Saturdays..Gotta Love 'EM!!!

Today was quite peaceful and relaxing actually....Ben and I slept in a little, even amidst the screaming from the next room (eager little early risers)! Then we invited some friends kids over to play for awhile so their Mommy and Daddy could have a date. The kids romped around in the yard and some played dress up for hours!!! I didn't think our swing set could possibly hold another kid!!!

I loved the peacefulness of the house even when we had a total of 9 kiddos milling about! I don't know how often you can say that, but it just turned out great today!! The weather was just perfect...I have had my windows open all day long!
After the kiddos left and things were back to normal, Ben took 3 of ours for a ride to look at a couple of Volkswagen beetles that he found online for sale not too far from here. Anyone who knows my husband at all knows that he loves old VWs. I keep reminding him to finish the one (project car) at a time. We already have one outside that is slowly getting refurbished. But, he just cant help himself, I think.
Speaking of Projects, I have been trying to figure out how to crochet tonite...after watching several You tube things on the subject (after watching them several times) I decided to give it a go....After an hour or so this is what I came up with.....

Not the best quality, and a little crooked and ragged, but I am proud of it...Never despise small beginnings...right!!!

Also, starting this afforded me a beautiful opportunity to try and help my eldest daughter learn right beside me. Although, it was very frustrating trying to teach this very patient little LEFT-HANDED seven year old girl how to do something I don't even have a firm grasp on, I loved that she sat right beside me and waited patiently for me to figure it out and attempt to help her. She wants to learn so bad, I know she will soon surpass me on anything crafty as she is so patient and really sticks with what she starts. I really love that about her! We talked about how the pilgrim little girls would have had to learn to sew and knit and make their own clothes even from a very young age. We had just yesterday finished a book about colonial life and the first thanksgiving, so it was fitting that we started some handiwork that would allow her to get just a very small glimpse of the lives of people from long ago. (I am not saying that Pilgrims did crochet....but, you get the idea!)

Earlier today, while Ben was grilling our dinner outside, Avery got stung by a wasp out on the back porch...poor thing, I know that HAD to hurt...but she is OK now!!

Another Day...

I am going to have to get a little more creative with blog titles, huh?
Today, we had a picnic lunch with Daddy at a park near his work...just a simple lunch and a walk thru the park. It was pretty chilly but we werent there but for about an hour cause Ben had to go back to work...I forgot to take the camera this time...oh well. At the park we walked the trail around after lunch and spent some time collecting pine cones for our friends in Glen Rose. We are going to visit them during Thanksgiving so I thought we might bring them some cones for Christmas crafts. Pine cones are a little harder to come by there, although they are plentious here. After the park, we came home and did some housecleaning and I made some Taco soup in the crockpot for dinner. I had gotten a friends recipe to try out. It was pretty good! I had Avery help me make the corn muffins to go with dinner and some brownies for afterwards, while the older girls had the neighbor girls over afterschool.

Ben is currently outside working on the car project. I dont think he will be out there for long though because it has gotten quite chilly. I am about to rally the girlies to the living room to read the Thanksgiving materials I had collected. I will have to get online here and research some easy and fun crafts for the season for them soon!! They love Crafts. I am going to see if I can find someone to teach me to crochet so I can teach them, I know they would like that...especially my "indoor" gal, Miranda. Perhaps I can find someone from the homeschool group who'd be willing to invest a little time in teaching me. I really should've learned to be more domestic while I was younger. I might've tried harder if I had known then that I would have 5 little Girls!!!! I can only hope and try now to prepare my girls as best as I can with what I know now and enlist the help of anyone else who is skilled and willing. I really desire to help them know and be able to do much more than I knew when I first got married...by the time they leave our nest. After all, these girls are going to be someone's wife and someone's mother someday.

Questions Answered!

Today we stayed home and did some cleaning in the girls rooms, worked on Math and Reading,and the girls played outside some and we had our quiet times....This is really the first time I have suggested individual "quiet times" because it just seems like the older ones--Miranda especially-are ready to do that on their own.

At breakfast, we read some of the creation account together as I attempted to explain what I thought may have happened to the dinosaurs. But since I don't really know exactly what went down with the large beasts...I just pointed them to the scriptures and what we CAN know really did happen with all the animals, and we went from there. Later, we split up to have separate quiet times. I told them to find a place to be alone, so Miranda went outside with her bible and devotional book under a tree. I actually saw her talking aloud to God....precious! (so I took a pic or two)

I had to assist Kayla a little bit, so I sat with her while she read some from her early reader bible. Then I sent her off to her room with it so she could pray in her bed and read some more.

Kayla saw me taking her picture...so this is actually her praying pose....hee hee! Kids are hilarious!

For the little ones I just prayed with them and then let them watch a Veggietale movie, and then reading time in their beds before their naps...

Then I sat on the couch and tried to get in a little quiet time of my own while the house was momentarily still. But I was not without the cooing of Cami from her swing and the occasional "Mommy what is this word..." from Kayla. I did manage to get one lesson in. Yea!

The girls just were overflowing with questions today for some reason. As we were trying to do our desk work stuff in the afternoon, they began to have questions about Thanksgiving and Fourth of July...so off I go to explain the settlers and pilgrims coming from England, etc. After a few minutes I had exhausted all I could recollect on the subjects and decided to tell Ben to hurry home so I could make it to the Library before they closed. So, I went and got books on the subjects, the few I could find anyway....many of the Thanksgiving books were already checked out, go figure....but I managed to grab a few for us to delve into in the next couple of days. I hope that some of the ones I picked up will accurately portray the historical events, especially as it pertains to the account of the pilgrims. I really want the kids to have a good understanding of why the pilgrims came and about their faith. I am thinking about looking around online for some good christian books on the subject because this is something we can revisit year after year with the girls. I want them to know that thanksgiving is more than just "Turkey Day" and also that the Fourth of July is more than just fireworks and food....although I do delight in all those "extras" along with the rest of America. I want our holiday celebrations to reflect our faith and the faith of our founding fathers as well. OK, enough about that for now....We finished our day out with choir practice at church and then dinner and homemade rice krispie treats, which Brookie calls "Bice Rispies"...I love it!

So Busy....Slow down!

This week has been super busy, with everything from Kids Choir on Monday to Park Day yesterday....and songwriters meeting last night (just me), our world has seemed a little like a whirlwind. I decided that today we needed just to stay home and refocus. Last week was pretty busy also. We went Friday with the homeschool group here on a field trip to the Moore Farms. On Saturday we had rehearsals at Mobberly for "The Gospel According to Scrooge" which we will be presenting in December at the Belcher Center. Rehearsals were fun, but tiring. After that, we went to a prayer/praise/fellowship gathering at a friend's house...which turned out to be a relaxing and encouraging meeting where we got to know,a little bit, another homeschooling family from the area. We ate, sang, and visited with them and their 8 children...I was amazed at how well behaved the kids were altogether(ours and theirs)...I definetely will have to get to know this family better so I can learn from them...their children were extremely polite. I was very encouraged by the entire evening. I look forward to next time.
We have just been going and going....like the energizer bunny. But, any mom who has done this for even a short period of time knows that you cant keep it up for too long if you want to have some quality time with your own family too. Today we are working hard on school work...and then I plan to bake some cookies with the girls as a reward for their hard work.

Moore Farms Trip!

Friday, November the 9th- we went to the Moore Farms in Bullard, TX...to learn about corn. We met up with the homeschooling group under the big red barn for a lesson on corn. We learned all about the parts of the corn plant, different kinds of corn, and even what products are made using corn. Everyone listened well and then headed off on a hayride to see the rest of the farm.

We passed fields of pumpkins and dried-up corn fields before we got to our destination....the corn maze!!! The kids all navigated their way through the corn using a quiz about what they'd learned earlier, while I sat on the hay with baby Camryn. She had decided to be hungry right then, big surprise. :)


The kids had a great time romping around, seeing the animals, and making friends. I had a good time getting to know some other homeschooling moms better. I don't really know why I didn't join this group sooner. .. It has been such a blessing to have the support of others who know exactly what it is like to do what I do! I have been greatly encouraged and hope I can offer encouragement to others as well along the journey! After we left the farm, we had a nice lunch at T G I Fridays.

Eating out is a luxury we don't often have lately and we enjoyed it thoroughly!! God is so good to us....I am reminded how blessed we are almost every time we are in public and hear people ask the infamous question "Are ALL of these children YOURS???", Thank you Lord.

Passing the Mantle Sunday!

The girls posed in our yard after church...they are so precious!!!

This Sunday was our "Passing the Mantle " service. Sunday evening at our church we had a two hour long service with lots of music and pomp to honor the passing of the mantle of leadership from our pastor of 37 years to our new pastor. This was the first event of this kind I have been a part of and it was terrific! Respects were paid to both old and new pastor and the mantle (which strongly resembled a very fancy table runner) was literally passed and placed on the new pastors shoulders. This was really a neat time of prayer for both of our pastors and a celebration for what God has done and is doing, and will continue to do in this Church. I feel very blessed to be under the leadership of a man who, I believe, has a great vision and love for our church and whose main purpose and priorities are right on track. I believe Pastor Glen Stone to be a man of integrity whose main desire is to preach the Word and see people come to know Christ as Saviour and Lord....and isn't that what we should all want most!!! We all get so caught up in our differences and preferences and we tend to forget the main reason for the church...to reach the lost! So lets REMEMBER why we do what we do and GET to it! Amen?

Camping!!

Having been so in love with the weather, we decided it was perfect for camping. Last Friday night we spent in our tent in the chilly night air. We had fun roasting hot dogs and marshmellows (for smores) on our campfire at a nearby state park. We sang a little bit around the campfire but not for too long because we didn't want to annoy nearby campers. We had gotten there right as it got dark, so we were setting up our tent at dusk... then we had to go to the grocery store to get a few supplies. By the time we got back it was already late. The girls had fun helping Dad start and maintain the fire with nearby dried leaves and pine cones...and baby Cami was mesmerized by the firelight. I was concerned that she might be uncomfortable in the cool night air and sleeping in the tent and all, but really I think Ben and I were the ones who were suffering.


The girls were snug in their sleeping bags on the ground and everyone went right to sleep. Except, it took Brooke a little longer....but once her sisters were asleep and she had no one else to talk to, she eventually dozed off. I think Ben and I were the coldest because we were on an air mattress and the air inside was cold. Next time if it is chilly I think we will have to get a campsite with electricity and buy an electric blanket to go between us and the air mattress...yep, that's the ticket. I enjoy the family togetherness that camping affords to the extent that I can still be somewhat comfy while I sleep. In the morning, after my hot shower to thaw me out, Ben made sausage and scrambled eggs on the grill, and we all sipped our hot cocoa. After breakfast the girls romped around in the trees and stuff while we got stuff cleaned up.

Then we loaded up and headed out!!! We are thinking about camping again maybe Thanksgiving weekend at a different campground...So I wont put all the gear too far out of sight.