Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Sunshine!

05.15.10

This week has been sunny and warm for a nice change :-)   With this nice change in the weather, we were able to get our garden tilled.  The lady (who owns the tractor/tiller) came by Friday morning and whipped through our garden.  Friday afternoon.. my husband took me to one of the local family owned plant stands.  We bought two flats of veggie plants… I can’t wait to plant them!  I am hoping to get the garden planted Sunday afternoon. 

With this nice weather, comes more outside time.  This past week we had a family picnic/gathering.. I wanted to share a couple pic’s :-)

My youngest daughter on the left, my oldest daughter in the middle.. playing with their cousin :-)

The boys and Sam were able to get a little game of baseball in Thursday.   All in all.. We had a wonderfull sunny week!!

Spring Break

03.27.10

Spring break seemed to fly by.  My husband took the whole week off from work, and I’m sad to see it over.  We accomplished so many projects.. not to mention had a lot of fun :-)   Our biggest project was our windows.  Our windows are the cheap alluminum type.  This past week we had half of them replaced with nice vinyl windows.  I am looking forward to not dealing with the black mold & mildew in that half of the house.  After the contractor’s installed the windows, we took the responsibility of replacing the trim ourselves (to save us quite a bit of money).  For the most part, that was finished up yesterday…

We built and finshed another livestock pen with shed.  I needed another pen to corral our lamb.  We delivered another set of triplet goats.. with one last goat remaining, due 4 days ago!

My daughter, Abby, moved home this past week.. that has been a lot of adjustment in the house.  She and her friend cleaned and painted her bedroom.  It is shaping up real nice..

Our family took a fun hike.  The children learn so much on our outings :-)   On this hike, we were able to show the smaller children how to determine the age of a tree – by counting it’s growth rings. 

Also, on this particular trail, there are many markers along the way with historical facts about that particular location.  This trail is called, ‘Sawmill Trail’.. named for the old sawmill that occupied that area.  We hike it often.. it’s close to home and easy for the children to manuever.

Of course.. it’s always best for the boys to wear their ‘muck boots’… what boy can avoid mud puddles? Lol..

Youth Orchestra

01.28.10

For a long time, I have felt that learning how to play music is important.  When I was young I had the opportunity to play the clarinet.  I played it for a very short time before I realized I was waaay too busy for that sort of thing :-(   So, I quit.  To this day, I regret that decision.  My oldest daughter is an exceptional clarinet player.  She has been playing for about 7 years now. 

I came across a local youth orchestra about 1 1/2 years ago.  I had heard rumors through the homeschool loops about it.. but never really was seeking info.  We decided to put our oldest and second oldest sons in the orchestra.  What a great experience it has been.  It is very affordable.. and for a bonus there are many, many local homeschoolers.. (it’s not exclusive homeschoolers, there are public school children also). 

It amazes me each and every time I hear them play.  My boys went from not knowing a note, 1 1/2 years ago, to playing beautiful music.  The lessons are once a week, with two concerts a year.  We had this years first concert a couple nights ago.  Elijah (our oldest son) plays viola and Nehemiah (second oldest son) plays violin.

There are 4 levels in this orchestra ~  Pre-beginning, beginning, intermediete & advanced…  My guys are in beginning this year.  When I listen to the whole concert.. each level, I am in total awe of the older teens who have been playing for years and years -  they have become quite accomplished musicians.

My son's orchestra playing at a concert the other night.. sorry the picture is not real clear.

Beginning level youth orchestra in concert 1-26-10.

A New Beginning..

01.16.10

I’ve been meaning to get back to this blog for quite some time now… Everything got so busy around here.. I just couldn’t fit in one more thing.  So, today is the day :-)   Here I am… hopefully ready to make a fresh start.  I came across the below letter on the web recently.  I wanted to start off with food for thought…

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

 

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

 

 

 

 

Family Get Together

11.09.09

Our family tries to get together every month or two.  We usually gather at one of our homes… or more often a pizza parlor, yum :-)   This months get together was fun…  We met at a local pizza place..  There was quite the turn out.. with 19 family members show.  My aunt had just been to the animal shelter right before she arrived.. she adopted two puppies… she said they are true ‘muts’..lol.. the animal shelter thought they were 1/2 poodle, 1/2 terrier…  All I know is they were adorable!  They are sisters and guessed to be about 3 months old.

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This is a picture of my 3 year old oooogling over them :-)

Homegrown Pumpkins

10.17.09

This morning we decided to pick our very own homegrown pumpkins.  They were good sized,  bright orange garden gems ready for the picking.  It was a lot of fun, most of the children still had their pajamas on.  We are scheduled to go to the pumpkin patch next week.  We will gut all the pumpkins for their seeds  – one of our favorites, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.  I will put some pumpkin in the freezer for breads, etc..  and the rest will go to the chickens for feed :-)

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3….2….1…. Blast Off!

09.22.09

Our family met with another family tonight to shoot off their rocket – named Big Bertha.   They had several engines and thought we would like to share the fun!   The children (and dads) had lots of fun. 

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There were quite a few trees around the field and they were able to avoid them 11 out of 12 times..lol

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Speaking of tree’s, there were several old fruit trees scattered around the park…  The children enjoyed picking the apples and pears..  What a great place to find a snack!

Our Friends Daughter Picking Apples & Throwing Them Down To The Waiting Mouths :-)

Our Friends Daughter Picking Apples & Throwing Them Down To The Waiting Mouths :-)

 

Wedding Reception

09.13.09

A couple weeks ago a good friend of our family had a private wedding ceremony.  Today she and the groom held a reception, which everyone was invited too.  Instead of the traditional wedding cake, they served ice cream with many, many toppings.  Along with the ice cream sundae’s, there was also a wide array of fruit salads and brownies :-)   We left with the party with a total sugar rush..lol.. 

They had a television centered up front with a continuous stream of wedding pictures.  The bridesmaid sang a song, as did her brother.  Three of her little brothers recited scripture.  All in all, it was a very lovely gathering.  As I heard one of my (and their) friends say, ‘It was the best reunion ever’… because there were many families attending and we don’t get together like this very often. 

Congrats to the newly married couple!!

Fair Time Is Fun Time!

08.06.09

1st Place - Gettysburg Battle Scene

1st Place - Gettysburg Battle Scene

Each year our family looks forward to the county fair.   We submit several items for judging.  Myoldest son entered the above battle scene. 

 

 I had submitted 17 items.  I did not do as well as some years… But would say I “faired” well enough :-)   I received 3 – 1st places, 4- 2nd places, 3 – 3rd’s & 1 – 4th place.   Here is my best win… I not only got 1st place, but won and additional prize (not sure what it is yet)..

1st Place + 2nd Place Ball & Kerr Best Soft Spread ;-)

1st Place + 2nd Place Ball & Kerr Best Soft Spread ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After looking at all our our submissions and those of other folks we know, ie.. competition…lol..  We went off to the animal barns.  I tell you there isn’t too many things cuter than baby pigs…  (only cute when babies) -

8 Day Old Baby Pigs.. Those Bars You See Are To Protect Them From Their Exta Large Sized Mama Who Might Step On Them... Or Roll Over On Them.  So They Crawl Out Of Their Little Safe Haven Too Eat, Then Run Back For Safety

8 Day Old Baby Pigs.. Those Bars You See Are To Protect Them From Their Exta Large Sized Mama Who Might Step On Them... Or Roll Over On Them (Lovely Thought If You Are Only 1-2 Lbs & Your Mama Is Into The Multiple Hundreds Of Pounds In Size). They Crawl Out Of Their Little Safe Haven Too Eat... Then Run Back For Safety

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After taking in every type of livestock imaginable.. we strolled to the food court.  We saw other fair food connoisseur’s holding these massive baskets of curly fries.  All we new, is that we had to have some of those fries… mmmmm…  It only took my poor husband 20 minutes to get them.. Meanwhile back at the dinner table - I’m fighting off the hungry mob (7 kids)…  I look back and wish that I would of taken a picture of those fries…

 

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Our 5 Year Old Scream'n By On The Tiger Roller Coaster

Off to the rides.. This is what the kids can’t wait for (we must of heard, “Can we go on the rides yet” 1,000,000 times) 

 I liked this picture of our 5 year old.  Every picture was a blur..lol.. 

 

 

 

The ride  pictured below with the teenagers was a scrambler type.  Once the little sphere was flying high, they were able to turn the wheel in the middle to spin around in circles, UGH!  We were laughing our pants off as the girls were screaming (the boys were cranking the wheel).

 

(From Left) Neice, Son, Daughter & Daughter's Friend.  After Watching The Children On This Ride, I Felt It Would Only Be Qualified As "Fun" If Your Age Ends With 'Teen'.

(From Left) Neice, Son, Daughter & Daughter's Friend. After Watching The Children On This Ride, I Felt It Would Only Be Qualified As "Fun" If Your Age Ends With 'Teen'.

After all that… there was one more stop to make.  Josh Turner was the headlining concert.  We know & like many of his songs and thought we would pop in and watch him for a short time… The few songs we got to hear were fun.  I found my feet wanting to tap and body moving to the music (had to remember that I was old mom standing there.. not young teen..lol)..  Here are a few Josh Turner Songs :-)
What a day!  Dear Husband & I will be rested and ready for the fair next year. 

Ice Age 3

07.26.09

We started the day off with yard work… cleaning the barn, mowing, weedeating and watering….  A trip through the garden to pick, etc..  By the time lunch time rolled around, it was HOT outside!  Sam’s brother called to see if we would like to swim -  Needless to say, he didn’t need to twist our arm ;-)   

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Towards the end of our swim, he asked us if we would like to go to the movies….  Again, we didn’t need our arm twisted too hard, lol.  It had been four years since we have watched a movie at the theaters before tonight.  We saw Ice Age 3… Too funny!  There are numerous one liners… the ones that make it funny for the parents.  Our littlest daughter (2 11/12 yrs.) did great!  The only noise she made is when she saw everyone else eating popcorn.