Fun Facts Friday!!

by Steph // Friday, August 5, 2016 // Comments off

It’s FRIDAY!!

There is SO much to be thankful for!

Let’s start with this adorable pup.

She is getting big! She is four months old and weighs 30 pounds!

While I was outside getting those photos, I got a little distracted!

I am sure you can see why!

The weather this week has been HOT, hot hot. I am not sure how you southerners do that!

But today…..oh my…..breezy, blue, sunny and 70 glorious degrees.

The windows are open, and the house feels fresh and cool!

I do not miss the noise of those air conditioner units at all!

This weather has me dreaming of soup season, where I fill my red pot many times a week to have it empty again in mere minutes!

Speaking of food, I made these amazing coconut lemon bars this week!

They have everything yummy in them – a date and nut crust, coconut butter, coconut cream, coconut oil, fresh squeezed lemon and lemon zest – YUM!!

When the guys took the garbage to the dump this week, they came home announcing that we have a sparkling water addiction – based on the contents of the recycling bin!

It is not just me on a sparkling water kick right now! But I do love it as a treat! With some lemon juice and a tap of stevia for sweetness!

Addie Mae made another treat for us too!

The kiddos favorite!

Chocolate covered frozen bananas.

We were without a dryer for a whole week.

When the weather allowed, I washed laundry and used the clothes line outside.

But towels and whites on the clothes line are just not good!

So we took loads to Kayla on the way to Addie Mae’s work in the mornings too! (thanks, Kay!)

My two men put a new motor in the dryer very late Wednesday night.

SO thankful for my handy men! The dryer is working again now!

I should have taken a photo of them in the mudroom working on that dryer.

But I might have been laying in bed eating a coconut bar and looking for school ideas on line! Just maybe!

There is a certain young man who lives here who is losing teeth left and right.

Literally left and right!

I am still seeing lots of dirt and messes around this big old farm house.

Which means I am feeling stronger and better every single day!

I seriously washed the inside of the mud room door with baby wipes the other day.

It was SO gross, and caught my eye, and there I went!

I also cleaned out two medicine drawers in the kitchen – so many expired things in there!

This drawer would barely open before!

We have not shown the farm this week, which would be why when I wandered upstairs this morning it looked like this.

Thank goodness Friday is cleaning day!

There are usually science experiments sitting around.

This one was banned to the back porch – it stinks!

If you read here regularly, you might remember the reading store I make for my kiddos who are learning to read.

This year I decided to use that idea for the kids to earn points for Bible memory.

They are loving it! There is dollar store ~~junk~~ stuff for them to buy, as well as coupons that they can redeem with the points they earn by memorizing and reciting Bible verses I assign to them.

It has been a GREAT week for our first week of full-time school!

We are enjoying it very much!

I am still very happy that it is FRIDAY!

We are heading out here soon to meet Blake to get some new jeans and boots for a twelve year old boy that grows in his sleep every night!

And tonight is DATE NIGHT!

We did not have a date night last week, so I am excited!!

I hope my hubby is ready for ALL the things I NEED to tell him!!

Have a great Friday, you all!! And a great weekend!!

*For those of you who do not follow along over on Instagram (little camera icon on top right side bar), I would like to share that precious little Delainey peacefully passed into the arms of Jesus on Wednesday afternoon. We will be attending her celebration of life tomorrow. To see her parents walk through this has been inspiring. They have a strong faith, an eternal hope, and peace that passes all understanding. I could not even cry as I read the tribute they wrote for their daughter…..it was beautiful beyond words. Please, please join us in praying for Delainey’s family if you feel led.

First Day of School

by Steph // Tuesday, August 2, 2016 // Comments off

Yesterday was our “official” first day of school!

I had lots of helping hands late Sunday night to help me finish getting ready.

I really do have a “life is always school too” attitude, but there is something to be said for the structure of our full-time school year days verses our summer-time school days.

We have had traditions in place for the first day of school since that first year I started homeschooling, sixteen years ago!

I make a special breakfast, we take first day of school photos, and I show the kiddos all of their plans and new books.

I made homemade waffles, berry compote, bacon and fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast – and then praised the Lord that Addie Mae was off work to help in the kitchen!

Addie took first day photos for me – and here is our line up.

Chad Ryan, 12 1/2 years old, 7th grade.

Lane Stevan, 8 years old, 3rd grade.

Tate Owen, five years old (tomorrow!), Pre K.

Eliza Claire, 4 years old, Pre K.

We jumped in with a trial schedule and a trial seating arrangement, but a whole lot of enthusiasm and excitement!

I think their Mama might have been as excited as they were!

I usually get out our pool at the beginning of the school year. I still did, even though we are starting so early and the temperatures are still summer like, well, since it is summer!

We bought a new pool for this year (much needed!), and Blake carried up the buckets of rice from the basement and filled it for me – after the four youngest kiddos were in bed Sunday night, of course!

Last week the littles and I finished up our “A” week!

We wrote the letter A in all kinds of stuff, including sand, which is a great way to give Eliza a sensory snack!

See her touching the sand? And her other hand “itching” her face? Whenever we stretch her sensory boundaries, she “itches” herself everywhere. It looks like she is “flicking” something off her skin. She itches about 25 times while I comb her hair every morning. It is a coping mechanism. Sweet, strong, brave girl!!

We had the letter “A” printables – which the littles love!

Of course we painted with cut open apples! I don’t have any photos of us doing this activity, because it was a stretch for Eliza to touch, and then there was Tate on the other side of me with open bowls of paint, if you know what I mean!

I pulled in the middle boys and we set up an apple science experiment as well! The results are very interesting so far. We will wait the full week to make our final evaluation!

And, yes, I put a post-it note on the kitchen counter in front of our experiment saying what it was when our realtor showed the farm!

Starting school this early was a mind game for me, but I am so glad now that I did! Without the bigs here, animals to take care of, and constant doctor appointments….we just need some structure to our days. It has been a blast so far!

I am still adjusting to having only four kiddos in school this year, and no high schoolers! The dynamics are so different, but very fun at the same time!

It’s “N” week this week for the littles, and the middles are settling into their new full-time routine nicely!

Looking forward to this year with my kiddos very much!

Tate’s Day!!

by Steph // Sunday, July 31, 2016 // Comments off

Wednesday was Tate’s Day!

The one year anniversary of Tate being placed into our arms!

Tate wanted his celebration to be exactly like Eliza’s!

Brownies, strawberries, ice cream, and a present.

Simple and the perfect way to celebrate!

He even told me we could not celebrate until after baths and pjs, because that is when we celebrated with Eliza.

SO sweet!

Tate opened his present! A puzzle and a matching activity!

Then he played with one of his new things.

We had our dessert!

And told Tate how very happy we are that he has been home one WHOLE year!

We stand amazed at what one year has done for this precious boy!! He is growing (yay!), healthy, gaining strength and coordination, speaks English very well, and is medically stable at this time! He smiles that dimply smile from the moment he wakes up and all day long! He is full of life and joy. We just cannot imagine life before Tate!!

I shared on Instagram about a rough morning we had with Tate this week. All the talk of this anniversary, of being in China, and his birthday coming up made Tate loose his feelings of security. He has been acting out all week long – BIG TIME.

What I did not say on Instagram is that when one of the littles has moments like the ones we are having this week, there is a lot of reflection going on for Blake and I. What was the trigger? What was said around them? What emotional need is needing to be met? How do we regain their feelings of security? And then we hunker down tight and focus on pouring out the extra grace and love to get things turned around right again.

So that is what our week has been about. Tate is SO smart. He is aware of every single thing going on around him. And he remembers most of his life in China before us. He can use these things to his advantage or his disadvantage. We are doing our very best to help him succeed!

Tate Owen, we love you!

We are so very grateful that you have been home one whole year!

Happy Tate’s Day!!

Fun Facts Friday!!

by Steph // Friday, July 29, 2016 // Comments off

Woo Hoo!! It is FRIDAY everyone!!

We have a busy weekend ahead, but I am looking forward to it very much!

I was browning some meat for lunch this week, and thought I should share this tool with you.

Sorry for the yucky photo of raw meat!

A friend talked me into buying this from a pampered chef party, and I remember thinking “I do not need another gadget!”

We use it ALL the time! So glad to have it!

It is called Mix ‘N Chop from Pampered Chef and is only $12.

Many years ago, just a couple of years past my celiac diagnosis when I just could not get well, we dug in our heals and made sure that all my cosmetic products were gluten-free too.

Back then it took many phone calls to manufacturers to see if their products were gluten-free.

SO important!

There are new, better, gluten-free brands out there now-a-days!

I really love the brand Dessert Essence.

I use their shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste!