Oh please not this time---

My son has talked about almost NOTHING else other than taking some $$ out of his bank account and buying a PIG!!

Why?  Because that is what Almonzo did when he asked his dad for .05, his dad gave hime .50 and he bought a pig  (so he could sell the babies-- whatever baby pigs are called-- I'll know the answer to this tomorrow).  

All weekend-- everyone he came in contact with he told "I am going to take MY $$ and buy a baby pig". 

The draw back to this?   Almonzo's father owned a VERY large farm (and was pretty wealthy) and the book never mentioned how Almonzo FED this animal!!  (Zachary is planning LOTS of scraps-- tried to start saving some today).....   The bigger drawback to all of this?    Jason has ALWAYS wanted to raise a pig---

Oh how I DISLIKE PIGS!!  VERY MUCH.   When we go the farm show or fair-- I try to walk quickly thru-- and to be honest they SCARE ME VERY MUCH!!   Have you ever seen a PIG get loose at a Farm Show?  I have and it takes a FEW MEN to get them back in!!!!  Oh dear... they REALLY REALLY do scare me!!!

So guess what filled Zachary's library bag today?   Books on pigs-- you guessed!!  (lol)   I have a friend who has her daughters write a paper or notebook about things like this-- do some REAL resarch before they are able to "jump in" to things like this-- and that is JUST what I have planned for Zachary.

PS:  I did throw in a few books on rabbits-- incase the pig idea doesn't 'fly".   

If only he "took" to our Missionary book on the Fiji Island   like he did Almonzo's pig!!  LOL

Oh yeah-- read alouds are great!!!   LOL

Not the most flattering picture, but I went to Tricia Goyer's book signing today at Borders, which was fun!! I got her to sign my copy of Love find's you in Lonesome Prairie Montana before I read it tonight! I will post a full review soon, but I really am enjoying this line of books.  Of course her book the Swiss Courier is another really good one, I really enjoyed and will be posting with the blog tour and review on the 20th.

After the book signing I went over to a  meet the doula's tea, which was nice, but somehow one of the invites said 1-3 and another said 2-4 so some of us were there at 2 and some were there at 1....it worked out though, although we really got to get more expectant moms there. There were two moms there this time, which made it nice! I stopped for a few minutes to chat with some friend's and visit with my sister which was nice before I came home and made homemade pizza pockets to go with the homemade spaghetti sauce I made that morning.

I am tired out, lots of long nights lately with some nasty nightmares, but  days have been good! The older two boys worked with my brother in aw all day today and they are tired out this evening. It is really good for them!

Well, clean boys are put to bed, two of the four Saturday night showers were done and the other two took them last night.  Everyone is clean,  most of the laundry is done, folded and put away, floors did not get washed and the laundry room still needs to be cleaned, but you know, I am happy!!!

Good night!

Kaira was a very excited princess when the big day finally arrived.  We were were joined by Lady Beverly, Sir Richard, the Bowman James, Lady Lorelle, the beautiful princess Kaitlyn, and the delightful jester Sirhc!  The games were underway when the Royal executioner showed up, escorting a servant girl he had found fleeing the Manor of Lord S and Lady K. 

The servant girl threw herself to the ground and begged the princess for mercy, and the executioner inquired what should be done with the servant, who was no doubt an accomplice in helping the Lord and Lady escape.  Kaira looked upon the groveling servant girl in mercy and answered the executioner emphatically, "Let her have fun!" 

And so, have fun we did.  The games included a quest for the grail, tests of archery, musical chairs, and tiara and shield making.  James the Bowman provided a demonstration of his skill, putting arrows through our bales with such force that we found broken shafts the next day!  The Lady Lorelle even brought along her pet draglet, whom Kaira took to immediately. 

Kaira's cousins attempted to present her with her very own prince, (who had journeyed all the way from Prague) but alas, her mischievous cousin, the wee jester Sirhc had enchanted the poor fellow and turned the Prague Prince into a Frog Prince.  The counter enchantment required she recite "Prairie Frog Fairy Prince" seven times in succession before kissing him three times.  (Seven plus three adding up to ten--her age, of course!)  Poor Kaira failed to recite it properly each time, and he remained amphibious.  Fortunately the fellow seems content to remain a pet.  (She's too young for a real prince anyway, so I'm secretly relieved.)

"Kenneth O'Laughlan" read the Fools Prayer, and the wee jester Sirhc did a Sirhcus act for us!  We feasted on shish kabob and raspberry cream filled cake. 

I should have required a few guests stand still for a quick photo op.  I didn't manage to capture my niece and nephew's beautiful costumes as fully as I'd like, and somehow the Lady Beverly managed to avoid the camera lens.  I also neglected to capture my own wee knights, Sir Keegan and Sir Kieran before they shed their armor.  (And, I was behind the camera instead of in front of it.  Which is all very good and well.)

A good time was had by all!  Huzzah!

After mailing out the invitations, Kaira was delighted to see her courtiers respond.  Here are a couple of the more interesting replies:

To the Attention of Princess Kaira,

It is my grievous duty to bring a matter of utmost importance to your attention. Reliable sources have informed me that the party invitees of (Lastname) Manor are planning to be late for the festivities. Such blatant disrespect for the royal Princess needs to be dealt with quickly and harshly to keep order in the kindgdom.  Therefore, on the appointed date, I will personally apprehend the culprits and bring them in haste for you to make a ruling on their punishment. I pray this will not cause too much disruption in the roayl festivities.

Signed in my own hand

X

His Majesty's Royal Executioner

And a little later, from her Aunt:

At the same time that Joel was getting his fishing lesson, William's spirits were sinking lower and lower as he participated in the classes for the handful of children on the island. This was even more dull than school back in Canada!

The teacher was an old man named Thomas who had no hair, and no teeth (which made him very hard to understand). He never smiled, but he didn't raise his voice, either. In fact, he spoke in a monotone. A toothless monotone. If one of the children misbehaved, he would walk over to them and knock sharply on their head for a good two minutes while the class continued.

The children varried in ages from three to fourteen, and Thomas believed in teaching them all at once. As a result of this way of thinking, the older ones had to review the learning material for the three-year-olds every day. The day started out with a pledge to the island, the ocean, and the sun and moon that William found very disturbing. Of course, he did not know the words yet, so he was not expected to participate, but as he listened to the chant of the other children, he knew he could never join in with them. Growing up in Canada, the idea of saying a pledge was completely foreign to him.

Next, they said the ABC's together. Then they counted to 100. After that, Thomas called the students up to the front of the class one at a time and had them spell simple, three-letter words. William was bored to death with all of this.

After this came Science. This was the worst class of the session, William was sure. Thomas gave the class a lecture on some scientific topic (at least William guessed it was scientific, but he couldn't tell at all what the man was teaching them about). Then he asked each of the students questions which they could not understand because of his missing teeth. When they did not know the answers, he calmly walked over to them and started knocking on the child's head.

This man is crazy, William thought, as Thomas was painfully knocking on his head. Why is he allowed to be our teacher? We aren't learning anything here. At least I'm not. I'm not even keeping up on my multiplucation tables!

"Neh we wih do hiftoree," Thomas said in his usual monotone.

William payed close attention. This was his absolutely favorite subject. Hopefully Thomas would not make it as miserable for him as he had the other subjects so far. But "history" turned out to be nothing more than the children saying a chant that went like this:

China, Japan, Russia, and India. These are the countries of Asia. The men of China built a wall around their country to keep out intruders.

England, France, Switzerland, and Germany. These are the countries of Europe. Long ago, some people rebelled against England and started a new country in North America.

Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These are the countries of North America. The United States is made up of that group of people who rebelled against England.

Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Argentina. These are the countries of South America. These countries are not important; nothing ever happens down there.

Egypt, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Kenya. These are the countries of Africa. The ancient Egyptians built giant pyramids and a strange looking statue called the sphynx, but other than that, nothing much happens here anymore.

Australia. This is a country that gets a whole continent to itself. No one is really sure what goes on here.

Antarctica. There are no countries here. It is cold and snowy, and no one lives here.

William found this exercise very dull, very uninformative, and very silly. Of course it wasn't true that nothing happened in South America, Australia, or Africa. And there were a lot more countries in the world than those mentioned in that silly chant. He started to raise his hand to say so, and then thought better of it. No sense in saying something that would cause Thomas to come over and start knocking on his head again. One time in Science class was painful enough.

She sent invitations: sealed in wax, and delivered by national courior:



Most PrairieFrog birthdays are quiet affairs, with just our own little family.  Every ten years, however, for the entire duration of their childhood, we'll treat each child to a party with other guests! 

This year, as Kaira celebrated the completion of her first decade,  we hosted our first such event! 

I'll confess that the date gave me pause.  Although we do give a nod to Reformation day, the 31st of October is typically just another day for us.  We don't recognize the event our neighbors celebrate, or do any "alternatives".  But, with Kaira's birthday falling on Sunday, the day prior became a perfect choice.  (I think we've celebrated Ken's birthday on that date as well--He was born on October 29th--but it was a quiet family affair.)  Hosting a costume party on the 31st was new for me!

Stay tuned, for the courtiers' responses!

That is what we will be doing this weekend.... 

Tonight we are having a fellowship meal at our church for our pastor and his wife to celebrate their anniversary.    Just last week we had a celebration/meal for another couple who celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary....    I just love how serious this church takes and MAKES families.  The couple that celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary also had a wedding quilt / throw hand made for them by ladies of the church (not me, I am not good with a needle...and it was also made during Nathans birth and there-after).    My older 2 were at first surprised that we were having a dinner to celebrate an anniversary-- but now that this is CELEBRATION #2-- I think they get the idea--   Marriage is SUPER special and we all need to encourage and celebrate it with each other!!  

Then tomorrow we are heading home (to my home) to help my mom who really needs some wood cut and split and stacked for her.   We just found out about this yesterday-- but I am so thankful I have a husband and children who realize that this is what families do for each other-- we HELP and SERVE whenever and wherever needed.   Jason works all night tonight but will still be the only "MAN" there-- and I know he is going to be so tired-- but he still stood right up and said "Yes, if your mom needs help-- WE WILL BE THERE."   (That made a wonderful impression on the boys too-- ).

I have a friend who is considering homeschooling next year- and she asked me a few questions (I LOVE TALKING ABOUT Homeschooling-- even if we are becoming Unschoolers)....and the one she asked was "How long do you homeschool your boys each day?"   Ummmm how do you answer that to someone who sends their children to school all day with out getting THIS look...    LOL    So I gave her the ol' standby (and TRUTH) "Oh we are homeschooling all day--everyday-- my children are always LEARNING.... it is just a matter of WHAT they are learning."     (and I must BLUSH and add that since Nathan has been home and we have been watching FOOD NETWORK and the DO IT YOURSELF channel VERY frequently-- they have had a WHOLE lot of Home Ec. and Industrial Arts... LOL-- really though-- they can tell you many things they did not know before-- and are very ANXIOUS to help in the kitchen!!  LOL)   Oh and don't for get life science-- raising 25 meat chickens from 2 day old babies to the freezer to the kitchen TABLE (last nights dinner)  But I did tell her the truth-  "sitting and desk time is about 3 hours"--  (because I KNOW that is what she is considering school-- but hoping she will see school is SOOOO much more)   I did re-state that that was  not counting read aloud time and hands on learning-- and learning to "serve and help" as members of a society (the home and more).

Boy this was a rambling post, huh??