More Home-Schooling Perks...

Last Friday, Emma, Lauren and some dear friends (who will remain nameless because my girlfriend doesn't use their names on her own blog and so I'm assuming she doesn't want me to broadcast them on mine) and I ventured down south to the Ronald Reagan Library to experience Colonial Days. We decided to go later in the afternoon in order to avoid the public school crowd because we thought it would be open until 5. The museum part was, but Colonial Days ended at 3 and so we had to sort of race through it. The kids didn't really seem to notice though and we figured that they wouldn't have been able to do much more than we did if it had been crowded with kids anyway. We also quickly went through the museum. It is the kind of place that you could easily spend an entire day....but not with 5 kids. :-)

The girls are playing a colonial game called Graces and G is running around being cute!
Unfortunately, we don't have a picture of K and I playing. Talk about some talent! lol!

The girls signing their "Paroles" with quill pens....a document that stated that they agreed to behave orderly in town even though they were Patriots and choosing to not be loyal to the king. They also learned about colonial money, sewing, wood-working, surgery, and experienced clothes washing by hand.

Talking to an officer outside of his tent. The girls were fascinated by the tents that the soldiers slept in and the weapons and uniforms.

Photo op inside the museum (minus G who was being held by his mother against his will! :))

Pretty girls posing in front of Air Force One (except that Emma has her eyes closed!). Emma thinks it is great that she can tell people that the only plane she has ever been on is AFO. lol.

We had a fabulously fun and educational day!

Foals Galore!

Meet the newest additions to our zoo....

The little bay stud colt in the above two pictures was born about 3 weeks ago to our sweet mare, Molly. We haven't named the foal yet, but he is so friendly ans curious. He comes right to the fence and sticks his head through waiting to be pet. The girls are in love!!

The sorrel stud colt in these previous two pictures was just born last Thursday morning. The bummer is that Emma and I were home doing schoolwork at the dining room table, completely oblivious to what was going on outside and we completely missed the whole birth! Grrr! We had to cut the umbilical cord on this one and so we let Emma in to pet him. He is soooo soft and sweet and it was hysterical watching him try to stand the first few times. His momma, Anne, is a nasty little thing though. She decided to kick him every time he tried to nurse and at one point made his eye swell shut. I was ticked! We spent the rest of the day with her tied to the fence "persuading" her to feed her baby. The problem was that after we got her under control, he was too scared to try again. It was a mess. But by about 9pm, mother and baby were nursing just fine....but Anne still isn't real thrilled about the whole situation! She will be gone in 3-4 months when the foal is weaned!

Bible Study Anyone?

I'm just gonna throw something out here and see if anyone is interested. I have been looking at a couple of Beth Moore Bible studies recently and think I would like to do one during the summer. I am particularly interested in the Daniel or Esther one. I really don't know anything about Beth Moore (except that she is hugely popular - something that usually makes me more sceptical than interested.....) but a friend at church just completed the Daniel study and really recommended it. She suggested that it be done weekly so that you don't lose momentum and/or forget what you did the previous time. If I understand correctly, there is a DVD series that you watch when you meet after you discuss that week's workbook questions. I looked briefly on Amazon and found that the DVD set will probably be close to $200 and then the workbooks start at about $12. So, if we had 10 people the cost would be $30-35 per person. It would be a weekly commitment for a couple of months...but I think it might be worth it.
Anyway, think about it, pray about it and let me know what you think and if you might be interested! This invitation is extended to everyone who reads this blog (all 3 of you!)....even if I don't know you very well. What better way to get to know someone that study God's word together! :-)
Just an idea.

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You may have noticed that I have a "Pray for Stellan" button on my sidebar. I have been reading (or stalking....) this blog for several months. On Sunday night, baby Stellan was admitted to the hospital with some pretty sudden, extremely serious heart problems and I have been praying for him and his family for the past couple days. If you click on the button it will take you to the blog and you can find out all the details and pray if you are so inclined. I think that God calls us to bear each other's burdens and praying for one another is a really great way to do that.....even if you have never met the people! :-)

"I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1-2

We are definitely that family. You know, the one that loads the car well beyond capacity and sets of to LA at 6 am in order to avoid traffic and be the first ones in the park. :-) My husband sang the Beverly Hillbillies theme song as we drove out of my parent's driveway with the stroller and several suitcases on top of my mom's car, seven people and several more suitcases, a case of water and enough snacks (have you seen the food prices at that place!?) to feed an army for a week on the inside. My poor children had about 12 inches of personal space in the back seat and stuff crammed on every side of them....it was a bit ridiculous! And, yes we could have taken 2 cars, but what fun would that have been!? :-)

My girls and I in Fantasy Land.

Emma, Lauren and my mom coming off their third round of Thunder Mountain. The highlight of this trip (other than packing the car!) was that Lauren loved the roller coasters (well, except Space Mountain) and rode them with her little hands up in the air while laughing uncontrollably every time. Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain were definite favorites! Sometimes she really surprises us....for all her shyness and aversion to people, she can be quite the little dare devil!

Always a favorite part of our trips....hugging Pooh Bear!

Jason, Michelle, Emma and I in Snow White's dungeon! :-)

Cameron and Lauren on Dumbo....thanks to Auntie Christie we don't have to wait in line for this one. The park was extremely crowded this trip and that was a bit disappointing, but 3 days gave us a chance to go on everything we wanted to at least once. Gone are the days when we would sit on a ride (I'm thinking specifically of the Pooh ride when Emma was 3) and keep going and going until I would finally scream, "Please let me off now! I can't take it anymore!!" :-)

I think the best part of any vacation is the people you spend it with and we are truly blessed in this regard! Cousins, Jason and Michelle have been going with our family for the last several years and we couldn't imagine going without them! We had so much fun and can't wait for next time!

Spring is here....

There are a few, short weeks in Shafter when it is really beautiful.....and this is it! All of the almond trees are in bloom and it is truly breathtaking!

The girls and I took advantage of the beauty around us and had a picnic in the orchard behind our house. We ate our lunch, read some chapters in Anne of Green Gables, named our picnic spot (just like Anne and Diana would have) "Almond Blossom Way", and the girls collected blossoms from the ground and threw them in each other's hair. :) Did I mention that I loooooove the country?!?!