The EXPO show and sale is over. The kids had a lot of fun and placed well in their classes. Justus Wallace – pig farmer After the confirmation class, where Justus placed 1st in the Yorkshire division, Whitey went back to his pen and stretched himself out with his head in the food bowl. I guess he was wore out. It must be hard work being a prize pig. Audrey zipped around on her bike for 3 days. I was so proud of Serenity. With her being on the shy side, she has had to work on this. This year she went into the ring exhibiting confidence. She won Reserve Best of Class for lamb confirmation. Sale day arrived and it was time to…
2013 EXPO Show & Sale
Monday, April 29th, 2013 at
6:00 am
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The Ending of Our Trip
Monday, March 25th, 2013 at
7:33 am
The Sunday after the wedding, our gracious hosts showed more hospitality and had a luncheon with all the out-of-towners. It was lovely and although they live in small quarters, it just shows once again that you don’t have to be in a big place to be accommodating. You can do it and people will still love it. Monday most everyone left (except for us) and so we waved my sister and her family, as well as Seth the wanderer (my son), who went home with them for a week and doesn’t come home till tomorrow. Time with family and friends… is always delightful… Happily, our next reunion will be in May for Zachary’s wedding. Our last day in Michigan was Tuesday and Russell decided we…
The Wedding Day
Friday, March 22nd, 2013 at
7:46 am
The wedding day that Austin & Claire had waited for so long such a short time finally dawned and outside all was covered with a fresh layer of snow. Beautiful but cold. Brrr. When we arrived at the church, Claire was there waiting for the moment that she would slip her wedding dress on, even though that was several hours away. But we had work to do. Although they were having a catered meal, my sister wanted to have appetizers while the guests were waiting for the photographers to finish taking pictures. This is one of my sister’s. She’s a pro at getting things done in the kitchen. My niece who read the book Eat that Frog months ago and hasn’t stopped since. Seriously. …
Habit Training in Ourselves and Our Children – Part II
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 at
3:56 am
How does one go about the forming of a habit both in ourselves and our children? Start with focusing on only one thing that you desire to change. In a famous article published in 1983, Anya Bateman tells how she changed her life by focusing on only one thing she wanted to change and then doing it for 21 days. For some of the habits she was trying to form, she kept a journal of her thoughts and excuses and anything else that came up that made her not want to keep her agreement with herself. While working on forming a habit, we must be ever careful not to let ourselves or our children fail in the keeping of them. We must be vigilant. I know this firsthand. …
A Fun Hello Kitty Party
Monday, January 7th, 2013 at
10:00 am
I finally got my act together and gave Audrey her 7th birthday party. Her birthday was at Thanksgiving time but you know how busy the holiday season can be, so missy didn’t get one until this past weekend. It was her very first birthday party she’s had where she got to invite friends and she was so excited, not to mention helpful in the planning. She chose the theme Hello Kitty. I found plenty of inspiration online for the party and then this great Hello Kitty birthday printables kit for FREE by Shery K Designs was perfect. The printables are adorable and the variety of items to use are just great. These little favor bags were made by printing off one of Shery’s designs and then cutting…
A Blessed Thanksgiving Holiday
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 at
9:54 am
Thanksgiving for me always brings to mind Family Friends Food Thankfulness for the many ways we are Blessed This year we flew to Pennsylvania for 10 days and spent Thanksgiving with my sister and her family as well as mom and dad. We had some interesting flight times. We woke from our beds at 3:00 to catch our 6 a.m.morning special flight and would have spent the rest of the day in a fog except the airlines was kind enough to arrange a 5 hour layover for us in Chicago. So we decided to see if we could get all 6 of us people’s that were flying into the United Club lounge on 2 passes. At first it was a no-go but then the…
Make Yourself Attractive to Your Child
Monday, October 22nd, 2012 at
1:14 pm
Parenting is not easy. I have always said it is the toughest job in the world. But then when you throw boys into that mix of raising children, it can make for some hair pulling times. Lately, I’ve really been wanting to see some change in me. I don’t want to be a fault finding momma but instead one who encourages and supports my children. I’ve been praying and asking God to help me change. I felt one day to watch To Train Up a Child by Michael Pearl. I love his insights into child training. Anyways, I was so inspired by what he had to say concerning raising teenagers. It really spoke to me and I want to share it with you in case…
I’ve Been Converted
Friday, October 19th, 2012 at
11:39 am
I thought I had it good. I love my travel trailer with its slide-out but I was converted this year. Converted to camping in a canvas wall tent. (photo from Montana Canvas) Although a travel trailer certainly has some pros, I can only think of one of thing that it does that I cannot do the same in a wall tent. What I love about the wall tent. the cozy rustic charm the canvas walls give wood burning stove sleeping accommodations & kitchen under one roof 2 tables can be left in place w/ chairs even when we have our sleeping bags and kitchen set up When I stayed in my travel trailer, there were always issues of running out of water (with running water,…
We Made it Home by a Thread – Our Trip to Zion & Other Places
Friday, October 5th, 2012 at
7:53 am
There’s one thing on kids’ minds when they go camping and that’s Fire Early the next morning, Justus and Audrey got right to that. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the early Indians and pioneers who had to make gathering and cooking their food as a main part of the day. So much work! I wonder if they ever thought of becoming more organized and scheduling their days better? Somehow I just can’t picture that. Can you? After awakening from a cozy slumber and hearing the quiet sounds of twigs being snapped and the murmurs of Zachary, Justus and Audrey, I emerged from the tent to this gorgeous sight. Do you enjoy cooking when you camp? I do. I get…
A Look at Artist Appreciation at Our House
Monday, August 13th, 2012 at
7:33 am
Did you all start school yet? Every year I make our homeschooling schedule and determine that we’re going to really stick to it this year. Then unexpected happenings occur and the schedule has to be thrown out. Over and over and over again. :) But even if I don’t stick to “the schedule” completely, I still find it useful. We homeschool year-round but I think it’s nice to have a definite day to say we’ve started. The kids look forward to the fresh beginning, too. Here are my students this year. and Wesley… It was a very hectic and busy week for me since I was a part of many of the subjects. We had Tuesday Tea (you can read here about our poetry tea’s). The kids…
How to Throw a Party in a Hotel Suite
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 at
6:41 am
Have you ever thrown a party in a hotel? I have given one about once every 2 years. You see, our homeschool convention is held in Phoenix and they also do a jr. high graduation ceremony on Friday night… usually. This year, the graduation was on a Saturday, so we had to throw our party on Friday night… in honor of Serenity. We rented a suite and then got bumped up (courtesy of the hotel) to a hospitality suite. It was lovely and nice and perfect for the occasion. But let me show you pictures, since that’s the best way to “tell” you. At home you do as much as possible. It’s not fun trying to do it in a hotel! About 2 hours before…
Do You Have a Quiet, Easy-Going Child? Making Them Feel Special
Monday, July 23rd, 2012 at
1:46 pm
Congratulations to the sweetest of daughters, my Serenity. I feel a little bit amazed today. Our sweet daughter Serenity has graduated from the 8th grade and will now be embarking on her high school education. This weekend at our homeschool convention, Serenity went through the commencement program that they plan for 7th-9th graders. And you know what? She loved it!! She enjoyed it so much that she wishes she could do it again. Now that’s a big surprise coming from her because she’s quiet and doesn’t like attention focused on herself. After seeing Serenity’s reaction to her graduation, I was reminded me of a story Florence Littauer tells about her mother. Florence’s mother was a Phlegmatic, according to Florence’s division of personality types. In case you don’t know what phlegmatic…
Canoeing the Pitt River
Monday, June 18th, 2012 at
3:04 pm
More trip photos! I hope you’re not too tired of hearing about it just yet. After 4 days of travelling we arrived in British Columbia, Canada which was our intended destination from the beginning. We spent the day with this couple who gave so generously of their time to us and who shared with us many wonderful stories & testimonies of God’s amazing grace & power. After our time with this delightful couple, we headed for our host’s home. We would be staying with two special families that we had met when they had visited us here in Arizona. Eric & Kylie have been to visit several times and they really wanted to show us a good time for the 2 days we would be there with them. The…
Butterfly the Pig and One Apron for the Gents and Another for the Ladies
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 at
9:34 pm
4-H EXPO has officially begun as of today and will end on Saturday after the auction where the kids sell their animals or in Serenity’s case, an item she has sewn. She was raising a lamb if you remember, but sadly that ended abruptly. Wesley spent some time grooming his prize pig. This prize pig is not called Wilbur because it’s a girl. Her name is Butterfly. Awww… That’s exactly what comes to my mind when I look at her – a butterfly. Can’t you see the resemblance? He’s been brushing her the last few days with a brush because they get this scaly dandruff stuff that doesna look so good in the show ring. Judges don’t like to see it. You don’t want to try to brush it all…
Can a 20 Year Old Young Man Work Full-Time and Still Cook? Find Out
Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at
12:45 pm
What a great visit we had this weekend with Zachary, family and friends. Zach’s surviving very well the bachelor life. He’s living in our travel trailer on his own and makes himself supper almost every single night. No, it’s not Campbell’s Soup or Ramen Noodles, but real food! He’s actually using the Internet to find recipes online. He gets it all going in the Crock Pot and off to work he goes. I tasted some of his leftovers and it was good stuff. His go-to spot on the internet is Recipes.com. This is the TEAM that he works with (his 2 cousins on the left, then his boss and then Zach himself). I just loved watching them all pull into the yard, in 4 different vehicles where they have…
Aaron & Emily’s Wedding Part I
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 at
7:59 am
Hello, ladies. I hear some of you are wanting pictures of the wedding like right now and details. Sorry to keep you waiting. lol I’ll do my best to give you a good overview of the wedding. But first we must start at the beginning of the weekend with the tarts I made. No? That’s not what you’re wanting to see? Enough food pictures already? Okaaaay, if you insist. I shall begin with the rehearsal dinner since that was so lovely. The Hotel St. Michael was built in 1901. It faces the courthouse square that is so charming in downtown Prescott. Some of its more well-known guests includes Theodore Roosevelt, Doc Holiday and Billy the Kid. I have never eaten at Hotel St. Michael’s bistro but if the…
A Tea Party Princess, a Skunk and a Home Video in the Works
Monday, January 30th, 2012 at
11:27 pm
Audrey got to go a little girl’s birthday tea party. Serenity fixed her hair and did such a cute job. I am one thankful mother to have a girl who knows how to work with hair! Aren’t these little girls adorable? In other news here at the ranch, we had another skunk tear this open and stay the night, and maybe the next night and who know’s… we’re not for sure where it is at this point! Thankfully, it’s not anything like the last experience we had with a skunk under our house. (if you haven’t read that post, it’s a must read) And lastly, we are having a good time with a friend of the boy’s visiting. They are making a home video that…
Then We Had a 2nd Christmas
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at
9:21 pm
After Christmas with my parents, we had a 3 day Christmas get-together with Russell’s family. (We usually spend one Christmas with my family and the following year, we have Christmas with my in-laws but like I said in my last post, things were different this year.) There were 49 of us I believe. My father-in-law, who is 81, is sitting in the chair and is a complete miracle after being ran over by a good Samaritan who was stopping to help him when his vehicle broke down. Orin is the latest addition to the family… and absolutely adorable! And… at the time… the latest couple who is to be wed. but since then there’s been another engagement! Dinner was a lovely affair and delicious. What are…
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