Weekend Ending

The weekend ended with a quiet Sunday of bible verses, out loud reading of Desperaux over lunch, a few games of UNO, more outside tennis play, tree climbing, weed pulling, laundry, snuggles, laughs and an evening of dinner outdoors on the patio then an evening fire as the sun went down.

Perfect and Peaceful.

Loving that the breeze has turned cooler and our family has been outdoors enjoying every second of it. 

Welcome Fall.

School Supplies, Veggie Dinner, Evening Tennis

The day started off quiet...no tv, no video games...our daughter read, our son typed on his typewriter then came to show me different bird species in the bird explorer book he got from the library. I caught up on the dishes then baked. Biscuits and honey for a treat for breakfast along with apple slices, yumm. Moving along in our day to animal chores then cleaning out school bins to make room for new binders and new school supplies, getting ready to 'officially' start on Monday. 'Officially' to us only means that its slightly more structured than the summer time. We block off our morning to dedicate to studies, take field trips, explore, learn, although our learning carries well beyond what our 'school hours' are. The afternoon brought quiet reading, a few tv shows, some youtube exploring then quiet couch napping off and on for an hour. A few card games then a simple dinner of veggies, mashed potatoes and bread. After dinner the breeze was so nice the kids couldn't resist playing outdoors, taking their racquets and attempting to practice tennis against the house wall. I sat watching, snapping some photo's, enjoying their laughter, enjoying the 'break' from my mind going a mile a minute on work and bills lately. Earlier in the day I ran across a blog post, of course unable to locate just where now...but a reminder how powerful love and praise are for your children, how simple phrases, simple words, one sentence goes so very far.  I believe I always try to communicate this to my children but I also know at some moments I'm only human and I rush through experiences, days and I need to slow down and make sure everyone feels appreciated and loved all of the time. So as I watched tonight I also gave love, encouragement, support, praise. "I love watching you play together" "I love that even when you are having a hard time getting the ball to hit the wall you keep trying"  "I love seeing you help teach your brother"  "I love how patient you are being with your sister" "I love both of you". 

Quiet night with a cup of tea as the kids bathe and get changed, animals are once again checked in on and bed time approaches.

 A beautiful quiet day at home.  We give thanks for all of the many blessings we have and for the time we have together.

Playing & Exploring

A slow week...amongst a few errands we stopped by the park, enjoying the fresh cooler breeze, playing kick ball, running and relaxing. I always try on errand days to take a break for myself and for the kids. It makes the thought of errands more enjoyable knowing that we'll stop for snack or lunch at a play place. Any place we go there is always exploring to be done, what new things will we see, what new treasures will be found- this trip the kids found mushrooms growing on a tree which brought our son to exclaim he is going to start a mushroom journal this year to collect pictures and make drawings of all the different species he finds out on our adventures. Perfect. A wonderful idea. Today while I was pulling weeds in the front yard, after animal chores had been done the kids went to work on a tree fort and leaf fort, adding a bird house up high for birdy friends and a blanket, pillow and tarp covering...just in case they were out playing when the 'rain' came. Love imaginations. A beautiful few days, beautiful weather and beauty in spending time with my children.

Outdoor play & adventures.

Treasuring her new Jersey Wooley Bunny Friend

At the end of the 4H year, our daughter decides what animals she keeps, what animals she lets go to friends, what projects she'll do the following year, evaluating how the last year went and where her interests are leading her. This last year she did 4 out of 5 smallstock projects. Waterfowl, Poultry, Rabbit and Cavy. This year she has decided to do all 4 again plus adding Pigeon and possibly a Market Turkey for the first time. With that she let 1 of her chickens go, our son let her mate to that chicken go both to a friend, and two of her cavies go to two separate friends as well and another friend is looking at starting the rabbit project with one of her larger rabbits as well. We try not to 'add' on to much but to make trades with friends so that everyone can get into new projects or get different breeds that they'd like to try. In return this year, she got a new friend- a Jersey Wooley Bunny and both children got a pigeon to start practicing with. Its a big jump with the rabbit because this one, being long hair will take more of her time, attention and take more responsibility to groom it daily. Its good for her- she said she could do it, so we are letting her and I have faith she will keep up on being responsible.

Bonding with her new friend..."MoMeji' or 'MoMo' for short....

Love my girl. Growing up so beautifully inside and out.

County Fair 2013

Well our last day of county fair was yesterday. Clean up started at 3pm, all the animals were packed up, the barn was raked, packed our vehicles and headed home. Bittersweet. Such a fun time, great experience seeing friends together, community, hard working kids, passionate kids. One word...AMAZING. Each year when we finish fair I look back and am not only so very proud of my own two children but feel so proud of every one of those kids involved in 4H. The ribbons, trophies and belt buckles and wins are nice....but the real FUN the real AMAZEMENT, the real experience is seeing these kids come together through their passion and be together, working so hard together. They work all year round for just these few days. I am a proud parent looking on to all of those kids out there.

Sharing a few pictures...