Snow and field trip....

I sure feel like we've been busy...but I'm not sure we really have! :)

Last week it "snowed" for the first time. And by "snowed", I mean it didn't actually melt before it hit the ground. :) Erin was thrilled anyway. That nutty kid has been waiting months for snow...just for something different to do! So, she ran outside and celebrated...by throwing snowballs at Alana & I at the window. :)

Unfortunately, the icy weather caused Erin's girl scout meeting to be canceled,

and she was NOT happy about that!

One of these days, I'm gonna figure out how to load and manipulate these

pictures properly....as for now, everything is backwards!

On Friday, we went on our November field trip...to Wabasha MN to visit the Eagle Center and to Alma to see the Tundra Swans in migration. We made the trip last year to see the swans (Alana had missed her class field trip because she was sick) so the kids weren't as thrilled about that. But we did enjoy the Eagle Center...it was very informative, but not boring.

We, of course, stopped in Nelson for ice cream and cheese on our way from Wabasha to Alma. And then after visiting the swans, Barry brought us up to Buena Vista Park in Alma. The views were spactacular, even on a yucky day like we had. We decided we'd be back again on a better day...maybe seeing the views during each season....

On the way home, Daddy took the "long scenic route" in order to look for dear. (Around these parts, driving around the bluffs and valleys looking for dear is a favorite pastime!) Amazingly, the best thing we saw was an eagle in a field with prey. As we came upon it, the eagle tried to take off with it's dinner, but it appeared to be too heavy. So, the eagle landed again and ate it's meal right there in the field. Very cool after having just had a lesson on eagles!

The rest of our weekend was non-eventful. Saturday was a "day off" for me...I scrapped a bit instead of cleaning, although my house did suffer. We also installed our new stove. We've been saving up for a new stove and dishwasher, but decided to just do it when Dave & Pam had a "fire sale" to get rid off all the leftover inventory following the store fire. Dave will come sometime this week to help intall the dishwasher.

And yesterday was Sunday School and church, the girls had choir practice at Friendship Church, I did a tad more scrapping, some work, and got ready for another week of school. Wow! Weekends sure go fast! Hope your's was great!

I Give Up!

Some days were just not meant to be successful homeschool days, and I think today qualifies. I had good intentions. I was actually "ready" for the week to begin. I organize by weeks and do it 4-5 weeks at a time. So, if I'm organized, I spend one weekend a month grouping/printing worksheets and putting together rough weekly lesson plans for those upcoming weeks. Well, this past weekend was my organizing weekend. Fun times. And then I decided it was probably time to do something with the 6+ inches of accumulated paper...2 months worth of worksheets, tests and narration pages that needed to be filed away. So, it was not a fun weekend for me...and still Monday was a failure.

So, anyway, the problem today was Alana's inability to focus. It was just really SLOW going today. Our schedule just got messed up and we ran out of time. Finally, at 2:00, I decided I should just give them a break and take Cassie for her daily walk...the fresh air would do us all good. After that, we had to go to the library. Alana, who for the past couple of weeks, remember, has been on a goat kick, now "needed" to check out books on insects. I showed her where they were and then left them for about 5 minutes to look for my own books. By the time I got back, she was quoting back reproductive facts on ladybugs and aphids. :) And as soon as we got home, they headed out to the garden to set traps for other bugs. So, it turns out, that even on a "homeschool failure day", my kids still manage to learn something...all by themselves even! So, that's why I'm blogging!!!

Barry has been in the woods basically since Friday morning (when he got a doe...meat and another earned buck tag). It's rut time, so the "bucks are runnin'" and my hubby is in his element! He took time out for church on Sunday, early service even, cuz the girls were singing in the junior choir. Then he was back out. He has today off, too, so only came in for a quick lunch.

The girls have been at Friendship Church for the last two Sundays practicing for the Extreme Christmas perfermance. Last year was the first one, and the girls sang in the childrens' choir. I think they sang two or three songs? This year they are doing 5 songs and are even wearing costumes for a couple of them! And, they're doing 2 performances this year instead of just one. Wow! Can't wait!

I didn't get to scrapping this weekend...it's been a VERY long time. I need to make some time for myself soon. But I do get reading time. I make time for Bible and devotions every morning, my Christian historical fiction at night, and then hopefully bits and pieces of other stuff in the afternoon. I sure love books. In fact, I'm very greatful to have our library or we'd be deeply in debt! I currently have 93 books checked out! Amazing! I usually average between 40 and 60. Some are for school, some are for me, and lots are for the girls. They don't necessarily read them all, but I like having them around as options...to keep them tempted!

Ok, back to my real life. There are some Brownie patches need to be put on Erin's new Brownie vest. And dinner probably won't make itself! Sorry for the babble!

Happy Post-Election Day!

No, I'm not happy. Today's weather pretty much sums it up...rainy and blustery. :)

Alana was crestfallen when I told her this morning that the country had elected Obama. I quickly assured her that we would not be out on the street or living with Grandma and Grampa (although, secretly, I have my fears about what the all-Democratic government will do to our economy) and told her that there is one good thing about this election. We have elected the first black president. I know my girls won't be able to comprehend why that is such a big deal, but hopefully in the coming months I can make it more clear to them. Her reply was that she didn't vote against Obama because he was black. :) And that it would be nice to have a first woman president. I agreed. I told her that as much as I'd like to see a minority or a woman in the White House, I won't vote for them based solely on that, but many do.

I'm disappointed. And scared. I'm worried about what these liberal politicians will do with our economy. I'm worried about how the judges they appoint will rule our country. (Liberals are not big on homeschooling. They feel that government is better able to teach our children...and has every right....and will teach them what they deem fit. As a homeschooler, that makes me want to throw up. Literally.) But, despite my fears, I will respect our new president, because as a country, that's what we should do....a lesson so many "Bush-haters" should have learned many years ago. Question him? Challenge him? I will, but with respect.

All in all. I believe God was in control of this election. Does that mean I feel Obama is the "chosen one"? By all means, NO! But I believe God will work to make good out of all things bad. I must trust in HIM, not whatever president is in the Oval Office. End of speech....

I've been sick since Friday and I'm pretty much sick of it. The last 3 days I've been suffering thru a nice head cold...which today is heading straight for my lungs....hello bronchitus! The last 2 days, I've laid down to rest at lunch time, only to wake up with a migraine. Needless to say, I haven't been much of a mother, wife or teacher this week. Ugh. Talk about being behind!!!! I look on this as God's method of humbling one who "thinks she can do it all". So, your prayers of healing are welcome. :)

Happy Halloween!

Can you believe it's November already? Yikes!

Well, yesterday I was sick. I had a sore throat and headache all day. After I had lunch, I thought I might "lose it", so I decided to try to take a little nap to try to gear up for trick or treating. Well, it was a pathetic nap, but I surrived getting the girls ready to go. Thankfully, being Friday, Barry was off work and able to join us. And, luckily, after about 15 minutes of fresh air, I felt immensely better!

Alana was a girl pirate. I put makeup on her.....is that terrifying or what? She looked so old. Note to self: makeup only on Halloween til she's 25. :)

Unfortunately, I woke up this morning with a headful of......snot. Yuck. Luckily, the girls visited with their cousins at the Bloom's for a couple of hours today, and Barry and I were able to pick up a bit. Other than that, not much productivity coming out of me today. I came downstairs to scrap a bit, but here I am blogging....

A Fall Favorite...

for the girls is visiting Schultz's Barn in Eleva. It really is a cool place for such small town. They have an old converted barn that now houses a nice gift shop. Outside they feature pumpkins, a corn maze and a little petting zoo. We went on Thursday afternoon, and, being the day before Halloween, we didn't need pumpkins, so we just visited the animals. This year the goats were the favorite.

Alana said, "Mom, can we please run home, sell our house, buy a house in the country, and then come back here and buy a goat?" Ummmmm......no. (Like we haven't been trying to find a suitable/affordable house in the country for months???) Oh, if life were just so simple! But then she immediately wanted to go to the library when we got home to get a book about goats. Now, she's not talking about a childrens book...she wants the books geared toward adults who have hobby farms. And she's reading it...so I won't complain. :)

Doesn't this truck just look cool? I'm gonna have to play with this photo....

And I just loved this dude's waddle!!! (Of course I'm biased....it looks a little like my own!)