Having a our own horse has been quite the learning experience.  The girls have really enjoyed having Cinnamon and we have learned a lot and we are still learning.   I have now riden her and it was lovely, I just need to build my confidence around her now.  She is really good with S, our oldest daughter, but around me, she likes to put her ears back and will bit if given the chance.  Not good at all!!  So I need to let go of my fears and show her I am not afraid and that she needs to respect me.  I have worked with her and cleaned her hooves etc....  so I know it will come.  I have been reading up on horses and what to do in certain situations, so now it is just putting it all into practice.   

Here is S. with Cinnamon

R. and Cinnamon

This beautiful family of mine is what is keeping me busy and I wouldn't change it.  I know that I will have time for blogging, but right now I must tend to my family.

This is not a good bye post, but just letting you all know I'm still here, but my time is limited...   

The days and nights are full, but I have so much to be thankful for.
The Lord is good!

I haven't forgotten about my blog, but can I just say it has been busy around here.  I have pictures and posts I hope to do soon, but this week just seemed to fly by without leaving me any time for blogging, maybe next week will be better. 

Baby is doing well and growing, we are so enjoying him. He is 5 weeks tomorrow.  He is smiling and cooing to us, which is so adorable. 

School is going well too. 

God is good!

Until next week....... ( I can't promise though)

After her nap this afternoon, she had a ride on Cinnamon with her big brother. 
She loves to do that!

Here she is in her new p.j's and looking at her new book.

Precious little girl, we all love you!
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Click here to see the first pic and post I posted about her. 

S. (our oldest) and Cinnamon

Two happy girls with Cinnamon

I'm sure I'll be posting pics of Cinnamon now and then, beacause I have some other pics I want to share of Cinnamon, but I'll leave that for another day.  It is my bedtime now. 
 I must admit, I'm really looking forward to the day I can ride her too!!!   

~~~~~The Lord is good!~~~~~

I froze a number of baskets and tomorrow we will make blueberry jam.  Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, we also have beans to pick in the garden and they will need freezing as well.  I hope to post a garden update tomorrow.

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
Ps. 34:8

Our children enjoy popsicles. 
  To keep the dripping, sticky mess from being a problem, they enjoy their popsicles outside on the deck or sitting at the kitchen table.  They seem to prefer to eat them outside.   Our youngest gets so excited and starts to jump around when asked if she wants one!  On goes the bib and out comes the popsicles.
Simple things can bring so much joy to little ones!

Here is S. she did well and even enjoyed the job. 

R. wanted to have a turn too.

The children thoroughly enjoy popsicles, we have to make them everyday to keep the supply up. 

Today, this is a picture the boys were working on.  They love to create long pictures.

I spent a bit of time doing phonic with N. today.  He is able to sound out works quite well, I know if I worked with him faithfully he would be reading very soon.

We have also been  working in the garden, cleaning up at the new house and packing boxes.  I hope to have a cleaning bee next week to help me finish washing the windows and clean/wash all the floors.

I will update tomorrow and Lord willing,  it will be with the news that we were given the occupancy permit. 

Until then, may the Lord abundantly bless you.

Today my baby ticker here says I have 99 days left to go before we met baby!  Of course, I remind myself that it could be more or less.  Most likely more! 

I feel pretty good, minus being tired sometimes.  But I'm thankful to be experiencing the joys of being pregnant.  Such a special miracle!  Baby is active and growing. 

Here are some pictures from out in the strawberry patch.

Eating a yummy berry

B. showing me a funny berry

N. hard a work

Our three girls

K. picking a berry

N. wanted to take a picture of me

All done!

Ready to walk back to the van

B. gave me a hug and it sound like he was saying
 he wanted to hug baby too. 

So tomorrow we know what we are doing right after breakfast is all clean up!  We will be hulling the berries and making jam.   Then in the afternoon, we hope to go to the new house and work in the garden.

I thought of this poem while I was out berry picking.  There is something special about being out in the field, away from the noise and busyness of life.

Out in the Fields with God

The little cares that fretted me,
I lost them yesterday
Among the fields above the sea,
Among the winds that play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.

The fears of what may come to pass,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new mown hay,
Among the rustling of the corn,
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born,
Out in the fields with God.
~author unknown

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Does my blog look ok to you?  I use firefox and it looks fine, although today it has some funny characters showing.  When I opened it up in Explorer it was all funny and not at all the way I see it.  So I'm just wondering what you all see!  Thanks!

We hope to enjoy many more days like this too, after our work is done of course! 
This week it is suppose to rain everyday....

Where we have built our new house, we are on 46 acres of land.  We have a small hay field which my dad cut last week.  On Friday most of it was baled.  There was a chance of rain for today, but praise God it didn't rain and we got the rest baled and picked up.  The pictures are all from today. On Friday, I was working in our new garden, which I will share about in a new post.  Anyway, I didn't take to many pictures then. 

Our precious little daughter, she thought it was neat to stand on the hay wagon.

B. just loves riding in the tractor!!

He can't wait until he is big enough to drive it.  

Here was something this pregnant mama could do....
drive the tractor while the others loaded up the hay. 
Just in case you are wondering the door was closed while I was driving. 

When I was driving the tractor, B. was telling me that he is a big boy, but that is because I said that only big boys could drive tractors.  bringing the hay has always been a fun thing to do.  When my parents first bought the farm when I was 17, we had a bigger hay field and it was fun, but yes, lots of hot, hard work.   Now over the years, I haven't always been able to help, but I still love the smell of freshly cut hay and enjoy the times I am able to help.   I'm a country girl!! 

My happy helpers

Delighted to plant!

N. wanted to take a picture of me, so here I am standing by one of the planters we filled.

After supper was bath time for the younger children, K. was so cute after her bath and today was her first day in braids.   So precious!

 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thess. 5:16-18

Today is such a beautiful day here.  It is a bit windy, but it is warm enough to have the windows open!  After a week of sickness abounding here in the house, it is a good feeling to have fresh air sweeping through the house.  First baby came down with a fever last Monday, so I spent most of the day holding her, since that is about all she wanted. By Tuesday evening she was her usual self.  R. came down sick with a fever on Tuesday and just today is up and around and being her usual self.  Right now just my oldest daughter is sick with a fever.  So far the boys have not gotten sick, but I wonder what next week will bring.   We did really well this past winter with avoiding any sickness, so I guess I can't complain.  It is just wonderful to see children up and running around again. 

This is what my clothes line looks like today, the towels won't be stiff with the lovely breeze!

 I washed this quilt recently and hung out, but of course a little bird had to leave his/her mark, so I hope today it stays clean!  If not, I give up and will wash again and throw it into the dryer. 

It was so good to see baby up and eating again, here she is eating from a rather large bowl for one her size.  She had finished eating her supper, but then came back and wanted to sit in big brother's chair, she saw the popcorn bowl and decided she wanted some more.

With my girls being sick, I was reminded on how much they help me around here.  Today I finally got the house looking much better.  With having sick children, school with my oldest boy, jury duty,(which I hope I got out of) and some sewing the week just flew by.  I hope to post some sewing pictures next week.

Now I'm off to do a bit of baking and cooking for tomorrow. 

Have a lovely and a blessed weekend!

Our first spring flowers are starting to bloom!  
So pretty and the children are pretty excited about them too.

Today was another warm sunny day and a busy day too. Piano, swimming lessons and grocery shopping make it a full day.  After we came home, the children ran off some energy in the backyard.  Baby has found this blue ball and she has great fun with it. We have a small hill in our backyard and she would climb up the hill with the ball and then let is roll down, she did this a few times.  I hoped to get a picture, but when I came over she wanted to show me the ball instead. 

I also had laundry out on the line today, it was refreshing to be outside before 8:00am hanging it up and listening to the birds singing their morning songs.  A relaxing way to start a busy day. 

Now about our evening routine, I was asked a few questions, so I'll answer them here.

I like to have supper by 5:30.  We have our big meal at lunch time so supper is a lighter meal.   After supper the children each have their own evening chores to do and I will usually wash the dishes.  After the dishes, there may be a bit of free time, or it is time to do a general tidy up of the living room and bedrooms.  I really don't like starting the day out with a mess!  It is is my goal to have the children in their pj's by 7:00 -7:15pm and worship by 7:30pm.  Bedtime is at 8:00pm.  Now the girls will read for a bit, but lights are out by 8:30pm.  The boys are out like a light usually before I'm done nursing the baby and she is tucked into bed.  We were doing really good with that, but lately it has been harder to keep that routine.  So that is our goal here and we are hoping to stick with it again.   Like tonight, they are all still up, Daddy is entertaining them.    They need daddy time too, as he has been so busy lately.  I hope that answers some questions!    On bath nights the evening is a bit busier...

Pregnancy wise, I'm feeling good.  The morning sickness has just about gone, just a few moments here and there.  I'm 13 weeks and 5 days already.  I will need to be thinking about maternity clothes very soon.   I'm so thankful to be experiencing the miracle of being with child again.    I wonder who this little one will be?  October seems so far away and yet I know it will be here before we know it.  Oh, and yes, we plan to be in our new house before the baby is born.  No date set for that yet, that is a whole other post for another day.

Ok, time to tuck some little ones into bed here.    Baby has found me and is letting me know she is ready for bed.  She is so sweet and gives me the sweetest little kisses!