It's so hard to believe that only 4 weeks ago, we were buried in 12 1/2 inches of snow and outside shoveling.  Today, it was so beautiful outside.  I love it when beautiful days fall on the weekends. 

First, The boys had a wonderful time out shooting hoops after church.  Then, we went out for a nature walk at a nearby nature center. 

It was so glorious to be outside in the sunshine getting some exercise.

We saw wildflowers, deer, and cool things in nature.  The boys skipped rocks in the creek  for a long time, had splashing contests and got quite wet.  We only hiked about 3 miles because we were constantly stopping to observe the marvels of God's awesome creation (and skip some more rock, of course).

What a perfect afternoon. 

What a wonderful day.  After cranking out some school this morning, we were off for an afternoon at the zoo.   It was perfect weather for the zoo....not too hot, not too cool.  The animals all seemed to like it also, as they were quite active.   Today's favorite was a baby orangutan who was in a very playful mood. 

Here is an adorable picture of an orangutan.  This wasn't the one we say but is just as cute  :-)

We also really enjoyed the monkeys and the prairie dogs.  We could watched them for hours! 

Here is a cute picture.  Again, these aren't the ones we saw, but just as fun and cute! 

Spring is in the air and we are all excited.  Winter is fun, we LOVE the snow, but spring is so exciting once it gets here.  We spent hours, the other day, cleaning out the garden areas getting ready for planting.  In the next week, or so, we'll get the lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage going.  Nummy!  Can't wait. 

Well, we were blessed with the Lord's beautiful bounty of snow.  This time we got about 12 1/2 inches!!!  The boys have never seen a snow this big and had so much fun in it. 

AtTheCross and HisCross were out in it for about 5 1/2 hours straight!!!  It even snowed 4 additional inches on them while they were playing.  What fun.  We had some extra children here, whose school was closed.  They didn't have appropriate attire for spending long periods of time outside so, when they went in, TheBean went in also.  I then spent my time going between the glorious outside and doing two dryer loads of soaking wet clothes inside.  Once the clothes were dry, those inside went out for a second run in the snow til past dark! 

I LOVE SNOW!!!

Here are a few photos of our day. 

 A Lone Cardinal Seeking Refuge from the Storm

 Heading Off To Make A Snow Fort

Who Knew Walking Could Be So Difficult

Hmmm.....Where Should We Build Our Fort?

How About Right Here?

Lookin' Good.....Those Walls are Getting High

Adding Another Room To The Fortress

Best Friends

And, The Snow Is Still Coming Down

WOW!!!

Not very organized this Valentines because of this silly flu virus.  However, I managed to acquire some very unhealthy snacks, cards, special napkins and plates for the boys.  They had a fun little place setting to wake up to this morning. 

The table looked semi-festive-----

And the boys were in sugar heaven  (notice there are some grapes on the table.....it wasn't all sugar )

Happy Valentines Day!

By yesterday afternoon, the ground was covered with a beautiful soft blanket of snow.

It takes so very little snow for the children to have an absolute blast!

The snow conitnued to fall and the boys played outside until almost 7pm last night.  There were about 3 inches at that time.  Then, this morning when we awoke, it was a winter wonderland.  We measured 8 inches in our yard!  Wow!!!

So beautiful, isn't it?  I love the cleanness.  The Lord washes us white as snow, amazing! 

Well, I'll get some pictures of the boys playing in the snow later.  It is going to be a fun day!

I realized that I hadn't put up photos of our tree yet.  We love to put up a Christmas tree and decorate it.  I don't do anything fancy or expensive.  We usually go to a tree farm to cut our tree.  This year, we ended up supporting a local church who had a tree lot because our time was limited that weekend.  The boys picked it out.  I think they did a good job. 

Once we get home, we cut off the bottom of the trunk and set it up right away in its' stand with water so it doesn't sap over and dry out too early. 

Once we get it all set, we cut it out of the little net bag, stand back and admire.  It is such an exciting and joyous time! 

And, there she is.  Didn't they pick a nice one?  It will open up more in a couple days, especially with the weight of the ornaments. 

Next comes the decorating.  We have a little party while we decorate.  I always put out nummy food for nibbling on the table and they can have special drinks, like eggnog.   Then, we put on some Christmas music and the fun begins.  We eat and decorate and sing.......I don't use fancy ornaments or anything.  I have ones I have received as gifts through the years and ones the boys have made.  Each boy also has his own special box that contains all the ornaments they have received over the years.  They each receive an ornament (or two) each year on their stocking.  It usually has something to do with what they like that year, activities they are enjoying or, perhaps it is from a vacation spot we visited that year.  It is so fun for them to go back each year and see all the ornaments they have and remember the year they got them. 

Here is our finished tree. 

I think the boys did  a great job decorating.  We all do it together and I don't ever move any ornaments.  I can remember when they were much smaller, the tree was bottom heavy.  Now, they are getting so much taller and it is pretty evenly decorated.  We love to sit in the living room with the tree during this season.  We have the lights on all hours we are awake and home.  It is my favorite decoration, by far. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

After a wonderful day in the snow yesterday, the snow continued to come down all night.  It was so beautiful with the Christmas lights. 

Then, in the morning, it was an awesome winter wonderland. 

So beautiful, isn't it?  So clean and white.  Imagine that Jesus' blood can wash us white as snow.  Just look at how beautiful that is.  What an amazing analogy. 

AtTheCross measured the snow to be 7 1/2" by morning.  It doesn't get much better.  It was hard to make the boys wait (and their mom) til after church to go play.  I know, however, that the Lord will bless our faithfullness in going to worship.

That is the same angel in the picture from yesterday.  She is a little more covered in snow today, don't ya think?  Beautiful! 

After church, we ate a quick lunch and out we went to play and shovel.  It was soooo fun.  The sledding was fantastic.  The snow packing was not so great this second day but still wonderful.  Here are a couple more pictures.......

TheBean able to be out for a while today and enjoy the snow.  He missed out yesterday while still recovering from a wicked flu bug. 

AtTheCross flying off a jump the boys made yesterday.  They had a blast going down our hill and ending their sledding run with a flying jump.  I think they would have jumped all day!!!

The only thing that got them to stop going off the jump was when a neighbor invited them to go to a huge hill about 1/2 mile up the road.  Off they went (the two older boys).  The had so much fun! 

TheBean and I didn't join them on that adventure.  Instead, we headed inside to warm TheBean up and sip on nummy hot cocoa.  He is still so weak from this virus and can only go for about an hour than has to rest again.  As hard as it is, we have had such wonderul time together cuddling, reading books, watching movies.  It has been kind of nice. 

Today was was such a wonderful day.  I LOVE snow!  What fun it adds to those winter months.  Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful seasons.   

Wow!  It is hard to believe it has been this long since I have blogged.  Time sure can fly.  After almost recovering from the flu, we started moving in overdrive until just about now. 

The boys had a swim meet out of town at a major university.  It was such a great experience for them.  The pools were absolutely beautiful, the campus was gorgeous and the weekend was just a complete blast.  It was an olympic feeling experience for the boys swimming.  Also, staying in an hotel, eating out, hanging in the hotel pool...... what fun we had.   

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One of my boys qualified for a meet in another state next at one of the big universities there.  That should be a fun one too.  We are all excited.  I am praying one of my other boys qualifies before too long and gets to swim as well.  Swimming at the huge universities is so much fun for them---not to mention traveling to new cities and states.   FUN!!

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After being out of town, we were home for just a short while than off to Chicago, Illinois to visit Gramma, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles.  We had such a wonderful, action-packed 5 days. 

On Thanksgiving, we went to downtown Chicago to see the parade.  It was amazing.  For starters, we took the train /subway down into the city.  The boys had so much fun riding the train/subway, going right by the Cub's Wrigley Field, seeing all the people, watching the doors open and close with those silly recordings at each stop.......

Then, the parade......there were those huge balloons like you only see on TV in the Macy's parade.  Only, this time, they were right there in front of us in Chicago.  It was pretty incredible.  They were 7 stories high and very fun. 

The marching bands were fantastic--- especially the one my neices played in   One of my neices is the Drum Major and she was so beautiful up in the front of the band.  The most amazing thing to me about the bands was that they came from all over the USA.  I don't know how they chose who plays but they were from all over and VERY good. It was snowing on and off, which itself is a huge treat since we just don't get that much snow where we live.  The floats were beautiful and fun.  Even Santa was wonderful  We had such a great time.    

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Let's see, while there, we also went to the theater for Nutcracker-The Musical, had delicious Chicago Pizza which you get no place other than Chicago, had wonderful visits with most of my family,  did crafts with Gramma, swam in Gramma's pool.....TheBean fell asleep every time we got into the car.  That hasn't happened for years.  We really were on the go! 

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We ended the wonderful weekend by getting Gramma's Christmas tree up and decorated.  It is always a special time for my mom and the boys when they do the tree together.  It is a blessing and a memory I pray they will cherish all their lives.  We play Christmas music, sing, decorate and just have fun.  Gramma then puts the angel on the top of the tree while the boys watch.  So special. 

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It was a beautiful  weekend.  Truly one of our best Thanksgivings.

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Now, here we are, back to realtiy.  We jumped right back into school full time, babysitting, swim practices, AWANA and scouts.  It is amazing to me how long ago a weekend can seem that only ended 4 days ago.    LOL!  We are also full swing into my favorite time of year, Advent, and preparing  to celebrate the birth of our Lord.  It's not about presents, decorations or trees but about Christ.  I work very hard to keep the family focused on preparing our hearts to welcome our King.  We do lots of fun traditions.  I look forward to sharing them in future posts. 

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I also look forward to reading everyone's blogs and catching up over the next  couple days.   In the meantime, I am signing off for the night.  Though it has been almost a month, I am still battling this virus I've had (though I am 95% improved) and trying to keep my sleep hours up to conquer it more quickly. 

What an absolutely glorious day.  Again, it was drizzly and cool in the morning, so we got going slowly.  Some of us chose to get dressed and some chose to stay in their jammies.  Ah, the beauties of homeschooling.....sleeping late and doing school in your jammies!   

The boys soccer was cancelled this morning, due to the rain,  so, we decided to have a late breakfast and make some granola.  It is one of our absolute favorite breakfasts.  We love to eat it with cold raw milk, shredded coconut and frozen wild blueberries.  Yum. 

After breakfast, we had some school to finish up for the week.  Also, the boys all had a turn doing Quarter Mile Math for some fact practice.  It is the simplest little game but so effective and the boys love it! 

After that, TheBean and HisCross finished setting up for an illusion show they have been planning to put on. They have been working long and hard to prepare for it.  They had signs hanging around the basement, a donations box, a program, stage signs etc.  It was MAGNIFICENT!!!  Our neighbor and friend came over to see the show amd play for a while.  They had so much fun and were quite good at doing the illusions.  There are a several I couldn't figure out. how they did what it.  Pretty fun.!

The Bean doing one of his illusions

 HisCross doing one of his illusions

AtTheCross catching the whole show on video

After the show, we headed out on a beautiful, fall day walk.  There was a local parade scheduled for this afternoon and, since the rain had stopped, we figured the parade was on  So, our friends (also homeschoolers) joined us and we all walked over for the parade.  It was an awesome walk.   The colors  were really starting to turn colors, the leaves were falling, the air had warmed up a little, the sun was trying to peak out from behind the clouds, and the children were laughing, jumping and running,  It was such a blessed, treasure time. 

The whole group on our walk to the parade

My three are the ones with dark hair. 

The boys running down the final hill to our destination

When we finally reached our destination, there was  a soccer field so the children were able to run around and burn off some of their energy on this fine fall day. 

 Then, at last, we settled in for the parade---with bags for collecting candy close at hand. 

The boys ready for the parade (I let them do a silly shot first) 

Left-Right:  TheBean, HisCross, friend, AtTheCross

They all got tons of candy -- about half a bag.  I let them nibble on several pieces then, we started our hike home.  Our friends came over for dinner and it was lovely.  It is such a blessing to have good friends! 

After supper, AtTheCross and his friend had to head off to swimming.  Tonight, they had a special fun night with games and races instead of normal practice. And, guess what they got at the end?  More candy.  Yikes, I think they are set for the next year.

We have just returned from a lovely weekend in Chicago.  Though the reason for going was not so pleasant, the weekend itself was.  We had some wonderful times with cousins, aunts, uncles and Gramma.  It is always so nice to be able to spend time just hanging and talking with one another.  I am so blessed and thankful to have a very close, wonderful and special family.  We are so close and all get along great.  Sure we all have our little quirks but we all love each other and have such a great time when we get together. 

The first day, we got going slowly then headed to my brothers house.  The boys had a great time hanging with their cousins.  These particular cousins are girls and my boys let the girls do their hair.  How tolerant, I know.  TeeHee. 

AtTheCross, TheBean and HisCross with two of their cousins showing off their stylin hairdos.  AtTheCross (left) doesn't look so thrilled but they were having a blast, honest!

The second day, we also go going slowly.  I just enjoy relaxing with my mom so much it is hard to move on to the next activity sometimes.  She is my mother but also my close, close friend.  Anyway, we finally got moving.  The boys and I had a quick swim in Mom's pool then, we were off to my sisters house.  The cousins the boys played with on this day were boys.  They had a blast jumping and jumping on their cousins trampolene.  What fun.

All three boys with two of their cousins. 

TheBean had a blast bouncing on his cousins back! 

The last day, we headed to downtown Chicago.  I had some business to take care of with my mom and sister down there.  The boys came along for the ride.  It was fun, as we drove in, to see the skyline.  

Then we arrived at our first destination and the boys had so much fun looking out the windows at the building, the ground, the lake and more.  We were on the 31st floor so we had a great view! 

TheBean and AtTheCross enjoying the view.   The were amazed at how large Lake Michigan is.  AtTheCross wondered if there were sharks in it.  Too Cute!

HisCross enjoying the view, also.

HisCross wanted a shot looking down from where we were.  Yikes!

Then, we headed over to the next stop.  We walked and the boys enjoyed it so much.  They saw some very interesting art work--

The boys with their aunt.

They got to look up at some amazingly huge buildings--

TheBean, their aunt and HisCross (and Gramma in front of them)

And just have fun walking in the city with their Aunt and Gramma. 

 It was quite an adventure for them.  After that stop, we had to head out because we had a long drive ahead of us.  So sad to leave but we'll be back soon for Thanksgiving.  TheBean came out this morning and just about the first thing he said was, "28 days til Gramma's."  I am so thankful they love Gramma so much and get excited about visiting her (cause their mommy does too :-)   )

Today, thebean and hiscross and I went with to a historical village reenactment with scouts.  There were people in period outfits, period crafts and lifeskills, food and fun.  We loved everything there and could have stayed hours longer than we did.  Some of the highlights were the boys building a log cabin that was about 4ft wide x 8 ft long and 4 ft high.  It was really neat how they had the children do it.  They also made herbal vinegar, which was kind of fun. 

One of their absolutely favorite things was the blacksmith.  They actually had two of them there.  This one made a leaf (like the ones off to the far right towards the top) from pole and then hooked it.  The boys were glued to his every move.  The second blacksmith made an awesome hook and gave it to hiscross for asking great questions and telling him how to make the hook.  Hiscross was very excited.  We will have to find a very special place for it. 

Another favorite was rope making.  They both had a chance to make a rope and then bring it home.  This contraption was really something. 

Lastly, peg making was fun and hard work.  Thebean was surprised at how hard it was and decided nails from Walmart are much easier. 

 I thought it was amazing just exactly how much work went into everything!  I mean, they really had nothing but their tools, nature and few extras.  I always think I would LOVE to live like that but the reality is, it was a hard life.  We do a lot of things to conserve, save, use wisely, and get back to the basics but they are choices we make.  We can pick and chose what we want to use and what we want to omit.  They didn't have the choices.  It was really awesome and eye opening to me.  I still think I would love it! 

Today was off the charts special.  My middle has a birthday this weekend and my mom (Gramma) and I had been cooking up a surprise visit from her for almost a month..........

The boys and I got to finishing the cleaning of the  house  first thing this morning.  They thought they were preparing ONLY for HisCrosses birthday party Friday night, I knew differently.  When things were finished up, we all loaded into the car.  When I said, "Time to go, shoes and car please," no one even asked where we were going.  They all piled into the car and off we went. The boys then got into a discussion about where we were going.  One thought we were going to get party supplies, one thought we were going to buy some more birthday presents and one thought we were going to WalMart.  When they finally decided to ask me, I told them I would tell them in 15 minutes.  They stared at the clock the whole time.

Time's up---"OK, We're going to get a package." 

"A package? I thought we were going some where?" 

"Well, we're going to get a package but it is a birthday package for you HisCross."

"Oh, cool.  Will I get to open it today?"

Laughingly I said, "Yes, I think it would be good for you to see it today"

Well, the next thing the boys knew, we were pulling off the airport exit.  AtTheCross said, "We're getting the package at the airport?"

I was ready for my response, "Yes, the package is a perishable package."

"What's perishable?"  All 3 said at the same time. So, we had a discussion about perishable when the phone rang.  It was the perishable package itself (Gramma) telling us where that package was at the airport   I kept my cool, thanked the person and said I would talk with them later because we were at the airport to pick up a package, therefore letting her know we were almost there.  SO FUN!  I was about to burst. .

Now, the boys were all looking for a sign that said "parcel pickup".  I was looking for 5 minute passenger pickup but they didin't know that.  We turned around a curve when all the sudden, AtTheCross, who was sitting in the front seat, said very quietly and almost through his teeth, just to me, "Oh, I think I just saw the package!"--I thought he was going to jump out of the car.  I told him, "Shhh," and told the others, especially the birthday boy, to keep looking for that parcel pickup.  They did, as I carefully pulled the car right up to the curb right smack dab next to the "Package"

"Oh, look boys, theres the sign and I think that is your package, right there," I said,  pointing right to Gramma.  "GRAAAAAAMMMMA?"  "OPEN THE DOOR, OPEN THE DOOR!!!"  TheBean asked, "Is she coming to our house?"  "OPEN THE DOOR!!!"  As they were all jumping out of the car to hug Gramma.  It was sooooo amazing and so much fun!  HisCross said, "Mom, I don't need any other presents now, with Gramma here, I have everything I want."  It was definately a moment we will all remember.

The day wasn't over yet, though.  Later that evening, a little boy (now 5) who we babysat for 3 1/2 years (but then they moved last May), was someone HisCross really wanted to see for his birhtday.  So, Mommy thought, well, if it is going to be a birthday of surprises, let's just make another one.  So, I planned yet another one.  The boys knew he was going to come to the party Friday night but what they didn't know was he was actually coming Thursday night for a sleep over first . 

The boys are downstairs playing  toys with Gramma, still sooooo excited about her visit when a sweet little boys arrives, slips down the stairs, stands directly behind HisCross and says, "Happy Birthday, (HisCross)."   I think he was about to truly fall over with excitement.  The joy, the happiness.......What a great surprise!  What a great present.

WHAT AN AWESOME DAY!!! 

What a wonderful day we had at a friends farm.  We weren't sure we would be able to go due to rain.  Things finally cleared up and it was grand. 

The kids had hours of fun jumping, climbing and building with haybales.  We spent a couple hours at a quarry.  The kids were able to fish (no catches) and find some incredible rocks.  The split many rocks open and had wonderful surprise after wonderful surprise.  They found a lot of calcite (they called them crystals), quartz and much more.  It was such a blessing.

We also spent a lot of time bale hopping on large round bales outside.  They played tag, jumped and had an awesome time.  We went on an adventure walk to wrap up the day.  God's unspoiled beauty is truly awesome.  What a great day!!