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I've set up a new blog... You can visit me here now! Enjoy! |
We went to a SuperBowl party last night & I made some cute cupcakes like this... So the little pennants are made out of fruit roll-ups. I have not purchased fruit roll-ups in years, both because I feel like they are a waste of money for the amount of food you actually get & because the kids just don't need a leathery mix of sugar & colors. But, I bought a box for this dessert because it was just so cute & hey, if I don't like football, at least I could get some excitement from the snacks! And, I told the kids they could eat the leftovers. Well, we had probably 6 roll-ups left & they asked for one after they had their apples at snacktime. I agreed & we grabbed them to have while running errands. I opened the outer package in the car & handed the roll back to them. I didn't think I had to tell them that the snacks are wrapped up in plastic. Imagine my surprise when we are walking into JoAnn's & BOTH of them are trying to bite through the plastic!! I guess we don't eat junk food enough for them to figure out some of the finer points of junk food consumption. Like the little boogers are often layer upon layer of unnecessary packaging. Or, that even though the texture may be the same, there is a difference between the junk & the wrapping (though the only difference may be the sugars & colors!) Maybe that's some of the "socialization" that they are missing out on by not being in school. You know, junk food exposure. I can live with that, I guess. |
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We frequently get one of two comments when we tell someone what our farming plans are, and sometimes we get both. The first is a sentiment of envy. I'm amazed at how many people are envious (and not in a nasty-petty-jealousy-sort-of-way, but in the wow,-that's-so-neat-I-wish-I-could-do-that-sort-of-way). Of course, I always invite them to come along! How cool it would be to have a bunch of friends & family all around. Anyway, the second response is one of amazement that we could be so, what's the word?, foolhardy? Especially when they find out that neither one of us has any sort of background in farming. I tried to grow a garden when we lived in Texas. Tried is the operative word there. Of course, the entire yard was completely shaded by our huge cottonwood & I blame much of the failure on that. Well, between you & me, it probably had something to do with me forgetting to water regularly too. I mean, after all, it was hot outside. Who wants to stand around & water??? I did manage to grow some lettuce, which was great, and some of the tiniest, but sweetest carrots ever. But, most of the plants didn't make it far. I know, however, that it'll be different on the farm. Know why? Well, that leads me to a funny story. Don's dad was telling a family friend about our plans. She chose response option #2. She was relieved to hear that we are getting the land next door to ours with a house & barn, for our sakes, because that would be so much to try to make a go of all at once. However, she was still concerned that we have no idea what we are doing. "No, no," says Don's dad. "They know what to do...they've been watching Little House!" So, have no fear! We've seen Ma & Pa do it! How hard could it be??? I'm sure that my garden will be a bumper crop of beautiful, tasty, insect-resistant goodness, what, with 9 seasons of Little House under my belt. Piece O Cake! I wonder if we can deduct the costs of our Little House DVDs as some sort of farm or educational expense. Hmmm...what would Pa do? |
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Yippee! We are getting a real live Christmas tree tonight...FREE! I'm so excited. We weren't going to have a tree at all this year. Last summer, we gave away our tree to the church for their Arctic Edge VBS & thought we'd get a new fake tree. Well, then we found our farm & there are tons of Christmas trees all over the land! We'll have trees for the rest of our lives! So, it would be silly to buy a new fake tree now. And, we didn't want to spend the money on a real tree this year. We're saving every penny for the farm.
Anyway, we got a notice that the base was giving out 200 free real trees today! Dh went over & got a voucher, so we will pick our tree up tonight! We have to go buy a tree stand, though, as we've never, ever had a live tree before. Time to dig all the ornaments out too...thought we weren't going to be needing them! Oh, what fun! What a neat blessing. |
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I was watching When Harry Met Sally the other night while I was waiting for dh to get home from court. (As an aside, can you believe court went on until 11 pm on Thanksgiving eve???) It was at the part where she's sitting at the restaurant with her two girlfriends and they are talking about men ("you're right, you're right, I know, you're right"). Sally tells them that she's broken up with Joe & when they ask why, she explains that she realized that she is 31 & basically needs to get on with life cause time is a'tickin. I'm sitting there looking at these ladies, and, well, they are who I used to think of as old. They are standing on the brink of "Too Late" and looking over the edge. 31. 31 is suddenly too old to be messing around. And, to be real honest, I feel like I don't look their age. In my mind, I'm still 20. I actually occasionally wonder if people think I'm too young to have a 7.5 year old. Not out of vanity, really, but because I truly view myself as barely of legal drinking age. But, of course, they aren't thinking that. Because, after all, I'm 31! And, I'm sure I really do look it. I'm right there with Sally & her friends. In fact, they probably look younger because they have Hollywood makeup artists to make them up. Anyway, I guess I'm done with my ramble. I'm gonna go put lotion on my face to keep the wrinkles away. And then, I'm gonna check for gray hair. And then, I'm gonna laugh & thank God for my family & the adventures I've had in these 31 years. |
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I am actually capable of screaming my lungs out like a horror movie star. Who knew? I'm not normally a screamer. It's not really my thing. But, Tuesday morning, while dh was on the phone, mind you, I discovered a talent that I didn't know I had. I SCREAMED.
What caused this, you ask? A very reasonable question. I GRASPED A LIVE SCORPION WITH MY BARE FINGERS!!! I'm still shuddering at the memory. I reached into the abyss we like to refer to as the junk drawer & pulled out the big roll of packing tape. I just needed a little piece because the manilla envelope's glue wasn't sticking. And, well, I just like to make sure my mail is very secure. Anywho, there was a rubber band stuck to the tape. Well, I thought it was a rubber band, anyway. So, like any normal person, I grabbed it to pull it off the tape. Why on earth would I expect it to be wriggling in my fingers? Why would I have checked before to make sure it wasn't actually a poisonous creature in disguise? Why in this madhouse full of scorpions would I have thought that? Well, it started to wriggle & I pulled my fingers away to look, and, well, that's when the screaming started. I threw the tape roll & ran around in circles, screaming. What does dh say to the person on the phone? He says, "oh, it's just a scorpion." All calm like that. Like I didn't just have the little booger between my fingers. Like my LIFE wasn't just on the line. Ok, maybe I exagerate a little. But, I'm tellin' you, it was waaaay scary.
Ds tells me that the Lord protected me by having it's little stinger stuck to the tape. I have NO doubt about that one.
Did you know that you can go from chilly to dripping with sweat in a matter of a few seconds over a brush with a scorpion? It's true.
Anyway, I'm thinking of trying out for a part in Scream 14. Or whatever they may be up to. I think I'd be good at it.
I can't wait til we move. I can't wait til we move. I can't wait til we move... |
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This past weekend left us questioning our sanity. We got in the car Friday around 2pm, dropped one car off at the airport parking lot & then started driving to Nebraska. Around 10pm, ds threw up for the first time. All over. So, we stopped, wiped up what we could, gave him a plastic bag to do it in next time, and kept going. With a new lovely odor in the car. Through New Mexico, Texas & Oklahoma, he threw up pretty much once an hour. We actually got pretty efficient with it. And yes, this is all through the night. By morning, he had stopped throwing up & just felt week & tired. By the time we arrived in Nebraska, it was a 27 hour trip. Of course, we doubt it would have been that long had we not had such adventures over the night. Anyway, we unloaded the car at my Grandma's house, found out that the car wash place that does interiors wasn't open again until Monday morning, got some dinner & then drove to the airport to pick up dh's parents. Sunday morning, all 7 of us drove down to look at our farm. We also drove around the town & the county seat & had lunch in a diner there. By 6pm, they were dropping us off at the airport & we were flying home. We left our van there, at Grandma's house, because we don't need 3 cars here & we'll only get 2 moved anyway. So, luckily, dh's parents weren't flying out until Monday afternoon, so his dad took the car to be cleaned in the morning. I can just imagine what the car would've smell like after sitting for maybe up to a year with that in it. Yikes. Need I say that we didn't get any school done on Monday??? |
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I've mentioned before that I am studying the book of Daniel right now, both at an official Beth Moore Bible study & at home with the kids. Something that has really gotten my attention through this study is how God's will is ALWAYS done. Period. Is there a proud king ruling? The good news is, God put him there. The better news is, God can humble him. The best news is, God will use it all for His glory. Today at Bible study, we discussed the idea that Alexander the Great was the horn of the shaggy goat in Daniel 8. Alexander conquered pretty much the entire known world while he was in power. I'm guessing it wasn't a pretty sight either. I bet that followers of God were wondering how a good God could allow someone to cause so much war. But guess what? Alexander was put there by God & used by God for His glory. Alex caused the spread of the Greek language, making the world ripe for the spread of Christianity. Alex's ego was used by God to make His word spread easily. How awesome is that?
Today, as people go to the poles & fret over the possible future of our nation, I'm resting confident that WHATEVER, it will be God's doing, He will use it, and He will be glorified. Yes, I voted. Absentee-style. But really, I just want God to do what He will. Have at it Lord! Magnify Your name! And thank you that I can be along for the ride! |
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On Friday, we had our PE co-op. During the warmups, the kids were running laps around the outdoors basketball court & ds ran into dd, causing her to trip & fall. I didn't see it happen, but I turned to see one of the moms leading dd to me, cupping her hand under dd's chin. Man, can the face really bleed! I felt bad that this mom had a handful of blood, but I rushed dd to the bathrooms & started to clean her up. Then I realized that this wasn't a scrape, but a big gash. I could see about a half an inch deep into her chin! Dd got to have the honors of being the first to need our first aid kit & I taped it up with a butterfly tape. We spent the next hour & a half in the ER waiting room. The really fortunate part was that we had planned on picnicking at the park (first Fridays are Public Speaking day, where we eat & listen to the kids perform what they've been working on), so we brought our lunch into the ER. We were the envy of everyone in there! We finally were seen & they just glued her up. We were both pretty grateful that she didn't have to get stitches. We didn't get home for nearly 3 hours. Ugh. What fun. BUT, as I told dd, a trip to the ER always must be followed up with a trip for ice cream. So, we went to Leap's (our favorite frozen custard place) and ordered a nice big helping of chocolate custard with toppings. Not a bad end to an eventful morning. |
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So, here's the bonnet! I'm thrilled with it. She will be so excited. I have her stuffed dog posing with it on since she obviously can't & ds wouldn't even hear of it. There is a darling little bow at the back that you can't see in this photo.
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I am secretly making dd an adorable Little House-style bonnet for Christmas. I chose a green ivy fabric & I've been sewing when she is napping or busy in the other room. So far, she hasn't even asked what I'm doing. Anyway, it's looking like it'll be really cute. She asked for a quilt for Christmas, so I've cut the pieces for that, but haven't started sewing because I'd have to keep changing the thread color back & forth! The bonnet should be done in a few days...it's pretty simple. The hardest part will be waiting to give it to her!!! I'll post a picture when I'm done. Man, I'm enjoying this sewing thing. |
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I've finished my daughter's dress and I must say that I love it! She does too. It's a little big on her, but she knows that she'll be able to wear it longer, so she's happy. I took it to PE on Friday to ask the moms for some help with part of it & so they all knew what I was doing. On Sunday, then, they all gushed over her in her new dress at church. She was literally BEAMING. Here she is wearing it.
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I met my goal of having my scrapbooks caught up by the end of the weekend (whoo hoo!!!) and I've started my sewing project. It was touch & go there for a while, but I think I've gotten the hang of it. I've cut all the pieces out & have been piecing them together. So far, I have one sleeve completed & attached to the bodice, and, well, it looks like a sleeve! I must say that I'm amazed. I had visions of the Cosby Show when Denice sewed the Gordon Gatrell shirt for Theo & it looked hideous! Dh says, "You still have the other sleeve to do, you know." What an encourager! But seriously, I am so happy that I was able to conquer all the gathering. I'm still a little nervous about the upcoming zipper, but I'll jump off that bridge when I get to it. Until then, all I have to say is that while sewing without lessons is possible, it certainly would help if the pattern instructions didn't assume you knew anything at all. Because I didn't. And they did. And, well, it wasn't pretty there for a while. |
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I've been scrapping my heart out for the past few days. I was seriously behind. Well, I know many are further behind, but seriously behind for this organizational nut. I had to stretch my brain back to January of 2005 and try to make sense of the pile of pictures. When we stopped using the film camera, I stopped getting that handy little date printed in the corner. It made for some interesting research. Luckily, I had organized the digitals in several folders on the computer, labeling each one with a general date. Almost none of my pages actually say April 4th-they just say April. I have no idea of the exact date. To exacerbate the problem, we also stopped using a normal calendar...we now use a whiteboard calendar, so I don't have an old calendar to flip back through. I'll have to work on figuring out a better way to keep track. Or, just work on the scrapbooks more often!!
Anyway, in the last few days, I caught myself up to Christmas of 2005 and have done 30 pages. Whew! I still have lots to do, but I'm getting there. I have a new project I want to start (sewing - for the first time with a pattern! - a bonnet and prairie dress for Meagan) but I've promised myself I will get the scrapbooks caught up first. I hate to have lots of unfinished projects. My goal is to be done by the weekend & then to be able to start the sewing next week. We'll see if that is realistic. |
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Yep, that's right! We are one step closer to our dream becoming a reality. We went on a whirlwind roadtrip for 18 days, spending 7 of those days in Nebraska looking for land. We ended up with a contract on a beautiful spread of 78 acres. We are excited beyond words, and yet also a little jittery as things start to take shape.
The land is all pastureland now. Well, that's not entirely accurate, as it has other features as well. There is a large section in the back that is blocked off by a seasonal stream and a nice thick wooded area. For our purposes, this will be wonderful. We want to have a nice combination of wild & tame land, where we can build up the soil of the "farm" and also replenish trees, provide a habitat for wildlife, and generally be good stewards of this little plot of earth we've been blessed with. And so, that pastureland that is blocked off by the woods will be left to re-wild itself, as it's already begun to do by sprouting a lot of cedar trees through it. The land also has a few ponds, one of which is the only real feature of the land that you can see from the road (the pond with a big lone tree) because of the rise of the land. That pond is filled with frogs! We heard them plop, plop into the water as we walked up.
There are lots of deer & wild turkey on the land. We saw deer tracks all over it & dh also scared off one while walking. The neighbor told us of the turkeys. We also witnessed a large hawk swoop down and catch something from the field.
Speaking of the neighbor...the land does not have a house on it. There are a few options. #1, we'll just build. #2, we'll purchase the neighbor's house. He told us he was planning on moving in the spring, so we looked at his house & left our name & number with him. We will most likely make an offer on it soon. #3 would be to purchase the neighbor's house to live in while we build another house. In that case, dh's parents would take the house when they get there in a couple years. They are currently seeking 2 more years in the mission field, but will move to the land with us when they are done. Anyway, the neighbor's house is on 4.5 acres. It's a cute little 1925 farmhouse with a 2000 square foot barn, a chicken house, an outhouse!!, and he is in the middle of building a 2-car garage. It would be nice to have that to move into when we get there, but any way God sees fit to work things out will be fine by us!
We are trying hard to come up with a name for the farm. I've sent out emails to most of our family & friends, posted on the Sonlight boards, and dh & I have brainstormed our hearts out. We are finding it harder than naming our children was!
Now that we are home, we are trying to figure out a way to get dh's parents up to see the land when they come back for their training this winter & spring. We are so excited & can't wait to show them! We are also busy trying to learn as much as we can. And, save as much as we can, so we have the resources to begin work when we get there.
The dream is taking off! |
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The kids and I have been reading through Daniel during Bible time in school. I love Daniel. It's one of my favorite books of the Bible. (is that allowed? to have a favorite? I hope so!) I love how absolutely relevant it is for today. I love how faithful these guys were in a faithless world. I love the prophecy of times that have already come to pass and I love the prophecy that hasn't taken place yet. In fact, a Beth Moore study on Daniel just started at a friend's church & I signed up. It makes Tuesdays a little crazy & hard, but man, it's worth it. And, I know God has more to teach me from the book.
Anyway, so the kids & I are reading through it too. I explained the interpretation of the dream in Daniel 2, identifying what in history has already happened. They thought it was pretty neat. Then, for history, we started in on Greek News...a book that gives the history of the Greeks in a fun, newspaper style. We got to the part where Alexander the Great conquers pretty much the entire known world & we flipped back in Daniel to re-read that part of the prophecy. What fun to see ds's face as he saw God's mighty power and omnipotence in it. I just love God's word. What joy there is in dwelling in it. |
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Well, I just found #8 & #9. They were both outside & one was a itty bitty little baby. The actually cool thing is that we discovered that all this time, ds had a blacklight in his room in this little fingerprint kit he has. So, we grabbed the blacklight & watched those scorpions glow like mad! It was really need to see those brown little guys light up to such a neon green. Of course, we watched them glow AFTER drowning them with Raid. Last night, we actually walked through the whole house with the blacklight & looked under & around things. We didn't find any, but saw our neon Sonlight label stickers glow quite a bit on the shelves! It was a fun hunt, actually! Maybe I'm getting used to them...though I will say that little baby really made me sqeamish. It was sooooo tiny, it could be ANYWHERE without us knowing. It was less than the size of a dime! Lord, keep us safe! |
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In a matter of 24 hours, we had scorpions 5, 6, & 7 show themselves. #5 was on the front porch as we were showing our dinner guests out! Ack!!! What makes it worse is that I had just noticed a black widow in her web right by the door & when I turned my head back around, noticed the scorpion a few feet away. The other 2 were in the house, after our guests left. I keep putting off calling the bug guy. I just hate the idea of spraying those chemicals around. Here we are about to go look for a farm to buy so we can grow organic meat & veggies and I'm contemplating an exterminator. It just doesn't jive. Oh, decisions, decisions. |