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The wonderful life the Lord Jesus has blessed us with
Sep. 24, 2009
LibriVox
LibriVox is one of our favorite sites. When mom can't read aloud, the volunteers at LivriVox do the work for me. LibriVox provides, for FREE, via audio, books that are in the public domain. Most of the books are "classics". Personally, we do not listen to or read anything just because it is labeled "classic". For us there must be a purpose and no offense made of God's Word found in the materials we read. Here's what we can recommend from LibriVox:
Isabella (Pansy) Alden (link to her books on LivriVox)
According to Keepers of the Faith (KOF):
Isabella Macdonald Alden lived from 1841 to 1930. Her pen name was Pansy. She wrote or edited more than two hundred published works. Isabella Alden was known for developing characters who possessed an unwavering commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Her motivation for writing was to give a clear understanding of salvation and what it means to be a committed Christian. So often in her books, she presents the characteristics of a professing Christian in contrast to a possessing Christian. Each book has a particular biblical point she is trying to share with her readers.
Available at LivriVox :
Chautauqua series:
1. Four Girls at Chautauqua
2. Chautauqua Girls at Home
3. Ruth Erskine's Crosses
4. Judge Burnham's Daughters (started, but not yet complete)
5. Ruth Erskine's Son (not yet available)
6. Ester Ried Yet Speaking
7. Four Mothers at Chautauqua (not yet available)
8. Endless Chain (not yet available)
Ester Ried Series:
1.Ester Ried
2. Julia Ried
3.King's Daughter
4. Three People (not yet available)
5. Wise and Otherwise
6. Ester Ried's Namesake
7. Echoing and Re-echoing (not yet available)
Also Available:
Swiss Family Robinson
There are two versions of SFR, make sure you pick the first version read by Mark F. Smith. It is the better version of the two.
There are many other titles, feel FREE to search their catalog and if you find anything exceptionally godly and encouraging, please come back and post a comment including the title of the audio book. |
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Sep. 12, 2009
Summer Fun
Here's what my middle and younger children did almost everyday this past summer: 
Pictured here are Sissy, Son4 and Little Big Bro. They had a lot of fun and gained some beginning swimming skills in our little pool. |
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Sep. 12, 2009
A Garden Moment: Part 3
More pictures as promised!  
These are pictures of the middle boys harvesting spinach seeds for next year.
We have also saved seed from:
- Sunflowers
- Corn
- Broccoli
- Bok Choy
- Green Beans
- Lettuce
One of our favorites in the garden this year was:
De Morges Braun. 65 days. Very rare romaine type with upright, rounded leaves, applegreen in the center and pink-to-bronze outside. Tender and sweet, holds well in the garden, and is one of the last to become bitter. A good choice for early spring or fall gardens, as it tolerates cool temperatures very well. Makes a lovely salad! From Switzerland.
This description was obtained from the web site of Baker Creek where the seeds were bought. We found that the description was quite accurate. We have A LOT of this planted in our fall garden and it seems to be doing just as well as it did for spring planting. Here's an actual picture of this wonderful little plant:
Our corn did well, if you like corn meal. The sweet corn we planted was not very sweet. We think it may have crossed with some pop corn seeds that the children planted. Next year, if the Most High wills, we plan on planting just one variety so that hopefully we won't have that problem. We are still thankful for the corn meal we will have and the plants were fun to have in the garden at over 13 feet high! Here's a photo of Little Big Bro standing in front of the tallest patch we had:
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Sep. 11, 2009
Update
Will we ever be able to post anything other than updates? :)
What has gone on in the last couple of months... let's see, well there was the garden, and then more of the garden and then we started our lessons (book learning ;) ) and then there was more gardening...
Ohhhh, now I remember why we seem only to be able to update... our dinobot (read old computer) moves SOOOO slowly that it ends up being fun frustrating to post. It takes FOREVER to upload pictures to photobucket and then in turn upload them from there to here! I know (in the back of my mind) that it's going to take me half a life time to add a new entry so I just keep putting it off... and off... and off.
Ok, so now I've started a new entry and of course it's taking forever to get everything in order for a "proper posting". I actually didn't plan on posting tonight. I was coming downstairs to turn the computer off and then I started thinking about some other sisters I know that blog... of course, they REALLY blog. They actually have regular posts! They don't blog like me. Updates. They really let others get a good peek into their lives. They post a bunch of fun photos and interesting tid bits about how their week is going. Me, I post updates. Oh and one sister, she always has tutorials and fun little videos on her site (yes, she actually has a whole site...
Hi Star ;) ). Me, I post updates.
....Great... wouldn't you know it. Photobucket has a "new system". I think it's actually going to take 3/4 of a life time for me to finish this post (if I intend to add pictures and come on, let's face it, it just won't be the same with out photos!)
I wonder how many people will actually read all of these ramblings of mine. LOL
Ok, I finally got the pictures to START uploading (wonder how long this is going to take). If you haven't noticed, I've decided to ramble whilest I wait for things to upload, download and aroundload....
I can NOTbelieve this. I just checked to see how the upload with the photos is going.... 6% .... I'm going to be here forever... FOREVER!!!
hummm, maybe I should think of something helpful to type. Oh, I know! Here's something that we are doing that is helpful around here. I have gone back to the use of tapes. I record some Scripture verses, phonics lessons, math lessons, stories and songs all on one tape for Sissy to listen to each morning. She has a wet erase book that I made to go along with the tape as a visual, it has about 52 pages. What I did to make the wet erase book was to make copies of the phonics lessons, picture books that I read, math lessons and verses and I simply slid them into medium grade page protectors. It works out VERY nicely. I make a new book and tape every two weeks. I would highly recommend this to anyone who would like one or more of their children to get some extra practice in one or more areas education wise. I also make English tapes for my middle boys. This is also VERY helpful. Sorry I don't actually have any photos of my children using their tapes, but writing about it has made me remember to take photos soon!
(Let me check to see how the photos are coming along...
.... I think I might faint. They aren't even half way through uploading.)
What else can I share? Uhm, oh I know! I found a really great drill program. REALLY simple, no frills and you can actually make your own drills too. Now, let me caution you, if you like your childrens programs to have flashing lights, goofy "YOU DID IT" voice encouragements, bells and whistles ect.... read no further. You would not want this program (at least not the version that we have). It is called Click and Learn (you can click on the link, but I really don't know what they have at the site because we use an OLD off line version of this program... that was my disclaimer ;) ) I really REALLY like this program. My children have memorize Bible verses, the books of the Bible, the states and capitals, the times table, and much more all very painlessly LOL. They all really like the program too. I don't know where one would find the old program, I got mine in a resale package deal. It was Click and Learn, Quarter Mile Math and some other program that we decided not to use all for the "blessing" price of 8.00ppd! The Quarter Mile Math cd was org. over 90.00! (They like that program too, and honestly it is helping them with math and keyboarding skill even though it's not my favorite program.) Oh and I just found out something that's kind of neat. If you want to test out Quarter Mile Math (you know, a try it before you buy it type deal) you can sign up for a month for 2.95 online (but your children don't actually have to connect to the internet to use the program). You can also sign up for a year for 19.95 and up to 12 family members can use the program.
Ding. My pictures are done! Yay!
Wow, my rambling has made this post quite a read. Congratulations if you made it this far and thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin. :)
Without further rambling, here are some update photos:
This is a picture of a little harvest. I think son1 took this picture. ....
Wouldn't you know it... right when it's time for the FUN part, the picture posting, little chunk wakes up. Well, I guess I have to post more pictures later (I intend on making sure that it doesn't take me two months! LOL) Ok, so forgive all typos, misspelled words and incorrect grammar...
Love to you all in the name of Jesus! |
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Jun. 15, 2009
A Garden Moment: Part 2
With things so a-buzz around here I can hardly find the time to post! I have been wanting to write up another garden moment post and so, finally, I am able. This will be brief because at any moment Little Man might start bellowing for me! LOL. I think I will just post some pictures and captions (for the pics). Enjoy!
Here's "Sissy" planting a tomato plant in the "square foot garden" area.
Rows of lettuce, onions (from seed), and spinach in plot #1, the "single row" area.
 Plot #2, this is our "wide row" area. You can see the green beans and onions (from sets) and way in the back two rolls of peas.  Pappy, the boys and a neighbor friend pick peas from Plot #2. 
Pappy and the boys mounding the dirt up on the potatoes.
 One of the boys took this picture of a beautiful looking head of romaine lettuce, one of hundreds in our garden LOL. We have so many neat pictures, I hope to share more in the weeks to come. The Most High has truly blessed our efforts thus far and we thank and praise Him! |
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Jun. 14, 2009
Nature's Candy
I've been trying to find a bit of time for updates. The garden is in full swing. We've harvested LOTS! I can't write up a total update today, but I just had to find the time to post these precious pictures of "Missy" eating nature's candy. You see, we all have the good habit of wondering out in to the garden, plucking what's good to eat and chowing down LOL.
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May. 22, 2009
Can I still do it???
May. 5, 2009
A Garden Moment: Part 1
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Ecclesiastes 9:10
That is our intention this gardening season! For all you avid gardeners, avid gardener wannabees (20 hands raised over here LOL) or folks that just like to look at other folks' gardens... we have some pictures of our garden from the beginning of the season. Mind you, it doesn't look like this right now. We have food up now! We'll try to post more garden moments through out the spring and summer... however those who know our track record when it comes to posting to this blog will probably not be holding their breath! LOL!
Anyway, on to the pictures! 
You can only see about 1/3 of the area here. We have lettuce, spinach, beets (both regular and sugar), radishes, carrots, onions, and sugar snap peas planted here. Lord willing, green beans will be planted here as well in a couple of weeks. 
Here we have planted shell peas, spinach, onions, lima beans, carrots, and lentils. Again, Lord willing, this area will be home to more green beans.
Lettuce, onions, green beans and zucchini make it's home here. 
A couple of the children's square foot gardens. Not exactly sure what all they have planted in them. Guess we'll see as the season progresses! 
Behind our childrens' sand box is the potato and corn patch. Btw the sand box is between the first garden area that we posted and the potato and corn patch. It's very nice to have an area for the little ones to play in after they help a bit in the garden. 
One of our compost areas, in the background you can see another angle of the potato and corn patch. And if you look way out past the potato / corn patch you can see the chicken's coop. There are about 6 other areas that are not shown. We will try to get more pictures and post them as the spring and summer progresses. So far, things are looking good, we are praying that the Lord will send the sun and rain in the amounts needed and bless our efforts. If you are a gardener and you have pictures of your garden, big or small, please leave us a comment with a link to your blog so we can check it out! |
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Apr. 22, 2009
REcyCOOP REvisited
Pappy and the boys just finished our new (and improved) RecyCOOP. We decided to take the old one down in order to expand our garden in that area. The area looks much nicer and the coop is a much nicer coop too. The only things new on this coop are the screws! LOL
Sorry, no pictures of the construction of the coop... our camera was out of batteries. 
Pappy and the boys salvaging wood from a barn close to our neck of the woods that was torn down. This wood serves as the outer walls, while pallets serve as the frame of the building.
Nice large fenced area for the chickens to range.
This smaller area is fully fenced to protect our girls from hawks, a sly fox or other animals who might think them a tasty treat.
Sissy, showing everyone how the dutch doors work.
The girls' boxes are built from some old book cases we no longer needed...they were just the right size!
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Aug. 15, 2008
Checking in briefly
Wow, how terrible I am to my blog. I'm sorry I just don't seem to make the time for it. We have been really busy this summer and honestly my blog is down low on the list of "Things to get done". I figure once it starts getting colder, then I'll have more time for this.
Jfamily highlights:
- Got milking goats in April, 7 of them to be exact... they are doing well
- Caught 2 med. sized swarms and combined them into one hive
- Butchered 22 chickens this summer so far
- LESSONS, LESSONS and more LESSONS... we "school" year round
- Had 1 niece, 2 nephews and a little cousin stay a week with us
- Garden did horrid thanks to the goats... we had to replant in a WHOLE different area. The corn did fairly well though.
- JMaMa crashed the newer computer a couple of weeks ago trying to fix it.... so sorry, no fun pictures :(
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I hope all that read our blog are well! The Lord's blessings on you all! |
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Apr. 8, 2008
Getting Busy on Spring Days
"RecyCOOP"
Here's our "state of the art" chick coop made almost strictly from recycled pallets. We try to save money anywhere we can (a penny saved, is a penny earned, right  ) and a good way to save is to use recycled materials when possible. Estimated cost of coop: 2.00 (for screws and nails) The coop has two sides. One side for our Rhode Island Reds (5), Barred Rocks (5), Buff Orpingtons (6), Red Sex-links (5), and Americaunas (16) and the other side for the Cornish Rock broilers that we will butcher in about 4 weeks. The reason the Cornish Rock broilers have to have a separate side is because they have a special feeding schedule due to their rapid weight gain in a short amount of time. They are not allowed feed for 12 hours each day so they won't gain toooo much weight toooo fast. If they were to gain too quickly, they would be at risk for heart attacks.
"Need the oil changed on the ol' bus??? Get the 10 year old to do it!"
Pappy announced to the boys that it was time for one of them to change the oil. He was actually talking to the older boys, but Son3 was the one that started gathering all the needed items. He wanted to do it by himself. He's done it before with Pappy's help and he was sure that he could do it by himself. Sure, why not? Pappy had him tell him each step just before he went to it, so he basically did it all by himself. He did a great job! Praise the Lord. It is such a blessing to see my young men growing up.
 
"Our 20.00 solution"
In order to save space, Pappy, Son2, Son3 and I built this really nice loft bed for Big Sis to go over Baby Girls' bed. We opted to use new wood because it looks nicer, it's easier to work with for this type of project and it was still inexpensive. We estimate this project to have cost about 20.00, athough we only actually spent about 12.00 because we already had some of the materials that we needed to make this job a smashing success. Big Sis just loves her new loft bed!
"Mulching the garden"
We were praying that the Lord would provide us with plenty of hay or straw this season for mulching and that he did! We are truly thankful for this wonderful gift!
"Son3's Squarefoot/No Work organic garden"
Son 3 has been re-reading both Square Foot gardening (SFG) and the No Work Organic Garden (NWOG) in his spare time. He decided to try to plant a couple of things early using the advise he read in the NWOG book. He planted seedlings (beans, I think) that he germinated inside a couple of weeks ago and mulched them well. We'll see how his little experiment turns out. He also intends to use some of the techniques he learned from SFG a couple of years back, namely, close space growing.
Well, that's all for now! Love to you all in the name of Jesus! 
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Apr. 3, 2008
Quick update
 The chicks are doing well, the dogs were captured (long story) and now they are all back home safe and sound (I'll try to post about what happened to them next time), the goat search is on, the garden is waiting....
And that's just the stuff outside! LOL...
Inside, we have been working to switch many rooms around to best serve our needs, there was MUCH work to do in this area, lessons are coming along, laundry is behind... I think the house will be in order by the end of this week (at least I *hope* it is!!! )
Pappy's business is being blessed. He currently has two contracts that pay well. Still praying about doing the farmers market as well. 
more to come... |
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Mar. 25, 2008
CONTEST
| Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff! |
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Mar. 24, 2008
Spring is HERE!
Ah Spring, how I love Spring,
the flowers are blooming and the birds, they do sing.
The air is now warmer and the chill chased away,
now all my little ones may run out to play.
The dirt is not frozen nor yet full of weeds
Easy to prepare our garden for seeds.
Spring, what a blessing the Lord has blessed
After the cold frozen winter's rest
Tis time to start working outside to prepare,
for the rest of our "blessed of the Lord"... year.
We are so excited that Spring is finally here! We got some more of our square-foot garden (SQG)plank made today after Pappy and Son 1 came home from work. By the way, for those who like contests, Mel (the author of SFG) has been holding a contest for public, private and the home educated. The last couple of years it has been won by homeschooling families (what else is new). I guess they caught wind of it... and that was that. I almost feel sorry for the pubic educator who tries to enter his/her class in this contest. I mean, it's against all odds for them to win. They only have what, 45 mins a day (give or take some minutes), 5 days a week (providing there is no holiday) to concentrate on this project. I almost seems unfair for homeschoolers to be allowed to enter... BUT of course it's fair! Is it our fault that we have more time to devote to projects like these??? ANYWAY, if you are going to enter the contest, you'd better mosey on over to Mel's site because the deadline for reg. is April 25th. Follow the link above for full details. Here's some SFG photos:
 
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Mar. 24, 2008
Push the "Save As Draft" button
Have you ever written a great post only to have the whole thing erased because you failed to save it and by some glitch of some sort the screen goes away??? What was one of the first things you were taught when it comes to using a computer or a word processor with a computer like brain??? Was it not to be SURE to save your work from time to time??? (Pushing the save button now) Ah, that was so easy and painless, it only took a couple of seconds! Now the first portion of this entry can never be erased! (Pushing the save button now).
I tell you, you would have thought that I would have learned my lesson by now. I myself am always chiding the children "don't forget to save your work, it would be terrible if it were all to be erased now, after all the hard work you've done... yada yada yada". WHY would I not save MY own work??? (Pushing the save button now).
I shall attempt to rewrite the post that just got erased, which is why, by the way, you, my friend are now reading a post about "saving one's work". Please, the next time you are blogging or doing any work on your computer or processor, DON'T FORGET TO SAVE YOUR WORK! (Pushing the save button now). |
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Mar. 17, 2008
A break to honor a loved one
Today we took a little break from the busyness of life in order to honor and attend the home going of a dear sister in Christ. I am so sadden by her departure. Not because we were very close, but because I never had the chance to get very close. I didn't get the "years" with her that many of her loved ones got. Even though we were not very close she touched my life and was always a good example to me. I suppose she will continue to be that good example even though she is not here with us physically. I will miss hearing her pray during the prayer time in our meetings. I will miss her smile and greeting. I will miss her asking me how me and my family are. I'll miss seeing her quietly move about serving others. I will miss her.
The home going service was a beautiful one. She was a true "Proverbs 31" woman and as such, her children arose up, and called her blessed; her husband also, and he praised her (vs. 28). May her witness forever remain in the forefront of the minds of those who knew her.
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Mar. 15, 2008
Propagating Plants
  In our efforts to get a jump on this year's growing season we thought it would be neat to experiment a little with propagating by planting cuttings. Over the next week we plan on trying to propagate several organic herbs that we bought from Trader Joe's
We hope to report on our findings as soon as we have success or failure (we are praying for the former). |
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Mar. 14, 2008
Starting Seeds
   We started some seeds today. 36 seeds were planted.
Melon, two types of tomatoes, Cucumbers, Watermelon, and Zucchini. I'm too tired to type any more, plus I just got some very sad news.... I'm going to sleep now.  |
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Mar. 14, 2008
The fun starts now!
Mar. 12, 2008
Granola time!
Our family really likes crunchy granola! I like to make large batches of different kinds. Today, I whipped up many different "flavors". Since I have been making granola for a long time, I don't use a recipe, I just use "about this much of this".
Today I used:
Oats (of course), Vegetable Oil, Raisins, Dried Pineapple, Banana Chips, Walnuts, Almonds, Cranberries, Black Currants, Pumpkin Seeds, Cherries, Sunflowers seeds, Cashews, Cinnamon, Flax Seed, Honey, Maple Syrup, and Brown Sugar (in some batches). I used unsulfured dried fruit (organic when possible) and I try to use raw seeds too (again organic when possible). YUM! |
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