Summer's Delights....

Mmmm... s'mores

E and the boys during he last cool night we had in June!

It's been a great beginning to summer, although incredibly hot lately.  I think... no, I KNOW, if we could afford it, Eric and I would travel to and live up north, whether it would be Canada, or New England, or even out west somewhere, for 6 months and stay here in the winter... homeschooling the boys and seeing new sights together... ahhh, sounds delightful!

Morning coffee with one of my ladies...

Rabbit's newest girlies... Rhode Island Reds

But, we can't, so here we are.  The garden is in and germinating, window fans are in, school's back in session (albeit a slower, more relaxed schedule), the annual father/son weekend with our church is happening as we speak (I am sequestered over here alone.  Darn! Some quiet time to myself!!), and the pond has been open for several weeks for friends and family.

Newest additions... 3 Big Blacks (although, not living up to their name quite yet!)

I just finished my Director training/practicum for Challenge (CC) in Waynesboro for a few days, where the boys and I were blessed to be able to stay at my mom's place in Nellys Ford with her and Big Pop.  I had a very tiring, but inspiring 3 days meeting with others and learning more about taking the time to wonder at God's creation.  I know I don't always take the time to appreciate creation and all its complexities, and I live on a farm! I get distracted, running from one errand to another, while homeschooling and taking care of the house and family.  All of the great thinkers... scientists, philosophers, artists, mathematicians, etc., discovered and contributed because they took the TIME to wonder.  As we begin our summer lesson plans, I am going to make more of an effort to really get out there and take time, with the boys, to wonder and DELIGHT in God's glorious creation... its simplicities, complexities, symmetries, asymmetries, beauty, harmony and challenges.  And I challenge you to do the same.... when was the last time you rested in and wondered about the graciousness, love and delight God has for us as he allows us to be a witness to and enjoy his creation?

hungry little piggies...

E checking them out...

"From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made.  They can clearly see His invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature." Romans 1:20.

The boys and me at Monticello...

At Aggie's (my mom's) place in Nellys Ford

Farewell, Sam

(1998-2015)

(aka Sammy, Sammy-poops, Poops, Mister Poopie, Poopus-Magoo).  

We miss you and love you!!  You are the BEST cat ever!

I actually started a post January 2014 and didn't finish it, but here it is:

It has been since May since I last posted... absolutely crazy!  I don't know why.  It could be because Eric and I have never, ever worked so hard and stayed so busy in the last, almost 3 years than in all our years in Richmond.... or it could just be laziness.  Whatever the case, it's been awhile.  So for those who still care, and don't know what's been going on with us, here's a very brief recap of the last 8 1/2 months!

All summer we hang around and just took care of the farm, I guess.  It's been so long,  I don't even remember!  I know we visited Blennerhasset Island, a cool place on the river between Ohio and West Virginia.  You ferry over and visit the house and island, and come on back.  The best part for the kids was staying at the hotel and swimming in the pool!  It was a rather hot summer.... which has led into a pretty hard winter.

The hogs were butchered last spring, the chickens flourished and our two steer grew.

Little E had his 11th birthday, which if you know about his rough start in life, is still miraculous to us.  And, as you can tell, he acquired glasses.  His NICU doctors always said he'd need them by kindergarten, but he waited til he was going into 5th grade!

The boys went to camp in July at Alpine Bible Camp, and HATED it.  They've never been so happy to come home after a week away... they say they NEVER want to go to camp again!  Oh well, chalk it up to experience.  This is their "we're so happy to be going home" face:

That's a little from last year's unpublished/finished post!  So I thought I'd give this blog another shot... I obviously haven't written in a LONG time.  And obviously too much has happened since then to put it all down here... but one of the biggest things to happen to us is the passing of our beloved cat, Sam.  As far as cats go, he was the bomb (yes, I went there... the bomb).  He is sorely missed. Aside from that, we have been plugging away with life up here.  God, with His usual mercy and goodness, has consistently blessed us and our farm.  We've had chickens, pigs and cows, a garden that improves with each passing year, an amazing church family and school family, several wonderful families that we are particularly close to, and each other.  Our health is great, praise God.

Here are some pics from the past year...

At the Sod House Museum in Nebraska

Badlands, SD

Seneca Rocks  in Canaan Valley

Thanksgiving in Bolar with my lovely family...

Big Snow Storm... 23 inches, right after the boys got bikes for Christmas!!

little E (12) and me after Christmas

Rabbit (10) and me the same day...

Truck stuck on driveway after storm... Eric trying to pull it out with tractor

The silver lining being stuck inside?  Getting the bedrooms done...

and finally getting a dining area... (schooling with Dad)

The 1st bedroom mostly complete! (notice Sammy..)

Polar Bear Club 2015 ( late March- 2 weeks after snows melted!)

Rabbit won 1st prize in (elementary school) painting category in Creative Arts for Youth at Carnegie Hall!

Our newest girls (all Rabbit's this time!)... so ridiculously cute!

For those who don't know, we homeschool our kids, as we have for the past 4 years, and they are classically educated (https://www.classicalconversations.com/classical/classical-education). We are part of a Classical Conversations (CC) community (https://www.classicalconversations.com) who meet weekly to learn with other kids. We just wrapped up our CC year, but will continue to school throughout the summer. This is obviously important for both boys, but especially for little E, who will be entering the Challenge portion of CC this fall.  And I will move from being a Foundations tutor to a Challenge A tutor.  Both of us will be pushed next year academically and in our diligence and work ethic.  Let's hope it's a year of maturity for us both!

Rabbit shot his first turkey just yesterday(1st time hunting turkey - he shot a button buck last year).  He was pretty proud. Too bad we can't hold onto it for Thanksgiving!

Rabbit (middle with little E on right and cousin J on left)

 

The cousins!

And that about wraps it up in a nutshell.  We are getting ready to visit Richmond next month to see family, which we are excited about.  And unlike last summer, which involved a 3 1/2 week trip out west, camping every night (except for a week stay in Jackson, WY.), and visiting National Parks, etc., this summer we will be much closer to home.  As usual, we miss family and friends, but are also blessed to have new ones here.