Daybook Time

A day late cause I had birthday business to put up yesterday!!

FOR TODAY January 20, 2009...

Outside my window... bright sunshine on frosty grass - very sparkly and pretty!!!

I am thinking...about chickens and the new chicken coop we're planning - brainstorming about where we can get some recycled building materials

I am thankful for...a God who is in charge in spite of big changes that are out of the control of ordinary people

From the learning rooms...continuing our unit on the War of 1812 and amphibians - we're reading Justin Morgan had a Horse

From the kitchen...smoothies with homemade yogurt, strawberries picked last summer, bananas, spinach and orange juice

I am wearing...Skirt and warm stretchy green shirt and newer slippers

I am creating...crocheting my first thread doily!! Really fun!

I am going...to take one of my boys to church for Bible study with his youth pastor

I am reading...a library book - can't remember the name of it - it's okay - clean - just something to read before I sleep at night

I am hoping...the change in the White House doesn't cause too much change :0) I'm not one for change - I like things to stay the same

I am hearing...Baby girl fussing - she's waking up from her nap

Around the house...There are toys all over the living room - the little ones are playing kitchen - I have eaten tons of play food this morning :0)!!

One of my favorite things...the kids all playing pretend together - I love listening in - they say the funniest things and I just LOVE kid giggles!!

A few plans for the rest of the week...just a regular week - with the regular running around - I like regular weeks

Here is picture thought I am sharing: The kids got out their paints and spent the afternoon painting up a storm - my refrigerator is decorated with new pictures and Daddy's office has new artwork adorning the walls

To see more fun Day book entries you can go to http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday!!!

This week marks my oldest child's 19th birthday. I guess I should no longer say child - his is a young man - and a fine one at that. I am so proud of him. He is a Godly young person with a great heart. I don't see much of him right now - he works over 40 hours a week and also is taking a full load of college credits. He is one busy person - but I wouldn't have it any other way - he is single minded in pursuit of his goals and dreams - he contributes to our family and our church and most of all he loves God.

Tim accomplished his Eagle Scout rank right before he graduated from high school - here are a few of his Eagle Court of Honor pictures:

His Eagle medal:

Court of Honor Ceremony

Snuggling baby sister (and doing school work - multi-tasking at it's best!)

Happy Birthday -Timothy. We love you and are incredibly proud of you!! May God bless you on your journey into independence.

Catalogs

I love seed catalogs!! I hate seed catalogs!! Actually, I really love them but they start arriving in my mailbox right after Christmas. And they are so beautiful with their colorful pictures of veggies and flowers. This is the problem - if I read them too soon then winter seems way too long - so I hang on to them until the gray rainy weather is just about to make me bananas. Then I dig in and read about Kentucky Wonder vs. Blue Lake Pole beans, Cherry Belle radishes and Amish Paste Tomatoes. I get out my graph paper and draw diagrams and make lists and in my dreams my garden provides all our needs for a family of ten for an entire year. I love it!! Oh the temptation!!! I can't read them yet. Spring is still too far off - and my favorite catalog came this week! Well, I did give in and read a little bit of my favorite. I didn't read the seed part - just the chicken part. My sweetie has said that we are fixing up our chicken coop which has sadly been empty for a time after a very naughty raccoon demolished our flock. So I have been reading about Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds and Jersey Giants and dreaming about chickens and ducks the last few days!! A little while longer and I can read all the rest.

Do you think she might be teething? :0) Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Christine

Award!

I guess I got an award - from my friend Simply over at Simply Stork. She gave me the "Marie Antoinette Keeping it Real Award":

So this award is given to bloggers who tell the good and the bad and everything in-between. Thank you my friend. So I am supposed to pass this award along (I had to ask Simply what a blogger is supposed to do with something like this :0). I am passing it along to my new friend over at Knights and Maidens Gathering and to my friend over at Ross Country Cottage.

In the spirit of telling to good and the bad I'm going to show you what my dining room looked like earlier today:

Yuck!! The laundry pile is simply out of control!!!!

So after a lot of time and work and Esther willing to spend part of her day sitting in her play toy:
I finally got my house looking like this
And this is my reward - playing with chubby baby girl who has found that toes make very good toys:0) hee hee hee
This is my tip for the day - not that I'm an authority on much - but ten people in a home can generate a lot of laundry especially people of the infant sort and the teen sort!!! So after reading tons on laundry organization and creating schedules etc. I discovered something: those are all great and I do like keeping to a schedule but the real key to laundry success is one thing - JUST DO IT!! :0) (I'm preaching to myself here, by the way :0)

Blessings (I'm off to reload the washer),

Christine

Simple Woman

FOR TODAY January 12, 2009...

Outside my window... gray skies, drizzle, the bare brown branches of my little maple

I am thinking...about my menus for the week

I am thankful for...my husband and his hard work - two jobs so I can stay home with the kids

From the learning rooms...starting our unit on the War of 1812 and amphibians

From the kitchen... homemade vanilla yogurt culturing - 4 quarts this time since we ran out last week

I am wearing...soft corduroys and soft green sweater, beat-up slippers (I think there's a hole in the toe - one feels funny)

I am creating...just working on my blanket

I am going...to Costco with my hubby for a date - and the fill up the pantry

I am reading...Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith - really cute book - a relaxing read

I am hoping...to get back to exercising this week

I am hearing...A Mr. Monk dvd playing in the living room - my son gave me a series for Christmas. It's a fun show.

Around the house...Still working on that laundry pile - I'm thinking that I need to get some new houseplants - maybe a flowering violet to cheer up the place on these gray days

One of my favorite things...Squealing babies!!! Esther has discovered her voice!

A few plans for the rest of the week...the big guys have a snow retreat with church this weekend - I'm sure that will involve several errands with me as the taxi driver.

Here is picture thought I am sharing: Sam wasn't to sure about the lavender smell when we picked from this field this summer - but I can say I sure enjoy the scent now in my room from my dried flowers. :0)
For more Simple Woman Daybook entries you can go to: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Blessings,
Christine

What a mess!!!

Our neighborhood looked like this just a little while ago. Then the jet stream changed practically overnight and brought our winter storms from Hawaii instead of Alaska. So we went from this:


To this in hours - it was weird!!


But that means that rivers that looked like this:


Now look like this (and very much worse - we just didn't want to get in a place where we were stuck!!) BTW the bridge we took that first picture from is now completely under water!! Could not even get close to it there was so much water!!!


And local farmlands that looked like this:

Now look like this (the picture can't show how far that water reaches!! As far as the eye can see)
Whole towns are dealing with water where it isn't supposed to be. Everyone to some degree has been affected - whether it is dealing with limited transportation, extended company (as we had) because people couldn't get home due to quickly rising rivers (our niece just was able to get home yesterday) or homes filled with water. What a mess!! The joys of living in a beautiful area filled with lots of rivers streams and creeks does have its problems at times! This also shows that we are really at the mercy of things far more powerful that us even if we like to think we are in charge. I'm so glad our family knows the One who is Most Powerful - the One who created water and weather and all things. The Amazing thing is - He knows me!!!!

Blessings,
Christine

P.S. We are in prayer for those who lost much in these storms - and will help any way we can!!!

Music Galore!!

After a nice break music lessons have begun again. So the instruments are out and kids are madly practicing (catching up :0).

The guitars are out - the big boys play these:

The drumming has resumed
The fiddling has started

All beautiful music - I enjoy all the music that is always going on in our house. Not being particularly musically talented myself I do truly enjoy listening. When Esther is bigger I will start my music lessons again as well. I am painfully learning to play the fiddle also. My fiddle is taking a short rest while Esther grows but then I will be back at it.

Irish Dance lessons have also restarted: Ruthie is doing so well!!

There are a lot of lessons going on in this house!! We have managed to combine fiddle, dance and guitar lessons with other homeschool activities to keep the running around to a minimum (which I'm glad for). Music is so worthwhile to learn!! I wonder what instruments will catch the fancy of the younger crowd?

Blessings,

Christine