It looks like we are going to have family for Thanksgiving after all! My mom's plans fell through, and she and my older brother are probably coming up. I can't tell the kids yet unless her plans change again, but it looks like a go! : )

The area around us is really quite desolate, but it does have a picturesque, barren beauty, especially when the light is gentle, such as at sunset and sunrise, or through clouds.

This picture isn't clear, as, for some unknown reason, I took it through my kitchen window instead of  stepping outside. It was so breathtaking, the cloudy sky, the faint rainbow, and the setting sun just hitting the tops of the mountains (or rocks).

This picture was taken through our living room window. We caught the deer spying on us as we sat on our couch, and managed to snap a picture before my baby banged on the window and scared them away. Notice the gray, rock filled soil on the hill behind them. I don't know how anything grows here. Nothing does naturally except for that low brush that I haven't bothered to identify yet.

Here are my little witch and spider princess.

Here is my little bear. She had so much fun! She didn't want to be carried, but toddled along behind the other two girls, missing out on half of the candy because she didn't make it to the door in time. Then her sweet sisters started asking if they could have a piece for their baby sister. They got some sceptical looks, but Mary usually came into view by that time, and her sisters ran and gave her her candy.

With Grammy Tammy.

With Grandma Ann

From the time my youngest (Mary, 14 mnths) was able to show excitement, she has been fascinated by anything belonging to the animal kindgdom. Her eyes light up, and she points and makes a specific ahh ahh sound, different for when she sees animals, than for anything else. Animals of any varitey will do; birds, deer, dogs, cats, walrus' and penguins on t.v. , even fish. If it moves, it excites her. I will hear her sound for an animal, and look around in vain for what she could be seeing, only to hear the faintest, distant bark of a dog. If we see a dog twice her size at the park, she runs to it without fear.

 This morning, when I was unloading groceries from the car, there was a little cottontail in the parking lot. Mary took off after the bunny, and after running quite a way up the sidewalk in pursuit, screamed and kicked when I picked her up to bring her back to the house.

We have lived in three different places since she was born, all rentals, so we have never had any pets. We are waiting until we finally have our own home before we become caretakers of any creatures. When Mary was almost a year we visited my mom for a week, and she met  my sister's  calico cat, Leokie. Thankfully he is a very calm and well behaved beast, because she lived with that cat the whole time we were there. If he was outside, she wanted to be also. If he laid down to take a nap, she would also (on top of him). She would roll on him, pull on his tail, and he took it all in stride, seeming to enjoy the attention. I feel bad that we have deprived her of having a creature to love, but hopefully soon we will have a home that we can populate with critters.

Even in her play I have noticed a difference between her and my other children. From the time she was able to show a preference, stuffed animals have been her toys of choice. She hugs them, and packs them around, and calls them all bears, or, more acurately, " bez".

Speaking of the little animal lover, she has just woken from a nap, and I had better go get her out of the crib.

Yesterday was a cold, cloudy, and windy day. The perfect day for cozy comfort food. I made chicken soup/stew, and scones with honey butter. Yum. The soup actually turned out pretty well, so for my own benefit I decided to write it here so that I will have it for future reference.

2-3 cups of cubed cooked chicken ( I cooked chicken breast in the crockpot on high for a couple of hours, then had some nice fresh broth to add)

2 potatoes, cubed

3 carrots, sliced

1 cup of corn

1 can of chicken broth, plus 1 cup (from my crockpot chicken)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprica

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 cup of bacon bits

1 cup of shredded cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Boil carrots and potatoes in enough water to cover them, until slightly tender. (If using real onion, sautee chopped onion in tablespoon of oil before adding water and veggies) Add chicken, corn, broth and seasonings (seasoning measurements are approx, as I just dump in and taste). Simmer for about twenty minutes. Add cheese and bacon bits. Continue simmering until potatoes are desired consistency.

Makes about 4 servings.

I cheated on the scones. I used Rhodes roll dough, thawed, spread into scones and fried. Very tasty though, especially with the honey butter.

All pretense of a schedule was thrown out the window these last two weeks. My brother-in-law came to live with us on the 27th. He wanted to have a change of scenery, and my husband needed more workers for the store that he manages, as there is a shortage here. Everyone who might actually be reliable works in the oil field, which also makes housing impossible to find around here. Anyhow, that week was spent in cleaning and getting the house ready for him. My mother-in-law drove up with him, and even though she never critisizes me in any way, I still like to have the house looking nice when she comes. She stayed over the weekend, and Monday I drove her to the airport, which is 3 hours away, and we spent halloween with my mom who lives in that area.

We stayed at  my mom's until Thursday, and I actually got a night out without any chickies. I can't remember the last time that happened. I have a hard time leaving my children, and don't totally relax until I am back with them and can see that they are well, but this break was a long time coming, and much enjoyed. When my mom found out that I was coming she got tickets for the play "Camelot", and arranged for a babysitter. I don't think that I have been to any cutural event since I got married 7 1/2 years ago.

Well, hubby has Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off, which will be especially nice as we were gone from him for most of the week. I guess we will try to get back into our schedule next week.

must have visited my kitchen last night. After church and making dinner I started having uncomfortable braxten-hicks contractions. With my last two pregnancies this has happened from about 24 wks, any time I am on my feet for too long, or wear uncomfortable pants. Anyhow, as they started right after dinner, and I went to lay down, I didn't get to the dishes. In the rush to get three kids ready for church, the breakfast dishes were also getting crusty in the sink. Well, when I went to bed, I looked into the kitchen and said, "those dishes are going to be fun to do in the morning". But, lo and behold, when I came downstairs to begin on the dreaded task, most of them were done. My dear sweet husband had a migrain last night, even talked in his sleep about killing anyone who bothered him because he had a horrible headache. (He plays too many violent computer games)   So it must have been fairies, or I have the sweetest hubby in the world. (Apart from his often bizarre nighttime ramblings)

Lisa

My four and six year old and I made an apple pie today, using the book "How to Make an Apple Pie and see the world" by Marjorie Priceman.

This was a delightful book, incorporating geography, food origination, cooking, and hilarious illustrations. I would definately reccomend it. My children enjoyed the book, and enjoyed actually making the pie afterward even more.

After the pie was in the oven, and I looked around the kitchen, I wasn't quite so sure that I was in agreement. Surely there would be better things for beginning bakers to start out with, like cookies that don't have to be rolled out, or a cake, just stir and pour. However, when the mess was cleaned up, and the pie came out of the oven, I was very glad that we did it. It was one of the best apple pies that I have ever eaten, and certainly the best I have ever baked. Only I didn't even really make it, the kiddies did almost everything.

How is that possible? The crust was to die for; flaky, buttery, not to thick, not overdone. I haven't eaten many crusts this perfect. Two years ago I gave up an making my own crusts. I had tried every "secret" family recipe and tip from the Food Network that I could find. I finally decided that it wasn't worth all of the work and mess when I could  buy a crust that tasted just as good, or better. I will have to keep this recipe around. Though it dosen't seem that different from all of the other recipes that I have tried. Maybe I'll just have to have my kids make all of our pies this holiday season . The filling was incredible too, and my apple pies never turn out right, either the apples are to crunchy or the filling is so runny I have to spoon it out. Go figure.

Still thinking of that divine crust melting away in my mouth,

Lisa

Here is a picture of the proud bakers with their pie.

Her birthday was August 20th, so that tells you how long the roll of film has been sitting in my purse.  We were in the midst of moving, and it was kind of a fly by birthday party, just so in later years she wouldn't say, "Why don't we have any pictures of my first birthday. I didn't even have time to make a cake, had to buy a Wal-Mart one.

Here she is showing off her new skill of holding out one finger and saying  "unn"

 Here she is trying to blow out her candle.

And here she opening a present. Of course I am prejudiced, but isn't she cute.

Lisa

I was just reading through my blog, full of all kinds of mistakes, and imagining someone's disbelief that I would actually think that my children would benefit from my teaching them. Every entry is wrought with numerous spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors. I definately need to do an English refresher course myself. My children and I will just have to learn together.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I am not fit to school them. I believe that there are gaps in most of our educations in one area or another. Part of the joy and benefit of homeschooling is that we get another chance to learn what we might have missed. I have already learned much from my 6 year old's history books, (We do Ambelside Online, and are reading "An island Story", the history of Britain.) and have added the ability to identify many new trees and birds from her nature study. Life long learning is something that all of us should strive for, it just makes it easier when you are compelled to learn because you are teaching someone else.

Enjoying the crisp, bright fall days,

Lisa

I just realized that my blog page and my home look very much like eachother. They both have lots of books and no frills. But my blog is neater than my home. We have been putting school slightly on the back burner while trying to establish a system that will keep our home in some sort of order. My children have not been taught to work like they should have been. They are still very young; 6,4,and 1, so I am hoping that my lapse in discipline (meaning discipline of myself) will be able to be corrected. I've made the mistake of cleaning most things myself, and sending them off to do something else, which makes another mess, and keeps me overwhelmed. Like many of my generation, I was perhaps not taught all of the homemaking skills that I needed in order to run a home. Routine is something that I struggle with. I do well for awhile, then slack off again in a seeming never ending cycle. The thing is I know how to make a schedule, I know how to access priorities, and keep things charted until they become a habit, I guess I am just lazy. My dream, like so many others, is to have acreage and a small farm, but I am realizing that even if it were financially possible, I am not ready for it. If I can't even manage a 1300 sq. ft. townhouse with no yard that we have to take care of, and stay on schedule with school, how could I even consider adding so much else. So, I am praying that I will be guided in getting my home and training of children in order. So that when it is God's time, I will be ready to add more.

Lisa

Just experimenting with adding photographs.

This is Mary Katherine last winter.

Here are my other two Sarah and Elisabeth in the springtime at our house in Utah.

I need to get some new photo's onto my computer. We don't have a digital camera, so I just get them on CD when I get them developed. There is a roll that has been patiently waiting in my purse for drop off. I will remember tomorrow!

65 degrees, coudless bright blue skies, not a stir of a breeze, crunchy leaves on the ground, and brilliant leaves on the trees, what a beautiful day. I also love the blustery side of autumn, but one or two last days of warmth and sunshine before the cold weather sets in is always nice. We just moved here (Wyoming) in September, but everyone tells us that the winters are pretty harsh, so I was even more greatful for a summerlike day to enjoy at the park.

We didn't get much done in the a.m., as we are all still recovering from  nasty colds, but spent about three hours at the park by the river. The kids saw a birch tree that had been felled by a beaver. Not something that they had seen before, but they were able to tell me what happened to the tree by looking at it. I guess the books we read about beavers last winter actually sunk in.

Life is glorious and children are a delight!

Lisa

My daughter who turned six in June has had a difficult time with learning to read. I haven't pushed her, but from the time she was four, we have been working with sounds, and trying to play blending games, prereading skills, and she has been unable to even put two sounds together to form a word. I backed off even further about six months ago. For the last  6 weeks since we started doing lessons this fall, we have been working with the Bob books and I have been reading every word, sounding it out with her. Well, last night the evening was stretching out before us, and she brought books to me and wanted to read. I gave her the opportunity to  sound out all of the words by herself, and she read through four of the books almost completely on her own. I have always known that when a childs brain was ready, reading would click, but it is hard to remember that sometimes when it is your own child, and you see her little friends able to read at a fourth grade level. One small victory gives me hope that maybe I will not be stunting her learning by keeping her home.

I don't know if there is something about Wyoming or what, but ever since we moved her six weeks ago, I can't seem to keep everyone well. Two weeks ago we picked up a nice case of the far-vommiting flu from church. And this week we have the whole sore throat, coughing, green slime running, hacking, feverish delight. Once the sickness has been passed from one person to the next, it is usually more than a week before life is returned to any kind of normality. Needless to say, the last three weeks have been lean on learning. Oh yes, and on top of that, the baby, (Mary Katherine, 13 months) is currently, rather unhappily, cutting six teeth. She did the same thing when she was seven months old, and we were in the middle of a move from Washington to Utah. Six seems to be her number, and they all come through at once. I suppose it is better to get them over with, but I think the number intensifies the pain. My oldest (Sarah, 6) just came down with the crud yesterday, she is always the last to get something, and it hits her the hardest. I'm just hoping that we are all better by next week, and that I will be able to break them of the PBS habit they have aquired while we are all feeling unwell.

Whining in Wyoming

Lisa