Two Years!

I can't believe two years have gone by since I posted last. I would love to post more of my craftiness, homeschooling, and adventures with children. We will see how long I can go for this time.

I discovered a new idea for a field trip with my sweet kids. Oxley Nature Center is a place full of exploration opportunities. We plan on making a few trips this year to explore butterflies, night using our senses (no flashlights), and evidence of wildlife. Since we live on the edge of woods, we will be able to apply our new knowledge right in our own backyard!

On another note, we are getting prepared for TWINS! Their arrival is scheduled for July 20th. We are hoping to see them a few weeks before that, though. Here is our latest twin purchase.

Look! I can blog from my phone!

An Eventful Week

This week was interesting. Brad, Lizzy's grandpa, has been sleeping in the office above the barn for 3 1/2 weeks. He woke up every hour to check on our mare to make sure she was okay and not in labor. Finally, Tuesday afternoon the labor began. It was an unusual labor. Horses are supposed to have their babies in about 20 minutes. She was in labor for 45 minutes. The baby colt finally landed on the ground, but he never stood. Rob and Brad took the horses to the vet hospital. Chocolate, the mare, had to be milked. The baby was bottle-fed. Thursday morning, Chocolate was put down due to complications from the delivery. As Lizzy says, "She went to live with Heavenly Father and Yoda (our dog). One day she will come back to life and we will see her again. At least she doesn't have any more pain." Friday morning, the baby colt died. Lizzy cried alot when she heard about Chocolate. When she heard about the baby colt, she said, "Well, now he's with his mom. They can be together." I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful that we have taught and Lizzy understands about life after death. I know some people don't believe animals will be resurrected, but I can't help but think they will. Animals make life sweet. I can only imagine how sweet it will be in the eternities.

Along the same timeline, our septic tank became clogged. Our plumber said the septic tank was full, but that didn't make much sense to us. When we showered, the water would back up in the tub. Poor Rob had to take a shower with my shower water standing at the bottom. Thursday night it was getting so bad, that Lizzy and I showered at the office above the barn. We felt like we were camping. Friday morning, the septic tank guy came out and discovered that our septic tank was not full, but clogged. He snaked out the clog, drained our septic tank, and left our bathroom in working order. I can honestly say, I was excited to get home and clean the bathroom. However, Rob beat me to it. He cleaned, dusted, and vacuumed the entire house. What a great guy!!!

Gardening

We have began planting our garden. Over spring break, Lizzy and I weeded many garden beds. Lizzy enjoyed it the first day, but became bored quickly. There were a lot of bees around trying to eat the nectar from the beautiful, purple clover flowers. She did not enjoy the bees or walking in the growing clover. She enjoyed making dirt castles in the barn, while I finished weeding.



The next day was much more pleasant. Our worker weed-eated around the beds. The only bees left were the ones wanting the flowers in the beds I was weeding. I would clear half of the bed, then Lizzy enjoyed helping me with her gardening tools. This time we brought her bike with us, so she was entertained after boredom set in.

A Bad Day

Yesterday was a normal, running the errands kind of day. First stop was a library in a not so good part of town. In my rush to get in and out of the library, Lizzy tripped and endured her first scrape of the season. Once we got into the library I cleaned and bandaged her up. I felt so bad that I rushed her in and didn't even have time to console her while outside.

Second stop, another library, another bad part of town. When we left the library, she had a bloody nose in the car. The blood dripped on her shirt. She decided she didn't like her new clothes anymore and wanted me to buy her a new outfit.

Third stop, Target. Luckily, nothing too horrible happened at Target. Maybe that is why we love the place so much.

Last stop, Walmart. I ran over her precious toe with the grocery cart. I felt sooo horrible for her. A nice surprise while we waited in the checkout line... Daddy walked up to check out, too. We didn't even know he was there!

At home, Lizzy decided to play outside. However, once again, while she opened the door, it scraped her other foot. She ended the day with a nice, safe visit to Nana and Grandpa's, where she was able to hold the new baby geese. She picked a tulip for Nana and enjoyed helping grandpa take the groceries into the house. I'm thankful the day ended well!

Baptism

Lizzy, Becca, and Bethany (cousins) are having a baptism. Carrot, Lizzy's bunny, turned 8 today. I am sitting in the living room listening to them play. Bethany is conducting. You can tell she has seen many baptisms. She sounds for real. Becca said the opening prayer. The opening song was Popcorn Popping. Lizzy gave a talk. (I hope Carrot can grow up and become a mommy someday.) Lizzy also baptized Carrot. Becca thought she was giving a talk, instead she bore her testimony. (I know this church is true. All the presidents are real and some of them died. I know my sister is being really ornery to me today. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.) There closing song was Do as I'm Doing. Lizzy said the closing prayer. She prayed that carrot would go under the water. Lizzy, with the help of her cousins, baptized Carrot in the baby's crib. Then they had a revival where all the animals/babies that wanted, got baptized.





Last night they had an art show. They even made a program. 1:00 was the art show. 1:10 was the Parrot show. We have a talking/singing parrot that they danced to. 1:30 was the horse show. This was a little skit, in which Becca stole a horse, they caught her and threw her in jail. It was very adorable!