Good morning!

Today, I have the laundry and dishes going.  I also ordered my son's birthday gift online this morning.  He is getting a set of building Legos for his 8th birthday.  I enjoyed building houses with Legos as a child and I wanted him to have the same experience.  He likes to sit and spend time with projects like that, so I thought he'd really enjoy them.  I don't know what happened to my set.  And we never have bought any.  I have yet to figure out what we're doing to celebrate his birthday.

I am about to head out to the garden to plant a few more plants I picked up (not all of my seeds germinated and there are a few things we just HAVE to have).  My oldest son is going to help with the weeds while I am out there.  My second son is going to hang out with us and my daughter and third son are going to stay in the house.  Maybe I will have them vacuum?

Then we'll come in and do our math work, language arts and lunch.  Then I need to bathe my third son and get him ready to go to the doctor.  He has a buckle fracture in his wrist and this is the day to follow up with the doc on it.  It is hard to see my little guy with a splint on.  He really wants that thing off, too.  He keeps asking me to take it off.  Poor little guy.  He will be a big two year old boy next month!  We're going camping to celebrate his birthday.  Everyone is excited about that!

Then I think we will read a bit and have some free time while I do some more laundry.  Always laundry!

We had VBS last week and my two older children really enjoyed it.  They learned a lot about Creation, what happened after the Tower of Babel, etc.  I learned some things, too.  I didn't know before which grandchildren of Noah ended up where in the world, and that was interesting to learn about.

Well, I have to go get busy before it's too hot to go out to the garden.  I will check back in tomorrow and share what's on our plates then.  You wait for summer to have a break, but there really is too much to do now, too!

Blessings today,

Miss Kris

Wow!  Soccer finally ended and we took a vacation.  Now we are back and things are slowing down a bit for us.  I have been up to a lot in the past few months. 

The most important thing to announce is that we are expecting a baby in December.  God has been so good to us!  He gave us another baby right after the loss of Baby Grace.  He knew what my heart needed and He provided it.  Praise Him!

So much has happened, it's hard to know where to start.  So I think I will list the things I have been up to:

1. Fighting fires.

2. Nursing chickens.

3. Giving away chickens.

4. Planting a garden.

5. Soccer, soccer and more soccer.

6. Morning sickness, ick....

7. R & R

8. Organizing

9. Friends

10. VBS

That's it in a nutshell, er, list.  Intrigued? Bored?  What have you been up to?

Blessings today,

Miss Kris

Soccer season has officially begun!

This season, our two eldest are playing.  This is probably the last time we do that.  We don't like to become involved in too many things outside home.  But we felt we would let them try it this time.  This is P's (son #1 Nickname) third season and Daughter's first.  She probably won't play again.  I think we'll let Tani (Son #2 Nickname) play int he fall in the Kinder League just for fun.  It is really good exercise for them.  But we need to be exercising as a family.

I've been wanting to post for some time, but our lives have been so busy these past few weeks.  It is finally settling down (except for soccer).  But soon we'll need to start working in the garden and finishing our chicken coop.  I will post later about our FREE chicken coop.  You're gonna love this idea.  Especially if you like salvaged items.

Things have been turned upside down around here as we make some changes in our business situation.  I will share more about that later, too.

Today we go use our Book-It coupons.  We haven't done that since January when we all got the flu/colds thing.  We also need to go buy diapers and milk -the story of my life!  Hehehe.  I might take the boys for haircuts, we'll see how I feel.  And then back home to get ready for Tani's Pirate Adventure Birthday Party of Sunday.  He turns four years old on Monday.

It's hard to believe he is the same baby boy I struggled so hard to feed and keep alive when he was born.  He is now our biggest child (age comparatively speaking) and very strong!

I'm off to crack the whip!

Blessings today,

Kris

Well, we have one more week before Christmas.  I still have a few sewing projects AKA gifts to finish, and lots of baking I want to do.  I am getting together a list of cookies and things I want to bake and will post it ASAP, promise!

Yesterday, we made a gingerbread house.  It was a kit given to me by a friend who had one in the back of her pantry.  I had planned to buy one, as Daughter has wanted to do one for some time, now.  But the Lord provided one free of charge.  It was fun!  I have only done something like it once, with graham crackers.  This was a nicer result, and of course, everyone ate their share of candy. (I had bought extra, so they wouldn't eat the old stuff.)

On a more depressing note, our employee's home, where he lives with his elderly parents, burned to the ground Sunday night.  They did not have insurance, did not use banks, and had priceless antiques within the walls of an old mobile.  It was an electrical fire and they barely got out before the smoke overtook them.  Wallets, glasses and their cat were all left inside the dwelling.

They are strong Christian folks and I know they will get through this.  They have a lot of support from their five children and their church, where they serve in leadership.  Mrs. Downes said she knows things are just things, but it is hard just the same.  All family photos were lost.  That is one thing I don't think I could ever fully recover from.

So I am considering this a wake up call to me.  This coming year is my year to become more organized.  I have always struggled keeping paperwork, photos, and more organized.  This is a must do in 2008.  Although the risk of fire in our home is slim, any number of things could happen, and it is only prudent to be prepared!

In the meantime, we got them a Walmart gift card to help them get some clothes.  It's not much, as we can't afford too much right now.  But it should help a little.  I mean, just getting some clean underwear would be a huge blessing to me in that situation!  If you think to, please pray for these folks, the Downes Family.  It's going to be tough Christmas for them this year.  But God is faithful!

Blessings to you today,

Miss Kris

I found this on my island this morning and thought it was adorable.  It is a letter my daughter wrote to her friends:

My Dear Friends,

I would like you to find a nearby place to live.  There is a nice place off of !@##$%$%^&* Road.  Please!

From Sis

Daughter is concerned because my friend M and her family are looking for a home even further away from us than they live now.  She wants tham to live near us so she can see them more.

I think that's very sweet.

Miss Kris

The idea of making money just because I spend time online and since things are getting a little tight around here led me to check out becoming an affiliate with amazon.com and for Vision Forum.  Amazon, as you know, has almost everything you could imagine.  But what I like is the selection of books, since I am a bookworm.

I feel strongly for the ministry of Vision Forum and their products are wonderfully Biblical and uplifting to our family.  So it is my priviledge to become an affiliate with their store.

Simply click the links in my sidebar or at the bottom of the page to visit the online stores.  I receive credit for any purchases you make through my link.  Check out Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald's new book, Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God, and the Botkin Sisters' new movie, The Return of the Daughters.

I have not yet purchased a copy of the book.  But I received the movie when it was released.  It really cemented how Beloved and I feel about what our daughter should do with her in between years.  It also showed him how he can have a vision for our family.  This is powerful stuff.  Get this movie so adeptly produced by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin.  It will change your life.  You may view a preview here.

Blessings, Kris

Today, I found the following items in my boys' pockets as I was preparing to wash their jeans:

1 Round container for Crazy Gum -filled with rubber bands

Loose rubber bands, broken

Pebbles

A spring

In the past I have found  some pretty interesting things in those pockets.  Mostly Hot Wheels, toy soldiers, rocks, sticks, stickers, coupons, kleenex, trash, unidentifiables, etc.

What are in your boys' pockets?

I am so very unmotivated right now.  Today is my son's seventh birthday and he has been such a blessing.  My folks are coming over tonight for pie and there are a few things I need to get done here.  I guess I have too many projects going right now to concentrate on what I need to do.

We are having a party for him on Saturday, but I'm afraid there is going to be a low turn out.  He has great plans, but he'll have to take then down a notch, I think.  He was going to divide the boys up into teams and have a big battle with toy guns.  He is very creative and smart in thinking things like this up.  I am very proud of him.

I guess I'll start with dishes and then clean up the kitchen and have the children (except birthday boy) help with sweeping and vacuuming.  The dusting is already done.  The guest bath needs attention, though.  The next house will not have the boys sharing a bathroom with the hall guest bath.  Uh, uh, no way!

Oh, and guess what we're having for dinner?  MRE's  (meals ready to eat) The birthday boy gets his choice!

For all of you who didn't know, we went on vacation this week.  We were supposed to be gone for a full week.  However, our suite ended up being filthy, and when we moved hotels the next day, that one was only a notch up from filthy, so we decided to cut our losses and head home.

For some reason, Beloved and I were both kind of dreading this trip.  Our June vacation was so looked forward to and ended up being so very nice.  I don't know if we just both knew in our guts that this one wasn't going to go well or what.  So we have spent the week here at home, working on some projects inside.  Beloved is also working on the treehouse with the children.

He has done so much for me in the last few days!  He vacuumed the ceiling fans, ledges, cabinet tops, etc., that have collected so much dust since we moved in a year ago.  I am plugging away on a few projects, too.  Namely the laundry (hehehe) and taking apart the bookshelves, dusting and putting everything back while rearranging it.  I don't know if I will ever get used to the dust that comes with country living.  But all these things probably should have been done 6 months ago.  I will have to put it on the cleaning schedule.

Our oldest son, Number 2, has his golden birthday this week.  He is very excited about his coming party.  He invited some boys, but I don't know how well the turn out will be.  I feel sorry for him, as he doesn't have many boys to play with.  Not that I am that concerned about him playing with a lot of children outside our family.  But it is nice to sometimes have some boys for him to spend time with.  Many of our friends have girls and he needs to do boy stuff.  I am praying we have a good turn out, as he has many plans and is building blinds to use for playing army.  What can I say?  He is all boy.

Well, the ribs for tonight's dinner are in the oven and I need to go make the mashed potatoes to go with them.  I will post again this coming week.

My mom brought me back a file box full of plums from her recent trip to California.  So yesterday afternoon I cut them all up for jam.  It took me all afternoon (with interruptions of course) to cut them up.  So I will be making the jam today.

But first I have a few errands close by to make.  Our little scrapbook store here is closing and everything is 50-80% off.  So I best check that out.

I am going to need to get creative to keep these children busy.  All they want to do is watch videos and I am running out of things for them to do.  I need to come up with something that will keep them busy for at least one batch of jam at a time.  I guess the only way to keep them busy is let them do something which usually ends up making a mess.  Scrapbook stuff, clay, coloring, whatever, it all makes a mess in my kitchen.  Oh, well.

In addition to jam making, I will be working on laundry today.  Sounds like I can recruit some folders for that job!

If I have time, I will cut out one western shirt.  I am making everyone western costumes (some things I bought).  I am making the boys Buckaroo Shirts http://www.buckaroobobbins.com/page14.htm, scroll down to see the shirt.  It's a great pattern, sizes 4-14 and five different shirts.  And daughter is going to have a Sacagawea costume.  I've already cut hers out.

Why am I making costumes you ask?  Good question.  It's fun!  And Beloved and our oldest son are interested in joining the Single Action Shooting Society or SASS.  Look up SASS for more details, but basically, they will have to dress authentically for the period 1800-1890, depending on the character they choose to be.  They will need to have complete authentic costumes and four guns each, all authentic.  It will take them a few years to gather this stuff together, but I will do my part by making them some of the items.  Also, our family camp this year will be having a western look contest.  So I thought this is good timing to make a few things.

I also need to clean the showers today, too.  We'll see how much I can get done.

For dinner tonight: Salmon on the grill, broccoli, tossed salad and garlic sourdough bread.  Yum!

Thanks for tuning in and have a wonderful day,

Miss Kris