Today . . .

Out in the garden this morning . . .

I don't know what this flowering vine is, but it is beautiful! We have two of them in the garden.  The flowers are white, about the size of my outstretched hand. Any Ideas?

Hope your having a beautiful start to your day. Enjoy!

Believe it or not, I am still here.  Although I haven't been present in blog form, we have been pretty busy with life.  Not overwhelmingly busy, mind you, but just enough that blogging was the one thing that took a back seat.  I could say that I would like to set a goal of getting back to blogging regularly, but I have decided that this is one area that is an extra that has to be set aside as needed to concentrate on being Mom, teacher, wife, etc.

So, for today, I am dusting off the old blog and sharing a bit of what we have been up to the last few months.

Home Improvements.  We bought this house knowing that it would take a lot of work to update and make it our own.  It has been fun and quite the learning experience for all of us.  This will be going on for quite some time, a bit at a time.  So glad I married someone handy, he is so smart and and capable of doing everything that we have come upon.

Along with the house, we have a lot of work to do on our little farm to get it ready to be used.  We aren't going to really get into the farm part of things until next year, for now focusing on the house, but there was general clean up that needed to be done and all the kiddos were great at helping.  

Darling Helper and Dreamer decided to try out the life of a thespian this Spring.  They participated in the local theater's performance of Fiddler on the Roof.  They did a great job and had a wonderful first experience.

We focused on learning more about landforms of the Earth, for a Geography Unit this spring.  It was fun  to do some extra fun Science projects along with it and we were able to go on some very interesting field trips in conjunction with the unit study.  I am hoping to do a post just about this unit study soon.

Inspiring Words . . Thoughtful Points of View . .

I just watched the amazing speech given by Dr. Benjamin Carson at the National Prayer Breakfast.  It was  thought provoking and inspirational.  I know that it has been mentioned all week long, I am just getting time to sit and watch (without too many interruptions), and I have to share it.

If you are interested in watching, which I highly suggest, click on the link below.

Dr. Benjamin Carson Speech

~ ~ ~

Here a just a couple of his comments that resonated with me:

" . . . if you don't accept excuses, pretty soon, people stop giving them and they start looking for solutions."

" The person that has the most to do with you and what happens to you in life, is you.  You make decisions. You decide how much energy you put behind that decision."

~ ~ ~

I am also going to get a copy of one of his books, America the Beautiful, soon. Ok, I will probably try to get a copy of all of his books to read.   Enjoy!

80 Little Toes . . .

We have cousins visiting us for a few days.  The weather has turned a tad bit warmer ( mid 30's ) and the snow has decided it wants to melt a bit.  So instead of snow play going on, the prospect of mud play has not enticed me enough to send them all outside.  

It is the first day.  The first day always seems to be a little easier, so we will see how the next few days go.  Mud play might be necessary.

No major plans for the kiddos, while they are here, other than cousin time.  However, something might have to be introduced if the need arises.  Any suggestions?  8 kiddos between the ages of 12 and 1 1/2.  I know your all jealous and dying to be in my place. The excitement begins!!

Yes . . . still existing . . .

Well, here we are at the beginning of the new year and hopefully that will give me somewhat of a push to post more often.  The last few months have been quite busy for us and now that our days have gotten back to a more scheduled routine, I think I could add in a bit of time for posting.

As shared in a previous post, we were able to realize our dream of purchasing a home out in the country.  Not just the home, but with a bit of land to go with it.  When we found the property, it seemed that things fell into place for us to live there.  The home is about 35 years old and probably hadn't been updated that whole time on the interior, so a lot of work was needed, but it is clean and well cared for.  The exterior of the home had been update in the last 15 or so years and the yard is beautiful!  I am grateful for that.  The home sits on 24 acres of wild, somewhat rolling land.  

The land had not been farmed for probably 50 years and for the most part, because of the random, protruding lava rock, is not a good candidate for such.  That makes it perfect for us.  We have big ideas and dreams for it.  Some of those include, but are not limited to: planting lots and lots of trees, maybe a pond, chickens, steers, large gardens, maybe some fruit trees, corrals, barns, sheds, etc.  The dream is big, but I think we are off to a good start.  

The last few months of free time has been spent doing some remodeling.  One of the first things we did when we moved in was to completely rip out the kitchen.  The old one was small and outdated.  For our family, it needed to be bigger and more open.  

The dark cabinets, and the position they were in, made the room feel dark and small.  There was a dropped ceiling to accommodate the lighting and as much as I love the color orange, the counter tops had been utilized greatly and were in need of replacing.  I had hoped that I could recycle the cabinets, but they were made of a plastic/vinyl material that would have proved difficult to paint.  ( I did save them to use either in the laundry room or in the work shed )  

So, we took everything out, including the dropped ceiling.  We put in a new ceiling with can lights, enough to brighten the space nicely.  I was able to find used oak cabinets for sale, with enough to work perfectly for the look and use that I wanted.  I was able to paint them and finish them with an antiqued look.  For our counter tops, we did a marble tile.  This was a task, as we had not tiled before, but after the island was completed, things went quickly and smoothly and they turned out beautiful.  We replaced the carpeted flooring (yes, carpet in the kitchen), with wood laminate which we extended into the dining area, entry, and down the hall.  There is still much to be done and little things to finish, but already it feels like home; like us.

Well, this post has gotten a bit longer than I would like, so I will end it there.  Enjoy!

I say "poe tay toe", You say "poe tah toe" . . .

For the past few weeks, we have been watching the trucks full of potatoes zooming past our home on their way to the sorting cellars and beyond.  Soon enough, the field right outside our front door was busy with the bustling, booming sounds of potato harvest.  Once we saw past the clouds of dust, and thankful for the wisdom of the previous owners to plant trees all around the house to keep the dust off, it was fun and intriguing to watch the process take place.


We were lucky enough to glean after the harvest, with permission of the owner, of course. ( We want to maintain a good, healthy relationship with all our new "neighbors".)  Between all 6 of us and about 3 hours of work, we were able to glean about 60 gallons of the russets to share with friends and family and give us a good supply for winter.


The kids had a great time and they worked really hard.  It is always a sign of hard work when you start taking off your jackets and hats in 55 degree weather.  It was rewarding for them to get to deliver it to Dad's work for some very happy and appreciative co-workers. 

This is one of the many stamps
from around the world showcasing potatoes.
This one is specifically for Uncle Devin!

I decided it was a good time to get to know a bit more about our state's famous crop.  So, we visited the Potato Museum in a neighboring town.  It was very interesting and informative.  We all learned so much about the potato, it's history, growth, and uses.  The kids all laughed when we read that originally it was popular in Europe and England for it's blossoms and not the potato itself.  Marie Antoinetter even reportedly wore the potato blossom is her hair. Darling Helper really like that she now knows that french fries are truly french, made originally made by french chefs and possibly first introduced to America via Thomas Jefferson.  Peaches liked the models of the horse pulled carts carrying potatoes.  Bubba liked the tractors and implements.  Dreamer liked all the different varieties of potato mashers.

Hundreds of different potato mashers!

It was also interesting to find out that even though our state, today, produces one-third of the potatoes in the USA, potatoes were originally from South America, more specifically Peru in the Andes mountains.  The museum was self lead, simple, but very informative and worth the short drive there.  I think we all came away from it more appreciative of the spuds. Enjoy!

Home, Home on the Range . . .

. . .where the bunnies and coyotes play.

Yes, we have bunnies which I think in turn means that with them comes coyotes.  We have listened to their sullen tunes almost every night since we have been in our new home.  Since it has gotten a bit colder, it has been less and less, but instead of being fearful or negative about them, I actually find myself grateful because their presence has a lot of meaning; rural, nature, life, adventure.

So we are finally in our new home.  The kids refer to it as our farm, and even though it is lacking in many of the things that would define it as such, that is what we dream for it and so that is what it will be referred to as.   We have been doing some remodeling and updating immediately and so things have been a bit messy and chaotic.  Each I find myself consumed by the mess, I step outside into our beautiful yard and listen to the leaves rustle on the trees.  This afternoon, I sat by a window a bit longer just to listen to the birds outside.  It was wonderful!!  We are all so excited for our future here and for the potential and work that is ahead.  The kids have all made their own plans and it is fun to listen to their thoughts and ideas.

I will share a lot of before and after pictures of our remodeling when it is done and we are back to a slight routine.  Needless to say summer break had to be extended and fall break started early, but hopefully we will soon be back to "normal".  Enjoy!

Homeless . . . at Grandma & Grandpa's . . .

We spent a few days of our "homeless" two weeks at Grandma and Grandpa's farm.  We all love spending time there, especially the kiddos.  The first evening there, we went to tell Great Grandpa happy birthday.  He celebrated his 94th birthday with some of his family and beautiful bride, our Granny ( 89 years young herself), by his side.  It was great to be there and the kids loved seeing them and trying to understand how old 94 really is.  It was sweet to see him sitting side-by-side with Granny holding hands and giving support to one another.

The next day, we spent an entire day outside in the sun.  It was a beautiful day and Grandma and Grandpa have a beautiful yard to enjoy it in.  The kiddos had a great time looking at all the flowers, bugs, birds, clouds, etc.  They each took a turn describing to me what the saw and heard.  Dreamer asked if she could draw a picture of what she saw and that instantly got all the kids excited to do the same.  It was a great afternoon.

 They each spent time with some of the animals on the farm also.  Bubba has quite a relationship with Lady, Grandpa's dog.  He is always so excited to see her when we get there and they spend a lot of time together in the yard playing and exploring.  Lady had been digging and got her paws all dirty.  Bubba was quite concerned about this and after a very sincere, " Ah, Laney (this is how he says it, can't convince him otherwise) look what you did to yourself!" He went about cleaning her paws.  It was a very sweet moment.

While saying hello to the cats at the farm yard, the kids helped Grandma with some doctoring of one of the horses.  It had somehow got a cut around it's eye and needed some antibiotic and eye drops, so they thought it was great to watch Grandma be a "horse doctor".

We were able to help get their garden harvested and cleaned out.  The kiddos liked digging the potatoes and finding the spuds in the dirt.  They would get excited for each dig, not knowing just how many potatoes would be found and racing to collect them. It was a hard working, enjoyable time.  Enjoy!

Big Changes . . .

Well, after a very rocky start to our summer, we had settled in to the fact that we needed to enjoy the rest of the season and start life again.  We "moved" back into our home ( ok, so I just had to unpack the boxes ), and took some little weekend vacations.  I was settling into a nice routine and plan of what our August would turn out and then . . . things changed.  

My house is half empty and the other half is half full of boxes.  For the second time in 10 weeks, we sold our house.  This time around, things have gone swimmingly; inspection passed and DONE, appraisal DONE, and being able to receive updates from a neighbor, who just happens to be our buyers loan officer, we are confident that a closing will take place Friday morning.   So what does this mean for us?

Well, for the present it means packing, moving, cleaning, waiting.   We have to move out of our current home by Friday, but things for our "new" home won't be complete for another two weeks.  So, I have gratitude in the fact that the in-laws have room enough to store our belongings and that my parents live a reasonable distance away and have plenty of room for our family.

Things have worked out so surprising and well that it would be foolish of me to not recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives.  So, over the next few weeks, we will be in a state of transit and change.  The timing has thrown a bit of a kink in our plans to start formal learning after Labor day, but we will get by.

I have been horrible at writing and keeping updated, but I am hoping that a month from now, we will be one giant step closer to our hopes and dreams for our family.  I did want to share that throughout the last three months, I have experienced a myriad of emotions from happiness, doubt, sadness, frustration, uneasiness, and now peace.  I have been humbled and reminded through scripture reading that it is the Lord's plan that brings us happiness in this life and that we must include Him always in our lives and ask what He would have us do; where He would have us go.  I was especially inspired by some of the articles in the June and July Ensign ( this is a magazine published by our church).  Once we turned it over to the Lord, everything made sense.

Enjoy!

"Happiness Happens Month"

Do you know that August is "Happiness Happens Month"?  I didn't.  I am glad I know now and that I have been inspired and enlightened by the tale that explains it.  Follow the link below and read the story of "The 9 Nanas".  

"The 9 Nanas"

Very Insightful . . .

I just wanted to share an amazing post from Julia at Classroom Free.  It is well worth the read . . .

But How Do You Know They Are Learning?

Enjoy!!

Getting back . . . to Nature

Monday was very hot and the weather for the whole week seemed stifling, but I decided that if we didn't get out into the fresh air, it may not happen.  As soon as I could get all the kiddos ready, we set out for the mountains.  It was later than I wanted in the day, so I chose a short and mostly shaded hike that we had been on a couple of years ago.  The littles wanted to lead out, so we started on the least shady side of the trail.  



Immediately we were happy to see that everything was still green.  It has been such a dry spring and summer, but the shade of the forest kept the grass and flowers green and blooming.  All of us has noticed an increase in butterflies and moths flying about and there was no shortage on this hike.  Bubba found a butterfly hiding below that grass as we walked by.

Flowers in the sun had long dried up as were berries, but we found some hanging on.  We made it to the half way point that gives us a beautiful view of the valley that we live in.  We all rested in the shade and drank some water before moving on.

The last half of the hike was in the shade.  It was nice to enjoy the coolness and be outside.  The kids did a great job of quietly observing.  We were able to watch squirrels and birds.  We watched a woodpecker scurry around a tree pecking at bugs.  We had a great time. 

Enjoy!!

Nature all Around . . .

A few weeks ago, Dreamer came home from a family outing with a fuzzy caterpillar.  The area that we visited had a lot of butterflies and moths constantly flying around us, so we were all curious to find out if this caterpillar would turn into a moth or caterpillar.  

 Fuzzy Wuzzy

Once at home, we got out our butterfly enclosure and Dreamer set to work on a nice habitat for the caterpillar.  She incorporated dirt, twigs and fresh leaves.  She first gave it leaves from a poplar tree and he quickly went to town.  ( I saw he, but we really don't know if it is male or female, how can we tell?)  . . . Anyway, after about of week of providing fresh leaves and them being devoured quickly, there were a couple of days of not a lot of eating and then the caterpillar found a comfortable spot at the top of the habitat and began spinning a fuzzy, web-like cocoon. 

 The caterpillar was completely enclosed on the 13th and nothing has changed.  We are excited to see what happens, and hope that something will.

~ ~ ~

A week ago, Darling Helper found a salamander, or newt, in the widow well at a cousins house.  The next day, Dreamer found one also and so we came home from our trip with two amphibian stow-aways.       Dreamers salamander didn't seem interested in eating anything and lasted only about a week, but Darling Helper's slimy lizard has a voracious appetite.  When we got home, she made it a larger, comfortable habitat and after getting some worms to feed to him, she has been excited watch it.

Salty and Sweet . . .

As we drove home from a family members house yesterday, we passed a field of freshly cut hay.  It had rained early in the day and the aroma of the rain mixed with the hay drifted into our open car windows.  I took a deep sniff and then encouraged the kiddos to do the same and asked them what they thought.

"Isn't it great!"  I said.

"It's good," (insert sniff here), "and weird.  Good and weird." Darling Helper exclaimed.

"Kind of like salty and sweet.  I like it!"

Still Here . . . What we've been doing

We are still here.  Here is a little of what we have been doing the last month . . .

Lots of reading . . . 

Packing . . .

Unpacking . . . with none of this . . .

in between.  Frustrating, yes!  But, we go on.

I am hoping to get some posts in soon.  Hoping.

"Artsy" Birthday . . .

We celebrated 11 years of Dreamer's life this week.  She is our artist in residence, so of course the whole of the celebrations were art related.  It was her year for a friend party and she knew right away what she wanted to do; sand art. 

I looked for pre-done kits, but could not find exactly what she wanted, so we mixed a few kits from the dollar store, extra sand and glass bottles with corks from the local crafting store.  It was interesting to see all the different patterns and techniques used by each of the kids.  Her friends kept to her passion by giving her art supplies as gifts.  

She requested German pancakes with strawberries and cream for breakfast.  We had a great family dinner and party for her also and she was pretty excited about her gifts, especially art lessons once a week  from her very talented Grandma.  

Pizza, games, gifts, cone cakes . . . it was a great day!  The whole day was ended with the traditional pinata.

                Happy Birthday!!!

Adding Living Books . . . A New Find

I just finished reading the book The Hiding Place written by Corrie Ten Boom.  I feel like it is difficult to find the right words to describe this book.  It is absolutely a "living book".  

The biography of a woman from the Netherlands, that lived through World War II, and the experiences she and her family had during that time.  I learned so much from this book.  Beyond the historical information, I was amazed at the strength the individuals had for love and compassion, not only for their friends, family, and countrymen, but for their enemies and persecutors.  I also learned a lot about being a parent.  This book will be added to our list of Must Reads for our historical studies of the time during World War II.  I strongly recommend that all read this book.  Enjoy!

Lessons Learned at a Homeschool Conference

I just spent two wonderful days at the CHOIS Homeschool Convention.  The messages that I heard there were inspiring, educational, invigorating, informative, and spiritual.  While I very much enjoyed all the presenters and speakers in the workshops, I especially enjoyed being taught by Micheal Farris, Esq.  He is the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association ( HSLDA ), husband and homeschooling father of 10 children, founding president of Patrick Henry College, author and more.  He is a very informative and straightforward speaker.

I loved hearing about real life homeschooling challenges and successes from all the veterans we heard from.  Here are just some of the thoughts the presenters shared that stood out to me:

• Write a special life prayer for your children.  I see this as a mission statement for my children.
• Pray for your kids and let them hear you pray for them.
• Academics are not the most important thing to teach.  Help them master math and english, but have a broad exposure of everything else.
• Teaching your kids about God is the foundation, teaching them to believe in God is the ultimate goal.

Michael Farris, Esq. ~  The Spiritual Power of a Mother

• Don't create an unrealistic atmosphere if your going to have a large family
• Use paper plates, it's ok.  LOVED THIS! He also said, make sure you can afford it.
• Protect your family from those things that will steal your time.
• Children don't need fancy curriculum as much as they need a sane mom.  She needs a place of peace that she can retreat to.  The husband needs to make sure that mom gets the retreat.  
• The goal is to raise good parents.  You model good families; Goal is to raise good, strong families, not good children.  ( I liked this, I don't want to raise good children, I want them to be good parents and adults, not good children )
• Have a marriage central household.
• Schedule times to strengthen your marriage.  If it is not on the schedule, then it is not a priority.  Make it a priority.

Michael Farris, Esq.  ~  Homeschooling Large Families

• The marriage relationship is preeminent and forms the foundation of the home.
• Ephesians 5:22 - 28
• The quality of marriage ultimately depends on the husband. 

Joe and Zan Tyler ~  Lessons in Real Life

• Knowing about child development is important so we can gain understanding in what is appropriate for our children's learning needs and not expect more or less than they are capable.
• Development occurs across four strands: Physical, Cognitive (brain development), Social-Emotional, Spiritual

Connie Riser ~  Child Development-The Natural Stages of Learning

I hope this piqued your interest as much as it did mine.  If you have any questions or want more in depth information on something, let me know.  I will end with some of the books that were suggested reading by the presenters and ones that I am definitely going to get my hands on. Enjoy!

Teaching With the Brain in Mind

Your Child's Growing Mind

Blooms Taxonomy

Why America's Free

The Way They Learn

The Big What Now Book of Learning Styles

A First . . .

We've had a first at Our Home's School . . . a broken bone.  Our oldest, Darling Helper is 12.  We have three more kiddos ages 10, 6, and 4.  No broken bones, no major health issues of the sort.  Not until today.  

"A clean break", is what that doctor said.  It looks bad in this picture, but I think it looked worse.  She did a great job.  Setting the finger into the splint was painful for her, but she just gritted her teeth and didn't cry; brave girl.

So, on the way home, we stopped for a shake and I think she is feeling better.  The doctor asked her what she liked to do.  Piano, no piano now for about 4 weeks, Violin, nope, not for about 4 weeks, riding her bike ( ya, that's what got her here, bike crash), and Legos, this should be an interesting month. 

. . . as a side note, a couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with Peaches while she was in the bath.  She commented that fingers were very important and then said, " Life would be pretty hard without them."  Hmmmm . . . I guess now we have a guinea pig to test that theory.  Enjoy!

Memorial Weekend . . . To Remember . . .Maybe

For the last two years, we have planned to camp over Memorial Day weekend.  For those of you familiar with Idaho, this may seem a foolish thought, but never-the-less, we have prepared, traveled, and attempted.  So far, we are 0 for 2.  

Last year, we packed up early for low temperatures and snow.  This year, it was a mixture of rain, rain, rain and oh yes, rain.  It all began lovely.  The temperatures were inviting and we were able to set-up camp in a timely manner to enjoy hot dogs over the fire, followed by popcorn and treats.  We called it a night at dark after some fire side chatting and a bit of exploration by the littles.

Saturday morning began early.  The Mighty Dad set out to help some of our family with some improvements on the area (this is family land and we love having the blessing of enjoying it) and it started to rain at about 8 am.  Sprinkles and mist, at first, then quickly followed by a steady downpour.  The workers persisted and decided to stop at about 11:30.  So we retreated to the trailer, the kiddos had been there for a while already, and had some lunch, a bit of a rest, and played some games; waiting for the clear weather the "weather man" predicted.

We finally had a break at about 4:30 pm.  We quickly got out to the sun and tried to enjoy it . . . not knowing when it would end.  The kiddos explored and explored, we did a little skeet shooting, four-wheeler riding, and had some dinner.  We finally sat down to enjoy the sun and it began to get dark and cloudy.  We gathered under the canopy just in time to avoid a 20 minute hail storm, followed by a 30 minute rain and then a clear, blue sky.  

This lasted long enough for smores on the fire and then back to rain.  By this time it was about 9 pm and we were all so tired of the rain and tired from the work, so we went to bed.  At about 2 am, Darling Helper and Peaches became sick to their stomachs.  So for the next few hours of in and out sleep, throwing up, and cleaning up, the rain remained steady, like a bit of rhythmic music for our nights escapades.  

At about 9 am, we all drowsily woke to the pitter-patter that we had hoped would subside; not so.  So, unanimously, we decided to pack it up and head home.  All night we worried about the affect the rain was having on the dirt roads that led us back to civilization.   So, we threw the kids in the truck, broke camp and threw everything in the trailer and headed home.  We made it out amid mud puddles grasping at every surface.  So, another failure with camping over Memorial day.  I don't like to fail . . .

. . . but did we?  A lot of fun was had, yummy food was eaten, time was spent with family, and even in the rain, we loved every minute of it.  Looking forward to next year!

Enjoy!