Getting Ready For The New Year

We are beginning the newness around here a bit early. As I type, I am waiting for my dear husband to arrive home from work for the last time for the next 365 days. That's right- his year off begins officially tomorrow, Dec. 31st. I'm sure there will be more news about that later as we really get into the nitty gritty of how it's going to change life around. I am not accustomed to having an extra set of hands during daylight hours so I have high hopes!

We had a great Christmas in Kentucky. We were able to see nearly all of my family. This was a real treat for which I am very grateful. We are currently enjoying the last few days of "school break" and wearing whatever clothes happen to land on our backs. Next week, nearly all of our regular activities resume. We have a new family addition, Brooke and Clay have welcomed baby #7, Jackson Scott, a precious redhead, and I can barely keep myself from driving up to see him. Well, actually, we had one dramatic event over Christmas, and it won't surprise you that it did involve my mini-van. Yes, that is the same mini-van that is just 1 year old that was hit by a deer last Christmas. This time Ed sort of backed into a tree in my Mom's yard. I am sporting a wonderful plastic and duct tape rear view mirror. I guess a girl from Appalachia just cannot get away from duct tape after all. Official repairs begin in 4 days!

The photos above are totally random from the last quarter of the year (the months when I didn't blog at all)....Happy New Year to All!

October!

It really is too bad the blog posts that I write in my head do not jump into the computer. So, you are left with what I actually sit down to type.

Things we have been doing or enjoying around our little house this past month:

1. Both girls are reading! Homeschool is such a blessing.
2. New neighbors with 2 sweet little girls.
3. American Heritage Girls ( A Christian scouting organization)
4. Baking fun things with the girls
5. Counting down until Ed is off for an entire year.
6. Sewing some sweet new and challenging projects for the girls. I'm getting more creative.
7. Ed took both girls to Georgia for a weekend! I got some quiet time alone.
8. I moved my sewing room to the room over the garage. I love it up there, and I have reclaimed our lovely dining room for possible dinner parties!
9. The weather is just now even hinting at true fall weather, but I love it.
10. Ed got the girls new bikes as early birthday presents. They really look like BIG girls on them.
11. Jenna has lost 2 teeth, and Ava has a loose one.

That's all for now.

Ten Apples Up on Top

This past Friday, we left all the laundry and dirty dishes behind as we headed up the road to Sky Top apple orchard. We met Clay and Brooke plus 6 (and 2 extra kiddos) to pick apples and eat donuts. This is the first time I have made it to pick in September, and let me just say it was hot in the sun. We picked apples and enjoyed donuts. The kids played and had a great time.

We have since been eating a lot of apples- cooked apples, apple cake, raw apples, apples with caramel dip and you get the idea. We've been reading books about apples, learning about Johnny Appleseed and making our own little books about apples, too. I do love this time of year with the anticipation of cooler weather.

Ava & Jenna have started American Heritage Girls which is a Christian scouting organization for girls. I am co-leading their group of 20 something Pathfinders. This group has been around since the mid '90's but this is the first troop in Columbia. We are learning as we go! That's what has been going on at our little house. P.S. We do have a new children's book which is sweet and cute. If you like Beatrix Potter, you will like these books as well. It is the complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem. It is about little field mice. There is a story for each season plus a few more. The illustrations are so divine.

Fairytale Princesses

So, I continue to be a very bad blogger. I just can't seem to post as often as I think about it. Our week has been a whirlwind of activity. I'd tell you about it, but I am too tired. The girlies attended a birthday party of a sweet friend this evening wearing full princess (or mermaid) attire. Ava is most proud of her "dress up" hair.

I finally finished smocking ONE Christmas dress. I have also managed to sew each girl a cute tiered skirt for fall/winter. I hope to cut out a sweet fall dress for them over the weekend to start on in the next week or so. I will continue to work on the additional Christmas dress, too. At least, it is portable since the smocking is done by hand.

We have finished 5 weeks of school so far this year, and I am really trying to stay out of the "are we doing enough, or the right things" trap and just trust that what we chose to do for this year is sufficient.
I had a bit of a difficult day today, and actually, we did not do any school. I still have 4 loads of clean but unfolded laundry, and I don't even know how much dirty laundry. Those of you who know me well, know that laundry is my thing. I can somehow live with a dirty bathroom (ickk, but true) but ever expanding dirty laundry throws me into panic mode. I don't even know how I am typing instead of folding right now. Maybe I am being healed from my obsession with laundry OR maybe I have been overwhelmed ALL day and just cannot do ONE more thing. I am going to rest and read a book now. God is good, and I am going to rest in Him.

Wyoming

I know it has been more than a month since my last post. Let me just say that we had a wonderful time in Wyoming. Maybe I should make a list of all the things I enjoyed. I'll start by saying the 80 something degree weather during the daytime and 50 degrees at night was glorious. Debbie, my sister in law, and I walked between 2 and 4 miles every day. I loved the landscape which is so different from things "back east". I have become a bit smitten with the whole "cow girl" image which I am only going to live out by dressing my children like this. Well, I did get some cute boots that I will wear when it cools off around here.

Most of all, I think I enjoyed thinking about the vastness of the West in times past-What it must have been like for the Native Americans 200 years ago, and at the same time what an adventure it was to settle that land for those brave pioneers who left their homes in search of a better life. I don't know if I could survive a winter in Wyoming or Montana, but just a week in the summer was pure bliss. I have always liked the idea of being an outdorsey girl, but 2 things have stood in my way of actually pursuing this: a little bit of make up and a hair dryer. However, I will admit that I really felt more drawn to nature while in Story. Maybe it was the sound of the river, or sleeping with the windows open, or just the romantic draw of a new place, but it was the only place I can say I have truly felt compelled to be outside as much as possible.

Ed enjoyed fishing in the river. The girls spent a lot of time with Ed playing in the water and building a little dam and lake for their Polly Pockets. After the girls went to bed, we played many games of UNO with the whole family. Ed's Aunt Marilyn still lives in Story so we were honored to have several visits with her. The girls were able to play in the same creek Ed and Bill played in when they visited their grandparents as little boys.

Since returning home, we have been finishing up some projects at home and getting ready to start school on Monday. Jenna has BINGO all set up for us to play so I guess you know what I'm doing next.

Welcome, New Pets

These are the newest members of our family. The guinea pigs are Blaster and Darwin. They are sweet and cuddly, and the girls absolutely LOVE them. We've had them since we got home from Wyoming, and I must say even I like them.

Swimming and Lemonade

I can hardly believe it is July. Where oh where is summer going? It has been so much fun that I am not ready to think about August just yet. The girls completed their annual 2 weeks of swimming lessons in June. Jenna can independently swim 2 lengths of the pool! Ava progressed quite a bit as well and can swim pretty well, but she is too stubborn to swim to the deep end alone.

June ended on an interesting note with Jenna getting strep throat, not improving after treatment only to find out she had mono, too! So we slowed things down for an entire week to let her recover. We had a great trip to Suches with family over the 4th of July weekend. There are some pics of that on my facebook page. Let's just say that 6 adults, 10 kiddos, 2 baby goats and 2 dogs makes for an interesting time.

Last week, I painted the side entry way into the kitchen, and this week, I have completed a bed skirt for our bed. Maybe I can get a pic of that up a bit later. I finally finished smocking 2 dresses for the girls, and I will start on their Christmas dresses towards the end of the month. Otherwise, the girls and I are planning our trip to Ky next week, and then, the whole family is going to Wyoming! Well, that's all for now. Hopefully, I can make another post in the next 24-48 hrs with more pics.