Zoo Day, Hurray!

We took a trip to the zoo with our co-op friends, and we had such a fun time! The boys were most excited to see the new polar bear exhibit, especially since Joshua LOVES polar bears!

Joshua loved seeing Nakita! He listened intently as Miss D told him all about how he is 3 years old, just like Joshua! But Nakita weighs around 700lbs! Wow!

There was a mold of a polar bear paw print, and Joshua loved comparing his paw size to it! My little bear's paw is much smaller than a polar bear's!


We rode the carousel and then took a tram ride over to "Africa". We had snack time before heading out to see more animals.

This was the funniest looking pig I have ever seen! I wish I could have gotten a better picture of his silly ears!

We always have so much fun with our co-op friends. It is so much fun to learn and grow together.

With Love,

Read More

The Lord's Day

I know that every day is a blessing, and church days seem to often be extra full of blessings. I don't know if it is the fellowship, or the studying of God's Word during Sunday School, or the sermon, or the beautiful singing, but something about Sundays make me feel like I am getting a taste of what our real home in Heaven will be like.

The Grabers invited us over for dinner, along with the Bylers. It was just lovely to spend the afternoon together. Hannah served baked potatoes with a meat sauce and cheese and all sorts of toppings, garden tea, and a pumpkin custard for dessert. Delicious! Baby (oh, I suppose he is not "baby" anymore!) Jamie loved the potatoes!

The ladies chatted around the kitchen table, while the men visited in the living room, and the children played so happily outside. What a gorgeous day to run around barefoot! I so enjoyed the conversation about recipes and noodle making and weddings and all sorts of things. Sweet Martha is such a joy to be around, and I always love spending time with Hannah.

The sermon today was about Apostasy and how easy it is to slowly find yourself on the path there. It was really a great topic, and has given me much to think about.

I have a busy week ahead, so I suppose I should head to bed shortly! We are going to the zoo in the morning with our co-op friends.

In Christ's Love,

Read More

Chicken Feet

On Saturday I spent the day at one of my dear friend's house making chicken stock from chicken feet. Yes, you read that correctly...chicken feet.

My friend was blessed with an ice chest full of chicken feet from the farmer where she buys her chickens. Chicken feet are supposed to make the best chicken stock. She enlisted my help since this was a rather large (and somewhat unpleasant) task. It was such a joy to work together!

I must admit, the chicken feet are a bit...um....creepy. I actually was not bothered by all of them, but there were a handful of them that were just plain icky.

First we rubbed the feet with kosher salt, and then blanched them. We then put them in cold water in the sink.

Next came the hardest part...peeling the top layer of skin "stuff". It was tedious, and gross, but we had fun working, chatting and listening to uplifting music together.


After awhile, I hardly noticed we were even working on such a "less than pleasant" task. The company was so wonderful, and it always feels good to work on productive things like this.

After we peeled them, we had to cut off the talons. On second thought, that may have been the grossest part!

Once we finished with all of the "unpleasantness" of the first few steps, it was time to make the stock! We tried several different things. One pot we did just plain, another pot with herbs and garlic (that one smelled AMAZING), and this pot with carrots, onion, radishes, salt and peppercorn.

We ended spending the entire day working on this project, and still had more left to do, so I brought those home with me. They are now awaiting me in the garage refrigerator.

With Love,

Read More

Field Trip to Alldredge Orchard

Our homeschool co-op took a field trip to a local farm/orchard and it was a glorious time! The weather could not have been more beautiful!

Our day began with a lesson on honey bees, and how their hard work helps bring us delicious apples. They even had a honeycomb (inside of glass), so the children could see up close exactly what the bees are doing! The children got to try on a beekeepers hat! What fun!

After the bee lesson, they fed the pony and goats. Little Jamie was fascinated with the goats. Joshua loved feeding the pony.

Next we played with baby kittens. They were so sweet and the children all loved cuddling them!


And what would a Fall trip to a farm be without picking pumpkins?! Joseph was so excited to get his very own pumpkin! Jacob, of course, was one of the last children to finish picking a pumpkin because he had to find the exact perfect one...Joshua was too funny. All of the other children picked big ones, but he chose the tiniest little pumpkin. I couldn't figure out why until he later explained that all the big pumpkins were wet, but the tiny baby pumpkin was not wet or dirty, and he liked that.

After pumpkin picking, the children got out their rambunctious energy by climbing all over the hay bales. There was even a hay tunnel to explore!

The children were so excited for the hay ride! Well...most of them anyway. Joseph was a little afraid and decided he didn't want to go. So, I stayed back with my two little ones, while everyone else went on the hay ride. Apparently Jacob was buried in hay. Oh, what fun!


The grand finale of our field trip was getting to feed the chickens. The children were especially joyful over this part, because they have really missed having chickens.

What a wonderful day!

Through God's Abundant Blessings,
(and days like today those blessings are evermore apparent!)

Read More

Happy Birthday James!

Little James was so excited as soon as I walked around the corner with his cake. He seemed to immediately recognize that this cake was for HIM! One of Jamie's favorite things is to be sung to, so he was thrilled when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

As soon as I sat the cake in front of him he reached for the bright red frosting. Yum!


It didn't take him any time at all to figure out that birthday cake is quite good!

What a joyous time of sitting around the table singing hymns and celebrating the birth of our youngest blessing!

What fun to make a mess with the frosting! I think he could have played happily in the frosting for hours!


The older brothers made strands of beads for a present. Jamie loved them! He loves to touch the beads and feel the textures and look at the different colors. The beads are actually mostly to keep him occupied during church. He loves just touching each bead and looking at the colors...it keeps him happily entertained, and it's quiet. :)


The boys had fun playing together with Jamie's new set of blocks. What a wonderful birthday!

Love,

Read More