my forever book.

i am so proud of this boy. i call my son. :)

most of you know our children attend the public school in our district.

it happens to be where my husband and i attended and graduated from.

i think? that makes it more special. :)

anyway, my prayer has always been that we don't just "go" there.

that we would be well known as a christian family there.

that we would make a mark and make a difference.

kaden had a reading assignment this week.

it was to chose a forever book.

not just any book, but a book that you will always remember.

kaden chose david and goliath.

he then told me they were told not to chose the Bible...

because not everyone believed it was true.

hmmmm.

well. we could chose green eggs and ham because that was one of the first books he learned to read.

or we could press in a little bit, and stick with david and goliath.

when i asked kaden for 3 reasons why david and goliath was his forever book choice

he responded:

1. little people can do big things.

2. God is always with us.

3. God is powerful.

after some butterflies in my own belly

and consulting with a friend and matt of course,

we stuck with david and goliath.

i gave kaden ample opportunity to switch books,

several times in fact,

(quite honestly kind of hoping in my mind he would chose green eggs and ham...

i didn't know if i wanted to start out the year, on the 3rd day of school,

questioning the teacher's assignment...)

and as nervous as he was, he was determined to try...

to make a long story short, i e-mailed the teacher and wrote a note.

and the book was fine.
she did say not to bring the Bible because it was not a book
on their reading level, and said that another student was the one
who said not everyone believed that it was true...

i am proud of all of us, but mostly kaden.

had i not pressed the issue and listened to my nervous belly

we would have gone the safe route.

but instead, we pressed on, and in...

and kaden got to read david and goliath to 2 friends who never heard the story before.

i say all the time.

how did this happen?

i am a mother to 5 kids.

i feel way inadequate, and way too young.

(eeeekkkk. i am not young anymore)

but just as my 9 year old said:

God is powerful.

God is always with us.

potter county.

so wednesday of last week our little family headed to the hills of potter county.

the king cabin is one of our favorite places to go...

we have never been in the summer, so it was a whole new experience.

we decided to take a detour this time and stopped to see matt's cousin, 

phil, and his wife heidi...due with their first baby on sept. 1st.

they live in berkshire, new york, a half hour from ithica.

they live in a yurt.

and have for 6 years.

6 years people.

they have my utmost respect to the max at this point in time.

seriously.

it's one thing to "know" they live in a yurt, but completely another to visit, and look around.

wow.

this is home sweet home. it really is a glorified tent. with a stove to keep warm in the winter.

on the right is their new bath house...when i say new, i mean in the last 1 1/2 years.

and when i say bath house, i mean, they still don't flush a toilet...  :)

this is the front door. well. the only door. :)

their bed is straight ahead. their stove is to the left of the door, and tiny sink, and then their desk.

to the right are 2 rockers, some tv tables, and ONE teeny dresser. ONE.

and the reason for our visit, is that they are upgrading to this adorable little house...

you can see in the background here on the right.

and this is matt and i with phil and heidi...

(thanks for taking the picture kaden. :)  )

this is like the most adorable house eva'.

tiny. tiny. tiny.

but seems huge in comparison to the yurt...

but will have a bathtub, sink, kitchen, and a  pretty nice bedroom upstairs.

eeeekkkk.

anyway, it was a great experience for us to visit.

it would have been a REAL experience for us to stay the weekend. :)

i told matt as we were pulling out,

that we had more stuff packed for an extended few days at the mountains,

then they own between the two of them.

i was kind of kidding, but kind of not. :)

we can't wait to welcome their baby into this world...

and for the rest of our lazy days away...

the girls have been all about practicing on the balance beam since the olympics...



we went hiking at the sinnemahoning? state park...

beautfiul weather.



 the notorious rope swing at the cabin.

hiking was too much for some. :)

the grandness of it all.

the fire ring in the yard.

we also went to a bat count at the park one evening.

we learned soooo much about bats. it was fascinating.

we also got to use a counter to count them coming out of their box.

173 bats swooping down at me.

eeeekkkk. :)

i think i can count that for some of campbell's homeschooling. :)
how about that?
slowly, but surely, we are figuring out her education.
picking her up at 12:15 p.m. and then will supplement as i see fit? :)

matt met with the superintendent today,
 (i get so intimidated, so i sent him with all my info. highlighted). ha!!
and we feel totally 100% support from his end.
yay.yay.yay. so thankful for that.

(i am having to do some documentation...not required by law,
but because the superintendent is our friend, and we would like to keep it that way.
there is a very real fear from them, that this could cause a "following" and that is not my desire,
nor there's of course...:)  )

and her teacher is the sweetest thing ever.
she has sent me the most encouraging e-mails about my girl.
which helps me think i have her support as well...
but we have yet to sit down and go over the route we have chosen for campbell.

thank you Jesus...you are piecing this together bit by bit.
this has been a really hard step for me to take.
i hate bucking the system. and boy are we bucking it to some people. :)

we all love our kids.
we all just do it differently. and that's okay.
now to get some objectives for her written down to turn in.
hmmmm.
any ideas for music you homeschoolers?

:)

good-bye summer

HELLO.
first day of school.

wow.

how can summer have escaped so quickly?

it ~always~ does...i don't know why i question? :)

 kaden- going into 3rd grade. i was nervous for this boy. and i still might be. :)

a transition year into a new building. eeeekkk.

(the same building where i went K-4.

oh how fun and weird it is to go into that building).

i am feeling like kaden will be challenged a great deal this year...

he came down with an old baseball shirt on.

i made him go put some *new* clothes on.

he could care.less. :)

 kaycee-going into 2nd grade. and cares a great deal how she looks.

we love to match. nails and all. :)

and i may not do her hair anymore, unless we are going to fight and have tears. :(

kaycee has the same terrific teacher as kaden had last year.

she will flourish, although none of her "friends" are in her class this year.

oh campbell girl-is going into KINDERGARTEN.

she had a great first day. she loves to get herself dressed,

and my girl has style...she does not have to match...as long as she "feels" good...we are good to go. :)

she comes home at lunch time. much to her dismay...

she would LOVE to stay all day.

we are blessed with a great teacher this year...

calli- is 3. she is a roamer. she is a care taker.

she is a sweet heart. most days. :)

she will start her speech class thursday one half hour a week.

she LOVES it. :) and is showing great improvement.

karolina is one. she is precious. a sleeper.

crawling faster and faster and taking a few steps if she wants too. :)

she has her own language and loves to chatter away.

she loves books. and her nuk and blankee.

she is loved by many. :)



i made them all get out of the car for this picture. :)

i am trusting the Lord for this year.

i am believing in faith, he chose my children's teachers...

and believing that they will thrive in the classrooms where they were placed.

and although i don't feel totally at peace with the decision to pull campbell out

of school at mid-day, i am trusting it is the right thing to do,

and believing my "heart" is right.

did i mention i cried after i dropped them off.

yep. again.

the Lord kept reminding me of this verse.all day long.

For God did not give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power,

of love, and of self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7.

it's getting harder and harder to release them into the world.
not easier.
and i am so glad i am done with "first days"...of school anyway. :)

terrain.

on wednesday the ladies in my extended family did something long awaited. but a first.

we packed up...with just 3 littles...in my yukon...and headed towards the main line.

(me, my mom, megan, piper, naomi, destiny, heather and eden...now that i think about it, i
guess i was the ~only~ one without child. no wonder i enjoyed myself so abundantly. :) )

our main objective was to visit:

a) terrain, and

b) anthropologie. :)

anything else was just a bonus.

it was so much fun.

my favorite store by far was terrain.

i came away very inspired.

i love that feeling.
who doesn't, i guess?

(please pause my playlist at the bottom of my blog...to watch this inspiringly. :)  )



such awesome-ness in ONE place. i ~LOVED~ it.

this is a burlap rug i had my sister- in -law heather photograph.

for me to copy of course. :)

(their's)

(mine)

you cannot look closely if you are a perfectionest.
i.am.not.

i like it.
i like it a whole lot.

it will not last forever.
but the paint made the burlap feel pretty heavy.

and 3 hours later...
while my kids were napping, or being punished
for not living in harmony with one another... :)

it was done.
this was free hand because i don't have time for taping.
i don't tape when i paint inside, i don't tape when i paint anything actually.
it takes too long. :)
call me impatient??

so many other fun things to try...
can't wait. :)

pinterest tries.

so i put off joining pinterest for good reason.

it is a total time sucker.

a good one. :)

but a time sucker. none the less.

here are a few things i have tried this summer, when i should have been playing with my kids, or

cleaning my bathrooms. :)

1.homemade french vanilla coffee creamer.

(it's good, not the same, BUT much cheaper and not all the crap in it to make it last long, i am sure).

2. baked zucchini sticks with marinara sauce.

( i love.love.loved them...my family did not. :(  )

3. do-it-yourself cakestands.

(loved the one i did, can't wait to do another. i got the base at target for $2.50, and my

tart pan at re-uzit for $1.00).

4. knotted jersey headband.

(very easy and very cute.)

5. fabric garland.

(did at karolina's first birthday party. very cute. very easy).

6. braided t-shirt bracelets.

(very fun, cheap to make, and adorable). my sister and mom stole mine!!  :)

7. adorable hoop wall art.

(so easy peesy, and adorable. hoops at reuzit for $0.25 to $1.00 and

cute scrap fabric. yippeee.)

8. jello cookies.

(super cute. the kids helped to make. very easy. kids thought they were o.K. adults thought

they were sub-par. :)  )

9. white chocolate filled snickerdoodles.

(these were delicious!!)

9. lemon ice in muffin tin.

(love this, and have a supply for my new drinking water habit...ha.ha.)

10. smores station.

(did this several times at the pond. big hit. very easy and actually less mess.)

11. matching letter ice cream cones.

(this is FABULOUS. campbell loves it, and calli wants to play. :)  )

12. sight words.

(this is awesome too. campbell will pick a word, and then read that word in an easy read story...

wish i would have done some of this creative stuff with kaden, who really struggled with reading...)

13. things to do for a funner summer list.

(so mine doesn't look quite so cute, but sure does help you be intentional over the summer.)

14. shower cleaner.

(so this was the cheapest grand shower cleaner i have used...not the BEST, but the cheapest. :)

was amazing for soap scum...but for the rest of the shower, on dirt and grime...it was just fine. :)  )

15. put a penny in balloons before you blow them up, and they hang nicely. :)

(worked awesome-ly). :)

so...i think that's enough. my mom tells my hubs that this is my cheap therapy.

he doesn't really buy it, but oh well. :)

it's fun for me, and i think he makes out too.

i try to have a happy well managed home, most of the time...:)

if you want to try any of these, click on my red "p" button at the top of the blog,

and you will find all of these tutorials/ideas somewhere on one of "my boards"...

(and these are NOT my finished products...these are the products i "copied"...
didn't want you to be confused about that. :)

happy monday.

caught in the rain.

so i was reminded saturday night of how discusting and heavy soaking wet jeans are.

it only started raining on our ride home in millersville.

we stopped in willow street to put our rain gear on.

and we pulled it "under" at the choo-choo barn because matt could no longer see to drive.

eeeekkkk.

we had a great motorcycle ride with friends regardless. :)

2nd saturday of the month if you wanna come. :)

Five Minutes Peace.

this is a great read for any busy momma.

maybe my new life story. :)

reality.

this has been my reality for this week.

well...

who am i kidding?

maybe all my days this year.

ha.ha.ha.

1. i have processed over 100 tomatoes from my garden

in the last 2 days. it sounds more impressive to say 100 tomatoes rather than the small amount of sauce it made in comparison. :)

2. this is my clean laundry. it's folded now, and almost put away. the hampers seem to be full no matter how much laundry i do in a day. :)

3. trying to find a balance in doing the everyday that needs to be done, and ignoring some (like the clean laundry on the floor) to have playdates and pond fun almost daily...since i can see the end of summer already. i can tell our house is going to be a fun hangout already. when we have boys over, the girls like to play with the boys. and when we have girls over, our boy likes to play with the girls. oh boy. :)

4. my days consist of blocking off all stairs in the house. karolina is a champ at crawling up the steps, and  then falling down them. :( then it's a toss up between dumping out her toy basket on the kitchen floor, or having her sort thru my kitchen drawers and cabinets. anything is fine with me, to keep her occupied, and keep me moving in the kitchen. :)

5. this is organized play. we now build "barriers" and "forts" so that karolina can not destroy our creations.



6. moppy and poppy- matt's parents- travel a good bit. it's pretty common for them to bring back something for the kids...this time it was hats from their tour at the jelly belly factory in california. it's not the greatest pic, but i love how calli is looking at karolina...

and a tidbit from Jesus Calling by: Sarah Young on the 7th...

"Understanding will never bring you Peace. That's why I have instructed you to trust in Me, not in your understanding. Human beings have a voracious appetite for trying to figure things out, in order to gain a sense of mastery over their lives. But the world presents you with an endless series of problems. As soon as you master one set, another pops up to challenge you. The relief you anticipated is short-lived. Soon your mind is gearing up again: searching for understanding (mastery), instead of seeking Me (your Master)..."

it seems so simple really, when i read it...but it seems harder in real life. why is that?

snapshots of *life*

so the olympics are really throwing me off.

i am staying up way too late and then i can't get myself out of bed in the morning.

ugh.

the only bonus to that is that the kids are sleeping in as well.

friday morning the kids were still sleeping so i crept out of the house at 7 a.m.

and went to the store myself.

so much quicker that way. :)

brought some day old donuts back.

it is the end of summer you know.

campbell is kind of hilarious.

she wanted me to take a picture of her and her bear.

so i did.

she then requested i put it on her blog.

so...here it is. :)

kaycee is talking "funny" these days.

she has an expander in her mouth  now...

her upper jaw was measuring 27 inches, and it should be measuring 37-39 inches.

she is tiny. apparently so is her mouth. :)

this means i get to insert a wire into her expander each night, and crank...

and it expands up there.

(which doesn't feel so great i should add)

at the end of september they will take that out and then make a retainer...

which will hopefully "retain" her bigger/stretched out jaw.

yikes.

that's all for now.

my day was blah.
i can't wait to have a better one tomorrow. :)

really trying to live out that theme verse at the top of my blog...
i am having a very hard time. very hard.
i am not feeling joyful right now in my hoping. that is for sure.
i am not joyful right now at all actually.
and patient in affliction. rrriigghhtttt.
faithful in prayer. yep. that is about the only thing i have going for me right now. :(

 

now to shift gears a bit...

i did find an aweome site today.

check it out here

it is a food/cooking blog, and she has weeks and weeks worth of menu ideas, and then.
a grocery list to go with them.

can you say awesome. and genius?

trying my first week this week. i certainly can't go wrong, can i?

i feel like i make the same stuff all the time, so this will mix stuff up a bit.

yay.

pony rides.

so while i headed into lancaster with some ladies for a taste of "first friday" and city life...

my hubs took the kids to the neighbors for dinner and pony rides.

thanks chris and cheryl!!

we are really itching to get a horse around here.

 really bad. :)

(excuse the picture quality of late. they have been taken with matt's phone)

enough said. calli-3.

* London Olympics * 2012 *

can you believe my girl Gabby won GOLD?

i loved her from the beginning.

so happy she *won* even though there is not one loser at the Olympics.

is this picture not INSANE?
look  how high up she is, and comes down on that teeny, weeny, beam...
my girl has some mad skill. ;) and muscle. :)

so the next time we hope to watch the Olympics. i will be 38. and kaden will be 13.

wow. now that's some perspective.