Life snippets of our week...

I find that lately I'm taking more photos wherever we go. Not with the kids posing or smiling or even knowing I'm taking them most of the time...but more for me - savoring these sweet moments to treasure forever. I love looking back on old photos and adventures. I  feel so blessed with of all this time I've had to spend with my children and see them grow since we have been homeschooling. What a beautiful life even with its ups and downs. I truly have the most precious relationship with each of my kids. I truly know them and I account that for this time we have together daily. They also have a very special close relationship not only as siblings but as friends.  I wouldn't go back and change a thing and I'm so happy that they feel the same....blessed to be together learning at home.

Another Wednesday lake adventure for exploring and hiking. (last week)

This may be from now on how our 'normal' Wednesday looks each week - outdoors!

A few of our meal recipes this week:

Slow-cooker-split-pea-soup (vegan)

Vegan-fajitas

Spicy-simmered-eggs-with-kale

Vegetarian-ceviche (we make this non-vegetarian and add shrimp and serve over rice)

Chicken-piccata-with-pasta-mushrooms (sometimes we omit the chicken and just do zucchini instead for a vegetarian dish)

Sundays are always crock pot soup day during the fall and winter. Its easy to put it in before church and come home after to the house smelling great and food ready for us to eat. We also have a leftover night towards the end of the week to clean up the fridge before shopping again!

And our adventure today...

This has been a crazy busy week and an even busy day work wise being end of the month but I didn't want to miss out on nature and taking the kids out to explore on our new Wednesday tradition. 

Plus..being in nature is just as much for them as it is for me. 

It renews my soul and we all enjoy being out hiking and exploring so much together.

 Blessed.

Fun Happenings

The Weekend....

Planetarium show

Relaxed

Reading time, game time

The boys cooking; our son baked dessert while hubbie make dinner.

Drive to Town

Family Movie night

1st Snowfall of this year!

Planetarium Info 

Monday Adventure...

Hiking, Exploring, Photos, Fun

Beautiful weekend and a wonderful way to start our week being outdoors together.

Yesterday

We had the most glorious day yesterday. We spent nearly the entire day outdoors and it was SO good for the soul. There's no where I'd rather be than outside in nature. We explored, hiked, talked, laughed, enjoyed and just lived! 

Wednesdays are free lake days so we ventured to two in one day. We spent all morning at one lake and hiked the rocks just the three of us. Our son took photos of the scenery and of our daughter and I snapped a few of them together. Then we ventured home for lunch. Then our son and I went back out to meet friends at a different lake in the mountains. I enjoyed time with my friends while he with his - the kids explored, hiked, walked on the dock, played volleyball, chatted and just hung out and had fun. We again went back home so I could feed the kids dinner then hubbie and I went out to do our weekly grocery shopping and tried a new little Hawaiian-Japanese spot for a dinner date as well as checked out a new organic market store. 

It was truly a blessed day among nature, family and friends.

Dinner - Poke (Ahi) over rice & Pork Mushroom Bowl

Our first time at this place so we ordered two different dishes to share and try- both SO delicious! Definitely be going there again!

Blessed, rested, rejuvenated. Pure happy day.

Our Pups

Our Pups...we turned down the thermostat in our home and all the pups seem to be cuddling more, stealing the heater and trying to stay warm. Between little electric heaters to take some cool off and electric blankets at night we've been doing good and saving propane and the house has been kept comfortable.

Rusty, 9 years

 Ernie, 5 years

 Sadie, 11 years

Next month is Ernie boys birthday on Valentines and then come the Summer the other two have their birthdays. We've had Rusty since he was 1 yr old, Ernie since he was a baby just a few months old and Sadie since she was 5, can't believe we've had dogs in our lives that long...I don't believe I could ever not have one now. They are my other babies. We definitely have our challenges with 3 of them, but love them all.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, 2018

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

It's 2018!

The year of big things! At least I feel that way...our son in a few months turns 13 and we'll no longer have 'kids' in the house and our daughter a few months after that turns 18. A teenager and an adult. How did time fly by so quickly? In the blink of an eye.

As we close an old year and move onto a new one there's always a great deal of reflection, gratitude, thankfulness and hope.

What a life! What a wonderful, sometimes crazy, blessed life we have.

We thank God for this last year, for 2017...

We've been in our new town for a little over 1 year now and it just feels like 'home'.

Blessed to still be homeschooling.

We have made wonderful friends, truly great friends.

We were able to garden and grow here.

It snowed last winter, we love the peaceful feeling that overcomes just being inside watching snowfall outdoors!

Hubbie has a really great job in a family oriented atmosphere.

I'm blessed to be able to continue to work at home while being with the kids.

We have a supportive church community and look forward to each Sunday.

Our son broke his arm but luckily there was no surgery.

Our daughters health is slowly improving.

Our kids although siblings are great friends too and have had some wonderful moments together!

We thank God even for bringing our Papa home this past year, we miss him here on earth but know we will see him again and take comfort that he is with the Lord and with his family and wife. It is a blessing he has no more suffering here on earth.

We got a new home...so thankful for the space, the land and the future it holds.

 

Truly 2017 overflowed with blessings and those are what we focus on when we look back and look forward to 2018 ahead.

Happy New Year to all, may this upcoming year hold many blessings!