Skipping Stones

It's Been Too Long!

2012-02-16T00:25:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it's been over a month since I updated this blog! We have been very busy, as usual, but the major thing has been bouts of sickness that circulated and circulated and...circulated. I was beginning to think we had a plague! One child would get better, only to have another come down with it. Everyone got sick, including little Joshua. He ended up with a cold which progressed to a double ear infection. :( The doctor wanted to give him the antibiotic shots as they work quicker than the oral meds, so he got his first dose of that. We went on a wild goose chase to obtain the oral antibiotics and hours later had them in our hands, only to find out they didn't really seem to get rid of it. Poor Joshua had to get poked two more times, over two days with the antibiotic shot. He was a trooper, though, and is now back to drinking his bottles and chuckling when I chuckle and just generally being cute.

Photos to come in another post! :)

First Rice Cereal!!

2011-12-28T23:57:00.000-05:00

When the speech therapist came out last time, she wanted to test out how well Joshua did with some solid food and a spoon. He did fairly well, but did poke some out. As I remember, pretty much all of my kids did that at this age (6 months) a bit, too, so I am not that worried. The pediatrician wants me to keep at it with the solids, especially since Joshua has not been gaining weight as quickly as they think he should. Our whole family just got over a 3 week bout of sickness that circulated through all of us, so no wonder why the poor kid didn't want to eat very much! He was so snuffly that he could not drink his bottle very well because he couldn't breathe and eat with his nose blocked up! He is doing much better now, so I broke out some more ~~wall paper paste~~ rice cereal for him.

Even though the cereal was "eh" to Joshua, he always has time to smile at his friends on the swing mobile! :)

This last photo says it all, "No more, please, mama!"

Card Sharks

2011-12-28T23:47:00.000-05:00

The boys really love to cart Joshua around and make him a part of everything. The other day, they decided to deal him in on a game of Monopoly Deal:

Joshua sweetly waiting his turn...

Heh, heh... I've got your number!

Hmmm...Which card shall I take?

All good games (and card sharks) must have an end, though. You gotta know when to just...fold 'em sometimes...

Angels on the Tree

2011-12-14T11:04:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I got a wonderful package in the mail-my Angel Tree ornaments from Reece's Rainbow! This is an adoption grant ministry. It helps get the word out and raise grant money for the international adoption of children with special needs, mainly Down syndrome. It was founded by Andrea Roberts, a woman who has a young son with Down syndrome.

Everyone knows that there are orphans in the world, but it is really eye-opening to actually see video of the conditions in these mental institutions! If you have a moment, please watch all the sections of this video. NBC's Ann Curry actually went inside some of the mental institutions in Serbia to document what goes on in there. It is horrific.

Mothers and fathers are often encouraged to give their children with disabilities up. They are told that the children will have a better life in these places. The governments of these countries do not offer much support, if any, in the way of people with mental disabilities, so the parents often feel stuck and give in.

The one thing everyone is forgetting is that nothing takes the place of a mother or father. Nothing. These kids need love and, often times, when they are adopted and brought into a loving home, they truly blossom! Children that were on the brink of death with dehydration or starvation gain weight and have shiny hair and bright eyes again. Those that were thought to not be able to talk, suddenly start speaking words, even sentences. There is a culture in many countries that wants to relegate these people to these places, never to be seen again. Sadly, there is simply no place for these people in their society. With the recent development of a test that can detect Down syndrome early in pregnancy, America isn't much better. :(

If I could shout from the mountaintops, I would tell the world that giving birth to Joshua has been the biggest blessing in our lives. Truly, if I could speak to women that are pregnant with a child that has a disability, I would say do not worry. It is really ok. The fear and sadness one might first have is replaced with a deep, fierce love. All these children want and need is love and acceptance. I can't imagine our lives without this little guy. To know that the world shoves people like my son into dark mental institutions for the rest of their lives, or kills them off in the womb is excruciatingly sad to me. People don't understand they are missing out on a huge blessing. They simply don't give these children a chance.

If you are able, please consider giving some money to help one or more of these children get adopted.

How to Get Warm on a Chilly Morning

2011-12-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

This is how the kids like to get warm when they come downstairs in the morning and it is cold:

A giant pod!

Sarah discovering Rachel under her air tent. :)

Stephen eating breakfast in his air tent. Thank goodness we have quite a few air vents downstairs!!

A Busy Week

2011-12-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

There have been lots of appointments and running around for us this week. The whole family recently got over colds, but for some of us, including Joshua, the coughing has lingered. I finally set up an appointment at the pediatrician to bring him in "just to see". I am more concerned for him when things like this happen due to his heart.

The pediatrician agreed that it was good to bring him in. She said he was doing some chest retractions, but I mentioned that he often does that. I don't know if that is really good or bad... She had them check for RSV, which was negative, and also ordered a chest x-ray at the local hospital. She said she'd call if there was a reason for concern, and I haven't heard from her so hopefully that means no news is good news.

His weight has also started to level off and he has gone back to taking upwards of an hour to finish a 6-6.5 ounce bottle. Sometimes, he doesn't even finish it. I think to myself, well, if I am all stuffed up, I wouldn't want to drink a whole bottle full of thickened milk, either! She wants me to bring him in Friday for a weight check and if he doesn't gain weight, then they will try to boost the calories of his formula. She mentioned vegetable oil, blah! If *that* doesn't work, then we're looking at the NG tube again. :(

When I bring him in to be weighed this Friday, I am going to make sure that they are plotting the weight on his Down syndrome chart, not the typical child one. He may still be well within the normal limits on the DS chart. However, his weight dropping off on any chart still isn't very good. :(

Please pray that he will start drinking more, and soon!!

Physical Therapy

2011-12-01T10:55:00.000-05:00

We have a physical therapist who comes to our house regularly to work with Joshua. She evaluates how well he is doing with his head and neck control, reaching for things, grasping, smiling, etc, and gives us any needed tips.

"How are you?"

"Look here..."

"Let's look over here..."

"Hey Joshua, I am over here!"

A PT session usually involves the therapist and mama doing a lot of redirecting with Sarah. "Feed the baby doll, Sarah!"

Sarah can't get left out of the photos! :)

Now comes the toughest part-lifting that heavy head along with the body. Joshua does great at it!

Yay, Joshua! :)

Fresh and Tasty

2011-11-30T22:12:00.001-05:00

Joshua fresh after a bath...

Our New Addition :)

2011-11-30T21:58:00.001-05:00

Meet the new addition to our family!

This is Pepper. This is Pepper before we let her come inside. She (well, I am pretty sure the cat is a she!) showed up on our back porch early in November. The kids would pet her and give her attention and she did incredibly well with that. She also didn't leave! We began to notice that she would curl up on our back porch and be there in the morning, waiting to greet us. Finally, one day Dave(!!) said let's feed her some milk. Forget it. The cat said, "You had me at milk..." (Jerry Maguire, anyone?) and really never left. One night, some beast came on the back porch and we heard a terrible howling. I persuaded Dave to let us put her in our garage overnight, so we set up a large cardboard peach box on the floor of the garage with an old towel in it and a bowl of the beloved milk beside. After a few days of that (and Pepper being really great and not going to the bathroom anywhere in the garage) we decided to let her actually come in. Before we did that, we made sure to call our neighbor who is the information hub of our street and beyond and ask if this cat belonged to anyone. She said no, that she thought we'd gotten a new pet. ;)

She has done G.R.E.A.T. with the kids. I can't believe she puts up with as much as she does. She did have quite a bit of dandruff, but that has gone away with her getting more food to eat and fat in her diet.

We bring her to the vet this coming Monday to make sure she is healthy, but I haven't found any fleas or any other nasty things on her.

2011 Year in Review (Almost)

2011-11-29T23:51:00.000-05:00

We're not quite to the end of 2011 yet, but I thought I'd post a sampling of photos from our year so far (minus the ones of Joshua that are on his blog).

Sarah likes to use her play kitchen to store her toast in, among other things. I never know what I will find when I open those doors!

Sweet Rachel

Sarah has now graduated to the bottom bunk. I miss the crib. It held her in there so nicely...

School time! Sarah "helping" Matti with school. :)

Timothy enjoying a swing at our local park.

A bunch of snuggly kids.

Stephen having fun at a local lake.

Rachel and Dave at the lake.

Sarah and Mama toes at the lake. :)

A Flower from Stephen. :)

Snow Cute, without the snow!

Sarah drinking from the sprinkler...oh boy!

Rachel the mermaid

Matthew with Joshua, July 2011

Stephen and Joshua, July 2011

Rachel and Joshua, July 2011

Baby Joshua in his crib, August 2011

Joshua, August 2011

Physical therapy is hard, mama!

Timothy and Joshua, September 2011

Joshua and Stephen watching a movie with the family, September 2011

Sweet Joshua, October 2011

The kids! October 2011

Sarah's 2nd birthday

Lego Stephen :)

Rachel in her play clothes. Yes, this is pretty much what we use our winter clothes for now, except for maybe a month in winter!

Timothy up in one of our pecan trees

Matthew, tree climber

Tree Stephen

Fall Fun 2010

2011-11-29T22:56:00.000-05:00

Leafy Timothy. I like how you can still see his eyes in this photo. :)

Timothy looking ready to pounce...

Matthew, Fall 2010

Rachel, Fall 2010

Stephen, Fall 2010

New Friends and More Kid Shots

2011-11-29T21:57:00.000-05:00

A few months after we moved, we got some Buff Orpington chicks. The kids were very impressed that they came by mail!

Who's the Baby?

Friends :)

2011-11-29T21:36:00.001-05:00

Matthew showing off his ship creation out of Keva planks.

The kids helping Dave clear brush at our new house.

Rachel

Mr. Timothy

Peek A Boo Rachel

Mother Hen :)

We found this ceramic frog in the bush near our back porch. Rachel liked to hold it like a baby and take it around with her. Needless to say, ceramic and little kids don't mix!

Sarah :)

The welcoming committee!

Matthew's Birthday and Andersonville Trip ~ May 2010

2011-11-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday, Matthew!

Later on in May, we took a trip to see the Andersonville site. This was a place where, during the Civil War, prisoners from the north were kept. It was very interesting and sad to see.

A spring that was found by one of the men imprisoned there. Thank goodness for that, because otherwise they would've depended upon a filthy little stream that ran through the middle of the compound!

Close up of spring and fountain.

Rachel looking at the water near the spring.

Interesting design to bring spring water to the fountain.

Dave and Sarah :)

Providence Spring information

The North Gate~ compound where many prisoners were kept.

The doors were very big and heavy!

Random Kid Photos

2011-11-29T15:06:00.003-05:00

Here are more photos of the kids from spring-early summer of 2010. What a flashback!

Sarah after trying a green smoothie! I don't think her eyes can get any bigger. She did like it, though. :)

Sweet Sarah

This is how Sarah fell asleep one night on the couch. I guess she was really tired!

Sisters!

Stephen's 6th birthday, 2010.

This isn't the best photo, but I love it for the look of sheer joy on Timothy's face: "Yay, cake!"

The kids really loved the playground out back and would spend many hours out there...

Rachel blowing bubbles.

Curly Girl Rachel

Feelin' the breeze...

Timothy and Stephen busy with chalk drawings.

Chalky Stephen

Matti's sidewalk creation.

Matthew and Stephen drawing with chalk.

Timothy

Peek a Boo Rachel

Climbing Rachel-brave girl!

Sarah

Sarah chewing on a toy.

Miss Blue Eyes (Sarah)

The bib says it all!

Rachel really enjoyed pushing Sarah on the swing. Unfortunately, the swing would often get away from her!

Timothy

Sarah and Rachel

Silly sisters

Sarah the Jester

Easter 2010

2011-11-29T13:58:00.000-05:00

We had a nice meal at our place with some friends, then the kids hunted for Easter eggs in our yard.

Rachel on the hunt.

Stephen racing after some well-hidden eggs.

What do we have here? :)

Comparing their treasures.

Miss Rachel

Stephen collecting eggs

Snowmageddon 2010-GA Style

2011-11-29T00:26:00.000-05:00

We didn't get as plastered with snow as our friends and family to the north, but it was a rare (so we heard) treat to get this "much" snow down here. Needless to say, it did not happen in early 2011. Rats!

Stephen looking out the window at the snow.

Two little boys on a magical day.

Playground out back, covered with a dusting of snow.

Rachel ready to play outside!

Matthew with a woodchip-filled snowball.

Chilly Timo.

Stephen. :)

Not too much snow!

In the morning-pretty, pretty!

The view of outside from inside.

Rachel having fun in the slushy snow.

Tasty.

A snow-coated Stephen.

Boys sliding down the hill out back.

A snowman and his merry minions!

First GA House

2011-11-28T23:52:00.001-05:00

Kids on the playground that was right out back of the house.

Posing by the oak tree near the playground.

Rachel helping to mix pancake batter.

Sarah's preferred teether. :)

Cheesy Timothy helping put away dishes.

Little Sarah

Timothy and Sarah, 2010

Look what's on special at the grocery store! :)

Matthew and Sarah having a good chat.

Sweet Sarah.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T23:37:00.001-05:00

We didn't take any photos of our most recent Thanksgiving and I am way behind in updating on here, so we shall start with a Thanksgiving photo...from 2 years ago. Better late than never, I say!

That is wee Sarah, who was a month old in this photo. It was taken in back of our old place in FL.

Hello, Again!

2011-11-27T15:52:00.002-05:00

Wow. It is hard to believe it's been over a year since I posted here... I am attempting to merge Joshua's blog with this, or at the least, making a link on the sidebar so people can visit it. Now that the initial craziness of the first few months is over with, it will be a lot easier to just post any news about Joshua here. Before, I held back about posting anything about the other kids on J's blog because, well, it was "his" blog. Now, I won't feel the guilt. I've also opened it up again so that you don't need to sign in. I think that was more trouble than it was worth!

So, here's to hearing more from us, more often! :)

(Now, to root through a year's worth of photos to see what to put on here...)

Moving!

2010-10-16T15:53:00.015-04:00

Pile O' kids!

A rare, quiet Rachel moment...

Who is that stowaway?!

The best photo I got of the whole crew...

Sarah standing up at our new refridgerator.

Sarah, September 2010-almost 11 months.

We had a small tree by our shed which was completely dead, so Dave sawed it down. The kids wanted to try their hands at sawing, so each took a turn. Here's Rachel trying it out...

Matthew trying the saw out...

Timo was a little tired out after all that!

Our huge shed!

Sarah had the right idea-relaxing! :)

David and Goliath

2010-10-16T15:49:00.005-04:00

Clay models of David and Goliath, made by Matthew:

Facing off...

Goliath

David

Rachel's birthday

2010-10-16T15:34:00.006-04:00

Rachel requested a pink birthday cake, with pink ice cream. Her brothers, in typical fashion, threatened not to come to her party if everything was pink.

I saw this idea online somewhere, of making cupcakes, then decorating them to look like flowers. I found some strawberry flavored marshmallows and cut them in half to make petals. Sprinkles were used in the middle of the flowers, and green tinted frosting as the grass and stems. We had raspberry ice cream along with it.

Everything went down pretty easily, except for the marshmallows. The kids didn't really like those!

I think the boys got over the pink theme... ;)

The cake!

Blowing out the candles...

Can you believe I found this play kitchen on the side of road where we used to live, ready to be picked up by the trashmen? All it took was a good hosing off to make it look almost brand new. We bought some plastic dishes for her to use, and she loved it!

Rachel with her birthday gift from Grammy and Grampy-a doll that Grandma Jane had sewn a long time ago. :)

Sisters

2010-10-16T15:21:00.009-04:00

Rachel coloring by the window in our first GA house.

The Unknown Comic, a.k.a. Rachel :)

Sarah standing up, and very proud of herself!

Happy girl Sarah

Silly Rachel #1

Silly Rachel #2

Silly Rachel #3

Sarah has grown!

2010-10-16T14:57:00.006-04:00

Since the time we visited up north, Sarah has grown quite a bit. :)

First PA visit

2010-04-22T17:28:00.013-04:00

Long overdue, but here are a ton of photos from our recent whirlwind trip to PA and MA...

The first thing the kids did when arriving at grammy and grampy's was to find the cat and say "Hello!" I don't think the cat was too happy...

Stephen and Rachel in grampy's big chair.

Rach

Sarah Bear, February 2010.

Matthew, Sarah, and Rachel

Sarah and Rachel (the reflection is from a toy mirror)

Rosy-cheeked Rachel, in from the snow.

Matthew being swallowed by the snow!

Snow brothers

Rachel playing in the snow.

Stephen looking unimpressed by the snow.

Rachel with mama's wedding veil.

The traditional scary Uncle Ed and baby photo, this time with Sarah. :)

Yankee Candle-Michelle's side in MA

2010-04-22T17:03:00.007-04:00

Rachel at Yankee Candle.

Rachel and her pigtails. :)

The boys catching "snowflakes".

Grandma Bonnie and Rachel catching "snowflakes".

Watching the show at Yankee Candle.

Stephen and his trusty toucan.

Arrr!

The king and his merry court.

King Matthew

Michelle's side in MA

2010-04-22T16:54:00.006-04:00

I leave the room for a minute and come back to discover the boys have decorated Sarah!!

The little babushka. :)

Matthew

Timo

Aunt Sue helping the kids figure out what to order.

Stephen and Timothy playing a game while out to eat.

The biggest draw for the kids at Aunt Barbara's (besides the cookies!) were... cat toys. ???

Rachel, Sarah and Aunt Barbara.

Matthew on grandpa Ed's woodpile.

Stephen and his wreath.

Stephen bringing a little holiday cheer to the burn pile. This photo cracks me up. Once he found the old wreath, he spent a good half an hour running with it around his waist. :)

Burning leaves with grandpa Ed.

Dave's side

2010-04-22T16:04:00.020-04:00

The boys and grandpa, playing cards.

Grandma Erkkila and Sarah.

Grandpa Erkkila.

Grandpa and Sarah.

Sara and Sarah. :)

David and his grandpa Erkkila. March 2010.

David and his sisters Sara and Christie.

The Erkkila side.

Gram Diane and Rachel reading a book.

The Marble Guys.

Bunch of jokers!

David, Pepere, Pepere Scott

Gram Diane and kid pile up! I love this photo. :)

Pepere Scott and Sarah.

Pepere Scott and the kids with Gram Diane's juicebox boat at Saima Park.

David with grandpa and kids.

The windblown look...

Rachel in the sandbox.

Sarah impressed by the cat, and the cat totally unimpressed!

Sarah Therese. March 2010.

Matthew playing with blocks David used to play with at grandma and grandpa's in Fitchburg, MA.

Rachel searching for Easter eggs in the dusk in Lancaster, MA.

Second PA visit

2010-04-22T15:50:00.008-04:00

Uncle Dave and Sarah. March 2010.

Stephen in the coveted plastic car!

Grammy and Timothy inspecting some bugs in the garden.

Bee on white crocus.

Rachel, A.K.A. "Curly Shirley", eating a banana at grammy and grampy's in PA.

Grampy and Tim. Timothy is tired, note the fingers in the mouth and the hair rubbing...

The family hanging out in the "front room".

Base Christmas Party

2010-01-05T20:27:00.012-05:00

Shortly before we left, the squadron held a Christmas party in a hangar for the children, complete with Santa arriving in an F-15! I will let Stephen be the voice of what my kids were thinking about that: "I am NOT going to sit on that man's lap!!" 'Nough said...

Inside the hangar, there were several stations where the kids could go and make cookies, get their faces painted (another no-go for my boys!), make crafts, etc. There were also inflatable things to jump around on like bouncy tents and a huge train with lots of little compartments (not fun to try to find your kids in, but a barrel of laughs for THEM!).

Needless to say, the cookie making area and the bouncy thingamabobs were the hits of the day for my kids.

Did I mention I brought them there, all five of them, by myself, since Dave was at survival school? I should've gotten a couple cookies for that! :)

Creating their cookies:

The kids and their cookie creations:

Rachel, by far, enjoyed her cookie experience the most! First, she examined all that was to be had:

Then, she "decorated" her cookie with 3/4 of a jar of red sprinkles:

Then, she indulged in her work of art:

Yum! Yum! :)

Kids All in a Row...

2010-01-05T20:16:00.006-05:00

I will be the first to admit, I would rather stab myself in the eyes with redhot pokers than be a Sears child photographer. How on earth do they get them all to behave and look at the camera at the same time?! Thank the Lord for digital cameras. I would've had to buy stock in film, otherwise!

This is what I USUALLY get most of the time:

Every once in a while, I get a "keeper", though!

Here are some more group photos that are deemed suitable! :)

For this last one, we hustled everyone outside at a picnic table near the side of our house. We didn't know it was so COLD (don't laugh, you northerners!). Notice the look on Stephen's face...

Long Time, No See!

2010-01-05T20:02:00.009-05:00

It has been ages since I have posted anything to this blog. I have excuses, though-GOOD ones! :) I had a baby, Dave graduated his school in Florida and went to survival school for three weeks, Thanksgiving, and... we moved. All in the course of a little over a month. I am still reeling!

Since I never did a formal announcement here, without further ado:

Here is our newest little one, Sarah Therese! She was born Friday, October 23rd, at 1:47 p.m. She weighed 8lbs. 14oz, and was 21 1/4" long. I ended up being induced, as I had a bit too much amniotic fluid and she was a week overdue. Also, Dave was leaving for survival school two weeks after her original due date. :/

Those were all photos of her shortly after she was born. Since I've been such a slacker, here are some more recent photos of her:

Quiet Stephen

2009-09-12T16:46:00.004-04:00

On a rainy, lazy Saturday afternoon while half the kids are down for naps and Dave and Matthew are playing Axis and Allies Europe, here is what Stephen is doing:

(Yes, that is cabbage in the bowl by Stephen. Yes, he asked for it for a snack!)

Raisin Fun!

2009-09-12T16:28:00.005-04:00

The kids have a DVD that comes along with their science curriculum from Sonlight which they LOVE. It features a silly young man who performs the experiments listed in their book. One such experiment was to use raisins and clear soda to illustrate how the carbonation bubbles will stick to the raisins and make them rise and fall repeatedly. The kids loved it!

Here is Stephen carefully watching the raisins:

Rachel decided to join in, trying to fish out the raisins:

...and another photo, just because they are cute!

Slippin' and Slidin'

2009-08-18T16:49:00.005-04:00

One day after taking the kids to the park in the early morning hours and coming back drenched in sweat, I decided to set up the Slip 'n Slide in the backyard. Boy, we miss the days of having a well where you didn't have to pay for water!

The kids had a blast, and Rachel, as usual, had to sample the water...

31 Weeks

2009-08-18T16:38:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

2009-08-18T16:07:00.005-04:00

Rachel had a great 2nd birthday party. I attempted to make a "doll cake" for her, with the cake being the dress. I purchased a Barbie doll and noticed that she was way too tall for the bundt cake that I was going to make, which meant I had to make a double batch of homemade carrot cake as well as cream cheese frosting! It still was...interesting, but no one gave a hoot, as everyone wanted to EAT it, not stare at it. I will keep this in mind when I feel that Martha Stewart guilt creeping in for not making things "just so"! :)

She got several gifts in the mail, and we also bought her a Little Tykes shopping cart that all of the kids (with exception of Matthew) fight for turns over.

Dave brought the rest of the cake into work a few days later, as there was so much. However, now as I am typing this, I really wish I had a thick slice of it before me!! :P

Student Driver

2009-07-18T11:46:00.005-04:00

Caught on camera! :)

Just Beachy

2009-07-18T11:27:00.010-04:00

Here are some random shots of our latest trip to Mexico Beach...

Rachel collecting shells...

A typical Timothy photo (on the move)...

Mr. Tim....

Stephen collecting shells...

Preparing for incoming waves (I love all the palm trees in the background!)...

Cheesy pose...

Relaxing in the sand...

Stephen with his collection of peanut shells he found on the beach.

Silly Seaweed Matthew.

Rachel "talking" to the waves.

Stephen, Wave Rider

2009-07-18T11:18:00.006-04:00

Stephen used to be very afraid of going in the water, until he discovered the fun of riding on Dave's back in the waves. Now, he requests to go to the beach and that is the first thing he wants to do!

Rachel the Mermaid

2009-07-18T11:09:00.008-04:00

Rachel loves to ride in the waves with daddy. :)

Timothy's Trials...

2009-07-18T11:03:00.006-04:00

I have about 20 photos of Timothy in the ocean with da, and they ALL look like this... He was NOT happy to be in, and it sure didn't last long. He wanted to go in because he saw Matthew and Stephen having so much fun. Even Rachel loved it. Oh, well!

Bedtime

2009-07-18T10:58:00.004-04:00

Ships Ahoy!

2009-07-18T10:52:00.004-04:00

One of the science experiments the boys and I did was to make a boat out of a styrofoam plate, with a knitting needle mast and construction paper sail. At first, we were to see how far the styrofoam boat went withOUT a sail. It didn't go that far, of course... Then, we added the sail- what great fun! The boys spent 15 or so minutes blowing the boat across the tub. They loved it, and even had to find a Lego man to ride along. Arr!

Game Time!

2009-07-18T10:42:00.001-04:00

Dave received an email at work telling him that the 5-time AF chess champion was on base, taking some classes and that he was going to play a sort of tournament for a week with whomever wanted to show up. Well, that is all Dave needed to hear! He and Matthew showed up all week, and got to play various people. Matthew beat the two guys in the top photos. The bottom photo shows the "chess guy", as Timothy called him, helping Matthew learn some moves. We also invited him over to our house one night, and he helped Matti some more. It was great fun for Matthew and we got some good tips. We were encouraged to look for a chess club when we get to our new assignment, and get Matthew to play in tournaments.

Invaders!

2009-07-18T10:28:00.003-04:00

One rainy day, I had set a nice, big, tent "house" up in the living room for the boys to play in. All of the sudden, Stephen came running to me, yelling, "Mama! There is something DISGUSTING on the floor!!!" I asked him what it was. "Something Dis-GUSTING!!" I had to run and look, and it freaked me out, too. It looked like a small frog, but it also looked like a spider... What WAS it?? We captured it in a glass jar to get a better look. It was some sort of CRAB. After that incident, we have had quite a few more make their way into our house, sidling along, evading capture. We will never run out of "odd creature" experiences down here in Florida, I am afraid!

The Reader

2009-07-18T10:23:00.004-04:00

When the latest "box day" from Sonlight happened at our house, Stephen was the first one to run to the box and look through all the books. He LOVES to read!

Matthew's Birthday- May 15th

2009-07-18T10:13:00.004-04:00

We DID celebrate Matthew's birthday ON his birthday! :) He asked for a "rainbow bear" cake (the ears made entirely of frosting and Skittles-aiiieeeeee)! We got him an official chess set as his birthday present. He was very, very happy and said it was the best present we could get him.

Officer Marble

2009-07-18T09:53:00.004-04:00

These are too cute!

Washin' Toes

2009-07-18T09:45:00.005-04:00

Timothy's latest thing is to run into the bathroom and wash his feet after playing outside. At least he has initiative! He must want to get REALLY clean, too, because I've had to talk to him about his generous use of soap...(Ahem!)

This time, I grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos. A large mirror in front of the sink is too great a temptation-we must make faces! Timothy then noticed me, but couldn't resist at the end making one last face. :D

Grammy and Grampy's Visit!

2009-07-18T09:36:00.006-04:00

It was a whirlwind of activity when grammy and grampy came to visit us in late April-early May. I don't seem to have many beach photos, but we went there almost every day, collecting shells and enjoying the (halfway) warm water. We really enjoyed our week-long visit, even though it seemed too short!

Grampy and Stephen.

Grammy with the kids.

How hard is it to get 4 kids and two adults to look at the camera at the same time and all smile? Don't even ask! This is the best one I got of the crew. :)

Homeschool Co-Op End of Semester Show

2009-07-18T09:18:00.008-04:00

The kids have been participating in a homeschool co-op for the past year, and they really enjoy it. Unfortunately, we won't be doing it this fall since the baby is set to arrive right in the middle of the semester. Rats! Matthew took Spanish and botany, Stephen took unit studies and Heart of Dakota, Timothy was in a preschool class, and Rachel was in the nursery. I am so glad I found this group after moving down here. Every Friday, we'd go to this for a couple hours and it really changed up the pace of the week!

Matthew and his botany class explaining phototropism and other really large words. He was a sunflower... Can you guess which one? :)

Stephen totally overwhelmed onstage...

Matthew singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in Spanish.

Playing Outside

2009-07-18T08:53:00.005-04:00

I have been horribly behind in posting photos lately... Here are some from mid-APRIL! :)

Our neighbors have a couple of nice dogs that they let out back in a chained-in fence area. The kids LOVE it when they see "Coco" and "Lucky" outside. Rachel tries to feed them grass and they lick her. Whenever one of our balls or another toy makes its way over the fence, the dogs are so excited and run around like crazies. You can't see it in the last photo, but the dog is practically begging Rachel to toss the ball over!

Happy 5th Birthday, Stephen!!

2009-04-11T15:40:00.006-04:00

Today, we have been having a nice, lazy day. We asked Stephen what he wanted to do today.

"Want to go to the beach, Stephen?"

-- "NO!" (The kids don't like having to walk the boardwalk, as well as walk down the beach 50 yards or so to get a nice spot past the fishermen, other people, etc., so they will always say "No!" at first. They love it there, though!)

"Ok... What DO you want to do, then?"

-- "Play boardgames!"

They have already played Monopoly (which Matthew won! I think he has won almost every Monopoly game they have played), and now they (Dave, Matthew, Stephen) are firmly ensconced in a game of Axis and Allies. Even I don't like that game! Blah. Matthew asks me why, and I tell him, "It's a man's game, Matti!" heh.

Stephen also requested "pizza store" pizza, otherwise known as Little Caesar's takeout. I made a tiger cake since he has a little stuffed tiger that he totes everywhere, and we had raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. All of our kids think that they do not turn the age they are turning until AFTER they eat their ice cream and cake. It is so funny!

We got him a Play-Doh "picnic" set, which has a bunch of toys to make all sorts of picnic foods. The boys busied themselves with that for over an hour after lunch.

In the morning, I set out Easter eggs around the house as they were playing Monopoly. They then took a break from the game and we all went out and battled no-seeums to find the eggs filled with candy, Goldfish crackers or MONEY. Rachel ended up getting the most money (thankfully not the candy!) Timothy decided to help her out and popped a large jellybean into her mouth which she chomped on for a long time, orange sugar juice drooling down her chin and all.

We've had a nice, relaxing day, and thank the Lord for yet another year!

Cabbage Heads

2009-04-11T15:35:00.004-04:00

Lately, Stephen's favorite snack, the one he asks for the most is CABBAGE. I have no idea why... All I have to do is hack off a huge chunk of green cabbage, put it in a bowl, hand it to him, and he is happy as all get out. :)

Witness this recent photo of our last shopping trip. There were graham crackers hiding in a bag, too, but Timothy was overjoyed with a bag of spinach and Stephen with his enormous head of cabbage. Matthew had to jump in the photo with something on HIS head, too (checkers).

I am very thankful they aren't asking for Twinkies and Ho-Hos! :D

First Midwife Appt.

2009-04-06T15:38:00.003-04:00

Friday's appointment went well. Dave's dad is here visiting, so he watched the kids for us and Dave came along. We got to see the baby (no twins, and I am okay with that!) dancing around so much that the ultrasound tech could hardly get the needed measurements. :) We got a bunch of little pictures to take home, too.

The tech put the due date at October 17th (as of now). Dave graduates his school the end of October. Two of my babies have been about a week overdue. We will see!

Tyndall Air Show

2009-03-30T16:32:00.006-04:00

The air show was slated for this past weekend, March 28th and 29th. On Friday and Saturday, there was soaking rain, booming thunder and lightening streaking across the sky. The bay out back was slowly creeping in for a "visit". We decided to stay put, even though we were quite disappointed. We heard some people actually ventured out that day for the show, and we heard a few planes zooming over.

On Sunday, we decided that after church, we'd head home for a quick lunch, change, and drive to base to see some of the show. This was the first show that the kids and I had ever been to! As we were waiting in line for the bus to drive us to the flightline side of base, we could see planes high in the sky, dropping out army guys with parachutes. Maybe it is because I am now a mother, or maybe I am older (and wiser?!), but seeing them freefalling for what seemed to be too long made me silently screech, "Open you chute! OPEN YOUR CHUTE!!!!" When they did let their chutes go, they drifted peacefully to the ground, followed by trails of bright red smoke. One of them even purposely let go of his first chute to give us all a good fright. :D

Sunday was a much nicer day weather-wise. It was sunny and warm, but still cool enough to be able to wear light jackets, which helped with sun exposure. We checked out all the planes and watched a lot of demonstrations. The Blue Angels were excellent! I can't believe they can get so close to each other without crashing, but they've been doing it for years.

We got to the air show around 1:30 p.m. Around 4, country music star Darryl Worley was to perform. Dave had to set up the stage on Friday, and he wanted to be able to help Sunday after the show. He was going to bring us to the buses so we could head home, but the lines were ridiculously long, so we decided we'd just stay for the concert. The concert was good, even though I only knew a few songs and we were all wiped out from standing around in the sun all day. We ended up staying for Dave and his class to take down the stage, which meant that we didn't leave until almost 8 p.m.! The kids were really well-behaved, all things considered. We checked out an F-15 and F-22 that were in the hangar and the kids found things to play with to busy themselves. Dave also said we'd get pizza for supper, so I am sure that helped! :D

Here are some photos from yesterday's show:

A nice and quiet F-22!

F-22.

A screeching F-22 Raptor.

The boys posing for a photo by a little recruiting plane. Notice Stephen with the one hand over his ear... He spent most of the time with both hands over his ears. I don't think one will cut it, though! :)

Rachel was NOT impressed with the F-22s!!

Planes, Tanks, and Ammo...Oh My!

2009-03-30T16:23:00.009-04:00

The "Heritage Flight": planes of past and present.

The "Heritage Flight" again.

The Princess Elizabeth.

Plane coming in for a landing.

A Vietnam-era tank.

The shiny Pacific Prowler. Beautiful!

Can you imagine being this gunner? He had to sit right in front of the plane. Talk about a sitting duck!

Bombs (dummies, of course) in the Pacific Prowler.

Dave (in his flight suit) and the boys in the bomb area of the plane.

Looking into the area where the guys sit on the plane.

A gun on the side of the Pacific Prowler.

Dave answering the boys' questions. :)

The Blue Angels!

2009-03-30T16:15:00.006-04:00

Doing their tricks...

I never thought I'd say exahaust from planes was beautiful before...

See how close they get to each other?

Some of these guys are upside down!

Darryl Worley

2009-03-30T15:43:00.005-04:00

Nice stage, right? ;)

Good News!

2009-03-30T15:39:00.002-04:00

I think probably most everyone knows this, but for any who don't (I am sorry! I can't remember my name most days, ha!), baby #5 is on the way, due sometime mid-October! :D

I found a great midwife who delivers at one of the local hospitals, and am going to my first appointment this Friday. I am very anxious to hear a heartbeat and see the baby. Yes! They are doing an ultrasound the first appointment to date the pregnancy.

God is GOOD!

Our cruise!

2009-01-17T18:10:00.003-05:00

Dave and I decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary a bit early (it will be Dec. 2009) by taking a cruise. Our reasoning was that we'll just have moved to a new duty station and Dave will be in the midst of training and we need some time for us. My aunt got us a great deal on a 10-night cruise to the eastern Carribean, so we asked Dave's stepmom if she would be willing to help us out by watching the kids. She graciously accepted, and we left on January 1st and returned on January 12th. We drove all the way to Ft. Lauderdale (about 10 hours) to Port Everglades to get on the cruise ship. It was a grand time! We visited St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Maarten, but were able to also sneak in a trip to St. John while in St. Thomas. We met a couple on the cruise and went on tours with them the whole time, becoming great friends. Cruises are a great way to get a taste of many different places in one trip.

Here are some views inside the ship:

The grand foyer.

The ceiling in the grand foyer.

Our teeny tiny room.

St. Thomas and St. John

2009-01-17T17:44:00.026-05:00

We loved St. Thomas and St. John! It was the most "Americanized" of all the places we visited, because they are part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. Thomas is also known as a shopping mecca in the Caribbean, so it was bustling place! We took a boat ride to quieter St. John and went on a nature hike there, complete with snorkeling if we desired.

An imposing view of our ship in St. Thomas.

Our ship docked in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Views of St. Thomas from the top of the Skyride.

A cactus people had scarred up with grafitti.

To "lime" in the islands means to relax and chill out.

The Skyride!

The view from the top of the Skyride looking down into St. Thomas.

Medusa vines on St. John.

St. John

A termite nest seen our our nature hike on St. John.

A coconut on Honeymoon Beach on St. John.

Dave snorkeling on St. John. Doesn't it look like pool water?

Honeymoon Beach.

Sugarcane factory ruins on St. Thomas.

St. Kitts

2009-01-17T17:36:00.003-05:00

One of the many narrow roads in St. Kitts

Funny birds in a tree.

Rainbow on St. Kitts in the morning.

Caribelle Batik, St. Kitts

2009-01-17T17:29:00.007-05:00

One of the first stops on our tour was Caribelle Batik. We toured the Romney Gardens and got to see a woman demonstrating how batik is done. We also had some time to purchase things if we so desired. I loved how all the buildings are so brightly colored and cheerful.

Rock drawing on way to Caribelle Batik, Romney Gardens.

A fan palm.

Romney Gardens.

Woman demonstrating how batik is done.

More St. Kitts

2009-01-17T17:11:00.009-05:00

We really enjoyed seeing the sights in St. Kitts. Our tour was quite an adventure, too (but little did we know how much of an adventure when we set out!) We took a rainforest adventure trip. At first, we got on a truck with an open back with metal gridwork. Some people sat inside the truck, while others (like us!) sat in the open back. Dave and I were the last ones on the back, so, while the truck was whizzing through the streets of St. Kitts, we had an up close and personal view of the street! I would've taken a photo, but I was too busy clinging to the metal bars. :D

Our tour included a few stops at "set up" places where people would pop out of seemingly nowhere to hawk their goods. One of the more interesting stops was with a man who had a pet green monkey on his back, wearing a diaper. He had the little guy hop up onto us and walk around, then wanted money for it. The monkey clearly did not want to be with the tourists and kept trying to hop back on the man, who kept pushing him back up on us. At one point, the monkey hopped up on Dave for some peace. Our tour guide said many people on St. Kitts have the monkeys as pets, but they have to be caught as babies, otherwise they will be too wild.

A "sandpaper tree".

Our tour guide demonstrating that once the vines hanging from the trees get large and old enough, even an adult can swing from them. Fun!

A huge, gnarled tree in the woods.

Can you see the blue ropes in the trees? We literally had to pull ourselves up using those, roots, and trees. Welcome to "Survivor: St. Kitts"!

Barbados

2009-01-17T16:59:00.010-05:00

We arrived in Bridgetown, Barbados, which was a lot more built up than the other islands. Dave and I aren't city lovers, so this wasn't our favorite stop on the trip. We did go snorkeling, though, which was my first time with it and it was fun! We got to see a couple shipwrecks and all the funny little fish and creatures that like to make homes in them. The beach we were at on Barbados had light pink sand, too, which was pretty neat. :)

After that excursion, we walked around the city for a bit, got some Barbadian dollars (you know Dave and coins!), and bought some neat glassware and pottery. At the end of all that, though, we were really happy to get back on the ship. Did I mention we aren't city lovers?

Bridgetown is so named because there are three bridges one after another in the center of town.

A WWI memorial in the center of Bridgetown.

Dapper policmen keeping the streets of Bridgetown safe.

A pretty blue building. I saw the sign, which said something about "Book making", and thought, "Ah, what a cute publishing house!" Dave informed me that it is a bookie place (and not the Barnes and Noble kind). Oh, well.

St. Lucia

2009-01-17T16:32:00.019-05:00

St. Lucia is one of our favorite islands of the trip (that, and St. Maarten). We loved our tour! It was almost 7hrs. long, but we saw a lot of the island, and our tour guide was fun. A lot of the roads on St. Lucia are VERY steep (photos don't really do justice, but I tried). I did a lot of praying on that tour! At the end, we stopped at a restaurant high up in the mountains and had a creole lunch, complete with free rum punch.

St. Lucia is like the epitome of a lush, tropical island. Our tour guide was constantly pointing out to us avocado trees, mango trees, banana trees, nutmeg trees, almond trees, etc. You felt as if you could survive a long time if you had been shipwrecked there ages ago. When we first arrived, it was rainy, but the rain never lasted longer than 10-15 minutes before stopping and then the sun would burst through the clouds. God even gave us a rainbow to complete it all. :)

Really steep roads!!

Dave and I, at a scenic overlook at the beginning of our tour of St. Lucia.

A view of the port city, Castries, from the overlook.

Baby bananas.

The bananas had bags on them to help protect them from pests. The holes in the bags and the blue color are to help them from ripening too fast. Did you know only one large bunch of bananas grows on each tree?

Our driver Samuel, and the weaver.

The man weaving and selling bananas.

A fish the man wove for me. :)

A woman washing clothes by the creekside.

Nutmeg trees were all over the place.

Gorgeous!

A steel drum band, for our listening pleasure. :)

A whole lotta bamboo!

Rats.

The waterfall at Diamond Botanical Gardens.

I cannot remember what this flower is, but it is lovely nonetheless. :)

A beautiful hummingbird in the gardens.

More St. Lucia

2009-01-17T16:18:00.006-05:00

One of the places we stopped at was the La Soufriere Volcano. Once upon a time, they allowed people to actually go down that steaming, hissing, bubbling area and walk around. A tour guide a few years back stopped that, though, by stomping on the ground (why, I don't know...), and the ground crumbled under him, dropping him into the boiling mud and water down below. Thankfully, he did not die from that, but, alas, that is why we aren't allowed to go down there! The tour guide showed us a pipe where water was coming out, and it looked like someone was drawing a bath. The steam was pouring out of it! The only negative about this was that it smelled strongly of sulpher/rotten eggs. The tour guides told us if it ever stopped sending out steam, then that is the time to leave the island because it is going to blow!

The Pitons, symbol of St. Lucia.

View from the restaurant we had lunch at on St. Lucia.

Marigot Bay, St. Lucia.

St. Maarten

2009-01-17T15:47:00.022-05:00

This was one of our favorite islands on the whole trip. It was just neat and pretty and, hey, you can can't beat hitting up two countries in one stop! The island of Sint Maarten-St. Martin is the smallest area of land which two countries own a part of. The French side is a bit bigger than the Dutch, but who's counting? The Dutch side uses the Netherlands Antilles Guilder and the French side uses the Euro, but they take U.S. Dollars, too, of course. The whole place was beautiful and we had wonderful weather while there.

We took a "See and Sea Tour", where we boarded a bus and took about an hour tour around the island. Then, we drove to the French side and got on a semi-submersible boat for a tour of the sea. The only complaint was we didn't have enough time on the island!

One of the more interesting things we tried on the island was the guavaberry liqueur. Yum!

The duty-free shopping area in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, where we came ashore first.

A coconut palm.

Our ship is on the right and looks smaller, but it is just moored back a bit farther.

Workers were always doing repairs on our ship. These are some of the bravest guys, I think. They were bobbing about on a metal raft with these huge poles with paint rollers on them, painting the side of the ship!

This sign is all that separates the Dutch and the French sides of Sint Maarten-St. Martin.

An old sugar cane plantation house on the French side.

An old church on the French side.

A pasture on the French side.

The area where the boat was moored.

Dave, me, and our friends above deck as the boat started out.

We went on a semi-submersible boat out to a little coral reef to see what marine life was out there. You sat above water for about 10 minutes, then they told you to walk down a set of stairs, and sit on benches with glass surrounding you. You could then see out on all sides. It was pretty interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it if you get seasick! I don't normally get seasick, but that sure tested me. I was happy to get out!

Diver feeding the fish for a "photo op".

Diver with a sea urchin. The striped fish there are called "Sergeant Majors"-how cute!

Our cruise ship.

Formal Night

2009-01-17T15:33:00.008-05:00

We had a couple of formal nights on the cruise. It was fun to get all dressed up! The particular cruise line we went on, Celebrity, did not allow shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, flip-flops, etc in the evening at all, which was a nice touch. You had a few people who did not follow the rules, but, overall, everyone spiffed up for the evenings and it was very glamourous.

Fancy!

Our table.

A larger view of the main restaurant.

Everyone at our table.

Our waiter, Ottoneil, from Guatemala, with our Baked Alaska.

Not the best photo, but it shows the glitz in the casino. It literally hurt my eyes everytime we walked through there (and we had to to get to our restaurant!) I told Dave it is like "Ocean's Eleven". :)

Waiting for The Naturals to sing.

Dave and Alex with "Brad Pitt". :)

The Naturals

2009-01-17T15:25:00.005-05:00

While on the cruise, we had the pleasure of listening to an a capella group called The Naturals. I love a capella singing anway, but these guys actually interacted with the audience and made it very fun. We ended up going almost every night, which got us noticed by the group. Our friend Alex was expecially noticed, as he almost always showed up with a huge bottle of water. One of the singers, Michael, singled him out and from then on worked Alex and his water into their songs. It was very hilarious! It would be great if these guys came out with a cd some day...

The Naturals doing their "rooster song".

Michael with Alex's glasses. :)

Michael, Shawn, Scott, and Rob.

Back in Port-Ft. Lauderdale

2009-01-17T15:21:00.003-05:00

I was able to get a few photos of the sun coming up on the last day of our trip, as we pulled back into Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

2009-01-17T15:11:00.007-05:00

Here are a few photos of our quiet little Christmas together. Every year, I try to take some photos of the kids together. With the addition of each child, the logistics of photo taking have gotten harder to say the least. I usually just madly snap about 30 photos then pick the best one or two. Trust me, the rest of these looked like blurs with eyeballs in the middle of them.

See what I mean? I give up! Ah, well, these kind of photos are more fun in my opinion than professional ones any day. One of my grandmothers (who is now deceased), told me she always liked the candid photos I would send of our family better than the professional ones. I think most people feel that way!

One of my favorite presents. :)

Rachel being a good mama to her new toy.

Stephen and his "lomster", a favorite gift from grammy and grampy. :)

Rachel overjoyed with her bird that plays (relentlessly, I might add) "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".

Rachel

2009-01-17T14:59:00.006-05:00

When I went to get the mail out front one day, I noticed Rachel was getting ready to follow me. I grabbed my camera and decided to take some photos of her reactions to the open door, noises outside, etc. I also love using natural sunlight to take photos-that was a bonus! :)

She is getting too big!

A motorcycle decided to drive by at that time, and scared Rachel. She will get a concerned look on her face, start fussing, and stomp from foot to foot until the threat is gone.

Mwwwwaaaa!

Safe back inside...

Dudette

2009-01-14T22:56:00.001-05:00

Engineer

2009-01-14T22:51:00.004-05:00

Matthew came across a box of special Legos Dave had as a child a month ago. They sort of look like K'Nex, and you can build all sorts of things with them. There is even a little air pump that comes with them! Matthew can spends hours with these things...

Sickos

2009-01-14T22:41:00.005-05:00

About a week before Dave and I went on vacation (and Dave's stepmom and halfsister came to watch the kids), the kids came down with colds. Children can look so miserable when they are sick, can't they? At the same time, I was silently thankful for the relative calm that sickness brought to the house. All the kids wanted was juice and Cheerios and fruit and videos, which I gladly gave in to. As I type this, the sickness is a far off memory and all is well once again. Another thing to praise: healthy children that bounce back so easily from illness.

Timothy felt miserable. All he wanted to do was suck on his fingers and cuddle with his blanket, A.K.A. "Soft One". I would have given that look, too, if someone took my photo when I felt like that!

All Rachel wanted to do was suck on her sippy cup. She wasn't too fond of the juice inside, though...

Rachel giving a smile. :)

Need a Better Deal on Auto Insurance?

2009-01-14T22:36:00.003-05:00

I think I might be able to help. ;) We caught this guy right outside our front door. When Dave picked him up, he was a medium tan color. After we put him in the glass jar, he turned a bright green! It took less than 15 minutes for him to change. We were amazed-we didn't know that they turned colors. What a bunch of Yankees! The kids all wanted to keep it, but we decided we had better let him go, as he would probably die inside there with no food and not much air. I think I heard him say an accented "Thank you!" as he took off into our bushes out front...

When Will It Be Winter?

2009-01-14T22:26:00.007-05:00

These are sights from our backyard this past December 2008. Now, don't hate us. Take comfort in the fact that the air force sends us where it wants to and we'll probably be freezing our bums off next winter as you all are as I type. For now, though, we'll take what sunshine and warmth we can get! :D

Rachel horsing around and Timothy emerging from the boys' "secret cave" they found in the backyard.

Rachel sits just like I used to as a baby.

Matthew showing off interesting berries he found on some bushes (yes, we warned them all NOT to eat anything outside!)

Rachel loves to hug things. :)

Flower Pot Farmers

2009-01-14T22:16:00.005-05:00

Since we don't have our nice, big garden anymore (boo hoo!!) to grow yummy things in, we have to resort to using mama's flower pots. This time, the kids took some dry pinto beans and planted them. They grew like crazy! We had a string trellis for them to grow on (I think I posted photos of that before). Then, harvest time came and all the kids circled around Dave very excitedly to see what was in the pods. It was fun for all!

Here are some homegrown pinto beans. Note the "watchful eye" of Timothy!

Matthew carefully opening a bean pod.

Timothy opening his bean pod.

Stephen and his prize bean!

Random Kid Shots...

2009-01-14T22:11:00.007-05:00

Timothy rubbing Rachel's hair, which usually leads to this...

Silly Stephen!

Matthew and Stephen hamming it up for the camera...

Larry, Moe, and...

2009-01-14T22:07:00.004-05:00

I just LOVE Rachel's curls. I really hope she doesn't lose them. I think I might cry! :)

The Helper Elf

2009-01-14T22:04:00.002-05:00

Rachel is getting more and more to be a big helper around the house. She helps pick up toys, grabs a kitchen towel and cleans up messes on the floor, and helps sort laundry.

I am so thankful for all her little "helps" every day. :)

Slimed

2009-01-14T21:47:00.004-05:00

The Indian stood no chance...

On a rainy, dreary day, I found a long-ago, tucked away recipe that brought a good hour of joy to the kids. Slime. Dyed with a ton of food dye and made with a secret ingredient: psyllium powder.

I had a tiny bag of it on hand for a raw food recipe for pumpkin pie- an experiment I have still not braved. So, I decided to use it for the slime experiement. It worked great! It just doesn't store well (which I learned, unfortunately, the hard way...)

Unless you have gone to a health food store and purchased the powder (like I did), the name you will find it under is Metamucil. Yes, you read that right. Metamucil. Just don't think about it too much and all will be well. :D

Kid Shots

2008-11-06T16:07:00.004-05:00

Every once in awhile, the kids like to ask if they can take a photo on my camera. I usually let them, at least if I am right there with them. It is always interesting to see how it turns out.

The Spectator

2008-11-06T15:59:00.005-05:00

Rachel was the only fan in the stands during the boys' race car driving. Well, I was there, too, but I was the photographer. That doesn't count...

She was actually quite annoyed that the car chased her around, and swatted it each time it got near her. I think the last picture says it all. She needs a little white flag to raise! :D

I LOVE those curls!!

New Finds

2008-11-06T15:50:00.007-05:00

Matthew has wanted a remote control car for who knows how long. Last weekend, we went to a ton of yard sales and Dave came across this roadster. :) We got it home, dutifully charged up the battery for a few hours and when the kids woke from their naps, decided to test it out in our driveway.

There was just one problem.

The rotten thing only goes backwards and side to side, but not forward! :( Trying to make lemons into lemonade, I casually remarked that they can pretend the back is the front... They honestly could not care at this point, 1. because they are young enough to not care and 2. because it zips around and makes noise. For any little boy, that is about all it takes.

What more do we expect for $3? ;)

The car didn't want to stay in the driveway!

Loose Toof

2008-10-27T12:39:00.003-04:00

Matthew is very proud of the fact he is now missing FOUR teeth! Here are some photos of his gap-tooth smile:

Rachel

2008-10-27T12:33:00.007-04:00

Big girl at the big table. This only lasted one time, as she is really too small to reach her plate well at this point. It was a very messy experiment!

Couch potato bookworm.

Homeschool Projects- Salt Dough Pyramids and Paddle Dolls

2008-10-27T12:29:00.007-04:00

Here are some other projects to go with our Tapestry of Grace curriculum. I thought making small pyramids would be a little easier than a huge map. Stephen also made an "Egyptian gingerbread man" (hmmm) and they helped roll dough into balls so mama could make beads.

The paddle dolls are supposedly what Moses (or any child in ancient Egyptian times) would have played with. I doubt they were made out of cardboard back then, though! :) The one with green eyes is wearing glasses, according to Matthew.

Homeschool Projects-Edible Egypt

2008-10-27T12:16:00.010-04:00

We're doing Year 1 Tapestry of Grace homeschool curriculum (along with pk 4/5 Sonlight!), and they learned all about ancient Egypt. One of the crafts was to make a salt dough map of Egypt. I thought that was an awful lot of salt and mess to go through for something that we can't bring with us when we move. So, I decided to make edible Egypt "maps" that the kids could "paint" the Nile and cities on with frosting. Chocolate chips were the pyramids. Mmmm... Everyone liked that idea, even Rachel!

The boys busily building the Nile, the desert and the cities...

Rachel approves!

The boys busy decorating their sugar cookie maps of Egypt.

Rachel enjoying a few "pyramids".

The finished project and the happy builders!

Homeschool Projects-Botany

2008-10-27T12:08:00.006-04:00

This is Matthew's seed collection for his homeschool co-op botany class. He is to collect 18 different seeds to go in each egg carton hole. This photo is a bit old, as we only have two more holes to fill. We have kiwi seeds (ridiculously small!), tomato, squash, popcorn, fennel, apple, pear, peach, etc. The most interesting one so far is a persimmon seed. Someone brought those to our church for the last fellowship meal, so we snagged a couple to use the seeds.

These are some pinto beans that we started up at home after Matthew learned all about the different parts of bean plants at co-op. This photo is a bit old, too, by only a few weeks! If anyone knows how beans grow, a couple weeks make a huge difference! It looks like a jungle near our side window. We're anxiously awaiting the first bean to grow on it...

Wewahitchka Bee Farm Trip

2008-10-02T23:03:00.017-04:00

We set out early this morning for Wewahitchka, FL to visit a bee farm called Smiley Apiaries. I just love the name of the town! Wewahitchka, Wewahitchka... It must be Indian. It took about 45minutes for us to arrive there. We had to wait a bit while the owner Donald Smiley was conducting another tour for the first group of homeschool students. The kids started getting pretty itchy waiting around and then Stephen and Matthew started the "pee dance", so we had to sneak off behind a bush and take care of that! Never a dull moment.

The talk Donald gave was very interesting. He said, "Everyone has heard of Tupelo honey before!" I sure hadn't, but am very glad I got introduced to it. It isn't cheap, but it is SO good. When Dave had some tonight, he described it as having almost a kick to it, as if there was some spice. It comes from Tupelo trees, which only grow in that area.

As Donald opened the door to the first room of our tour, I struggled to get the double stroller in. Someone shut the door right as I looked up at a window and saw the biggest "ball" of bees I had ever seen! What is it southerners say? "Well, I just about lay me down and die!" It was all I could do to take a photo for documentation that I survived. I am not a big bee fan, you can see! I am, however, starting to appreciate honeybees a lot more. I never realized just how many crops they pollinate. They are very important to our survival, although I think I will let other people tend the hives!

We went into another room where we could see the process of extraction. The boys loved to see the pool of honey in a large tray underneath. A layer of honeycomb covered the top (it rises to the top as the honey cools), but the owner brushed it away so we could see the thick honey underneath. The honey they sell is 100% raw, which means it isn't heated above 86F, in order to not kill the pollen.

We finished off the tour in another section of the warehouse, where they handed out free honeysticks and another man showed large photos of the bees while he gave more information on the whole process. We had a good time there, even though I think if the kids were just a bit older they would've appreciated it even more.

Part of the beehive, where the honeycomb is.

Mr. Smiley, showing the honeycomb to us.

One of the kids showing off a "tulle hat".

Now this is more like it! Full body armor!

Tell me you wouldn't want to run, too??

How can they just stand still?!

Inside honey extracting room.

Man loading honeycomb to be pushed through extractor.

They recycle the beeswax here to sell for candles, etc.

Honeycomb being pushed through machine.

Extractor. It reminded me of a huge barbeque grill.

Pool of honey under extractor. Can you see it coming out a tube on each end?

Liquid gold!

Sweet!

2008-10-02T22:57:00.005-04:00

In preparation for a bee farm fieldtrip (mom and Gary, you will be surprised I even entertained the thought!), a woman at co-op who keeps bees allowed us to have some chunks of honeycomb. We examined it first, marvelling at the fact that bees can make such perfect little hexagons-no rulers or anything! :)

We then cut off small pieces and chewed on them, letting the honey gush out into our mouths. Matthew didn't like the honeycomb, but loved the honey. Both Stephen and Timothy swallowed the whole kit and caboodle after munching on it for awhile. Rachel got a few licks of straight honey. It felt to me like chewing on those wax lips, so I sympathized with Matthew! The honey was tasty, though...

Sunrise

2008-10-02T22:54:00.002-04:00

I got up with Dave a few days ago and was greeted with this about 6 a.m. Beautiful, isn't it?

Schooling

2008-09-29T16:50:00.005-04:00

Sometimes, when Matthew is doing a project of particular interest, all the boys crowd around him at the table to see and/or "help out". I sure don't expect any of the younger ones to do schooling and Matthew is still quite young to be really pushed. I am attempting to find the right balance between pushing enough and too much. I think we're doing alright so far! I have been playing around with different types of schooling to fit what Matthew needs best. After all, it isn't so much how I learn best or how DAVE learns best, but what is going to get through to Matthew. Right now, Sonlight appeals to me a lot, because we are great lovers of books and SL requires quite a bit of reading. We could sit on the couch half the day reading! We are already going through SL's p4/5 curriculum and I think I am going to order the kindergarten curriculum very soon, as well as their science curriculum as the kids all love science. The best part of Sonlight is that you don't really need to go by "grade" as it is made up of really great books that appeal to a wide age range. I can get the K curriculum and teach both Stephen and Matthew at the same time.

Part of me really, really likes classical education and Tapestry of Grace. I do own year 1 of that, and we have been doing it, but I sort of feel bogged down, teaching one area of history for such a long stretch (at least at this point!). I mean, if I myself am getting itchy learning about ancient Egypt for the second or third week, how do my kids feel? I don't have energy to make an Egyptian feast or clothing at this point! Maybe it will change later, so I am definitely keeping that option open.

I just realize I probably lost half of my relatives with that diatribe! ;) For my friends, how is it going with your homeschooling?

Rachel and Daddy

2008-09-29T16:44:00.007-04:00

Rachel is the cuddliest baby we have had so far. She gives the best, tightest little baby squeezes, and she loves her daddy.

Kids Bein' Kids

2008-09-29T16:38:00.008-04:00

Here are some random shots around the house of our little monkeys. :)

Big Girl!

Cookin' up some trouble!

Playing nicely together. I needed documentation of this!

This photo is too cute. In the not to distant future, their legs will (hopefully!) be much longer than mine and I won't see this anymore. I better capture it now... :)

I just love the sticker...and the cheesy grin!

Timothy had to join in on the sticker fun.