You Don't See That Every Day

 We're working through the computer issues we have had. I think I am back to being able to blog with photos again. Here is the birthday cake from last weekend. It's hard for me to believe my little girl is 7. Here is littlest sister peaking out from behind *some* of the gifts.   It's amazing how gullible a 13 year old can be sometimes. And how much my husband likes to try and trick him (and the girls) whenever he can. We were attempting to fix a cable that connects our Xbox with the TV. G had the boy semi-convinced that holding the foil on his head would help the "signal". He realized when I got the camera out that this wasn't quite the case.     We woke up one morning to a hot air balloon nearly over our house. It was close enough we could see the forms of the people in it. I'm sure they could hear us too. Little K was pretty thrilled with the whole thing. Later in the day she had a (homemade!) granola bar. I made them a little differently th...

When my bigger kids were little, we would occasionally have a lesson in homeschool over character traits. We would talk about integrity, honesty, kindness, and such. When I only had the 3 kids, they would do some role-playing to get the idea of what to do and what not to do. I haven't done this in a while with the younger kids, but I am thinking I'll start up again. This weekend we had a good long talk with our son about character, mainly looking for friends who have it. We talked about 'friends' who are friends only when certain people are (or are not) around. Or only when parents/teachers are watching.  I spent my Monday morning's run praying that just one kid of good character would befriend my son that day. And last night as G and I talked over the day, he told me about a situation he observed, one that had "answered prayer" written all over it. I love it when God so obviously and immediately, answers prayer. My son and another boy were walking out o...

Actually today is the 21st. But it's the Princess' 7th birthday. And we're having a party! Oh boy are we ever! I decided that this year, starting with her birthday and working our way through the 4 other kids, each one gets to have a special birthday party this time around. So first up is the now-7 year old's Campout (Indoors) Birthday Party! She has invited 6 of her friends over (that was a hard list to pare down!) and some are even staying the night. Talk about an excited little girl! We set the tent up in the new playroom. We've got hot dogs to roast, and a bear hunt waiting. There will be potato salad and jello, per the birthday girl's request. Also on the menu - almost-orange-julius; chips, and carrots; And of course, there will be chocolate cake and ice cream. I just made The Best frosting to put on a cake, or in a cake. It reminds me a lot of the filling from ding-dongs (are those still sold anywhere?! ah, the memories.) All it takes is 2 cups of po...

Yesterday I talked about our 2 year old. And her foibles. Of course I thought of more once I was done.  Anyway, our 9 year old. She does not keep us on our toes quite like the 2 year old. Thankfully. But in other ways, she does. I guess parenting is like that. Not only am I constantly teaching and training these kiddos, I am constantly learning too! Our 9 year old wants to be big like her older sister, and in some ways she is close. They both swim regularly now; whereas last year they weren't. I let them take bike rides together away from our little neighborhood. I let her babysit the little one (while I am at home). I think our biggest hurdle with her right now is school work and attitudes. I am *still* trying to find her learning style, and her passions. She often likes what older sister likes. But I want to find out what *she* likes. I want her to know it herself and not be the follower all the time. This girl has always been one of the helpers. Ever since she was lit...

Our two year old ... she is a precious bundle of something. This one has really kept us on our toes. Or maybe it just seems like it because we are older. Our 2 year old likes stickers. A lot. The side of my bed is now plastered with stickers that she found. And stickers are made for sticking on things of course. Just wish it wasn't my bed. I walked down the hallway after that discovery and found another one - it must have gotten away with her - stuck to the floor. I have a feeling we'll be finding them in other places too. My two year old also happens to think she is the same age and size as her older siblings. This has been a struggle of sorts ever since she was aware of her surroundings. She wants to do what they do. Often she tries to. Going out the front door all by herself - that was exciting. She tries to go upstairs to the new addition by herself sometimes also. Thankfully that isn't something anyone can do quietly. Today she found a tube of something that looked...

Have you ever been too tired to even do the things you *like* to do? It seems I am running these days that way a lot lately. (And that sounds very grammatically incorrect.) (and I don't care.) Too many items on the need-to-do list. So many distractions from getting them done. And then I have my wish-I-could-do list that sits waiting for me to cross just one item off. I did however find time for a few minutes of reading in these past weeks. I wish you could see my nightstand. It has a lovely stack of books, already read, waiting to be put away (that's another on the to-do list) About a month ago, I was given the book, "The Help." I did not see the movie, and did not know too much about it, but I had heard it had great reviews. So I gave it a try. And I was mesmerized. I did not want to put that book down! I made myself stop so I could get some sleep. But my nightly ritual of reading for a few minutes before sleep became reading-for-more-than-a- few -minutes befo...

I thought I would post a photo for you of (some of) our replacement dishwasher(s). They are sure cuter than the model that broke. My son got his football jersey earlier this week. Of course the number has significance to him. I wasn't aware of 'who' at the time, but I have now been fully educated on it. (And yes, it has to do with a former OSU player.) So his first game was last night. A bright sunny very warm day greeted us at the field. We were the 'away' team, so we got to sit in the tiny grandstand without shade. I only stayed for the first half because of the girls. It was their first night back to Awanas and youth group, so we made sure to get home in time for some supper and to get to the church on time.  The Boy had a great game! He played linebacker (and maybe something else ... those terms are all a little 'fuzzy' in my mind.) And he got plenty of playing time; I was able to watch the game without cringing. For some reason it seemed...

We've been doing a few other things besides schoolwork around here. I mean, we have been doing school! The first 3 days went very well. But last Friday it was (already) time for a field trip. We girls packed the Boy off to school, and the Husband off to work, and then packed the bicycles in the back of the pickup and took off. We headed up to my brother and sister-in-law's place, way out in the boonies. After much discussion, and viewing of the new chicken coop they had made, we headed off for a bike ride. There is trail that runs near their place, we drove to the trailhead this time, since it was about 90 degrees out and all uphill from their home. After a picnic lunch we got the bikes set up and ready to go. And then I realize my brakes are not working. If it was just me - no big deal, but I had the little K in the babyseat on the back of my bike. So we spent some time fiddling and fixing and getting the brakes set.  Finally we were off. It was beautiful along ...

( The company saga continued ...) We said goodbye our visitors Monday morning. But the day before that there was a rousing game (or two) of "spoons" in the backyard; along with some important appliance repair in the kitchen. My engineer brother-in-law (the one responsible for the river diversion at the beach) joined in with my husband to see if they could fix our broken dishwasher. A water pump problem perhaps? Whatever it is (and yes, I know G explained it to me... but those things don't stick in my mind long-term) it is expensive to fix. So for now my dishwasher machine sits in our garage. And my dishwashers - 4 sets of precious hands - get to learn how it was in the 'olden days'. Hands on homeschooling, that's what it's all about. ;)  Thanks for visiting Montana minions (and parents)  And then we said HELLO to school. Ok, maybe they didn't. but I did! It is lovely to be back on schedule. Although I didn't get done all tha...

This room used to be orange. I was finally able to upload the pics I have of my 'new' guest room. I love having a 'guest' room now. It will soon be overtaken by an almost 12-year-old girl but the colors are going to stay. While out shopping last week for school stuff, I came across these pillows and bing - the light bulb moment. They might not look like it in the photo, but the colors pull everything together. Little things like that make my day!   I was able to put my guest room to use this past week. One of the reasons I was rushing to get it done - my husbands brother and his family came for a visit. They live way off in the far land of Montana, so a visit with them is not a frequent occurrence, And when we do get together, oh the fun we have! We had a day in the park, and then the next day we took off for the beach. Being landlocked, I think they had a fun time. Three times for me at the beach in one month - happy happy dance. Of course, it wasn't ju...