The Boy Scouts of America issued a statement on their website with their new MembershipStandards/Resolution on May 23 (2 days ago) that they will be allowing openly gay students to join the BSA as of January 1st, 2014. Some may applaud this decision, but we are heartbroken over it.
For 103 years, the Boy Scouts has promoted high moral character, upright living, with a focus on doing good, learning survival skills, and encouraging boys to be boys... with strong moral character.
Now, they have apparently decided that strong moral character is no longer important? Since when?
My husband, an Eagle Scout, and our oldest son, who just crossed over to Bear Scout (3rd year Cub Scout) are withdrawing from the scouting organization with heavy hearts.
We aren't opposed to the people who say they are gay - it's the actions we are against, not the people. We're all sinners - gay or straight - but the gay lifestyle is living intentionally in that sin - and some of them so flagrantly that they feel the need to smear it in our faces. We don't push our orientation in their faces with our comments or excessive displays of public affection - and we certainly do not want them pushing theirs in ours.
Love the sinner, hate the sin. We don't hate the people - but we hate the *lifestyle* of men being with men, and women being with women. It is contrary to the Biblical standards we hold so dear, and we don't want this forced into the awareness of our children. As the children mature, we do explain to them about how different people choose different lifestyles than we do - some just different from us, some wrong, some right, but we also stress that it is not our place to stand in judgement. It is, however, our place to stand firm in our convictions and to stand for what is right. This is something the Boy Scouts of America used to be proud to do as well. Why they stopped, what changed all that, is baffling.
I don't get it - why does sexual orientation need to factor in?
Now, for the arguments that the BSA isn't about sexuality - no, it's not. It's about boys being boys and learning to do things in nature, in life... their camping trips and things are supposed to be "safe" from certain kinds of influences - one of the reasons why it's not co-ed, right? It isn't appropriate for a bunch of girls and boys to go camping together, sharing tents with the opposite gender, when they are unrelated. How then is it ok for boys who are attracted to boys to share a tent with other boys? How safe is it (for the straight boys or the gay boys) to go camping in the same tent with another boy who may decide that he has a "crush" on his tentmate, or for a straight boy who is so opposed to the gay lifestyle that there may be bullying? what about if there are 2 or more "gay" boys who decide to go after a straight boy? (it's happened - maybe not in scouts, but I know it has happened - I know a straight boy who was attacked by 3 gay boys and spent much time in intensive care recovering from what they did to him, and he will never be the same *physically* as he was before that time, never mind the emotional and psychological trauma). Boy Scouts is supposed to be safe from all that stuff.
Years ago, I worked as a secretary in am auto glass shop. The tune up shop next door had a gay female who worked there - she decided that she liked me "that way" and really pursued me - even when I made it clear that I was not interested. At. All. I didn't want to be rude to her, but it reached a point that I went to my boss in tears, begging him to deal with her and make her leave me alone (he treated me like a daughter, and at that time, I went to him as a father-figure in need of his help). That behavior was intimidating- at times it was frightening. And yes, I was an adult. I was a mother. I'm not easily intimidated, but she managed to do it with how pushy she was and how forceful she was about if I would "just try it", I'd find that I would "want it". Um. No.
Am I saying that all gay people will be pushy like that? No. Are all straight people pushy like that? No. But some are. Do I want my sons to go on a scout outing and potentially have to deal with that? And if they speak up, will they be accused of being "intolerant" or "hateful" for refusing the advances of a gay person? That's just not fair. But it has happened to others for not being gay or being opposed to the gay lifestyle.
There have been gay scouts (I imagine there are some right now), but they are/were not *openly* gay - it wasn't a topic, it wasn't an issue - but by making it an issue through allowing *openly* gay boys to join the Boy Scouts, it has become an issue. Sex has suddenly become a topic that our boys must have thrown in their faces as a result of this. They are boys. Not men. Not yet. They should be building things, learning about nature, putting up tents, going fishing, doing good deeds... exploring the world. Not exploring sexuality. That is for the adult world.
Boy Scouts used to be a safe place for our boys to grow and learn and explore. Now, it isn't going to be that safe place anymore.
It feels like the leaders who have made this decision (and yes, we did get the survey, filled it out and shared our voice in opposition to this move) have failed. They have failed as strong, moral characters, they have failed as men. They have failed our boys. Shame on them. They should be as ashamed of themselves as we are of them.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Graduating our oldest
Here are some pictures of her special day:
After TJ spoke (using Proverbs 31 and Colossians 3:12-17 as the "foundation" of his talk), and I gave a little history on our homeschooling journey, he gave Natasha her diploma (after reading it aloud to our guests) and I gave her a little statuette (both pictured at the top of this blog entry)
After the short ceremony, we served refreshments and had a time of fellowship, enjoying the quiet afternoon - we had about 25 show up to celebrate her day, and had fun in each other's company. It was a relaxed time, and she came away from it all smiles!
The cupcakes were made by a friend who has done a good bit of professional catering and cake decorating - they were scrumptious! (and her frosting beats the pants off of mine - I need to get a copy of her recipe!!)
Natasha made regular and blueberry scones, and I sliced strawberries and watermelon and pineapple, plus put out some pretzels, and we had a 7 layer dip with chips made by a friend as well. Simple, easy, and nice.We also had a display board with pictures collected from infancy through her birthday last month, which came together nicely, and her friends especially enjoyed the ages and stages of her "life in pictures".
All said, it was quite an exciting experience! One down... at least eight more to go! I'm not in any rush, though! *grin*
I never thought I would...
Things I never thought I would do…
Put my hand in a cow’s mouth
Put a thermometer in a cow’s rear
Stick any animal with a needle
Land in a pig slop trough
And laugh about it!
Stay awake at night worrying about a calf making it through the night
Spend more on animal feed in a month than on people groceries!
Get to where I wouldn’t buy meat
Because of raising all of our own!
Be excited about all the manure outside
Because it’s free compost for the garden!
Skin a pig
Make my own bacon
Cure my own ham
Grind my own meat
That I raised and grew and fed
And played with!
Chase a cow through a muddy pasture during a thunderstorm
To keep it from getting out through the barbed wire
And spending half of the next day fixing fence that startled cows trampled
And unbending/ straightening the cattle panels.
Putting up 5 acres of fence by myself
Making sure the fence line is straight and panels attached securely.
Learning to raise animals while raising nine kids
Having nine kids
That are mine!
And loving it!!
Running 3 loads of laundry
Every day
6 days a week
And still getting behind on laundry at times!
Yup, learning to be a hobby farm wife and mom to a large family has been a growing and learning experience! Make that MANY experiences!!! J
And you know what?
I wouldn’t trade it.
Not for the world.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Polar Bear Dance...
Living with a person who has bi-polar disorder is like a long and winding roller coaster - sometimes things go smoothly, with a few minor bumps and curves (that everyone everywhere experiences from time to time in life) and sometimes you're holding on to the edge of your seat almost certain that you're going to be thrown from the ride or derail in a horrific accident. There are immensely satisfying days and excruciatingly painful days. The trick is figuring out which one you get more of.
Thankfully in this day and age, mental illness is not looked upon as a spiritual disease (except in a few extremist groups) and it is something that is becoming more and more recognized and treated in the medical community. I remember growing up in my father's home under his manic-depressive rule (manic depression was later re-named bi-polar disorder) and the swing between fear of catching his attention and desperation to catch it. It wasn't until after I left his home during my high school years that he was diagnosed, and I remember the tremendous relief to hear about it - it wasn't all my fault after all! There was something much bigger than me or his dislike of me going on. Sometimes I wonder if it was a blessing or a curse to grow up in his household, with the issues mental illness brings with it - on the blessing side, I was able to recognize many signs in my daughter to get an early diagnosis from a good psychologist for her "early onset" bi-polar, and we have since been working on getting a good, stable hand on her medications. Of course in the medical community it seems they have drugs for just about everything - not all of them good for you, and many that are long-term detrimental to a person's health - many untested over long periods of time, or not intended for use in children - all of these especially good reasons to research medications suggested by the docs and to also research natural alternatives (to be used with a knowledgeable mental health professional so that we don't do more harm than good or use something that may contraindict with another medication, etc...) Needless to say, this has been a learning journey. And the difference between being the daughter of a bi-polar parent is a significant change from being the parent of a bi-polar child. Add in the teen age years and you get a very interesting (and sometimes tenuous) combination.
In our case, we get a bear of many colors. Much like a "mood ring" of the 70s and 80s, her colors can change in an instant and last for seconds, hours, or days. Bi-polar swings do not always come with a depressive swing, but can come with an anger swing instead - taming that beast (the swing, *not* the child - definitely not calling the child a beast - just to be clear) can be difficult and sometimes feels impossible. We're still figuring it all out - sometimes it feels like we're making headway, and other times it feels like an absolute, utter, and complete failure. Sometimes as a parent *I* feel like an utter and complete failure because of the bi-polar behaviors we struggle with at times. It's a roller coaster.
Personally, I always preferred the tilt-a-whirl, the carousel, the thunderbolt... the rides that can feel like you're going round in circles and sometimes a little like things are spinning out of control, yet you know the ride is firmly grounded. There are no tracks to go flying off of, and there are seatbelts to help you stay in your seat - oh, and there's not flipping upside down where you might fall out of your seat! Unlike roller coasters where you can have any and/ or all of those things.
No, the roller coaster of bi-polar is more like a dance from one roller coaster to the next - and no one in the home or family escapes the ride. In some ways, it helps to build character and helps a family learn problem solving skills and life skills in how to handle more... challenging... kinds of people (ok, I'll say it - difficult people, because some people just are, bi-polar or not!) On the flip side, it can also hurt. Like dancing with a partner who keeps trodding on your feet. It can be downright painful at times.
Growly bear, grouchy bear, the so-not-a-morning-bear, the snuggly bear, hungry as a bear, teddy bear, and mad on-a-rampage bear... Which bear will we dance with next?
Thankfully in this day and age, mental illness is not looked upon as a spiritual disease (except in a few extremist groups) and it is something that is becoming more and more recognized and treated in the medical community. I remember growing up in my father's home under his manic-depressive rule (manic depression was later re-named bi-polar disorder) and the swing between fear of catching his attention and desperation to catch it. It wasn't until after I left his home during my high school years that he was diagnosed, and I remember the tremendous relief to hear about it - it wasn't all my fault after all! There was something much bigger than me or his dislike of me going on. Sometimes I wonder if it was a blessing or a curse to grow up in his household, with the issues mental illness brings with it - on the blessing side, I was able to recognize many signs in my daughter to get an early diagnosis from a good psychologist for her "early onset" bi-polar, and we have since been working on getting a good, stable hand on her medications. Of course in the medical community it seems they have drugs for just about everything - not all of them good for you, and many that are long-term detrimental to a person's health - many untested over long periods of time, or not intended for use in children - all of these especially good reasons to research medications suggested by the docs and to also research natural alternatives (to be used with a knowledgeable mental health professional so that we don't do more harm than good or use something that may contraindict with another medication, etc...) Needless to say, this has been a learning journey. And the difference between being the daughter of a bi-polar parent is a significant change from being the parent of a bi-polar child. Add in the teen age years and you get a very interesting (and sometimes tenuous) combination.
In our case, we get a bear of many colors. Much like a "mood ring" of the 70s and 80s, her colors can change in an instant and last for seconds, hours, or days. Bi-polar swings do not always come with a depressive swing, but can come with an anger swing instead - taming that beast (the swing, *not* the child - definitely not calling the child a beast - just to be clear) can be difficult and sometimes feels impossible. We're still figuring it all out - sometimes it feels like we're making headway, and other times it feels like an absolute, utter, and complete failure. Sometimes as a parent *I* feel like an utter and complete failure because of the bi-polar behaviors we struggle with at times. It's a roller coaster.
Personally, I always preferred the tilt-a-whirl, the carousel, the thunderbolt... the rides that can feel like you're going round in circles and sometimes a little like things are spinning out of control, yet you know the ride is firmly grounded. There are no tracks to go flying off of, and there are seatbelts to help you stay in your seat - oh, and there's not flipping upside down where you might fall out of your seat! Unlike roller coasters where you can have any and/ or all of those things.
No, the roller coaster of bi-polar is more like a dance from one roller coaster to the next - and no one in the home or family escapes the ride. In some ways, it helps to build character and helps a family learn problem solving skills and life skills in how to handle more... challenging... kinds of people (ok, I'll say it - difficult people, because some people just are, bi-polar or not!) On the flip side, it can also hurt. Like dancing with a partner who keeps trodding on your feet. It can be downright painful at times.
Growly bear, grouchy bear, the so-not-a-morning-bear, the snuggly bear, hungry as a bear, teddy bear, and mad on-a-rampage bear... Which bear will we dance with next?
Monday, May 6, 2013
Gearing down... or is that winding up?
Not sure which it is, or if it can/ will actually happen, but the goal by the end of this month is to get our schedule a little quieter! :)
It's been non stop the last few months - between handling farm chores (we did decide on a name, by the way - "Windy Acres" - it just fits :), feeding and fattening up our new babies (wow are they getting big!!) and playing mama-vet to a sick calf (long story, but he's much better now!!), then of course my normal day to day stuff of schooling the 6 oldest kids, preparing for our oldest daughter's graduation (less than 2 weeks away!!!), keeping up with laundry and trying to keep up with housework (a little here, a little there - it's mostly done by the end of the week each week) and adding in a couple hours of driving my husband to and from work each morning and evening - whew, I'm ready for a break! :)
Happy endings - 4-H projects are wrapping up and the kids are "gearing down" and getting busy with individual projects to submit for the fair in July - that comes with it's own set of busy, but I'm trying to keep everyone on top of what needs doing so there isn't any last minute rushing right before the deadline!
School... well, the 3 youngest aren't old enough yet, the 3 middlest are done (yeah!!) for this year, and the 3 oldest are wrapping up - Lord willing they should be all finished by the end of this week! (please, please, please....) We've pushed hard and are all looking forward to the break :) Of course, the beginning of that break includes my annual lesson planning for the upcoming year - usually takes a couple hours a day for about a week and I'll have at least our summer term and first semester planned out! I'll tackle the second semester in December, and probably not before... *grin*
Cub Scouts - Andrew is close to finishing up his year as a Wolf, and will be crossing over to Bear later this month. He is beyond excited - this means that he gets to get his hands on the new book and start working his way through a new set of projects, some with Daddy, some with me, and some on his own - regardless of who he does things with, it gives him a whole new set of adventures to tackle. It's great to see him take off with this and enjoy it all so much!!
Speech class - Abigail, Rachel, and Sarah are finishing up their classes tomorrow, with the "grand finale" being their presentations for parents. Each girl (as is true of each of their classmates) has been selected by their instructors to do certain tasks/ performances for the parents & guests for their last day of class. It's been a great learning experience for them, and we're looking forward to the next class coming up again next school year! :)
GRADUATION DAY!!! Such an odd feeling, realizing that Natasha will no longer be in high school after this year... wow! She starts college classes, or at least that is the plan, in the fall. I've requested that she take a minimum of one year of basic courses, and of course she can add in electives for fun stuff (underwater basket weaving anyone??) She's really thinking that she would like to work as a bank teller until the time comes for her to be married (no, nothing on the horizon there - just something she's thinking about long term. She is in agreement that a wife's place is ideally in the home once she is married, so while she's interested in learning the intricacies of banking as a short term goal, she is eventually wanting to marry, stay home and have children, and has talked about how she looks forward to homeschooling them when the time comes (oh, that does a mama's heart good!). Until such a time as the Lord brings the young man into her life that He has for her, she plans to remain home, taking some classes to expand her education and working part time while she prepares for the future.
This also starts the mark of some new things - more time with the barn babies - working on barn projects more, more time to play outside, gardening projects, weaning the bottle calves in a couple more weeks (or rather, starting the weaning process...) and gearing up for butchering our second cow (he's finishing now!)
TJ is very much looking forward to his CT scan at the end of this week, which will determine if he will be allowed to start walking anytime soon again or not - we're all hopeful that things will look good and the doc will give him the green light to start putting some weight on his new foot and work on regaining the strength that has been lost over months of not using it. His running will be on the back burner for some time yet, but he's really looking forward to at least getting to walk on both feet again. Upside is that once he's back up to strength, he can be more independant (this dependance thing has been hard on him, and I know he's feeling guilty watching me do all the work that we both normally do, and when I'm too tired to stay awake for a good conversation or anything else at night, he feels it even more so) - the downside is that it will put him back out in the missile field, so he won't be home every day again for who knows how long. That part stinks, because it's been nice having him home every evening (even when I'm not energetic and awake enough to be much company, lol). I guess pretty much every knife has two sides to it, though, huh? Some things are good, some are not as much.
That said, when he's driving again, I'll also regain those hours of my day driving back and forth from the base to catch up on things that I've fallen behind on and can have more energy to spend with my husband when he is home - and more focus on the kids, too! :) IN the meanwhile, kids and I have been working together on barn things and feeding animals and what not, along with school time, so at least it's not like we have to ship them off to public school and then they only get me when I'm already worn down to a nub of alert energy :) Homeschooling is a tremendous blessing in so many ways!
Another up and coming is with the animals - kids will be getting horse riding lessons starting at the end of this month, through the summer - even better, it's a barter deal (suggested by their teacher, who is also one of their 4-H leaders) - they get 2 hours of lessons once a week at our house with our horses in exchange for a quarter of beef when we butcher our next cow! Sweet! :)
We also have the upcoming learning experience on training hogs and calves - that is going to be a new experience for us, but we're looking forward to getting those things figured out that escaped us so very badly last year! ha! :) I'll be out there learning right alongside the kids, too - I don't want a repeat of George, our last cow (and wow is he yummy!!) with his charging and rough play when he's 5 and 6 times a grown man's weight! that got a little scary for me, lol - I"m looking forward to learning how to teach the calves (while they are still small enough!) how to lead tie, halter, and follow on the lead rope without the bucking and playing and trying to wrestle the humans handling them! *grin* all good lessons for them and us to learn!
So, yeah, it's been a wild and busy ride these past months, keeping up with most things and trying to at least cover the surface of things that haven't gotten the attention they need - looking forward to our school break, the graduation of our oldest in a couple of weeks, the opportunities with outside and animals and gardens and all sorts of stuff we're learning about :)
We have a trip scheduled in August for kids to see the eye specialist again - if all continues to go well with Rebecca, the doc said she will probably not need the eye surgery we had anticipated her having, which is exciting! Ben seems to be developing a more acute case of the same issues, which becomes more and more visible to my untrained eye, and so I had him in for a check up the other day - sure enough, so we have a referral in for him to see the same doc, as well as Andrew, who has a much more mild case of the same. It's called an eye muscle disease, but isn't a disease in the sense that I tend to think (when I hear disease, I think cancer or heart issues - this isn't scary like that, as with treatment it can be helped and can retain their eyesight (a definite bonus! *grin*) Anyway, sometimes patching the strong eye to make the weakening eye work harder, sometimes corrective glasses and/ or eye exercises do the trick. Having a great doc with the knowledge and expertise (experience and education!) to know how to best help each child's individual needs is key, and we are so thankful for our doc with his decades of experience!! Anyway, the long drive is nice and scenic, and the city we go to see that doc is big with a Hobby Lobby and a Toys R Us, so the kids always have a blast on those trips, long days that they are. :)
I'll try to get updated pictures of our growing barn babies soon - but of course that's time dependant, so we'll see when I can! In the meanwhile, hope you have a great rest of the month, and I'll try to update more when things get a little quieter and less busy around here. :)
Little man Caleb is needing Mama nursies, Hannah and Ben need snuggle stories, and so I need to run! :)
It's been non stop the last few months - between handling farm chores (we did decide on a name, by the way - "Windy Acres" - it just fits :), feeding and fattening up our new babies (wow are they getting big!!) and playing mama-vet to a sick calf (long story, but he's much better now!!), then of course my normal day to day stuff of schooling the 6 oldest kids, preparing for our oldest daughter's graduation (less than 2 weeks away!!!), keeping up with laundry and trying to keep up with housework (a little here, a little there - it's mostly done by the end of the week each week) and adding in a couple hours of driving my husband to and from work each morning and evening - whew, I'm ready for a break! :)
Happy endings - 4-H projects are wrapping up and the kids are "gearing down" and getting busy with individual projects to submit for the fair in July - that comes with it's own set of busy, but I'm trying to keep everyone on top of what needs doing so there isn't any last minute rushing right before the deadline!
School... well, the 3 youngest aren't old enough yet, the 3 middlest are done (yeah!!) for this year, and the 3 oldest are wrapping up - Lord willing they should be all finished by the end of this week! (please, please, please....) We've pushed hard and are all looking forward to the break :) Of course, the beginning of that break includes my annual lesson planning for the upcoming year - usually takes a couple hours a day for about a week and I'll have at least our summer term and first semester planned out! I'll tackle the second semester in December, and probably not before... *grin*
Cub Scouts - Andrew is close to finishing up his year as a Wolf, and will be crossing over to Bear later this month. He is beyond excited - this means that he gets to get his hands on the new book and start working his way through a new set of projects, some with Daddy, some with me, and some on his own - regardless of who he does things with, it gives him a whole new set of adventures to tackle. It's great to see him take off with this and enjoy it all so much!!
Speech class - Abigail, Rachel, and Sarah are finishing up their classes tomorrow, with the "grand finale" being their presentations for parents. Each girl (as is true of each of their classmates) has been selected by their instructors to do certain tasks/ performances for the parents & guests for their last day of class. It's been a great learning experience for them, and we're looking forward to the next class coming up again next school year! :)
GRADUATION DAY!!! Such an odd feeling, realizing that Natasha will no longer be in high school after this year... wow! She starts college classes, or at least that is the plan, in the fall. I've requested that she take a minimum of one year of basic courses, and of course she can add in electives for fun stuff (underwater basket weaving anyone??) She's really thinking that she would like to work as a bank teller until the time comes for her to be married (no, nothing on the horizon there - just something she's thinking about long term. She is in agreement that a wife's place is ideally in the home once she is married, so while she's interested in learning the intricacies of banking as a short term goal, she is eventually wanting to marry, stay home and have children, and has talked about how she looks forward to homeschooling them when the time comes (oh, that does a mama's heart good!). Until such a time as the Lord brings the young man into her life that He has for her, she plans to remain home, taking some classes to expand her education and working part time while she prepares for the future.
This also starts the mark of some new things - more time with the barn babies - working on barn projects more, more time to play outside, gardening projects, weaning the bottle calves in a couple more weeks (or rather, starting the weaning process...) and gearing up for butchering our second cow (he's finishing now!)
TJ is very much looking forward to his CT scan at the end of this week, which will determine if he will be allowed to start walking anytime soon again or not - we're all hopeful that things will look good and the doc will give him the green light to start putting some weight on his new foot and work on regaining the strength that has been lost over months of not using it. His running will be on the back burner for some time yet, but he's really looking forward to at least getting to walk on both feet again. Upside is that once he's back up to strength, he can be more independant (this dependance thing has been hard on him, and I know he's feeling guilty watching me do all the work that we both normally do, and when I'm too tired to stay awake for a good conversation or anything else at night, he feels it even more so) - the downside is that it will put him back out in the missile field, so he won't be home every day again for who knows how long. That part stinks, because it's been nice having him home every evening (even when I'm not energetic and awake enough to be much company, lol). I guess pretty much every knife has two sides to it, though, huh? Some things are good, some are not as much.
That said, when he's driving again, I'll also regain those hours of my day driving back and forth from the base to catch up on things that I've fallen behind on and can have more energy to spend with my husband when he is home - and more focus on the kids, too! :) IN the meanwhile, kids and I have been working together on barn things and feeding animals and what not, along with school time, so at least it's not like we have to ship them off to public school and then they only get me when I'm already worn down to a nub of alert energy :) Homeschooling is a tremendous blessing in so many ways!
Another up and coming is with the animals - kids will be getting horse riding lessons starting at the end of this month, through the summer - even better, it's a barter deal (suggested by their teacher, who is also one of their 4-H leaders) - they get 2 hours of lessons once a week at our house with our horses in exchange for a quarter of beef when we butcher our next cow! Sweet! :)
We also have the upcoming learning experience on training hogs and calves - that is going to be a new experience for us, but we're looking forward to getting those things figured out that escaped us so very badly last year! ha! :) I'll be out there learning right alongside the kids, too - I don't want a repeat of George, our last cow (and wow is he yummy!!) with his charging and rough play when he's 5 and 6 times a grown man's weight! that got a little scary for me, lol - I"m looking forward to learning how to teach the calves (while they are still small enough!) how to lead tie, halter, and follow on the lead rope without the bucking and playing and trying to wrestle the humans handling them! *grin* all good lessons for them and us to learn!
So, yeah, it's been a wild and busy ride these past months, keeping up with most things and trying to at least cover the surface of things that haven't gotten the attention they need - looking forward to our school break, the graduation of our oldest in a couple of weeks, the opportunities with outside and animals and gardens and all sorts of stuff we're learning about :)
We have a trip scheduled in August for kids to see the eye specialist again - if all continues to go well with Rebecca, the doc said she will probably not need the eye surgery we had anticipated her having, which is exciting! Ben seems to be developing a more acute case of the same issues, which becomes more and more visible to my untrained eye, and so I had him in for a check up the other day - sure enough, so we have a referral in for him to see the same doc, as well as Andrew, who has a much more mild case of the same. It's called an eye muscle disease, but isn't a disease in the sense that I tend to think (when I hear disease, I think cancer or heart issues - this isn't scary like that, as with treatment it can be helped and can retain their eyesight (a definite bonus! *grin*) Anyway, sometimes patching the strong eye to make the weakening eye work harder, sometimes corrective glasses and/ or eye exercises do the trick. Having a great doc with the knowledge and expertise (experience and education!) to know how to best help each child's individual needs is key, and we are so thankful for our doc with his decades of experience!! Anyway, the long drive is nice and scenic, and the city we go to see that doc is big with a Hobby Lobby and a Toys R Us, so the kids always have a blast on those trips, long days that they are. :)
I'll try to get updated pictures of our growing barn babies soon - but of course that's time dependant, so we'll see when I can! In the meanwhile, hope you have a great rest of the month, and I'll try to update more when things get a little quieter and less busy around here. :)
Little man Caleb is needing Mama nursies, Hannah and Ben need snuggle stories, and so I need to run! :)
Friday, April 12, 2013
Naming the farm...
OK, so we're really not big enough to be a *real* farm - on 10 acres, we're more of a hobby farm *grin* Still, we've decided to name it... no decision has been made yet, and we would welcome suggestions!! (hint, hint, hint...)
Of course we tossed around the idea of using our last name, of a variation on our school name (HomeFront Academy), and miscellaneous other ideas - we came up with a couple others yesterday - Rocky Road Farm (self explanatory if you've ever driven the road out to our place, haha) and Windy Acres (also self explanatory if you've been out here!) Thus far, my personal favorite is Windy Acres. We shall see...
So, in order to incorporate (or if that is what you call it) as a farm, we need to get a farm number through the county extension office apparently, and then a tax ID number - who knew?? Well, I'm learning a lot!
Anyway, now the decision is to be made if we want to become "official", or if we continue just being us with some farm animals. Not sure yet, and I'm researching the pros and cons both ways - not like I have anything else to do, right? haha... yeah, life is never ending busy - but that's good, it's not healthy for me to get bored!
So, if you have farm name suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!
A friend linked this article to me to help get the creative naming juices rolling - it was interesting to read, so I thought I'd share with you!
Have a loverly weekend - if you're getting snow this weekend as we are, enjoy! If you're warm and sunny, enjoy! We hope to be there in another month or two!!
Of course we tossed around the idea of using our last name, of a variation on our school name (HomeFront Academy), and miscellaneous other ideas - we came up with a couple others yesterday - Rocky Road Farm (self explanatory if you've ever driven the road out to our place, haha) and Windy Acres (also self explanatory if you've been out here!) Thus far, my personal favorite is Windy Acres. We shall see...
So, in order to incorporate (or if that is what you call it) as a farm, we need to get a farm number through the county extension office apparently, and then a tax ID number - who knew?? Well, I'm learning a lot!
Anyway, now the decision is to be made if we want to become "official", or if we continue just being us with some farm animals. Not sure yet, and I'm researching the pros and cons both ways - not like I have anything else to do, right? haha... yeah, life is never ending busy - but that's good, it's not healthy for me to get bored!
So, if you have farm name suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!
A friend linked this article to me to help get the creative naming juices rolling - it was interesting to read, so I thought I'd share with you!
Have a loverly weekend - if you're getting snow this weekend as we are, enjoy! If you're warm and sunny, enjoy! We hope to be there in another month or two!!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
A poem
This was written by my 13 year old - an adaptatin of a Dr Seuss story, for her homeschool communications class at our local extension office. Hope you enjoy as much as I did! (posted with her permission *grin*)
How The Grinch Stole Easter:
An Adaptation of Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
By Abigail Ford
Every Who down in Who-ville
Liked Easter a lot….
But the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville,
Did NOT!
The Grinch hated Easter! He hated the noise.
He hated the candy and baskets and toys.
He hated the Easter eggs,
The colors, the sight,
Of which made his head pound,
From morning ‘till night.
But, whatever the reason,
The sight or the sound,
He was always unhappy
When Easter came ‘round.
“They’ll be hiding those eggs,” he grouched to himself,
“And all of the baskets are up on a shelf,
Filled to the brim with colorful sweets,
But…maybe I can keep them from getting their treats!”
So he set about planning, while far down below,
Eggs had been hidden,
Wherever they’d go.
The jelly beans, gumdrops,
Chocolates, too,
Were carefully set out,
For each little Who.
All of them sleeping and snoring away,
Happily dreaming about Easter Day.
While high up above, the Grinch set to work,
“They’ll never suspect,” he said with a smirk,
“That I was the one who invented this quirk.”
And so, in a minute,
His disguise was complete,
And the Grinch walked out,
On his soft, fluffy feet.
He straightened his long, bunny ears as he said,
“This pair of ears is too small for my head!”
So with a twitch of his little pink bunny-sized nose,
And a final wiggle of his soft, fluffy toes,
The Grinch set off, hopping at first,
But altered to walking, before his costume burst.
And when he reached town, he jumped up and down,
And quick as a wink he was up on the roof,
And he slid down the chimney with a rather loud ‘poof’
He fell into the fireplace,
And raided the house,
And he didn’t leave one thing,
(He was allergic to the mouse).
He raided the town and left just as fast,
And it would have been alright, but he crashed!
Rolling and tumbling, scattering sweets,
The Whos came outside and saw all their treats,
Flying about, and farther away,
Was the Grinch, with nothing to say,
Except that he’d rather destroy Christmas Day.
And the Whos all came running,
And brought his to town,
And they took him inside,
And they had him lay down,
And when one little Who asked him why he did it,
He answered “I wanted to be included in it!”
And so all the Whos smiled and said,
That he could join them once he could get out of bed.
And so he got up, and they all went outside,
Only to find all the Easter Eggs fried!
So they went in the house and then they all dye,
Pieces of the Grinch’s bunny fluff to hide.
And so the Grinch lived with them from then on,
His feelings of hatred towards Easter all gone.
The End.
SEVENTEEN!!!
So yesterday marked the 17th year for my oldest daughter. Wow. How has time gone so fast, and how did she get so grown up??? My beautiful girl with the tender heart is almost a woman! We had a fun time, taking just her, two of her best friends and their moms on a girls' "dinner out" while TJ was home with all but the youngest (who, of course, is still nursing - and Daddy can't do that!) Such a fun time, and it was neat for her to have something more "grown up" than our usual at home birthday parties.
Happy birthday, Natasha!!!
Happy birthday, Natasha!!!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Our new spring babies!
These are our new spring babies :) Names are yet to be given, but they will be forthcoming!
Piglets were born in January -
The 2 mostly white calves are 3 weeks old and the mostly black calf was born last week.
This is them in the trailer just after we got home from buying them.
They are exploring their new digs and meeting Fred, our other cow (born last June) and three of children.
Looks like Fred is really into his new barn-buddies!
We'll figure out names, hopefully over the next week - they say you shouldn't name your food, but we do anyway - we play with our food while growing it, too! *grin*
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Tigger spring!
Well, if the start to spring over here isn't busy and packed full of busy, I don't know what is!
To start, TJ is back at work - but no longer in the missile field (thank you, Lord!!!! that's a long awaited answer to many prayers!) his new job is literally a new job - they are creating it as they go, to meet a need that has been a problem for a while, but that's both positive and not so positive, as those things go - positive, though, in that they have a group of Master Sergeants (TJ's rank, and the same for the other men in the job) who know their jobs and can productively and knowledgeably create the position and get things rolling smoothly - and not as positive because with trial comes occasional error - it's inevitable, a simple fact of life, but can also be a stressor. Anyway, for all the good and the other, he has a new job (yeah!!!!)
With the new job comes a new schedule for me, since he can't drive until his foot is healed (pretty hard to drive without a right foot - especially with a stick shift in the truck, haha) so I'm juggling 2 hours of drive time into my daily schedule on the days he works - that makes our little 3 ring circus into a 4 ring circus and juggling act. I've never been very good at actual juggling, so here's hoping I can get schedule juggling down to a fine art and make this work! *grin*
Spring brings the close of the school year all the closer - we anticipate finishing up the school year in early May, Lord willing and if the sky doesn't fall in first, haha - our oldest will be graduating with her high school diploma, probably in May, but I still need to work out the details and she still has curriculum to finish - should be good, though - there's over a month left to complete it! AND she has her 17th birthday next week! Exciting and breath taking all at once - how did she get so old so soon is what I'm asking?!???
Finally, spring brings the addition to our farm babies - baby chicks, baby pigs, baby calves... and a new horse! Pictures will be forthcoming in another post - I'll try to get to it this weekend! Chicks were purchased and brought home 2 weeks ago, bringing our total of chickens to 20 (I think that's enough). Piglets (five of them) were purchased and brought home today, and the plan is to get the bottle calves tomorrow. George, our older cow, went to the butcher earlier this week - our first home grown cow! I'm really looking forward to getting that meat in the almost empty freezer - and making a nice steak dinner in celebration, once we get the meat back from the butcher that is! :) Once we get the calves, we'll have upped our hobby farm population to 2 horses, 20 chickens (ok, 1 rooster and 19 chickens!), 5 piglets, 1 dog, and 4 cows (Fred gets to live until September or October most likely!)
So, there you have it! I'll share pictures of our new babies once they are all in place (namely the calves) and I have a few extra moments to load them to the computer and get them on here!
Hope you're all doing well and having a lovely start to spring! I hear the northeastern folks - or some of them anyway - are suing Phil the groundhog, but you know, out here it actually is starting to feel like spring! We're in the mid 50s all week with only one day in the upcoming forecast to be down into the 40s with rain. It's nice to be so warm and not always need a coat to go outside again! and ooooh that sun feels so nice!!
Nearly midnight here, so I'm off to bed. Tomorrow promises to be action packed and busy! If only I had the spring of a Tigger!! :)
To start, TJ is back at work - but no longer in the missile field (thank you, Lord!!!! that's a long awaited answer to many prayers!) his new job is literally a new job - they are creating it as they go, to meet a need that has been a problem for a while, but that's both positive and not so positive, as those things go - positive, though, in that they have a group of Master Sergeants (TJ's rank, and the same for the other men in the job) who know their jobs and can productively and knowledgeably create the position and get things rolling smoothly - and not as positive because with trial comes occasional error - it's inevitable, a simple fact of life, but can also be a stressor. Anyway, for all the good and the other, he has a new job (yeah!!!!)
With the new job comes a new schedule for me, since he can't drive until his foot is healed (pretty hard to drive without a right foot - especially with a stick shift in the truck, haha) so I'm juggling 2 hours of drive time into my daily schedule on the days he works - that makes our little 3 ring circus into a 4 ring circus and juggling act. I've never been very good at actual juggling, so here's hoping I can get schedule juggling down to a fine art and make this work! *grin*
Spring brings the close of the school year all the closer - we anticipate finishing up the school year in early May, Lord willing and if the sky doesn't fall in first, haha - our oldest will be graduating with her high school diploma, probably in May, but I still need to work out the details and she still has curriculum to finish - should be good, though - there's over a month left to complete it! AND she has her 17th birthday next week! Exciting and breath taking all at once - how did she get so old so soon is what I'm asking?!???
Finally, spring brings the addition to our farm babies - baby chicks, baby pigs, baby calves... and a new horse! Pictures will be forthcoming in another post - I'll try to get to it this weekend! Chicks were purchased and brought home 2 weeks ago, bringing our total of chickens to 20 (I think that's enough). Piglets (five of them) were purchased and brought home today, and the plan is to get the bottle calves tomorrow. George, our older cow, went to the butcher earlier this week - our first home grown cow! I'm really looking forward to getting that meat in the almost empty freezer - and making a nice steak dinner in celebration, once we get the meat back from the butcher that is! :) Once we get the calves, we'll have upped our hobby farm population to 2 horses, 20 chickens (ok, 1 rooster and 19 chickens!), 5 piglets, 1 dog, and 4 cows (Fred gets to live until September or October most likely!)
So, there you have it! I'll share pictures of our new babies once they are all in place (namely the calves) and I have a few extra moments to load them to the computer and get them on here!
Hope you're all doing well and having a lovely start to spring! I hear the northeastern folks - or some of them anyway - are suing Phil the groundhog, but you know, out here it actually is starting to feel like spring! We're in the mid 50s all week with only one day in the upcoming forecast to be down into the 40s with rain. It's nice to be so warm and not always need a coat to go outside again! and ooooh that sun feels so nice!!
Nearly midnight here, so I'm off to bed. Tomorrow promises to be action packed and busy! If only I had the spring of a Tigger!! :)
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Moments that make my Mama heart smile...
Happy thoughts - little things, really, that just make my heart smile...
Sweet baby hands cupping my face in his hands as he studies my face when I pick him up...
those same sweet baby hands that reach up during a nursey and touch my cheek while his other hand rests gently on my breast from which he feeds...
soft baby babbles as he explores the sounds he can make, squeals of joy and hiccups and other baby noises that you can't help but smile at.
the sloppy, slurpy kisses of a happy but still tiny two year old -
the same sweet girl with her butterfly wings bouncing and she dances round and round to the music of our favorite Celtic or country "bouncy music"
that small voice sweetly singing good morning songs most mornings - and sometimes even in the afternoon after a good nap -
the rambunctious, running, body slamming, arms wrapping around my legs and nearly knocking me down hugs of a bouncy and happy four year old snuggle bug - my tractor boy, little buckaroo cowboy, 4 year old heart stopper.
the sneaky little boy, creeping up the stairs "one last time" to give extra good night hugs or kisses... slurpy kisses and big bear, chubby armed, all encompassing hugs that leave your heart tingling and singing long after the hug has been given
those sparkly smiley eyes that say "I'm your hunky boy!" or confidently shouts "me!" when asked who is as handsome as Daddy?
the joyful, inquisitive, sparkly eyes of my 6 year old as she explores and learns about the world around her...
the "wizzaby bear" hugs she so freely and so often loves to give.
her happy singing as she tries to remember all the words to so many favorites of songs - even the false vibrato that she occasionally tries to imitate from grown up singers - the pleasure and peaceful expressions that come from her joy of pretty music
the whoops and excited hollers of a 7 year old son exploring the sand box, running beside the dog who loves to play catch and tag and fetch and chase...
his love of animals and joy in feeding the baby calves, running his finger along the plexiglass of the chick brooder, and his giggles as the baby chicks chase that same finger back and forth across their little boxed world
"eskinose" kisses he offers each night at bedtime...
The made up recipes and expressive pictures drawn by my 9 year old daughter who aspires to anything creative when she's "all grown up some day" -
the smiles and tenderly expressive eyes that are like a book of emotions, regardless of how she feels from moment to moment, so clearly read and expressed in her eyes...
Her instantaneous smiles and bunches of hugs and snuggles that she shares with any and all around her.
The pre-adolescant shyness alternated with outgoing jest for life of an 11 year old.
the twirly dancing and joyful singing that erupt every time any music turns on in her presence ~
the happy giggles and thoughtful sighs as she delves into the newest novel within her reach, becoming one with the characters and immersing herself in the story lines.
The bedtime kisses of a teenager finally comfortable with expressing feelings after a years' long struggle with bi-polar disorder. The gentle looks where for so long hard stares were the norm, genuine smiles and laughter because she can sometimes take joy in life now that her medications are levelled and working.
creative stories and poems, silly rhymes and amazing artistry that stem from her amazing brain and heart -
the rare occasion of the clean bedroom that came unprompted and without many reminders - just because she got tired of living in a messy bedroom...
tender smiles given in secret to her baby brother when she thinks no one is looking, because she's really not quite so rough and tough as she likes to pretend to be all the time
The shy, blossoming heart of an oldest daughter, safely snugged in at home and gently reaching out to explore the world beyond her day to day experiences -
her tender heart that cries at the pain of others, and the servant's heart who seeks out ways to bless people without expectation of something in return...
the joyful pride she takes in showing her newest creation of her multi-talented handiwork - the pleasure she takes in trying new crafts, many of which are almost lost in time to her generation (and often even to mine!), seeking to create the beauty for the world that is already inside of her heart and usually gentle spirit.
The special truth that children are a blessing of the Lord - and despite all of my shortcomings and unworthiness, the gifts the Lord has so graciously blessed me with in giving these nine children to me for a time, filling my hands and overflowing my heart.
I am blessed. I am thankful. My heart is full and smiling.
Thank you, Lord.
Sweet baby hands cupping my face in his hands as he studies my face when I pick him up...
those same sweet baby hands that reach up during a nursey and touch my cheek while his other hand rests gently on my breast from which he feeds...
soft baby babbles as he explores the sounds he can make, squeals of joy and hiccups and other baby noises that you can't help but smile at.
the sloppy, slurpy kisses of a happy but still tiny two year old -
the same sweet girl with her butterfly wings bouncing and she dances round and round to the music of our favorite Celtic or country "bouncy music"
that small voice sweetly singing good morning songs most mornings - and sometimes even in the afternoon after a good nap -
the rambunctious, running, body slamming, arms wrapping around my legs and nearly knocking me down hugs of a bouncy and happy four year old snuggle bug - my tractor boy, little buckaroo cowboy, 4 year old heart stopper.
the sneaky little boy, creeping up the stairs "one last time" to give extra good night hugs or kisses... slurpy kisses and big bear, chubby armed, all encompassing hugs that leave your heart tingling and singing long after the hug has been given
those sparkly smiley eyes that say "I'm your hunky boy!" or confidently shouts "me!" when asked who is as handsome as Daddy?
the joyful, inquisitive, sparkly eyes of my 6 year old as she explores and learns about the world around her...
the "wizzaby bear" hugs she so freely and so often loves to give.
her happy singing as she tries to remember all the words to so many favorites of songs - even the false vibrato that she occasionally tries to imitate from grown up singers - the pleasure and peaceful expressions that come from her joy of pretty music
the whoops and excited hollers of a 7 year old son exploring the sand box, running beside the dog who loves to play catch and tag and fetch and chase...
his love of animals and joy in feeding the baby calves, running his finger along the plexiglass of the chick brooder, and his giggles as the baby chicks chase that same finger back and forth across their little boxed world
"eskinose" kisses he offers each night at bedtime...
The made up recipes and expressive pictures drawn by my 9 year old daughter who aspires to anything creative when she's "all grown up some day" -
the smiles and tenderly expressive eyes that are like a book of emotions, regardless of how she feels from moment to moment, so clearly read and expressed in her eyes...
Her instantaneous smiles and bunches of hugs and snuggles that she shares with any and all around her.
The pre-adolescant shyness alternated with outgoing jest for life of an 11 year old.
the twirly dancing and joyful singing that erupt every time any music turns on in her presence ~
the happy giggles and thoughtful sighs as she delves into the newest novel within her reach, becoming one with the characters and immersing herself in the story lines.
The bedtime kisses of a teenager finally comfortable with expressing feelings after a years' long struggle with bi-polar disorder. The gentle looks where for so long hard stares were the norm, genuine smiles and laughter because she can sometimes take joy in life now that her medications are levelled and working.
creative stories and poems, silly rhymes and amazing artistry that stem from her amazing brain and heart -
the rare occasion of the clean bedroom that came unprompted and without many reminders - just because she got tired of living in a messy bedroom...
tender smiles given in secret to her baby brother when she thinks no one is looking, because she's really not quite so rough and tough as she likes to pretend to be all the time
The shy, blossoming heart of an oldest daughter, safely snugged in at home and gently reaching out to explore the world beyond her day to day experiences -
her tender heart that cries at the pain of others, and the servant's heart who seeks out ways to bless people without expectation of something in return...
the joyful pride she takes in showing her newest creation of her multi-talented handiwork - the pleasure she takes in trying new crafts, many of which are almost lost in time to her generation (and often even to mine!), seeking to create the beauty for the world that is already inside of her heart and usually gentle spirit.
The special truth that children are a blessing of the Lord - and despite all of my shortcomings and unworthiness, the gifts the Lord has so graciously blessed me with in giving these nine children to me for a time, filling my hands and overflowing my heart.
I am blessed. I am thankful. My heart is full and smiling.
Thank you, Lord.
Monday, March 4, 2013
dear mom...
I got this from another site, and love the message it conveys! doesn't matter if it's an iphone, facebook, chat rooms, or anything else - the message really applies across the board. Really good food for thought in our day of technology.
I got this from here. in case you are wondering :) I haven't explored the site at all, other than reading the one post, so I can't vouch for anything else on there. just a little disclaimer ;)
Here it is:
"Dear mom on the iPhone,
I see you over there on the bench, messing on your iPhone. It feels good to relax a little while your kids have fun in the sunshine, doesn't it? You are doing a great job with your kids: You work hard, you teach them manners, have them do their chores.
But Momma, let me tell you what you don't see right now ...
Your little girl is spinning round and round, making her dress twirl. She is such a little beauty queen already, the sun shining behind her long hair. She keeps glancing your way to see if you are watching her.
You aren't.
Your little boy keeps shouting, "Mom, MOM watch this!" I see you acknowledge him, barely glancing his way.
He sees that too. His shoulders slump, but only for a moment, as he finds the next cool thing to do.
Now you are pushing your baby in the swing. She loves it! Cooing and smiling with every push. You don't see her though, do you? Your head is bent, your eyes on your phone as you absently push her swing.
Talk to her. Tell her about the clouds, Mommy. The Creator who made them. Tickle her tummy when she comes near you, and enjoy that baby belly laugh that leaves far too quickly.
Put your eyes back on your prize: your kids.
Show them that they are the priority. Wherever you are, be ALL there. I am not saying it's not OK to check in on your phone, but it's a time-sucker: User beware!
Play time at the park will be over before you know it.
The childhood of your children will be gone before you know it.
They won't always want to come to the park with you, Mommy. They won't always spin and twirl to make their new dress swish. They won't always call out, "WATCH ME!"
There will come a point when they stop trying, stop calling your name, stop bothering to interrupt your phone time.
Because they know ...
You've shown them, all these moments, that the phone is more important than they are. They see you looking at it at while waiting to pick up brother from school, during playtime, at the dinner table, at bedtime.
I know that's not true, Mommy.
I know your heart says differently.
But your kids can't hear your words, Mommy. Your actions are screaming way too loudly.
May our eyes rest upon those we love, first and foremost, and may everything else fall away in the wonderful, noisy, sticky-fingered glory of it all."
I got this from here. in case you are wondering :) I haven't explored the site at all, other than reading the one post, so I can't vouch for anything else on there. just a little disclaimer ;)
Here it is:
"Dear mom on the iPhone,
I see you over there on the bench, messing on your iPhone. It feels good to relax a little while your kids have fun in the sunshine, doesn't it? You are doing a great job with your kids: You work hard, you teach them manners, have them do their chores.
But Momma, let me tell you what you don't see right now ...
Your little girl is spinning round and round, making her dress twirl. She is such a little beauty queen already, the sun shining behind her long hair. She keeps glancing your way to see if you are watching her.
You aren't.
Your little boy keeps shouting, "Mom, MOM watch this!" I see you acknowledge him, barely glancing his way.
He sees that too. His shoulders slump, but only for a moment, as he finds the next cool thing to do.
Now you are pushing your baby in the swing. She loves it! Cooing and smiling with every push. You don't see her though, do you? Your head is bent, your eyes on your phone as you absently push her swing.
Talk to her. Tell her about the clouds, Mommy. The Creator who made them. Tickle her tummy when she comes near you, and enjoy that baby belly laugh that leaves far too quickly.
Put your eyes back on your prize: your kids.
Show them that they are the priority. Wherever you are, be ALL there. I am not saying it's not OK to check in on your phone, but it's a time-sucker: User beware!
Play time at the park will be over before you know it.
The childhood of your children will be gone before you know it.
They won't always want to come to the park with you, Mommy. They won't always spin and twirl to make their new dress swish. They won't always call out, "WATCH ME!"
There will come a point when they stop trying, stop calling your name, stop bothering to interrupt your phone time.
Because they know ...
You've shown them, all these moments, that the phone is more important than they are. They see you looking at it at while waiting to pick up brother from school, during playtime, at the dinner table, at bedtime.
I know that's not true, Mommy.
I know your heart says differently.
But your kids can't hear your words, Mommy. Your actions are screaming way too loudly.
May our eyes rest upon those we love, first and foremost, and may everything else fall away in the wonderful, noisy, sticky-fingered glory of it all."
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Crazy busy!
So it's been crazy busy, literally sun up to sun down and then some!
My head is still spinning from the last few days/ week - but I wanted to post a note - if you read this by or before Feb 22, please be praying... my husband is having his right foot reconstructed (yes, they are rebuilding his foot!) on the 22nd - it's a 5 hour surgery slot, though I hope and pray everything goes really well and they don't need that long - that's a long time to be "under" and a lot of drugs to get a big guy there!! Anyway, please be praying for the surgery to go well, and for his recovery time as well! Also, if you don't mind saying a prayer for me to get over this virus (z-pack antibiotics on board, and they have a good "kick" to them, so hoping this throat thing is gone by Friday!!) and to be able to do everything I need to do that my husband and I both usually do... and I'll be playing nurse to my husband (which I'm really looking forward to, for the record! *grin*)
We are taking next week off of school in the name of spring break, though the older kids will spend a good part of that time working through 4-H project books (sewing and cooking, mostly) and helping me with barn work when I'm not inside taking care of my husband or our little guy (5 1/2 months old now, if you can believe it!!)
Anyway, prayers are much appreciated - and I'll pop in with updates and our little hobby farm news and everything soon - we're a growin! (not in the human baby way, but in the animal way, haha)
Have a good one - and thanks for remembering us in your prayers this week/ weekend!!
My head is still spinning from the last few days/ week - but I wanted to post a note - if you read this by or before Feb 22, please be praying... my husband is having his right foot reconstructed (yes, they are rebuilding his foot!) on the 22nd - it's a 5 hour surgery slot, though I hope and pray everything goes really well and they don't need that long - that's a long time to be "under" and a lot of drugs to get a big guy there!! Anyway, please be praying for the surgery to go well, and for his recovery time as well! Also, if you don't mind saying a prayer for me to get over this virus (z-pack antibiotics on board, and they have a good "kick" to them, so hoping this throat thing is gone by Friday!!) and to be able to do everything I need to do that my husband and I both usually do... and I'll be playing nurse to my husband (which I'm really looking forward to, for the record! *grin*)
We are taking next week off of school in the name of spring break, though the older kids will spend a good part of that time working through 4-H project books (sewing and cooking, mostly) and helping me with barn work when I'm not inside taking care of my husband or our little guy (5 1/2 months old now, if you can believe it!!)
Anyway, prayers are much appreciated - and I'll pop in with updates and our little hobby farm news and everything soon - we're a growin! (not in the human baby way, but in the animal way, haha)
Have a good one - and thanks for remembering us in your prayers this week/ weekend!!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Road trip!!
You know, we're really, really super blessed that we like to travel, being a military family - and even more so in that our children (yes, all NINE of them!) love to travel as well! I know so many families who hate taking trips and don't even going for a drive... now, don't get me wrong - I love being home (boy howdy! and I'd sure love to be home a whole lot more after our last few weeks of constant busy!!) but I do love going for a nice scenic drive, too!
Yesterday we were blessed with just such a venture. We headed out to Missoula - I've never been there before - and was just kicking myself for having forgotten to bring along a camera! We saw some amazing postcard worthy landscapes - we even drove THROUGH a big, fluffy, white cloud! (I didn't know that was possible, but I guess we were high enough in the mountains and the clouds were low enough... the sky above them was a beautiful blue, the sun shining brightly, and it was warm! At least in the mid 40s, so we only wore light jackets and didn't need our bulky coats! :)
The purpose of the trip was to go look at some horses that were offered to us - "free to a good home" - friend of a friend arrangement. Well, about 3 hours each way, and just gorgeous views!!
So, the horses... you know, my four oldest girls (also the four oldest children, ha) are taking horse education classes through our local 4-H program/ extension office - and of course I'm there, too, since I don't "drop and run" with the kids' activities - so I've been able to glean a lot from the gal who teaches the class, which proved exceedingly helpful as we went to check out these horses!
Now, I know how the old saying goes, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" - but I'm guessing that whoever said it was trying to give away a horse with really bad teeth - maybe killer morning breath to boot! However, I've learned that looking at the teeth (**after** looking at feet, legs, gait, etc) is very important - and can give some good clues about a horse's health. Not to mention that a horse with bad teeth won't be able to eat well and will have problems with droping feed, and consequently dropping weight. So, I looked at feet, at movement, at gait... at teeth... whew - you know, horses have really BIG teeth!! But I digress - it was neat how I was able to use what I learned listening in to the kids' horse teacher's instruction, and I noticed several things - some positive and some not - about the horses we were looking at. We did not take the trailer with us - it was a "go see it" trip, with the assurance that we would not be able to make an emotional snap decision that may or may not be a good one - because we have to go home and think about it and then decide. Both horses, just on the side note category, have promise... both are older - one is just HUGE height wise, the other is much smaller but a trivky catch and had been abused by a previous owner, so he's pretty head shy - once he was haltered (and I learned a new trick on haltering, too! yeah!) he was much more docile. (amazing the difference in his temperament between haltered and unhaltered) So now it's a matter of really thinking through it all and making a decision. Humpf - that's the hard part!
We also looked at a couple of minis - which were absolutely adorable!! however, they have not been socialized, so they would not be a good match for our family - at least that decision was an easy one!!
The drive back was quiet - half of the kids fell asleep after all the running amok around the place we went to see the horses - our kids went exploring with their kids, and so long as they stayed within sight and whistle range, that was ok. They ran and played hard for the almost 2 hours that we were there, and I was very thankful that we had remembered to grab a change of clothes for all of the little ones before we left the house!! So, dry clothes (it was pretty muddy out) and energy spent, it made for an extremely quiet ride back home - I even dozed off a little while during the trip! (yes, my husband was driving, so that was ok! haha - and he was so caffeinated that he was wide awake for the drive. I tell ya, whoever created that Monster energy drink stuff must have a degree in science or something - but whew does it stink!! ah well, TJ likes the taste of it, so I guess that's what really matters. :)
So the drive back home was restful and yet more beautiful scenery, and still wishing I had thought to grab my camera before we headed out! We also saw some good camping places en route, so I'm sure we'll be back up that way some time for a camping trip and I'll take pictures then!
Now to decide on those horses....
Yesterday we were blessed with just such a venture. We headed out to Missoula - I've never been there before - and was just kicking myself for having forgotten to bring along a camera! We saw some amazing postcard worthy landscapes - we even drove THROUGH a big, fluffy, white cloud! (I didn't know that was possible, but I guess we were high enough in the mountains and the clouds were low enough... the sky above them was a beautiful blue, the sun shining brightly, and it was warm! At least in the mid 40s, so we only wore light jackets and didn't need our bulky coats! :)
The purpose of the trip was to go look at some horses that were offered to us - "free to a good home" - friend of a friend arrangement. Well, about 3 hours each way, and just gorgeous views!!
So, the horses... you know, my four oldest girls (also the four oldest children, ha) are taking horse education classes through our local 4-H program/ extension office - and of course I'm there, too, since I don't "drop and run" with the kids' activities - so I've been able to glean a lot from the gal who teaches the class, which proved exceedingly helpful as we went to check out these horses!
Now, I know how the old saying goes, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" - but I'm guessing that whoever said it was trying to give away a horse with really bad teeth - maybe killer morning breath to boot! However, I've learned that looking at the teeth (**after** looking at feet, legs, gait, etc) is very important - and can give some good clues about a horse's health. Not to mention that a horse with bad teeth won't be able to eat well and will have problems with droping feed, and consequently dropping weight. So, I looked at feet, at movement, at gait... at teeth... whew - you know, horses have really BIG teeth!! But I digress - it was neat how I was able to use what I learned listening in to the kids' horse teacher's instruction, and I noticed several things - some positive and some not - about the horses we were looking at. We did not take the trailer with us - it was a "go see it" trip, with the assurance that we would not be able to make an emotional snap decision that may or may not be a good one - because we have to go home and think about it and then decide. Both horses, just on the side note category, have promise... both are older - one is just HUGE height wise, the other is much smaller but a trivky catch and had been abused by a previous owner, so he's pretty head shy - once he was haltered (and I learned a new trick on haltering, too! yeah!) he was much more docile. (amazing the difference in his temperament between haltered and unhaltered) So now it's a matter of really thinking through it all and making a decision. Humpf - that's the hard part!
We also looked at a couple of minis - which were absolutely adorable!! however, they have not been socialized, so they would not be a good match for our family - at least that decision was an easy one!!
The drive back was quiet - half of the kids fell asleep after all the running amok around the place we went to see the horses - our kids went exploring with their kids, and so long as they stayed within sight and whistle range, that was ok. They ran and played hard for the almost 2 hours that we were there, and I was very thankful that we had remembered to grab a change of clothes for all of the little ones before we left the house!! So, dry clothes (it was pretty muddy out) and energy spent, it made for an extremely quiet ride back home - I even dozed off a little while during the trip! (yes, my husband was driving, so that was ok! haha - and he was so caffeinated that he was wide awake for the drive. I tell ya, whoever created that Monster energy drink stuff must have a degree in science or something - but whew does it stink!! ah well, TJ likes the taste of it, so I guess that's what really matters. :)
So the drive back home was restful and yet more beautiful scenery, and still wishing I had thought to grab my camera before we headed out! We also saw some good camping places en route, so I'm sure we'll be back up that way some time for a camping trip and I'll take pictures then!
Now to decide on those horses....
Saturday, February 2, 2013
National Boy Scouts of America week!
National Scout Week is February 3 through 9 this year, and is the anniversary week of the Boy Scouts of America!
Go scouts!! :) ***cheering***
I love that the Boy Scouts has held to their convictions, even in the face of opposition from the liberal agenda - I love how the Cub Scouts offers great opportunities to learn and grow for our boys who are not yet old enough for the full fledged Boy Scouts, and I love how much fun my son has working on all the projects in his book each year! :)
(Proud wife to an Eagle Scout and Mama to a Cub Scout)
Go scouts!! :) ***cheering***
I love that the Boy Scouts has held to their convictions, even in the face of opposition from the liberal agenda - I love how the Cub Scouts offers great opportunities to learn and grow for our boys who are not yet old enough for the full fledged Boy Scouts, and I love how much fun my son has working on all the projects in his book each year! :)
(Proud wife to an Eagle Scout and Mama to a Cub Scout)
Friday, February 1, 2013
February... already??
I changed the calendar page this morning after seeing my husband off to work, and it struck me (kind of a "duh!" moment, but still...) that it's already February!! I was just getting used to it being 2013, and here it is in the second month... time goes so fast, it seems!
So of course life is busy - as always! My 13 year old is recovering nicely from her second foot surgery (corrective for a hyper-flexible flat foot - seems kind of oxymoronic, doesn't it?? but ya know...) - the doc says she should be back up and running in no time, and she's very much looking forward to that!!
and just in time...
My dear husband is set to have a rather invasive surgery to correct what the VA hospital did and to get his foot fixed up (he also has flat foot, but only in one foot) cutting and moving bones, fusing other bones, removing the implant the VA hospital put in, and more... the surgery is scheduled to take 5 hours. Amazingly, he isn't nervous! (he's relieved and looking forward to not being in pain anymore!) Well, I'm probably nervous enough for the both of us anyway, haha! We both have absolute trust that the doc handling the surgery is good (he's the one who did our daughter's surgery) so there are no qualms there - just the long procedure makes me a bit nervous - but he should be fine! He's in good hands *and* he has a good doc who is also in good hands! :) Still, your prayers are appreciated!! The Lord's hands are a good place to be, but extra prayers never hurt, do they?? *grin*
So for the next 3 weeks we get to be uberly busy - I need to sit down and make out a project/ goal list outlining what I need to do each week while my husband is away, and he wants me to outline what projects we need to tackle together before his surgery, because afterward he will be down and out for a few months - no weight bearing on that foot for 2 or 3 months! (I wonder how the military is going to accept that... kind of hard for a cop to do his job if he can't walk or run! we still have to figure out how convalescant leave works - 21 years of active duty service and he's never gone down on convalescant leave, so this is a new one for us!) So yeah, lots of busy coming up and going on and... whew! Well, that's ok - we'll rest when we're old! ;) (of course I'm told that with all the premature white/ gray hair, I'm already old - that's ok! I've earned those!!) :)
Yup - lots of busy!
Oh, the stairs? They are finished - just working on some finishing touches with the upstairs hallway and by the back door, then I'll post pictures :)
Next up? fixing my washing machine (it quit working yesterday - not a good thing for a family of 11! the part is ordered and in the meanwhile, I'm hand scrubbing with my old scrub board - like a prairie woman of old, yes? It's good exercise for the arms, that's for sure!!) and then the barn - preparing for pigs, and our spring butchering of the older cow... and did I mention we've been offered some horses? Our horse is lonely, so we've wanted to get her a companion - we've been offered four, we hope to take one or two of them, but have to go see them first! (7 hours round trip, though, so it has to work into the schedule!)
Yes, the little farm-stead is growing and adapting and alive!! :) How fun! :) speaking of which, I need to clean out the chicken coop... I'd better get busy! Have a great weekend!!
So of course life is busy - as always! My 13 year old is recovering nicely from her second foot surgery (corrective for a hyper-flexible flat foot - seems kind of oxymoronic, doesn't it?? but ya know...) - the doc says she should be back up and running in no time, and she's very much looking forward to that!!
and just in time...
My dear husband is set to have a rather invasive surgery to correct what the VA hospital did and to get his foot fixed up (he also has flat foot, but only in one foot) cutting and moving bones, fusing other bones, removing the implant the VA hospital put in, and more... the surgery is scheduled to take 5 hours. Amazingly, he isn't nervous! (he's relieved and looking forward to not being in pain anymore!) Well, I'm probably nervous enough for the both of us anyway, haha! We both have absolute trust that the doc handling the surgery is good (he's the one who did our daughter's surgery) so there are no qualms there - just the long procedure makes me a bit nervous - but he should be fine! He's in good hands *and* he has a good doc who is also in good hands! :) Still, your prayers are appreciated!! The Lord's hands are a good place to be, but extra prayers never hurt, do they?? *grin*
So for the next 3 weeks we get to be uberly busy - I need to sit down and make out a project/ goal list outlining what I need to do each week while my husband is away, and he wants me to outline what projects we need to tackle together before his surgery, because afterward he will be down and out for a few months - no weight bearing on that foot for 2 or 3 months! (I wonder how the military is going to accept that... kind of hard for a cop to do his job if he can't walk or run! we still have to figure out how convalescant leave works - 21 years of active duty service and he's never gone down on convalescant leave, so this is a new one for us!) So yeah, lots of busy coming up and going on and... whew! Well, that's ok - we'll rest when we're old! ;) (of course I'm told that with all the premature white/ gray hair, I'm already old - that's ok! I've earned those!!) :)
Yup - lots of busy!
Oh, the stairs? They are finished - just working on some finishing touches with the upstairs hallway and by the back door, then I'll post pictures :)
Next up? fixing my washing machine (it quit working yesterday - not a good thing for a family of 11! the part is ordered and in the meanwhile, I'm hand scrubbing with my old scrub board - like a prairie woman of old, yes? It's good exercise for the arms, that's for sure!!) and then the barn - preparing for pigs, and our spring butchering of the older cow... and did I mention we've been offered some horses? Our horse is lonely, so we've wanted to get her a companion - we've been offered four, we hope to take one or two of them, but have to go see them first! (7 hours round trip, though, so it has to work into the schedule!)
Yes, the little farm-stead is growing and adapting and alive!! :) How fun! :) speaking of which, I need to clean out the chicken coop... I'd better get busy! Have a great weekend!!
Friday, January 11, 2013
This day in history...
Neat little side note for today - on this day in history, January 11, 1935, Amerlia Earhart flew across the Pacific Ocean. Now, that is a common (daily!) occurrance in our day and age, but back in the day, it was a huge accomplishment!
Today, we are taking a detour in our history lessons - instead of 300 - 200 BC, where we are with the younger kids, and the early 1800s with the older two high school kids, we're doing a lesson on Amerlia Earhart! I found a neat little lesson on her on InstructorWeb.com here. There are mapping pages available just for this month from Bright Ideas Press here and notebooking pages here.
Maybe I have a little bit of an extra interest in Amellia Earhart because my grandmother-in-law was a W.A.S.P. during WWII - she's one of the neatest ladies I've known - she is in her 90s now and is still peppy and feisty! :) Most women I've known that are "peppy" or "feisty" have rounded the corner to become feminists... thankfully, grandma has not - she just wanted to fly, and that was a way she could fly *and* be helpful! She's never sought attention for her service (really, she downplays what she did) and says that she "just wanted to fly". How neat is that?
Today, we are taking a detour in our history lessons - instead of 300 - 200 BC, where we are with the younger kids, and the early 1800s with the older two high school kids, we're doing a lesson on Amerlia Earhart! I found a neat little lesson on her on InstructorWeb.com here. There are mapping pages available just for this month from Bright Ideas Press here and notebooking pages here.
Maybe I have a little bit of an extra interest in Amellia Earhart because my grandmother-in-law was a W.A.S.P. during WWII - she's one of the neatest ladies I've known - she is in her 90s now and is still peppy and feisty! :) Most women I've known that are "peppy" or "feisty" have rounded the corner to become feminists... thankfully, grandma has not - she just wanted to fly, and that was a way she could fly *and* be helpful! She's never sought attention for her service (really, she downplays what she did) and says that she "just wanted to fly". How neat is that?
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Progress... stairway refinishing so far...
So, working on the stairs... the old, nasty carpet has got to go, but the project is bigger than I first anticipated (surprised? no... determined? you betcha!)
For once, I actually remembered to take a BEFORE shot before doing anything at all! :)
This is part way through taking the carpet off - man was it dirty under that carpet!! between my vacuum and my broom, I just about filled a trash bag with all the junk and gunk and old padding and scraped off glue stuff when it was all said and done!!
And this is the progression... top couple of stairs are stripped and sanded - next couple of stairs are stripped but not yet sanded - and the bottom couple of stairs need a bit more work before they are stripped and ready for sanding -
They are now sanded and ready for painting - of course I forgot to take a picture when it was all done, but little man was NEEDING his mama, so I put away the work stuff and cleaned up so he could get his nursey! :)
Bottom set of stairs still need stripping - hoping to get to that this weekend... and my husband and I finally picked out the paint colors we want to use, so once both sets of stairs are stripped and ready, we can start the job of painting! I'm so looking forward to having it all done!
In the meanwhile, I'm also finishing up painting the hallway, the entryway walls, and getting ready to get the last of the border wallpaper up in those areas - not so sure the paper will go up in the entryway, since the ceiling is so high and I don't have the equipment to get that high without using a big stick! ha! So, I might just content myself with painting that part and not putting up paper there...
I don't regret undertaking any of these projects for a moment, but I will be quite honest and say that I TOTALLY underestimated the amount of work I was getting myself in to!! (and it's taking longer than I had hoped for it to - but when it's all done, I'm going to absolutely love it, so it will be worth all the time and effort! :) My husband is already loving the difference, and that's really encouraging, too! :)
For once, I actually remembered to take a BEFORE shot before doing anything at all! :)
This is part way through taking the carpet off - man was it dirty under that carpet!! between my vacuum and my broom, I just about filled a trash bag with all the junk and gunk and old padding and scraped off glue stuff when it was all said and done!!
And this is the progression... top couple of stairs are stripped and sanded - next couple of stairs are stripped but not yet sanded - and the bottom couple of stairs need a bit more work before they are stripped and ready for sanding -
They are now sanded and ready for painting - of course I forgot to take a picture when it was all done, but little man was NEEDING his mama, so I put away the work stuff and cleaned up so he could get his nursey! :)
Bottom set of stairs still need stripping - hoping to get to that this weekend... and my husband and I finally picked out the paint colors we want to use, so once both sets of stairs are stripped and ready, we can start the job of painting! I'm so looking forward to having it all done!
In the meanwhile, I'm also finishing up painting the hallway, the entryway walls, and getting ready to get the last of the border wallpaper up in those areas - not so sure the paper will go up in the entryway, since the ceiling is so high and I don't have the equipment to get that high without using a big stick! ha! So, I might just content myself with painting that part and not putting up paper there...
I don't regret undertaking any of these projects for a moment, but I will be quite honest and say that I TOTALLY underestimated the amount of work I was getting myself in to!! (and it's taking longer than I had hoped for it to - but when it's all done, I'm going to absolutely love it, so it will be worth all the time and effort! :) My husband is already loving the difference, and that's really encouraging, too! :)
Monday, January 7, 2013
Quotable quotes
I was looking for a specific quote the other day - we saw a sign at Hobby Lobby some time back but did not have the budget to purchase said sign at the time... when we went back later with the intention (and funds) to purchase it, we could not find it... anyway, in looking for it, I came across this one - good food for thought! :)
"Those who look for the good in others will naturally bring out the good in themselves."
Something to ponder today. :)
on other notes, if you know the quote I'm looking for, I'd love it if you would forward it to me!
It goes along the idea that children are love you can touch, or love personified or something like that... my husband recalls it more specifically, along the lines of "Children are love in physical form" or something similar to that... we were wanting to get or make a wood "antiqued" sign with that on it for the living room...
"Those who look for the good in others will naturally bring out the good in themselves."
Something to ponder today. :)
on other notes, if you know the quote I'm looking for, I'd love it if you would forward it to me!
It goes along the idea that children are love you can touch, or love personified or something like that... my husband recalls it more specifically, along the lines of "Children are love in physical form" or something similar to that... we were wanting to get or make a wood "antiqued" sign with that on it for the living room...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
knock knock!
Conversation between my just turned 2 year old Hannah and just turned 4 year old Benjamin:
Ben: Knock knock, Hannah!
Hannah: Knock knock, Ben!
Ben: No... knock, knock, Hannah!
Hannah: Knock, Ben...
Ben: No, you say "who's there?"
Hannah: Me!
**happy, smiley sighs** I love my kids!
Ben: Knock knock, Hannah!
Hannah: Knock knock, Ben!
Ben: No... knock, knock, Hannah!
Hannah: Knock, Ben...
Ben: No, you say "who's there?"
Hannah: Me!
**happy, smiley sighs** I love my kids!
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