Our Humble Abode

Daddy's girls

2009-04-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

Tony and the girls had a wonderful time at the Cinderella Banquet. Our church did this to give Daddys and their daughters a special night together. It was special!

Haircut!

2009-02-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

Tressa got 7 inches cut off today!

Crayon Rolls

2009-02-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

These are the crayon rolls I made for some of the little girls in our family for Christmas presents. They were fun to make and I love the colors of the wool felt!

And They Said He Was Sick!

2009-01-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Catching up

2008-12-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures and words to catch you up on the highlights of our last month or so...

Tressa's AWANA class honors 4 girls throughout the year for their diligence in learning God's word. Their class is named "Daughters of the King". She gets to wear the crown until another girl is chosen.

Keegan turned 11 years old!

I turned 42!

Mommy gave Lathen his first haircut. The long piece in the back had to go.

Mathias' Pastor Paul

Put old girls in with the new girls. It's too cold in the chicken tractor! The old girls were not given a proper welcoming party. I hope they're accepted soon.

Lost one of the new girls. She had an open place on her back. I won't go into details. We nursed her in the house for two days, but unfortunately she died.

Preparing for Christmas by making some things. Of course, I can't show them. Doing a lot of my shopping online.

Microwave went out. Didn't realize how much I loved it!
Fairly new TV/DVD/RADIO in kitchen went out. We haven't been happy with it since we replaced the old one. Two new tires on the Jetta.

Keegan had a guitar concert. We were so proud of him. There were five boys in his beginning class. They did a great job! He has the option of taking intermediate in January. This is his instructor.

Christmas tree! We always get our tree at a tree farm and enjoy hot chocolate, apple cider and cookies. Egg nog, Christmas music, and Santa hats always make the season bright!

Sweet boy practicing his ABC's.

Tressa dressed Lathen in her clothes. For those of you who knew Macy as a baby, you will appreciate the amazing resemblance.

I think that is all I should do for now! We have more recitals coming up soon. Hopefully I won't wait so long to post!

Baby Gifts

2008-10-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of fun sewing these burp cloths. They are so easy to make and turn out so pretty! I think the frayed edges make them different from the average cloth. The more they wash, the more they fray. I found the idea on a blog I read quite regularly. The stores have so many beautiful flannel prints! This is a set I made for my cousin's little baby, Gabrielle. The other two sets I made were for boys. I have fabric ready to sew and cut out for whenever I need a quick baby gift.

Costume Fun

2008-10-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the party on Saturday night. Macy made her dress with a little help from me. We finished all of it except her zipper. We just safety pinned it until we can get to it this week. We still have a Fall Festival to go to on Saturday night. Tressa actually wore her dress to church yesterday. She loves it. Lathen's costume is almost finished. I didn't have time to make his feet. We'll see if that gets done this week. : ) The boys costumes were bought and some things were pulled together from previous years. I love when that happens!

Prairie Girl

2008-10-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's finished! Well, almost. The zipper is basted and just needs to be sewn. My new replacement foot (which really isn't the right one) won't let me use my zipper foot. The needle bumps into the metal. I'll figure out that problem in the next day or two. We have such a love for the old t.v. series Little House on the Prairie. We've been known to have watching marathons. While I have been sewing late at night on this dress for Tressa, I've been watching the DVD's for inspiration. It's been so much fun! This is the final product and the boots I found at the Thrift store for $2.00! Macy is sewing on her dress and I don't know if I'll get to mine (it's cut out and ready). Lathen is going to be our rooster! It's cut out and ready to be sewn!

SSSAAAAMMMM

2008-09-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

Mathias read his first book today by sounding out the words! We are so proud of him. He was very excited and had to read to Daddy after dinner tonight. Speaking of dinner..... we had spaghetti and meatballs. I wanted to post a picture of Lathen after his meal. I think Keegan might be putting the pics up on his blog (since he took the pictures). Much fun had by all! You can only imagine the mess!
I've been sewing alot lately and enjoying it very much. In the next few months I'll be showing some of my projects. Stay tuned!

Happy Fall!

2008-09-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Despite the high 80 degree temperature today, I am looking forward to my favorite season. Adding a few Fall decorations around the house makes it feel so cozy. Hopefully the weather will soon catch up to my decor! Happy Fall to all!

Sunrise

2008-09-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

This morning.......

Mathias to Daddy "Good morning Sunrise!"

Zebras and ostrich and elk, oh my!

2008-09-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa is always a highlight for the family. Here is the recipe for a good time:
-1 wild animal ranch (ostrich being our favorite!)
-1 amazing cave tour (Lathen threw his pacifier into the 5,000 year old bat guano. Not a pretty sight.)
-ice cream bars (because your grandparents are so nice and love ice cream, too.)
-panning for gems (a little work pays off!)
-homemade banana pudding ice cream (because Grandma can make anything and it tastes yummy!)
-tractor ride on the wagon with Grandpa (because it wouldn't be a complete visit without one.)
-1 hot tub dip (always fun, except when you bonk heads with your siblings.)
-1 playtime in the sandbox (Grandma and Grandpa have one built into their deck.)
Add a dash of working a puzzle with Grandma or visiting some of the houses and projects Grandpa is working on and it's a full weekend with great memories. I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend.

First Egg!

2008-08-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday was such a fun filled day. Not only did we celebrate Mathias' birthday with friends and family, one of my new chicks laid her first egg! The only sad part about this story is that I am not the one who found it. I guess that is okay and it doesn't take away from the excitement of the first egg. I took a picture of it and that reminded me of the time three years ago when I actually took my first egg to Texas to show my in-laws. I can't imagine what it will be like to have 17 chickens laying at the same time!

On another note, we have a thirteen year old! We are so blessed! School is going very well and we're having fun in the process!

Until next time........

Okra and Jenga!

2008-08-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

This day was full of okra and Jenga! This morning Tony had a hair appt. and Keegan had a birthday party to attend. While they were gone, I began preparing fresh okra to put in the freezer. I had looked at several different methods and thought I'd give it a try. I breaded a whole gallon ziploc full. It was a little time consuming, but I know the labor will pay off in the end! I also filled another gallon bag full of whole okra. The whole three hours (remember I have a one year old) of preparing this wonderful okra (yes, from our neighbors) Tressa and Mathias played at the kitchen table with Jenga blocks. Three hours straight and nothing but laughter and fun! They set them up in different patterns and then pushed the first one to then cause a chain reaction. I couldn't believe how long this went on. Later in the day I began preparing okra to eat tonight. Yum! It also made at least enough to fill a gallon ziploc and we even had leftovers. So I highly recommend the Jenga game blocks for hours of entertainment and some good ole fried okra. BTW.....Tony just shot a Copperhead snake in our backyard! Yikes!

Good Neighbors

2008-07-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Summer is zooming by and as you can tell, the kids have had fun swimming.
We had a wonderful surprise today. Our neighbors stopped by and blessed us with a large amount of beautiful strawberries! One of their relatives brought them from California. The kids were eating them like candy. I'll be making freezer jam in the morning. If there are any left! : )

OOPS!

2008-07-08T08:01:00.000-07:00

I had such grand ideas for our Monday morning. I went to the orchard to get Red Haven peaches and some more blackberries. I came home and started cutting a few slices for the kids. I wanted to try out a cobbler recipe I found in a magazine. Using one of my fairly new Kitchen-aid paring knives, I cut my left index finger. Long story short, four stitches and five hours later, it made for a long day.

Better now

2008-06-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

We are all so glad to be over the stomach bug. It's never fun when everyone has something at the same time. When I mention we haven't had a sickness in a long time, we end up having it a few days or weeks later! Why is that?
I have really been enjoying this summer. Just to be home more and not have quite so many things going on (At least away from home) or thinking about where we need to be next has been a nice change of pace. Now don't get me wrong, I still like to take my jots to town!
Today the kids wanted to earn extra spending money. We had quite a day of cleaning going on around here! While they worked like busy bees, I started looking into books for the Fall. I always love this part of homeschooling. I think I got a good start.
For a fun snack......Ritz cracker, peanut butter, then a large marshmallow on top. Broil until the marshmallow browns to your liking. I loved these. Even more after they had cooled. Mine didn't look like the picture. The marshmallow kind of melted instead of just browning. The kids weren't so crazy about them. Neither was Tony. See what you think!

Summertime

2008-06-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

Blackberries from an orchard nearby
Very big blackberries!
Sunflowers from the birdfeeder

Besides the heat, it has felt a lot like summer around our house. These are the days to remember.

Family Camp

2008-06-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend at Family camp. Special services, swimming, zip line, Oscar night and some paintball target shooting were some of the highlights. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Here are some pictures from the weekend. I was Beatrix Potter, Keegan was Indiana Jones, Macy and Tressa were Susan and Lucy from Narnia. Keegan loved the Blob and Mathias enjoyed splashing around. Notice Tony and Tressa hanging in mid-air! Again, Macy's blog has more pictures!

Spinach!

2008-06-03T22:01:00.001-07:00

Our neighbor, Mr. Pedersen, gave us a huge bucket full of fresh spinach from his garden. I didn't think I would be able to use it all. Little did I know we would enjoy spinach salad several times. We added sliced mushrooms, raisins, sunflower seeds, and croutons. Tony and I can't get enough of this salad! I also made a delicious Broken Florentine Lasagna Bake that I found on the Rachael Ray website. It uses 2 lbs. of spinach, which I definitely had! I highly recommend this dish. Here is a picture of our neighbor's beautiful garden. We enjoy seeing it every time we drive into our neighborhood.

Family

2008-06-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

Aunt Lisa and Lathen.
Mathias ready to fish!
Grandma swinging!
Grandpa, the strong one!
Cutie Pie!

Too much!

2008-05-31T21:33:00.001-07:00

I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to blog. Too much has happened and I can't fit all of it in without making a ridiculously long message. Not to mention all of the pictures! If I don't post something now, I'll never catch up! Macy has more pictures on her blog. Dance recital, violin recital, band concert, out of town family visitors, chicken pen..............too much for one post, but lots of fun!

Chicken Pen

2008-05-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

W e started working on the old chicken pen this week. My wonderful Father-in-law built the first one three years ago when I so wanted to have chickens. The wood is rotted on the bottom and the coop's wood is also rotting on the bottom. Once again Tony has done a great job! It's amazing what a new nail gun does for a man! We spent the first day clearing out brush, a few trees and many dead limbs. Mathias stayed home one day with Tony and worked all day digging. They put wire around the base about one foot down to keep critters out. Keegan has been working hard, too, digging away! Everyone has had fun doing something to help whether digging, holding a light (the night we stayed out until 10pm), holding a board, etc. Thank you Dad Ball for teaching my husband how to work hard and be such a great handyman! I pray my sons will be hard working men for their families no matter what God's calling is on their lives.

Strawberries

2008-05-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

Our first ripe strawberry was ready to pick today (top picture). I divided it among a few of us. It was delicious! At least the tiny piece I tasted. There is another one that should be ready tomorrow (bottom picture). I'm looking forward to getting more than one at a time!

Almost finished!

2008-05-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait until the finishing touches were done. There are just a few things left and the old girls will get to see their new home. In the meantime, the baby chicks are getting to test it out and are loving every minute! Drenion, our dog, loves them! I think he feels like they are his new found friends. He's almost protective of them! Tony has worked so hard on this tractor. He has spent hours and hours on this project. I love the colors. They blend in with nature.

Finished Book!

2008-04-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Keegan finished his AWANA book for the year!!! He's so proud of himself and so are we! He's worked hard this year memorizing all of his scriptures. He will be awarded at the commencement in May. Way to go!

Happy Birthday

2008-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

We had such a good time celebrating Lathen's first birthday and Tony's 40th! We ate Mexican food, cupcakes, Pineapple upside down cake (made in my Grandmother's cast iron skillet) and icecream. We ended up outside to let Lathen have a ride in his new wagon. He loved it and outlasted all the other little ones. Others played football and some just enjoyed the beautiful weather. We ended the night going to POPS. Everyone enjoyed picking out their flavors. It was a great day with family. Macy has some pictures on her blog, too.

Ouch!

2008-04-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Lathen found a cute little red wasp on the floor and tried to eat it. Poor baby! This happened on Friday. Thankfully the swelling went down after a few hours. I'll post about our great weekend tomorrow.

Chicken Tractor

2008-04-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tony has been working on our chicken tractor. The chicks will be needing the big coop soon and this tractor will be a nice retirement home for the 3 year old girls. A pretty nice one, if I do say so myself. The first picture shows the drawing Tony made using SketchUp. It's nice to see what it will look like before it is built. It doesn't include the handles that will be used to roll the tractor around the property. The second picture is what he has done so far.

Proud Son

2008-04-09T09:18:00.001-07:00

Mathias is so excited! He finally lost his second tooth and can now go back to eating his apple.

BRACES!

2008-04-08T12:24:00.001-07:00

Macy got her braces put on today! Here are the before and after pics. Isn't she cute?

Tater Tot Casserole

2008-04-05T19:22:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this isn't the healthiest dish I have ever made, but it sure is tasty! Four out of six loved it!

Tater Tot Casserole
32 oz. package frozen Tater Tots
1 lb. browned ground beef
16 oz. container sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
1/4 to 1/2 onion sauteed (I left these out)
6 oz. can french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 casserole pan. Place frozen tater tots in bottom of pan. Sprinkle beef over tater tots. In a bowl, mix sour cream, cheese, soups, mushrooms, and sauteed onions. Pour over beef. Top with French fried onions. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

We had Cottage Cheese and Pineapple for the side. I got this from a great website that I use for our weekly menus. You can browse around at http://menus4moms.com

Let me know if you try it!

Giddy up!

2008-04-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Tressa is 8 years old! God has blessed us with such a sweet little girl. We had a long weekend of fun and festivities. Every year, for their birthdays, the kids get to pick a parent with which to dine. It was my year, and Tressa wanted Chuckie Cheeses. Usually it is a fast food place, but we had a great time and had fun playing the games together. Guess where everyone else wants to go for their birthdays this year? : )

Saturday morning my sister Kim's church had a Ladie's Tea. We got to taste test many teas and then had a delicious lunch and listened to a guest speaker. My niece, Sheena, was also there! Macy enjoyed lifting her pinky as she sipped her tea.

Then came the big day! A horse party! Sunday we brought 7 girls home with us from church and with a little help from my Mom, got everyone there safely.

The highlight for me was "pin the hat on the cowgirl!"

Here a Chick There a Chick

2008-03-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

On Monday, our day old baby chicks arrived around 6 AM at the Post Office. I always look forward to the phone call. It was 27 degrees outside. I brought them home and warmed them up with some gro gel, water, and a heat lamp. The gro gel is a jelly like substance that you put onto their food to give them nutrients. A little extra boost after coming all the way from Iowa! The kids love them and everyone has picked out their favorite. They have also named them. A lady from our church also ordered with us. We kept 15 out of the 28. We will be redesigning our coop and pen. The 3 three year old chickens will be moved to make room for the newbies in a few weeks. We are finally getting some eggs from the old girls since daylight savings time . I love Springtime and all that it brings! I was just talking to my Kindergarten Awana class last night about God's creation of animals and how fun it is to just sit and observe. Baby chicks are sooo busy! Like I should be right now instead of writing this!

Givin' it a try!

2008-03-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am doing what I thought I'd never do in all of my days! I've been regularly reading, on a daily basis, the posts of several people and finding myself thinking that some of the things we do or experience as a family would be fun to share with others. Not every day is newsworthy, but most days always have something, however small, that is worth savoring. I used to do so well at taking pictures of everything and now Macy does most of that for the family and does it very well. Speaking of Macy.....here is a picture I couldn't resist taking this past week. Isn't homeschooling great?