Thursday

I must be all tuckered out when it comes to creativity because I sit here thinking of a good blog title and I just can't get it. Today was a good day. My sister and I took my mother out for lunch for her birthday, I think it is more of a treat for me than it is my mother! Sorry Mom, but you know it. It was such a blessing to me to go to a quiet lunch with two of my favorite people.

Micah read his first sentence today. I called all the children to the table and Micah, with beaming face, stood up, book in hand, and read loudly "God made light." Everyone burst forth with clapping . It was beautiful and it just made my heart smile. Micah has been on cloud nine ever since and promptly met Daddy at the door with his reader. It was Paul's fifth greeting at the door of that kind. I do love Rod and Staff for 1st grade....LOVE it.

After reading our Botany lesson today we decided to tackle their suggested activity as it was a gorgeous day. We learned how to measure a tree using proportionality(not the triangle method). Our white birch is 36', the flagpole 19'2" and we have a fir tree that was estimated at 102ft tall! After that, each child had to find a branch and point out two years growth on one branch by locating the terminal bud scars. Daniel found a 5' apple tree branch that had six distinct years on it. I learn something new every day.

Paul and I worked on more mudding and taping, it takes so much time to complete this part, but I am starting to think about carpet and the light fixtures are all chosen...so maybe some day this dream will become a reality.

School'in

We are in our third week of school. I'm telling ya, it is tough getting back in the saddle. We've had a great start though and the bug are worked out. I finish and *new and improved* chore chart for 2010-2011 that is working quite well. By 10 am school has been started every day and by 1pm, with lunch in there somewhere, school is finished. Animals are cared for and music is studied. Jessie and Jacob just switched from their long time piano teacher Mrs. Gerlach to my sister Julie. Jacob was apprehensive of gong(I found out later) as he heard us joking about Aunt Julie keeping a ruler on the side of the piano to hit children's knuckles with they they played a wrong note, lol! My sister actually HAD a teacher who did this when she was young and that is who he must have heard us talking about. Boy, was he relieved.

I am enjoying my new 1st grader immensely. Is there anything better than a brand new student?! Micah wanted to start school so bad, so we did. He has learned his vowels and just put his first two sounds together today, it was so fun to see his eyes light up when he *read* the combination. I was sitting at the table today correcting(and correcting and correcting and..) and it hit me I have FIVE students. I am now where I dreaded being five years ago and it really isn't bad at all. It's fun. The Lord has revealed much to us in that time, as I knew He would. I want to keep their lives quiet and simple. I want the children to remember a joyful home life, uncluttered with business and stress. Rich in learning and rooted in love for our Lord and Savior and each other. So far, I have been quite pleased with our days. So far. ;)

Family News:

My laptop did die...officially. We are mourning it's death because along with it's death comes the inability to upload pictures from my camera.

We got a buck from some friends to breed our does. We have had him three? days now and Junie should be expecting in mid Feb! Whew, that was quick. He is a cute little feller, his name is Ferdinand and he has big curly horns and he stinks something awful, but we still love him.

We are mudding and taping! The addition is looking like a home! the chickens roosted in there last night. Dumb birds.

That's all for now.

Church Mt Fossil Safari Fossil Hunt!

What a blessing for Christians in our area.

Church Mt, Fossil Safari Fossil hunt and explanation on how fossils are made and how they fit into Noah's Flood.

TIME: 10:00 at “Chain up area” then to fossil site and end about 2:30
DATE: Sept. 25, 2010 Directions: Take the Mt. Baker Highway out of Bellingham to the Glacier ranger station just East of Glacier. Go 1-2 mile farther to a “Chain Up” parking lot on the left (North) the road. Meet there to caravan and car pool to the Church Mt. Road and Fossil area. Equipment: Hiking boots, cameras, warm clothes, lunch, or snacks, hammer and cold chisel if you have one to crack rocks open
Cost: $18.00 per individual - $25.00 per family includes 15 page color handbook and three 20 minute lessons on the fossils and geology of Mt Baker and how they fit into the Bible

Russ and Tricia McGlenn are home missionaries with Twin Cities Creation Science Association. They have many Adventure Safaris like below as well as a Dinosaur Dig in South Dakota. Russ grew up in Concrete and used to hike on Mt Baker and around Baker Lake in this youth. They now live in California but return to MN & rarely to Washington to teachminute lessons on the fossils and geology of Mt Baker and how they fit into the Bible.

1. Is there a difficult hike involved that could be difficult for older persons or little children? +++ No hiking - we drive to the fossil creek and hunt for fossils there.

2. Are all ages invited? +++ No age problem. Parents need to watch there kids that’s all.

3. Do they need to “pre-register” by emailing you? +++ Yes or phone and pay there so we can make booklets and know if we have enough families we need 8 or more.

4. Will there be a limited number, or are you pretty open? +++ Any number is OK. Is it weather dependent?

5. Will you notify people, due to bad weather or other issues? +++ Yes. If bad weather we will cancel so we need everyone's phone number.

6. If some people can’t come, can they pay a little something and get the handbook, so they could possibly go on their own another time? +++ Yes. The booklet Is $8.00 = $2 S&H. Russ & Tricia McGlenn Cell 805 588 3353

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We are SO bummed that we can not go to this. We just heard and unfortunately have other plans that we can not break so late in the game. I am going to order the book from them so we can do this on our own as a family or put together a Family Fossil Hunt with other families. I am trying to find another family that will be going so I can pick their brain when they come back and get ideas on how it was ran. If anyone goes, can they give me a call?

The 5 Love Languages

So I was talking with Ruth E and it seems like every other time we get to have a lengthy talk, this book comes up. She lent it to me a couple weeks ago and boy we had fun with it. I went the 5 Love Languages website and tested the five oldest, my husband and me...why not? It really gave me some insight on why my one son smiles every time you accidentally brush into him or my husband smiles when I do something as WONderful as retrieve a wrench for him. Huh?

Like I said, I tested everyone, made a chart out of it in Wordpad and stuck it to my kitchen cupboard and now we are all learning each others Love Languages. It is fun. I am so NOT the psycho-babble type...but this makes sense and it is fun. My one son is a obvious *Touch* type...so now we hug and brush up against him more, he beams and loves every moment of it. ;)

My daughter Jessica is *Encouraging Words*. The book is nice because it gives creative ways of expressing that love language, many more than I could think of.

If the link above does not work, click HERE to give the test.

There is a newer book out called The 5 Love Languages of Apology, that looks good, too! Library here I come.

Well, enough for now, time to start school!

Mrs. Morecraft's School of Elocution and Composition for Young Ladies

I wish I would have posted this sooner! 24 hours left to register and at a family rate of $49 it's a deal! I do hope it is as good as they state it is, Jessica and I both signed up as I can use this as much as she can. Ladies 12 and up.

Calling all young ladies who yearn for the gifts of fair speech and sound prose!

Do you know the difference between a metaphor and a simile? Are you able to avoid common mistakes in grammar and composition? Have you ever learned to properly express your emotions and feelings in a way that elevates your listeners and honors God?

A very sad day.

Today was a very sad day. Our sweet dog Jake, whom we've had longer than any of our children, whom we took home as my first "big dog" puppy, was put down today after a rather unexpected turn of events late this afternoon. I wanted so bad to post pictures of the big galoot, but alas, puter won't let me. It was SOoooo hard to put him down. Paul always said when the time came, he'd man up and take ole Jake in the woods, but none of us could handle the thought of our loyal best friend since 1995 could die that way, so the vet bill we paid. I am glad we did, and so is Paul.

Me, Jessica, Jacob and Daniel, puffy eyed and sobbing took him to Kulshan Vet and sat with our sweet guy as the doctor gave him some happy juice. For a few minutes there on the tailgate of the pickup we had a great time with our pal as he was like a puppy again, pain all forgotten, fed him a pocket full of treats that the doctor gave us, it was so nice! Then, with the children's permission, he stopped his heart. Jake wagged his tail to the very end and every eye is red and swollen tonight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Obituary~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jake the Dog(as opposed to Jake the Kid) Born the middle of December sometime 1995. 14 yrs 9 months. He leaves behind a family of humans and Sasha his kitten, whom he licked, cleaned and slept with every night. He was a 73lb yellow lab / golden retriever mix. Ate rat poison 4 times, had his stomach pumped once, hydrogen peroxide three times. Hit and dragged by a sports car at our old home on the East Badger, got up and walked away with only a few stitches, Hit by the UPS truck once(he deserved it) and bounced off the bumper of the UPS truck on another occasion(you'd think he'd learn) Chased many a coyote off our property with NEVER one poultry casualty under his watch. Met all 7 of our newborns, gone on many a camping trip, outlived his whole litter of 8. Met many a skunk and was banished to the garage many a time, loved balls, loved chicken food & chicken poop, loved garbage, His little kitten friend will miss the nightly back rubs she gave him...they were best friends.

We'll miss you Jake the Dog.

12/1995 - 9/2010

It's a...

boy...and another boy... and another boy!

Emma was holding Bailey, our cat, last evening and said "Mamma, I think Bailey is going to have her babies any moment, they've "dropped" and I can't even feel them!" I blew it off until Jessie, sounding concerned said "Mom, the babies have reeeeally dropped, you need to see this."

That got my attention and, trying to be the animal expert I like to think I am, I came over and immediately saw her bum...it was...icky. "OH! Oh no! The babies are gone! She's not pregnant!" Then an excited pandemonium broke out as we realized while our kitty was stretched out on our floor sleeping, there were sweet tiny kittens outside somewhere. It was like an Easter egg hunt all over again! I called my cat breeding friend Cara and she advised us to let her eat and drink then stealthily follow her back to the nest.

After an HOUR of stalking her in the darkness, she finally led me to the wood shed, jumped over a wall into the old pigpen, looked around and quietly nuzzled her way under some old empty feed bags. I heard "the noises" and hollered for Paul to bring his flashlight. We carefully peeled back feed bags to reveal a sweet crafted oval nest dug out in old clean straw. There were 3 tiny kittens mewing and nestling into Mamma. Bailey looked proud and rolled on her back as if to show off her nursing babies. I took that as a "Here, hold one!" However, it was a "Back off" and I found myself nursing a nice scratch on the hand.

I'd show pictures, but my laptop is down and our dinosaur PC doesn't know what a SDHC card is. Trust me, they are cute....oh...and anyone want a male kitten in eight weeks? There's a solid orange tabby and two black and white sweeties. ;)

Meet’n with the Council

I love my town. I have kind of lost that love in the last few years watching Lynden change, but last night I was encouraged again to thank the Lord for our town, flawed as it is. Anyone who lives in our county knows the stigma that comes with living in Lynden.

The children and I were online yesterday morning learning about our municipal government, what it does, how it functions. While visiting our city's homepage we found a schedule for an upcoming city council meeting....that night! I asked who was interested and they(oldest four) all agreed it was a must. We made an early dinner, fed & kissed Daddy(who was work'n hard on the addition), dressed the children as if for church and off we went.

The Mayor greeted us as soon as we walked in the door, I introduced our homeschooling family and the children all shook hands with stars in their eyes. All seven of our city council members were present, along with the heads of each department. One city council member(Mr. Nick Laninga) waved loudly at our children from his council seat, which again, made the children beam!! They motioned to start and called all to rise and give the pledge of allegiance. It made me proud. Here in a room with about 15 men and my children's voices drowned those men out when reciting our pledge. I could see the smiles on the men's faces even though they were faced away toward the flag. It tickled them pink.

There was nothing on the Agenda that evening(lucky for us!) so it went quickly, about 45min. A couple non-resident citizens grudgingly addressed the council with complaints about immigration laws and then left. We were the only citizens left in the room.

After the meeting was adjourned the Mayor came down and talked to the children some more and said he looks forward to meeting us again when we come tour the Hall on Friday, if he is present. Of the seven council members, five purposed to come meet the children..they were SO sweet! What a great time it was. I must admit here this was MY first city council meeting, too. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly, we left feeling blessed to call this "our town". All the council members claim Christ as their Savior, as well as our Mayor. It was just a joy to participate and encourage my sons to first be leaders in their homes, secondly leaders in the church and thirdly leaders in their community.

Death By Scones

 

There is this gentleman who surprises our family with organic chocolate milk as a BIG treat periodically(many of you know this mystery man!). This last time he brought us organic heavy cream and I have been making every treat I can think of. This morning I woke up with scones on my mind. Before the children got up and moving I baked a double batch of oatmeal raisin scones.

Whipped up a batch of fresh whipped cream and we thanked the Lord for this treat! I am not a baker, this is totally out of the ordinary for me, so do not throw brownie points my way.  ;)

 

Elijah was quietly focused on munching….

the whole time.

 

Oatmeal Raisin Scones (makes 16 large 3" scones)

Heat oven to 450

3 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
2 T baking powder
1 t salt

Stir in, using fingers if necessary to separate the fruit;
2 1/2 C old-fashioned rolled oats
1 C raisins

Whisk together, then add all at once;
2 large eggs
2 1/2 sticks butter(20 T)
2/3 C milk

Mix with wooden spoon just until dry ingredients are moistened. Plop 2" balls of dough on a cookie sheet and slightly flatten. Bake for 10 min or until browned. Serve with 2C fresh whipped cream and 3 T sugar whipped to perfection!

 

I warned the children not to overdo the whipped cream, they’d regret it, but they didn’t listen.

 

This was Elijah's reaction to the next baking sheet coming out of the oven.

 

“Scones, scones a wonderful treat,

The sicker you get, the more you eat.

The more you eat, the sicker you feel,

So let’s have scones at every meal!”

- The J children(and no, we never say the other version of this rhyme ;)

It’s o.k. to fly the white flag

Once in a while…..

 

The boys were soooo excited Daddy asked them to replace the front door knob all alone, he let them loose at 9:30pm….it’s Labor Day tomorrow and they were up for the challenge!

I came in at 10pm and they were argueing about what the instructions actually meant. The door knob was off and Danny was fiddling with pieces. At some point they must have decided the instructions really needed a Daddy to interpret.

 

Because when I came in at 10:22, this is what I found.  They “secured” the house for the night, packed it up and went to bed. I was hoping to blog about what a great job they did, lol. Here I walk into THIS.

A pile of school books moved in front of the door and a dirty piece of PAPER people magneted to the door.

 

  

<sigh>

I can’t wait to hear the story in the morning. Knowing my boys, they were giggling at the thought of Daddy finding this.

Sunday Afternoons

I heard Paul and the children sawing wood and giggling in the addition earlier. About an hour later, I was sitting in the living room when Micah came a’rapping on the window. There stood everyone in the yard with my poor goat hooked up to a cart.

Free goat rides all afternoon. Poor Junie.

See my beautiful garden?!  It’s under there somewhere. The only thing we harvested were potatoes. We gave up and froze most of our seed, I miss it. Especially the fresh sweet corn. Oh well, there is always next year.

Onlookers.

My house as of today. Almost sheet rocked. Siding on the addition will be done tomorrow, Lord willing, and by next weekend we will be taping & mudding!

The animals watched the goofy children play in the field.

See all the nice garden mounds under the scrub to the right? They are serving as fun whooptie-doos for the boys on their bike. They were good for somethin.

The elusive G-pa in the background!

Our dry pond

Turkeys and guineas. Mr. Thanksgiving is in the middle with his faithful flock of Bourbon Red turkeys and Guineas. We lost a Bourbon last night. It jumped in the pen with Riley the dog. ;( I was just sick about it, and I am pretty sure it was a hen.

The joy of having free range turkeys. I found my walkway a disaster this morning. Hmmmm….I am going to have to think twice about that.

Enjoy our Lord’s Day…

Meet Mr. Mud Dauber

A friends daughter gave us a box to put goat kids in while they are disbudded. I opened it up when we got home to check out the iron and there were two mud condos. I squealed with excitement, had Jessica known what she gave me I am SURE she would have kept it. I knew it was something neat. Why have I never noticed these creatures before?

 

Enter – the Mud Dauber aka the mud wasp. I took a stick and chiseled the mud away to reveal several horizontal tubes. Each tub was encasing about 6-10 house spiders…alive, but not moving. Cooooooool. I ran in the house and googled “mud with spiders inside” It came right up.  

 

The mud dauber makes two nests a season, hence one nest in the box that looks like it *hatched* and one that is newly formed.

They prey on black widows particularly, but since Western Wa is not blessed with those nasty creatures they prey on house spiders…or so was my conclusion.

They jump on the spider, inject it with a venom that paralyzes the critter and they grasp it in the mandibles and fly it their prepared nest.

 

Nasty looking thing, ain’t it?

 

 

Each cylinder has one egg laid at the end, then they pack it full of spiders that lay paralyzed until the larva gets around to eating them them nice and fresh.

 

   

Can you see the little larva on the far left eating the spider?

 

 

After the larva has finished off the spiders, it cocoons itself and transforms into a mud dauber, chisels its way through the mud and escapes. Survival of the fittest is at work as there were a few larva that were fully formed and just never made it out in time. Oh well, one less of those nasty creatures. Needless to say, this is one nest that this tree-huggin mamma did not protect. 

A Spider For Nanna

Gracie drew a spider and said it was for Nanna, so Nanna, this is for you. It even comes with a grumpy face.