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Jul. 8, 2008 - do you like to read?

This is the BEST site ever!!!!!!!!! All you have to do is sign up & post 10 books that you want to get rid of. Once you have 10 listed you will get 2 free credits as a welcome gift. You can immediately use those credits to "buy" yourself some books. Each book costs 1 credit, most audiobooks cost 2. All you have to pay for your new book is that credit, the sender will even pay the shipping. When someone "buys" a book from you a credit will go into your account & then you can buy yourself even more books!! You do have to pay shipping when you send a book out but remember that when you buy a book the sender pays to send it to you so it all evens out in the end.

It isnt just paperback books either. You can find textbooks, audiobooks, etc. I have gotten some very nice books that would have cost me $20 or more to buy new, IF I could have even found them. Its great if you, or your dc,  are avid readers & have a hard time keeping new books on hand. Now you can send the already read ones on to a new home & have new books delivered to your door for you to enjoy. What a deal!!! Especially for us homeschoolers on a budget.

I cant seem to get the link  to work here in this post but you can click on the link to PaperbackSwap in my sidebar. If you join thru my link I will get a credit for refering you.

Happy reading!!

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Jul. 8, 2008 - we finally got chicks!!!!!!!!

After the last batch of eggs didnt hatch I basically took the incubator apart, NOT an easy task as it is a HUGE cabinet style one.  I scrubbed it, soaked the trays in bleach water & totally disinfected it. It had been sitting in storage for years before we borrowed it so we figured maby bacteria inside it was killing our eggs. we got 12 eggs from our chickens & started it, but without holding out much hope after 5 attempts & no hatches. Dh stopped the turner on day 18 & reminded me that July 4th was hatch day. July 4th came & I totally forgot about it, until I stopped to pick up a toy on the floor by the incubator & heard a chirp. Grabbed a flashlight & looked inside & there was a very noisy little chick, along with 5 more pipped eggs.   The dc spent most of the day plastered to that little window LOL. We got to actually see 6 chicks hatch & 2 hatched during the night. We ended up with 9 out of 12 & they are SOOOOOOOOOOO cute! Im not sure which I enjoyed more, watching the chicks hatch or watching the dc's reactions.   Of course hatching chicks is addicting & now I wanna do more LOL.









this little guy is one of my favorites. Its momma is a bearded Americauna & it has little feather puffs by its cheeks LOL.


So far their names are... Snap, Crackle, Pop, Boom, Firecracker & Sparkle (4th of July chicks you know ). We still have 3 needing names but the dc havent settled on any yet. I call the little guy directly above "Puffy Cheeks" but the dc dont seem to think thats a name LOL.

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Jun. 10, 2008 - the logic of 2yo's

I was nursing baby  R. I took her into the LR & saw 2yo L's overalls on the floor . I knew he had gone outside about a minute before. Went to look & he is outside wearing only a diaper & his rubber boots . I said " Why are you nekid???" "Cuz I took off my clothes." Oh well of course, why didnt I figure that out "why are you outside without your clothes??" "cuz they are in the house" Alrighty then   

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Jun. 5, 2008 - the years go so fast

the same child that a short time  ago wanted to watch cartoons now tells me they are "stupid" & turns on History channel, or shows on how things are made or how they work or shows on the Marines. The same child that used to beg for a candy at the store now asks me to take him to the hardware store to get parts to fix his dirt bike. The same child that used to ask daddy for piggy back rides now swings his rifle over his shoulder & goes nutria hunting.  The boy I used to snuggle on my lap now stands equal in height to me. The little face I used to wash is now showing the beginnings of a mustache. The little voice that used to chirp nonstop at me is growing deep. The years are just too short, HOW can my little boy be this big already??????????????

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May. 8, 2008 - incubator update

Hopefully this dosnt gross anyone out.  IMO I dont think they are that bad  but then Im a farm girl & a lot of stuff dosnt seem gross to me LOL

We cracked the week overdue eggs that we had gotten from the farm yesterday. 7 had NO development at all, 1 died at about the halfway point I would guess.  we are suspecting that the eggs were too old or had gotten too cold before being put into the incubator. I do remember that one of the dc picked up a fresh egg straight from the nest & put it in the incubator at the same time as the others we had so Im guessing thats the one that developed some.

We also cracked 1 of the two day overdue Welsummer eggs. It had just a day or 2 of development.  I am sure I saw one of the remaining Welsumer eggs move slightly though so we are waiting a bit longer to see if they are just late due to temps being off.



pictures below...












This one didnt develop very far, Im guessing only a day or 2.


This egg went much farther, judging by pictures of embryo development online Im guessing 15 days or so maby.

The yolk, see all the blood vessels?


The chick. You can see feathers were forming already.


still hoping for some hatchers.

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May. 5, 2008 - our eggs arent hatching

We are VERY dissapointed. the ones we put in first are 5 days past "due date" so we have assumed they will not hatch. Tomorrow we are pulling them from the incubator & dh & the dc are going to crack a couple to see if we had any development. Science LOL. I told him to do it OUTSIDE. That was the eggs we got from the farm. I suspect they may have been too old or the temperature was too messed up. We had a REALLY hard time regulating the temp at first.

 The Welsummer eggs were due to hatch yesterday & nothing. Im hoping they may still hatch. I have seen in my reading that if temps are too low it will delay hatching. I know that most morning we would wake to find that the incubator temp had dropped during the night while the house was cooler & it would be in the 98-99* range. It appears that low temps dont necessarly  kill the eggs, just slow them down so thats what Im hoping for.

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May. 5, 2008 - a day at the farm

I wasnt planning to go anywhere today but my uncle called & had ran out of gas. Could I come pick him up? So I grabbed the diaper bag, some drinks for the dc & as a side thought my camera & we headed out.  Took him to get gas & then followed him back to the farm just in case he had other problems. I called dh & he was only about 30 minutes from being done working so I suggested he stop by the farm. T-14 & I had been dying to hike down to the creek & get a closer look at an eagle nest that was there but I wasnt sure how D-7 would do & wanted dh there to help just in case he gave me problems.

While we waited the dc picked flowers


& played with chickens

After dh arrived we hiked out to where the nest is. The dc LOVED it. Its not that far yet I have never taken them out there. Not sure why I havent,  I used to play there ALL the time when I was S & G's age.   We found the trees I used to have a fort under

The creek is still there but is MUCH different now. When I was little it had trees all along it but they pulled them out some years back.

D did REALLY well. He loved the hike, loved the water, loved the whole thing & he stayed right with us holding someones hand most of the time. Great training for going hiking other places!

We found several ant hills. L-2 liked the "buggies".

Part of the neighbours property meets up in that area & their dog heard us & came to investigate.  (they are relatives so we already knew their dog was friendly) The dog LOVED the dc & they loved it. It had a blast playing fetch with the dc & ended up trying to follow us back.

The pictures of the nest I have left a bit bigger so you can see detail a bit better. This is the tree the nest is in, you can see it at the top of the picture.

This is the nest

We saw no sign of the eagles, though we have seen them flying around many times. T says  that the last time he saw them, a few weeks ago, there was 2 small ones also.

By the time we got home I had very tired, hungry, happy & dirty dc. LOL  I love days like this.

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May. 2, 2008 - Brotherly Love

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Apr. 27, 2008 - Ag Fest

We love the Ag Fest. Actually prefer it to the Fair.  Dh had to work today but I took the dc. Was a little worried as I wasn't sure how our Autistic son would do but he did wonderfully. MUCH better than I ever imagined!!  It was so much fun!! We saw lots of animals. Goats, pigs, bunnies, chickens, cows, horses & llamas to name a few.  L-2 liked the miniature horses the best.  The dc got to ride horses, though W-5 wasn't totally sure about that. He ended up  getting off after going just a few feet. 

The only down part to the day was that G-9 tripped & face-planted on the cement.  Scraped up his nose & forehead pretty bad & gave himself a dosey of a headache for the rest of the day. Poor guy.  Except for that though we had a  really neat day. All the dc are tired, a little sun-kissed & full of memories.








I wish W's head wouldn't have gotten in the way of this pic. I just love it.  L absolutely loves his big sister & you can certainly see it here.

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Apr. 20, 2008 - Today would have been

my Grandmas 91st birthday if she was still living.

Happy birthday Grandma, we miss you.

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Apr. 14, 2008 - my favorite flowers

a sign that Spring may finally be arriving.

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Apr. 14, 2008 - fun, fun, fun

Dc playing in the hay at my cousins house.

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Apr. 14, 2008 - I miss goats

When I was growing up my Grandma had goats. I loved them. They are such fun animals. My cousin has a few goats & one of them had triplets this morning. They are sooooooo CUTE!!  This is 2 of them with the momma.
I told dh I want an oreo goat LOL.

She has several others too. A couple of them wanted to taste my camera LOL.

I really miss having animals. I wish we lived where we could have some. Maby we could get away with telling our neighbors that they are a rare breed of dog???? Probably not .

Farming is my dh's dream & I am a farm girl thru & thru. My dc have farming in the blood too. Someday we WILL live on a farm, even if it means moving to an area where the cost of living is cheaper so we can afford to buy a little land.

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Apr. 13, 2008 - our current project

we actually have 2 things going though they are related.

Project #1.. we are hatching eggs! We have an incubator going with 15 Welsummer eggs, 2 Silky eggs, several Araucana eggs & a few we arent sure of. The dc cant wait to watch their eggs hatch, I just hope we get at least a few hatchers, we have had a hard time keeping the temperature regulated properly. The Welsummers went in about a week after the others so we will have 2 hatch dates, hopefully those will hatch at least.

This is our Welsummer eggs, arent they the prettiest eggs you have ever seen??


These are the others, the 2 tiny white ones are from the Silkys (banty chickens)  The greenish & blueish ones are from the Araucana hens & the others Im not sure of breed on.

the x's are to help us remember which end is which. They need to be turned at least 2 times a day. See the writing on the eggs?? My dc named them. LOL

Project #2... we have baby chicks. These we cheated & bought from the local farm supply store. Well actually the first 5 were free, they gave them away on Chick Days at the store. No clue on breeds of the free ones. We also have 5 baby Chukars . Chukar info The tiniest one has a gimpy wing, the dc call it Nemo. LOL 
This is Nemo

then we have MY chicks.
4 White Crested Black Polish. I think they are the coolest looking birds.  This is one of our babies

see the tuft on top of the head?  When fully grown the hens will look like this
& the roosters like this

We have no idea if ours are roosters or hens, they was sold as straight run so its take what you get. Im hoping for 2 of each cuz I want eggs to hatch next year but I think the roosters are much neater looking. LOL 

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Apr. 13, 2008 - Baby R was dedicated today

Lovely day. My mom & uncle both came to church for the dedication & then after church we had our annual Spring BBQ & egg hunt (doing it after Easter allows me to buy candy at 75% off ). My sister came with her dc & dh's brother came with his family. It was lots of fun. The dc ended up with tons of candy & enjoyed playing with their cousins. It was nice to just relax & visit for awhile.



NOT easy to get a good picture of the boys

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Mar. 30, 2008 - I dont believe a word of it

From the time we found out that our newest baby would be a girl T-14 has moaned & groaned about having a 2nd girl in the house. "We need more boys" he would say (Oh yeah, we really need even more testosterone than we already have ). I caught little glimpses of his true feelings when he would pick out little outfits for her at garage sales & when talking to others. A friend once told me that at a meeting he was at he was talking about his new sister (not yet born at the time) & his whole face was glowing with pride .  I love when I get a glimpse of him playing with her. Stopping by her swing when he thinks no one is looking & making funny faces & playing with her fingers.  She adores him & gets so excited when he looks at her. Her chubby little arms & legs start  waving & she just goes nuts. He loves it, though he tries to not let anyone know that. A big 14yo MUST be tough, right? I've seen the grin that hes trying to hide though.

This was taken the day baby R was born. Now really, does this look like a proud big brother or what??? You cant convince me otherwise.

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Mar. 19, 2008 - dont you just love homeschooling?

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Feb. 28, 2008 - cutest cowboy ever

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Feb. 28, 2008 - the brave hunter

T-14 is VERY much into hunting, trapping, tanning & such right now. He was SOOOOOOO proud to shoot his very first nutria the other day. For those who dont know what a nutria is, it is a big, ugly water rat that ruins farmers crops by eating them.  www.nutria.com/site5.php

The family farm has plenty of them that need to be removed so T has been setting traps & hunting them. He got a good sized one recently & a friends ds taught him how to properly skin it. He is sooo proud. Mama is just glad to know there is one less swamp rat running around.

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Feb. 22, 2008 - ponderings & memories

Gardening season is just around the corner. I have been browsing thur seed catalogues & planning my garden & it hit me just how odd it will be this year. Grandma is no longer here. Her garden was her joy. Even when her health prevented her actually working in it she would sit  in the shade & oversee. She will not be overseeing this year.  

Her greatest joys in this life were her garden, her animals &  children. She spent her summers working hard. Working in the  garden in the summer heat with her trademark straw hat & faded dress. Putting up food for the winter. In the winter she spent the days dreaming of summer so she could do it all again.

I remember her singing songs like Jesus Loves Me & Old Rugged Cross to her goats while she milked them. I remember her shooing the chickens out of the garden with the hem of her dress. I remember her planting tons & tons of veggies so she could sell them to make "pocket money", except she didnt want to overcharge so she sold them so cheaply that she probably came out behind in the long run.

My older dc have wonderful memories of her. Memories of her playing on the old swingset with them & of planting garden with her. My younger dc dont have those same memories. They adored her though & have many other memories of her. At her funeral I watched tears streaming down the faces of my dc as they said goodbye to her, knowing they would never see her again this side of Heaven.

Sometimes when I hold my sweet baby I wish so badly that Grandma could have seen her. I had a feeling from very early in my pregnancy that she would not live to see this baby & sadly I was right, she passed away just barely a month before baby R was born. She would have adored her though & been so pleased to know that this baby is her namesake. I wonder sometimes if she can see her from Heaven.

Some days as I sit nursing my sweet baby I find myself wondering… what will she be like? Her personality & her looks, will she be similar to her Nana?? Anything at all like the person she was named after???? Then I started wondering...her name  came from either Grandmas grandma or her great-grandma, I cant remember which offhand, so 90+ years ago when Grandmas mother was holding her newborn daughter did she wonder the same things about her?  I wonder what her hopes & dreams for her dd were.

I wonder what Grandma was like as a child. I would love to get together with her younger sister & hear some stories. I wish I could see a picture of her as a child, I wonder if they ever even had any.  Her sister tells me that I look sooooooooooo much like Grandma did at my age. She tells me that while she sees some of my dh in my 12yo dd she is always amazed at how much she looks like Grandma did at that age. It almost surprises me when a thought concerning grandma as a child passes thru my head. I mean obviously she started out as a child, I just don't tend to think of her as such very often.

I dont know if they can see us from Heaven but if they can I hope they are proud of who I have become & who my dc are becomming.

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Feb. 21, 2008 - some things just make you smile

I glance into my living room & see my 12yo dd. She is curled up on the recliner watching tv with her little brothers & working on a hat with her knitting loom.  As I watch she absent mindedly reaches up & brushes a strand of hair out of her face & tucks it behind her ear then glances up & sees me watching  & flashes me a smile.  Something about this just struck my heart deep down & made me smile. She is growing so fast & I just want to lock little moments like this away forever so I never forget them. She is such a joy.

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Dec. 12, 2007 - cookie baking

L-2 was helping S-11 make cookies. He decided to help by turning on the mixer for her, BEFORE she put the lid on. He was not impressed with the results. LOL

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Dec. 12, 2007 - And of course there is a happier side to life

On Dec 6th sweet baby R joined our family. She is such a joy to us. Our tiny little princess.

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Dec. 12, 2007 - in every life some tears must fall

Our time for tears was in Nov. My 90yo Grandmother passed on to her Heavenly home on Nov 11th.  We knew it was coming, in fact I had told my dh numerous times that I honestly believed that she would not live to see my baby's birth, though  I hoped otherwise.  Her 2 loves in life were her garden & being around dc. She has not been able to garden for several years now, though we have kept one going which she helped with as much as she possibly could. She was blessed with 8 Great-grandchildren before her death  & she always loved each new baby sooooo much. We miss you Grandma.

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Oct. 24, 2007 - newest project

S-11 & I are doing a craft fair in Nov.  This is  my newest project which I am hoping to sell some of at the craft fair. A car seat/stroller tied blanket. Double layered fleece blanket sized to fit a car seat or in a stroller without a lot of extra bulk. Also perfect for a toddler to carry around as a "lovey". Not sure how well they will sell but I think they are cute.

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Oct. 2, 2007 - A show-off post

Because Im proud of myself & just have to show it off. LOL

I  made my very first cloth diaper today. I had bought a pattern but I prefer pocket diapers so I changed the pattern some to make it a pocket style & then I had to change some stuff on the legs too because how they said to do the elastic just didnt make any sense to me. I think it turned out pretty good for a first try. I cant wait to make some more.

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Oct. 2, 2007 - Just because this was just too sweet

Dh & the dc were watching a movie in the LR. He let the dc bring their blankets & pillows out & spread them on the floor so they could lay down while they watched. L-2 was soooo tired so he crawled in beside big sister & fell asleep.

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Oct. 2, 2007 - Renaissance Fair

This is so fun!! We went for the first time last year & the dc LOVED it. they actually prefer it over going to a regular fair or carnival.  So of course we HAD to do it again this year. T-13 actually got to go with a friend & his dad to help out. He was gone all weekend, they camped on site & he helped with set up of the event. He REALLY enjoyed it. It is just really neat to see people walking around in costumes & they all play the part. Its like being in the middle of a big play.

I made a few of these pictures a bit smaller since I am putting in so many. I did leave some bigger so you can see the detail a bit better though.

Welcome sign

People in every kind of costume imaginable



the dancing was very cool, thankfully one of the dancers was modestly dressed so I focused all my pictures on her LOL

We saw sword fights
& jousting. That was REALLY neat to watch.

And last but not least, just because he is so cute, my little guy having a sword fight with his big brother.

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