. Monday night Kellen had his Battle of the Books Competition. It was a repeat championship with the Milton Battle Wizards taking the trophy with a perfect score. The cousins weren't able to join this year, but Kellen still had a grand time. He was the spokesperson and couldn't have been more proud!

So after I catch up from all of that, it will be time to go again. Yes, we are headed to Ohio again this weekend. It is a first birthday party for Gage. Tim and I will only be staying Saturday night, but three oldest are staying to head to Geauga Lake Monday with Grandpa and Grandma, who will then bring them home on Tuesday. Ah, finally I will have a few days of peace and quiet. Well, peace and quiet in which to work on beans and other things!

Reflection Award

Heather recently awarded be the Reflection Award. This award is described by its creator as

The reason for the title is because this award should make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy... of knowing them and being blessed by them.

What an honor to receive this award. Now I get to pass it on to five bloggers I who encourage me and are a Godly example to me.

Meredith at Like Merchant Ships
She is such a wonderful example. She is kind and sweet and creates a beautiful and loving home for her family in a frugal manner. She calls it "cheerful frugality - discovering God's plenty secondhand."

Mary at Our Quiver is Full
Mary is a personal friend. She is the mother of four boys. I think that alone qualifies her for an award. :) She is a keeper of the home, and has started another blog dedicated to this art. I will let her tell you more about that.

Katie at Simple Katie
Katie is a gardener, nature lover, and crafter. Her posts are often reflective. She encourages me to live simply. She is not one to just talk about things, she gets out there and does something. Currently she is running for city council. She doesn't post a lot, but I love when she does.

Mary at Owlhaven
Mary is mom to many, 10 in fact. She exudes such patience and joy it amazes me. Their house is filled with love, and there is always something funny going on, but it isn't all fun and games. Mary also gives you a lot of food for thought on parenting, God, and life.

Heidi at Butterfly Mama
I recently gave Heidi a different award, but couldn't resist rewarding her with this one because it is a perfect fit for her blog. Her peace, kindness and love through all situations is truly inspirational.

So thank you ladies for providing such a good example to us. You are an encouragement! Feel free to pass along the award if you like.

As a side note: This award was created by a 16 year old! You should check out her blog. She is a homesteading, homeschooled girl. The second of eight children in her family. Amazing.

He Wanted Me to Throw Away His Toys

-Yet another story about the stubbornness of Nolan.

Yesterday the game du jour was pile the toys. I'm not sure the motivation this time, sometimes they are pretending they are moving, sometimes going on an adventure, and sometimes the room is an ocean and the bed is the boat. Regardless of the motivation, the result is a lot of toys taken from one place and piled up in another.

When the play was done I asked the kids to put the toys back where they belonged. Nolan flat out refused, claiming he needed help. My theory is generally, if you are old enough to make the mess, you are old enough to clean it up. The other kids were working on other messes, and I asked Nolan to start and I would help him in a few minutes. The response was not very receptive.

I finished up what I was working on and went to check on his progress. Not one single thing was put away. He was still pouting where I had left him. I asked him again to start. He refused. So I pulled out the threat that has worked with the older two every single time. "If you don't put away your toys, I will throw them all away." He did not budge. "Are you going to put them away or should I get the trash bag?" "Get the trash bag," he replied. I think my jaw hit the floor.

After picking my jaw back up, I went and got a trash bag, fully expecting the sight of it to motivate him to clean up his mess. I was wrong. I started putting his toys in the trash bag. No affect. I put his toys in the bag while mentioning the merits of each toy and asking him if he was sure he wanted it thrown away. He didn't care.

Now a bed full of toys sit in a trash bag in my bedroom. No, they are not waiting to be given back to Nolan. There is a consignment toy sale for a local church in the fall. Some of the toys will be going to that. Some, I will sneak back into the mix at a much later date because they are part of a set I want to keep. What is left will hit the trash can. I've been wanting to thin out their toys for awhile now, I guess Nolan gave me a good reason to start.

Our Star

Wordless Wednesday

Links for your Tuesday Morning

Good morning! Here are some links I think you will enjoy.

Make It From Scratch #23
Thanks to Bridget for a wonderful hosting job. Thanks to all who participate!

Carnival of The Recipes - Christmas in July
Next week the theme is Just Say No - recipes for restricted diets

Carnival of Homeschooling
Tim found this link for Free Homeschool Resources.
Of course these links would be useful for all teachers and parents.

Carnival of Debt Reduction
Articles about reducing spending, budgeting and other helpful tips to help you get out of debt.

Carnival of Family Life
A little bit of everything relating to the family.

Garden Fest
Brags, Woes and Memories about our gardens.

Happy Tuesday!

Belated Introduction

Another family member has joined the blogging world. Mementos of a Military Mom is a blog written by Tim's Aunt Cheryl. She is the mom of two children, one of whom is currently serving in Iraq. She started the blog about a week ago. She writes stories about her soldier and his sister, patriotic information and thoughts. I don't know Cheryl well, (She and Tim's Uncle married after Tim and I were already married.) but I am enjoying getting to know her better through her blog. Go stop by and say hi. I think you'll like what you find.

Happy Ninth Birthday Kellen

Today my oldest is half way to adulthood, typed with watery eyes! It is so hard to believe. What happened to my baby? He is now a young man. It seems like only yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. He spent his first night home sleeping in a clothes basket. We were getting ready to move and did not want to set up the crib. We didn't have the bassinet yet. I use the term sleeping loosely. It was a horrible night and Tim and I both wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.

We continued to wonder as we spent the next two months with a baby who wanted to nurse constantly, was crying when he wasn't nursing and would only sleep while you were holding him. It was a rude introduction to parenting, and we quickly realized our lives were changed forever. It wasn't all about us anymore.

After the first two months he did settle in. He never was, and still isn't a big sleeper, but at least he wasn't screaming anymore. We took Kellen everywhere with us. He went to the opera at about three months. We took him to movies, camping, concerts, on a cruise, and even to Alaska for the infamous backpacking trip. This picture is from that trip in 2001.

Kellen and Nolan 2004

Kellen talked early, and immediately started asking questions. He still asks me a million questions a day. He loves to learn. He loves to read. Some days I have to force him to go outside to play. Often he will take his book with him.

His hero is Homer Hickam, from October Sky fame. He wants to grow up and go to Virginia Tech just like Homer, and become an engineer.

Birthday 2005

Kellen is a big helper to me. He helps me with the garden, with his younger siblings and with the animals. Though he loves to fight with his siblings, he is also rather protective of them. He is a good kid who is on his way to becoming a good man. He will be there before his mom is ready!

Kellen & Blizzard June 2007

Rub A Dub Dub

Wordless Wednesday

For your Tuesday Morning Browsing Pleasure

We are off for an extremely busy day of fun with water, Legos and books. No not all at the same time! Here are the links this week.

Make it From Scratch at the Motherload today!

Carnival of the Recipes - Secrets in the Sauce. Next week Christmas in July

Carnival of Homeschooling- It is a teacher in service day!

Carnival of Family Life

Carnival of the Green



Enjoy your Tuesday!

Growing Bunnies

After several tries and many losses, finally on June 30th we had our first successful rabbit litter. At 28 days of gestation we put a nest box in Cream's pen. Almost immediately she began to pull fur for her nest. We thought she would have them any day. She didn't. She just kept pulling fur. After several days, she was almost bald and her box was full of fur. We thought she might never have them.


Then, as the kids were loading there stuff in the van to head to their grandparents for a few days, I had Kellen check one last time. Finally she had kindled. We thought there were eight, but in fact there were nine. One died later, so now we have eight. These are newborn kits from a different litter.





And by July 4th they looked like this.








July 10th. Some were just starting to open their eyes.








And here they are July 15th.
They are so cute and cuddly now. They peer over the edge of the nest box to see what is going on. We did find one out of the box, but I'm wondering if it came out by holding on to Cream or maybe by using a sibling as a step stool. The kids love playing with them. . . I hope they don't get to attached.

Berries, Beans and Bible School

That pretty much sums up my life this last few days. The blackberries are on full force. They are not as plentiful or as big this year. I think the dry hot spring hurt them. There are still plenty just a little harder to get too and it takes more to fill your basket.

The green beans are also producing like crazy in both gardens. Got to keep them picked if I want them to keep producing. Still waiting for the tomatoes to start getting ripe, but I guess I should be thankful that they aren't ready yet. There are also tons of cucumbers and summer squash!

This week the kids were invited to go to Bible school with a family that is in our homeschool coop. The Bible school was far enough away that it didn't make sense for me to try to come home during it. Since this is a friend that Lydia has been begging to see all summer, I couldn't refuse and ended up sitting there for two hours doing nothing.

With all that going on, this is a snap shot of my days. Thursday I spent all morning picking berries, taking a few hours in the afternoon to make jam and vinegar, and the rest of the afternoon picking green beans. Then sitting for two hours. I did write some letters, but maybe I should have taken the beans with me!

Friday morning I picked a few more beans, and did a little work in the garden. Then I spent the rest of the morning and the better part of the afternoon cleaning beans. I just got one batch processed (seven quarts) in the pressure cooker before shoving some dinner down the kids throats and pushing them out the door for Bible school. Where I sat for two hours.

Today the beans must get finished. I 'm guessing there are about eight more quarts to clean and eleven to can, and only seven fit in the pressure cooker. I forgot how long the pressure cooking process is. If that all gets done, I'd really like to pick some more berries.

Tomorrow the beans will probably need picked again, and we can start the whole process over. Ah, but Bible school is done. . . for now. The kids want to go to another next week. But the good thing about that is it doesn't start until Wednesday, and it is very close. So instead of sitting for two hours I can run home and clean beans or pick berries while the kids are at Bible school.

Lest you think I'm complaining, I really am enjoying this. This is the life we chose when we moved to the 100 Acre Wood. I'm loving it. If my life consists of berries, beans and Bible school (and blogging stuck in here and there) for a few weeks, I am more than happy to have it. It is rewarding work that will seem even more rewarding in the dead of winter while we eat garden green beans.

The Infamous Alaskan Backpacking Trip

I'm sure hearing that there are glaciers in Alaska does not surprise you, but did you know that there is also a rain forest? With a week's supplies strapped to my back, I saw a rain forest, a glacier, and much more in Tongass National Forest near Sitka, Alaska. First I saw it on foot, and then from the inside of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter.

This was a trip made with half a dozen adults,and about twice as many teenagers. After landing in Juneau, we traveled via the Alaska Marine Highway System to a small village named Hoonah. While there we worked with a local church to make repairs on their buildings and offer a vacation Bible School for the children.

Then our group separated into two smaller groups; one to go backpacking and the other to go sightseeing. My oldest son, then 3, went sightseeing with Mamaw. Papaw, my brother Jake, my husband Tim, and I (four months pregnant with Lydia, who is now five) went with several of the adults and the majority of the teenagers to begin our backpacking adventure on the Medvejie Lake Trail. Our group was a relatively large, and included many inexperienced backpackers. Two facts, we now know, to be big mistakes for this particular trail.

The journey began in a forest, somewhat similar to what we might see here in West Virgina. The trail was not well worn, there were lots of insects, but it was relatively level. We worked our way to Medvejie (pronounced Med- i- vee- chee) Lake. If you have never seen a glacier fed lake, it is a sight to behold. It was crystal clear blue all the way to the bottom.

From there the way went up, through more forest, weeds over my head and huge boulders. Finally emerging into a pleasant valley with grass and a small pond. A perfect spot to camp for the night.

About half of the next day was spent climbing out of that valley by going straight up a muddy hill. It was not long before we were in snow fields, and soon we were strapping on our crampons. Crampons are spikes to help you gain traction on snow and ice.

It was here that I was perhaps the most scared I've ever been in all our outdoor adventures. Crossing this snow field involved facing the hill, practically hugging it, while moving sideways kicking your feet into the snow with every step, for about a hundred yards. If you chose to look down between your feet, you could see where the hill ended suddenly with a large drop off. I remember thinking how completely nuts I was to be there, especially pregnant. I kept singing a worship song, "Every step I take I take in you Jesus," refused to look down and kept my feet moving.

After that snow field, the terrain was somewhat barren and rocky. With all the Alaskan daylight in July, we hiked long days, and slept sound, but short night. Then came the fog, at the most inopportune time.

We were exhausted after a long day of hiking, but we also were very close to the last leg of the hike; a relatively easy hike down the glacier to natural hot springs where we could soak away our aches and pains. When the fog rolled in, we were on a ridge, a less than ideal place to camp. We tried to find our way off of it unto the glacier, but the fog was just too thick. We had to make camp.

We wanted to wait out the fog. Our supplies were not plentiful, but sufficient. We needed to wait until the fog lifted to move. We were tired, we were cold, and some were slightly dehydrated from not drinking enough water during the hike. Those issues were all tended to.

The next morning the fog was again so thick we could barely our tents. That is when panic set in. It began with three adults whose conversation was easily overheard by the teenagers in a tent next to them. The morale deteriorated quickly, It was clear that the group was not in the mental condition to continue the trip, and the coast guard was radioed.

The original plan, made with the Coast Guard, was to bring in a helicopter for the few that felt that they could no longer go on. I was to go with them, not because I didn't want to finish the trip, but because a female adult needed to accompany the girls who were going. I was not pleased, but did not really have a choice. Other Coast Guard members would lead the rest of the group out. Of course, the Coast Guard can not land their helicopters in thick fog conditions either. We were stuck waiting it out either way. The atmosphere was tense at camp that day.

The following day the fog lifted and we could see that we were only several hundred yards from the beautiful blue ice and snow that would be the last leg of the hike. Morale was instantly better, but it was too late. The Coast Guard was on the way. I got into that helicopter with tears of anger welling in my eyes. It was a ride with beautiful scenery that I did not even see.

They took us to the hospital where the girls were "treated" by the staff. They took their vitals and gave them a meal. The other members of the group followed the Coast Guard down a path that Papaw and Jake said that they would not have chosen. A group member took a good fall, and though they were not hurt, the hike was called off. More helicopters were sent to "rescue" the remaining members of the group.

This a story that you will hear referred to often in our family, but hardly ever completely told. It has been six years exactly, and it still leaves a bitter, disappointed spot. There is such frustration at working so hard for something, being able to see the end, imagine the reward and then have it snatched from you.

When the Alaskan Backpacking trip comes up in conversation, it usually turns to the future; the trip we will take to complete the adventure. The trip where we go with a small group, including only family or those who are seasoned backpackers. The trip where we walk down that blue ice, and sit in those hot springs, savoring the accomplishment and the experience.


From the perspective of others on the trip: My husband Tim. My brother Jake with several pictures.

Ducklings

There were only three to hatch. Here they are one day old! Oh and that loud noise in the background, that is Bernice, one of the goats. And I guessed I missed that Nolan and Lydia were chatting the whole time too!

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday's Linking Tradition

Make it From Scratch
It wasn't intended to be a hot and spicy edition, but there were many hot and spicy recipes. Just what my family loves.

Carnival of the Recipes - Ice Cream
You'll need some to cool off after the spicy recipes! Next week - The Secret is in the Sauce

Carnival of Homeschooling - Reasons to Homeschool
Though this is geared to homeschoolers there are lots of tips for every parent.

Festival of Frugality
This is the place to find lots of great tips to save you money on just about anything. This week with a very creative presentation.

Carnival of Debt Reduction
Learn about using credit card deals to your advantage, great tips about jump starting your debt reduction plan and whether you should sign up for those store card deals.

Carnival of Family Life
Always a wealth of laughs, tips and thoughtful posts about the family.

A Homesteading Neophyte - Blogathon '07
Phelan will be blogging 24 hours for a good cause. Help her help family farms and sponsor her in this Blogathon.

Win a Klean Gift Package
Karen at PediaScribe is looking for your dirty stories. No the kids friendly kind where the kid gets your dirty. Poop stories have been requested. The best story wins a gift package.

Scribbit's July Write-Away Contest
This month's theme is Adventure. My Most Adventerous Moment to be more specific. I have some many stories that would fit this. Who wants to write about our Alaskan adventure? Hopefully I find the time to put one of the stories together before the July 18th deadline!

Happy Tuesday!

Got Him This Time

Another hard day at play. Another tired boy at dinner. Only this time Nolan couldn't hold out.



I wish the kid would just take a nap! Then maybe he could make it through dinner.

We Have Ducklings!

Our one duck hen has been sitting for the longest time. We were just about convinced that she was not going to hatch anything. Then last night as I was feeding the animals, I saw something yellow near her. Upon closer inspection I saw two little ducklings; one yellow and one black with a yellow belly.

I was excited, but a bit disappointed. She is sitting on at least a dozen eggs, and only two hatched? She was still sitting on the nest, so we thought maybe there would be more.

Right before we went to bed last night, Tim checked and found one more newly hatched. It was still wet and was super wobbly trying to walk. So cute. She is staying with the nest, so maybe there will be more.

In other animal news, after much work to the chicken coop, and the removal of several coons, it seems we have that situation under control. Four chicks survived. They are looking more and more like chickens everyday. They are just starting to get feathers on their heads. They are all roosting too. It is cute they all roost next to each other and the hen and the rooster roost together right next to them. Happy little family. I've been surprised how involved the rooster is. He stands guard, finds food, and protects the chicks. I didn't know that roosters were good dads.

The rabbits are now a week old. We lost the runt, but seven survive. They grow amazingly fast. They already are covered in fur, and are just plain cute. The subject for another post.

My Favorite Thursday Thirteens TT # 6

In honor of their 100th edition, the folks at Thursday Thirteen have asked us to list our favorite posts. Since this is only #6 here, I pulled some favorites from my other blog, Stop the Ride. The list, in no particular order.

1. I'm No Superwoman
In an effort to expel any myths to the contrary, I share thirteen of my many faults.

2. #2 at Stop the Ride -
A list of 13 educational websites we enjoy.

3. Dealing With a Strong Willed Child
A list compiled from someone right there in the trenches!

4. For the Birds
Birds (and pictures of them) we saw from our kitchen window this winter.

5. Pets
Thirteen Pets I've had over the years.

6. Wild Foods
Unusual and yummy!

7. Odd Recipes in My Favorite Cookbook
Unusual? Yes. Yummy? Couldn't tell you.

8. I'm Dependent
What I learned when we had no internet for several days.

9. Repurpose Recycle
Things we reuse around the homestead.

10 More Repurpose Recycle
This week's post.

11. Getting Out of Debt.
What we are doing to eliminate debt.

12. What I'd Like to Make from Scratch
A list made when we first started the Make It From Scratch Carnival. Can you believe 20 weeks later, and I haven't made a single thing from that list!

13. Spring Plantings
Some of the first things planted this year. We've planted a ton more since!

Thanks for joining me. To find more lists go to Thursday Thirteen.

In Three Weeks Time

Wordless Wednesday

Busy, Busy And Tuesday Links

Wow it has been so busy around here. Tim's parents came for a visit Thursday and stayed till Saturday. We had a great time, and the kids got a big surprise; they got to go home with Grandma and Grandpa. Well except Vivian that is. We are meeting them half way tonight to pick the kids back up so we can spend the 4th together.

I had big plans for what I could get done while they were gone, but I find I am only keeping up and catching up with my normal things; laundry, picking berries, taking care of animals and the garden. Ugh!

Speaking of animals, we have new baby rabbits. They were born on Saturday. There are eight of them. I almost didn't report it here because I didn't want to have to report another "we lost them" post, but so far so good. I couldn't get a picture of them. This rabbit, Cream, pulled so much fur for her nest, she is practically bald everywhere but her back. They looked pretty much the same as these newborn rabbits. They are already starting to get some white fuzz on them. I'll try to get some pictures in a few days.

The bad news is that these will not be big enough for the fair. Kellen will not be able to show market rabbits. He will have to do showmanship in open class, and will not be able to sell any rabbits. He will be disappointed. Lydia is also doing open class with Cha Cha. Kellen will probably take Peter.

My siding is still on hold, though I did get some improvements to my side deck. The project du jour is getting the water, electric and septic set up for Aunt Hazel and Terry's camper. Since that project also involves renting a trencher, setting up our rain collection system has been piggybacked on the camper's projects.

Well I should get back to work! Have a great 4th!

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And the links. . . .

Make It From Scratch

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Debt Reduction

Learning in the Great Outdoors

Vegetarian Carnival

Outdoor Odyssey

A Tree House for the Kids

Papaw has been busy with his sawmill. The siding on our house is nearing completion. It looks great, and I will share some pictures when all is done. It has been put on hold for a short period though, to get some other projects completed. One of these is a tree house for the kids.



Oh, did you think I meant something for the children? No, this is for the goat kids. Well, and the adult goats, and the sheep, oh and now there are pigs too.










The goats, by the way do have names now: Patty, Twist, Billy Bob, Bernice, Desert, and Sally. I loved the suggestions in the comments of the last post about the goats, to name them in ABC order, but the kids (I mean the human ones.) had already named them. The pigs names are Charcoal and Flame. They are Ashley and Miles' pets.

Were you also wondering about why this is a "tree house?" Papaw designed it around a tree, and has decided it is a tree house. The fun never ends here in the 100 Acre Wood.

The Hiccup Cure

What do you do when you have the hiccups? Hold your breath? Eat honey? There are lots of things out there, but I never learned the real cure until I got married. Apparently, my husband's family has been holding on to this secret, and I am now sharing it with the world.

It is really very simple and works almost every time. You will need two people; one who has the hiccups and one who does not. The person without hiccups says a line from the following verse. The person with hiccups repeats.

Hiccups, hiccups, I have got.
Repeat
To my lover I will send them.
Repeat
If he loves me, he will keep them.
Repeat
If he doesn't he'll return them.

Then the nonhiccuper instructs the hiccuper to hold their breath for 30 seconds. Magically the hiccups will disappear.

Works for Me Wednesday

Trick Shot

Kellen (soon to be 9) is wrapping up his 4-H photography project. Today's lesson; trick shots. He and his cousins had a ball with this. I was pretty impressed.

Wordless Wednesday

But I'm Not Tired

Have I mentioned that Nolan (3) is quite the character? What only a couple hundred times? This latest installment came at dinner time, after a day of hard outside play. (You may notice how dirty he is.)



The video is a bit long. You'll get the idea from the beginning. We kept thinking we'd catch him actually fall asleep, but no not our stubborn boy. In fact, immediately after dinner, we got him cleaned up and ready for bed. He was adamant that he was not tired. He didn't go to sleep for almost an hour and a half. Now, that is one stubborn boy!

Links for Tuesday

Here are the links for this week: Make it From Scratch, Carnival of the Recipes - Hip to Be Square Edition (next week outdoor cooking), Carnival of Debt Reduction, Festival of Frugality, My Favorite Things, Carnival of Homeschooling, and Carnival of Family Life.

Happy Tuesday to you!

Homeschooling Tips

Kelly has put out a call for tips and advice about homeschooling. My first thought was to talk about how homeschooling can be done on a budget, but Alexandra did a wonderful job covering that. So, I decided to offer some more general tips.

1. Instilling a love of learning.
This is this most important thing you can teach a child. Children are born curious with a love of learning. They naturally want to learn. To keep them loving learning let them have some say in what they learn about. Let there be flexibility in the lessons. Let them lead sometimes. There are basics they must know, but if they know how to read and write well, and they can complete basic math computations, they have the base for everything else.

The education process (public or at home) can squelch that love. If that has happened to your child, you may just need to take some time off, back away from the curriculum, play games, read books about things they are interested in, and take lots of field trips. You can ease back into "book work" when you feel the child is ready.


2. Give the child responsibility for their education
Along with letting them choose, as mentioned above, let them self teach as much as possible. Kellen (8) pretty much does all his assignments on his own. He will ask for help if he gets stuck, and I will check over his work when he is finished. Lydia (5) needs a little more one on one until she learns to read well. Her math though she does pretty much on her own. When she gets stuck Kellen is as likely to help her as I am.

3. You don't have to do it all.
As a former public school teacher, our first years of homeschooling looked a lot like a public school classroom, at home. All the different subjects with a book and workbook to go with them. Now, for Kellen, we have one book, one workbook, and a three ring binder.

We tend to think that if there is not a book or a curriculum for a subject, the child will miss something. I used to feel that way. The longer I homeschool, the more I lean to unschooling, a term that made me shudder when I first read about it. I don't think I'll ever completely unschool, but there is value in this approach. My combined approach is working. I have proof. Kellen recently took the Terra Nova standardized test. His best scores were in Science (93 percentile), and Social Studies (99 percentile.) These are the subjects I haven't had a curriculum for in two years! He also did well in reading, language, and math.

4. It doesn't have to cost a fortune.
I know I said I'd let Alexandra cover this, but I just need to add a few things. Timberdoodle is my favorite homeschooling store. It is run by a homeschooling family. The prices are good, and the information about the products are personal. Request a catalog.

I've spent about $50 for next years "books." I still need to buy a couple things, but doubt they will add up to over $50. We use Miquon and the Key To series for math. Both are inexpensive. We are using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for Lydia and Kellen will be doing a unit study on the Little House Books. We bought this used at a homeschooler meeting. Unit studies work very well for us, and they are very affordable. He just finished one based on the Chronicles of Narnia.

5. Enjoy the process
Have fun together. This is one I need to constantly remember. This job can be stressful and tough, but if I keep my focus on the big things; the Lord, watching the kids grow, life lessons learned, and our family time, the little things; the dishes not getting done, the school work we didn't get to, and my ever to long list of things to do, don't seem to matter so much.
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For more tips and advice can be found at Pass the Torch.

I'm Dependent TT#5

When our internet service went down unexpectedly, and we were told it would be up to five business days to fix, I thought, “Well I don’t really need the internet anyway, do I?” I imagined being annoyed by not getting my daily fix of blog writing and reading. What I didn’t realize is how dependent I really am on “having the world at my fingertips.” Here is a list of things I found I’m dependent on the computer for.

1. Recipes
I wanted to make Delilah’s Strawberry pie. Oh, that recipe is on her blog. I was looking for something different to do with basil. It is hard to check allrecipes.com without the internet.

2. Weather
We don’t get the paper. I don’t watch the news. When I want to check if is safe to hang the laundry out, or how scorching it is to be, I check weather.com. Without the internet, I had to take my chances!

3. Information Storage
I needed directions to one place, and a mailing address to another. Both were saved in my hotmail account.

4. Personal Finance
I keep tabs on things, pay bill, and make transfers when needed. Almost everything is done online!

5. Communication
Email is my preferred means of communication. It is quick and efficient. It can be done even when kids are screaming!

6. Information
What do I do about the green worms on my cabbage? How much feed should the goats be getting? How many presidents came from Ohio? When does the summer library program start? All questions I would have liked to used the internet to find.

7. Entertainment
Blogs and more blogs. Games for the kids.

8. A Break
Sneaking a few minutes to read a favorite blog, check email or look something up. Two minutes without hearing (or pretending not to hear) “Mommy,”

9. Adult Interaction During the Day
I’m not much for chatting on the phone. Chatting with my online and real world friends via blogs, email, or IM is my chance to talk on an adult level.

10. Expression
I have been surprised at what an outlet blogging has become for me. In person I’m rather reserved. I’ll say anything (almost) in my blog! I missed that outlet. I tried typing into Word, but it just wasn’t the same with out the comment interaction!

11. Money Making
Hard to earn money online when you can’t get online.

12. Homeschool
We depend heavily the internet as a source for our school assignments. We had to improvise.

13. Shopping
I wanted to shop for homeschool supplies, books, and to order prints from our digital photos. All things I normally do online.

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I am dependent on the internet. Funny how you don’t realize how much you use a technology until you have to do with out it! I am so happy that we have internet service again!

Thursday Thirteen

Those Predators are Smart

I'm so frustrated! As I've reported before, we have had troubles with predators getting to our young chickens. We lost all the pullets we purchased at the Flea Market! When Chatterbox hatched her chicks we did a lot of checking of the coop and thought it was secure. It took less than a week, and the ******* got two of the chicks. It had dug under. We spent most of Sunday afternoon fixing that problem, and making what we thought was a secure fortress for the chickens. We set out two live traps. The villain did not get to the chicks, but did get the bait in the traps without getting itself trapped, two nights in a row. We would have liked to have trapped him, but were happy that the chicks were safe, or so we thought.

He found another way in last night; two more chicks gone! It took me awhile to see anyplace he could have gotten in. He didn't dig, everything looked secure. Then I saw one tiny place where two layers of chicken wire overlap that could be pulled slightly to make a gap a couple inches wide. I am assuming that was the point of entry. We will fix that and check the whole thing over again very closely. It is so frustrating to think you have a problem fixed, only to have it return in a different way. I am almost to the point of bringing the chicks in the house at night. The only thing that stops me is the hassle of trying to catch them every night, and the thought of the pecking that Chatterbox and Alpha would impose on us during the process. We've thought of tying the dog next to the chicken house at night. Add to this frustration, that we should have ducklings to try to protect within a week. I feel like a lousy farmer.

Mother Hen

Wordless Wednesday

An Unusual Occurrence

This week I find myself with out a single thing on the calendar! No play dates. No doctor's appointments. No commitments made. Unusual isn't it? And this morning, kids are playing outside with their cousins. And all the laundry, except for some sheets and towels got finished yesterday. What to do with my time?

A glance in the refrigerator showed it to be almost empty (grocery day is tomorrow,) and pretty dirty. I decided it was the perfect time to wipe it out. As I was wiping shelves and pulling out drawers, I noticed that the microwave was looking a bit crusty, and look at all the finger prints on the water cooler, and the dust on the dry sink, and the drips on the cupboards. And since the baby was taking an incredibly long nap, before I knew it the whole kitchen had been wiped down. I won't kid you and say that it is now spotless, but it is decidedly cleaner than when I got up this morning.

It is amazing what you can get done when the calendar is empty, and today is only Tuesday! Hmm. . . what else should I tackle this week?

Tackle It Tuesday

Links and a Question *updated*

I missed last week's links because of our computer issues. So, some of these are last week's carnivals, and what not. But before you go off browsing, a question. What are your favorite carnivals? I don't always include all the same ones, and I'm wondering if there are some you'd like me to be sure to include all the time. Of course my favorite is Make It From Scratch. It will always be here! *wink*


Carnival of the Recipes - Wild Card Edition, Gotta Get Grillin' Edition
next week - Hip to Be Square - favorite bar/square recipe

Speaking of Recipes. . . Piggy Bank Raid is sponsoring a Frugal Recipe Contest. There is a $20 cash prize. Entries are due by June 30th.

Learning in the Great Outdoors

Vegetarian Carnival

Outdoor Odyssey

Healthy and Fit Family

And a spotlight post about me on Motherload.

** Oh I almost forgot, Kelly at Pass the Torch is hosting Share Your Best Homeschooling Tips this Friday. Your participation is requested.

Now where was I. . .

before being rudely interrupted by faulty satellite equipment? Oh yes, I was going to tell you about our busy weekend. Last weekend that is. The kids and I traveled about four hours to attend a family reunion on my dad's side. Yes, that would be an Amish reunion. Tim was unable to go because of a commitment on Saturday, but I decided to go anyway. I think it is important for the kids to stay connected to their heritage.

We had a nice time at the reunion. There were about 175 people there. I couldn't even begin to name them all. The food was great, and it was nice to catch up with some family I haven't seen for a very long time. For more about the day see Delilah's, or Jake's posts. Two things of interest I'll high light here though. You never know who is reading your blog. Delilah mentioned this, but we found out one of my cousins and my aunt, whom I haven't seen for years, regularly read our blogs. (They aren't Amish by the way.) So, "hi" to both of you!

And a moment I wish I would have had my video camera for. I was pushing Vivian on the swing set, and this little Amish boy, maybe 4 years old, had a play cell phone. He was holding it up to his ear and just jabbering away, in Dutch. Hmmm. . . I wonder where he learned that from?

Since we were in the area, we decided to take some time to visit other family and friends. We made a surprise visit to Tim's parents, and then headed to Akron, where we used to live. We spent the night with Jake & Delilah and went to our old church and to a friend's house the next day. It was nice to see so many people we haven't seen for awhile. Here are some pictures:






We had a great time, and came home exhausted. Lucky for me I have a great husband who kept the house clean and worked on a lot of projects while we were gone. He even started the laundry! Maybe I should go away more often!

Help My Blog has been Hijacked!

After we lost internet service, I asked Tim to do a quick post, just to let you know I wouldn't be around for a few days. I come back to my blogs to find five posts! Three here and two at Stop the Ride! I think he was enjoying himself. He only posted twice at his own blog! What is up with that?

There has been a lot going on, and I don't have time for a long post now, but just wanted to let you know that I'm back. For now, I will leave you with a picture of our newest animals.

Stephanie is having withdrawl symptoms...bad

I think I am enjoying having all the control of Steph's blogs. I think it may be going to my head. Either way I am having way too much fun. Stephanie is have major withdrawals this morning. While I was up at 6:00AM helping Paul cut logs, She was busy trying to check her email and get on the web from my Treo. When I had to go to work and I took it from her, she was disappointed. She saw that I posted about the chicks, then exclaimed" You told them about the chicks?!?! I was going to do that!" I told her she could post the pictures. I think it is funny how dependent she is on the Internet, but I think we all are to some degree. Even my mom who doesn't even own a computer wants to read our blogs now and then. Well I think I need to get back to work.

We have chicks!

We have chicks! Our chicken has been sitting for the last 20 days or so, and out came 8 chicks! We managed to catch them and put the coop where they belong, but have never really stayed there. I patched the holes where I think the weasel or some predator got in and leather strapped the door shut. They survived Last night, but Then Stephanie wakes me up at 6:30am to tell me she can't find the one duck. Then 15 seconds later I hear this quacking, she is just fine, I think she laying at a different spot in the woods. We will see when the other hen has hatched her eggs what we will do with them can we put them all in the same coop? The family who gave us these ducks hatched out 2 last spring and they both died. They didn't have as big a yard to play in, we will see. We have pictures of the chicks, but alas, they are on the computer at home.

Technical Difficulties

Welcome to the first post from Stephanie's husband. I am posting today because our Internet service is out because of a terminal outage from our satellite Internet. It is going to cost us $250 to replace it because of the warranty was up in February. So Steph has no email, no posting abilities, and no Internet access from the house. She could come to my office to do her thing, or the library but as you know dragging all the kids to the library to just do computer stuff would be a train wreck. So, you may email her and I can print it out for her. She will be posting from my office at least once, I'm sure.

I Never Saw This Coming

Nolan (3) is quite the character. I never know exactly what to expect from him, but this I never saw coming. A bit of background, our house is getting new siding. As part of the process, all of the outside windows had to be taken off. Meaning we have the inside windows, but no screens.

The other day he was playing quietly, alone in his room. An unusual, but very much welcomed event. After playing awhile, he comes out to the kitchen. He is beaming, like he had done a very good thing. I said hello to him, and he turns to me with his most winning grin, and exclaims, "Mom, I peed out the window!"

I was pretty much speechless, but somehow managed to convey to him that it really wasn't a good idea. Oh, Nolan, he sure does give me lots of things to blog about.

The End of "Mom, I'm Bored."

Shannon has declared this weeks' Works for Me Wednesday, The Mom I'm Bored Edition. Honestly, I rarely hear that around my house. No, I really don't.

Part of the reason is we do school year around. We may not do quite as much book work in the summer, there are a lot more field trips and outside education, but the underlying routine still is there. Yes, that is great if you homeschool like we do, but doesn't help anyone else.

Though sticking to the routine helps some, I don't think that is the main reason my kids don't complain, "Mom, I'm bored." The main reason they don't utter those word is because they don't like my answer.

I don't think my job description as a mother is to entertain. They have toys, games, a huge "yard," and very vivid imaginations. That is not to say I never do anything with them. We play and work together all the time, but they need to learn to entertain themselves.

On a rare occasion a child may complain of boredom. I'm quick to relieve their boredom, "Hmmm.... How does your room look? How about under the bed and in the closet?" or "The van sure could use a good cleaning," or other some such suggestion. Sometimes, they actually do take my suggestion. Other times, they come up with something else, much more creative and fun to do. Funny how quickly their boredom goes away.

Two Goats

There is a bit of disagreement about their names, so for now they have none. Aren't they cute though?

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Links

Make It From Scratch

Carnival of Family Life

Carnival of the Recipes- Food for Body and Soul
next week grilling recipes.

Festival of Frugality will be at My Two Dollars.

And if you didn't catch my subtle announcement here, or my husbands not so subtle one here, I am doing a bit of freelance writing. I'm writing for a web site and its blog. You can see the articles here and here.

Enjoy your Tuesday reading!

More Animals, More Frustrations

Saturday we went to a giant swap meet. This swap meet is held three times a year, and it is huge. I couldn't guess the number of vendors there. I can tell you it took us all day to walk through the whole thing. There was everything there from horses to junk lawn mower decks. We were looking for animals; particularly goats, a pig, hens, and perhaps a ram.

Struck out on the ram. There were hardly any sheep there, and none were Suffolk. No luck on pigs either. Papaw was looking for a sow for Miles. Remember he asked for a pig for his birthday. There were some pigs there, but they either didn't look very good, or were overpriced, sometimes both.

Didn't have much luck with the hens either. We were looking for Rhode Island Reds. There were lots of chickens there, but not many Reds. We missed them. Instead we decided to buy a dozen half grown hens. We brought them home in a pet carrier.

Here is the frustration. The first night we left them in the carrier. The second into the coop. With new poultry we leave them penned a few days before letting them free range. The idea is to make sure they know where home is. That was the plan anyway.

Yesterday morning I went out and they were all gone. There was a gap in the fencing we didn't see. We couldn't find any of the chicks. I was pretty mad. Mad that we missed the gap, and mad that we spent money for nothing.

Later in the day, one showed up near the house. She hung out there all day. Kellen caught her in the afternoon, and put her back in the pen. (and plugged the gap) A few hours later another came back to the pen. I caught her, and put her in.

Kellen and I searched in the woods. We found three dead. So, five are accounted for and seven MIA. I'm glad two were found, but losing 10! UGH! Chatter box has been nesting about three weeks now. Hopefully she hatches out a nice group of chicks.

Now goats, there were lots of Boer goats. We got two nans. Mamaw and Papaw got another three nans and a billy. Two of the nans are full grown the rest are weaned kids. We bought the nans, all five, from the same vendor. It was quite the comedy trying to get all of them back to the stock trailer.

Imagine the scene. There are already nine people; Mamaw, Papaw, Eric, Tim and I, and our four kids. Add into the mix a double stroller, and five goats with make do twine halters and leashes. We had to "walk" these goats clear across the swap meet. The adults were fairly cooperative. The kids (goat ones that is) were not so much. Once we got moving they would pretty much follow the adults, except this one who kept being stubborn. There is always one isn't there? Needless to say, we stopped traffic walking through the grounds.


The goats are doing what we wanted them to do; clearing out the thickets. They are chomping down on the Greenbriar. Maggie wasn't too sure of them at first, but seems to have adjusted and be happy to have some company.

It was hot and dry at the swap meet. We were all coated in dirt from all the dust that got stirred up. We did have fun though. It was a long day. When we got there the place was packed, but by the time we left:


In other animal happening, the other two does never kindled. We've bred them all again. There is still hope for Kellen to have market rabbits for the fair. The 4-H advisor recommended feeding the doe and kits grow feed to try to get them up to weight in time. They have to be three pounds for the fair. We should have another litter in about a week and a half. We'll see what happens.

He also said that others are having the same problems we are. That made me feel better. Not that other people are having a hard time, but just knowing that it isn't just us.

I mentioned Chatter Box nesting. Now one of the ducks is nesting too. She just started a couple of days ago. The hens put their eggs in the same nest, but it looks like just the one is sitting on them.

I think that is it for animal updates. Not much happening with the cows and horses. We should have another calf soon though.