What the girls did...

...aside from the usual chores around the house,

we went to the Georgia Quilt Show on Saturday

(no pictures, but we had a great time!)...

we stayed in pajamas as much as we could...

...we sewed and sewed and sewed...

(more details on these projects in a later post!)

...we played lots of Word Twist...

...and we shared all of the goofs, giggles, conversation, and encouragement that we always do when we're together. Abigail happily read books, played piano, played with toys nearby, and went outside for the occasional visit with the guys.

I do not take it for granted that my mother is also my dear friend.

Dairy farm field trip

On Tuesday my parents and I took the kids on a field trip to Cagle's Dairy, a local dairy farm which also happens to be the last dairy farm in Georgia to do the whole operation, from raising their own calves to milking their cows to packaging the milk and distributing it to local grocery stores.

They have a hopping agri-business in addition to the regular work of a dairy farm, so we were able to go on their Dairy Tour. Aside from learning all about cows, milking, and milk-processing, we also fed corn leaves to calves, watched a cow being milked, went into the processing plant, took a hayride through the farm to see all of the sights, watched a beautiful Border Collie herd the cows in the field and bring them up to our haywagon for a snack, and fed the goats. To end our visit, we got a free mini-jug of fresh chocolate milk (or a free mini-pumpkin to take home, in my mom's case!) and visited their store. (unfortunately, I didn't realize that the setting on my camera had gotten switched, so some of the pictures aren't the best...)

Apple field trip

Last Thursday we enjoyed a field trip "up north" to get fresh apples. Karen came with us and brought her mom and grandma, too. Although we were too late for U-pick for the varieties we wanted, we were able to buy fresh apples and fresh apple cider at Penland's Apple House, and then we headed across the street to Panorama Orchard's barn, where we got to wander around and check out all of their apple- and other harvest-related products, watch their bakery in action, and look through the viewing window into the packing room, where the apples are gathered, washed, packed, etc.

It was a lovely fall day, and we enjoyed the time together as well as the lovely scenery. After that were piano lessons, groceries, and then we arrived home where my parents -- and a week of fall vacation -- were waiting for us!

Back to real life again!

I have been on blogging hiatus while we enjoyed a week with my parents here. We took the whole week off, with the exception of a field trip on Tuesday, and we filled the days with all sorts of good things. I will try to catch up on posting throughout the day today... I plan to upload pictures and get posts written amidst housework, sewing, and kid-time. This is our last day of fall vacation, and it's a wonderfully rainy day, so it's perfect for inside puttering, snuggling, reading, and fresh apple pie...

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

How I would love to see Abigail dressed up in this one...!

Happy birthday

Happy birthday to my friend

Karen...

hope you have a great day!

(Lest anyone get confused...I wrote this ahead of time and scheduled it to post while the computer is in California without me!!!)

Behind-ness

I know I'm terribly behind on the blog...but after a busy week, we now have the delight of a visit from my parents, so we went from having too much busyness to be able to stop and post to having too much fun to stop and post! Bruce will be leaving tomorrow for a business trip, so I will be computerless (AGGHHH!!!) until Tuesday evening...so the blog will have to remain woefully behind until then...

Christopher Columbus!

(...saying it with the exclamation point always makes me smile as I think of Jo (as portrayed by June Allyson) in Little Women, who used it as a mildly epithetical exclamation, much to her sisters' horror!) Today the kids came to school dressed as explorers (their version of one, anyway), and we finished our school day with a short lesson and fun activity book about Christopher Columbus. (For anyone interested, the activity book was downloaded from Enchanted Learning, a great website that I use often for school activities. A lot of their stuff is free, and some of it is members only. I just joined, since I have more than gotten my money's worth just from the free stuff...and I wanted access to all of it!)Today we introduced our last few "special sounds" in phonics class. They are designed to last throughout the first grade, but David & Abigail have picked up on them quickly and I saw no reason to slow them down. Here they are with big smiles just after they finished the corresponding book. Good job, kiddos!

Abigail's first haircut

My stomach is still clenched, but we did it! We cut a few inches off of the bottom of Abigail's hair. It has needed it for a while (even before the kerfuffle with my haircut and her attempt), but I couldn't bear to cut off those wisps of "baby hair" left at the ends. She did great, and it looks nice, but I need a few days to feel sentimental over another piece of babyhood lost and then I'll like it! :)

This is what the best Saturdays are made of...

...Home and Family...

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

My little southern belle would look adorable in this, don't ya think?!

Quilt progress

The quilt top that Karen and I have been working on the last couple of months is complete! Karen dropped if off last week to be quilted by a local long-arm quilter. When we get it back, we have only to sew on the binding and label in time for the presentation of the quilt at the end of November. It has been so much fun to be a part of it all coming together, from pattern-selection to design to fabric-selection to piecing to finished top!

Field trip to the zoo

Yesterday we took a field trip to the zoo with my friend Greta and her three oldest children. At my house, we woke up to pouring rain, but Greta reported no rain (both she and the zoo are a good bit south of us), so I packed raincoats (we can't get our HAs wet!) and off we went. The Lord gave us lovely weather all day long, pleasantly cool and no rain, and we had a great day. The kids went at top-speed all day running on the trails and playing in the play areas...they burned off more energy in one day than Greta and I ever get in a whole week! We drove back into the rain a few miles from home, so we were doubly grateful -- one, that we got so much rain at home (we've needed it), and two, that it all stayed north and not at the zoo!

^A classic scene at our house at the end of a long day. The first thing David does is strip down to the bare minimum of clothing. Anyone who knows my brothers will recognize this behavior. :) The first thing Abigail does is head for the couch to stare into space. Their mommy likes it when they also snuggle up together!

Sponging mouths and sweeping acorns

Today in science we learned about the three different types of insect mouths -- chewing, sucking, and sponging. A very disgusting fact I learned today? ...flies have a sponging mouth. That is, their mouth works on the same principle as your kitchen sponge. When it comes in contact with liquid, it soaks it up, thereby nourishing the fly (yum yum). However -- and this is the gross part -- if a fly wants to eat a solid (think of a fly sitting on your piece of candy?!), it vomits onto the solid, which liquefies some of it enough for the fly's sponging mouth to absorb. Oh, and by the way, along with whatever else is in the vomit that causes the solid to liquefy, there are also germs. Still want that piece of candy off of which you shoo'd that fly?! We did a really cool experiment with M&Ms, a cup of water, a straw, and a paper towel to demonstrate the different types of insect mouths. (Again, have I mentioned how much fun I'm -- er, we're -- having?!) David is still looking for jobs to earn extra money, so today we bought a push-broom so that he can sweep the acorns off of the driveway. We have a towering oak that gives us a bumper crop of acorns every other year, and this is its "on" year. Unfortunately, it drops a large portion of its harvest on the driveway, which makes it hard to ride bikes and rather dangerous to try walking without twisting an ankle. Ergo, David's newest job!

School year milestone

On Friday, we completed

of our school year -- hooray!

A lovely fall day

...and we all enjoyed it! I sat in the porch swing for a little while, the kids played outside for a long time, and I even let the cat enjoy the sunshine from the porch just outside our bedroom door while I folded laundry with our bedroom door open.

Below is Abigail swinging on the climbing rope. This spring she didn't have anywhere near the strength to be able to hold her own body weight...now look at her!

Another growing-up milestone...

David lost his first tooth tonight!!!

Look at that adorable smile!

And below, David showing off the tooth-holding envelope before he tucked it under his pillow for Daddy & Mommy to trade for a surprise while he sleeps tonight. As you can see, Abigail was quite fascinated by the whole process!

A P.S. from David

David insists that everyone needs to know that he has now made a rescue boat to go with his oil rig, just in case the guys working there happen to need it. ...Ever the eldest child trying to make provision for every possibility and everyone!

My pumpkins are growing so fast!

Tuesday night, as I put this year's pumpkin patch picture into the frame, I took a minute to look back through years past...oh my! How my babies have grown!

2005

2006

2007

2008

Inspired by the gas shortage!

Since we started out our day directly impacted by the gas shortage, I decided the last part of our schoolday would be an impromptu lesson on "how do we get gasoline?". The topic ended up dabbling in all manner of subjects (science, economics, history, current events, etc) -- we had already studied in current events lately how Hurricane Ike affected the offshore drilling (we watched the path of the storm in relation to the rigs as they were preparing to shut them down), so today we read about how oil is refined, we watched a video about life on an offshore oil rig (mute the music, it's a bit wild!), and then the kids set to work building an offshore oil rig.

This is one of the things in which David just shines. His brain is wired with all of the engineer/mechanic/scientific/analytical genes of his forebears, and he has a real gift for seeing something and being able to figure out how it works and how to replicate it. He had specific plans in his head, asking me to cut holes in particular spots for his towers to anchor through, and as he explained I realized that he could really see it, in detail, in his head. He built his rig complete with a helipad (he -- the child that seems barely able to pay attention to me through a whole sentence -- had even noticed that the helipad in one of the myriad pictures we looked at was "shaped like a stop sign"), railing, "signal thing" (radar), a cab for operating the drilling equipment, and even exercise machines and bunk beds (you can't see those two in the picture, he added them after I took the picture!). Watching him fascinates me just as much as everything else I learned today about the drilling/refining process!

David demonstrating a helicopter landing

David and his offshore oil rig

Abigail is so funny. She made a basic rig and a helipad (perfectly appropriate for her age!), but then she made an "H"and an "L" out of blocks to signify "Helicopter" and "Land". That was the extent of her interest in building. She spent the rest of the time making up stories about what happened on her rig and helping her princesses visit the rig (though they weren't allowed on the helipad).

My kids never cease to amaze and delight me! I am so glad that they enjoy learning just as much as I do...because I'm having a blast!

I am thankful for the gas shortage

Yes, it's a pain not to be able to find gas. However, the current gas shortage has been a very good reminder to me that I should be thankful every time I go to a gas station and fill up...up until the last couple of weeks, it was a privilege I took completely for granted. After a fruitless search both Monday and yesterday, last night I arrived home with only 30 miles until empty, so the van was parked to stay until a gas station within range got gas again. It's a strange feeling to be homebound because of a lack of fuel -- I don't ever remember that happening before! I made my first call this morning just before five o'clock to try to find gas. At 6:15 I found one about ten or so miles away, so I grabbed a PopTart for the still-groggy kids (I had to get Abigail out of bed), books etc in case we were in line for an hour or more, and we headed down the road for our "adventure" (the kids thought it was grand excitement!). I was soon reminded again of God's mercy, even in the little details of our lives. As I drove by Kroger (who, when I called at 5 a.m., had reported still no gas), I saw the tanker truck starting to refill them, so I did a quick turnaround and was first in line for gas. The Lord not only provided me with fuel, He also gave it to me two minutes from my house, He spared us a long wait in line, I was able to get free air for my tires, AND I was able to get ten cents off the regular gasoline price with my Kroger rewards!!! I was also able to call Bruce (who hadn't left for work yet), so he was able to swing by and fill up as well. It was a sweet thing to share with the kids -- we have been praying that we would be able to find gas for Mommy's van, and so they were able to share in the excitement as we thanked God for providing for us. I am thankful for a full tank of gas, and I am also thankful for the reminder of God's work in our lives, even in the tiny, "insignificant" details. How much more can I trust Him with the "big" issues, if He cares so much about me in the little ones?!

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 6:25-34