Little Update

I know it has been forever since I have written. Thank you for your prayer over us as we await our baby girl. We are down to 10 days before my due date. Amazing! All has been well in our home. I have been busy getting baby's things organized. We have been so blessed with gifts and hand me down's. I have also been busy with schooling the other children. Usually we take off from Thanksgiving until the New Year and then we jump back in. During that time we do individual study, hitting the library regularly and some fun family activities. This year we have done our regular school routine throughout the holidays so that when baby arrives we can take a break and get into a new routine while everyone adjusts to her and her to them! We are all excited about her arrival. We will be sure to announce when she comes and what her name will be...we still don't know! Oh well, we still have at least 10 days. ;)

Crustaceans.

We absolutely love homeschooling. Today, we studied crustaceans and followed up our study with a trip to the local seafood store. We chose the store that had the live lobster tank. Peter bought two lobsters and several pounds of shrimp. We brought them home and cooked them up. The kids loved every step. Peter and the children shared the two lobsters and named the different parts as they "dissected" them. What a fun night we had! On a side note, yesterday was 16 years for Peter and I. The time continues to fly by. We have had head colds for several days, so I guess tonights dinner was part of our celebration. I love you Peter! I love you kids!

The last week of summer vacation.

The kids and I have been tackling a big item every day this week. It feels so good to get things cleaned up, organized, dusted and painted.

Monday--Finished sanding and painting the old blue chairs. They are now a nice flat black and will look great on the porch. We also sanded the rest of the deck and will seal it when the rain stops falling. Peter and the boys worked on what Peter calls the workout room (I call it the laundry room :). Things are looking good on the shelves and off the floor. Lovin' it.

Tuesday--The playroom overhaul. We were able to get rid of three bags of toys for giveaway and one of trash. We also pulled up the old car play rug and took it right to the curb. No more old rubber backing dissolving on my floor! They worked hard and were generous with their giving. I rewarded them with pizza for lunch. We all sat in the newly cleaned/organized playroom, snuggled around the boys little table, ate our pizza, and enjoyed "bubble water."

Wednesday--We tackled the pantry. The kids got into sorting like things to put back on shelves, read dates to make sure they should even go back in there, and enjoyed many still-good surprise snacks that had somehow made their way to the far reaches.

Tomorrow we unload the boys dressers and break down their captains beds. I sure hope my vacuum is in perfect working order for all the dust that is gonna fly. Pete has been gone for a couple days but will be home to help with this big chore. I have a feeling a little fishing and swimming will be on the agenda for tomorrow after Daddy is home again.

Friday we buy the boys their new beds. We are headed to Ikea. Ya know, the place where you really need one of everything?

So, that is how we have been spending our "last real week of summer vacation." Of course we homeschool pretty much year round as that is what works for us and Peter's ever-changing schedule.

The eyes have it!

It's a new year...

I have not blogged because there has been too much to blog about! Peter was on call for Christmas so we celebrated early, then he wasn't called in. God is so good to let him be home with us all that time. He was able to join us for both extended family fellowships. After Christmas we rolled right into my cousins wedding, in which Daniel was the ring bearer. We had the rehearsal, dinner and then the wedding followed by Happy New Year! It was such an exciting time. Peter had us stay at a hotel near the wedding so that we would save a couple hours of driving with the kids. It was the perfect opportunity for the children to roll out their new sleeping bags. No one wanted the 2nd bed in the hotel room. I volunteered to stretch out in it but couldn't stand the thought of not feeling Peters feet all night long. Ashley decided she could take the bed. So there she was, our growing 11 year old, stretched out on a double all by herself while Dad and Mom cuddled in the other double. The other four were scattered here and there with no one blocking the way to the bathroom!

So now we are home and the temperature is a mere 25 degrees. We have a fire going, the kids are braving it after a long morning of back-to-school time and I am listening to the sound of laughing children along with pots and pans rolling down the back steps. What could they be up to? Probably wanting to freeze some more water to make ice. Peter has volunteered to take them on an ice run after they have a few blocks to use to slide down their grandparents hill. Though this will not be today as my husband picked up something during our week and has been laid out for 3 days. We are praying protection over the rest of us while we take turns waiting on him. He is up and about more today, but our sweet Daniel over heard that Daddy was going to drink water today and then showed up with one of his hot wheels cups full of water for Daddy. Oh when I see the precious hearts of my children, what joy!

We began last year with a decision to read through straight through the Bible in a year. We have read everyday, but with little ones we didn't quite make it all the way through. We are continuing this year where the 31st left off. We are in Luke. God's timing is good. If you have not read through the Bible we encourage you to do so. He still speaks and His word is right and true. We pray you will have eyes to see and ears to hear what He wants to reveals to you this year.
Blessings to you in this New Year!
We stand amazed at how the Lord has showered His mercy and blessing on us.

The straws and lids can hurt the animals.

We took the kids to the zoo yesterday. The lion area was closed except for one section. The elephant house was closed for renovation. Supposedly there were orangutans somewhere to be found. The ape house was empty. The hippo had been sold to Minnesota. There were birds aplenty. We saw 2 zebras and 3 cheetahs. Mostly the cheetahs were pacing the pen watching the zebras. We never saw any feeding action. Not unless you count the time when we were going to see the lobster eat an oyster and we waited oh-so-patiently as the volunteer dropped the oyster right behind a rocky area where we couldn't see. We definitely saw our fair share of snakes. We caught a wild praying mantis but left it there as we didn't want to steal one of the main attractions of the zoo. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time and the kids loved seeing the animals that were actually AT the zoo. We finished our visit with a yummy soda. We paid and they handed us 32 ounce cups. When we asked for lids and straws (after all we have five kiddos drinking from these big cups) they informed us without apology that the straws and lids can hurt the animals. Peter and I were shocked! Is this written on a sign somewhere? We feel cheated. We didn't know. We wouldn't have bought them...okay, we would have. But what we really wanted to know was...Exactly WHAT animals were going to be injured by straws and lids?!

Semper Reformanda!

From fabulous lectures and tours to meeting like-minded families, Reformation 500 exceeded our expectations! We were blessed to make new friends and look forward to having time with them over the years as we make every effort to attend every conference that Vision Forum offers.

The conference focused on celebrating the reformers such as John Calvin, John Knox and Martin Luther and what they did for us as Christians as well as focusing on what we could learn from them and how to apply that knowledge to our lives in order to shape the future.

The speakers we were privileged to hear included Doug Phillips, Scott Brown, Kevin Swanson, Dr. Joseph Morecraft, Geoffrey Botkin and Col. John Eidsmore. There were so many lectures we missed that we decided to purchase the entire lecture and tour recording.

Vision Forum does an excellent job is making their conferences come to life through the speakers. This time they included reformers from the past who "came to life" in order for us to learn their stories. There were 40 live reformers who told their stories as the children swarmed around them to get their autographs. Once the children had 30 autographs they could earn money towards a variety of items, one including a silver coin that was specifically made to celebrate this occasion. My boys chose swords and my girls chose money off at Behemoth.

We returned home with minds full of history and hearts desiring to apply what we learned in order to plan our vision for the future. Our desire is for our children to learn from the past as well so that they may apply it to the now and to help shape the future for the glory of God.

Peter surprised us with a limo ride to our hotel.
We didn't have to take our car seats as a limo is considered public transportation!

Ashley and Moma in the limo.

Funny kids in the limo.

We arrived at the hotel at 11am and they let us check in. What a blessing! Vision Forum brought in an exact replica on the Liberty Bell and displayed it in the foyer of the hotel. On July 4th we all gathered around as it was rung 13 times in honor of the original 13 colonies.
It was loud and so cool!

Fanny Crosby autographs the children's books while she sings a few of the
songs which she wrote many years ago.

We gather in Boston Public Gardens (adjacent to the famous Boston Commons) for the children's parade of 2009 on July 4th.
The boys use their new swords while they await the line up for the parade.

Our little colonists.

President Washington leads the parade.

The parade is over and we are tired.

Our prayer for you is that you would be
Semper Reformanda
within your family and your community.
Do not be comfortable with the simple Christianity in which you may be living.
Believe the Sola Scriptura and live it!

Home

We are home after a whirlwind trip to Texas and California. I have yet to unpack bags but our raisin bread for tomorrow is in the oven. Priorities, ya know!? We are only home for a few days as we are joining hundreds of other families in Boston for Vision Forum's Reformation 500. Will we see you there? We will be the family dressed in all blue costumes. Just in case you can't find us based on what we look like! ;)

Abigail is NINE!

Abigail turned 9 yesterday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET ABI!
Your smile is contagious.
Your songs tell a story.
Your care for your little brothers is admirable.
We love you!
xoxoxo




Overjoyed at getting to hold her cousin Emmie.

Excited for her birthday breakfast (it's an all day affair around here...okay, all week affair!)

The birthday hugs start!

For birthdays we allow the kids to pick out whatever (within certain attainable limits) they want for breakfast. Abi picked eggs, sausage, bacon, donuts and strawberries. One of the small blessings to having a large family is the abundance of birthdays, hence the abundance of donuts...Momma likes donuts but only on birthdays. Whew, we need some more kids! ;)




The day before Abi's birthday we took a trip to Luray Caverns in Virginia. We left our house at 6:30 am and didn't arrive to Luray until 11am. It's a good thing we travel with a porta-potty. We sat in turn-off-the-engine traffic for a while. The destination was worth the journey. We listened to Jonathan Park the entire way.
The kids love it and it is packed with Creation Science.

We love it when Daddy is home and field trips are possible.
Thank you Head of the household. You really do R-O-C-K.
No pun intended, really!

The Graduate

Congratulations on completing 5th grade sweet Ashley!
We are so proud of you!
xoxo, Daddy and Moma

Ashley and Gramommy pose before the big event.

Daddy and Moma get to talk about our wonderful daughter!

Daddy presents Ashley's diploma!

Daddy and daughter share some laughs.

Moma gets a photo with her Daddy!

We feel so blessed that Jesus entrusted us with the care of His Ashley. She is joy to us. She is loving, respectful, a good leader, a good example, an obedient daughter, a fun friend and a wonderful student. I am bless to be her Moma and to share the
teaching responsibility with her Daddy. (We couldn't do it without you Peter!)

Got TEA?

We took the kids to a TEA (Taxed Enough Already) party at the Harbor. It was nice being near water as they got the full effect. The men were throwing "tea" into the water--what a visual for the children. It was pouring down rain and we were soaked by the end of it. The photo below doesn't really show how wet we were! The blanket on Isaiah is drenched, Ashley's pants were soaked to her knee, Abi seemed to be the best dressed, we tried to cover Daniel as much as we could as he was asleep when we transferred him to the stroller and John just marched along stomping in puddles. It was so worth it! I wish Peter were in this photo. He was soaked through as his jacket was not as water proof as we thought. He is so good to me to take a photo of the 6 of us. Sweet man.

I was surprised to see other children there today. I did not take their photos, but it was refreshing. We also passed another van with a great homeschooling bumper sticker. I sure love homeschool field trips!

This man had a thousand bumper stickers made to pass out. Needless to say we now have a new bumper sticker for our big van.

These men were shouting different things and several of them were dressed up in period clothing. Their small vessel behind them them was full of "tea."

Today was an education for my children. It was a history lesson as well as a current events lesson. They did so well as we explained why we were there and how we don't want them paying tomorrow for what our government is spending today. They continue to be amazed as we explain where our tax dollars are going. My children's response is wide-eyed and questioning. We just completed our KONOS Obedience Unit. The children understand the difference between a Democracy and a Monarchy. My husband explained that we are close to having a king rather than a democracy. They knew what he meant. How little did I realize that when we were studying that we would have application so soon!

Quiznos, Hersheys, Pepsi, Southwest...

Who will be the next company to throw God out and bombard our children with negative, anti-God advertising? As for me and my house, we unplugged ourselves from pop culture television years ago. We have a TV, but it is for playing Wii and watching videos. We screen every Wii game and have come to the conclusion that many of them are teaching our children about negative behavior and inappropriate clothing. So, we play Daddy approved games: no Guitar Hero or American Idol. We are hopeful for the day when someone creates a Christian Guitar Hero for Wii. As for the videos, they are also only Daddy approved. My kids love Bible Man, Veggie Tales, Little House on the Prairie and several others. We do all this protecting from the evil that the world is trying to tempt them towards and yet it still comes. Usually at church or from TV at someone else's house! Sometimes it can be difficult to be in the world but not of it. So, make wise choices and don't leave home without your armor!

Bible in a year

As part of our family's "new year resolution" we decided to read through the Bible in a year. We have completed Genesis and Exodus. Just yesterday we began Leviticus. We gather together after breakfast or before bedtime and I read aloud to the children. When Peter is home he facilitates our reading time. It has been enlightening for all involved. This week was the first time we missed a day. The day completely got away from us and I was disappointed that we allowed that to happen. The next day Daniel was walking with me to do a load of laundry. He stopped and said (remember he is only 4 and you need to read this in a 4yo voice), "Mom, we forgot to read the Bible yesterday." I said, "I know, I am disappointed that we missed it." Daniel questioned, "Are we gonna go to Heaven now???" Me: "Yes, Sweet Boy, we are gonna go to Heaven. God wants us to read His Word, but He won't keep us out of Heaven because of missing a day. We have to believe that Jesus came, died for our sins and rose again in order to go to Heaven." Daniel: "Oh, okay Mom. But why did Jesus have to die on the cross for our sins?" "Because He had to reconcile us to the Father and it could only be done through His death on the cross. Now we can go to Heaven." Then, today while reading the sacrifices in Leviticus we were able to discuss that without blood there is no remission for sin. Jesus blood was the final sacrifice; the final blood sacrifice needed to reconcile us to himself. How wonderful to get to discuss these things with my children! God is so cool. He orders our days so perfectly.

Snow and Ice

We are in that bit of space on the map where the snow was followed by ice the last two days. The kids had a fun time while the snow fell yesterday. They made huge snowballs and sat around the patio table enjoying their snack. Today, they enjoyed breaking up and licking huge sheets of ice. In the past I have been known to be the type who yells, "No, stop, eeewwwwww!" But no more. We will drink organic milk, eat organic eggs and lick possible mosquito killer contaminated ice! But we will survive. :)

PS Ignore the fact that everything has basically melted in the background. It was beautifully covered a few hours before this photo. The rain followed the ice and is melting everything away for me. I don't have to scrape my car or shovel the driveway!

WFMW

Well I tried to post the banner...not sure what happened.
Over at Rocks In My Dryer, Shannon hosts Works For Me Wednesday.

What worked for me today was making Cheerio and Fruit Loop necklaces for tomorrows road trip. We head out for an all day field trip tomorrow and with five kiddos we better have snacks! My kids love making them. They would like to eat them right away, but I make them wait (such a meanie). After they are done with their creation/arts n crafts/school project, I let them eat whatever is left in the bowl (such a nicie). As we are getting back into the swing of things...cereal necklaces worked for me today!

Oh yes, and "We love you Gramommy!"

Funny homeschool video

Thanks to MamaArcher for posting this at her site. I had to embed it here. Too funny. Especially in light of our new purchase. Enjoy!

My house is shrinking

Yes, I am convinced. It's shrinking. The good news is we can move part of the stuff, or people, or maybe the Christmas tree out to the van, because frankly, it's huge. I l-o-v-e it! I was overwhelmed today with that same feeling that has been hitting me recently. We need more space, a better flow, room for the kids to run... My boys spent their day riding tricycles around the "circle" (hallway that connects the main living spaces of our house) while pulling their suitcases. They were playing "We are going to the airport!" Hmmmm, any idea where they might get that game idea? (See photo right.) I think the game might have been more fun and perhaps more quiet had they been in an unfinished basement. It's cold outside and we happen to live on a fairly busy street so no bike riding unless Mom is standing there and frankly I just didn't feel like doing that today. No, today I wanted to stay in my pjs, eat bon-bons and watch the snow fall. No, "they" don't make bon-bons anymore and yes, that is a proper noun and should thus be capitalized. Instead I got dressed and attempted a short schooling day in order to make up for all that we missed during our wonderful family reunion the past few weeks. I didn't accomplish much for school and I didn't eat bon-bons. I did get dressed and the snow fell for an hour. Beautiful. I remain thankful knowing that "He makes all things beautiful in His time." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, complete with a new nephew being born just a week prior. Welcome Payton! He is wonderful and his parents are so pleased that he has arrived. Peter's Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother-in-law, their 3 kiddos, Gramma and Auntie all flew in from Cali to meet Payton and celebrate all for which we are so very thankful!

We celebrated an early Christmas while they were all visiting and hired a photographer to take family photos. I am sure there will be an update to my blog header before you know it!

We have been out of school mode since everyone arrived. Tomorrow we dive head first into a 25 day Christmas Unit before we take another break (maybe!). We will also attempt to put the house back in order after our fun party week.

Happy December First!!! Remember when the years went slowly?

Venison! It's what's for dinner.

Doe a deer, a female deer

Ray of hope for meat for winter

Me wrapping it up all pretty

Far a long long way to tow

So we may get our new van early

La Mommy's not holding her breath

Tea we won't drink as we are nauseous

Which brings us back to Doe free Doe