School Starting and the List Grows

Our new school year starts in August according to the lady who keeps our records, but for us there is really never an end or a beginning to the learning we do around here. We are always reading, writing, doing math, seeking knowledge about people from the past and learning about real life stuff! But everyone needs a fresh re-organizing of life, the excitement of the new, and anticipation of what lies ahead. So we took "first day of school" pictures a couple weeks ago. Thanks to a cute idea on a blog and free printables, it turned out to be really fun! (Normally I am not big on labeling the grade the kids are in but those signs were just too cute!)




















Even the twinsies wanted to be in on the first day of school pictures!















Acknowledging what we are thankful for makes us slow down, makes us more aware, and makes us more thankful!!!!
#205...Cheery Zinnias gracing the breakfast table
#206...Kids practicing the Fruits of the Spirit with each other
#207...Good community of friends
#208...Saturday Night game night
#209...Katherine's enthusiasm for writing
#210...Pinterest, loving this!
#211...air conditioning, 4 days in a row of over 100 degree heat
#212...Lizzy re-reading a favorite book-"Mommy, I just can't help it!" she said
#213...Losing Pounds
#214...a husband who signed me up for "boot camp" and believes I CAN DO IT!!!!
#215...cool evenings and mornings!
#216...New pillows from IKEA, an added cheeriness to the family room
#217...Eric's phone call between 1 and 2 nearly everyday!
#218...A math tutor "falling" into our laps, we all love and appreciate her
#219...sore muscles, knowing all these workouts are doing something
#220...good friends who came to boot camp with me during bring a friend week
#221...surviving for over two weeks now without my afternoon ice-blended mocha
#222...anticipation of our trip to D.C.
#223...Mary identifying a bird using her bird books
#224...overhearing twins deep belly laughing together
#225...answered prayers for a friends 5 year old recently diagnosed with Leukemia

Katherine Turns 11....The Amazing Race

AMAZING RACE...LEONI MEADOWS ADDITION
1.Start at the Worship Bowl for directions and making up of teams. The three boys were with girls. Katherine was placed with Michael Pappas!
2.Go up to the main lodge and find Kim or Frank and tell them THANK YOU for the Wonderful Time at Camp! They will give the next clue.
3.Go down to the cafeteria and report to the head cook for orders too....clean six tables, straighten chairs for those tables, sweep floor under the tables. Must be done to the satisfaction of the cook!
4.Go up to the main room and count all seats. 401 in all to receive the next clue.
5.Go to the go-karts and each team member must drive two laps to receive their next clue.
6.Run (a very long way) down to the pond, jump in a canoe and row across the pond where both team members must go down the giant waterslide into the mucky pond and then back into the canoe and back to the other shore to receive your next clue!
7.Climb a nearby hill and the team must ride the 700ft zipline together to receive their next clue.
8.Run up to the camp laundry and fold 10 washcloths,10 handtowels, and 10 pillowcases as a team to receive the final clue...go to the main lobby of the lodge to complete the race!
Everyone received a cake pop to celebrate Katherine's 11th Birthday!!!


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Crazy Racers!!!






Katherine turned 11 while we were at Medical/Dental Family Camp at Leoni Meadows.
We planned for it accordingly! As if LM camp isn't enough fun already, Eric organized an AMAZING RACE for 8 teams on the day of her birthday. They had so much fun! All the kids (13 girls and 3 boys) really took it seriously, running all over the camp in hopes of being the winning team. That team was given $20 each to spend in the LM gift shop.

Apricots, Plums, and Berries Too!

It really is fun to have so much fresh produce growing on our land. It makes all the hours of pruning, mulching, weeding, fertilizing, planting that Eric and the kids do worth while. This is why we bought this house, mostly for the land and the experience of growing things and giving the kids a small taste of being on a farm! (A very small taste!) We were reading a story about one of the Founding Fathers who lived on an 8000 acre farm and Lizzy exclaimed..."Oh my that would be awful, I can't imagine all the work 8000 acres would be, we can hardly keep up with our acre and a half!"

















I have to say this time of year I find myself in the kitchen A LOT!!! These long summer days are some of the most pleasant times, working all together. Children are everywhere in the kitchen and as long as I don't set my expectations too high we all work together nicely! I just love that they love to be with me and help with all the canning, jamming, pureeing, crisping, and eating that takes place during the month of June and July. I have wanted to share some pictures of all of us working to tuck things away on the shelves in the pantry and into the freezer!

Lots to be Thankful for....

#186...an awesome rainstorm in July (we felt like we lived in Hawaii)
#187...the pool to cool off in
#188...a bouquet of flowers from sweet Lizzy and Caroline too, Eric took them to Caroline Park and they picked wildflowers for me! Caroline always says..."oh, are we going to my park?"
#189...twins helping Eric clean the coop out
#190...home-made peppermint ice-cream
#191...praying through a long day of math, math, and more math, Katherine's working on fractions and percents!
#192...happy children playing together
#193...books on CD
#194...lots of veggies from the garden
#195...pounds dropping :)
#196...a pool to wear the kids out in
#197...a husband safely home after biking to work
#198...visiting with friends at church
#199...an inspiring, insightful book I'm enjoying (Ministry of Motherhood)
#200...Mary showing love to me and keeping things well watered
#201...Katherine devouring books day after day, racing Lizzy for the most books read this summer! It will be close...
#202...the Daniel Challenge helping me with #195!!!!
#203..."precious moment" roses in the family room and my wood tray from mom!
#204...my girly girls dressed up for church

Monday Thankfulness

#174...Mrs Thompson, Katherine's sewing teacher who has taken Katherine under her wing in the department of sewing. Katherine had a huge desire to learn to sew and Mrs Thompson has faithfully had her over to sew and learn almost every Wednesday afternoon for a year and a half!
#175...Soft pink peony's in a vase. (a huge splurge since we have so many great flowers in our garden right now, just couldn't resist the $5 price tag)
#176...all of us swimming together on an early Sabbath morning
#177...a quiet house this morning, for almost an hour I read, prayed, and had time to think
#178...surprise volunteer sunflowers popping up amongst the squash
#179...a whole house fan to keep the house cool and save money on our electric bill
#180...fun game learned and played with the older kids, great that they can play lots of our favorites with us now!
#181...K and E snuggled up in bed listening to a book on tape
#182...Myrna watching the kids overnight so Eric and I can get away to see a play and relax together. An answer to prayer!
#183...Lots of Apricots stored up in pantry and freezer. Girls and I canned 36 quarts, froze 16 jars of sauce and made 16 jars of jam...several crisps were made and consumed quickly. Plums are next to harvest!
#184...a new cookbook arriving in the mail today, so excited! I have wanted a copy of it for a long time and my very thoughtful Mom new it and sent it. Thanks Mom!
#185...that we have two precious four year olds, they love each other so much and they love life. We are blessed that all of our kids are happy, get excited little people!(Above picture at cousin Natalie's Wedding)



I remember when I was reading Ann's book "One Thousand Gifts" and she stated near the end of the book that the more you practice thanksgiving the more life becomes a natural thanksliving...that your whole life is lived out differently. I can see chnages in my life even though I have a long ways to go in truly "living it" moment by moment.

The Fireplace

I just have to share a finished project!!! Here are pictures of our fireplace/mantle/hearth/library etc etc in our bedroom. It used to be this dreary dark grey slate with dated, brass glass door on the fireplace (See the picture below). Every time I walked in our room it starred at me. I had been wanting to fix our room up, but the fireplace had stopped me from creating the haven I wanted our room to be. With five kids that keep us hopping all day long, I felt our room needed to be peaceful, a calming place for us to retreat too at the end of the day. A place for us to read, talk, sip a hot drink, and relax together.

Evan our wonderful and very talented painter worked his magic over the course of a week and a bit. He could see the stacks of books on the hearth in our room and by our bed so he suggested having recessed bookcases on either side of the fireplace. Love This!!! Also he suggested some sort of storage underneath. After he sketched several pictures of different options, Eric and I decided on open spaces that fit the lidded baskets from Pottery Barn. We didn't want to replace the whole fireplace, but hated the dated 80's look of the fireplace, Evan solved this by painting the brass detail black and also painted the wood handles black. The final look is much more sophisticated and updated! So here are the before and after pictures to share how it all turned out!!! We are absolutely thrilled. As we hang pictures and finish other areas, we'll post more pictures.





Here is the finished fireplace and mantle

Here is our new headboard from Ballard Design...it was on sale for $300!!!! I love how it looks against the natural cream walls.

4th of July

Some quotes to share from our Founding Father's...

"In matters of style swim the current;
In matters of principle stand like a rock."
Thomas Jefferson

"I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder,
as the opening of a grand scene and design of providence..."
John Adams

"Labour to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience."
George Washington

"While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him only in this case they are answerable."
George Washington

"Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write."
John Adams







HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

We have had a relaxing day today! Washed the car, picked flowers and made bouquets, read some wonderful stories about our country's beginnings, talked to Nanna on the phone, and just plain enjoyed each other. Now little ones are napping, older girls playing a game, and Eric and I have time to relax in the quietness of the day. In a couple hours our good friends the Balli's will be here to BBQ and swim. So happy that Carolina and Thomas can both swim now. Just yesterday, Carolina swam across the pool! After four years of living here with a pool, I am very happy to say ALL THE KIDS CAN SWIM....oh happy days!!!