Lots to talk about! First, my men (husband & son, 11 yrs) took a plane trip to Idaho to go elk hunting w/ friends. They were gone for 8 days. They didn't get anything, but they had a blast. While they were gone, Hannah had a horse show w/ Casey (below). He's been back from the trainer for about 3 months or so and they did fantastic. They won several ribbons as well as winning Grand Champion for 1 division and Reserve Grand Champion for another division. He was such a good boy & I'm so proud of all the hard work Hannah has put into training him. He's a 4 yr old palomino quarterhorse.
Here's a pic of my dh & Alyssa on the tractor. It was a day of moving hay & sawdust. Alyssa loves the tractor, the 4-wheeler-just about anything that moves. :)
In this pic below, Hannah was in a skit for 4-H teen council. She's sitting at the table in the middle. They did a great job & was very funny. It was also 4-H achievement night. She was givin an award for doing well at the state fair hippology tournament & won 33 dollars, too.
Here's Susanna (on the right) & her friend, Brooke. We've had a lot of extra kids here lately to play. These 2 love playing dolls & doing crafts.
Here's a craft that Susanna & I did together. We cut the branch out of a paperbag and glued real leaves to it. Then we covered the whole thing with modpodge. I totally love modpodge!
We've been doing lots of leaf art-I love Autumn! This weekend is a fun one. We had 3 extra kids here yesterday. 1 extra kid here today that is riding w/ Hannah & there's 2 parties that they're both going to tomorrow. One at the stable they help out at & another one for 4-H. Hannah helps with the therapeutic riding lessons at that stable.
Today Jonah was walking Alyssa in the stroller outside. It turned into a 4WD excursion thru mud puddles at high speeds. LOL She apparently loved it until the stroller tipped forward & she got covered in mud. Wish I had gotten a picture, but forgot in the melee of crying & mud flinging. LOL That's all for now!
My son, Jonah, was a late reader. My dd (his older sister) learned to read on her own just before she turned 5, so I was alarmed. I read a book by John Holt called Better Late than Early and I relaxed & just read him lots of books. I stayed calm when he was 6 and still couldn't read. I started to worry again when he was 7 and still couldn't read & didn't even want to try. But, he loved to listen to stories & I had him listening to good quality books on tape & CD. His imagination was great & he narrated to me all sorts of great stories that he made up.
Well, he didn't learn to read until he was 8-but he was still limited & didn't choose to read much on his own. I'd say he really improved when he was 9, but still didn't read much independently-same for age 10.
Now he's 11. He reads. A lot. In the last 2 weeks, he's read 4 chapter books(3 Hardy Boys & Snow Treasure). And he listened to 3 stories on CD-Tom Sawyer, Where the Red Fern Grows & Peter Pan.
And he's also doing his other schoolwork, chores & playing.
Yesterday he said to me, "Mom, do you know of a boy that loves to read so much that he just finished a book that he couldn't put down?"
I looked up, smiled and said, "a boy in THIS house?"
He smiled. Here he is reading a book in the 4-wheeler trailer. He finds the most unusual places to read. And our dog, Freya, usually chooses to keep him company.
I'm SO glad I followed the advice in the above mentioned book. I'm so glad I didn't force him to read before he was ready.
If you're exeriencing this late reader phenomenon, don't worry! Waiting really does work! Just hang on & you'll see.
Last Sunday we had 2 families over for dinner, a huge bonfire, pony rides & 4-wheeling. There were 13 kids total here. We all had a fantastic time. The next morning, Jonah checked out the embers & got a small fire going. The kids asked if they could roast marshmellows at 8:00am!
I thought about it for a minute, but then said, "oh, why not, I guess." LOL. A thought popped into my head to make it a special memory by surprising them with a campfire breakfast.
We used to cook breakfast over the campfire a lot when we were camping here & building our house. Eggs taste better over an open fire for some reason. LOL. The kids were very excited to see me come out with stuff for breakfast.
Jonah helped cook the eggs. We got some ashes in them, but they still tasted good! What a beautiful morning it was & I'm glad we made fun memories.
I've been sick all this week & have done a lot of resting and reading. I read a biography about Louisa May Alcott that was really inspiring. She's one of my many favorite authors and I so enjoyed reading about her childhood & her family. Did you know her family were very closer personal friends w/ Emerson & Thoreau ?? Her father apparently did a lot of research on educational philosophies & gave lectures. They were pretty poor, however. Anyway, a fact about her father is that at one point he was a peddler before he married & would often stay at people's homes on his journeys, sometimes for several days. He'd read books in their libraries & then think about what he read as he walked from farm to farm, town to town. Here's what it says...
"...After this feast of learning, he had what is another priceless necessity--long quiet hours in which to think over and appraise what he had read. He tramped the woods alone, sat under the hedgerows and ate his solitary lunch, exchanged brief greetings with the travelers he passed, but always went on thinking, thinking. Very few are the courses in education which allow time to think; but this education in Bronson's was complete, even to that final need..."
Isn't that profound?? I've been thinking about it all week & realizing that I don't give the kids enough time to think on what they've learned-mostly due to outside pressures. I don't give myself enough to think either-mostly from outside pressures & distractions. But, I purpose to improve on this complete & final need to our education!
If you're wondering what the book is, it's called Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs. This author has also written another wonderful book that I'm going to use as a family read-aloud called The Covered Bridge.
I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. I've been so totally consumed with doctoring up an injured horse & keeping up with everything else around here that my blog went by the wayside. But, I have missed it!! Our horse is doing so much better-he's still recovering, but his prognosis is looking much better than before-we're feeling hopeful that he'll be able to barrel race & do other gymkhana events next summer. He's so full energy & is doing all his gaits without lameness.
Anyway, Susanna & I had a lot of fun with this book, some baggies & paint. Susanna is 4.5 & is really wanting to "do school" like the older kids. The only problem is she never believes me that she's doing school. LOL This book is so sweet & each time the mouse w/ paint on his fur jumped into a puddle of paint & found it had changed colors, we mixed those colors in baggies. She had so much fun with this & I so loved watching her face-she was truly amazed. I can't believe we haven't mixed colors before. She's doing it all the time now-it's so magical for her! Don't you just love how into everything little kids are?? How new & fresh old things become when you do them with little ones?
The yellow mouse jumped into a yellow puddle...and the puddle turned green!
The blue mouse in a red puddle made purple...
I really didn't want to return this sweet book back to the library!! Does anyone else have that problem with library books sometimes??
I've not had time to post in awhile. Last weekend we went camping with another family.
The day after we got back, we had company for a few days from out of state. We had a great time with them-fishing, swimming, horse-back riding, 4-wheeling, going to the fair & having campfires. Not only that, but it's been 4-H county fair all week. Hannah & one of her horses were at the fair all week. They performed each night with the drill team and there were 2 horse shows also.
I helped out a lot w/ the girls & the horses. The horses needed to be watched at all times with so many people walking through and petting them. Our horse, Retro(22 yr old standardbred), loved the attention, but started to get cranky towards the end).
This is Susanna in front of Retro. I cannot believe how so many people would just run up to a horse they don't know & start banging on it's head-their version of petting, I guess.
Some of them wheeled their little ones in strollers right under the horse's heads so the horse could reach them. All the horses are friendly,but by the week's end, most of them wouldn't even go up to the front of their stalls anymore.
Retro continued to, though, because he's always looking for treats. He thinks with his stomach. LOL
I had to tell one lady to leave because she smacked him in the face for sniffing her arm. hoo boy, was I hot. I wanted to smack her.
But, most people were very gentle & I heard lots of stories from people about the horses in their lives-their past, mostly. One man told me he used to be a driver for the P&C percheron horses. One man talked about his Dad's old farm & riding bareback all over the countryside.
Retro was so cute-he seemed mostly drawn to children and handicapped people. There was one man he got very affectionate with. He's not usually friendly with men. I actually got teary-eyed watching some of the encounters b/w horses and people-it was very beautiful.
Unfortunately, the last evening he was there, a group of girls were taunting him at 10:30pm (30 mins after I left) before anyone noticed it. He got very agitated & tried to bite them. He missed, but then he started trying to bite everyone that came near him. So, they tied him to the back of his stall the next morning.
Hannah didn't call me to tell me this until later in the day. As soon as I found out we went to pick him up and bring him home early.
I don't think we'll ever stable a horse (especially the young ones) at the county fair again-unless they make the stalls so that the horses can't get their heads over the door so that people can't touch them.
Now that last week is all done, we're catching up on sleep, house chores, weeding the gardens & building the riding arena. Pat & I got 2 sides fenced in so far. The kids have helped, too. I really enjoy working w/ my dh. We talk while we're working & I try to anticipate what he needs next, so he likes it when I help. The other day I was telling him how worried I am about Copper's leg & I starting crying about it. He was really supportive, gave me a hug & then tried to make me laugh by saying, "there's no crying in construction! You know how there's no crying in baseball (from that movie about a girls league w/ Tom Hanks)? There's no crying in construction, either."
I did laugh, and then cried some more. LOL
Beautiful sunny & breezy day. I can smell fresh cut grass. I see Copper & the pony grazing in the lawn.
I am thinking...
I wish the vet would call
I am thankful for...
My dear sweet husband who made phone calls for me this morning-he is so thoughtful.
From the learning rooms...
It's not being used presently. Spending lots of time outside with animals & gardens.
From the kitchen...
Hannah is getting a picnic lunch ready for us to take to the park when the baby wakes up.
I am wearing...
Shorts & a sweatshirt.
I am creating...
Nothing in the works right now, but planning on going to the craft store to get supplies for the kids to make see thru mozaic picture frames.
I am going...
To the park for a picnic with the kids.
I am reading...
The Cottage of Bantry Bay to the kids.
I am hoping...
And praying that Copper's leg heals so that he can do everything Hannah hopes to do with him.
I am hearing...
Jonah's dirtbike in the distance, Hannah & Susanna in the kitchen.
Around the house...
Catching up on chores-laundry, dishes, bathrooms, trying to purge.
One of my favorite things...
fresh strawberries...and strawberry shortcake.
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Tomorrow Hannah spends the day at our horse trainer's place helping with her horse that is there & with the other horses-this is a learning experience for her & I hope she internalizes the natural horsemanship principles of our wonderful trainer. Wednesday Jonah goes to his friend, Ethan's house. All free time this week will be spent working on helping Pat build the riding arena.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
If you'd like to participate in this meme, click on the graphic at the top of this post.
We had fun making Father's Day special for my dh. We made cards, made a big meal w/ some of his favorite foods-steak, loaded baked potatoes, fruit jello salad, veggie salad. On the Homeschool Lounge, I saw this idea in the Father's Day thread. 4 yr old Susanna & I had a lot of fun making this "Dad rocks" project. There's a rock for each one in the family. Isn't it adorable?
We have a 4 yr old horse at a trainer right now. He's been there for 2 months & has 1 more month to go. We would have gotten him trained last summer when he was 3, but he impaled himself with a stick b/w his hind leg & his peritoneum. He missed all the important organs & muscles by the Grace of God. The vets at the emergency animal hospital said it was a miracle. But, it took awhile to get him healed up & dealing b/w the hind legs of an untrained 3 yr old horse was a bit tricky. And I couldn't help, being at the tail end of pregnancy. So, Casey, will be home soon and we can't wait. We love our trainer & he's been teaching us all & especially Hannah (13). We go every week to watch & most times Don puts Hannah on a horse, too, & gives her riding pointers. She's been on Casey once. This upcoming month, she'll be on him more so that when we bring Casey home we'll be able to continue Don's methods w/ Casey so we don't confuse him. Isn't he a pretty boy?
Here's Alyssa after having a love affair with a cupcake. LOL The cupcake loved her very much...and vice versa.
Regarding our poor injured CopperTop...he's doing ok...there's been many challenges and we're learning as we go. He started to develop proud flesh on day 8. Too much of that & they'd have to cut it out & we start at square 1 on wound care. So, we've prayed a lot for guidance & healing...and then our trainer told us about a medicine that is made in Oklahoma & is not advertised, except by word of mouth. He's cured 2 bad wounds with it. Then, another person from 4-H told us about the same medicine. So, I ordered some & we started using it & we're seeing dramatic improvement in the wound already. The proud flesh actually is almost all gone now. It doesn't sting, you don't wash or wrap. Those 2 things actually can cause proud flesh, apparently.
I spoke with the man who came up with this medicine. He's a total delight to talk to-a friendly 75 yr old cowboy who talks straight & honest. He helped me get started with it & then he answered questions from me 2 days after that. He told me I can call him 24-7. The medicine is called Underwoods Horse Medicine.
I also did online research on this & found many pages of people who have fixed their horses' wounds with it-including pictures.
Anyway, it's working great for us already & it's only been 4 days. The only problem we're having is that Copper is eating the baking powder off the wound during the night. So, we have to get him a cradle to put around his neck or rig up a contraption that Mr. Underwood told me about. My dh is going to work on that today.
I will now have this medicine on hand at all times...just in case. But, I hope we never ever ever ever deal with this kind of wound again. EVER.
I can't wait until this is behind us.
But, we certainly have learned a lot about wounds and about leaning on the Lord every minute.
