A new addition to the farm

Her name is Alli.

 

And we are having SO much fun with her!

 

Langston summed up our new addition like this:

 

"We are just like REAL farmers now!  Except for the farm part."

 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Quietness

All is quiet in and around the house this lunch hour.

Moms of boys know that when you can't hear your sons you must find out what they are up to.

Immediately.

The quiet was peaceful for about 4-seconds, then I went running to the windows to see if I could spot the boys and see what they were up to.

 

Way out yonder, in a part of our neighbor's property we longingly call the 'back 40', I spotted them.

Shirts off.

Shovels and dirt flying.

Digging like mad on property not owned by us.

 

Well, at least they don't look like they are getting into trouble or hurting themselves or each other.  I'm not sure if this counts as destroying someone else's property or if that is a crime punishable by law.  Since they are relatively safe and filling up on some early Spring Vitamin D I'm going to go enjoy the quietness.

 

Actually, I'm going to go check on them again because they are probably going to try and bury a little brother. I know what registers as 'fun' for this crew.

So much for that hot cup of tea I was going to enjoy by myself.

Boys!!

Tidbits from the past few weeks

Here's a sampling of randomness from some ordinary moments around the home the past few weeks.

 

A good friend of ours agreed to mentor the boys in painting for four sessions.

I traded her a grow light for it.

Guess who got the good part of the deal?

 

Anna has gone above and beyond what I was even hoping for and my boys have eagerly completed their homework for the next session, even though it's not due for another seven days.

That's huge.

 

Yay!

If you know Anna, you know what love and attention to detail my boys are receiving from her.

She's wonderful.

 

We've been blessed by some amazing works of art at sunset this last week.  Whenever I see a sight like this my mind always thinks of how the Heavens declare the glory of the Lord.

Amen.

 

Not only did I manage to give four boys haircuts in the last week but my onions needed a trim, too.

Aren't they unruly?  I'm happy to report after their haircut they are standing tall and proud and growing strong again.  AND, we have our first recordable harvest to file under 'onions' for the year.

 

1/20th of a pound.

When one works so hard to provide their own food every single harvest counts.

 

We enjoyed minced baby onion tops over our soup last night.  Divine.

And I only have 999 and 19/20ths pounds to harvest from our garden to reach my goal of 1000#s!

 

 

I've been experimenting with sourdough this winter by catching my own starter and feeding him {it?} faithfully.  He's taken on a personality of his {its?} own on our counter and is affectionately referred to as Mr. Bubbles.  The boys are quite sure I have lost my marbles at this point, but that's okay.  It's good to keep them on their toes and wondering what Mom will do next.

 

Despite being an extremely busy stay-at-home-homeschooling-homesteading-home-doctoring kind of person, I still have time for a slumber party every now and then.  Apparently last night I had a slumber party with Luke Skywalker and Jenga Fett.   A little secret here on boys and love languages- if your little man feels you are worthy to sleep with his favorite Lego minifigs that is just like  receiving a four page love note from said child.  Girls might make a beautiful picture with markers and bubble letters and lots and lots of hearts singing the praises of their mothers...boys will trust you with their most precious Lego pieces and that means the world to them and to me.   It was an honor to wake up and see these guys sparring at my feet at 6 o'clock this morning.  I truly felt loved!

 

Keeping with the Star Wars theme-- which is at epidemic levels in our home right now and please come soon Spring so we can concentrate on bike crashes and hiking in muddy creeks -- I found some Ewok puppets playing in the onions this morning as well.  I was told that our guest room makes the best forest in our home, and it's no wonder because...

 

Tarver-made Ewoks for Ry and Langston

 I am the proud mother of over 500 seedlings right now.

The air quality in our guest room is amazing.

 

 

And with all that typed and saved, I must return to the needs of my family.  A few young men need to be read to this afternoon, there is still vacuuming and laundry to finish up.  Chicken Noodle soup to start for this evening's meal.  Mr. Bubbles to feed and make fresh bread from.  A boy who has sheep to tend to at a farm not near enough to our home.  And a few plants to water, too.

 

By the way, am I the only wondering why I didn't get issued that maid servant at the birth of our first child?  I've always wondered about that ...

Fair Weather {Nebraska Football} Fans

Yay Seahawks!

We have a new family tradition of watching football games only when the Seahawks are in the Superbowl.  Last night was the second football game we've watched in eight years - since the Hawks played Pittsburgh in '06.  It has more to do with the fact that we can't stand to sit still for four hours in front of the t.v. than a reflection of how well {or not} the team is doing.  I guess you can still classify us as fair weather fans.  It's pretty exciting that the Seahawks have finally WON a Superbowl!

Yay Hawks!

Knowing the difference...{looking for answers}

A question has been consuming me for the last several weeks.
I'm hoping my theologically-minded friends {those grounded in the Word of God} can help give me new food to chew on and pray over.

How does one know the difference between

 stepping out in faith
and
waiting on the Lord?

Farm down the road from a possible acreage at sunset

Something we have been praying about for years has availed itself of becoming a reality.

This something we have been praying about is a vision for our family which we believe the

 Lord has pressed into our hearts.

 

We've been watching and waiting.  For years.

 

It gets a little muddled in the fact that to jump on this opportunity we would be taking a financial risk in the form of debt.  We are crystal clear what the Word says about debt.  We have worked very hard, with the help of the Lord, to be free from the entanglement of debt.  So, does one continue to wait until the numbers say 'go for it' and we feel as though we wouldn't be infringing on the Lord's provision by not accumulating debt...or does one say 'we've been praying about this for years, the Lord will provide'?

 

I will tell you there is no peace in moving forward without closing the doors of this home behind us.  Who knows if this is our lack of faith or the answer to our prayer?

 

If you have wisdom to share we'd sure be grateful to hear it. 

For now I'm back to painting in the hopes of hanging a

 'For Sale' sign in front of our beloved little farm-in-the-city.

Surprise

I got a free lizard with the new table I ordered! 

Christmas Tree Campout

Earlier this week we held the annual 'Christmas Tree Campout'

whereas the boys all camped overnight in the living under the tree and stayed up late playing board games and such.

{And by 'such' I mean things like wrestling, telling scary stories and piling blankets and pillows on top of each other to prove that we really don't need that much oxygen to survive.  It was a peaceful night, of sorts.}

 

 

In the morning we served a brunch of yummy Gingerbread Waffles topped with fresh cream and Christmas sprinkles, expertly arranged by our resident 5-year old.

Look Both Ways

A quick peek out the front windows of our little-farm-in-the-city might reward you with a glimpse of our city-chick, Little Red.  She prefers pavement over dirt and grass these days.

Poor Tarver, he's had to herd her numerous times away from the neighbor's front porch to her unexciting little chicken yard.

 

Turning your head to the back windows you breath might be swept away at views such as this.

I keep wondering how we can be so blessed to enjoy this tapestry of Creation colors from the comfort of our own home?  And I also wonder why Little Red would want to leave the backyard when this is her view. 

 

Chickens don't appreciate much, do they?

Love Notes 101

My Ry-man.

He's so good to me that my heart almost bursts at times.

I found this love note at my breakfast spot this morning.

 

Translation: Mom, you do not know when I love you. I would if you were a bear.

It's good to know almost unconditional love.

The Boys

A recent photo shoot of our boys yielded these images -

your paper prints are on their way, Grandparents!

 

Langston

Tarver

Ry-man

Braden

Ridiculous.  Somebody slap me.

Dynamic Learning Activity - Another Tooth Extraction

How many Kindergartners actually get to pull their first tooth out during math?  We call it 'tooth extraction subtraction'.  Perhaps it's not quite as exciting as hooking up a remote controlled Jeep to the tooth, but this kiddo was beyond thrilled.  And in his mind, tooth subtraction really adds up since he found some change under his pillow the next morning.  Don't you all wish you were homeschooled so you could tie these milestones into a dynamic learning activity and count it for school hours?

Storage Solutions for Boys

What's a Mom to do with her collection of boys?

Display them on some heftily built shelves, I suppose.

{Thank you, love, for finishing this basement project! 

Looks like your helpers might be sleeping on the job, though.}

 

And for the record - no, we don't really keep our boys on shelves.  We do have a swing set and fort in the wilderness, silly.

August Harvest

~388.25 pounds~

Every canning jar has been filled.

{and then some}

So thankful.  So, so thankful. 

Canned pears will be a delight come January when the winter winds are howling!

A New Beginning, again

Another First Day of School picture - hard to believe it's this time of year, again!

{Langston is super excited to be in Kindergarten and has already asked if he can please have homework every night this year.  Oh, how I love Kindergarten enthusiasm!}

Summer Cuts

It's time to shave every one down for hot and humid mid-west weather.  Come one, come all - even four legged critters.

yeah, it's summer

We're loving it.

June Harvest

From our little plot of ground the Lord has provided,

June Totals:

60.49 pounds of garden produce

23 eggs

8 bouquets of flowers

 

Looking forward to July totals with hefty tomatoes and cucumbers...

This is how he sleeps

Perhaps the only one in the house who truly knows the meaning of sweet sleep.

What a dog boy.

Ears

Who can resist?

On winning comments and other random family tidbits

Congratulations, Kay M.!  Your name was chosen winner from the comments for the 'Seed Sowers' & bookmark giveaway!  Thanks to all for participating and checking out Gwen's contribution to missions.  I hope you all will get a copy of her book and continue to check on her family and their adventures through her blog.

And in other random family news ...
It's been incredibly busy here, but here are a few things we've been up to over the last few weeks ...

Feeding the boys.  A few weeks ago our dinner menu looked like this:
     9 steaks, approximately 1# each
     10-lb bag of potatoes, transformed into many trays of cheesy fries {mmm}
     1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
     2-lb bag of carrots, peeled and cut into sticks

In a matter of one meal, it disappeared.  I spend a lot of time feeding this crew!

Our first episode with Poison Ivy/Oak.  Thanks to Nurse Amy for helping to identify our rash!

Making armor for the King of the household ... from paper.  A great busy project for winter days that are too cold for being outdoors.  The Queen of the house was the recipient of two paper skirts and a crown also - not pictured. :-)

Ryland's first ever Pinewood Derby.

 

 

 

The agony of defeat.  Langston was sure he'd come home with The Piston Cup.

This face made the Momma tear up.

 

 

Shoe tying boot camp.  Is that an oxymoron?

Make a loop, and some bunny ears ... criss cross and pull those bunny ears.

 

Kitchen help, kitchen guard and kitchen fun.

 

He really did eat my green pepper mustache!

And now it's time to feed the crew again ...