Kaira was a very excited princess when the big day finally arrived. We were were joined by Lady Beverly, Sir Richard, the Bowman James, Lady Lorelle, the beautiful princess Kaitlyn, and the delightful jester Sirhc! The games were underway when the Royal executioner showed up, escorting a servant girl he had found fleeing the Manor of Lord S and Lady K.
The servant girl threw herself to the ground and begged the princess for mercy, and the executioner inquired what should be done with the servant, who was no doubt an accomplice in helping the Lord and Lady escape. Kaira looked upon the groveling servant girl in mercy and answered the executioner emphatically, "Let her have fun!"
And so, have fun we did. The games included a quest for the grail, tests of archery, musical chairs, and tiara and shield making. James the Bowman provided a demonstration of his skill, putting arrows through our bales with such force that we found broken shafts the next day! The Lady Lorelle even brought along her pet draglet, whom Kaira took to immediately.
Kaira's cousins attempted to present her with her very own prince, (who had journeyed all the way from Prague) but alas, her mischievous cousin, the wee jester Sirhc had enchanted the poor fellow and turned the Prague Prince into a Frog Prince. The counter enchantment required she recite "Prairie Frog Fairy Prince" seven times in succession before kissing him three times. (Seven plus three adding up to ten--her age, of course!) Poor Kaira failed to recite it properly each time, and he remained amphibious. Fortunately the fellow seems content to remain a pet. (She's too young for a real prince anyway, so I'm secretly relieved.)
"Kenneth O'Laughlan" read the Fools Prayer, and the wee jester Sirhc did a Sirhcus act for us! We feasted on shish kabob and raspberry cream filled cake.
I should have required a few guests stand still for a quick photo op. I didn't manage to capture my niece and nephew's beautiful costumes as fully as I'd like, and somehow the Lady Beverly managed to avoid the camera lens. I also neglected to capture my own wee knights, Sir Keegan and Sir Kieran before they shed their armor. (And, I was behind the camera instead of in front of it. Which is all very good and well.)
After mailing out the invitations, Kaira was delighted to see her courtiers respond. Here are a couple of the more interesting replies:
To the Attention of Princess Kaira,
It is my grievous duty to bring a matter of utmost importance to your attention. Reliable sources have informed me that the party invitees of (Lastname) Manor are planning to be late for the festivities. Such blatant disrespect for the royal Princess needs to be dealt with quickly and harshly to keep order in the kindgdom. Therefore, on the appointed date, I will personally apprehend the culprits and bring them in haste for you to make a ruling on their punishment. I pray this will not cause too much disruption in the roayl festivities.
Signed in my own hand
X
His Majesty's Royal Executioner
And a little later, from her Aunt:
Thank you, dear PrairieFrogs, for your delightful invitation.
Your unfortunate messenger, a drunkard no doubt, first delivered our summons to a dwelling two kingdoms away, the Court *Edinburgh.
However, the royal family there discovered the mistake and kindly hired a more reliable carrier to complete the letter's journey.
And so at last, we (Lastnames) of the Court *Capella did learn of the wondrous celebration to be held in honour of our beloved cousin, the Princess Kaira!
With great glee, we are preparing ourselves for the day. The wee jester Sirhc, the young princess Kaitlyn, the bowman James and I shall travel north at the appointed time to partake in the festivities!
She sent invitations: sealed in wax, and delivered by national courior:
Most PrairieFrog birthdays are quiet affairs, with just our own little family. Every ten years, however, for the entire duration of their childhood, we'll treat each child to a party with other guests!
This year, as Kaira celebrated the completion of her first decade, we hosted our first such event!
I'll confess that the date gave me pause. Although we do give a nod to Reformation day, the 31st of October is typically just another day for us. We don't recognize the event our neighbors celebrate, or do any "alternatives". But, with Kaira's birthday falling on Sunday, the day prior became a perfect choice. (I think we've celebrated Ken's birthday on that date as well--He was born on October 29th--but it was a quiet family affair.) Hosting a costume party on the 31st was new for me!
My blogging has been sporadic lately. Last week consisted of beautiful snow storms that kept my sweetie home by my side. We were delightfully derailed by family time, and I was blissfully kept from the computer by snug, homey delights!
This week another phenomenon has kept me busy. Although we are typically home-bodies, it seems we've had more going on lately. When extreme weather shut down the city, last week became rescheduled to this week. This week, however insisted on continuing a forward march of its own, and the two are rather superimposed atop each other!
Busy as the week may be, an important update is in order! After pressing "post" on this blog entry, I will make a subtle but important change to my blog sidebar. Kaira's age requires updating! She refused to remain a nine year old, and has now accomplished a decade! She had lovely medieval-themed party which shall be blogged as soon as I finish sorting through pictures.
I got this recipe from my friend Lyn, but I put my own spin on it. We have it every Wed. for breakfast and often have the leftovers for a snack. We make it up the night before and store it in the fridge to make our morning as easy (and as TASTY) as can be!
Baked Oatmeal
3 C. Oatmeal
1 C. Sugar (we use less than 1 C... more like 3/4 C. of organic, unbleached sugar... I tried honey, but it didn't turn out as soft as we liked)
1 t. salt. (I use kosher sea salt)
2 t. baking powder (I use aluminum free from Costco)
6 scoops of organic whey protein powder (we use the kind sweetened with stevia and xylitol and either chocolate OR vanilla tastes great)
1 C. milk (actually we use 1 C. of kefir and sometimes add just a little more than a cup since the kefir can be quite thick. Rice milk also works well!)
2 eggs (organic, if possible)
1/2 C. oil (we use unsweetened organic applesauce instead)
I also sprinkle in a large amount (I never measure... maybe a scant 1/4 C.???) of organic cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into greased 8x11 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm topped with applesauce, warm milk, raisins, craisins, nuts, whatever you like.
We have also made this with eggnog instead of milk and it was yummy!
Oh, once I made it with choc. protein powder and added a couple heaping TBS. of raw almond butter and it was nice like that too!
Outside My Window...It's 8:00 a.m. and a sunny, but frosty 23 degrees; looking for a high of 45 with a chance of rain later. Today's normal hi/low is 49/30.
I'm thinking...my brain is a puzzle, thinking about a dozen different things all at once.
From the learning rooms...busy like usual...in addition to our beloved Teaching Textbooks math, the girls are both starting "Your Business Math" by Simply Charlotte Mason. They named their businesses, "Anna's Pet's N More" and "Amber's Old Fashioned Bookstore", made their company logos, and ordered their inventory yesterday. I wish math had been this fun when I was their age.
I am thankful for....old time gospel music. We attended a gospel music concert Sunday night at a local church and it was such a blessing. It seemed like the theme was Revelations throughout the concert and the blessed hope of our soon departure.
From the kitchen... M -Salmon T - Ham & Eggs
W - Beef Stew
TH - Cheeseburgers
F - TN/FL Geography Presentations - BBQ Ribs, Key Lime Pie, Citrus Drink S - Teriyaki Stir Fry Chicken & Rice
I am wearing...denim capris, brown 3/4 length sleeve t-shirt with a pretty fall tree embroidery, sports socks, hair is damp & pulled back with a scrunchie
I am reading... Thru the Bible Each Year: OT: Jeremiah; NT: Philemon, KJB;
Just finished the book, "The Blue Zones" by Dan Buettner. An interesting book about longevity...research about four areas around the world that have the highest percentage of people who live to be over 100 years old and what attributed to their long lives and good health. Although definitely not a Christian book, it inspired me to improve my eatting habits. I don't necessarily want to live longer, but rather live healthier.
I am currently reading up on holistic care of dogs - more about that on a future post.
I am hoping... to stay on task today.
I am creating... need to get to a good fabric store so I can make the puppet theater.
I am hearing... the clock tick; my fingers bang on the keyboard; an ocassional thump upstairs as the girls get ready for the day.
Around the house & barn... clean kitchen; muck stalls & paddock before farrier comes to trim hooves later today.
One of my favorite things... gazing at God's beautiful creation.
I am going... to Walmart & another grocery store today. A few plans for the rest of the week (besides school)... T - grocery shop; vote (gov. school wants to raise taxes); farrier comes out to trim hooves W - lead Awana Cubbies
TH - Pick up Azure Standard order (grain & stuff); laundry; Amber has violin lesson; Bible Quizzing practice
F - Hopefully meat processor will call and say our 1/4 cow is ready for pick-up this wk; Girls will give their geography presentations
S - Bible Quizzing Regional Competition
A picture thought I am sharing with you...
Jeff finishing the siding on the sauna haus Saturday. He will be starting on the inside soon. I will have to paint the outside next summer.
That's all for today!
Thanks for stopping! Warm Wishes for
a Wonderful Week!
Much thanks to our hostess Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook
What a month! We were busy with school,of course. I really should take some pictures of the Lambies at work, shouldn't I?
We harvested the remainder of the tomatoes and tore them out. Our friend Tammy blessed us with plenty of her pet llamas manure to enrich the soil for our winter garden. We plan to have carrots, lots of varieties of greens, garlic and maybe some peas.
GirlofGod and Trixie went camping with Daddy and Grandpa. Sadly, Daddy forgot to take any pictures.
Trixie broke her arm (you can go to her blog for more about that; she'll blog soon).
Getting costumes ready for Halloween took the rest of the month.
I'm hoping November will allow more time at home. I love the Thanksgiving season!!
It's official friends, we have reserved a puppy!
After two months of searching for a new dog, many emails, some research and a nice persuasive speech by our daughters, a family meeting and vote, a phone call, and sending a down payment, we have now officially adopted our newest family member. (whew)
We are getting a Leonberger Puppy. She will be 5 weeks old tomorrow so we have to wait until about November 13th until we can go and get her. The breeder is in Minnesota, but not close by.
Here she is, currently she is called "Dark Green & Orange" since that is the color of nail polish they put on her nails to tell her apart from the rest. Obviously we will be finding her a better name. She is the runt of the litter, so, no, we are not paying the going price of $1,000 - $1,500.
(All these photos by the breeder seem to be slowing down the loading of my blog, so I have removed as many pictures as possible, you can go here to view photos. The first photos are of Loverikets Khefren, our puppy's BIG grandpa from Norway.)
This is our puppy's papa, Braveheart, or Braver. Don't you just love the name. His papa came from Norway and his mama from Canada.
(Photo of our puppy's mama is here. she is the last doggie shown.)
This is our puppy's mama, Sweetie Pie. She is from Canada.
The Leonberger is a giant breed dog with it's foundation in the Newfoundland, Great Pyrenees and Saint Bernard breeds. The breed's name derives from the city of Leonberg, Germany. According to legend, the Leonberger was bred as a 'symbolic dog' that would mimic the lion in the town crest. It is a LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog) good at pulling carts & sleds, search & rescue, enjoys water play & hikes, and surprisingly, agility. It guards with it's size, not with it's teeth and is very loyal to it's flock and family. The average female (much smaller than the male) is about 27" - 29" to the shoulder and about 130 lbs.
My husband is a GREAT husband and a wonderful father and while he is happy that I homeschool our children he leaves most of that up to me. That's okay with me, but I sure am thrilled when he helps with one or more part!
He has tried doing "bookwork" with the children, but he (and the children) don't enjoy that very much! ;) He is happy to leave that up to me and the children prefer it that way too!
What he is GREAT at is the hands-on stuff. I am amazed at what my children are capable of... stuff I don't even know how to do! Let me list a few of the things I had NO HAND in teaching our children:
How to change a tire or repair it with fix-a-flat!
How to program electronic devices
How to hitch up an utility trailer to a vehicle
How to load all of our gear on the trailer and tarp it when we go camping
How to install and use a sprinkler system
How to replace a sprinkler head
How to put siding on a house
How to paint a deck railing or stain deck floorboards
How to install exterior lampposts/lighting
How to use power tools
How to repair quads
How to repair bicycles
How to repair anything woodent that breaks in the house
How to patch holes in sheetrock
How to read and understand owner's manuals to anything in our home or car
How to build a cement birm with bender board, quikrete and river rock
How to mow lawns and trim hedges
How to find small jobs in the neighborhood
How to clean out garages and organize camping/fishing gear
How to catch salmon
How to clean fish
How to roller blade and rock climb
How to use maps and GPS devices
How to use simple html and computer programming codes
How to use our DVD player and program our TV
How to use Consumer Reports, Kelly Bluebook, Carfax and other info
How to do a VIN search
How to find a great deal online
How to buy a used car
How to place a business phone call
How to bake the world's best cookies
And...
The names of all of the STAR WARS characters!
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband? I DO! <3
I am a daughter of the KING...learning to be his child and to grow in my relationship with Him....All the while married to my VERY HANDSOME knight for 11 years...as we are progressively filling our quiver full of arrows to someday shoot off at the appointed time...
Our quiver at this time:
Zachary - 8
Joshua - 7
Stephen - 1 (9/07)
Rebekah - (9/08)
and NEW baby BOY - Sept 09
