The Legend of Thousand Hills Farm

I'm moving...

this blog! I have enjoyed homeschoolblogger, but there have been some things that I just couldn't do with this blog. I'm sure if I were "techie" or if I had a "techie" living with me, it would be different, but I'm not, and I don't. So, in view of the few frustrations I have had here, I am moving on over to blogspot with this blog. The new address for The Legend of Thousand Hills Farm is: http://FarmLegend.blogspot.com/

I hope that you will follow me on over. I know that I haven't been very good at updating this lately, but over at blogspot, it will be easier to upload photos, etc., so hopefully, I'll do better at keeping everyone updated on what we're doing!

Missoula Children's Theatre

This year, when MCT came to town, they brought in "The Princess and The Pea". Not a lot of kids tried out, so parts that usually go to bigger kids went to the not-so-big kids. Kathleen ended up with one of the lead roles ~ the Pea! Bob was a tree biter (we're still not totally sure *what* that is! )

Kathleen "The Pea", and Bob "Tree Biter"

They both did a terrific job! One other special thing about this year is that the PBS program, Newshour with Jim Lehrer did a special on MCT. Correspondent Jeffrey Brown came to Plummer, and interviewed some of the kids (Kathleen was one), Miss Lori, and the MCT directors. They taped the kids doing their play, and as a result, our girls were on TV tonight!

We don't get TV , so we had to watch it on the computer. I thought I would share it here. It runs about 8 1/2 minutes, and if your internet speed is anything like ours, it'll probably take it an hour to buffer, but it's a neat little piece. Hopefully I can get it to work!

On To State!

Well, track season is almost over. Last weekend was the regional track meet down at Kamiah. Both Will and Levi qualified for regionals, so we took our little camp trailer and stayed at a very nice RV park over the weekend.

Will threw the shot, and ran the 200 and the 400. Although he did not qualify for state, he did PR (personal record) in each of those, so he ended the season well.

Here's Will, I'm not sure whether or not this is the 200 or the 400.

And here is Will in his other race. Although he didn't make it past regionals, we are proud of how well he did do. This was Will's first year of track, and he ended up doing some events he didn't really want to, but because his coaches asked it of him, he did. Hard to believe he's a senior and done with sports.

Here's Levi in the 300 hurdles. He qualified "on the bubble" in this event. He didn't place well enough to qualify for state, but his time qualified him.

Levi running the 110 hurdles. Does he look intense or what? Levi took 4th at regionals, qualifying him for state.

Those that qualified for state, will be flying down to Boise on Wednesday. Mike and I are trying to decide now whether or not we can make the trip down. It may seem foolish, but we are very committed to supporting our boys in their various endeavors, whether it be sports, or mission outreach, or jobs, or whatever their interests are. So it's important to us to try to figure out a way to get down there and cheer him on.

On to STATE!!

In Memorium

In Loving Memory

Stacy Michelle Ferguson

Aug. 1958 ~ Apr. 2009

We will miss you, dear one.

Wow! It's Been a While...

It's been a long time since I posted. I don't even remember the last time. So, here's a short update.

First, let me tell you that my review for the current issue of TEACH magazine can be found at my other blog. Their theme this issue is on marriage, so I felt like it was really appropriate for over there. You can read it at Beneath Beams of Cedar.

Let's see, Mike has been out of work for almost 3 months now. God has been faithful, and we have not felt too tight a pinch financially. He has applied for many jobs, and we know that God has just the right job out there for him, we are just waiting on God's timing. He has been blessed with some odd jobs, and I am hopeful that that will continue until God brings along the job He has for him. I have felt very content with him at home ~ enjoying the time, knowing that having him at home all day is truely a blessing.

Levi played basketball this winter, and didn't do too bad. He even scored over 20 points one game. He enjoyed it, and we traveled ~ I think there is wisdom in limiting the sports that they can be involved in, but I do enjoy watching my athletic sons playing sports they enjoy. Both Will and Levi are in track this spring. They have already had one meet, and have several more over the next month. I believe that Garth and Logan are both planning on baseball, so we will be on the road a LOT.

The girls have been participating in their own athletic endeavors. Kathleen has been taking ballet/tap lessons and Bob has been doing gymnastics. They both enjoy their respective activities very much, and it is fun to see them excited about what they are doing.

Ezra is walking everywhere! He started walking the first part of the month, and there's no stopping him now.  We were at a homeschooling conference this weekend, and I set him down (he's HEAVY!), and turned to look at some curriculum and he was gone! Thankfully, another Mama saw which way he went. It's much easier at home, where there are several pairs of eyes to keep track of him. Josiah has quickly learned that he can blame Ezra for almost anything he gets in trouble for (not that it works, but he keeps trying!). It's a little amusing at this point to get after him for something and have him say, "Ezra. Ezra did it." Doesn't take 'em long, does it?

Speaking of the homeschool conference, Rick and Marilyn Boyer were the speakers, and they were terrific! If you have the opportunity to hear them, please take advantage of it, you will not be disappointed! Very encouraging.

I am keeping busy with home-educating, sports, home-keeping, and chasing toddlers (I hate not calling Ezra a baby, but he IS toddling!). Which would be one reason I don't blog very often. I am also starting my herb studies again, and hope to have certification within a couple or three years, but studying is difficult in a houseful of children, so we'll see how it goes.

Well, that's a quick synopsis of what's going on here. Hope you all are doing well!

A New Place to Shop!

I am opening an online boutique of gently used maternity and nursing clothes. It is called Modest Mamas Boutique and it's open as of today!

I am running a Grand Opening special of free shipping on domestic orders. Stop by and see if we have anything that interests you.

Thanks!

Black Friday Sale at Vision Forum!

Get ready to shop!! You know me, I LOVE a deal ~ and this is a great one!

Buy any two items from Vision Forum and receive a third item free! Wow ~ what a great way to get some super Christmas presents.

Click through from here, and it helps our family as we will receive a commission from the sale.

Thanks ~ and have a wonderful, blessed Christmas season!

Prayer Alert for Noah!

Ezra is 6 months old!

My sweet little boy is 6 months old! I can't believe it. So, I am "celebrating" by trying to be technologically advanced. I took some video of him with our camera. Now I'm going to attempt to post it here, so those of you that are far from us can see what an adorable baby God has blessed us with!

Ha! I did it!  However, I must confess, I had to get ahold of tech support because I couldn't figure it out.  I apologize for some of the "wobbly" footage, Josiah wanted to see what the camera was doing!

Mother/Daughter Tea

On the 11th, Kathleen, Laura, Ezra and I went to the Christian Heritage Mother/Daughter Tea. Deborah Brown, wife of Scott Brown was the speaker. What a lovely time we had! It was encouraging and convicting at the same time. We sat with friends, and caught up with some aquaintances. The girls had fun coloring and singing.

It was held in the Georgian Room at the Spokane Athletic Club ~how beautiful! I had never been there before.

Here are the daughters ~ that's Laura on the left and Kathleen next to her.

And the Mamas. I'm on the right.

They had a corner set up for the little girls. It had a table with paper dolls to color, and a blanket spread on the floor so they would have a somewhat comfy place to play with their dolls.

My beautiful, sweet girlies.

And here we are together. Poor Ezra ~ only one other boy in the whole room! But he survived.

Another Loss

Well, while we once again had high hopes for Friday's game, we lost. The boys just did not play well. Blocking was almost non-existent. Our boys scored one touchdown, but did not make the two point conversion. Levi ran the ball, but since no one was blocking, he didn't get far. One play, he dragged about 3 defenders down the field as he tried for more yardage. We *love* BFS!

I believe the final score was 52 - 6 Kootenai. We did make it almost to the end of the 4th quarter, so they did better than many teams that have played Kootenai this year, but it was still disappointing.

I didn't really get any pictures, except of Josiah.  So, this will be a picture-less post.

This Friday we play at Mullan. It may possibly snow. BRRRR!!!

The middle school plays at Kootenai today and Wallace on Wednesday.

Winning Games

If you are reading this, be sure and check out the post below. I posted it earlier today, and it's about Will's 18th birthday!

Well, two football games to tell you about. They are from last week ~ at some point I have to have Will show me how to upload photos to the computer!

First, the middle school game. I got to sing the National Anthem , but I didn't know I was doing that until I got to the game. Usually, they say the Pledge of Alliegence at middle school games, but we think that sporting events should have the National Anthem! Anyway, that was kind of fun. They also didn't have officials show up, so they had to recruit a couple of the HS coaches to officiate.

Here's the final score. They played Mullan.

Here's Garth, he ran for 2 touchdowns, and passed for 2 touchdowns.

Here's Josiah enjoying the game. Cheeto covered face ~ isn't he cute? That's the face you get when you have a camera in your hand and tell him to smile!

There's Logan (64). He's playing Defensive End, and his Dad says he's doing a good job!

High School ~ Lakeside vs. Clark Fork

Clark Fork turned the scoreboard off before I could get a picture of the score, but it was ~ 34 - 18 Lakeside!!

It was a nice evening for football, a little on the chilly side ~ Clark Fork has really damp air, and so it's always chilly there, in fact, it's usually *cold* there because we are there later in the season.

Here's Will doing his thing ~ not sure how I managed to get a clear picture of him when everyone else is blurry, but I'll let you think it was on purpose!

Here's Josiah, enjoying a High School game, and an apple that someone picked off a local tree. (He's just so cute, I had to include his picture again!)

There's Levi, waiting for the ball.

Hutch looking for a high 5 from Levi after he runs in a touchdown.

Lakeside on defense ~ You can see Will in the middle of the action.

The boys played well, although not according to them. They were hoping to play better, but they won, so... Levi ran for 2 touchdowns and two conversions, accumulating another 200 yards or so rushing ~ if his stats were submitted, he would likely be the top 8-man running back for rushing.

This week they play Kootenai at home. Our last game against Kootenai didn't go so well, so we're definitely hoping for a better showing on Friday.

Will's 18!

Well, I don't know how it happened, but last week I became the mother of an adult!  I'm pretty sure I'm too young to have an 18 year old.  However, there is paperwork to prove it, so it must be true!

Will had wanted a party, but we're in the midst of football season and it's crazy around here. Last week's schedule looked something like this:

• Monday ~ Middle school football game
• Tuesday ~ Will had to go to Spokane for a physical for his postal job, Girl's volleyball game
• Wednesday ~ Middle school football game
• Thursday ~ Girl's volleyball game (at home), and Will's birthday
• Friday ~ High school football game at Clark Fork
• Saturday ~ My 20 yr! class reunion, and dinner for the boys at a friend's house
• Sunday ~ Christmas contata practice started, monthly Singspiration hosted by our church (and did I mention I was exhausted and had a migraine?)

And all that doesn't include school, practices, and work! So, it looked like a party wasn't going to happen. He came home one evening and said that Mullan didn't have a JV Volleyball team, and so the game would be over by about 7:30, and could we have a small party here after the game? I told him that would be fine, however they would have to get the basement straightened up so that they could play pool or foosball or games. Well, they obviously weren't going to be home enough to get that project done. He was disappointed, but I told him that when things calm down a bit we could have a get-together down here, and although it wouldn't be a "birthday party", it would be fun. He was okay with that.

Unbeknownst to Will, I had called our wonderful Pastor, and asked if we could invade their house on Thursday after the Volleyball game and throw Will a surprise birthday party. They said yes! It would be perfect ~ if we could pull it off. Will always walks their daughter home after home games, so if we could get everyone snuck in, there would be nothing out of the ordinary (as far as he knew!). Levi was charged with getting everyone invited. Here are some pictures from the party.

Visiting while waiting for the guest of honor.

More visiting, and looking out the window to see if they're(Will and the girls) about to show up.

Debby and I getting the food ready. And no, that's not a bun on my head, that's someone standing behind me!

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! We began to sing as Will walked through the door.

Everyone enjoying Will's reaction to his surprise!

Here's Will with his birthday cake (football, of course!). We had him *totally* surprised! He was clueless. Amazing considering one of the guests thought it was a surprise party for Levi, and did his best not to let him know!

I wanted to end this with a post I sent to my ladies (email loop I'm on) about Will. Mike and I are so proud of him ~ he is an outstanding young man.

Today our oldest turns 18. I am officially a mother of an adult. Oh, we have treated him as a man for a while now. Allowing him to make his own decisions, with our guidance and counsel, but today the rest of the world recognizes him as a man.

While I am terribly proud of the man he is, I long for the days when he was a little boy, quick to run to my arms for a hug and a kiss. When we sat for hours upon hours reading books ~ some so many times that he could recite them, and so I gave up reading them to him and let him "read" them to me. My home is not devoid of little boys! But I miss the days of Will's "little boydom". :-) I look back with regret that I pushed him to each new stage, instead of letting him take his time getting there. Why did I not enjoy each stage as it came? Time and experience. Each new stage for him was a new stage for me as a Mama.

PRAYERS FOR NOAH

Please be praying for Noah. His Mama just posted on their blog: "We are rushing to the Greenville ER.  Noah is vomiting, shaking uncontrollably, and running a fever of 103.5.  He is extremely sick.  Please ask everyone you know to pray.  I'll update when I can.
Kate"

To find out more, you can click through to their blog from the Pray for Noah button on the right.

Happy Birthday Kathleen!

Just to let you know...There are two posts today.  This one and another on football.

Friday, Kathleen turned 8! I can't believe she's that old already. It doesn't seem possible that it's been 8 years since we brought home our first little pink bundle. Like her brothers before her, she made us wait for 2 weeks beyond the "due date" to meet her. My folks were on a fishing trip, so the boys stayed with our dear friends, the Primers.

Kathleen is a joyful, exuberant, loving little girl. We are so thankful for her presence in our home!

Happy birthday to you... Josiah looks like he thinks it's *his* birthday cake! We had the same yummy birthday cake we had for Laura's birthday. Well, not the *same* cake, but a cake of the same type!

A big breath, and... it wasn't quite enough! It took a couple or three breaths to get all those candles blown out!Kathleen is very enthusiastic about learning handwork. She received yarn, needles, and a couple of books to begin learning how to knit. She was very excited!

Happy birthday, dear Kathleen ~ We love you!

Homecoming and Middle School Football

Well, Homecoming has come and gone. It's so odd to think that this was Will's last homecoming. Yes, he's a senior this year (and 18 today!). We were hopeful for a win, the young man interning with the head coach called and made inquiries about the team we were to play (LaCrosse-Washtucna, one of the top 8-man teams in the region), and from the "scouting report", we thought we could beat them.

Friday was an eventful day. Kathleen turned 8, Will had an interview in Post Falls with the Postal Service, and a friend's house burned to the ground.

The crowd was large ~ I have rarely seen that many folks at a football game. The weather was nice (a blessing for the girls in formals for homecoming royalty!). But the game didn't go so well. The boys' heads were apparently not in the game. The opponent only had about 5 plays that they ran, but each time they executed just as they were supposed to. Will in particular was very upset with himself, but I think that with the other things going on on Friday, that it is not surprising that they didn't play better.

Here are some pictures:

Silouettes of the seniors. Will's is #36. That is a knight's helmet in the lower corner. The senior girls were on the other side, but I don't have a senior girl, so I didn't include them in the picture.

Will chasing down the ball in one of the opening plays of the game. That's him in the center with the black socks.

Levi and Merlin awaiting the ball. Levi is the one without socks.

MIDDLE SCHOOL GAME

The final score. Lakeside vs. Wallace.

This was the second game of the middle school season. Garth made 5 touchdowns, and Logan played well. Mike thinks that once Logan gets some real experience, he'll make a good defensive end.

Garth breaking a tackle.

Garth (15), getting ready to throw the ball.

It's a QB Sneak!

Logan on kick-off return.

Another Athlete of the Week!

This time it's Will! Will was chosen as this week's Athlete of the Week by the St. Maries Gazette. It's a little difficult to read so I'll give you the stats.

Will led the Knight's defense with 7 solo tackles and assisted on 14 more against Wallace last Friday. In their 3 games so far, Will has had 26 solo tackles and 4 tackles for losses including 2 QB sacks.

Mr. Miller (Will's coach), said that, "Will has really grown into his role as a senior leader on our team. He really loves the game and he has matured as a team leader. He is our defensive leader."

Way to go Will! We are proud of you!!

The boys play against LaCross-Washtucna tomorrow night in their homecoming game.

One of the team captains, Will and the others await the coin toss at the Kootenai game.

Mud Football 2008

Saturday was Mud Football. It was a beautiful warm (hot!) day, and everyone had a great time ~ some of us had a cleaner time than others!  Well, I got lots of pictures, so I'll let them tell the story.

Before play began...

Levi

Will and Uncle Hank

During play...

Not too dirty yet!

Amazingly (?), Logan is the dirtiest one so far!

No, wait, maybe Daddy's the dirtiest one! Will's got the ball.

Towards the end of play...

That's Logan under all that mud!

No, that's not cro-magnon man, that's my Beloved! (Although I must admit, I *would NOT* hug him like that!)

Levi and a muddy friend.

Uncle Hank's a *little* muddy too!

Mud football means Will ends up without a shirt ~ he insists it's because he is too difficult to stop ~ they just tear his shirt away.

Levi seems to have lost "most" of his shirt as well. He informed me that's the new style.

Levi sloshing through the mud ~ Go Levi!!

Then on to the mud bogging...

All washed up and ready to watch the trucks take their turn in the mud.

It's a race? Wayne swore he was so far behind because he missed a gear while shifting.

Jeremy's truck while it was still mostly white.

The one Chevy in the competition, and it got stuck!  I'll spare you the snide comments that were made.

My handsome (and clean!) Beloved and Ezra, enjoying the mud bogging.

What an enjoyable day we had. Pig in the ground, lot's of good side dishes (Bob's comment was, "Mom, somebody loves me. There's three bean dishes!") Bob LOVES beans! And yummy desserts as well. It was a long, hot day, but a day full of good fellowship as well. Can't wait 'til next year! 

Another Game, But Not Another Win

Well, Friday's game was disappointing and encouraging at the same time. How's that for commentary?  The boys lost, but they made a tremendous comeback in the 4th quarter, so that was encouraging. In the past, when they've gotten down by 20 or more points, the game was OVER. There was no depth of resolve to pull from and make a comeback. Not so Friday night! Had they played the whole game like they played the 4th, they would have won. As it was, the final was 38-28.

Here's a couple of pictures.

This is Will (36), in one of the first plays of the game.

Here's Levi (24), ready to take the hand-off.

Athlete of the Week

Levi is the Athlete of the Week for the Coeur D' Alene Press! In the last 2 games, Levi has run for 4 touchdowns. We are pretty proud of Levi and his hard work. The BFS (Bigger, Faster, Stronger) program appears to be a great thing for these boys. They truely are bigger, faster, and stronger this football season, as a result of their hard work through the spring and summer in the weight room.

Although this doesn't mention his Athlete of the Week status, here is the article about our team in today's CDA Press.

And here is a picture of Levi from the Kootenai game. He's number 24.