Look Who Is 6!

Happy Birthday Jeffrey!  

Jeffrey showing off the helicopter he constructed from K'Nex.

My little boy is growing up!  Today he turns 6--a whole hand AND an additional finger.  Time certainly flies. It seems like only yesterday Bryan and I were thinking he was going to be born in the car on the way to the hospital, and now he's gone and grown into a young lad.  And a nice one at that.   
Many years ago, I read in a book somewhere that the goal of the Amish is to have their children self-sufficient (for the most part) by 7.  Bryan and I have kept this in mind as we train our children, and we're pleased to report that Jeffrey is definitely on track!  It amazes me how many parents have little or no expectations for their children.  Kids definitely rise or fall to meet parental expectations.

Anyways, back to Jeffrey...

He's a huge help around the house, and can tackle many chores by himself.  He loves giving me a hand, and often takes heavy loads from his sisters or myself.  This year--he asked if he could learn to clean the toilet for his daily bathroom chore.  Um...yes!  What five year old boy asks to clean the toilet?  He's definitely special!

In addition to being a great helper, Jeffrey is learning his way around the kitchen.  (We want to be sure both our boys and our girls can cook!) He makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the family on his day for lunch.  He cooks pancakes and makes cookies.

One of my favorite character traits about Jeffrey is that when it's time to work, he works hard, but he also plays hard. When he puts his mind to something, he gets it done.

He adores construction toys and builds with Legos, K'Nex or Lincoln Logs almost every day during our two hour quiet time.  He has a mathematical brain that I don't quite understand--spatial sense is definitely one of his strong areas!

I look forward to seeing him continue to learn, grow and change in the next year.  Learning to read independently is a major goal we have set.  Whatever happens in the coming year, I am thankful for this little boy the Lord gave us!

Our Columbus Day Project

Happy Columbus Day! 

As part of history today, the kids and I took a few minutes to learn a bit about the voyage that was supposed to result in a shorter route to India for trade.  I kept it short and simple since we mainly have little attention spans.

After the talk, we set to work painting egg carton cups for boats. (I got the idea from here after a quick Google search for an easy craft.)  Each child painted three.  One for the Nina, one for the Pinta and one for the Santa Maria. 

While Sydney, Jeff, Ellie and Jayme painted their egg carton cups, Owen finger painted directly on the table.  I knew he'd just eat the egg carton cups, and didn't want to deal with the mess of shredded paper on top of paint! He made himself VERY pretty...

To keep craft time manageable, I made sure to do it while Simon was down for his morning nap.  I didn't want to see the mess he'd create. 

Once the cups were dry, we stuck a wad of play-dough in the bottom of each.  We were supposed to use toothpicks to create masts for the sails, but we didn't have any.  Thankfully we had a bunch of wooden chopsticks.  Those worked quite well.  The kids decorated their sails and put everything together. 

Jayme decided that the sides of the egg carton pieces she had looked like sails, so she painted those instead of adding the playdough and chop-stick pieces.  They turned out nicely. 

Once everyone else had their pieces together, we moved them to the kitchen counters to continue drying while we cleaned up.  Here are Jeff's boats.

It was a simple way to get some extra art into the day.  The kids all love craft time!

Do you have any memorable craft projects you did?

Playing with Playdough

The kids were super motivated today, and chores and breakfast were all accomplished by 8--a whole hour earlier than normal.

School wrapped up by 930, and we had a whole lotta extra time. So we out Simon down for his morning nap, and whipped up a double batch of playdough.

Since the only salt I had on hand was my semi-expensive sea salt, I searched the Internet for salt free recipes. I didn't want to use a cup of that! 

In my search, I learned that this kind is better for playdough eaters (Owen) since there isn't a high sodium content. That never even crossed my mind, I have to admit, but I felt better as he quickly ate his small ball of dough and any others he could get his hands on.

The recipe we used called for flour, olive oil and water. We added food coloring and mixed it all up. No cooking! Of course it won't last as long, but it was simple.

We got out the cookie cutters, garlic press, rolling pin and a handful of spaghetti noodles to see what creations we could come up with. 

I made a porcupine!

It was such a relaxing time, just playing together and enjoying a simple activity. We often get so overstimulated with noise and activity and to-do lists that it's important to relax once in a while. 

Squeezing playdough between your fingers is a lot of fun! So is experimenting with different things. 

The garlic press made great hair and noodle type strands, and  we all took turns making a bird nest with eggs. This was definite fine motor practice, but no one even knew it had an academic twist! 

The spaghetti noodles also added a textual element. Jayme experimented with using them as supports--like you would do with wire in sculpting.

After almost an hour of play, we decided to stick all the colors together. We thought we would end up with a messy brown, but instead we got...

A beautiful tie-dye! Then we had to play with that for a while too.

Eventually our stomachs got the best of us, and we had to clean up for lunch. But not before turning on the "do You Want to Build a Snowman" song from Frozen and having a snowman building frenzy.

Aren't they beautiful? Definitely messy, but all created with love and enjoyment. 

And yes, in case you were wondering, the food coloring mess came off the table. We used diluted wood oil soap and it cleaned right up!  (Well the food coloring did--we still have fingernail polish and sharpie to figure out how to get rid of!)

Productive children, fabulous playdough play AND a clean table? That's what I call a great morning! 

What are your favorite play dough tools?

A BIG Announcement

When we counted our blessings last night, Bryan and I shared a special one with the kids.  Now we'll let Simon share this blessing with you...

We're SO excited!  The Lord has decided to bless us with another bundle of joy.  Another little one to train up for Him.  

I just finished the first trimester, and our estimated due date is February 5, 2015.  We are hoping to deliver at the birthing center again.  That worked so much better than the hospitals when we went there with Simon. 

I know many of you are thinking...why so many kids?  How many do you plan to have? And since many won't be rejoicing at the news of our seventh child, we wanted to share some of our reasoning. 

We truly believe the words given to us in Psalm 127:3.

^" Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."

Children are a gift from the Lord.  They are a BLESSING.  We don't turn down other blessings from God, but for some reason society has lowered the value and worth of little ones. They've decided that they are an inconvenience, a burden.  They get in the way of selfish dreams and fulfilling ones self.  It's really quite sad. 

Our children have helped smooth many rough edges away.  They've helped us learn to focus on others instead of on ourselves. They've taught us how to serve and love in ways that we can't even begin to describe. 

So, after much prayer and study, we have decided to trust God with how many children we should have.  We know that the Lord opens the womb and the Lord closes the womb--there are numerous examples of both in scripture (Abraham and Sarah being the first to come to mind--her womb was closed until she was in her 90s and had Isaac to fulfill the promise that God gave to Abraham.)

Know this--if we never have another child, we will be truly blessed with the ones we do have. We don't have a number in mind that we are aiming for--we don't think that having more kids will make us better than everyone else.  We are just sinners, saved by grace. 

If He does send  us more, we'll welcome them into the family with open arms and much love.  

Love multiplies--it isn't divided.  And when God provides a blessing, He also provides all that we need to raise that additional one up for Him.

And so we are EXCITED about this new addition. 

What a great way to start the week!

Jeffrey's Stitches

Friday was one of THOSE days.  You know the kind.  Where everything absolutely goes wrong.  The kind of day when you wake up in the morning and have no idea what is in store.

It started off fine.  We even got out of the house on time for the final day of VBS.  Pretty impressive!  When we came home, we went straight to my mom's to eat lunch. 

Then we got invited to pick sweet cherries.  Jeffrey went home to change out of his spy clothes (they've been dressing up all week like spies) and came back to Grandma's covered from head to toe in blood.  Cinders bit him when he was trying to leave.  

We got him cleaned up, and called the doctor.  They were booked, and recommened we go to the minor emergency clinic.  After an evaluation there, the doctor referred us to the local Children's Hospital for getting it stitched.  Because of how close it was to the eye, and how fearful Jeffrey is of needles, she wanted the option of sedation, which only the hospital had.

So we left again.  And in the meantime, I made one of the hardest decisions I'd ever made.  We had Cinders put down.  This was the second time he bit one of the kids hard enough to draw blood.  The first time was only a 2 on the bite scale, and it didn't require any special attention.  This time around, it had moved to a 3.  And was really, really close to both eyes. 

I didn't want to wait for a chunk of skin to disappear or anything.  Or have the baby bitten.  Or have a kid lose an eye.  Or a visitor attacked. Cinders was becoming more aggressive, and it wasn't worth it.  I loved Cinders--he was always my dog.  But...I love my kids more. 

Back to Jeffrey.  He was a trooper in the hospital.  Child Life came around with an iPad, and he enjoyed playing a game called Balloonimals.  That's an app I'll definitely be purchasing in the next few weeks!

Jeffrey with medicine on the wounds to stop the pain and help clean them out.

He did better than I thought he would until it came time to give him the medicine to make him "loopy."  It was in a syringe with a sponge on the end, and looked like a huge needle for a shot.  He finally calmed down and allowed it to go in his nose.  

Once that kicked in, he was a champ.  The doctor stitched him up.  Three on one side, and five on the other.   When we were discharged, he couldn't walk straight.  And he was hilariously loud and just not like himself.  He liked his band-aids a lot. 

And he's been healing for the past couple of days.  He goes to our pediatrician tomorrow for a follow-up and to check for infection.  I don't think he'll have further problems, thankfully! 

I have also learned that our family is not at a stage now where having a dog is a good match.  We will not be getting another puppy--at least not while we have little ones in the house.  You just never know.  Dogs are dogs.  And they act like dogs.  Regardless of training and love and everything else you give them.  Sometimes they just snap for some reason.  We'll never know why.  But I learned my lesson a very hard way.  

It could have been worse.  The Lord really provided for our family during this time.  Jeffrey's eye wasn't affected.  The inside of his nose wasn't punctured.  Grandpa was able to watch the kids while Grandma drove Jeffrey and I to the doctors.  And Bryan was able to leave work and meet us at the hospital. And I'm thankful for those things.  

Memory Hymns for 2014-2015 School Year

Bryan and I had time over the 4th of July weekend to sit down together and select our memory hymns for the upcoming school year.  As we memorize "I Want to Be Faithful" for the month of July, we'll be wrapping up last year's selections.  It's the first time we ever memorized a dozen hymns in a year.  What an amazing way to worship our Lord!

Our current method for memorizing is working well.  We sing through verse one and the chorus the first week of the month.  Then we add verse two the next week and so on.  If there are more verses than weeks, we simply add them in a bit faster--after four days or so instead of a full week.  The kids are picking up the songs quickly.

Throughout the year, we revisit the songs we learned previously to keep the words and tune in our minds.

A quick note on tunes...those of you who know me in real life know that I cannot carry a tune!  In fact, my college piano professor (I took beginning piano thinking it'd be an easy humanities credit...) told me that I had no rhythm and should try singing along with my playing.  Until I started.  Then she quickly said...um never mind!

So what's a tuneless gal doing teaching all of these songs to her kids?  Teaching them the words!  I figure that they can always adjust to the "real" tune when they are singing with others, or in a worship type setting with piano in the background.  The words are more important anyways!  We also always listen to a YouTube video or two the first few days of the month, just to hear what it should sound like. 

My husband has amazing musical talent.  He works with us on Saturdays and Sundays, and is very patient with my invented tunes.  We sound much better on the weekends when he leads us!  But alas, his crazy work schedule doesn't allow time for singing together during the week.  So I do what I need to do--and lead singing most days.

I said all that to say this...don't let a lack of musical knowledge or ability keep you from memorizing hymns. After all, the Bible says we are to make a joyful noise unto the Lord--not a perfect noise.

Here you are...our selections (and the section of our church's hymnal that they are in...):

August 2014
Just As I Am (Invitation)

September 2014
A New Name in Glory (Salvation)

October 2014
At Calvary (Repentance & Forgiveness)

November 2014
Here Am I, Lord (Commitment & Consecration)

December 2014
Go Tell It On the Mountain (Christ's Birth)

January 2015
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (Faith & Trust)

February 2015
Tell It to Jesus (Prayer)

March 2015
Lead Me to Calvary (The Cross)

April 2015
He Lives (Christ's Resurrection)  

May 2015
Blessed Assurance (Assurance)

June 2015
Heavenly Sunlight (Peace & Joy)

July 2015
Got Any Rivers (Comfort)

Do you have any plans to memorize hymns for the new school year?

One for You...and One for You!

Sometimes I don't always listen closely to what my children are saying when they're playing around me.  Tuesday was one of those days.  We were eating yogurt, and Sydney had gotten down.  I was feeding Owen and not really paying attention to much except keeping his hands out of the yogurt. 

That is, I wasn't paying much attention until some of the words Sydney was saying started to come into focus in my mind.  And then I twirled around and caught her like this:

She was saying, "Bite for Simon" and giving him a bite of her leftover yogurt.  Then she said, "Bite for Cinders" and proceeded to feed the dog (through the baby gate!) a bite. With the same spoon. Yuck! 

Of course neither the baby nor the dog complained much.  And I know that Simon has chewed on dog toys before.  But it still hit my gross nerve!

Then Simon realized he could get the yogurt to his mouth a lot faster if he didn't wait for the spoon.  His hands worked just as well, thank you very much.  So he proceeded to get a  bath.  Which he didn't mind too much either.

Kids and dogs...you never quite know what's going to happen next! 

Legos, Computers and Toys...Oh My!

Do you have any areas of your house that just don't work anymore?  Maybe a space where you avoid because it is so disconnected, so cluttered, or just not functional. 

We sure do.  But now...we have two fewer of those spaces, and I'm excited!

Did you know that playrooms and offices really shouldn't be in the same room?  You think I would have figured this out a few months ago when Sydney was supposed to be playing and I found her standing on Dad's desk trying out all of his highlighters. 

Or the time she emptied the contents of some files on the floor.

Or had the water for her toy kitchen gracefully posed above the computer to pour into the cup she had balanced on the tower.  

Yeah--episodes like those truly should have clued me into the fact that two year olds and unsupervised play time in the office don't go well. But it took a while.  Call me a slow learner.

---

Another space that was driving me batty was the girls' closet area.  I know what most of you think of when you hear the word closet.  I assure you that the typical enclosed area with a door is NOT what I'm describing.  Our house is over 100 years old.  These closets are like mini-room with slanted ceilings and are quite large.  But not very functional if you are taller than a ten year old.

When we first moved the girls up there, we decided it was the perfect space for Jayme to play with Legos.  After all, she was the only one using them.  And she fit quite nicely in there.

Fast forward a few years, and Jeffrey and Ellie want to build too.  And Jayme grew up a foot or so.  And no longer comfortably fits in her closet. 

So she brings the Legos out into the main room to play.  And her creations get scattered by her sisters.  And pieces get left out.  And stepped on. (Ouch!)

And now they've reacquainted themselves with our old tub of K'Nex.  So there are K'Nex and Legos for me to dodge each day.  Cleaning their room was a daily struggle for them.  It was taking forever.  

---

Are you seeing my ah-ha moment yet?  It hit me this morning!  Bryan and I had been talking about the playroom disaster last night, and really wanting to declutter the house.

The kids and I took action today.

We moved the toy kitchen and accessories upstairs to the closet.  Sydney and Ellie both fit comfortably in there and can play independently with no computers to fry.  We got rid of broken and not played with toys from the rest of the playroom, and toys went back into bedrooms. 

The Legos and K'Nex got moved downstairs, along with a couple of small tables for building on.  We brought a bookshelf and the building pieces are now housed neatly in containers instead of on the floor of the upstairs closet.  One of those place for everything kind of moments for us.

The Lego/K'Nex storage area and one play table.

The kids who are old enough to play with Legos know better than to mess with the office stuff.  And they fit a lot better in the larger area. 

Sydney is being trained currently to leave this room alone unless she has been invited in by an older sibling or parent--who will be supervising her.  We do have blocks and Lincoln Logs in there as well, as I want to encourage siblings to play together.  But she can't be in here by herself anymore.   

The other play table, and the blocks and Lincoln Log storage.

Clean-up this afternoon was so much easier!  No cramming into small closets.  No water by a computer. 

And Ellie was excited to unpack her kitchen area during quiet time. 

We'll tackle the rest of the girls' room tomorrow, and another drive me batty area will be taken care of.

How exciting!

Creekside Respite

After an unexpected hectic morning earlier this week, that included the words Easter Eggs, closet, maggots, cleaning and ew! (don't ask!), what's a mom to do?  In order to keep her sanity, this mom decided to feed the crew a quick lunch and make haste for the creek for some much needed playtime. Praise the Lord it was a really warm day!

We go to the creek every year, but this year I noticed something different.  For the first time ever, Owen was pulling himself out of the water when he got cold.  He'd go sit on the grass for a little bit and then dip his feet back in.  He's NEVER done that before.  I thought it was awesome!

Owen backing out of the water...

It's a new way that he is showing he's learning, and gaining independence.  He doesn't have to wait for me to realize that his feet are purple and he probably needs to warm up a few minutes.  Nope.  Just did it himself.  Way to go Owen!

The other kids had a blast.  Well, most of them. Simon was locked in his car seat on the grassy banks and even though he REALLY needed a nap, he decided it'd be more fun to watch the action and let out a squawk every now and then to let us know he didn't think he should be in his seat.  But he survived. And even smiled a time or two. 

Ellie, Owen and Jeffrey

Everyone else had fun.  Even the puppy.  He surprised me by loving the water.  He'd chase sticks in and run up the bank.  Poor thing was exhausted when we got home, and didn't even want to go on a walk later.

And Sydney?  Last year she was really too young to get in on the splashing.  She made up for it this year!  She realized she could jump off a small rock into the water and that she could walk along the shallow parts really easily.  There was no stopping her, and she definitely didn't want to go home.

Sydney enjoying the creek.

Me?  I got over the whole cleaning incident and really am thankful to live at Grouse Creek.  The time spent there was just what I needed to relax with the kids and get my attitude back in check before going home and jumping back into chores and routines. 

Sometimes we all just need a break!

Special Time

One of my favorite times of day is called special time. This is a half hour chunk at the end of quiet time dedicated to me spending one on one time with the child who's day it is.

Only a half hour may not seem like much, but we've all really benefitted from it.  It's the refectory amount of time for great fun and conversation.

What do we do at special time? 

That depends.

Each child gets to pick the activity every time it is his or her day.

This week, Ellie selected her magnet girls. These magnetic paper dolls are a lot of fun. But, since Owen and Simon can eat them, they can't make an appearance in the living room very often. 

At quiet time though, Simon is napping in the playroom and Owen is chilling in his room with his iPad. Perfect opportunity for the smaller toys. 

During special time we've walked, snuggled with a short movie, made cookies or played in the water. We've played store, library and baby doll. 

And best of all? No matter the activity it's the perfect time to get a little extra loving in. To have  some special talks about dreams, plans and wishes. And to just enjoy special time. 

It's been one of the best changes  in my day this past year, and a time we will be sure and keep in the future. 

The kids all know what day is theirs, and enjoy planning our time together. What a blessing! 

Now to make it even better and program some choices into the iPad for Owen. That way he can select too instead of just relying on me to pick. 

How do/did you handle special time with your kids? 

Tips and Tricks for Painting With Kids

Today was a painting day.  We bought paint and primer for our chicken coop yesterday, and I decided that since we were going to be painting outside, we should do some painting for art first.

Painting with children can be a bit messy.  Especially when one of them tries to eat everything.  And you know it'll end up everywhere. 

He started off so well!

I found a few solutions for making painting easier on everyone.  Here they are:

1.  Newspaper is your friend!

Lay a thick layer out.  It'll get painted on.  But it protects the table. At least until your child with Pica rips and tries to eat the part protecting the table in front of him... But that's another story. 

2. Have a variety of brushes. 

I found a pack of twenty some paintbrushes at Wal-Mart for five bucks.  It was  good buy.  The kids can use a different one for each color. There isn't as much fighting over brushes.  Everyone can find one they like. 

Sydney painting.  But you can see our jar full of awesome brushes!

3. Paper muffin cups are useful.

I pour the paint colors into these.  The kids can each have one of each color.  I also gave them a few empty cups. They were able to experiment with mixing colors that way.  And no one could complain that someone else got blue into the yellow they needed.  They have to be responsible with their own colors.

4. Use a variety of paints based on skill level.

Jayme, Jeffrey, Sydney and Ellie used acrylic paint and had a blast.  They know how to paint without making a huge mess, and are pretty independent in their artwork.  I had to talk to Sydney about keeping it on the paper, but she really did well for only two. 

Owen, on the other hand, eats paint.  I mixed cornstarch and water to a thick, goopy consistency.  Then I added just a couple drops of acrylic paint to get the color.  I didn't give him a brush.  He just used his fingers. 

5.  Know that messes happen.

He didn't end up quite as neat as he did when we started....

We don't paint everyday.  When we do paint, I just expect a mess.  That way I'm mentally prepared to clean a mess.  I don't do it on a day when we're rushing around.

6.  Cornstarch paint cleans up really easily!

Seriously.  I was a bit worried about the mess Owen was making.  He dumped it on his head.  He trickled it through his fingers, enjoying the texture.  And dripped it onto the floor. 

Me (well my hand) becoming less worried about the mess when I realize that I can pick up the cornstarch paint!

But...it hardens almost instantly.  I was able to SWEEP the paint mess up! Then just a quick spot mop to get the cornstarch powder off took care of everything.  A damp rag cleaned up Owen's head. 

So I really recommend this mixture if you are painting with really young kids, or any with special needs. 


And our chicken coop?  Yeah---I realized once we got all ready that I didn't have a paint tray.  So I picked one up this afternoon after taking Owen to the doctor to get his eye laceration from 10 days ago checked.  It healed nicely.

So tomorrow?  It'll be another painting day!

Any other painting tricks?

Rain in the Spring = Freezer Filling Day!

Spring is busy around the farm.  There are fences to repair and new fences to build.  There are pens to build, and pigs to purchase.  There are baby chickens to order, receive and take care of.  Don't forget about firewood.  That's essential!

With so much on the to do list, when it rains, it kind of puts a damper in the outdoor plans.  What's a gal to do?

Enjoy a day inside with the kids and get ahead in the kitchen.  Yesterday, we baked three batches of cookies, and froze two dozen of each kind. 

I've been stuck in a cookie rut lately and only making oatmeal and chocolate chip.  While we do really like those kinds, branching out is nice.  We tackled molasses, snickerdoodles and peanut butter.  And we used whole wheat flour in them all to make them a bit healthier.  

It's so nice to know that there are cookies waiting to be baked.  When life gets even busier, having the freezer stocked is helpful. 

Molasses cookies!

Jeffrey and Ellie rolling our snickerdoodles in a cinnamon sugar mixture and putting them in freezer bags. 

 Of course cookies weren't the only thing we did to stock our freezer.  Since the oven was going, I threw in several large potatoes.  When they were cooked, I grated them and put them on a freezer paper lined cookie sheet.  A quick trip to the freezer had them flash frozen.  Then we filled quart sized freezer bags.

Frozen hashbrowns ready to go! Great for breakfast casseroles, burritos and just plain ol' hashbrowns. 

Our hashbrowns getting frozen.

 We also made three loaves of oatmeal bread.  It's one of my favorite breads. I first learned about it in the Janette Oke books about Virginia.  Her best friend Jenny really likes oatmeal bread.  I used Google and found a really easy recipe on a survival forum of all places, and we've been enjoying it for a few years now. 

Mutti's Oatmeal Bread...delicious with jam!

By slicing one loaf up hot with butter and jam to accompany lunch, we were able to stick two loaves in the freezer. 

We also made a gallon each of yogurt and cottage cheese. Those won't go in the freezer though--just the fridge for eating the rest of the week.

Wow--it was a really productive day!  And when we were done, we had to clean the kitchen, so it looks really good now. 

And throughout all our work, we enjoyed the pitter-patter sound of the rain on the metal roof.  And the beautiful smell that comes here when it rains. Rain and a pine forest are a wonderful mix for the nose.

When it was time for quiet time in the afternoon, I noticed something wonderful.  The rain had stopped.  And so I went outside and built a new fence.  And got the cows moved to a new section of pasture. 

What a blessing--a productively fun kitchen day with the kids, and an accomplishment on the farming front.  Yeah!

It's raining again today.  But today is a play day instead of freezer filling day.  There's a time for work, and a time for play.

 We have big plans to play super hero and house.  We'll actually probably combine them.  And play super hero house.  Either way, it'll be fun! 

Sit...Good Boy...I Mean Girl!

We took Cinders through six weeks of basic obedience classes.  The kids enjoy practicing with him. Sit.  Yes.  Good boy.

Stay.  Yes. 

Down.  Yes.

Good boy!

This morning, Sydney left her vitamin on the table (it got hidden under the edge).  When clearing the table, Ellie found it and offered to bring it to her. 

I had to chuckle at the exchange that occurred.

Ellie held the vitamin up in the air above Sydney's head.  She said, "Sit!"

Sydney obeyed. 

Ellie replied, "Yes, good boy." 

Then she looked puzzled.  "I mean good girl." 

Oops! 

Well, Sydney did obey.  Perhaps this training technique works as well on little girls as it does on little dogs.

Life is never dull!

Sit..Yes!  Good boy.

Planning Our Friday Adventures

The snow is gone! The mud is almost dried up!  That means we're able to get outside again as a family.  Last fall, I started doing a Friday adventure with the kids.  Winter's cold and snow halted those expeditions.  But now?

Time to start again!

My rules for our Friday fun...

1.  Must take place on the property.  I don't want to drive all over when the Lord has blessed us with all of this amazing land.
2. Must allow for all of us to participate.  That means Owen's wheelchair needs to be able to get there since he doesn't walk well outside yet.  It means it has to be close enough for the little ones to walk.  Or have logging road access that isn't too scary for me to drive with the Suburban. 
3. Must be suitable for all ages--engage my 12 year old and my littles (and me!!!)
4. Must be simple.  Simple is good.  Learning to be content with simple can be hard!
4.  Must be fun!  Nough said.

Last fall, we did a Pirate adventure and a Cowboy adventure. We also swam at the creek, fished and built a fort. 

Grouse Creek provides hours of summer fun!  We are so blessed to have it running through our land.

Here are some of my ideas for this year.  Some are simple and will be repeated.  Some require more planning.

1. Walk to the waterfall and have a picnic
2. Walk to the cedar grove and play house in the young trees
3. Picnic at the creek & splash play
4. Beaver Adventure (walk to beaver pond & examine the abandoned dam; look for chewed trees & shavings, beaver poo...)
5. Bird Adventure (checklist with different birds to find, listen for bird calls, look for nests, look for Canadian geese tracks in field)
6.  Swimming Fun in the Creek (we'll go to a shallow spot where Owen is fairly safe).
7. Hide and Seek in the back woods (away from roads and the creek for safety)
8. Inventor Game at the junk pile--lots of building material to use! We'll bring a simple tool box and some nails and screws and see what happens.  Owen and Sydney will love climbing on the simple tire structure we'll make for them first. 
9. Go on a knight adventure (look for sword sticks & bark shields, and have a great battle)
10.  Play orphans at the mountain fort when the service berries are ripe so we have food to gather
11. Go wild berry picking and race to fill the containers; look for wild strawberries to go with the service berries.  We have wild raspberries at the creek too--maybe we'll find them. 
12. Gather different wild plants & make a salad at the creek--plantain, dandelion,lambs quarter, etc.
13. Scavenger Quest--Each person goes to a different spot and makes a list (or picture list) of 5 things they see.  Bring all lists to the base, and put lists on the ground.  Go grab a list that isn't yours and get hunting. First one/team back wins.
14. Wild Wolf Adventure--go to the waterfall cave & turn it into our den, play wolf
15. BBQ Fish Adventure--bring the BBQ down to the creek and cook what we catch.  Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout swim through Grouse Creek. 
16. Lunch & Quiet Time Camp-out-- put up tent in the yard, roast hot-dogs in the firepit,eat some s'mores, 'rest' in tent, & sing campfire songs.  

I've never actually camped before.  This will be a true adventure!  I'm too much of a chicken to actually sleep outside at nighttime right now.  Too many bears, cougars and bobcats...oh my! But, I know that people survive camping all the time.  So...maybe someday....

Do you have any adventures planned for the warmer season?

5 Favorite Outside Activities

With spring here, the kids and I have once again been enjoying the great outdoors.  We love to play together as a family, and here are five super easy games that we enjoy.  You don't need any fancy equipment for these.  And they are appropriate for kids with a wide age span.

1.  Red Light/Green Light

I use this game with all of my little ones to teach stop and go.  One person (It) goes to one side of the yard.  The others line up along the other end.  When It says, "Green Light", everyone else moves forward quickly.  When It says, "Red Light" everyone freezes.  Continue until someone touches It.  Rotate who is It. 

2. Building a Fort 

We've used hay and boards, tree branches and pine needles, and even brought out blankets to drape over the clothesline.  Complicated and simple possibilities abound.

 No matter how we build it, the kids all love it.  They'd stay in there all day if I let them.  Eating a snack or a picnic lunch in the fort makes it even more special.

Here's the latest fort.  Jayme and I built this one during our special time a week or so ago.  It is still standing strong despite winds and rain.  We just used a tree branch that was dangling low the ground and started adding pine needles.  Some raking work cleaned out underneath and added some depth to the fort. 

3.  Hide & Seek Tag

A fun twist on both games that seems to level the playing field for multi-age participation.  One person is It.  It goes in the house (or to another designated area) and closes his or her eyes while counting to 20.  Everyone else runs and hides.

The goal is to make it to the flagpole (or another space) without being touched by It.  Hide as long as you want, and then start running for the base.

You can change it up a bit by requiring jumping or crawling to base and as It.

4.  Scavenger Hunt

Ellie is helping Sydney look for a green leaf.  Great way to practice colors and counting!

Who can find a red flower, three pine cones and a chicken feather first?  No matter what environment you have outside, you can adapt a scavenger hunt for your location.  You can get fancy and create a printable for your kids, or just scribble it out on paper.  An audible cue works too.

Get hunting!

5. Inventor

One of our favorites!  Everyone goes out and gathers four pieces of the same object.  Hay rope, twigs, firewood.  Whatever they can think of.  They just need enough for everyone who will be playing (for us four).

We pile everything in the middle of an outside table.  Everyone then takes one of each object.  Now you might have a rock, a twig and a piece of rope.

Your goal?  To invent the coolest thing in the time limit.  We've had twigs turned apple launchers; bows and arrows, teeter totters and a toy cat swing set.

It's amazing to see what creativity comes out.


You can decide what "extras" can be used.  We've allowed everyone to select three of their own special items.  We've set out extra rope, tape and containers before.  And we've stuck with the only use these items rule.

After the time limit runs out, have a show and tell session.  Everyone gets to share their work.  This is my favorite part.  The kids get to explain what they made and how it works.  

Make it work for your family.  Just decide on the rules at the beginning of each round.  Then get to work.  See what you can create!

The start of a broom?  Or a fan? Maybe a fancy helmet decoration?  Let your imagination be your guide. 

What outdoor games does your family enjoy?

Growing Up...Some Random Thoughts

Simon's growing so quickly!  He's seven months old now, and crawling pretty well.  He has the cutest little crawl.

 He gets up on all fours and rocks, looking like he's going to really have a nice form.  And then he gets impatient, drops his chest to the ground and army crawls to where he wants to go.  He also uses his knees at times to propel himself--kind of like a frog jump thing. 

It's neat to watch how quickly little ones learn, and how all of their skills really work together.  How everyone kind of develops in their own way.  None of our kids have crawled the same at first.  They all eventually end up in a traditional, four point crawl.  But they each took a different route to get there.

Owen's developmental delays have really taught us to be aware of how many steps there are in eating, sitting, crawling, walking...all of the things that we always took for granted before.

When you have to break down a skill like that and practice each individual component, you realize just how complicated some of these "easy" things are.  Before you can crawl, you have to have balance.  You have to have strength.  You have to have coordination.  Your brain has to be able to tell different parts of your body to move.  Your body has to respond. 

First one leg, than the other. You have to alternate hands and legs.  Not run into anything.  Be aware of your surroundings.

And more!

So when a baby just picks it up without being taught, it reminds us of what an amazing God we serve.  So many skills.  So many steps.  And babies normally just figure it out.  Without being taught.  And they can pick it up in so many different ways. 

Then suddenly, without warning, crawling turns into this...

Pulling up.  Which will, before we know it, turn into standing.  And then walking.  And then running. 

They grow up so quickly!  Remember to slow down and enjoy the progress.  The little steps to mastery that are so easy to take for granted.  Be thankful when they learn new skills. And don't ever wish that they'd stay this way forever.  Trust me.  Growth is good! Celebrate it.  And get an extra snuggle in today, because they are growing fast. 

Life Without Power

At 8:53 Wednesday morning, our power went out.  That was unexpected for sure!  All during our freezing cold weather and bad rain and wind storm, I kept thinking we'd be without electricity.  But it stayed on.  Until Wednesday morning.  A beautiful sunny morning with blue skies. Not a day for power going out.

But alas, my thoughts on the matter weren't going to bring the lights back.  So I had to make a choice.  I could complain and grumble and bring the spirits of everyone in the house down.  Or I could put on a cheery face and choose to make it a good day.  Just a moment of internal debate was needed. 

I needed a good day.  The kids needed a good day.  And you know what?  You definitely don't need electricity for that.

Owen had been in the tub a few minutes, and I knew that the water it held would be essential for flushing purposes.  I got him out and dried and dressed.  And then I sent Jeffrey to the barn for a 5 gallon bucket.  Jeffrey, Ellie and Sydney helped me use cups to empty the tub into the bucket. 

We discussed what we should do.  I excused the kids from school, since most of Jayme's is on the computer.  We decided art would be fun.  I ran up the stairs and found a book.  Tigress. Tigers would be fun to draw.

I pulled out some paper, black paper strips, glue, and chalk pastels.  We sat at the table, read the story and created art. 

I thought the kids would make tigers.  Nope..Ellie and Jeffrey both decided the dead bullock in the story would make better art.  This is Ellie's.  There was was no blood in the story, but she knows that dead things need blood. 

Jeffrey's dead bullock. 

Jayme's tiger.

My tiger.

Sydney loved coloring with the chalk pastels as well.  Since Owen eats paper, I had him coloring on the iPad.  He had a good time as well!

After art, it was time for lunch.  Thankfully it was Ellie's day and her lunch is cheese, crackers and meat. No cooking required!

Ellie picked Legos for her game.  We sat at the table (yeah for lots of windows!) and built for an hour.  Jeffrey and Jayme worked together on a castle.  Ellie and I were supposed to make a battering ram. Sydney alternated between sitting on the table and going in Owen's room to play MegaBlocks with him.

 Let's just say the castle turned out better.  When we battled, the ram lost almost immediately.  Legos might not be my strong suit, but it was fun! 

The power was supposed to be back on at 12:30.  Around 10 I got a call that it was moved to 2:30.  We moved into quiet time thinking power would be back up before it was over.  Nope!  Another call moved the estimation back to 6:30. 

After everyone got up, I made a big batch of popcorn on the woodstove.  We have a flat cook surface on ours, and I'm very thankful for it! The popcorn was delicious. I did chores early since I needed day light.

Dinner plans were just starting to be made when it happened.  The power came back.  The kids yelled with joy.  And we made dinner and went to church like normal.  A typical day.  But a little special because we experienced life without power. 

The Talking Donkey

Monday begins T week in the Tanner house.  I'm really looking forward to this Bible story!  We'll be learning about the talking donkey from Numbers 22. 

I love this story.  It really shows God's complete control over everything in our lives.  He made the donkey talk.  As in actually speak words that Balaam understood.  That is amazing!

We have some neat donkey crafts planned.  And we'll be learning about God's grace.  He could have easily kept the donkey silent and had the angel kill Balaam.  But we serve a gracious God.  And I'm so thankful for that! The timing is perfect, since our January hymn was "Amazing Grace."  I love how it is all tying together! 

In addition to learning about the Talking Donkey, we'll be making a T Tractor. I know that activity will be Jeffrey approved.  We have a book or two about tractors that will make an appearance in our homeschooling days.   

Any other fun T activities you can think of? 

My First Girl Haircut

I've been cutting all of the male hair in this house for what seems like forever.  Just using clippers and keeping Bryan, Owen, and Jeffrey all trimmed up.  Simon will get his turn someday too.  As soon as he gets too much hair.

But girl hair.  Nope--that scares me to touch!  I was so scared of messing up.  Until today.  One of the blogs linked up to Raising Arrows this morning caught my eye.  And I clicked over.  And found...

A great tutorial on cutting girl hair.  My little Ellie has the length recommened on the tutorial, so I asked her if she wanted a haircut.  Split ends abound on her little head, and it was definitely time for a change.

Ellie said yes.  She was so excited.  I sat her on the chair in the bathroom and wrapped a towel around her. 

Spritzing provided the damp hair that was needed.  I brushed it out and put it into pigtails by the ears. 

Now for the hard part...cutting.  The tutorial instructed to cut straight across at the bottom of each pigtail.  Straight lines and I don't exactly see eye to eye.  I have a really hard time just guesstimating straightness.  But I gave it a try.  Snip, snip.

Both pigtails appeared even, so I let them loose.  Ellie approves of her haircut.  And I approve of saving about $12!

One of the reasons I love blog link parties--you never know what you'll find, but you usually find something useful! I'm so thankful for this.  What a blessing to have so many resources just a click away.

My little girly girl loved the spa like treatment.  And on a Wednesday--her day! How perfect. 

Jayme's Birthday!

Wow!  Twelve years ago today...I became a mom!  Just a few days past my eighteenth birthday, that was a definite life changing experience.  It's amazing how much the Lord has worked in our lives over the past twelve years.   I've changed so much as a mom.  I've grown into a better person.  And I'm so thankful for the lovely young lady who ignited my journey into motherhood.

I look forward to seeing her follow the Lord's leading in her life.  She's really starting to develop interests and we're seeing glimpses of different talents.  Some--like computer programming--are ones I had no idea were there! Others, like her artistic abilities, are ones that we've watched develop over several years.  It'll be great to see what new skills and abilities and interests develop this year.

Jayme has reached an age where she's so helpful.  And so enjoyable to be around.  She asks great questions about things we read.  She loves to dive into topics of interest and learn more.

 She is such a blessing! I love that she's not embarrassed to play with her siblings.  That she still gives me hugs and holds hands with me when we walk through a store. That she shares her thoughts and dreams with me.  She is nothing like I was when I was her age.  And I'm so thankful!

I'm so thankful for the time that we spend together.  Homeschooling has been one of the best decisions we've ever made! 

Here's to another year of learning more about my oldest.  To help guide her journey towards adulthood. To pray for her.  Another year together. 

And yet, I have to remember that our years together are fleeting. We are not raising kids in this house.  Nope, Our eyes are set on something better here at Grouse Creek.

 Bryan and I are raising adults.  Adults who will serve the Lord in their own homes and communities someday.  May the Lord grant us the wisdom we need to guide and direct all of our kids into adulthood. 

And today, I had to stop to ponder the fact that adulthood is not that far away for my sweet Jayme.  So many things left to teach her.  So many lessons to learn.  And yet...I need to remember even more to stop and snuggle.  To enjoy her company.  To smile more.  To really enjoy all of my kids. 

I love you Jayme!  Happy Birthday!!!

Trying out the bow and arrow Bryan made her for her birthday!