What we're up to...

It's a myth that with summer comes long, lazy afternoons and time spent reading a good novel. Our summer so far has been constant motion, either with farm projects that are waiting to be done, kids activities, the endless task of trying to grow food, or social obligations.  So many days I have thought "I should blog about this..." and I never stay awake long enough to make it happen! 

Food Supply: This summer will be the second year on this garden spot, so I am working extra-hard on keeping the weeding a priority this year.  Today we began enjoying strawberries that we have grown, and have been enjoying lettuce and radishes for weeks now. This week I made our first batch of rhubbarb blueberry jam.

 We planted 13 fruit trees and they are doing beautifully, and added to our raspberry, strawberry, and asparagus patches. My goal is to provide a majority of our fruit and vegetable supply for this year, and the best part is that it's all organic.  We also have our first batch of meatbirds ready to butcher, but every time we set a date to do it, it rains!  (And a wet chicken is just gross, so we keep postponing!)

Farms Projects- We continue to plug away at the to-do list for the farm.  Added a second stanchion for our newly freshened Jersey, Nipper; worked on fencing repairs, and cleaned up all the piles of junk laying around left over from the move (mostly branches and rocks), cleaning out buildings, and scraping up dirt from the cattle yards to put around the house to cover the clay and grow some grass. 

House Projects- Loren did a killer job on the mudroom, putting up cupboards and coat stalls to hold all the coats, chore clothes, boots, and a storage area for mittens and such.  LOVE IT!  I was so proud of him, because he's the first to admit that he's not the handiest guy on the block, but he did a great job on this project. (See the pull out baskets for the hats and mittens?  I guarantee you they will pay for themselves!)

I'm working on turning our old canning room into a room for Quinn and Godwin- it's painted and the border repaired and cleaned- now working on getting some of the water stains out of the wood flooring, then apply a coat of varnish and I can begin moving the kids in.

For Loren's birthday, Bri and I put together Loren's office and got him a new chair for his work area, framed and hung pictures of his family, and made it a nice little work haven for him.

Loren's office

Personal: Both Loren and I noticed that we were getting a little out of shape, so we've  incorporated a morning run into our daily schedules, along with some toning workouts.  I love the feeling after I've exercised, but fitting it into an already tight schedule can be a challenge.  But, we know we need it if we want to stay around for a long time and to be healthy while we are on this earth, so each morning we get up and do it.  You know, just like the commercial says :-)
Loren and I don't really have hobbies- our kids are our hobbies.  And with summer comes alot of activity with them- we've been doing Horse 4H practices, Boy Scouts, 2 Vacation Bible Schools, basketball camps, sleep overs, violin lessons, yadda yadda yadda...  It only gets worse as the summer progresses- coming up: swimming lessons, volleyball camp, County Fair, more 4H activities, mission trip for Bri, and I'm sure lots of trips to the pool.  I'm so blessed to be able to be home in the summer to supervise and chauffeur our kids to all of these events, and to be part of their lives in a way that I couldn't be if I was still working outside of the home.  (Notice I didn't say "if I was a working mom?"  Haha- we are ALL working moms!)

And with that note, I'm heading off to bed.  Gotta haul our 5 youngest to VBS tomorrow morning bright and early...after a good run, farm chores, packing a lunch, serving breakfast, and making sure all the kids are fully dressed with shoes as we run out the door.  Better not forget the swimsuits and towels- it's Water play day tomorrow.  :-)

Frugal Friday

“There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important as living within your means."  - Calvin Coolidge

Home Repairs

Me texturing the stairway down to the basement.

As you know, we moved our farmhouse from our acreage to Loren's family farmstead about a year ago.  Since then, our home has been a running series of This Old House reruns.  Lots of finishing work to be done to the new basement and added mudroom, and repairs on the cracks created by the move.

Home remodeling is an area that can get fiscally out of hand very quickly.  Once we had refinanced our mortgage to include the added basement and mudroom structure and the expense of the move, we didn't want to add to our debt for the additional tasks of texturing and taping, painting, carpet laying, trim staining and application.... you get my drift. 

To combat this, we knew we had to follow a few guidelines:

• We would only do future finishing work as we could afford it.  This explains why there are still rooms that are still waiting to be worked on, even ones that we really need, like the downstairs bathroom. :-(
• We would do as much of the work ourselves, with the exception of electrical and plumbing work, because of something is going to go wrong with that, I want someone else to take the blame! 

Truthfully, this extra work has been a blessing as well as a curse.  As much as I dreaded working on the house each weekend, it has been a good bonding experience for all of us.  Once you've tackled texturing a room together, with spackling in your hair and your arm feeling like a dead weight from the roller, you are bonded for life.

Not to mention the skills we are picking up- I like learning new skills and I take pride in learning how to do a fairly good job with some of these projects.  However, there is a learning curve with all things, and the walls I textured last look WAY better than my first few attempts.  Oh well...gives the house character. 

I like that we are also modeling self sufficiency for our kids and teaching them a few of these skills- hopefully they will make use of these new talents when they have homes of their own.  There is nothing more attractive than a handy man in my book, and I'm trying to impress that on Luke so that he sees the advantages of learning how to do his own home repairs. 

Someday, his wife will thank me.

I hope our family is also learning a little about delaying gratification.  Yes, we could've had all of these things done right away, paid someone else a bundle for it, added to our debt load, and our undone house wouldn't be inconveniencing us now.  But maybe this is teaching them some patience?  Maybe it's showing them that they don't have to live in a house right out of Better Homes and Gardens, with everything in it's place and arranged shabby chique. 

I believe there is merit and a feeling of self worth in working to create something, especially when it's your home. Working together as a family to build a home- it's what kept the pioneer families together, right?  And if it was good enough for the Ingalls, then it's good enough for the Johnsons. 

Don't tell me I'm not a working mom!

Last Thursday morning, in the midst of another winter storm here in the Dakotas (yes, in April) I drove 25 miles to pick up the 2 brothers of our foster children.  We were scheduled to have them until Sunday while their foster mom got a well deserved break.

So as I'm driving through almost white-out conditions on icy roads, the younger brother, George, says "So Michelle, what DO you do anyway?"   We had been discussing his foster mom's job as a teacher, and so I guess he was wondering what job I held.

I didn't know whether to laugh or spit.  His question was genuine, but somehow, it struck a nerve.

It's not as if I'm clueless about the working world.  I've had some form of a job ever since I was old enough to partner with our neighbors in a paper route when I was about 9 years old. As I hit adolescence, I was the go-to girl in our neighborhood for dog walking, housesitting, and my area of expertise- babysitting.   I worked part time during college then full time plus once I graduated from college.  By then, I was supporting a family, and didn't have the luxery of NOT working. 

I was a single working mom for 5 years (some of those years as a teacher) and continued to work when I remarried because we needed to catch up financially.  Suddenly, my oldest son was graduating high school and my youngest was 8 months old, and I realized that I had never gotten to try out being a stay at home mom. 

After spending the next 2 years paying off as much debt as we could, I finally made the move to being able to stay at home, raising our children, and taking care of my home and family the way I had always wanted to.  No more doing laundry at 11:00 at night, no more putting my kids to bed and wondering if they had had a good day or not, no more feeling as if I'm being pulled into twenty directions, juggling so many responsibilities and not doing any of them justice.  I would finally get to focus on the important people in my life.

So George, what do I do? 

I stay at home and supervise 6 kids and partner with 1 incredible husband.  I get 3 kids up and off to public school, and homeschool another one.  I wrangle with a 3 and 4 year old all day, do laundry for 8 people, plan nutritious meals with homegrown vegys and home raised meat, do farm chores and dishes, home repairs, garden, chauffeur various doctor, dental, and ortho appointments, basketball games and 4H meetings, teach Sunday school and work funerals, update kids scrapbooks, plan birthday parties and all holiday activities, clean the house, mow and do the yardwork, pay bills,....need I go on?

I've worked both in and out of the home, and truthfully, being a stay at home mom is one of the busiest, most frustrating, and hardest jobs I've ever had.  And the most gratifying.

We both felt God leading us to the decision of having me stay home to raise our children, and it's one that we have felt so at peace with.

Loren tells me I get paid in hugs and appreciation. 
After seeing my list, me thinks I need a raise :-)

Homeschooling on the deck!  Littles are doing playdough while Bri tries to do her reading under her blanket.

Look who fell asleep while snuggling with Mom on the couch~

Frugal Friday

Lately I feel like I've been doing more laundry than normal, but then I shouldn't be surprised with 8 people in the house. 

And I realize that I've discussed frugal ways to deal with laundry before, but mainly in using racks and clotheslines to dry clothes, or how to make your own laundry soap.

But then I realized that there's more to it when it comes to laundry.  It's a whole new way of looking at what goes in the hamper; and attitude on how we look at clean.  I mean really, Americans are so brainwashed when it comes to our hygiene.  Commercials tell us that everything has to be spotless, or we're just "not good mothers and homemakers". 

We can either buy into that thought process, or we can realize that we are being sold an idea, developed by marketing teams to sell their products.

 I decided that we were happier when we weren't chasing the "spotless dream" and trying to look like we just walked off of a magazine page.  And was that a good use of our funds, by the constant washing of our clothes, homes, and bodies?

So here are a few of our rules:

• You get one clean towel a week, and you must use that towel all week.  If you hang it up correctly, it WILL NOT SMELL!  Remember, its job is to wipe clean water off of your just-cleaned body, so it's not really dirty.
• Jeans rarely get sweaty, so unless you are outside and they get dirty, you continue to wear your jeans until they do get dirty. 
• We have a set of chore clothes that are hung in the mudroom and used for outside work, and they don't need to be cleaned as often, so that saves on alot of laundry each week.
• Because we homeschool and don't "go" to school, we don't have to have a different outfit each day, so we can wear our comfies a few days in a row.  This is one of my favorite perks of homeschooling!

An extra bonus is that our clothes won't wear out as quickly because they aren't going through the rigor of the washing machine!  So yah for that!

So the next time you slip on one of your favorite cozy outfits for the third day in a row, don't feel guilty!  Feel FRUGAL!!  And be proud of it :-)

Mother Nature is a fickle creature

A week ago, we had temps in the 60's, the girls were outside in shorts training the dogs, and we were thinking that spring was finally here.

Then yesterday, we got hit with an ice storm that has effectively shut down the state- highways are closed and over 20,000 homes are without power.

We were lucky down in our corner of the state- we didn't get hit as hard as other parts, and so far, we haven't had any trees down on our farm.  Pictures shown on the news have shown entire telephone poles tipped over and trees down everywhere.  We've had gates frozen shut and ice coated hay to pitch, but otherwise we have not had any damage, other than to have one meatbird chick freeze before I got them moved indoors.

And I thought I was going to plant potatoes today- Guess not!

Meanwhile, these little guys are growing quickly, being sheltered in our mudroom.

Don't hate me for my awesome canning shelf!!  I put the seedlings in front of it, hoping that the canned goods would inspire the seedlings!  I've planted tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, brocolli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and pak choy so far.  Loren cultivated the garden last weekend, so we are ready to plant once Mother Nature cooperates and gives us some warm temps.

With so many of our neighbors out of power, it puts me in Survivalist Mode, and I have been taking inventory of what we need on our homestead for future calamities. 

We are fortunate to have a woodburning stove, which keeps us warm and can also double as a stovetop with a cooking surface on top. Keeping our woodhouse stocked takes some teamwork, but between the two farms we have enough dead wood to keep us warm for a few years yet.

Between our milk cow, laying hens, our freezers full of meat we have raised, and over 200 quart jars of canned vegys and sauces stored, we have at least tackled the problem of having some food available.  We have set aside an alcove in the basement as a cold storage room that we haven't quite finished yet, but will be used to store potatoes, squash, etc... from the garden next fall.

Now that we have our mudroom, I plan on having a section for stocking up on nonperishables such as canned goods and nonfood items like toilet paper.

To this, I would like to add a greenhouse onto the south side of the house for raising produce during the late fall/early spring to extend our growing season.  We would also need to have an adequate water supply stored- so far, we have about 10 gallons of water bottled in the basement, but know that we would need to increase that amount to have enough for all 8 of us for any length of time.  We've also talked about investigating into getting one of the old wells repaired for useage during the summer, and setting up a rainwater collection system on the house and buildings.

As for our energy needs, I would like to invest in a generator to keep our home running- at least for the freezers, refrig, and stove.  (Oh who am I kidding?  I want it for the tv!) 

  I like the solar lamps that I've seen for providing lights, and would like to increase our stash of flashlights and batteries.

I'm sure there are many other items that I haven't even begun to realize I would need, but these are the first ones I would address. ( Because if I can't keep this crew fed, it could get UGLY!! )

I realize that we are so far removed from true "surviving" these days, because everything we want is just a drive, or a call, or a click away.  We no longer have to rely on a set of skills, or on ourselves, to keep our family fed or safe.  However, the past few years we have had to watch families just like ours on the news facing major disasters, whether it's a hurricane or a grass fire, and they have had to use these techniques to survive and stay safe.

 It's in our best interest to know some of these skills and since we have two Eagle Scouts in the house, I know that I need to "BE PREPARED!"

He is Risen

Yep, I hide Easter baskets for my kids.  And yes, we have a (gasp!) Easter egg hunt.

Blasphemous?  I don't think so.

Once upon a time, I struggled with religious celebrations, because they become very commercialized, focusing on materialism instead of the "Reason for the Season". 

Santa versus Jesus' birth. 
Easter bunny versus Jesus rising from the tomb.

 I wondered "Am I ruining my children by indulging in the traditions of presents and baskets and hunting for eggs?"

But as the years have gone by, I think I'm getting better at balancing the two, Faith and Fantasy, so that I can make joyful memories for our children, and also instill in them the importance of their faith.

Quinn and G hunting for eggs

We stress the sanctity of Christmas and Easter by attending Lent, Christmas, and Easter services, talk about what the day really means, read the Bible stories before the season to prepare them, and limit the amount of commercialism that we introduce into the day. 

The girls with their baskets- boys slept in!

However, I also see the joy they get from running around the yard hunting for eggs, or running downstairs on Christmas morning to see what's in their stockings, and I know that these are memories that bond us all together as a family. And how can that be bad?

Coloring Easter Eggs

 So with a careful blending of both, we can learn all about God's love for us, and have alot of fun doing it.

Happy Easter!!  He is Risen!!

 

 

 

Frugal Friday

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." ~Albert Einstein

I haven't had many Frugal posts the past few months because it just seems that I've posted most of my ideas and I hate to repeat myself!  However, since we had 2 birthdays this month, I got to thinking that I've never mentioned anything about being frugal when celebrating birthdays, so here goes.

I'm hoping that you don't think many of these ideas are "inappropriate", but they work for us.  Then again, we aren't very picky either :-)

First, I keep a stash of what I refer to as "reusable party favors".  For example, I reuse birthday candles, because let's be honest, they're only lit for about 30 seconds, so why throw them away?  (Of course, I do wash the cake off of them afterwards.)

I have a drawer of Congratulations banners and toppers for kids cakes and plastic party tableclothes that I can use over and over.  No one seems to notice- they are just excited to see colorful decorations on their special day! 

I keep all the extra unused kids paper plates and napkins.  We have had several parties that have a mixed theme of Disney Little Mermaid, Barbie, and Dora, but again, no one seems to mind.

We also reuse the gift bags and tissue.  As long as I am careful, I can fold the tissue paper and it looks almost new.  By reusing the bags, I can save alot, and then I can put more money towards the gifts.

As for gifts, I try to either hit a great After Christmas type of sale, or I purchase gifts through Ebay or Amazon.  I can find a better deal on Amazon, especially on movies and electronics, than I often can get at Walmart, and I don't even have to leave the farm! (Saving gas and saving $$..... yah!)

Ebay offers alot of opportunities to find great gifts at a much more reasonable price, especially if you don't mind buying something that is used and your kids don't mind getting something that is used.  We have a huge rubbermaid tub that is full of wooden Thomas Trains, track, and buildings that have been purchased exclusively from Ebay, often gently used and a few were even still in the original box.  It is probably the most used toy that we have, and I never could've gotten it if I had to purchase it at retail, because they are crazy expensive! 

When it comes down to it, I think the thought behind the gift and the love that it's given with is WAY more important than the price spent or the packaging used. 

Besides, we save more using these little tips so that we can buy more TRAINS!!

Need filled life

This morning during my Bible reading quiet time, this verse hit me.

In fact, I went back to it several times.

"Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required: and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more."

God tells us that those of us that are fortunate need to share with those who are not.

And I look around at my home and my things, and even though we are frugal and don't have alot of "toys", we still have everything we need.

Everything.

And I am again hit with the need to share all of my wonderfully safe, fortunate, need filled, family focused, blessed life with another little one who doesn't have all this. 

Doesn't have a lap to sit on and someone to read stories to her.

Doesn't have her own bed, or even clothes or toys to call her own.

Doesn't have brothers and sisters to clown around with, wrestle on the couch with, or snuggle with at night while watching a movie.

Doesn't have the unconditional love of parents and a family.

Doesn't have the teachings of a faith that she can hold on to and rely on.


And I know that I am again being nudged to do something about it.

A story about a boy.

This is a story about a boy named Tanner and a girl named Natty.  Two kids, both born with some challenges that would keep many people down, but not these two.  They faced obstacles but overcame them.  They were fortunate to grow up with famiies that were protective enough to keep them from some of the tougher realities of the world, but supportive enough to teach them how to become independent.

One day, they meet at the adult learning center where they both spend their days, and as they say, "that's all she wrote."

Over the next 3 years they spend lots of time together, getting to know each, meeting each other's families and learning what being part of a couple is all about.  They competed together in Special Olympics, begin spending holidays with each other, and even begin tossing around the idea of getting married some day.

Then one day Natty is diagnosed with cancer.

And for the next 2 years, she spends her days getting chemo treatments instead of going to work...has to stay home to avoid being exposed to germs instead of going to the movies.  So they begin to text daily to keep in touch, and wait for the results of Natty's white count to give them permission to see each other. 

And she earns the name Might Warrior Woman from me because she faced the ravages of her treatment with no complaints and so much courage that I respect her even more.

And their committment to each other stays strong.  And they still talk about having a future together.



Then one day, Natty loses her battle with cancer.

And we are all devastated by the loss of this very special young woman.  But no more devastated than Tanner.

While we are relieved that Natty's pain is gone and that she is now healed, we struggle to understand the reason for her having to leave us.

 We struggle to understand God's purpose. 

And we struggle to not be bitter by the unfairness of life.

We love you and miss you, Natty Clayton. 

Quinn turns 3

I realize that it's boring to anyone other than the parents to view birthday pictures and hear about it ad nauseum, but since this is Quinn's first celebrated birthday with her family, it's a big deal, so here goes.

Yah- I think next year I'll celebrate WITHOUT the lip gloss, thankyouverymuch.

Thank you Grandma Lee for taking our picture

Playdough and shape block- academic tools, right?  I feel smarter already.

It says on the box 3 and up, right? 

Quinn...that's the washing machine- not a  place to put the babies.

 

Because she was just coming off of an allergic reaction to her sister's lip gloss AND we had just gotten home that weekend from Mpls and her Shriners appt, we kept the party low key and simple.

Pizza, cupcakes, a few gifts, and Grandma- perfect recipe for a calm and enjoyable birthday. 

 

Maybe next year we'll have 10 screaming 4 year olds attend, but for this year, we enjoyed just having her spend her birthday with us.  Yes, we are that kind of selfish. :-)

Thankful

Thanksgiving 2011-

*  Our house had just been moved to it's new location and was sitting empty, still not hooked up to electricity or water.  We were living with my parents waiting for the chance to finish the repairs and move back in.
*  The kids ended up going with my mother to my aunt's house to eat, while Loren and I stayed to work on the house, getting the living room painted and some boxes unpacked.  We had a turkey sandwich for dinner.
*  We were waiting for our Travel Authorization to go to China and get Quinn, and we had no idea when that would be granted, so we were rushing to get moved into the house.

No chance to cook for my family, no chance to get out the Special Dishes, and no chance to repeat the traditions that I had been taught.  The whole day felt very incomplete.

We were in limbo.

Thanksgiving 2012-

So this year, I threw a traditional Thanksgiving for 11 people, with turkey AND ham, homebaked pies, and we used the Special Dishes. 

And after getting the house cleaned, kids bathed and dressed, food fixed and table set, I was more than just a little tired, but also I had a great feeling of accomplishment.  And of connection to my kids. 

Because years from now, they will reminisce about their childhoods, and remember how they felt on days like this.  And I want them to remember the feeling of family, of tradition, and of the love that went into putting on a feast like that. 

Missing all of our adult boys, but we still managed to fill a table :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Orphan Sunday Recap

I'm always amazed to watch God impress an idea on someone and see how that idea grows and stretches and is soon touching others in positive ways.

Last week it occured to me that Nov 4th was Orphan Sunday, and I remembered how last year I vowed to do something to recognize it.  Last year at this time, we were living with my parents because our house was being moved AND we were getting ready to head to China to meet Quinn. I just didn't have the time or resources to get anything prepared.  So I scrambled this week to get something ready to show our church family. 

Sunday we had worked it out with Pastor Steve that Loren would show a video that I found on YouTube to promote Orphan Sunday and I would say the Prayers that are listed on the Orphan Sunday website.  I also spent almost 4 hours (grin) making posters to put up in the narthex. (I gotta admit, that was just plain fun- I need to add more art opportunities in our homeschooling!)

Here is the video that we showed:

The video is powerful and I hope it made an impact on our congregation, but considering most of the folks there on Sunday were over 70 years old, I don't think it inspired anyone there to adopt.  However, I'm hoping that it made them aware of the orphan crisis and maybe they will support other families who do choose to adopt.  If nothing else, it makes them sensitive to the feelings of the children that we foster and adopt and bring into the church family.  

A second interesting thread in regards to this presentation- I called Pastor Mark in Irene to borrow their digital projector and had a lovely discussion explaining Orphan Sunday to him.  He is an awesome pastor with a real heart for children, and he was enthralled to learn about this promotion, and he confessed that he and his wife support a child through World Vision. 

Any-who, I found out that he ended up preaching on Orphan care on Sunday- something that he hadn't planned on doing!!  My good friend, Sara, also spoke to the congregation at that church about the importance of adoption, as she is adopted and is a firm supporter of adoption. She also found out that her other church preached on Orphan Sunday as well due to her influence, so that makes 3 church families that were touched by the message on Sunday. 

The word is getting out to the rural towns in this area, and even though we are small in numbers, I believe that together we will all make a difference in the lives of children.  I can't wait to see what God does with this, now that we have planted the seed in these three churches.  :-)

Family Pics

Friday night our older boys came home in response to their summons to gather for a family picture.  Our last such gathering happened over 6 years ago, so I thought it was a good idea to update the 11x13 hanging over the TV.

 Not only are our then-preschool daughters now pre-teens, but now we have a new member :-)

Before the "real" photographer showed up, I took a few pics just to check out the background I had selected.

 

 

 

I'm anxious to see how they turned out, and will post my favorites. I LOVE THESE FACES and can't wait to get them up on my wall!

  Thank you to my kids for their patience and willingness to do whatever our photographer asked them to do. It was cold and blustery that evening, so if we look chilled, it's because we were!

Back AGAIN.

Thanks to the Geek Squad at Best Buy, I am online again.  After a frustrating 6 weeks of having my computer sent to Dell to have the hard drive replaced (after 3 months of use), and even though I repeatedly told them the keyboard was also messed up, it came back with a new HD and a still-screwed up keyboard.  This time the keyboard was replaced, so we are back in business :-)

Today my Devotional book really made me laugh!  "Linger in My presence awhile.  Rein in your impulses to plunge into the day's activities.  Beginning your day alone with Me is essential preparation for success."

How appropriate!  Being the A-type personality and list maker that I am, I often fly through  my morning trying to get as much done as I can, and I forget to take the time to reflect and commune with God before the craziness that is sometimes my day begins. 

So today I took the time, and thought about all of the blessings in my life. 

It started with waking up next to the man that I love, then surrounded by 3 of my children getting ready for school and being able to love on them as they're going out the door, waking up  my little ones to have breakfast and hugging them as they toddle around.  Getting out our homeschool materials for the day.  Going outside to feed the horses and spend a few minutes leaning against their necks and  just breathing in that horsey smell.   I realized that the life that I have was all what I had prayed for years ago, with a few variations, of course :-)

So again I face my day with the realization that I have everything I need- love, family, plenty of food, a home that is big enough for us with room to spare, and God even provided me with horses that feed my soul and a big white dog that I get unconditional love from.  I know that I am so very blessed. 

So again, I ask myself how can I share my blessings with others?  Because you know, I take this scripture seriously.

  Jesus said, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)

We've been given SO MUCH, and Loren and I know that we need to reach out to others and share the gifts given to us with others.  The question wracking my brain is "what next?"  What opportunity will present itself.  What task will God place before us?  If only God could email me the details, and I could be prepared, know what I mean??!! 

This year we have taken in 4 new children into our homes- 3 of them are still with us- one permanently  (Quinn-yah! ).  I believe that our next "assignment" will also have something to do with children, and there is this feeling of expectancy.  I'm wondering if it has something to do with our two foster children, who are 3 and 13 and have been with us since July, or if we will jump out of our comfort zone again and tackle another international adoption?  I guess we will need to be patient and see what's in store for our family next.

The waiting is hard, but it's also what makes life interesting :-)

Look who dug out Bri's old ballet gear..
 

You are what you eat~

I just watched this video on TED TV and it has me so excited!!  It's basically about how we can eat and use food to fight cancer. Who Knew??!!

Being the hippy mom who feeds my kids organic, gardens and cans, and freaks out when a bag of Doritoes enters my house, this is very validating news!  Maybe old mom isn't such a weirdo after all?!

I've always known that eating healthy is so much better for us, and even though we often don't see immediate rewards for eating an apple instead of a Snickers, we are doing the right thing. It's why we plant and maintain a huge garden every year, raise most of own meat and eggs, milk our own Jersey, and belong to an Organic Food Coop.

Hearing news like this gives me hope!  Hope that all the weeding, cooking homecooked meals, weeding,  baking cookies instead of buying Oreos, weeding, planting, paying more for organic, more weeding, and just taking so much care into what I feed my family that this extra care will pay out in dividends that will show up for years to come. These efforts could affect our family generations from now, which sounds kinda dramatic, but I don't think it's overstating the importance of this issue. 

We Are What We Eat.

And if that includes pesticide sprayed produce, processed foods and fake foods, mountains of artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, sugar substitutes, genetically modified foods, and E. Coli ridden meat, then what kind of future can we hope for in respect to our health and the health of our children?

So I guess we gotta do whatever we gotta do to give our families the Nutritional Advantage they need to face the future.

Which brings me back to weeding. Don't think that after hours on my knees in my garden in the hot sun, bugs biting, that by mid July a bottle of Roundup isn't just a little bit tempting.  Cuz it is.

But so far, it's Roundup- 0 and Mom- 1.

Organic hippy moms are tougher than we look. Don't let the environmentally- friendly-humanely-made-Fair Trade-cotton t-shirts fool you.:-)

Homeschooling with little ones

The little ones don't like to be left out when we are homeschooling, so I schedule about 45 min a day for "Preschool".  I figure that both our Littles could use help in catching up developmentally, and I can't let my "whole 2 years" of preschool teaching experience go to waste, so we're giving it a try.

We are incorporating lots of basics, like colors and shapes, and working on vocabulary, since Quinn is now trying out her new language with a little more confidence.  My favorite part is doing songs with actions, and both the kids have been quick to pick up on The Wheels of the Bus, and the Itsy Bitsy Spider as their favorites. 

Oh, and also the hand play "This is the church..."  That one cracks me up when Quinn is insisting that I say it along with her, as she is pointing her "steeple" at me. Then she does the "where are the people?" part, hiding her fingers.... could she get any cuter??

Today we threw in a little Sensory Art using one of my favorite mediums- Shaving Cream.

Whats not to like?  Easy clean up, doesn't stain their clothes, and the kids smell good when they are done- haha! 

Bri and I find that they are so much better about giving us our school time when we have given them some of their own, so for now, that's our strategy for getting it all done.  And hopefully, we are all learning something :-)

Playing Catch-up

Lots of catching up to do since my computer malfunctioning episode the beginning of August.  Since I'm not big on rehashing, I will make it short and sweet!  Here's a quick summaryof what we've been up to the past 5 weeks~

County Fair:
Because of our move to the new farm, we knew we wouldn't have alot of projects ready for the fair.  I mean, let's be truthful- we are just happy to get the basics of meals, laundry, chores, and schooling done most days.  We don't get too full of ourselves and think we can also get a Jersey heifer broke to lead, matching skirts sewn by the girls, and breathtaking photo collages- we just don't have it in us most days. 
 
This year our motto was : Keep it Simple.

We showed a few chickens...

Bri, Moyra,
Camille, and Lani

 

 

Showed a rabbit or two...

 



Bri received 2nd place in Rabbit Showmanship- tough competition too!

 

And had fun with all of our 4H friends...

The County Fair is usually the closest thing to a vacation that we get, so we splurge on eating Indian Tacos and sweet corn, get the fair bracelets and ride until we are dizzy, and put off housework for 4 glorious days!  It's the last big fling before school starts, and it's our official End of Summer event.

  And yes, we eat homemade pie at the 4H food stand too :-)

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The fair was followed by G's surgery for a hernia repair- not something that he was real keen on doing, but he was a brave little guy and was happy to now have a new belly button as a result!

Clifford made the whole experience so much better!

Just waking up from the anesthesia and a little scared.



MUCH happier now- I think the pain meds were finally kicking in :-)



His follow up went without a hitch, and he's now sporting a nice, new "innie" belly button! 

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 WHAT??!  SCHOOL ALREADY?!!

Luke, Quinn, Camille, J, and Bri

 

 

 

Here was our  "motley" crew on the  morning of the first day of school.  Can you tell which kids are happy to be going to school and which ones are NOT? (G slept in that morning, so he's not even in the picture.)

 

 

We are experimenting with sending Camille to public school this year-it was not an easy decision.  However, after alot of discussion of pros and cons, it came down to 2 main reasons for me wanting her to attend school. 

 

Number 1- I have given her 6 years of high maintenance attention, school and otherwise, and I really feel that Quinn now deserves time with me as well.  Quinn will need help with expressive language and I want to be starting her on preschool subjects to help her vocabulary improve.  The other kids sometimes 'gentley' remind me of how much time and attention Camille has demanded and needed the past 6 years, and how often they have had  to do without.  If I don't have Camille prepared for the social arena of public school by now, then I probably never will.

 

Number 2- Mama needs a break. (Did I say that out loud??)  Most nights, Camille and I were still sitting at the table at 5:30 still doing school, when I should've been preparing supper and seeing to the hundred other things that demand my attention.  Every book I've read on RAD warns parents NOT to teach their RAD child because it presents another opportunity to battle for control.  All I know is that it was very hard on our mother-daughter relationship, and for that reason, I am hopeful that this solution will benefit all of us. We are now 3 weeks into the school year, and I am already seeing a positive change in Camille.  It's amazing when the other 20 4th graders all get their worksheet done in 30 minutes that SHE can too!  Who woulda guessed?

 

 

So let the games begin!

 

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On the farm front, we had the inconvenience of having our yard dug up again to have all of the waterlines replaced-more fun than you can imagine.....really!

 We also sold 4 of our horses that were not exactly "fun" to ride, and used that money to purchase 3 really rideable horses.  What a difference! The girls are really enjoying all their horse time, and we have begun taking them to lessons twice a month at our local rodeo grounds.  They have about a 4 hour class, and they have already done so much better with these horses than they did with their old ones.

So now we have a house full of cowgirls, and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Our plan is to get the girls so hooked into riding and loving their horses that they won't be interested in boys for YEARS!  That's the plan anyway :-)

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LIFELIGHT
We are so lucky here in South Dakota to have a Lifelight concert every Labor Day weekend.  3 days full of our favorite Christian singers and groups, and it's all FREE!  Can you imagine, thousands of Christians sitting around in our lawn chairs, kids playing frisbee, rocking out and worshipping together- it takes me to a whole 'nother level of Godliness and goodness and spirituality that brings tears to my eyes. 
The presenters are usually band members that share their Faith stories, and we leave feeling spiritually fed and inspired.  The music is INCREDIBLE and the groups are the ones we listen to on the radio, so we KNOW THE WORDS!

(Nothing worse than a Scandanavian with no pitch, singing songs that she doesn't know- at least I can rock the words if nothing else!)

This year we were lucky enough to hear Santus Real, and 10th Avenue North- 2 of my very favorite groups, so I was thrilled.  And their faith messages were almost better than their music! I gotta think that hearing testimonials like that will influence my kids for the better, and the benefits of the music is a no-brainer.  The coordinators of Lifelight are influencing so. many. people!  I hope their vision continues so that thousands each year can have access to such a wonderful ministry, whether they are expose to Christian music for the first time, or they are fans like my family. 

That is why we donate to it each year, so that this mission can continue.  I cannot say enough good things about it, so if you are ever able to attend a Lifelight concern, run, don't walk!!  You will thank me.

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Well, those are the highlights from the past 5 weeks.  Let's stay in touch :-)

Passages...

I know I'm terribly behind, considering all that has happened here the past few weeks. We have welcomed new family members, and we have had to say goodbye to some as well. 

We have gone from a family of 6 to one of 8.  I didn't think adding 2 kids to our household would take up so much of my time and energy, but I think it's because we have gone from a somewhat normal routine to "Slumber Party Chaos" and it's leaving me and my house looking a bit frazzled.

We are very happy to welcome GW and his sister, J, to our family, and they fit in with this group really well.  However, transitions are never flawless, and trying to learn family rules and routines is hard enough, but to move to another house, get used to new people, and also deal with the grief of having your family and home dissolved can't be anything less than heartbreaking.  So for now, we will do our best to make them feel welcome and loved, and worry about the mess and rule breaking later on.

Camille, J, GW, and Quinn
(and yes, that is my Diet Coke)

We had to say goodbye to my Dad this month- after 2 years of battling cancer, along with various other health issues, he is finally at peace.  He got his wish of not having to live in a nursing home, and only spent a few days in hospice at the end.  Stubborn man! 

His funeral was a lovely gathering of family and old friends, sharing stories and memories, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.

 Best Friends from Anoka- the Westrums and Molendas

Rod Garrison telling golf stories

As usual- my attempts at a family photo never pan out- Tanner is missing!

Then as we were working through our feelings of loss over Grandpa Rod, we lost another special member of our family....Emma.

 

 

You were always a bundle of furry sweetness, and you loved Bri with all your heart.  We will miss your exuberance for life, your ability to do the splits on the kitchen floor, and your fun filled spirit.  You will always be in our hearts.