This Is A Lot To Figure Out

This fair thing is hard.

 

First we missed the Charleston fair because of the chicken testing thing. 

 

Then it turns out we missed the Ozark one too!!  Does this chicken testing lady come in the middle of the night or something?  How does everyone know about her except us?   The nice 4-H folks gave me her number to see if she would make an exception and come out to do a special testing. 

 

And she said yes!  So we met her at the extension office since it was an off-site location from the fair.  Let me tell you...this lady knew what she was doing with those roosters!  She wasn't the least bit scared even though we warned her that they could be feisty.  In fact, she showed Josh a special way of grabbing them that immobilizes them, then she tucked his head under her armpit and got down to business.  Even though the roosters couldn't move they were still trying to bite her and she acted like she didn't even notice.   This lady is NOT to be messed with. 

 

 

The whole time she was sweet talking the rooster like he was a cute puppy and explaining what she was doing.  Hilarious!! 

 

By the time she finished all 5 of them, she was pouring sweat, filthy, and gross!  I'm sure she had no choice but to leave that place and subject herself to a high-powered car wash when it was over. 

 

She was the nicest lady ever.  I don't know what she had to cancel or how far she had to drive to make a special trip to do blood testing on our chickens.  Then she only asked for fifty cents a bird!  There was no way I was only paying her $2.50 for all that work, so we dipped into our grocery money for the week to make sure she didn't spend all that time (and clean laundry) for nothing. 

 

I'm sure we thanked her a million times.  Without her, we wouldn't be in this fair either. 

 

While I was at the extension office, I paid the $25 that we were supposed to pay if we didn't have the 4 poultry chain pullets to enter/sell.  Josh decided he wanted to keep those girls.  And then I found out that we could actually drop off the rooters that same day. 

 

This was fantastic news!  Not only did we save a good amount of gas money but we also didn't have to take those roosters home, unload them, then load them back up to drop them off tomorrow.  Bingo!

 

 

When we got to the fair grounds, they weren't exactly happy to see us.  The extension lady gave them the heads-up that we were coming.  But since we didn't pre-register, they didn't have cages assigned to us.  Pre-register?  What's that?  And how do people know about this? 

 

But they were very forgiving and gave us 2 big cages by the fan...which Josh was happy about since his chickens wouldn't be so hot.   They also got wind about the $25 and were not too happy about that either.  Apparently that's only for kids who lost all their pullets to predators.  If you have the birds, then you have to turn them in. 

 

Sigh......

 

So today we made another trip to Ozark with the required 4 chickens and they shredded my check. 

I held my breath wondering what other fair rules we had broken and what we needed to be set straight on this time.  But it appears that all is in order.  Finally. 

 

These people have been so helpful and patient with us.  I imagine they are tired of hearing me apologize and glad to almost be finished with us!

 

Tomorrow we go back for judging.

 

But before we left, we took advantage of the empty fair grounds to pet every body's animals.

 

This pig was sweet.

 

 

Camels like taking selfies! 

 

 

Pretty eyes!

Can We Talk About Books?

My Friend, Emily, tagged me in a FB post to list 10 books that were inspirational to me.  It was fun to think about.  So many books!  And to narrow it to only the top 10?  It took some thinking but here's what I came up with....

 

1. the Bible.  Of course!!

 

2.  First We Have Coffee.  I love all Margaret Jensen books, but this is my fave.  It's actually my favorite book of all time and I re-read it all the time.  Every time it is new even though I have a lot of it memorized.  I can't even explain it. 

 

3. Experiencing God.  I first "met" Henry Blackaby as a new believer and this book helped me understand so much that was unclear.  It changed my life in big ways.  Later I got to meet him for real and he signed all my books.  But now one of my pastors worked under the Blackabys in Canada for several years.  I LOVE his preaching.  It's so Blackaby style and I'm just a sponge soaking it in on those Sundays.  I absolutely love it.  And to think God brought him here to me in this little town!!  Pam, I think I really AM God's favorite.  :-)

 

4. My Utmost For His Highest.  My read most mornings for years.  And as the years go by, I'm understanding him a little more. 

 

5. The Hiding Place.  Corrie Ten Boom....oh my goodness.

 

6.  Don't Waste Your Life.  This is how I want to live. 

 

7.  Created To Be His Helpmeet.  Don't throw rotten tomatoes.  I know most people don't like it.  But I do.

 

8.  Little Women.  I can't even watch the movie.  It's like my life.  And I want to read the book again now that my own little women are older but I just don't know if I could handle it.  So Real. 

 

9.  Kisses From Katie.  I think Pam recommended this one to me.  I do believe I could be Katie. 

 

10.  Another Place At The Table.  My first foster care book.  So much to think about. 

 

As I was looking through recent pics on my phone I ran across some more books that I thought I'd talk about for fun. 

Ms. Turner is THE BEST story time teacher ever.  I spend 20 years loving story time with my littles.  This is one of the books she read when Lane was little.  It was her favorite.   We had it checked out all the time.  Now we have our own copy and Lane still loves it.  We all do.  In fact, many of our favorite childrens' books came from Ms. Turner. 



This is what came in the mail for me last week!!  Pam is awesome.  It totally made my day.  And when I posted it on FB, I immediately had comments about how everyone loves these books.  I'd never heard of them.  Where have I been?  I'm eager to start. 

 

 

The newbie.  And I can't put it down.  I think I would add this as #11 on the list.  It's everything that Misty and Honey have been trying to drill into my head but I wouldn't listen.  But now it's starting to make sense. 

 

 

 

 

Because We Needed Something Else To Feed

 The fair is in town!  And this was our first time. 
It was the cutest thing ever.  No rides.  Nothing fancy.  Just booths of fun, music, square dancing, food, animals, and getting to see everybody you know in town. 

 Not everybody got to go.  Some of us had to stay home and study.  Growing up is hard.  Amen?

  

We walked around visiting with friends and looking at all the booths. 

 

Josh especially enjoyed seeing all the livestock.  He didn't get to enter his chicken in this fair but we are hoping to enter the Ozark fair this week.  We watched the judging and asked about how it was done. 

 

Then..  we happened upon the fish booth.  You had to throw a ping pong ball into those little blue cups of water.  And OH! how they wanted needed a fish!  It was *only* $1 for 5 balls.  And we saw kids walking around with multiple fish....so it couldn't be that hard.  Except it was.  So we needed to try again for only $5 for a whole bucket of balls.  Surely that would do it. Right? 
 

Oh yes it did!  Now I had to buy these kinds of fish for Meg's wedding and I remember them costing twenty-seven cents each.  But some nice kid had fish his dad wouldn't let him have and gave them all to us.  So one fish grew to 5 and that helped us not feel so bad for spending $5.73 unnecessarily. 

The fair was a great time.  Next year I predict it to be even funner since we will be able to participate more and even have our own booth for New Fire Athletic Club!

Farm News

Our dog, Korrie, is a better hunter than our cats.  She loves roaming free and bringing home small rodents. 

Yesterday it was an animal with the body the size of a softball!  So nasty.  I got close enough as I dared to see what it was.  I decided it was a hedgehog.

I asked the boys to get a shovel and clean it up but when they went out there....he wasn't dead!!! 

He was hurt enough that he couldn't get away but he was still alive enough to be moving. 
Not for long.  4 boys and several darts from their dart guns later, and the hedgehog was finished.  Turns out it was a rat.  Rat, hedgehog, whatever.

But since they were already out there, Josh decided to take care of some other farm chores.  His dad has been wanting him to put down 2 crippled chickens for awhile now.  The chickens are having a hard time getting to food and water and we didn't want them to die of thirst or be picked on by the others. 

I knew this wasn't something he wanted to do but I had NO IDEA.  He brings the chickens out into the yard and loads his pellet gun.  Nate was helping.  One of his jobs was to hold an extra pellet in case Josh missed and didn't kill them the first time and he could re-load quickly. 

Remember that time we thought we were the Ingalls family and could kill our own chickens and have fried chicken for supper?  Well this turned out to be almost as terrible as that day.  Kids were crying, Nate was sobbing, they were all asking me about where chickens go when they die.

There was nothing to do but hug and wipe tears and go to the library.  The library heals many hurts. 

Well today I got a call from Mr. Hardin saying he could come out and look at the bees.  Remember that nifty new bee suit I got?  Well today I got to put it into service.  The kids were suiting up while Mr. H and I were talking and Zekey was pulling on his boots. 

All of a sudden....SQUEEL SCREECH SCREAM!!!   Every kid was freaking out!!  Zekey is hopping on one foot.  His boot falls off and out zips a mouse a MOUSE!!!  In his boot!  That had his foot in it!! I would've died right then and there. 

The mouse runs straight at Nate who gave him a swift kick into the yard where Korrie pounced.  She kept him contained long enough for Nate to grab his BB gun. 

No more mouse. 

Bees are looking good.  One hive is strong and has made a lot of progress since I last checked.  They have HONEY!  And maybe, just maybe, I won't be feeding them.  No sign of beetles.  All is pretty. 

We opened the other hive to see 8-10 beetles running around.  I've never seen this many!  We killed as many as we could with our hive tools.  There is a nice brood pattern but not as many bees.  Not much honey at all.  They are still strong enough to drive the beetles to the top but things could be better.  Part of the problem is that their once sunny spot is now fairly shaded.  Tomorrow night, after dark, we will move them to a sunnier spot.  Hive beetles hate sun.  Bees love sun. 

They still have some time to work before the cold weather, so I'm hopeful we will see even more progress next time. 

Too Small To Save Rose In A Fire

The girls and I hit the Savers sale Sunday after church.  

Every time we go, Mally looks at the Barbies hanging in the bags on the wall and is appalled at how they are naked and unkept and nobody takes better care of them.  That would never do in her room.  She is also on the lookout for a Ken.   She has several barbies and barbie kids but no Kens.  

Well this time they thought they hit the jackpot with 2 Kens in the same bag.  Naked of course.  All for only $3.99  I was a little skeptical because these guys had huge muscles and I don't remember Ken frequenting the gym.  They weren't "real" Kens and I didn't think the standard clothes would fit.  

Well there was no way I was taking those ugly dolls home naked so we pulled into Walmart for an outfit.  

Mally picked out a shorts outfit and a formal tux for special parties.  Turns out "Ken's" hands were too big to fit through the sleeves for the tux.  He barely squeezed into the other shirt.  

But.  

We have this rule about boys having to be big enough to be able to save girls in a fire.   It's a practical matter really.  

And as you can see, Barbie ("Rose" actually) is way bigger than Ken.  His shorts are more like capris!  So I'm afraid he didn't pass the fire test and Mally is back to the drawing board.  

The good news is that with the exchange of the fake Kens I was able to get her a pair of pants, her brother a shirt, an index card box for school and got $.81 back in change.  

She wasn't impressed.  

Creepy!!

This was in the hay bale my kids use for target practice!

But look what happened when the chickens saw it!

A School Update Complete With Food And Football

First week of college....

His room is a wreck and I'm not sure if he is studying, sleeping, or praying for the Lord to return.  

This picture just says it all...books and papers everywhere, his cleats, a football, a couple of disc golf discs, and his brother's chest of bionicals.  I just love it all in a sappy momma sort of way.  

So with 4 of my people gone for a good portion of the day, I'm working on making snacks and portable foods that transport well and are not high maintenance with refrigeration and re-heating.  And  because of ease, I know I will include plenty of pre-packaged foods and sandwiches but I want to be creative and as healthy as I can with the time and money I have.  So this week included both...   

For week one I did Cheezits, pretzels, sandwiches, cheese and crackers, chocolate protein bars, and cookies.  I flash froze the cookies and protein bars then wrapped them in twos.  

This recipe is perfect in every way.  Easy, delicious, and freezes well.   I got this from Six Sisters and modified it a bit.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cups milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together baking soda, salt and flour. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
4. Fold in oatmeal and chocolate chips.
5. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Makes 60 cookies.

This week I made bean and cheese burritos, summer sausage and cheese, and Lane made muffins and more cookies.  I'm experimenting with some things to see what will work best for them at school.  I also bought them new water bottles that clip on their backpacks.

Grandma pitched in with some boxes of pop tarts.  And it's now a collective effort to make sure our college students don't starve to death. 

LB is doing great at the school.  As a matter of fact, she was offered a JOB!!  She will be the assistant to the tech guy and will work around her school schedule.  This was a big unexpected surprise blessing.  Lance asked her to help him one morning with a simple project and the next thing she knew he and the principal asked her if she'd be interested in doing it for pay.  She explained that she really knew nothing about computers, and his response was, "Well now you can learn."

We are grateful for this new opportunity for her.

Back at home, school is great.
ZBoy has gone from this pencil grasp....

To this......

So much better in a short amount of time.

He's also experimenting with all kinds of new words he's learning in his Wordly Wise.  His favorite word at the moment is "unfortunate".  Problem is that he has no idea how to use it so he just interjects it as any sort of random adjective.  Like..... We bought a new unfortunate bowl at the unfortunate garage sale yesterday.  

And of course with the start of the school year comes FOOTBALL!!  

Oh Tigers, how I've missed you.  

This year we have boys playing 5th, 6th, and 8th grade.  Tomorrow kicks off the first real game of the season.  I've made a list of game necessities including snacks, chairs, drinks, snacks, umbrellas, and all manner of snacks.  And some money in case we need different snacks.  

Jes' #6 was taken so he got the next best thing.  His brother's #3.  SWOON!!!

Tomorrow I get to watch this new KICKER in action (!) and help out with his team's pre-game meal.  

And I couldn't be more thrilled.

Our Weekend

LB got her driver's license!!  I know you will sleep better tonight knowing there is another 16yo on the road.   Our hope was that she could drive herself to school every day.  But I always forget the special rules that come with new drivers.  And since she didn't have her permit for a full 6 months, it'll be November before she can drive alone.  So scratch that.  

The good news is that it was my first time to have all the correct paperwork without having to turn around and go back home.  Or more like just forget it and hope for better luck next time.  

Also when we got to the revenue office and picked a number, we were only 5 behind the one being called!!  Wonder of wonders. 

We are super excited about the new children's home coming.  Maggie House should be mostly completed by February.  Saturday, Honey and 5 kids went and worked on some demolition and outside work.  There were over 100 people from all churches and denominations in our community sweating and working together to get some work done before the construction crews come in.  

The boys were working in old insulation and moldy stuff so they stripped in the backyard and got a good hosing down before stepping into the showers.  

I stayed home with the younger kids and baked cookies and cut up watermelons and read books and went to a garage sale.   But at lunch time we got to help serve lunch to the Maggie House workers.  

It was a good day.  

Well Lane has done it again.  She found this little tiny baby that needed some love and a trip to the vet.  She weighs just over 1 pound, is dewormed,  and ready for a new family.  As in a different family that isn't mine.  

She's super laid back and just precious all the way around.  She loves taking a nap with you and just snuggling up in the crook of your arm or neck.  

Her name is Belle.  

First 2 Days Of School

I love seeing everyone's back to school pictures.  Kiddos all dressed up with their backpacks sporting a HUGE smile.  Precious!!

And I know you don't usually see a whole lot of college pics but I just couldn't help it.

Oh I love them.

And Monday morning they headed off for the first day of non-home school.  As in COLLEGE ya'll.  And you may not believe me but I promise they were just babies yesterday!!

They both had a great first day, saw many friends, and didn't get lost.  I love that they are at the same school.  They can ride together and meet up in between classes.

In the meantime, I dropped this one off at high school.

HIGH SCHOOL!  She is taking 2 concurrent enrollment classes this semester and three next semester.  If you aren't familiar with concurrent enrollment, they are classes that count for both high school and college at the same time.

Her classes are online but take place in the public school classroom.  Big change from sitting at the dining room table with her little siblings!

I was so proud of her.  I dropped her off and she just waltzed in with full confidence even though she'd never been there, didn't know anybody, or have any idea where she was going.  I'm pretty sure I would've died if I had attempted that at her age.

She has a long 2 hour gap in between classes so she takes her homeschool work and does it while she waits.  Both days she has been completely finished by the time she comes home at lunch.

As for the younger set, we are chugging along with all the new books, pencils, and other back-to-school gear.  I'm enjoying having a little more time to concentrate on them....though the past two days I've been hugely distracted waiting on updates of the day from my other kids!

Yesterday Christian called me on the way home from school with some very big news.  Months and months ago, he interviewed for a big scholarship from Bank Corp.  They called him yesterday to say he GOT IT!!  And I just keep praising God.  His other scholarships were more than enough but this is just over-the-top.  I immediately called the high school counselor and thanked her.  When the school found out about his interview, they included him in a special scholarship interview class with a few other students that had similar opportunities.  I am humbled and so very grateful for the many people that God uses to contribute to my kids' successes.  I'm glad it's not all up to me!

Football is in full swing for 3 boys.  Between running back and forth to school, the football field, and Laney's work I found myself in the car 7 different times yesterday.  I'm so glad everything is close!  And even though it doesn't sound great, I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of it.  It's a small way that I can help them now when they are growing to an age of not needing me quite so much.

It is shaping up to be an awesome school year!

My Consolation

Well now.

I was all bummed about winter bee feeding ya know.  But then when I started looking for the feeders I needed I was  happy to see that they were much cheaper than I thought.  AND I won't have to open the hives.  AND it holds 4 gallons at a time. BINGO!

There was this cheapy frame cleaning tool I've been wanting for a long time and was waiting to add it to my next order.  But with 2 feeders plus the tool, I was still $60+ away from the $100 minimum required for free shipping.  Shipping for those 3 things was going to be over $26.

And since I just couldn't see spending that much money for nothing, I went ahead and added a BEE SUIT to my order!

And I have to say it does soften the blow a little bit  a LOT!!

Hungry Bees And Unhappy Beekeeper

We checked the bees this week.  My kids are becoming quite the beekeepers.  They are eager to suit up and head out and be hands-on.  And I have one who is particularly good at smoker lighting which is hugely helpful since the rest of us aren't.

And while the bees look happy and healthy, there was not a bit of honey. Like not a drop on any frame in either hive. There was also no nectar or pollen to speak of. Since this means I'll be feeding bees all winter, it did not make my day. Especially since I also have no winter feeding equipment. I had planned to discuss this at Bee Club that night but after driving all the way there, I had a sick kid that was threatening to puke and we had to leave.

On the way out, we ran into Mr Hardin who had a big watermelon he has brought for us.(!) He also told me he just bought a 50 gallon barrel of sugar syrup for winter feed that he would share with me and he'd come by next week to see why my bees were acting lazy.  That helped.  But I'm still not happy about feeding bees ALL WINTER...like starting now.

This Week's Phone Pix

Our library has had some fun stuff going on all summer.  This was one of our favorites.  They called it Jedi Training.  Their costumes were crazy good.  And Darth especially was huge and mean looking and authentic sounding. 

  

Looking over their dad's shoulder at fishing pix. 

LB has been gone all week at Grandma's house and Mally has taken over her bed.  Lane's a sweet sister! 

Shirts my mom made for New Fire Athletic Club.  Charleston will no longer be soccer-less!!

Jess made Puppy Chow to take to his friend's house.  Tracy brought this over recently and I had completely forgotten it was a thing.  Jess fell in love and we bought all the ingredients and saved them for a time when we could share it with somebody.  Today he made this all by himself. 

Puppy Chow

9 Cups of Chex cereal 

1/2 Cup peanut butter

1 Cup chocoate chips

1 1/2 C. powdered sugar 

Melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute.  Stir.  Then microwave and stir in 30 sec. increments until its all melted.  Pour over the cereal.  Put the powdered sugar in a gallon ziploc bag and pour in the cereal and shake it up.  It works better if you divide this into 2 bags.  Yummy!!

Racing In The Living Room

Just a funny video of my crazies doing what they do....



Oh how I love them!

Two Weeks of Food And Some Thoughts On Coffee

I'm reading one of my old faves again.  First We Have Coffee.  And truth be told, I'm hardly ever not reading it.  It's not a book I just finish and put away.  It's a book I finish and then leave it out and read snippets here and there and then start over at the beginning.  Every time I get something new out of it and this time it was the simplicity of coffee.

Coffee speaks hospitality.  When you invite someone for coffee, it means fellowship.  Period.
Here in the south, sweet tea is a close second but there is nothing like the invitation of coffee that speaks warmth, sweetness, and friendship.

Now Mama Tweeten was the queen of hospitality and love.  She had the tightest of budgets yet she was continually prepared for whomever the Lord would bring to her.  Sometimes there were pies, or bread, or soup included.  But oftentimes it was just coffee and that was enough.

It's enough to make me want to take up the habit.  But I'm guessing I'll just stick to tea for now because I've always thought of coffee as a very adult drink and I'm not grown up enough to participate.

Anyway, the point is that hospitality doesn't have to be fancy or expensive and I need to practice some more simple hospitality.

This week I tried a new way of menu planning that made much more sense to me than the old ways I was going about it.  Before, I would survey what I had left, plan meals around that, look at the events on the calendar to see how many easy/fast/crockpotted meals I needed, and then plan the rest.  But it was slightly overwhelming trying to think of lots of different dinners to fill in the blanks.  (I menu for 2 weeks b/c that is when we get paid.)

So this time I started with the weekends.  In this pay period we have 3 weekends.  The weekend means more food and more time to make stuff that is more involved.  It needs a bit more consideration than I usually give it and I end up mad that I didn't plan it better.

So I drew boxes for Friday, Saturday, and Date Nights (Sunday).  This is scratch paper that my kids use for drawing and the opposite of fancy.

Friday is always homemade pizza. (Or tuna for LB since she has decided she is not a fan of pizza and somehow tuna is better.  I don't get it.)
So Fridays were done and that's 3 nights of dinners I don't have to think about.

Saturdays...
One weekend was busy so I picked 8 can soup since I can make that in 3 minutes, put it in the crockpot, and feed whoever happens to be here.

Burgers and chips for one week, and chicken spaghetti with peas for the next.  I can add salad and watermelon to these and they will be perfect. 3 more dinners done.

Then I moved on to date nights, or otherwise known as Sundays.
I want to keep Sundays as simple as possible.  When we come home from church we just eat leftovers and clean out the fridge.  For dinner, I'm letting my kids make their own sandwiches and clean up the mess.  We don't have many sandwiches so they are happy with this.  Then I planned dinners for us that didn't require a lot of prep or clean up but that was still a bit out of the ordinary and different from the kids' dinner.
1. Deli tray with cherries
2. Grilled cheese and french fries
3. Pizza (frozen) and salad

9 dinners done.  8 to go.

1. BLTs and potato salad
2. Extreme Nachos
3. Waffles and drumsticks with salad
4. Chicken Baked Potato Casserole and broccoli
5. Lasagna, bread, salad
6. Enchiladas with refried beans, chips/salsa
7. Tacos with Grandma
8. Breakfast Burritos
9. Southwest salads

Lunches are quick, easy, and filling.  One of the lunches is Bacon Soup.  It's that cheap bag of different kinds of beans at Walmart that you soak overnight and make soup out of.  My kids think it tastes like bacon even though there's no meat in it anywhere.  Apparently they have very sophisticated taste.

And then I planned for extra stuff for snacks and things the kids had been asking for recently. And popsicles of course.  Add lots of lettuce and fruits and vegetables.  Ta Da!!

And now I don't have to think about it for 2 whole weeks.

A Word About Homeschooling To Newbies

Looking over our homeschool newsletter, I am thrilled to see how many new homeschoolers are added to our number every year.  Some are pulling kiddos out of public/private schools, and some are just starting with their preschooler.  And now there are even some second generation homeschool mommas!  I think that's precious.

I have homeschooled now for 17 years.  We have 9 kiddos that have been homeschooled since they were born.  1 has graduated college, 2 will be starting college in the fall, and 6 are still working with Momma at home.  

When my oldest was kindergarten age, she had 3 little siblings and I was one tired momma!  I was busy taking care of my growing family, nursing a baby, trying to figure out how to homeschool, and feeling very inadequate to the task!  I felt like I had to do it all.  And what if I failed?  What if I picked the wrong curriculum?  What if there were gaps?  And what was all this talk about socialization anyway?  What if she never learned to read?  How was she going to make friends?  And how was my baby son going to play sports when the time came?  How could I spend the time necessary when I had so many other people that needed me too?   And then what about college??

17 years later and 3 graduations behind me, I have way more peace than I did in those early years.  There were many people from all different places that have spoken into my life over the years and helped me to get to a more comfortable place in my homeschooling.   And as I am preparing for a new school year and reviewing the tricks of the trade, I thought I'd throw out some of my favorite ideas that others taught me back in the day.

#1.  Do not babysit your kids during school.
A single homeschool dad of 12 hooked me onto this philosophy when I was just beginning.  He stressed teaching your kids to read and learn all math facts by rote.  Then turn them loose!  Once they can read,  they need to do as much on their own as possible without Mom holding their hand.  Give them their assignments, and expect them to read it and do it.

Now I'm not gonna lie.  I've had some very "hands-on" friends that do everything with their kids.  Even their high schoolers.  They have elaborate history programs and adopt the learn-it-together approach.  And listening to all they (the WHOLE family) accomplished made me feel guilty,  inadequate, and as though I wasn't doing enough.   But no matter how impressed I was, with 9 kids there was NO WAY I could ever make that happen.

Then my daughter said something out-of-the-blue one day that gave me great encouragement.  You see, my oldest daughter recently graduated college.  She was homeschooled every day of her life, received a very generous full-ride college scholarship and graduated with honors in 4 years.  She said  the thing that benefited her the most was the fact that she was taught to teach herself in our homeschool.  She was never spoon-fed information and she wasn't dependent on a teacher to help her learn everything she needed.  Online classes were also easy because she didn't need special attention.

Teaching your kids to teach themselves relieves a lot of the pressure of thinking you have to do it all. My kids' successes are THEIR successes.  It was their work, their time, their diligence.  I just helped to make it happen by expecting them to do it and keeping them accountable.

#2.  Stay home during school. 
No matter how quick the trip, once I leave the house the momentum is gone.  I may have grand plans of picking it up where we left off.  But I find that if we stay home we eliminate the re-entry process, maintain momentum, and get a lot more done.

#3.  Make a schedule and stick to it.
There's a million different ways of going about it, and here is a site I really like.  Their resources are very helpful...especially for first year homeschoolers.  Work and re-work your schedule until it fits your family just right.  Establish a chore routine and menu plan.  The time it takes to maintain this (and it does take time!) will pay off in peaceful days with happier people.   If everyone knows what to expect every day there will be less frustrations and more cooperation.

#4. Be Flexible! 
Your schedule is only a tool to help keep everyone on track.  It's not the boss of you.  So if something better comes along, by all means ditch the schedule and go with that!   I have a friend that tries to get in 3 full serious days of work in the beginning of the week.  Then if the end of the week starts to fall apart, she feels better knowing that most of the week was spent in diligent study times.

Those 4 principles have helped me more than anything else over the years.  And as I'm working on our new school schedule, I am keeping these ideas on the forefront of my mind!

A Sneak Peek At Our Back-To-School Plans

It's almost time!!  This will be my 22nd year of homeschooling.  Or if you count actual school grades, my 17th year.  Anyhow, it's a long time.  I'm just coming out of a rut of school dread and I'm actually looking forward to this year.  And while I don't wanna sound annoying cheerful (because if you are not looking forward to school, I totally get it.), I am thrilled to finally feel a bit of enthusiasm.

"Back To School" doesn't just mean back to school around here.  It pretty much means clean up, strategize, plan, reorganize, restock, and re-plan.

I make endless lists.
I shop what I already have.
I shop the libraries.
I read reviews.
I shop the internet.
And used books sales.
And I spend money.
Then I lesson plan.
Lots of lesson planning.
I take inventory of socks/underwear.
I buy more socks and underwear and spend more money.
I reorganize the school storage.
I shop the back-to-school items.
And I spend more money.
I make goals for each kiddo.
I re-do the chore schedule.
I plan a special breakfast.
With juice.
And fun snacks on the side.
And it's all a surprise.
Including one BIG surprise for each kid.

It's a HUGE day.  And it's a bunch of fun.

Here's a peek at some of the new things for this year.

~No matter what I've tried, I can't seem to convince my kids to re-use a cup.  I've assigned special cups to each kid.  I've bought everyone water bottles.  I've put cups in designated places.  Nothing.  We are still washing 20 cups a day.

Just when I was ready to give up, admit defeat, and move on with my life, Nikki introduced me to these.  Sip And Straw Lids.   And I think this just might be the answer!  The only problem is that the straws are all the same.  So I bought extra straws that were all different.  We'll see....

~This year we have 2 college bound students and 1 high school student doing part-time concurrent enrollment at the high school.   This means 3 of our kids will not be home for several hours of the day and each has a different schedule.

I took them out of the kitchen clean-up rotation leaving only 5 younger kids to rotate the weeks.  BUT I'm having LB help every night with her younger sibling on duty and the college kids will be responsible for the whole weekend's kitchen work together.  So basically it means the youngers will only be on duty Monday-Friday (rotating every week) and will have a helper every evening.

~I'm changing our writing curriculum this year to Write Shop.  This was a considerable portion of my book money.   I have 2 kids that will do the older version and 2 kids doing the Jr version.  Then I have one that falls in the middle and will do a little of both.  To save some money, I didn't buy the teacher's books.  I hardly ever buy the teacher's book for anything.  I think I'll be ok with the older version, but looking over the younger one has thrown me for a loop!  I'm still hoping to wing it without spending more money on it.

~LB's big surprise is a fancy calculator.   I had to buy this used on EBay because Oh My Word they are super pricey!  But she has been using the same little pink calculator I bought her at the dollar store 6 years ago.  And besides having to re-write the numbers on the buttons with a sharpie, it works great.  However, it can't be programmed with ACT formulas so it was time to upgrade.

~My Mally Girl is getting the last 4 Moody books in the series she loves.

~And Zekey is getting his first paint-by-number in hopes of helping with some fine motor skills.

~Another big change this year is that we are switching to more traditional text books for some subjects.  The reason being that our younger kids are getting older and needing to be better test takers.  Text books, complete with quizzes and tests, will offer more practice at this.  It doesn't matter how smart you are, if you are a crummy tester it's not going to land you a scholarship.  My boys need some practice in this area.

~2 of my boys are getting new back packs.  Christian will use his at school, but Jes really has no school related back pack needs.  I'm sure he will fill it with all matter of boy junk and be thrilled to have another area of personal space.

~Now Lane will be starting college.  But as far as I can tell, she already has every practical need met. So this year I bought her 2 cases of juice.  She loves having juice for after work and I rarely ever buy those little bottles.  Juice is a BIG deal at this house!

~There's LOTS of new traditional type school supplies waiting, plus some that are a little different that we've never tried before.

Our party is scheduled for Monday.  And for the first time ever, their daddy will be home to celebrate too!  I'm looking forward to showing you his real pictures instead of my iPhone pictures this year!

A Little Bit Of Lately

~I had a huge day of errands and appts one day this week.  And when I found myself with an excuse to pop into Hobby Lobby, I was thrilled.

Hobby Lobby ALONE!!  

Do you need a moment to appreciate that?  Because I can tell you it's never happened before and will likely never happen again.  But this time, a sheer miracle found me browsing the fancy delicate beautifulness without me directing a line of children to not sit on anything, lean against the shelves, and to walk with their hands behind their backs.  

The clearance aisle was full of fun.  And there were these wooden swirly monogram letters like you can hang on your front door.  For 80% off!!  So I dug through the Ps and Ys and Zs and finally found something that might be a T.  But it was hard to tell with all that swirlyness going on.  So I asked the lady on the aisle with me if she thought it was a T.  She took off her glasses, backed up, studied it, and told me to turn it upside down.  It was iffy.  And we couldn't be sure.... but it just might be a T.  But finally I decided that if it took that much imagination to figure it out, my guests coming to the front door would have no idea what it was supposed to be.  So I left it there.  

But there was a very pretty picture that I loved just across the way and I knew just where I would hang it.  

And isn't it lovely?  But my walls aren't really that color.  

Unfortunately I can't do anything about the smoke alarm or thermostat.  But that unsightly switch plate with the mountain home scene etched into it will have to go.  

~My kids have 3 more days of speed camp next week.  After that it's the big back-to-school party!!  And I'm so eager to get started with our new stuff and new schedule before our lives get busier with little foster babies.  

~AND, the crews are here this week making the final plans for the new childrens' home, Maggie House.  They have a nice construction budget and it will house 30 boys and 30 girls.  It will be open in February.  THIS February!!    We are beyond excited.  

~We got another piece of good news this week with an email awarding Laney a college scholarship we didn't expect.  I know!!  So her plans have changed a bit and she is adding more classes and shopping for books.  I'm so happy for her.  And very grateful.

~Remember Blue?  My neighbor's dog.

Well Blue hasn't been here all week.  And we can only assume that my neighbor finally found some combination of devices to keep Blue in his own yard.  Since it took us approximately 5 minutes to fall head over heels for this pup, we are contemplating how to break him out without being caught.

~One more thing.   This recipe!!  We love it.  Except we don't know Molly.  And we don't know anybody else named Molly.  So it's needing a new name.

Happy Anniversary!!

On Tuesday, Honey and I celebrated 26 years of wedded bliss.  TWENTY SIX!!  

Ok, well it hasn't all been bliss.  We've had our share of stupid arguments and silent dinners and loud conversations.  But for the most part, I'd describe it as AWESOMENESS.  

We were talking about some of our favorite memories together.  Now we haven't taken any cruises or mission trips or done anything glamorous.  We spent the first 3 1/2  years together eating Lucky Charms on the couch for supper and walking the dogs at the park.  The next 22 1/2 years we've spent raising 9 gorgeous kids.  I was pregnant and/or nursing for 16 years.  

That's a lot of sleepless nights, tears, poopy diapers, dirty laundry, car seat loading, car seat unloading, seatbelt buckling, shoe tying, puke cleaning, and snot wiping.  It's been 22 years of teething babies, stubborn toddlers, athletic boys, bossy little girls, and emotional teenagers.  

But do you know, do you know?  That not one of our favorite memories revolved around kids!?  Yes, the kids were there.  They were included.  But they were not the stars and focal points of the memories.  When it came down to just our favorite times, it included stuff that the two of us had done together.  Whether it was coordinating a move, learning something new, or a particular date we had at a certain place.  

I count that as a HUGE win.  Because people tell me that someday my kids will all be gone and living their own lives and we will have all the groceries to ourselves.  And as my older ones are growing up, I'm seeing that play out on a small scale.  Now ya'll.  After having these people around for over 22 years, we've grown rather fond of them.  What would we even talk about if it didn't have something to do with math homework or football camp? And living life without them eating up every scrap of food sounds a little boring.  

So when our favorites list involved 2 people instead of 11, I was tickled to think that when that time comes, we still might have just as much fun together as we did back in the day.  And with over 26 years of practice, I might even be able to come up with something better for dinner than Lucky Charms!  

A Gappy Grin

Look what's missing!! 

He's been working on that tooth for some time.  But finally it's OUT!!  And he couldn't be more thrilled.

We have a tradition of the"tooth fairy" taking you out to lunch when you loose the first tooth.  After that, it's money.  And our kids have always known the whole tooth fairy game.  But even though this is his 3rd tooth he still asked begged for the tooth fairy to take him just one last time.

Here's the note he found under his pillow.  

Early this morning, I hear him yell, "YESSSS!!" from his bed. 

I love this new smile! 

Nine Uninteresting Things

One~ I had some friends over today to visit and to watch my mother-in-law make kimchi.  It's been something I've wanted to do before school officially started for everyone.  Now I don't like kimchi.  Not at all.  But it's fun to watch her work in the kitchen.  And she has this gift of making a big batch of anything with hardly any mess.  I do not have that gift.

Two~ We are taking pizza to the in-laws for dinner tonight.  NOT homemade pizza either!  It's Tate's last night before flying back to AZ.  We're going to miss him.

Three~ For the first time in forever I'm excited about starting a new school year.  EXCITED I tell ya!  And truth be known, I'm always excited about the party but not about the work that lies ahead.  This year it's both.  I think the kids will really enjoy the new structure of school.

Four~ We are saving up for another car.  We have more drivers all needing to go in different directions. Honey is selling his motorcycle and we are used car shopping and saving.  It has really sparked my interest in money management.  For 26 years Honey has taken care of all things money.  And he's done a great job. But now I'd like to help out a bit.

Five~ Mally learned to ripstick!  She's so happy.

Six~ I bought some curtains at Savers during the 50% sale.  I like the color and design but they were not even close to the right length.  So I pinned them up and played with them until I got them to a place that looked good.  I left them like that for Tracy to see and to ask about how to sew them.  I can barely sew a stitch and wasn't looking forward to this part.  But Tracy showed me how to pin them a different way that I didn't need to sew!!  Happy!

Seven~ It's July and I'm wearing a light jacket and drinking hot chocolate.  Oh I'm in love! And tomorrow morning I will need to check our bees and I won't have a heat stroke in the bee gear.  These cooler temps make me ready for some Tiger football!

Eight~ We are months and months away from opening our home for foster care.  But I am working toward getting some things we'll need for our home study.  We have a new fire extinguisher and a trash can with a lid.  We also have a crib in our room for our foster babies.  I was needing to buy one at some point, but Dana gave me hers.   I'm still needing a mattress and hope to find one at GKS this fall.

Nine~ I think this could be labeled Most Boring Post Ever.  Maybe it's because we are in between ball seasons.   But it pretty much sums up life at this point. And sometimes boring is good.

Learning To Live Intentionally

I'm reading through 1 Corinthians these days.  It's interesting how Paul addresses the churches so differently and speaks to their individual needs.  And then at the same time, I find my "need" in whichever epistle I'm reading and it's as though he is speaking to me.  Apparently I have ever-changing issues.

If I were to summarize 1 Corinthians it would be Intentional Living.  Paul speaks a lot about our bodies, how to honor God, putting people first, and also warnings against serving ourselves.

Yesterday, I spoke to my kids about storing up treasure in heaven.  God tells us that our treasure should not be here on earth where moths destroy and thieves steal, but storing up treasure in heaven instead.  Laney mentioned that whenever she heard that teaching it always sounded like we were to store up our own personal treasure boxes for ourselves as the end goal.

But it's not that.

Our goal is glorifying God.  And one of the biggest ways we do that is by putting ourselves last and loving others.  The treasure is the by-product of a life of love.  "....just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved."  1Cor 10:33

But it doesn't just come naturally.  And that's where the instruction comes in.  Do this.  Do that.  And by all means, DON'T do that!!  It's not burdensome, but freeing.  Not only does Paul say "love one another" but he tells us how to do that in chapter 13.

My planner is full of the day-to-day business of life.  There are reminders, menu plans, shopping lists, school ideas, various Scriptures to remember, and the big list of things to do.  But sometimes in the afternoons I find myself in a place of not knowing what to do.  Not that I'm bored, but just overwhelmed with not knowing where to start or what to jump into next.  And often I'm jumping from thing to thing without ever feeling like I'm getting anything done.

This verse has helped..... "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you my obtain it."

Again, this speaks of intentional living.  Having a purpose and then ordering life so that I can achieve that end result.  And the result is ultimately loving God and loving others.

The afternoon is a good time to check off everything that has been done and then evaluate and prioritize the remainder.  By afternoon school is finished, 2 meals are done and cleaned up, and there is a bit more freedom in how to spend the time.  I can play with my kids, swim, or go for a walk.  We can read, make cookies, or just have quiet time.  I can glance at my planner and decide how to spend that time with the goal of loving others and not just catching up on Pinterest.  Every day is different.  But by intentionally prioritizing that time,  there is an actual purpose behind what I'm choosing and I don't feel as though I'm just hopping from thing to thing.

New Friend

Meet Blue

He's our neighbor's new puppy that finds his way over to visit.  

He's the sweetest, most lovable little guy. 

And we have had fun with some puppy love.  

Nana's Dip

This week was Bee Club.  Some of my kids love going to Bee Club with me but I suspect it has nothing to do with learning about bees and everything to do with the snack table.  

You see, these people go ALL OUT with the snacks.   We're talking fried chicken, cheese trays, homemade breads, and endless cookies.  I've never ever seen just a regular chip and dip bowl.  No...that would never do for Bee Club.  

And every month I say I'm going to take something.  And every month it never happens.  Unless you count that one time that I thought it was a potluck BBQ and I took a watermelon.  Turns out, it wasn't.  

But this time, with our garden overload, I decided to take a plate of cucumbers and dip.  And even Honey, who has never seen the snack table at Bee Club, thought I would come home with every one of those cucumbers and a full dip bowl.  

But he was wrong. 

Very Wrong!  Because he didn't take into account THE DIP.  

Nana made this for us for Christian's graduation and we scarfed it down, scraped the bowl, and would've licked it if nobody had been watching.  

My Bee Club folks were equally impressed.  The cucumbers were gone, the bowl was scraped clean, and I found myself having to repeat the recipe over and over to the ladies.  

Now this is not a sweet dip.  It's perfect for chips, veggies, or maybe even to smear on your chicken.  But one lady clearly misunderstood and was dipping her cookies into Nana's dip!  Her cookies!!

Whatever.  

Now this will take you all of 45 seconds to make from start to finish but you have to let it set in the fridge for a few minutes before you eat it.  

1 cup each sour cream and mayo

About a tsp or so of granulated beef bullion 

Mix it all up.  The beef bullion will dissolve after a few minutes and you will need to stir it all together.

And that's it!!  Then go get yourself a bag of chips or maybe swing by my house and I'll help you out with some cucumbers.  

In Which I Discovered Something Incredible

I learned a new word.

"Columbus"

Meg said it means when you think you discovered something that everybody else already knows.  And I think it might fit just perfectly with what happened to me.

Do you remember years back when I was working through cooking whole chickens and turkeys?  Renee and I were learning this together and neither of us were impressed.  But whole chickens save money.  And you can boil the bones to make broth.  And they are versatile.  And did I mention they save money?  And I'm all about the saving money.

And then there was that year when turkeys hit their all-time low and went on sale for super cheap and I bought 12.

Well times haven't changed all that much, except that I'll never buy 12 turkeys again.  I still hate cooking whole chickens.

1. They come in a bag with chicken juice that always leaks.

2. You have to open the bag in the sink because if you puncture that bag in the wrong place, chicken juice will squirt out on you....with force!

3.  You have to pick up that chicken with your bare hands.

4.  There is that bag of guts you have to contend with.

5.  You have to super clean everything because of chicken juice.  The sink, the faucet, the outside of the seasoning jar, your hands, the utensils, everything.

6.  After you do whatever you are going to do with the chicken, you have to pick all the meat off the bones for later.  Again, with your bare hands.

7.  It always puts Momma in a bad mood.

So see?  It all adds up to be a pain in the butt.

But when I was going to bed one night, I had a fantastic idea.  You see, you don't have to buy whole chickens OR boneless skinless chicken pieces.  There's another option.  You can buy chicken pieces that have bones that are not the whole chicken but only the pieces you actually want!  There's a whole section of chicken choices in the grocery store that I have never bothered with!!  You still get the bones for broth but you don't get bags of guts.  Plus it comes on a nice styrofoam tray that contains the chicken juice a little better and you can use TONGS to pick it up.

As for the extra expense, it turns out it's only about ten cents a pound more.  And I'd happily pay that for family peace and less chicken juice.

I know!!

I single-handedly discovered a culinary secret that will change the whole game.  Or in other words, I  columbus-ed it.... and I'm mighty proud of myself.

Linky Love

We've had such a fun summer so far.  The pool is getting tons of action, popsicles are a staple in the freezer, and we are getting to spend more time at the library.  This week we watched The Lego Movie in the theater room at the library and the kids loved it.

The garden is growing, the bees are busily humming, and the weather has been perfect.  LOVE!

Here's some of what I've been reading and looking at this week....

Our foster care classes won't likely start until winter.  In the meantime, I'm educating myself and reading everything I can get my hands on.  I'm taking the angle of reading every horror story I can.  I want to be ready with an appropriate response and a right heart.  I don't want to judge, be prideful, or condemning. And I want to be prepared...at least as much as possible..and not shocked.  I have no fairy tale honeymoon dreams and I appreciate those who are able to give a no-fluff, serious look at the real world of orphan care.

Another Place At The Table

This is a fantastic book.  I couldn't put it down.  I devoured this and was disappointed it was over.  I borrowed this from Dana, but I need to get my own copy so I can read it anytime I like! 

To The End Of June

This is ok.  Not great. I would say it's a very raw account of heartbreak.  There have been some boring parts I've skipped but I'm about 1/2 way through it.  It was published in 2013 so it's very new and has current, accurate law info.  This is a library book but I may want to own it someday.

And as I read through these accounts and think about the ways it'll affect our family, I keep coming back to two words....Love and Peace.  I'm working on memorizing 1 Corinthians 13.  I've memorized it loosely over the years because it is so popular.  But I'm trying to nail it down word-for-word.  And I love this blog post titled Aggressively Living 1 Corinthians 13.  Wow.  I'm praying through every Verse of it.  

I also like this blog about an easy Bible study method.  It has an awesome guilt-free slant that I'm all over! 

Here is a granola  recipe I want to try and here is a bean dip recipe that we made twice this week because WOW!! And I'm thinking I should just make it every day.

I hope you have a great 4th of July!