Ta Ta For Now....

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But stay tuned...

Well, I think this is good-bye for a week. We are going on our church camp out tomorrow(mon) night and won't be home until next Sunday evening. Plenty to blog about next Sunday though with a tidal wave of pic's I am sure! We have been waiting for this all summer!
See you all next week my faithful blog readers! ;-)

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"It's like no one ever wore them before"

I stumbled upon this reeeeally good sale at Sears. Clearance of 40-50% off, THEN another 40% off. We bought a ton of new clothes for next year, baby gifts, khaki's and even jeans. I bought four 5pc Carters layettes as baby gifts for $6.50ea!! My children were SO impressed to have NEW clothes. I have resigned to shop consignment and thrift stores with rising costs and this phenomenon of a new little one in the home every other year. The title quote is what Daniel had to say after putting on his new jammies tonight. ;-)

I asked the children really...what is the difference between what we get from the thrift store and these and they all said "They're shiny!" " They smell good!" "They're clean!"

Here are my two pictures of my windfall. I paid $120 for all this. It is, after all, overtime season for Paul. The boys really scored, the girls were less fortunate. The styles for the girls at Sears are pretty sad. Skimpy, plunging necklines(even for 5 yr olds),cheap and not the kind of look Daddy is going to have his precious daughters promote. The girls got socks and Gracie brought home some jammies and a raincoat.

An afternoon of shopping, I am tired!

We packed up the children and headed to Costco at 3:30 this afternoon. We have been needing another bookcase for eons. Costco had beaUtiful large bookcases at a really good price so after a year of giving it a hard try to find a matching bookcase to the one we have, we decided we'd buy a matching pair. They were VERY heavy, good thing Paul had me to help him. ;-)

So, here we are maneuvering a flatbed cart with two large(much larger than the cart) boxes containing unassembled bookcases, five children riding atop with daddy pushing and mamma carrying up the rear holding the little one is NOT easy on a Friday night in Costco. It is hard to act normal when you can *feel* people staring at you. Some people smile and tell us how adorable our children are(I like those people) and some stare you down while pretending to shop. I have to admit I stare at large families. But I always smile *if* they catch me...we like that ;-) At one point another family snuck up behind us and started talking to our children, they had 5 children with them and they were the neatest couple. We talked for a while and I wish I would have taken their names, they seemed happy to be shopping with their children and not stressed out a bit. I bet they were Christian, though I don't know.

Our loooong van came in handy again when we came out to the parking lot to unload our bookcases. Hmmm..remember I said the boxes were heavy? Well, we got the first one in the van sideways sitting in the main isle. Only two minor injuries, one with a band-aid am I nursing tonight. Then came the second box...hmm...um..up over the heads of the children? Laying across the seat tops? We tried, but I was not strong enough to get the box up that high. A nice man instantly walked up, put his groceries down and helped Paul get the box in. Paul is very strong, I have only ever seen him get beat in arm wrestling once in my life, this other gentleman was not a small guy by any means and it took everything both men had to get the box IN the van.

After Costco we stopped at some gentleman's house and bought gobs of barbed wire for our pasture. Thank you Craigslist.

After the barbed wire we splurged and went to McD's for dinner...yuck...oh I guess I didn't have to cook and it is a rarity. 5 double cheeseburgers for $5, 3 med fries and two value meals for Dad and Mom. We are still able to feed the family at McD's for around $20.

Off to Joe's for their tent sale. I lost my husband in the tent and went back out to the van with the four youngest, they were done shopping and needed a break...or was it me?

We came home(9pm) and Jess, Jacob and I went over to the VB's to make sure their dog kennels were all clean as they are on vacation, after coming home everyone was off to bed and here I sit thinking I have nothing laid out for tomorrow...church....which normally takes a good 45min of getting outfits together, ironed and lined up. Oh well, we'll make do. Have a nice day y'all.

Your family needs a canoe,

And I just so happen to know where you can go! My 9 yr old son...9 yrs. Daddy even admitted in a quiet corner of his shop that Jacob may be better at fiberglassing than he. He did it. He bought it for $50, Sunk about $125 into material and a whole lot of hours...they best part isn't the money he might earn, but the time with his Daddy learning how to be a useful man and the knowledge and confidence gained...that is priceless.

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/boa/768699120.html

Confessions of a Tree Hugger

I am victorious. My garden is saved. My husband, after a hard 10 hour day at work, came home and helped me pull weeds. How sweet is that? Jessie sat next to the garden playing with Micah and Grace and we weeded and weeded. I have dahlias I didn't know I had! Now today, after 5 loads of laundry and cleaning house, I felt justified to work in the garden so I moved compost in to help retain moisture and watered everything very well. I was blissfully excited to see *Little Beeswings* is alive and well. This dahlia was first recognized in 1909 and is one of the oldest & rarest around. It is aDORable, just like it's name. Want one? I am really going to try hard to propagate this one and give some away. It's a pompom - yellow flame - 3' tall - 1-2" blooms I will post pic's when it is fully open.

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Danny and Emma *riding* their horse. They spent about 2 hours playing with/on this *horse* and caring for it. I love children with imaginations!



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Confessions of myself - I'm a nature loving, Birkenstock wear'n, tree hugger and my family(siblings) love to make fun of me for that. I can tell ya how to save a baby bird, nurse a sick animal, hatch a cacoon, use some herbs medicinally and I LOVE the world of MUSHROOMS.
I am NOT one to save the whales, vote for septic system testing, or donate to save the rain forest...I'll hand the chainsaw to my husband any day or cook a rabbit my son shot out back.

I love nature because the Creators fingerprints are on every thing you see, in every garden, no matter where I go. I love fibonacci numbers and studying animals that fly in the face of evolution(i.e. the crab spider on our daisies). Romans 1:20 is one of my favorite verses "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. "



You just can not study creation and whole-heartedly deny a Creator...o.k., you can on the outside...but the Bible says your heart knows the truth. The Lord says that every mans heart KNOWS that God exists, not just "a god" but the True God, the Almighty God and Creator. "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them." Rom 1:19
You will notice I love to blog about my flowers, if you come to my house you would see I really do not have much for gardens, but what I do have I love and use to teach the children(and myself) about the Lord. Paul installed a very small pond for me last summer and I love to keep tadpoles in it. I found this little guy today, he still has a tail - it made everyones hour to see such a teeny creature so perfectly ready to make his way in the world.

Mrs. B, my friend with 13 blessings, got some tadpoles from me and so did her friend. All three of us took them out of the pond about the same week. Her friend kept the tadpoles in shallow warm water. The tadpoles, thinking the *pond* was drying up grew legs and lost their tails amazingly quick and hopped away. Mrs. B's tadpoles were getting their legs and arms, but much slower than her friends. Mine, in deep cold water, are ever so slowly developing arms and legs. Most still only have small stubs. Their environment affects their development. Now that is something we never read aaaaaall the library books on frogs. This little guy is the first one I have seen almost developed.

"By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.." Ps 33:6-9

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,

be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Tim 1:17

Toasters and other modern day inventions...

All our little chicks we hatched in the inky

Daniel, age 7 - "Hey mom? "
Mom, age 34 - "Yes? "
Daniel - "Did you have to roast your toast over a fire way back in Davy Crockett's time? "
Mom - "Daniel, I'm not that old. "
Daniel - "Huh...how 'bout back in the time of Little House on the Prairie? "

Mom - "I wasn't alive back then either. "

Daniel - "Hmm...how 'bout when you were little?"

Mom - "We had toasters Daniel....toasters. "

Daniel - "Oh."

Reclaiming MY garden & PRIZES!

I am not giving up. I am going to get my dahlia garden back if it kills me, and I think it may do just that. I have been pulling weeds for only a couple hours now and my fingers are soar, achy and red. I have a sunburn and am covered in dusty dirt, but I WILL....RECLAIM...MY GARDEN. No one has given me ANY great tips yet, how is it I drive through town and see all these huge gardens without a weed in sight? HOW do you do it? You KNOW a secret you are NOT passing on, now do YOUR duty as a fellow GARDENER and give me some pointers! If you give me a good, practical tip I will BRING to your doorstep and nicely arranged bouquet of DAHLIAS. Um...if you live nearby, otherwise I will send you a picture of one....that work?

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Seeking rabbit recipes....you heard me, rabbit. By next year we hope to have a good stock of bunnies to feed our family. We usually butcher about 40 large chickens in the Spring for the year, but they are labor intense and they need to be kept in a freezer. We went to a wonderful families home last Friday and Mr. B took this huge male rabbit out of his cage and ten minutes later he was handing us "ready-to-eat" rabbit in a sack. 10m...that is half the time it takes us to do a chicken(we're slow, ok?). It is in the crockpot as we speak, but I would sure like to collect some recipes for the coming years if you happen to know of some. Give me a few easy, good recipes and you may win yourself a rabbit.

Sunday afternoon...

Paul has always wanted to measure out the dimensions of Noah's Ark with the children. Daddy read from the Bible the account of Noah and God's commandment to build an ark, in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely no large bodies of water anywhere in the county side. On faith. The Ark was 450' in length, 75' in width & 45' tall. I had never guessed it to be so massive, it was at least twice the size my mind's eye had it figured to be.

The children marked port and starboard, bow and stern. Even on a calm day in the middle of a pasture the children standing at bow and stern couldn't understand one another yelling.

The Lord didn't see it fit to give us many details, but it appears to have been a long skinny box, one window, one door. Amazing, must study more.

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Proud of my homeschooled kids. We have been studying botany this last year for science so my children love to look close up at flowers. Jessica came in the house all excited yesterday that she had found a white camouflaged spider hunting on my Shasta daisies. I didn't believe her at first, but after coming outside found the little critter blending quite well on the petals.

Come to find out it is a type of Australian Crab Spider. They actually reflect ultraviolet rays, the ones honey bees(their favorite food) are attracted to. When a crab spider sits atop a daisy it's ultraviolet reflection makes his daisy more attractive to the bees than all the other daisys in the bush, therefore attracting them right into his little flower of death. They have two grapple-like legs that, in a split second, grab the bee and haul it away as it's meal. No webs, true hunting. I admire that ;) I found this fascinating and after some more looking around found a couple more on my other Shasta daisys and only my Shasta daisies. My next question is how they got there? Very intriguing.

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"The Swingset" is up and running!

Really, we do work...

Really. The children do chores and work all morning and it isn't until the late afternoon that they are given free time, it just seems to be all I blog about and therefore looks like all we do! Mr. C owns the pasture that wraps around our house and to my daughters delight last year, dropped off 7 horses. We offered to water, feed(when they needed hay) and watch for them as Mr. C is a very busy man. It has been a blast and he even gave us a saddle and reigns, brushes and goodies. Granted, you horse fanatics are going to notice the fact these horses are not exercised much and have nice round bellies. It is mighty hard to cinch the belly strap on this horse!

Mr. C helps to run christian horse camps around the state and came home for a few days. He gave Jessica a real riding lesson and even quizzed her afterward. Jessie is a softy and Angel(the horse) knew it from all the clover she brings her and the googoo talk over the fence. Mr. C had Jess firmly telling(kicking) that horse under no uncertain terms it was going to do as it was asked and it did! It was a new side of Jessie I hadn't seen! That horse was disgruntled at times and Jess hung on and still made it repeat when she had told it.

Mr. C walked every child patiently around the yard oodles of times on old Peaches.

Even Jacob got to ride Angel, but mamma like it better when he was on Peaches.

After Mr. C left and my husband came home I even went for a ride...oh it has been a long time. My husband hates horses, I love them so this is as close as I will ever get.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Remember that quaint little pond we have? Well, the water is gone and it is nothing but thick slimy, stinky mud now. Guess who snuck down there? Insta-bath.

Movies, Castles & Canoes...

We heard Kit Kittredge was a good film and it was. I searched conservative christian reviews this morning and decided it would be a good summer outing. I highly recommend it. It sparked a discussion about the Great Depression all the way home from the mall. Bring Kleenex though!

Did you know Bellis Fair Cinemas has free G rated movies at 10am every Tues-Thur? Free. No strings. Next week is Charlotte's Web.

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Again, who has the best neighbors? We do!

I know we asked if we could borrow it for Gracies birthday Dee, but it is the best babysitter I have ever found! Do I HAVE to give it back?

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I have been getting questions on Jacobs canoe. He has refiberglassed several large holes and cracks, done what seems like hours of sanding and now is drilling the holes to put that metal trim thingy back on. Next is painting and installing the newly built seats. I will post the link to Craigslist sometime in August so you can all tell your husbands to buy it from him! He is learning SO much and excited to find a buyer.

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Remember those child safety locks I have needed?

I got them installed tonight by two GORgeous men.

"Can I put the skwoo's on dere for you daddy?"

Happy birthday

A happy cake smeared 1 year old!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...Gracie is 1 today. She was born at home, in the very room I am sitting in a year ago today. She is such a joy to our family and has had happy birthday sung to her countless times today. I caught her 9 yr old brother sneaking in her room early this morning, peeking into the crib to quietly sing "Happy birthday to Gracie"....how sweet is that? She took her first steps on Saturday...so we can say she walked before she was one. Gracies interests in life are toys with buttons, shirts with buttons, toast with butter, bananas, her blanky and thumb.

Miker "reading" Gracie her birthday card from the H's.

Our wonderful neighbors lent us their jumping castle again and it tuckered the kids out real well. Gracie obviously never went in, but she was plum tuckered from all the excitement of turning one.

I used to thumb my nose at large families thinking those poor children...not getting the attention they deserve, the opportunities...I was so wrong. Our children have such a rich environment to live in. We do not watch T.V. We have a DVD player for schoolwork and an occasional movie when Grandpa comes over. My children LOVE reading books and we try to pack the bookcases with many good ones and hit the Library regularly. Any interest they have, they pursue. My eldest daugther has never shown a real interest or passion in any subject. I have tried to spark her onto things only to have her shrug her shoulders and move one. Recently she has been having fun with my camera, so we are talking about taking a photography class together in a couple years at the local tech college. What a kick that will be if she holds on to that interest!

Shasta Daisy

"Chrysanthemum maximum (Asteraceae)"

"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You."

Ps 139:16-18

Why I Don't Write Poems...

I've swept all the floors then mopped 'em,

Washed the mirrors, glass, sink, coffeepot.
Cleaned my room, fed the dogs, changed three diapers,

Did the laundry, picked up toys...quite a lot.

Baked a cake and renewed hubby's licence,

Laid out clothes for our dinner tonight.
Emptied then filled the dishwasher,

Made lunch and tucked the little ones in tight.

So now my older ones are playing outside,

The young ones are napping so sound

My house is cleaned up for a moment,

And I sit in the quiet surround.

Yes, I know there are more constructive things I could be doing with my time!

I got to sit down at lunch for a few moments, o.k.?

I am always fighting handprints up the staircase, around the light switches, doors, walls...This is one of my FAVEorite poems that helps me to overlook the unsightly smudges and smears of dirty hands.

I think most of us gave this poem to our parents

accompanied by a plaster of paris mold of our hand?

Sometimes you get discouraged

Because I am so small,

And always leave my fingerprints

On furniture and walls.

But everyday I'm growing,

I'll be all grown up someday,

And all these tiny handprints

Will simply fade away.

Sand

Sand is yummy. Just ask Gracie the almost one year old.

Gracie would like to show you her sandbox.

1. First take a smidge of sand and try licking it off your fingers, to make sure the texture is alright.

2. Pick up half a Lego man and lick the sand off of him. After he is wet, re-dip him and he will attract much more sand! Then, snack again.

3. Look around and make sure no one is looking for this one....go for the gusto, why take in teaspoons when you can have mouthfuls?! The experience is exciting!

4. Move off the sideboards and directly into the box itself. The sand is still warm from the sun.

Oh the sheer bliss of sand on your tongue

Farewell for now, dear friends, until we meet again.

**disclaimer - No babies actually ate sand in the shooting of these pictures. She was pulled back and wiped up then ran to the house with mommy clearing the way with "ewe, ewe, ewe.." all the way. She is sand-free in bed, drinking a warm bottle as I write.

A busy week...

Our week started out with Jacob FINALLY being able to attend the baseball clinic he was invited to through church this whole week. It was at our pastors house waaaaay out in the boondocks(o.k., maybe WE are the ones out in the boondocks). It was taught by an older man in the church who looves coaching and did a fabulous job. The idea wasn't to win, it was to glorify God first in humbleness, actions and speech and to sharpen the boys' skill's and learn the game. Monday through Friday they practiced from 1:30 - 3pm in the hot sun and Saturday was the big game. We didn't sing the national anthem, we recited the Lord's Prayer, though we all would have been proud to sing our anthem, it was a creative change to start out in prayer.





A full 9 innings were played(I think) and there was no winner announced. Remember the idea wasn't competition, but glorifying God. The game was made challenging for the more experienced players but the ball fumbled and dropped when a newbie got a poor hit, allowing him to jump for joy after reaching first base and hearing a strong "Safe!" In other words, it was rigged. But what a GREAT time of fellowship and iron sharpening iron. The boys on that field were not boys, but men in training.





The boys each left with a team picture, a signed certificate of completion, a uniform and new friends....good friends.

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Afterwards, the B's invited our family over to their house for dinner. Like she said, what's 8 more people? They are the exceptional parents of 13 children. So she had this huge spread of food whipped up in no time and we loved sitting down to talk for a good long time. At one point Paul stopped and pointed out there were 20 children running around playing and we were sitting in the dining room thoroughly enjoying adult conversation...uninterrupted for the most part. Jessie brought her cousin Ali with if you are adding numbers. I just love this family. Their children are very well mannered, sweet and full of adventurous ideas...the opposite of what people imagine a large family to be. I have conquered all their names! I felt like I deserved a patch or somethin(Renee, if you read this, did you get all MINE down?). I wanted to talk to each child and was bummed I missed five of them. Oh well, that is what future BBQ's are for!

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This is my dream dahlia garden that I have wanted for 4 years now. Paul went through all the work of creating it for me and here is it's current state. I have weeded it several times and spent hours in here...really. I haven't counted it as lost.....yet....but I am loosing hope. Any ideas on how to grow a low-weed dahlia garden...or garden for that matter, would be greatly appreciated.

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And this is a typical Sunday afternoon. Daddy is in the pool, who needs pool toys? Daddy serves as a spring board & flotation device. The kids couldn't have a better father!

Paul's birthday is tomorrow, Monday, and Gracie is celebrating her FIRST birthday on Tuesday! I can not believe how fast this year has gone. Paul and I get to enjoy a dinner out at a fancy shmancy restaurant tomorrow night and we will have a BBQ Tuesday night for the both Paul and Gracie.

"But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,

and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life..." 1 Thess 4:11

I did a study of the phrase "quiet life" today. Sometimes I feel guilty for opting out of my children participating in out-of-the-home programs and music and sports and more programs, but then I read this...

The greek word for "quiet" in 1 Thess 4:11 is "hesuchazo" - 2270 -

which literally means

1) to keep quiet
a) to rest, cease from labour
b) to lead a quiet life, said of those who are not running hither and thither, but stay at home and mind their business
c) to be silent, i.e. to say nothing, hold one's peace

Ahhhhh, now that settles much better with me.

Hatching documentry...

The circle is complete

Well, the day has come. Little peeps can be heard every time go upstairs. That is where the incubator has been for 21+ days. Because I am fascinated with God's creation, love to type, and have a five minute coffee break while the kids swim I'll give you a short lesson in hatching chicks...THEN if you live close to us come borrow one of our incubators and give it a try!

Heave....Ho!

Place an X on one side and an O on the other side of the eggs. Place pointy end(chick) down and fat side(air pocket) up. Keep a small dish of water in incubator and as steady a temp of 99.5 as you can. Turning the eggs to X in the morning and O in the evening. On day 5 candle the eggs and watch the little fellas swim around...or see a bacteria ring, or clear egg in which you throw it in the garbage. You MUST throw out bad eggs before they explode, thus candling is important, I hear exploders are quite gross. After 19 looooong days stop turning the eggs and place a soaked washcloth in the inky to raise the humidity to +80%. *side note* It is amazing the changes a hens body goes through to accommodate the hatching eggs. They loose all their feathers on their underside, they fluctuate the humidity with sweat glands to keep the membrane on a pipped egg from drying out. We found out the hard way if you do not keep the humidity very high on hatching day and when that chick pips its first hole, the membrane surrounding it can dry quickly and become unbreakable. The chicks suck in the last of the yolk while it is pipping. They have an egg tooth on the end of their beak that is very hard and sharp. They pip a teeny hole and rotate in the egg 1/8" of an inch, then pip a hole and rotate, pip a hole and rotate and so on until a complete circle is cut away and at last they push with their legs and spill out. It is so precise! I used to think they just cracked a hole and forced their way out, but they are very strategic!

All twisted up!

Time for a warm hatcher to dry you off!

Under the red warming lights.

They become fluff balls in minutes! Nice straight toes means I kept a nice even temperature while incubating.

The children are LOVING this. I am trying to let each one have an egg hatch in their hands.