Modern Marvels: My iPhone

Well, whattaya know!  It appears as if I can now add more pictures.  Yay!  (This was just a random pic from my desktop that I grabbed to check to see if blogger forgot about me.)

Also, I had the sweetest evening last night.  Just thought I'd tell you about it...

After supper, which included my friend Lori's homemade tortillas, I sat down in my comfy chair with a heating pad on my neck to relax (I've got something majorly wrong in there but I'm too scared to go to the doc to find out what it is-- pray for me).  Anyways, Ben climbed up on me to snuggle, and since I was listening to Pandora radio on my iPhone, I gave him an earbud.  He must have laid there for an hour texting Captain, who was on the couch, in the same room on his iPhone, and Graci, who was upstairs in her room.  He was practicing spelling words and making funny faces with all the quirky little pictures that my phone has on it.  Later, Graci said that Ben's text made her day.  How cute is that?  It just said, "Ben. Grace, I love you."  Aww.

And speaking of Pandora radio.... have you guys ever given that a try??  It's super cool!  I just chose "Kim Hill," since she was my all time favorite Christian artist from the old days, and I got to listen to her AND lots of other music that I totally forgot about from that same era (college/young mommy days).  Artists that I totally forgot about, like Susan Ashton, that are so good!  It was so nice just sitting there listening to worship, getting snuggled and enjoying my family-- all staring at their little backlit screens.
 
You know what they say...

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

What Day Is It, Again?

Yeah, so it took me until 6:00 last night to figure out that it wasn't actually Tuesday.

Well, duh.

I've been spending waaaay too much time out in the garage pounding pennies!
Or maybe it's the paint fumes...  : /

Oh, and today I've only got FOUR children.

Totally weird.

Jacob's at college and Grace and Noah are at work.

Somebody was up barfing last night.  Don't know who, yet.

And there's two random deer legs out in my front yard.

I think Annabelle brought them to me as a gift, because she never chews them, she just finds them and lays them in the yard outside the window where I sit at the computer...

So that I can see them.

Isn't she sweet?

Gosh, it's sure hard to do "school" right before Christmas!

Benjamin read his first real words yesterday, and it was totally effortless on my part.  I'm tellin' ya, 

have a whole bunch of kids because the last few are the easiest!

Now, there's a tip, and it's not even Tuesday... or Wednesday.

I think.   : )

A Proclamation

I thought I'd share what I came up with for my facebook cover photo last night. 

 I had no idea what an impact it would have!

Chicken Fest: Homesteading At Its Best

Here's sweet Graci.  "Say Hello to my little friend."

Tip Tuesday: Dealing With Germ Season

It's that time of year again...everyone's sniffling and sneezing, we're passing around the hand sanitizer in the van with more enthusiasm than usual, and I actually remember to pass out vitamins on most days. Honestly, though, we are rarely ever sick. Our pediatrician didn't even know who we were when we all went in for check ups!  I guess that's unusual for a family of NINE.  I know lots of people want to chalk that up to our kids not being at public school, and that DEFINITELY helps, but here's something else that has made a real difference...

Weekend In Pics

Fancy nails... girl's sleepover

Back Home on the Range

Just got back home from an epic trip to South Carolina...  I drove the "church van" full to the brim with kids and food and clothes and jewelry and props on a seven-hour trip through the mountains to a big festival at our old stomping ground.  Three years ago we actually lived there and I decided to get a booth at Harvest Fest, just to see if I could sell any of my creations.  Well, that year was an amazing surprise and I sold a TON!  This year was a lot different...

Family Vacation Snaps

Monday Montage

 So, yeah, I went to the 127 yard sale. 

 It was one honkin' big yard sale.

I saw this table, which was perrrfect for my family of nine.  

I drove a mile through a farm field, dodging pedestrians and big trucks to find a parking place.

Then I walked back said mile dodging pedestrians and random antiques.

Getting more and more excited all the while.

only to find...

What Hillbillies Do For Fun

Hams.

First you drive the truck down the trail way back into the woods.
That's our friends' truck, by the way. They brought us a bunch of fence posts for our farm.  

They are wonderful friends.

A Motherhood Conundrum

Do you ever get that nagging feeling that you were made for more than this?

Like, Yes, I know that all this Mommy stuff is super important and all, but isn't there something else I should be doing?

And I know that growing food, cooking food and cleaning up after the food is important and all but it feels so temporary.

And raising all these children is so meaningful and eternal and close to God's heart, but...

A Recipe That Works

Lately I've been on a quest for good, reliable canning recipes.  Thanks to all that rain, I've got lots of veggies to deal with.  It's a good problem to have, but a problem, none the less.  You'd think you could just look up what to do with banana peppers and there would be some sort of consensus on how to safely and easily can them.  But there's not.  There's 45 recipes for the same thing.  And they're all different.  Different ingredients.  Different processing times.  Different etc.   Now, if it was just cooked peppers that I was wanting, I would just pick any old recipe and wing it.  Then eat it.  And not really give it much thought.  But canning is a different story.  Improperly canned foods can kill people.

College Update: Packing and Procrastination

I just realized that I haven't updated you guys in a while on the whole traumatic first-kid-moving-away-to-college adventure.  I guess I haven't been feeling quite so traumatized lately.  That's a good thing, right?  I'm sure it will hit me out of the blue one of these days and I'll be all freaked out again.  But for now, I'm OK.

So, are you curious how it's going for a homeschooler getting ready to move off to college?

Painting Silly Faces

 This is such a totally random and strange post.

  I guess it's alot like my life, really!

Seventeen and Still Sweet as Ever

Who says teenagers have to be difficult?

Well, whoever it was sure didn't know Graci!

The Fourth Fun

Here's a picture recap of a really fun, festive, free family day.  

Yay for the Fourth of July!

Tip Tuesday: Traveling With the Fam

 Here's ten tips that my kids wanted to share with you about road trips with the family.  They just rattled these off for me as I typed. 

I have no idea what is going on here...

1.  Always bring a barf can.  Coffee cans are our favorite for this (and we've tried lots of different things, sadly).  Even if you never actually need it, it gives a sense of comfort just knowing that if you do, it's there.  Keep a big zip-lock bag in the can, so you can zip it up and dispose of it at the next convenient stop.  Trust me on this one.

2.  Good stories on CD are a lifesaver!  The library has tons or buy them on itunes.  Some of my kid's favorites are:  Around the World in 80 Days, Little Britches, Johnny Tremain, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and of course... The Narnia Series!  We wear those things out and still looooove them!

3.  Keep a case of waters or each kid bring their own water bottles in the van.  No other sweet drinks, because everybody chugs them and then has to stop in 20 minutes.

4.  Snacks.  Keep it simple, but keep them in the car at all times... not just on a long trip.  We like peanut butter crackers, granola bars, pretzels, nuts or dry cereal.  Apples are great, too, if your kids are older... That way we don't need to stop nearly as often and we avoid fast food like the plague.

5.  Baby wipes.  Even if you don't have a baby.

6.  Hand sanitizer in a handy pump.  Pass it around after every stop.

7.  Keep a roll of paper towels in the car.  You'll know why when you need them.

8.  Make up a family sound off...no child left behind!

9.  Liquid Benadryll.  But you didn't hear that from me.

10.   Lower your expectations.  Kids make everything take longer.  But once you get there, you'll be glad you brought them along.  Have Fun!


So, what other advice would you like to add???  C'mon, somebody out there needs to hear it!  ; )

Van Moments: Hillbilly Shopping

 On the way home from the park on Thursday, we decided to stop by Lowe's for some straw.  If only I had a truck... but then I couldn't bring all these wonderful people along....

A Home School Graduation

It.  is.  Finished.

The lists and lists... and lists of lists.


The planning and stress and worry.


The 14 years of home schooling.



The graduation, reception and party...

Fun Family Fiesta... How to Make Mustaches

I never could figure out what the big deal is with all the mustaches, until....