My Organizing Tip

I like to be organized. I like to be tidy. I like all things to be in their places. Rarely does this happen. Well, it does happen late at night, but nobody except me is awake to enjoy it. Anyway, here is one of the ways I stay organized.

Each of our children has their own laundry bin. To make it fun, I let them pick out their own bin -- Megan chose the flowered bin, Emily chose blue and I chose brown for Eli. When I fold laundry, I sit on the floor with their three bins around me and a laundry basket for Matthew's and my clothes. As I fold, I sort into the correct bin. Then, when laundry is done, the girls take their bins up to their bedrooms and puts their own laundry away. This has saved me a lot of time and gives them a responsibility to take care of each week. It is also great for toys or books that make their way downstairs. The girls have just learned that if there is something in their bin it is their responsibility to put it away.

Just a fun tip that just might makes laundry more manageable for me!!

Whose Approval Am I Seeking?

I got a rare moment to sit and read one night and I picked up a book that I have read several times. It is called Breathe -- Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life by Keri Wyatt Kent. I should say that I have started this book several times, and almost finished it several times but usually find myself too busy to get to the last page. Ironic, isn't it?? Anyway, it was just what I needed to read, and I hope you can relate to this character in some ways like I did. This excerpt is from chapter 3 entitled "Scattered."

Most people who knew Laura admired her. She seemed to always have time for others, even though she and her three young children kept very busy. She homeschooled her kids, her house always looked great, and she volunteered a lot of her time at church. She seemed to be able to get a lot done while staying calm and cool. Anytime someone needed a shoulder to cry on, Laura was there. 

Like many of us, Laura was a giver. She had been a Christian her whole life, and many people looked to her to meet their needs for advice, spiritual leadership, friendship, even help in parenting (or at least babysitting). 

Also like many of us, Laura had trouble saying no. She felt she ought to help others if she could, and as a result, she helped even if she really had too many other commitments.

In addition to helping others whenever they asked, she threw herself into her homeschooling tasks. She put the kids in extracurricular classes and activities to "enrich their experience."

She was involved in several ministries at her church, serving on various teams and committees, wherever there was a need.

She seemed to be the epitome of unselfishness -- always doing for others. Looking back, Laura says, no one really know the anger and resentment that bubbled below the surface. "I wanted to give people the perception that I was available," she says. "I said yes mostly to validate my importance." In other words, she was bearing burdens she was never meant to bear. And doing it because she thought it would please God.

Laura was adept to a calm appearance, when in reality she was full of emotions she didn't know how to process or even feel. 

If we are honest about our busyness, we'll admit that we're a lot like Laura: saying yes to every request because of what it does for our ego to to avoid feeling guilty, but feeling resentment about the way other people's needs crowd our schedules and drain our energy. We look like we've got it all together, but inside, we're scattered. Like Laura, many of us wrestle with our desire for significance, and we're scared that if we don't keep other people happy, we won't be important.

Learning to "Chopstick"

A few days ago at lunchtime, Emily and Megan decided to learn to each with chopsticks (actually, they are wooden skewers). They did really well eating macaroni, rice and corn. I should see how they do with cereal. : )

Getting Daddy Off to Work

Eli likes to help me get Daddy's lunch ready. His favorite job is putting ice in the water jug, and Matthew isn't surprised to find little bite marks in his fruit. The girls also love to deliver lunches to Matthew in the truck or combine and spend special time with their Daddy.

Learning about Horses

Emily loves animals -- all animals. But at the top of her list of favorites are horses. She bought a set of horse cards from Usborne this summer. There are 50 different cards, each featuring a different breed. The cards are great. I cannot tell you how many hours I have seen her pouring over these cards, absorbing the information on them. She has ranked the cards according to her favorites, and alphabetized them. She has studied them by size and sorted them. Maybe, just maybe, after a LOT of prayer, she will be able to sweet talk her dad into a horse. Until then, she can flip through her cards and dream!

Emily and the Bulk Bin

One morning Matthew called and asked me to open the lid to the bulk bin. The feed truck was coming with a delivery, and the driver doesn't handle heights. So, I did it. Emily asked if she could close it after it was filled. I wasn't keen on the idea of her climbing the steep ladder to the top of the bin, but Matthew seemed to think she would be just fine. So, here she is at the top of the bin. She is fearless, and I love that about her!!!

Daily Chores

One thing Eli loves to do is help unload the dishwasher. As soon as he hears the door unlatch he comes running to the kitchen, eager to get his little hands on some dinnerware. I love it, and appreciate his enthusiasm even though he can't put much away yet. He takes great pride in pulling items from the racks and handing them to me. 

Hush, Little Baby

School, Week 5

Well, week 5 is officially finished, and I am excited that we have fallen into a comfortable routine. Even Eli is getting more accustomed to our schedule and enjoys sitting at the table with us for periods at a time, playing with a toy or sharing a snack. He always cracks us up when he flings his little hand in the air to answer a question. He loves to be part of the action.

Both girls have really gotten into Bible study and memorize a new passage of Scripture each week. Last year we learned the books of the Bible in order, so occasionally we brush up on those to make sure we haven't lost them. History has proved to be interesting as we are studying the discovery and settlement of North America. The girls have always been fascinated with Native Americans, so they love the stories of how the Native Americans helped the new settlers. 

Both girls are zipping through their math studies, and I am already placing an order for their second set of math textbooks and workbooks. The books are intended to last a semester, but they have devoured the lessons. 

We have already enjoyed several field trips and explored some great literature. Each of the girls has read several biographies for our biography unit, studying Amelia Earhart and Helen Keller. Now they are reading adventure books and have really enjoyed them. A huge thanks to one of our greatest resources -- our public library -- for filling our many, many literature requests!!

My prayer is that we continue to have a great time together learning. Children TRULY are a blessing from the Lord, and I cherish every day that we have together. The time together is totally worth all the sacrifices.

A Little Bit of Eli

Instructions on How to Move Appliances on the Farm

Our faithful washing machine finally quit after 13 years of hard labor. We knew the day was coming, because a bearing was worn out, but the repair to fix it could cost more than a new machine, so we decided to use the machine until it wouldn't work any longer. Finally, the day came when the machine would clean no more. God's timing is always amazing, because the morning before it quit Matthew had mentioned that Sears was having a great appliance sale for Labor Day. How is that for an answered prayer? 

When our new machine came in, Matthew asked me to help him move our old machine out of our basement, up the basement steps and into the truck. It had been many years since we had moved the machine, and we had both forgotten how much a front loader washing machine weighs. Grunt! 

Note: During the course of activities such as this, Matthew carries most of the weight while I constantly and respectfully suggest that he call his brother for help. But, after it is all finished he assures me that he couldn't have done it without me. He is so sweet!!

Once we got the washer up the stairs and onto the sidewalk, Matthew decided that it would be easier to enlist the help of the tractor. 

So, this is how we load appliances on the farm.  : )

Even Tigers Celebrate

Meet Bogdan, a one-year old tiger at the Brown's Oakridge Zoo in Smithfield, IL. He just turned one and here are photos from his birthday party. We spent the day at the zoo and learned so much about many different animals. One thing we learned is that, like many children at their first birthday party, they may not be overly excited about their first cake! When the zoo owners brought Bogdan his birthday "cake" made of meat, he was much more interested in contorting the baking sheet that it was sitting on than actually eating the cake. It was funny, although very much a tease to his next-door neighbor, a three-year old tiger. This neighboring tiger was not amused that Bogdan got such a special treat, and she paced along his cage and eventually threw a tantrum, striking at the door to her house. 

About an hour after Bogdan was presented with his meaty "cake" we went back to visit him again. He finally started snacking on the treat.  Happy birthday, Bogdan!

Here is the neighboring tiger, finally behaving herself.

These are very rare raccoons. One is an albino raccoon, and the other is a strawberry blond raccoon. It is extremely rare to find these in the wild because if a mother raccoon has offspring this color she will usually dispose of it while young. Seem harsh? If she doesn't get rid of it, she risks her nest being found and losing all of her young. 

Our little people had to stop and play in this fun house. Amazing how kids want to clean someone else's house????

This guy was asking for donations to cover some dental work. Just kidding!! We always love llamas!

 The girls loved feeding the kangaroo grass. 

We had such a fun time, and there were so many more animals than I shared on this blog. They have lions, tigers, cougars, bears, bobcats, donkeys, leopards, coati mundis, a lemur, an owl, an arctic fox, mountain lions, macaws, chinchillas, wolves and pot-bellied pigs.

If you haven't visited this zoo, it is worth the trip. You can check out more at their website: www.brownsoakridgezoo.com.

Busy School Days

We are nearly done with week four of school and I have to say the year so far has been a blast. I love spending so much time with our children and am so proud of them. 

My Take on Easy Bake Ovens

I had one when I was little. I loved it. Now that I am a parent I have different thoughts.

Emily earned her Easy Bake Oven through completing chores. She worked really hard for it, and I was proud of her for setting a goal and working diligently toward the goal. I must stress that she completed a LOT of chores to earn it. How excited she was to try it out for the first time. Instead of buying pre-packaged mixes at the store we found recipes for mixes online. They, of course, do not contain eggs or egg products so they are completely safe to be cooked under the heat of a lightbulb. 

We have baked cookies in the oven four or five times now, and the girls have always had a great time. The last time we had friends over and made chocolate chip cookies in the child-sized oven. They had a great time. Here's the thing, though. You can only bake three bite-sized cookies at a time, and it takes 10 minutes to bake a miniature batch of miniature cookies. I doubled the recipe fore EACH child and we started baking, and they mixed up their cookie dough, and off we went to the oven. We put our first batch of cookies in the "oven" at about 4 p.m. and by 8 p.m. I had resorted to heating up my adult-sized oven to finish them. So, for four hours I was a slave to this kiddie oven because my girls had LONG lost interest in finishing the task, and their friends had gone home long before. My dinner was dictated by the call of the kitchen timer to remove the tiny metal pan and make three more miniature dough balls. 

So, lesson learned. Do not make 8X the recipe unless you have lots of time dedicated for the project!!! It's a marathon -- not a 5k!!!

Cheap Fun

This kept my girls busy for HOURS, and it was so inexpensive. We put some corn starch in a loaf pan and added water. So simple, and cleans up easily. The only problem is that I don't know how to explain it. Is it a solid, or is it a liquid?? It displays properties of both a solid AND a liquid. You've got to try it. : )

Busted!!!

Caught with his hands in the marshmallow jar!!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!!!

We didn't have school on Labor Day, so after our family ran a morning race in Stronghurst, we cleaned up and headed for the ballpark to watch the Burlington Bees. The weather was perfect for the ballgame, and the game was entertaining. It was a lot of fun, but you know that when you take kids to a ballgame they are going to eat and eat and eat!! Fortunately, it was a Monday and on Mondays the Bees offer $1 cans of pop, hot dogs, popcorn and pizza slices. We ate so cheap, and it kept the kids busy when their interest in the game started to decline. Hopefully next year we will attend a few games and follow the Bees' season more closely.

God Blessed our VBS Week

I have to admit -- I love VBS. I love seeing children absorb God's truths and hiding them in their little hearts. I love seeing adults come out of their comfort zone to serve. I love the way our story tellers make the Bible stories come alive! What an awesome week of blessings. I hope everyone involved was blessed through the week. Here are a LOT of photos, some that I took, and some taken by Rick Goettsche. Thanks for serving, and thanks for entrusting your children with us! No explanations on the photos -- just a lot of God being praised, Bible being taught, and fun being had!!