Another Day

I bummed around today. Tracy had a violin lesson so I trampled through the teacher's mother's garden looking at different things and even took some rhubarb roots. You should see her pea pods!!! :) I've been told I can pick carrots, beans, and raspberries to my heart's content. I even got to pick a few strawberries that had their faces showing. Yummy!!! Tonight I took Emily and Melissa to VBS where they learned the story of Daniel, and the verse and lesson were on self-control. We also made a quick stop at the library to return some books, got gas for the car, and dropped off a rhubarb root for a friend. I forgot to stop at the bank to drop off our electric bill, but I'll be in town tomorrow and Thursday. I think our calendar is clear for Friday at the moment other than Mike working.

Garden

Look at the pea pods!!!!! I've been waiting and waiting for them, and they showed up when I quit looking. A watched pot never boils, I guess. :)











Here are the newest pictures of the garden. The peas, some of which are over my head now, and beans have lots of flowers. I have (only) 11 tomatoes as of last count, the peppers are flowering. I still have to take up an onion to see the progress, but they look strong and healthy from above the ground. The kids are anxious for the corn--the tallest one is waist-high. We've had lots and lots of lettuce to eat.

Fruit

We picked another four quarts of blueberries today.
I'm trying my hand at making some strawberry leather. I don't have a blender so chopped it as well as I could with my "onion chopper."

We didn't get any mowing done at the church building like I wanted to do today. :)

Tonight Emily and Melissa went to a VBS that did a lot of singing and had several puppets. They did the story of David and Goliath and based the lesson and Bible verse on "courage."

Birthday Bounty

We got Tracy picked up and made it home safely. She's tired but had a very fun time. I grilled my birthday steaks, made some potato fries, cheesy green beans, mandarin oranges, and milk for supper, and had strawberries over white cupcakes. I didn't realize Pamida's sales ended on Friday so missed out on my cheesecake. :) Laura and I picked the daisies.

Happy birthday to ME!

I have been saving our last package of steaks from our beef we got last year. I think this is a good time to use them. :)

Tomorrow we pick Tracy up from soccer camp so I'll get a couple cheesecakes at Pamida and see if I can con people into picking one more bucket of strawberries for me then have a supper for my birthday then.

Have a good day! We're planning to go blueberry picking later.

Sonlight Science

We've slowly been working our way through our science curriculum. This picture shows just some of the books we use. Today we did a bunch of experiments with water.

We learned about floating/sinking, underwater floating, pushing power, changing shapes, the way they load cargo ships, the Plimsoll line in fresh vs. salt water, and we made a submarine out of a bottle and a tube.

If you're interested: http://www.sonlight.com.

Soccer Camp

Well, we brought Tracy to soccer camp this afternoon. We were just about there when I heard "one of those groans" that a mom knows too well. So...I asked her what she forgot, and it was her sleeping bag! They did have an extra around she was able to use, otherwise I was going to leave her our beach towels. While I do keep a few things in the van, a sleeping bag is not one of them. :)

Here's a sneak preview of a new children's picture. I won't be sending this one out to people but thought it was a fun one to post. :)

The other day I looked out the window and found this rainbow; it hadn't even rained here so somewhere southwest of us was getting a shower.

Swimming

We hit the pool tonight after kids were begging to go and do something. Melissa actually went off the diving board AND down the slide tonight. Tomorrow we're bringing Tracy to soccer camp. She's really looking forward to three square meals a day (plus canteen twice a day!!!) Mike took a couple hours off work to go with us this year. We'll hit the state park while we're there.

To my Friends in Iowa

How far are you from Lu Verne?

Baby for Sale

for a couple days only so I can get some rest

but FREE dog to first taker--comes with food, barks, and growls

Blueberries

We picked blueberries today just as a trial-thing to see how they are. We ended up with about a quart. Mike said by next week they should be ready. The dog got to go with us and enjoyed being able to run free through the woods. (We'll have to buy mosquito spray before we go next week; they were thicker than the blueberries!)

This is the Way You Wash Your Hair...

...when your septic tank is full (and it's raining.) We've had so much rain this year that we're saturated, and our drainfield doesn't drain. It doesn't help that one of the toilets runs and runs when not flushed correctly. :) It reminded me of Jackpine years ago.

We Shall Behold Him

I'm typing another hymn because the school Bible still hasn't shown its face.

The sky shall unfold, preparing His entrance; the stars shall applaud Him with thunders of praise. The sweet light in His eyes shall enhance those awaiting; and we shall behold Him then face to face.

The angel shall sound the shout of His coming; the sleeping shall rise from their slumbering place. And those who remain shall be changed in a moment; and we shall behold Him then face to face.

And we shall behold Him, we shall behold Him face to face in all of His glory. O we shall behold Him, we shall behold Him face to face, our Savior and Lord.

Summer Track

My first post that could link someone to where I live... :)

These are some of the ribbons the kids get when they do the track events each Thursday. Emily ran six events again tonight. She wanted to do the two-mile run, but I discouraged her from that.

And I couldn't resist adding this picture of the strawberry tub hanging from the top of the freezer; the kids and I had to laugh about that. I think it's time to defrost the freezer. I can't do it tomorrow because I told Mike I was sleeping all day and night.

Garden

Here are this week's garden pictures.

How tall will the peas grow up the trellis before they start to flower and produce? I don't think anything else has changed or even grown!

Melissa enjoys running around the path and through the two walkways. "It makes two eights!" was an exclamation one day.

Strawberries

The older five kids and I went strawberry picking this morning. We were there for 1/2 hour and got 8 buckets of strawberries. Aaron was the top picker at 2 1/2 pails, and Tracy was close behind him. It was so hard not staying to pick more, but I think 8 buckets should last for a while. :)

When we got home, we dove in, but the kids didn't eat as many as I thought they should have. I had to show them my way of "slurping" the berry off the stem because they were cutting the stems out and losing part of the berry. We had fun trying to out-slurp each other with the noise.

We made one batch of jam with some pectin I had left over from last year. I'll have to start looking for that stuff on sale because Tracy wants LOTS of jam.

Birthday Boy

Here are a few of Jason's birthday pictures. We had a family over for a lunch of pizza, fruit salad, and grape juice punch. We had a Dairy Queen cake and opened gifts.

Here's a sneak preview of Jason's new hair cut. It's not quite done, but I "snagged" him while he was playing a game at the computer.

We have a phone!

I got a hold of the phone company, and they sent out a man (who happens to be a family friend) to fix our phone line. It was working at his office but not at our house, and it appears that our neighbors cut the line when they mowed along the road. Why we've had the Internet all weekend is beyond him, but I'm thankful we had it! :) So..........if you were thinking of calling us, call. I can't guarantee I'll answer because the silence has been nice, but go ahead and call. :)

I'll be posting birthday pictures later (plus a sneak preview of a handsome haircut.) :)

Another Day

After church today we went to Dairy Queen and Jason picked out his birthday cake. He chose one with a racing car on it. We have a family coming over tomorrow for a while to help him celebrate. Most of the invitations we've given people over the years have been turned down because people are too busy so he was excited when he heard they were coming. Hopefully we get some good pictures tomorrow. He'll be 10!

Flowers

(And Weeds!) They sure are pretty though. Mike and some of the kids went for a walk this morning before we left and took these pictures near our house.

Baby Birthday Party

We have no phone, in case you have been trying to call us. We're not sure what the problem is at the moment, but with the amount of calls we (don't) get, we're not missing it.

Today our midwife hosted a party for her "babies." If I heard the count correctly, 18 of them were there. It was a very windy and cool day so I'm glad I packed jackets. It was a "bring your own meat and a dish to share" meal and was a lot of fun. It's always fun to get to visit with everyone. Thanks, Rebekah!

I've been working through this FIAR book with Emily (and Melissa when she'll listen) and have been enjoying it. I had heard about it when Tracy was young but never spent the $ on it. A friend loaned me this. We have about six books left to do of those I can locate through the library.

Here are a couple pictures of Laura and Melissa playing in the water from last night's storm. It was dripping off the roof. I love the way you can see the individual droplets!

Wicked Storm

We had a wicked storm go through a couple hours ago. It didn't last long. We found out a while later that a tornado was located five miles north of our town.

Today in our last Bible club, we had the story of the good Samaritan.

Mike just started the movie "The Sound of Music" so I think I'll sign off and update my food spending for the month.

Lead On, O King Eternal

The "school Bible" seems to have disappeared so I'll type in the words of a hymn I enjoy playing.

Lead on, O King Eternal, the day of march has come; henceforth in fields of conquest Your tents shall be our home. Through days of preparation Your grace has made us strong, and now, O King Eternal, we lift our battle song.

Lead on, O King Eternal, till sin's fierce war shall cease, and holiness shall whisper the sweet Amen of peace; for not with swords loud clashing, nor roll of stirring drums, with deeds of love and mercy the heavenly kingdom comes.

Lead on, O King Eternal, we follow, not with fears; for gladness breaks like morning wherever Your face appears; Your cross is lifted over us; we journey in its light: the crown awaits the conquest; lead on, O God of might.

Another Day

Tonight we went to the pool after track. The water was SOOOOOOOOOOOO refreshing. Tracy took Laura around on her shoulders on one lap she did around the track, and the lady in charge gave Laura a ribbon for having to endure "all that bouncing." I just patted Laura's belly and asked her if she had a milkshake in there. :)

We got some groceries and went to the library, got gas for the church mower and topped off the gas in our van. I was looking for a birthday present for Jason but can't find what I'm looking for in the stores up here (or I'm looking in the wrong location.) He may have to get a "rain check" until I can get to a bigger store.

Today in our Bible club we did the story of the centurion. Aaron and Jason were hiding behind the couch during club so they could get in on the snack afterwords.

I didn't accomplish much today but did manage to sneak in a short nap.

Sewing Projects

Today in our Bible club, we had the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. We've also been hearing a missionary story about Hudson Taylor all week.

Tracy and I finished up the skirts for Emily and Melissa from the rest of the material from which she made her skirt. I thought about making one for Laura, but I know I won't put a skirt on her. She has lots of cute dresses anyway. :)

I finally finished up the dress I've been working on for Emily. She wanted "JOY" on it so I used some lace I had on hand for that.

A friend gave me a cute jumper, but the bodice part was too small. I cut it off, added elastic, and made a skirt out of it. I'm thinking I'll add two or three more buttons down at the bottom from the bodice piece.

Another Day

Today in our Bible club we did the story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Mike is home from work tomorrow, and I think Tracy has a violin lesson.

Double Rainbow

Today in our Bible club we did the story of the man being let through the roof.
Tonight Mike said a big storm was headed our way, but this was all we got. :)

Library Books

I seem to be getting slack on getting my books returned to the library. Thankfully, they allow us several days for a grace period, but I feel like I've been using it way too much lately. We used to be the best patrons, stopping at the library every time we were in town, but now it seems to be a bother. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that the kids have been playing WAY too much computer. They start the new school session in seven weeks, and we'll have some strict rules then. :) Tomorrow we're having a small Bible club at our house. We'll have a Bible story, learn a memory verse, listen to a missionary story, and have a treat. It should be fun! What would be even more fun is if everyone I invited showed up; we'd have a houseful then. (I invited 24 kids.)

Updated Garden Pictures

My tomatoes don't look like they're going to get big, but I've seen three flowers on them so far.

Is the bottom picture my Romaine-type lettuce? Do I eat some of the leaves now or just let it grow and grow?

Oh, and we do have a few corn plants that are knee-high (to Laura!!!) :)