Catching up.....

It is hard to catch up when you let yourself get 4 months behind! But here are a few things we have been doing.

We headed to the beach in September. As always we have to visit the Bass Pro Shop!

 We also enjoyed a boat ride to see dolphins. We were so blessed to have a GREAT driver who took us past where we were should have turned around and let us see a lot of dolphin's!

 We all enjoyed the boat ride.

 We put in a swimming pool this summer. Our house is so near our creek that we could not dig out an in ground. But this above ground pool was so much fun this summer.

 Swimming at night was the best part. No sweat bees, no wasp, no yellow bitting bugs, and no attack dragon fly's.

 And in September we sent our little 1st grader to public school.

 And our little 3 year old to preschool.

Daddy made it a point to walk them in on the 1st day!!

More to come!!! This just catches me (and those 1 or 2 of you who read this) up!!

"Camp Mom"

 This is my girl. She is only 3. I love her. She is brave and tough. She kicks the horse just to make it "jump" so she can see if she can hold on. No fear in her.

This is my oldest. She is 6. I love her too. She is a thinker. Show her how - let her think about it, and she will figure it out. She rides smart. She is fearful and cautious.

This story is called "Camp Mom" and I started it out talking about my girls b/c this summer has been so much fun. We have done something new every morning. I have been so blessed with these sweet girls. I planned something for everyday, as if we were at a camp. Of , course my girls are too small for camp, but we are home and I can call it camp if I want to!

Okay, first we did a sketch of a picture on Picnik's web site. Here is the picture I used:

Here is how it turned out! Lily did GREAT!

Here is the other picture:

 After: Good Job Laci!!

 Then we made homemade slushies! Here is the recipe:World’s Greatest Homemade Slushies (Courtesy of Hillbilly Housewife)
2 cups ice water
1 packet fruit-flavored drink mix (use your favorite flavor)
2/3 cup sugar
4 cups or 1 full tray of ice cubes

You need a blender to prepare this recipe. Put all of the ingredients into your blender. It will be about 2/3 to 3/4’s full. Put the lid on. Process the mixture on high for a full minute. Stop the blender, use a spoon to stir it a bit. Look for unchopped ice chunks. If all the chunks are grated up, then go ahead and serve it. You may need to process it for another full minute though. Serve immediately. I usually have to spoon this out of the blender with a measuring cup because the mixture is so thick. Makes 4 – 8oz servings


 Here is our braded bracelets:

 Slime. Nuf said! It was a HIT!! Here is the recipe:How to do the experiment:


Homemade Slime Recipe
Borax
White Glue
Water
Food Coloring (optional)
Ziploc bag

1. Borax is available in the laundry section of your local grocery store. Take a cup of water and add to it 1 Tbs. of borax (approx 4% solution). Stir until completely dissolved.
2. Make a 50% water 50% white glue solution. Take 1/4 cup of each and mix thoroughly.
3. In a ziploc bag, add equal parts of the borax solution to equal parts of the glue solution. 1/2 cup of each will make a cup of slime.
4. Add a couple drops of food coloring.
5. Seal bag and knead the mixture.
6. Dig in and have fun. Remember to wash your hands after playing.
7. Keep your slime in the sealed bag in the refrigerator when not playing with it to keep it longer. Unfortunately it may eventually dry out or grow mold. Just throw it out and start again!
 We also added glow in the dark paint. It worked!!!!

 Homemade bubbles with yarn blowers!

 A Children's Museam! FUN Morning out!!!

 Home made Wedding Veil's and "wedding cake"

 More to be added.......

Slumber Party!!!

 

 On this night, daddy had gone fishing. And the girls wanted to bake and have a slumber party.

 So, we baked. We played games. We laughed.

 Then it was on to popcorn, pajama's and a movie. Quality time well spent!

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Psalms 16:6).

Gone Fishin'

 Our days here have been quite busy. We have been doing a lot of work outside. We spent this whole day pressure washing and doing windows. Not to mention the hours and weekends Jeremy has spent on the tractor getting pastures ready for the summer.

So at the end of this very long day of working, we promised the girls a fishing trip.

 Yes, our girls think fishing is better than any movie theater or video game or toy or.....you get the point.

 This one is serious about her fishing. Reminds me of my grandpa. She went away from the rest of us so she could watch her bobber! And we were talking too much.

 And this one takes the laid back approach. She wants to talk and hang out until it's time to reel in the fish. 

More talking with daddy.

 And the best part is the catch!!

 Or playing in the worms.

 I feel so blessed to be growing up country kids!

Let the little children come

 Being a homeschool / full time stay at home mom with two busy little girls, some days it can get the best of me. Like, when we have worked on a writing assignment for 4 hours! Or the little one tells me she WILL NOT do something 100 times and 100 times I have to remind her (in a soft voice - eye level with her) that she does not make the rules around here.  Those days are hard. I just need to remember why I stay home with them and that I am trying to do God's will for their lives.

(The girls were at the barn feeding. I was in the kitchen cooking while I watched them working.)

But then I read my daily devotion and it touches my heart as a reminder that this job is a big one. And kids love to help and I need to let them do more and more things. We have just started a chore chart and it has been such a blessing! They can't wait to see what they need to check off each morning and evening! Every time they do a job, I remind them they are being responsible for that job in our home! God is so good - and on those tough days, I need to stop and remember that little children are very much a part of God's work as well.

My devotion was this:

Children are great helpers, and throughout the Bible, we read stories of when God used them in special ways. Consider young Samuel serving God in the temple (1 Samuel 3), Naaman's servant girl who directed him to Elisha for healing from his leprosy (2 Kings 5:2-3), the boy who shared his lunch with Jesus to feed five thousand (John 6:9), and little Rhoda who told the other believers that Peter was knocking at the door after his angelic escape from prison (Acts 12:13-16). Although they may seem small and insignificant, each act was great in the eyes of God.

Are you ever tempted to underestimate the value of your child's obedience and faithfulness to the Lord? Every time he speaks with kindness to a sibling, remembers Grandma with a special hello when she comes to visit, or invites a friend to Sunday school, he is doing God's work on a grand scale. Like the disciples who thought the little children were wasting Jesus' time, don't become a stumbling block to your child's small acts of love. "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

Father, thank You for my children. Forgive me for underestimating what You can do through their prayers and acts of love and help me encourage them to love You more.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Take a hike!

 Some good friends of ours owned some land that had a waterfall on it. They sold that land and now it is private property. Which means nobody is allowed to see these beautiful falls. However, the family that once owned the land got special permission to take a group of us in and see the waterfall.

 It was a very pretty day.

 It was a very nice trail too. In fact it was an old road bed. And there was even an old working mill at the falls at one time.

 We made it!

 It was hard keeping the little ones OUT of the water. It was so tempting....but nobody wanted to carry out a cold, wet kid.

 So, they explored.....but it was still just too tempting to want to get in it and touch it and play in the water.....so......

 we let them put their hands in!

 I can say not one of my little ones fell in! However, one of the older kids in our group was not so lucky!!

 New summer hat. "Wook at dem cheeks!!!!"

 Hike back out.

 Daddy's are so smart....and so strong. What mama would have come up with this way to touch the water??? Got to love daddy's!!!

Such a fun way to spend a Sunday!!!