Boy was it hot today!  We decided to pack a lunch and trot down to the lake for some tubing and canoeing... it felt so good to be in the water or under a big shade tree.  The kids had such a good time and besides the good exercise, they delighted themselves and their dad with "finds".  He explained, in detail( probably too much) each object of nature.   Things were going fine until AnnaBeth let out a blood curdling scream. There attached to her leg was a leech... Great for science minded boys, not so much for a very girlie 7yo!    She sat on my lap wrapped in a towel while Daddy amazed the crowds with tales of blood letting and other great uses for leeches.( right up a doctors alley!).. Amongst her sobs poor AnnaBeth looked at her dad with those big brown eyes and asked " How did they cure the girls?"  In my poor daughter's mind, no self respecting girl or woman would let any doctor, no matter what century , intentionally put a leech on you! 

We came home to pork roast in the crockpot with sauerkraut , mashed potatoes , green beans and cucumbers

Lunch was plain old peanutbutter and jelly, cookies and..of course cucumbers

Breakfast , cereal. with strawberries.. ( surprised no cucumbers)

..We had a bunch of sleepy kiddos tonight but a few managed to stay awake for a chapter of Clive of India.  We all pitched in with animal chores to close up the barn and now..its time for Mom and Dad to enjoy a nice cup of tea and some left over cookies...Mitch goes back to work tomorrow but takes the early shift ( 6-6 unless there is an emergency situation) so 5:00 comes a bit early

..I hope you all had a fine day in the Lord

Not sure if I posted our family memory verse for this week, Psalms 62:1  The first part is "My soul finds rest in God alone"

Rest my friends!

I trust everyone had a great Sunday.  We ceratinly did.  Mitch has Sun, Mon, & Tues off so we headed over the mountain to have lunch with our Aunt Lizzy and to drop off Joel at his grandparents this week.

  Aunt Lizzy is such an amazing woman.  She is actually my great aunt, and at 88 she is still going strong.  We savored fried chicken, mashed potatoes, string beans, corn, cucumbers, relish, biscuits and the most delicious coconut cake  you have ever tasted.  After dinner we all migrated outside for either horseshoes or cornhole. Things were going great until  the near 3yo pitched a fit that left all of us scratching our heads in wonder at what had possesed our child... Sure enough a flailing child tucked under his daddy's arm was deposited on the sofa with a blankie and within 5 mintues was fast asleep.  I am pleased to report our sunny delightful child had returned after an hour and a half of Winkin Blinkin and Nod...

...Joel's birthday is next week and he turns 18..~gulp~ I can't believe our oldest is an adult, yet he is so mature and focused for his age I shouldn't be surprised.  I keep asking Mitch if I LOOK old enough to have an 18yo... He has decided to live at his grandparents farm and attend Waynesburg College, not our first choice, or second ( Ok not even third) but it is a good school our family is associated with.  His father tried the "Go Nittany" banners through out the house...it was a no sale

..Joel will spend next week building his house with his Uncle Russell.  Its an old chicken coop of sorts that will be equipped with a bathroom and a kitchenette and sleeping area.  Don't worry, the chickens have been moved to a new mansion!  Grandpa Bryce just felt Joel would appreciate the privacy.  Puttering around the farm is Joel's dream. While we hope he graduates with some degree, his heart is more with agriculture and he so loves the  farm.  He has two uncles with farms in a row  that will keep him busy in hay , corn and up to his eyeballs in sheep ,pigs and cows to his hearts content.

..Mitch took the olders to a 4-H workshp this morning where they built coke can lights.  Normally we buy generic sodas when we have them but the kids all rallied and petitioned for named brand lamps so we enjoyed Dr Peppers and Sprite for movie night last night.  The movie of choice  was Sgt York and we all loved it!  I recommend it to everyone, good kids movie with a wonderful message of God's providence.  Jeremiah has dreams of West Point and loves a good war story!

Hannah wanted to sew this afternoon so I set her loose on the scrap bag and she produced 10 cloth napkins.  She still has trouble with bobbins and such but mostly they turned out great!

.. Breakfast was oatmeal and yogurt with blueberries.

Lunch was suppose to be pizza.... but hte yeast must have died... We usually mix int he bread machine and take it out after the rise but it went no where.... so it was grilled cheese and carrot stixs...not even as fourth as exciting as pizza...

Dinner.. Chicken Alfredo ... Uncle Russell sent a couple of "birds" home yesterday for the freezer... Joel's hydroponic experiment yielded some lettuce, although I think its a bit...I don't know... watery ...

We had Applesauce Pecan Raisin Cookies for dessert. 

  We start a new read a loud tonight after finishing up  Anne of Green Gables... the younger guys declared they needed a " man read"  So it will probably be a Henty something since  Grammy Ruth blessed the boys with the set last Christmas and we have read ( umm.... one), There are just so many great books to read and the boys tend to spend every waking moment out of doors instead of reading... I'm sure when the weather gets ridiculusly hot they will grab books and tuck themselves into cool corners and give them a go..

....Off to assembly line hair, nails and ears....nothing like a good snuggle with a squeakiy clean child!!

I have kept paper journals for years, and lists and notes. My children are concerned about my own private foorprint on the world eco system with all the paper clutter, so, despite my love of all things Victorian and Vintage, I agreed on this blog...for them....I am saving trees, or as they put it, a forest!

  I am AnnaKate, happily married to my dearest Mitch.  He serves as a GP in rural areas of WV, and I  serve as Mum to our 8 children Joel ( 17), Jeremiah ( 15) MaryCummins ( 13) James Eric ( 10) Hannah(9)

AnnaBeth (7) Jacob (5) Sarah Katherine(almost 3)

  We have homeschooled since the begining and have enjoyed every moment of it.

    We have an old farm house that deserves all the respect and love we can give it.  I do believe our home requires the most doctoring my husband does!  Slowly those of the children who have shown any sort of mechanical ability labor along side him.  The rest of us produce  goodies and cold drinks and an encouraging word or two. We've learned that equal to hammering a nail is the gift of knowing when not to say a word and walk quietly out of the room!

..We love Jesus!   Right now we have monthly home church with 4 other families every other week.  Active churches in our area are minimal and its quite a drive over the mountains to Morgantown.

  Before I give the impression that we live a mountain man's existence, that is just not true!  We make the two hour trek once a week to Pittsburg for music lesson and grocery shopping..occasionally twice a week or more for big events. We have wonderful neighbors,country neighbors,  where visits aren't as frequent as get together's are. 

  We appreciate healthy living and grow and raise alot or make sure we know where our meats and dairy come from.  The farmers of western PA are more then willing to share and we are grateful for them.

..So every day except Sunday's ( bold statement in the EVERY day ), I'll have our chore list, menu's , recipes, and any fun sort of things we might experience or explore  that day..

.....Today's chore list is already tacked on the fridge so I leave you with our menu for the day. MaryCummins had breakfast and lunch I'll pick up with dinner...dishes are Dad and James Eric ( unless Dad gets called out, then I'll help)

Breakfast: Ham and eggs on English muffins /bananas

Lunch:  Minestrone Soup ( from the freezer) and bread stix ( we use the recipe from  www.lainesletters.com

Dinner : Pork stirfry with pork loin chunks, onion, green pepper, cabbage, red pepper over basmati rice.   Fresh cucumbers and a fruit salad

 AnnaBeth and I made oatmeal cookies yesterday and if any survive until dinner we'll ahve those for dessert...

...I hope everyone enjoys the day the Lord has made!

AnnaKate