Hi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Jane (PlainJane) and I am the blessed and happy wife to Jeff and doubly blessed mama of two perfectly wonderful daughters. Please join me as I share our Lifestyle of Learning through Christian homeschooling and homesteading on our little hobby farm with our prairie girls.
Amber (Bookworm) is our dd15/10th grader.
Our perfectionist and over-achiever. She loves reading, playing violin, all things vintage, riding her Paint horse, and being a farm girl.
Anna (Ladybug)
is our dd12/7th grader.
Our "girls just want to have fun" girl. She loves to play and has a great sense of humor, but also enjoys cooking, music, and riding her QH pony.
She's home! Woohoo!
It was a long drive, a long day, but we are so happy to have our baby home with us now. Wow, does the breeder ever have a lot of dogs and puppies (too many), but our puppy was a good traveler and although a bit scared with her first time away from mama, siblings & lots of other dogs - and her first experience of being out of an old basement and now with LOTS of human interaction (something I don't think the breeder had time for), she is coming along very nicely - thanks to the girls being with her almost every moment.
Unfortunately, it's been a very gray, cool, and now wet day -- not good for picture taking, but here are a few pictures of puppy since we got home this evening...
Puppy snoozing in her pet "yard" set up in our dinette area - all wore out. She stayed awake through about 99% of the 3.5 hour trip home - her first time out of the basement.
Anna with Puppy. The girls are all smiles. For some reason I didn't get many photos of our last dog as a pup, so I'm going to try better this time around.
Amber with Puppy. Everyone gets their fair turns.
Our little Leonberger is 7 weeks old today and about 10 lbs.
Okay, Puppy has had enough of photo session one.
Puppy is doing just fine as long as the girls are with her all the time - it will be interesting to see how she does through the night. Maybe tomorrow I can get some better "action" shots as she is still VERY tired and timid.
Midnight & Inky are being quite the scardy cats and not liking this puppy business AT ALL! They take one look at Puppy and want to head right back outside.
And no, we haven't given her a name yet. We had a list of 23 possibilities and have narrowed it down to 3, I think, "Shalom, Elsa, & Lexus," but we are now at a stand-off, no matter what name we pick, someone isn't going to be happy, so we have decided to table the decision for another day since we are all pretty tired. anyways. Maybe tomorrow will be better - hoping.
Peanut was more than a mere dog or pet, but a beloved family member.
I always loved her smile. What a good girl!
"Sharing" a squeeky toy.
We always told Peanut to be gentle with the baby, and even after 12 years, Peanut was still more giving to Anna Grace than anyone else.
We rescued Peanut from a puppy mill when she was nearly 8 weeks old. Anna Grace was five months old at the time. Peanut's loss is exceptionally hard on Anna since they have grown up together.
Her loss is hard on all of us, we try not to dwell on it, but I sometimes break down and cry ~ we were blessed to have her in our family. The house now seems emptier - her presence is missed. A chapter in our life is through - nothing will be exactly the same ever again.
It would be nice if these little ones would live as long as we do, but I thank God for allowing me to be right there with her when she passed on. She went quickly of a heart attack and I'm thankful she didn't suffer long.
We all held hands and Jeff prayed in thanksgiving for her life and for guidance in finding a new puppy as we stood by her graveside near our beautiful Catalpa Tree. We will make a grave marker and plant some more wildflowers at the site.
One may think this is all very silly, but we loved Peanut very much and she was an integral part of our family for twelve years. It's hard to believe she is gone; we miss her dearly and will hold on to many fond memories of her our entire lives.
"A rightous man regardeth the life of his beast..." Proverbs 12:10a
My husband recently returned from a business trip to Switzerland!!!
He rarely travels for business and this was his first time on business overseas. We are thankful for the opportunity, but he was gone for 6 days, which is the longest we have been apart in our 16 years of marriage - it was hard for both of us. He had little free time, but I thought I'd share a couple of photos he took.
First of all, here is where my husband stayed most of the time...
Le Château d'Ouchy - A medieval castle turned hotel built around a massive tower of a 12th century fortress beside the sparkling blue waters of the Lausanne-Ouchy yacht harbor on Lake Geneva. Layered with history, the Chateau was recently restored and modernized - quite fancy.
Switzerland is regionally either, German, Italian, or French speaking - as you can tell by the name of the hotel, Jeff was in an all French speaking area.
On Sunday he was able to do a little site-seeing, so he and a couple of co-workers took a train around Lake Geneva, closely hugging the mtn. side with steep drop-offs below (not for me) and over to Chamonix, France. Then they hopped a "trolly" (a big ski lift type car) and went up, up, up
They even passed a few mtn. climbers along the way...
And here was a view (see the village below) - the guys ate at a restaurant up here and threw snowballs. It all sounded very romantic, but since I'm afraid of heights and drop-offs, I'll pass on this trip of Mount Blanc.
Here's more my speed - and yet, I'm sure this was plenty high enough.
One may picture Switzerland more like what you imagine in the book, "Heidi", and yes, Jeff did see plenty of goats, but really, many of the shops were more of the haute couture variety, and not in our league. Jeff did have a problem with what to eat... beside the fact that some menus were in French only, they served such things as ostridge and "Swiss steak" (i.e. horse meat) - which Jeff didn't try as he said he wouldn't have been able to look our horses in the eye if he had. And horrors of all horrors, there wasn't a can of Mt. Dew to be found anywhere! (just Coke products). The cost of living there is much higher too - most restaurant meals are $20+ (each).
All went well, but we are so glad to have him home again.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
~ Proverbs 12:10
I was sharing the following with a dear friend this morning and thought I'd share my heart with you dear friends as well...
I've been an emotional wreck the last couple of days. Several months ago, Peanut (our Boston Terrier) woke up with her right eye bloodshot & bulging (more than normal :)). I didn't think it was a scratch, but being she is 11 years old and the Boston Terrier I had growing up developed an inoperable brain tumor, I figured she must have a tumor behind her eye. She didn't seem to be in pain, and since my DH doesn't like to spend any money on animals (or anything, :)), I just let it go. In hindsight, I should have known a tumor doesn't develop overnight. Well, Peanut has been gradually going blind in that eye ever since, which again didn't seem to bother her except it hinders her in playing fetch. But suddenly last Thursday, her eye had gotten much worse. Very cloudy, mattery, and she is having pain (yelps & paws at it several times a day). She doesn't even play much now because of the pain. I was hoping for the best - perhaps just an infection, but fearing the worst. We took her to the vet yesterday and come to find out she has glaucoma. I should have brought her in as soon as she had a problem several months ago. Now, about the only help for her is to take her to a vet eye specialist and have her eye removed (about $400-$600). I was given some eyedrops, and just like people, she doesn't like the eyedrops, but I crush & wrap her pain pills in melted cheese - she loves that, but they make her sleep a lot. So of course, as much as I hate too, we will have to put her down soon. I can't see paying out that much money for surgery - esp. since she is as old as she is - she may only live another year or two anyways or it may be the start of other medical problems in her advanced years. And the eye drops & pain pills only help for a while, I hate seeing her in pain & not being herself anymore. So it's just a matter of when I can pull myself together to take her to the vet to have her put to sleep - not today. I'm going to be bawling - I already broke down when asking the receptionist the cost involved in doing such. I'm not sure weather DH will say to have them take her or if he wants me to bring her back home - if we bury her, it's less than half price. So that's what I'm dealing with around here - I try not to tear up in front of the girls, but it's a pretty sad time around here right now. The loss of any animal can be heart wrenching, but there is just something special about losing faithful dogs - they really become a part of the family. Last night Jeff was looking at a website on breeds, already looking for a replacement - which I was surprised since he is a German Shepherd lover, I thought our next dog would certainly be a Shepherd (& it may still be). Then he turned the computer over to me, but my heart just wasn't in it, I felt like a traitor. I just can't think about another dog right now.
Today she turn's 14 and we have had a pretty busy day --
After chores I made egg bake for a sit down breakfast with daddy and she opened gifts.
Then we went to the History Center with my inlaws.
Then a late lunch at Pizza Hut
Then she played her new video game that her sister bought her for her birthday and is now watching the Anne of Green Gables dvds that we bought her (we have seen them MANY times before, but she wanted her own set).
Here are a few photos as I briefly walk down memory lane.
Our little girls' birth announcement photo taken at age 13 days. (okay, this photo decided it wanted to be at the bottom and won't move!?!) Moving along...
Our happy little family! Bookworm is our first-born (age about 6 months)
Our Christmas photo of Ladybug & Bookworm a "few" years back. It is such a blessing that our girls are best fiends!
And jumping way ahead to today at the History Center.
I am so filled with greatfulness for both our blessings.
Bookworm, I am so proud of you and happy for the young lady you are becoming! May God bless your day and your 14th year!!!
The girls out sledding yesterday while it's still coming down.
Jeff made certain the horse pasture didn't interfere with the girls sledding hill - just outside our family room windows. The picture doesn't do the hill justice - it's a long hill (horse fence comes just beyond the furtherest we have ever gone on sled. The hill doesn't seem so bad from the top, but just climb up it once - a great cardio workout!
A sunny crisp (5 degrees F) morning after the storm.
Taaa Daaa! My lonnngggg redo project - that should have only taken 3 or 4 days but took more like about 3 weeks, is finally finished - well almost. Our little Ladybug's room makeover is just about complete and she is lovin' it! This is her third room makeover since we built the house - 11 yrs. ago. Unlike her big sister, this little girl is all about change.
BEFORE...
Here room was in her (then) favorite blue color with a cheery sunshine boarder.
AFTER...
Now she has decided to go for a more pre-teen look...
Her new favorite colors are orange & pink. I told her this redo has to last at least 4 years. :) When this redo was still in the thought process, I was planning on painting on all the dots. I enjoy decorative painting, but just the thought of doing a lot of perfect circles was a bit overwhelming - and then I found Wall Pops, woohoo, removable wall stickers. How perfect for my ever-changing girl! When she tires of the dots, it will be a snap to change. I still need to stencil on her name above her closet (I had done this before the sunshine border and now have to redo), and I want to find her a mirror for her dresser. Else I think we are done except for maybe a couple of extra surprises for her room later.
Fhew, now I can get on with getting the rest of our house and barn in order.
If you would like to join us for Show & Tell Friday, please see our friend Mary for details.
Thank you to my sweet daughter, Ladybug, for awarding me with the Nice Matter's Award. It really is extra special when it comes from someone who sees you 24/7and knows your real self, and yet still thinks you're nice. But than again, if I had gotten the award before her, I would have awarded her and her sister. Ladybug & Bookworm are such a blessing to me. They are who I want to spend my days with and when they are away at a friend's house, I miss them greatly. Thank You Lord for my family.
So many of you out there truly have a heart of gold and deserve this award many times over - and I think most everyone I know has already been awarded with this award several times. But I will keep a watchful search to pass this award on to any unrecognized nice people.
And as if spending the entire day at the fair wasn't tiring enough, the next morning we left for camping up north. This year we just took an easy 3-day trip to a State Park just south of Duluth. (Not like real camping in the BWCAW).
While the 13 colonies were developing, French fur trade was thriving in this beautiful area.
The girls on the swinging bridge.
The St. Louis River runs through the park. This picture from the swinging bridge just doesn't do it justice. The falls is quite loud and very beautiful.
Jeff took this photo of the girls and I on the swinging bridge - okay Mary, there's your photo of me. lol I think it turned out quite well, don't you. The bridge makes me look skinny.
Our campsite. The first night was rather chilly - my nose was cold all night. Racoons visited the first night too and licked clean all the marshmallow off the metal roasting sticks - don't worry, I washed them and santized them with the fire before we used them again. I set the sticks out again the second night hoping they could clean up afterwards again, but I guess we didn't have enough to make it worth their while.
Lots of rock climbing fun for the girls by the river. The geology here is really neat - make up of slate, graywacke, and red clay. These huge sheets of slate bordering the river were all tilted. Of course, their sign said something about geologist's believing about 2 billion yrs. ago... but we belived the upheavel was due to Noah's flood.
This was fun, but very challanging to climb on - very sharp and inbetween most large sheets was water - but of course, we had to conquer it and get as close to the river as possible. I used muscles I haven't used in 15 years - and still feel the pain. :)
Some of the leaves are starting to turn up here. I have a real pretty maple leaf that I may show on S&T Friday.
Our last day, Friday, we packed up camp, hiked some, and then drove to Duluth for a few hours of fun. Lake Superior was the stillest I had ever seen it when we arrived, but shortly after I took this picture, the wind picked up (cold) and there were a lot of whitecaps. Unfortunately no big ships were due in or out until after we planned on leaving. We ate lunch at the Green Mill and then went shopping on Canal Park - first stop is one of Jeff's favorite stores - Duluth Pack Company (camping store), then we hit a candy store & toy store (can anyone say Christmas ideas), and then we made a very fun find - in the upstairs of a the Spirit store (Native American stuff) was a miniture store - you know, doll houses and ALL that goes with them. It was like a wonderland! The girls are very into dollhouse minitures and want to do something along that line for one of their next 4H projects so they each got 1 thing - hold on to you pocketbook there - $$$$. It is a mom & pop opperation and I appreciated that the wife is a Christian and had the Christian radio station playing as well as Bible verses posted everywhere. Lord willing, we will be back - at least by next April when our MN Associaton of Christian Home Educators (MACHE) will have their spring conference there.
We had a great time. The weather was cool in the mornings, but warmed up quickly. We hiked and the girls also rode their bikes and scooters, and who knows, maybe someday we can even bring the horses up there for a little trail riding. We plan on camping/hiking again soon - but boy do I need to get into shape. It's fun to leave, but it's fun to get back too! PTL for beds & running water!
Tuesday we went to the great MN State Fair. Bookworm was judged on one of her 4H projects. A happy day! We walked & walked & walked! Rode a couple of rides (Jeff & I rarely do rides anymore). And just had a great day!
It's tradition - I went on the giant slide every year as a child and so must Ladybug & Bookworm!
One of our favorite parts of the fair, besides every imaginable food-on-a-stick, is the Miracle of Birth barn. I don't have any good pictures, but it is a large barn where they have probably a couple of dozen stations you can crowd around, each with a farm animal about to give birth. We can watch it all take place live, and pet the babies soon afterwards - calves, pigglets, ducklings, lambs, geese - very fun!
It was great exercise - on my feet and walking for about 9 hours straight! I think my blisters had blisters.
He is such a great daddy to our daughters and a wonderful provider and protector for us girls.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY SWEETIE!
Jeff reading "The Three Little Kittens" to Bookworm when she was about 2 or 3 weeks old.
A lively game of the girls favorite "Tickle Tackle" when they were younger.
The girls each made Jeff a Father's Day card. Plan "A" was to buy him a hammock that was on sale at Kohls, but they were sold out, so we resorted to Plan "B", a REI (sport/camping store) gift card. We didn't make the drive to actually get the gift card, so Bookworm made a pretend one that will have to suffice until we get to the store. Then we went out to Pizza Hut for supper (Pizza - one of the 4 food groups).
Though it's been over six years since my daddy went on to be with the Lord, I don't think there has been a day that passes that I don't think of him and the tears still come. I miss him greatly!
He was born on October 29, 1913 in Waukomis, OK and moved to a farm in MN via covered wagon at the age of three.
Daddy, Bookworm, and I, when I was in my first trimester with Ladybug. I wish I had more pictures of him and I when I was little, but mom has them.
I have fond memories as a young child, climbing out of my crib early in the morning to make my trek through the house to the bathroom, always "catching" daddy either in his chair reading the Bible or on his knees in prayer. I remember going fishing with daddy, driving what seemed like a long ways (it wasn't) and listening to our local Christian radio station. And although I love to sing hymns, it is very hard for me to do so without tears flowing down my cheeks because of vivid memories of standing next to my daddy in church singing hymns with him - I can still hear his voice. And one of the greatest compliments "I" have ever received was one time at Bible college, my parents were visiting and someone came up to me and said, "I didn't know your dad was a pastor?" and when I answered, "He's not!", their mouth few open in shock. Daddy was a Godly man and for that I am most grateful. A very soft-spoken man of few words, but his life spoke volumns.
He was just a wonderful Godly man that everyone liked. He had a great sense of humor, was very humble, a good story teller, and served in the church (was church treasurer for as long as I can remember up until his health prevented him). As an only child, I was the apple of his eye and he of mine. To me, he was the best daddy ever. His final years were full of sickness with Parkinsons' disease and heart ailments, with an inoperable blood clot to the colon that finally brought his life to an end nearly a month shy of his 87th birthday. His final words were when he told me, "I love you".
I love you and miss you daddy; and look foward to being together again with our Heavenly Father someday.
Creative Arts (Handwriting, Scrapbook, Paint, Arts & Crafts)
1:00 – 2:00
Violin
2:00 – 2:30
Girly-Girl Tea & Girlhood Companion
or Ruby Girls Study
2:30 – 3:30
Horse Grooming & Training
3:30 – 5:00
Prepare Dinner/Free Time
5:00 – 5:30
Dinner
6:00 – 8:30
Free Time/Family Devotions (2x/wk)
8:30 – 9:00
Storytime
9:00
Bedtime
In order for me (and the girls) to get everything done this summer that we want to, I felt it was necessary to draft up a routine for us. We are going to try this today! It doesn't seem to leave me much wiggle room. I'm sure I'm going to have to tweek it several times, but at least I have an initial goal. It will have to be very flexible too as I don't have room in there for shopping, guests, and the like. Bookworm is excited about the plan as she is very organized like me and likes things orderly. Ladybug commented that she didn't like change and wasn't excited about the plan (I thought Bookworm was the one that didn't like change - this was new to me). But Ladybug was excited about the tea time and time scheduled to play with her horseys. Stay tuned, we'll see how this goes. It might run me ragged and I'll be wadding this up and tossing it by nightfall. :) Note: I don't have much blogging time in and no blogging time scheduled for the girls - I guess this will fall under free time. AUGH! I just noticed, it's 6:50 - gotta get the girls up.
Here is a quick summary of our Florida vacation - May 9th - 16th...
Our first stop was Daytona Beach and the girls first time to the ocean. Dispite the smoke of wild fires in northern FL and a subtropical storm 150 miles north of us that caused as bit of sprinkles and a mostly gray sky, we had a ton of fun. Walked the beach several times, went on a pier, collected shells, watched surf boarders. It was super. Our room was on the 6th floor, directly facing the ocean. The storm was stirring up the water so it was cooler water than normal, but that didn't stop us northerners. We all LOVED the ocean! It is now sea turtle nesting season, so area hotels keep their ocean-side lights off at night and ask guests to close their curtains at night so the lights don't confuse the baby turtles when they head out to sea. It was a cool idea, even though we didn't spot any turtles.
After the first 24 hours at the ocean, our next stop was NASA...
Very fun! Except that we only allowed ourselves 3 hours there, ended up staying 4 hrs., but really should have spent 8 hrs. Lots to see. DH liked the spaceships, us girls esp. liked the natural wildlife. Saw lots of alligators & Bookworm & dh even saw 2 armadillos.
Then it was on to Orlando
Sea World was sooooo fun. We spent all day Friday there. The water shows were great! We sat in the soak zone at the Shamu whale show and I GOT SOAKED!!! This was one of the few places that I could have gone again (as well as the ocean). Really loved seeing the Manatee too (unfortunately our camara's batteries ran out & I didn't bring the spare with).
Consider this my lawn ornaments.
Every morning in Orlando...Bookworm had her Southern biscuits and gravy and Ladybug had a Micky Mouse Waffle at the hotel's free breakfast.
Saturday we went to The Holy Land Experience
This was very fun (dispite it being very hot and no breeze that day). You can go around to various Bible-times locations and see reinactments from the Bible, hear archological talks & sermons, and go through a museum of the Bible. It was VERY good. Run by Baptists where the gospel is clearly presented throughout and challanges for Christians given.
After so many days of go, go, going, we gladly took Sunday as a Day of Rest at our resort. The girls spent much of their "free" time in the huge pool there and I spent a lot of time enjoying the beautiful tropical plants there. The fragrance for the Magnolia trees in full bloom, jasmine, gardenias, and other flora was heavenly.
Monday it was on to Disney.
DH decided to do just one park and so we chose Animal Kingdom, which turned out to be wise as it took us all day just to do that one park (the other parks are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, & MGM). Animal Kingdom was fun, but if I had to do over again, I think I would have taken the girls to Magic Kingdom as their first Disney experience, since it's more what one traditionally thinks of when they think "Disney". Animal Kingdom was good, but just seemed more like a Wild Country Safari rather than Disney. It was fun, I'm just not much of a Disney fan. The vast majority of the rides were a bit much for our 10 year old and us older parents too - a lot of noise, scaryness, and jostling around.
Our last day we went to one of the two waterparks at Disney -- Blizzard Beach. That was fun too. I did manage to jam my little toe into one of the beach chairs and I think I broke my toe, but I just keep going the best I can. I also got myself a nice shade of lobster red. lol
Our vacation was great fun and it brought a few tears to my eyes to leave the state I love. Great memories were made! But now it's back to reality with a new foal to work with and 12 baby chicks coming on Tuesday. Yikes, I gotta get busy.
Puppy snoozing in her pet "yard" set up in our dinette area - all wore out. She stayed awake through about 99% of the 3.5 hour trip home - her first time out of the basement.
Anna with Puppy. The girls are all smiles. For some reason I didn't get many photos of our last dog as a pup, so I'm going to try better this time around.
Amber with Puppy. Everyone gets their fair turns.
Our little Leonberger is 7 weeks old today and about 10 lbs.
And here was a view (see the village below) - the guys ate at a restaurant up here and threw snowballs. It all sounded very romantic, but since I'm afraid of heights and drop-offs, I'll pass on this trip of Mount Blanc.
Here's more my speed - and yet, I'm sure this was plenty high enough.
Our happy little family! Bookworm is our first-born (age about 6 months)
Our Christmas photo of Ladybug & Bookworm a "few" years back. It is such a blessing that our girls are best fiends!
And jumping way ahead to today at the History Center. 
This was fun, but very challanging to climb on - very sharp and inbetween most large sheets was water - but of course, we had to conquer it and get as close to the river as possible. I used muscles I haven't used in 15 years - and still feel the pain. :) 
Some of the leaves are starting to turn up here. I have a real pretty maple leaf that I may show on S&T Friday. 
We walked & walked & walked! Rode a couple of rides (Jeff & I rarely do rides anymore). And just had a great day!
It's tradition - I went on the giant slide every year as a child and so must Ladybug & Bookworm! 
Our first stop was Daytona Beach and the girls first time to the ocean. Dispite the smoke of wild fires in northern FL and a subtropical storm 150 miles north of us that caused as bit of sprinkles and a mostly gray sky, we had a ton of fun. Walked the beach several times, went on a pier, collected shells, watched surf boarders. It was super. Our room was on the 6th floor, directly facing the ocean. The storm was stirring up the water so it was cooler water than normal, but that didn't stop us northerners. We all LOVED the ocean! It is now sea turtle nesting season, so area hotels keep their ocean-side lights off at night and ask guests to close their curtains at night so the lights don't confuse the baby turtles when they head out to sea. It was a cool idea, even though we didn't spot any turtles. 
Very fun! Except that we only allowed ourselves 3 hours there, ended up staying 4 hrs., but really should have spent 8 hrs. Lots to see. DH liked the spaceships, us girls esp. liked the natural wildlife. Saw lots of alligators & Bookworm & dh even saw 2 armadillos.
Sea World was sooooo fun. We spent all day Friday there. The water shows were great! We sat in the soak zone at the Shamu whale show and I GOT SOAKED!!! This was one of the few places that I could have gone again (as well as the ocean). Really loved seeing the Manatee too (unfortunately our camara's batteries ran out & I didn't bring the spare with). 
Consider this my lawn ornaments.
Bookworm had her Southern biscuits and gravy and Ladybug had a Micky Mouse Waffle at the hotel's free breakfast.
This was very fun (dispite it being very hot and no breeze that day). You can go around to various Bible-times locations and see reinactments from the Bible, hear archological talks & sermons, and go through a museum of the Bible. It was VERY good. Run by Baptists where the gospel is clearly presented throughout and challanges for Christians given.
DH decided to do just one park and so we chose Animal Kingdom, which turned out to be wise as it took us all day just to do that one park (the other parks are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, & MGM). Animal Kingdom was fun, but if I had to do over again, I think I would have taken the girls to Magic Kingdom as their first Disney experience, since it's more what one traditionally thinks of when they think "Disney". Animal Kingdom was good, but just seemed more like a Wild Country Safari rather than Disney. It was fun, I'm just not much of a Disney fan. The vast majority of the rides were a bit much for our 10 year old and us older parents too - a lot of noise, scaryness, and jostling around.
