TAIL SPIN FARM

New Post, New Blog

2010-11-02T04:45:00.000-07:00

If you are a regular follower (I know there are a few:)) Go here: http://www.tailspinfarm.blogspot.com/ and become a follower or change your link address on your blog. I will be blogging there all the time now.

Go Here!!!

2010-10-13T17:03:00.001-07:00

Go to http://www.tailspinfarm.blogspot.com/ to see pictures and about my day at Maple Valley Off-grid Farm.

Maple Valley Farm

2010-10-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited!!! Today 2 friends and I are going to Maple Valley off-grid farm to meet Homemaker Ang and her family!!! We are taking 2 classes and having lunch on the farm. If you want to check out her amazing site go here http://eclecticculturefarm.blogspot.com/ I am taking my camera and plan on taking lots of pictures! More to come on this amazing experience~~

American Heritage Festival

2010-09-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we went to the festival and spent 2 days there, but did not sell a single thing! We had fun though and there were alot of neat things to do for the kids. Here is a picture of our booth.

I Love Science!!!

2010-09-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

That title seems weird coming from someone who did not enjoy school, especially science. I didn't hate it like math (which is a whole other post) but, in the last 8years of homeschooling (Yes, this Mom who really disliked school, LOVES homeschooling!!!) I have gone through ALOT of curriculum. I have switched over on all of it except science. We have done Apologia since the beginning and I have always been happy with it. I have learned so much along with the kids too. This year we jumped into the new Anatomy for the elementary kids. We just finished the first chapter and I think this one is the best yet! I went ahead this year and purchased the notebooking journals (we have always done the journaling, just with our own binders) and they are wonderful. The kids did the "jello cell" this morning and it turned out so neat and it reinforces what they learned by putting all the parts(candy)of the cell(jello)together. I would HIGHLY recommend any of the Apologia sciences to any homeschool parent out there, but be prepared to enjoy science like you may have never done before!

Jello Cell

B and J putting cell parts together

Back To Reality

2010-09-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

How is it that time sees to pass so quickly these days? I can't believe it has almost been a month since my last post! We had a wonderful vacation and very relaxing. I will get some pictures posted this weekend. We started school 2 weeks ago and have had a great start so far. Four of the kids have joined our local Homeschool music group and three of them had their auditions this morning. They did a great job and I was so proud of them. This will be a huge commitment for our family with practice time and concerts, but I have come to find out that all five of our kids are very gifted in music and that is something that I can't teach here at home, but I can find an outlet for it! I have decided to step out of my comfort zone and will be doing craft show type event in two week at a local Nature Center. They are having a "Heritage Festival" and the girls and I decided to take some of our fiber, yarn and items that I have made and see if there is any interest in the angora market. I have wanted to get the word out about my business for awhile but in all honesty have just been chicken to do it. I think this venue will be great though since it is a heritage festival and a lot of what I do is with my spinning wheel. They are also having re-enactments which the girls and I love anyway so we will have a great time there I am sure.

I can't believe it has been nine years since 9/11. I can remember that day vividly as if it were yesterday. Our youngest was only two months old when it happened and now he is so grown up (being that he is 9 and all, LOL) I remember it was a BEAUTIFUL day here, and I wanted to go pick up our kids at school, but they were all on lock-down so I couldn't anyway. I am sure that all the people that lost loved ones that day also have such strong memories as the rest of us.

End of Summer

2010-08-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

Cam and Kayla patiently waiting

Josh shooting last fall

Nolan and Cam playing at 4-H

Bekah at rabbit show

Kayla won a Rosette for her Style Revue dress

I keep trying to figure out where the time goes! We are getting ready to leave for our annual one week vacation to the Upper Peninsula. This week is much loved by all of us because there really are no plans set in stone, unless you count sitting by the fire at 7a.m. watching the sunrise, or sitting by the fire at 11p.m. and watching the stars.

I am always amazed every year at the stars. We live in the country but we are just a few miles from a small town and about 20 miles from Lansing. So we see stars, but not like we do up there. It is amazing. The whole sky is spotted and you can see clusters of stars and planets.

I am really proud of the garden/canning that we have done so far this year. I hope to come home to it still producing. I haven't totaled all my cans and frozen stuff yet, but it is a lot. All the kids have been helping this year, which made a huge difference for me. Even the girls are getting in on the canning bit!

These are some various pictures from the last few weeks, although I think the archery one is from last fall!

We had a great 4-H, Kayla and Nolan came home with Rosettes, and Nolan and Cameron also got one for their band performance, Bekah got a "best of breed male" for her rabbit. We got numerous "A" and also some "B" ribbons this year.

Bekah 4-hperformance

2010-08-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

This is our youngest daughter at the 4-H performance! She had a minor hicup and was very nerous, but she did great and got a blue ribbon!

Music

2010-08-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

These are our sons. Their band, Hundredfold Harvest, played as the "entertainment" last night at our 4-H fair. My son Cameron wrote this song and it is called "Redeemed". The video has alot of 4-H noise in the background and I got a little weepy in the middle, so it's a bit shaking. I will post on Friday how fair went for us this year!!

My Life as a Cruise Director

2010-07-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling lately with "low mommy moments". The easiest way to explain this for me, is I feel like a "cruise director" on a ship, but I never go anywhere amazing or get a big fat pay check!! I have been scheduling, running, helping, running, telling kids they need to run, telling hubby we need to do something, Oh, did I mention running? Part of the struggle comes from seeing my kids older and not needing me like they did when they were little. Now I hand them money and the keys to the car and pray they will make it wherever safely. The boat I am directing is in quickly changing waters and it is scary! I feel like I am constantly moving, but I am not getting anywhere. August always seems to be a difficult month. We have 4-H week, hubby and I and the older 3 kids work a week of camp as counselors (which I am stepping back from this year), and we go on vacation to the Upper Peninsula the last week in August, then school starts up again!! Wow! time sure does fly as you get older.

On a better note, the garden is in full swing and I have already canned 32 quarts of pickles this week! My tomatoes are a bit slow, but I look for them to hit the next week or so.

Hubby's radio show was picked up by a syndicated blog talk show out of Dallas. That was huge for him! He will be on KBENradio.com every Sunday afternoon at 3p.m.

Fun Sunday

2010-07-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I took the two youngest to North Star Alpaca farm to meet Maple and her herd of alpaca. We had such a wonderful time, and Maple was the SWEETEST lady! We left with hugs and promised that her and I would get together to just spin and talk fiber soon. The kids got to go out and feed her alpacas and B. got to lead one around in the pasture, with her knowledge of horses she was a natural at it. J. had to be "bribed" to go, but loved it when we got there. Her barn was cleaner that our house, we were so impressed. She gave me alot of help on getting my yarn business going. Of course I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures! but we will be going back there soon.

Garden

2010-07-26T14:26:00.001-07:00

This hot weather we have had most of the summer has caused our garden to explode!! Last year we had nothing in the garden due to a June rainstorm that dropped 5-6 inches in about two hours. So we have been out picking and I have already frozen beans, and canned pickles and it looks like just the beginning!

And the Winner is.....

2010-07-17T06:38:00.001-07:00

Our Crazy Farm!!! Yea! I will get your hat to you in the mail this next week! Thank you to everyone who signed up. Keep checking back, I will do another giveaway this fall again.

GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-07-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

I am doing a "Christmas in July Heatwave Giveaway" I think most of the nation is in the middle of a heatwave right now, although in Michigan we did have a cold front move through. We are in the mid-eighties instead of the nineties!!! I have been wanting to get some more traffic to my blog and yarn/angora shop for some time now. I have been doing some research and decided the best way to start is with a giveaway. Everyone loves to get free stuff, even if it is an Angora stocking cap that is seven times warmer than wool! So from now until next Friday, July 16, leave a comment for me on this post and we will pick the winner next Friday! You will get this 100% hand-spun, hand-dyed knitted stocking cap:

I Got an Article Published!!!

2010-07-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

With Hubby working for Christian Devotions Ministries I have be able to get a piece published on their kids site www.devokids.com Go to Devo Kids and click on the "nature" button. You will be able to see one of our English Angora rabbits and learn a little about the rabbits and see what we do with them. There will also be a project coming up on there also about how to dye yarn with Kool-aid that you can try with your kids.

Blogging here now

2010-07-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

I am in the procees of getting our farm "business" up and going a little bit more this summer. Over the years I have toyed with names of our farm and blog. Tail Spin Farm has become the one we are using on all of our stuff so I will be switching over and blogging here now: www.tailspinfarm.blogspot.com Please change this in your links.

VBS

2010-07-02T04:39:00.000-07:00

We just finished out our week of VBS and the theme this year was Superheros. I did not have to think too long on a costume, I just had to pull my cape out of the closet!

VBS Pictures

2010-06-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

Promise 2010

2010-06-28T06:13:00.001-07:00

Our oldest son just returned from a two week long music tour with Great Lakes Christian College. This is his second year involved in this program and we can not say enough good things about it. It is all high school kids from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and there was even a young lady from Pennsylvania this year! They spend the first week on campus practicing around nine hours a day. The second week they spend on the road touring churches, this year in Michigan and Indiana. They had an awesome message and the home concert was last Friday night. Here are some of the FIVE HUNDRED or so pictures he came home with! (thanks Maxx!!)

"Mellow Yellow" Yarn

2010-06-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

My yarn is finished! I called this one "Mellow Yellow".

Here it is on the bobbin:

Here it is on the Niddy Noddy:

Here it is in a skein:

Angora Yarn From Start to Finish

2010-06-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

We have been dying angora fiber this week. Here is a little peek of what we have done so far.

This is one of our English Angoras:

This is the fiber after we have groomed the rabbit:

This is the green dyed angora fiber:

This is the yellow dyed angora fiber:

These are the two colors together:

This is what they look like after they have been carded together:

This is on my wheel right now:

I am working on spinning it and will post pictures of the finished yarn hopefully later today!!

Hundred Fold Harvest

2010-05-29T14:53:00.000-07:00

This is our son's band. They are getting ready for some gigs and wanted to have some pictures to use.

Gardens In!!!

2010-05-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting our garden in today. We usually wait as long as we can, because we are in a low spot and if we get any substantial rain we will lose the entire garden (which happened last year) I am so excited. Our garden was wiped out the end of June last year and we didn't replant because it was so wet, so I wasn't able to do any canning at all. I can't wait for fall.

Like daughters, like Mother!

2010-05-29T14:40:00.000-07:00

I have had really long hair for about 7 years now. Well after both girls have cut theirs for Locks of Love, I decided to follow suit this week! What a change for me.

K's Flute Recital

2010-05-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

North Carolina Trip

2010-05-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well I have been home a week and am just now getting pictures downloaded! These are from the TOP of a mountain that Scott and I and Eddie and Cindy (co-founders of Christian Devotions) climbed. Now we are from Michigan...no mountains...not even really big hills for that matter. So, when they said to walk the trails up the mountains, we were thinking nice groomed trails. We were so wrong. I can offically say I have climbed a mountain in my skirt and t-shirt with my Birkenstocks on!!! LOL We had a great time though and the view from the top was breath taking.

Vacation

2010-05-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I are down in North Carolina at a writers conference for his blog talk radio show, and I am well...ON VACATION!!! WHOOOO FOR ME! This is the longest I have been away from our children, and as most moms know, homeschoolers or not, by mid-May our brains are mush, and if we bend over too far there is that chance of them seeping out our ears (at least for me). We are at Lifeway Ridgecrest Retreat Center, which is a beautiful place in the mountains. Honestly, I had never heard of it before this retreat. Think Christian camp on a massive level. The rooms we are staying in are like hotel rooms. There is a book store and a coffee shop on campus which I will be at as soon as I finish blogging. I had hoped to take some longgg quiet walks on the trails through the mountains, but when we checked in yesterday we were handed a bright yellow "Bear Sighting Warning" poster, so I am thinking that is not such a great idea to do by myself. I will hit the local town in search of the Black Mountain Yarn shop and see what I can find to bring home to spin with. Hubby tried to talk me into packing my spinning wheel and I just thought it would be too much of a bother, now I wish I would have. There are some pretty big name authors that are speaking this week. Jerry B. Jenkins (Left Behind series) spoke last night. Now I have to admit, I have never read the books and don't plan to, but he is a very powerful speaker. He had a great message last night. We also "hung out" with Steven James (thriller author) and Todd Starnes from Fox News. We heard Todd speak this morning, he was hilarious and has a new book out which I am going to buy. Hubby did an interview with Jerry Jenkins and that will be on his show tomorrow night.

Farm photos

2010-05-17T07:18:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day Flower from my 3 oldest kiddos

Heritage Breed Turkeys

Morning sunrise during chores

Comfort Zone

2010-04-21T02:42:00.000-07:00

Hubby called yesterday afteroon to ask what I was doing at 6p.m. Well, I knew his radio show aired at 6p.m. and he was not calling for a date. His two co-hosts both had things come up and he needed someone to banter with the first 10 minutes of the show. Well anyone who knows me knows that I am Hubby's "quiet side" and this would cause me to step wayyyyy outside of my comfort zone. But I also knew that he wouldn't have asked unless he really needed the help. So out of pure love and devotion for him:) I did it! Thankfully, Eddie the one co-host, made it in for the first 10 minutes or so and was able to take the pressure off me! I had a good time and actually relaxed...a little. What an amazing show he had! If you think all the good in the corporate world is gone, check out Interstate Battery www.interstatebatteries.com We talked with the Assitant Chaplin from this corporation and his Mom who is an author. What awsome and amazing things this company does for others. Check out its mission statement which is just unbelievable. I told Hubby I might even become a Nascar fan for the Interstate Battery car after hearing all the good things they do! He now hopes to get the owner of Interstate on the show.

What I am up to

2010-04-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well the busiest time of our year is just about to start. Hubby has a writers convention in Grand Rapids tomorrow and he will be gone for two days. Oldest Son is playing piano in a solo ensemble on Friday night, and Oldest and the Next Son are playing in the Michigan Christian Convention with our worship band from church on Saturday. May is even busier with two week long work trips for Hubby (but I get to go to one in North Carolina with him for the week!!! Yea for me:)) I hope to finish out school by the end of May, but I think this year we might have some "summer stragglers" that we will have to have to finish. I have been trying to do some extra spinning, because I have been so busy that I haven't had time, so I am trying to make up for lost time. Can't wait to get the garden going this year. No bites on our house at all and right now the market is dead, so I am making summer plans here at this house and somewhat planning for many more years here:))) Still hoping for goats, have some minor linguistics to figure out first, but would love some Angora and Nubians, maybe some Pygoras too. We'll see!

Making Soap

Pear blossoms

Cherry blossoms

Homemade Quiche filled with Homegrown eggs, milk, bacon and cheese!

Spun Angora Yarn

Happenings

2010-04-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

R. cut her LONG hair and donated it to Locks of Love

March seemed like such a long month for me and then all the sudden it is just gone! We had a wonderful Easter with family and neither Hubby or I took pictures yesterday which is so unlike us. We went camping Friday night to some family property about 30 minutes from here. We are having un-seasonalbly warm weather here so the tent was actually comfortable for the first part of April. Hubby and I also celebrated our 18th anniversary yesterday! The night before our wedding eighteen years ago, we got a 9 inch snow storm, so you never can tell what the weather will be!! April already seems to be packed full for us. Oldest son is leaving to spend time with a friend in Indiana tomorrow. He will be gone until Sunday. We are taking a "loose" spring break this week. We will be work through somethings and spending some time getting some "farm" stuff done. We are having a 4-H meeting here tomorrow with our angora rabbits. We having been cleaning out the rabbit barn and cleaning cages from the winter. It is so nice to have a clean barn after a long winter! Our barn isn't really a barn but I have stolen a good portion of our pole barn/garage. I hope someday to have a real barn, even if it is just a small one. We have had no luck with selling our house, which doesn't really surprise us. In the town we live in there are houses for sale on every block in town and what seems like every mile in the country. We are still hopeful, but we also know that his family is anxious to put Grandma's house on the market if we aren't going to be able to sell ours. Time will tell.

Homeschool Science at its best!!!

2010-03-12T05:42:00.001-08:00

One of my sons went out early this morning to do his chores. He came running back in to tell me he was out by his rabbit cage and something grabbed onto his foot. He thought it was one of our kittens and looked down and saw a GIANT crayfish attached to his foot. Well being a homeschool mom I am thinking science for the day!! So I get a bucket and out we go (me in my jammies:)) to see if we could find it. Sure enough we caught him. I have never seen one so big. So we had an awsome hands-on science lesson at 7 a.m. That is the best part of homeschooling, not missing a beat!!

Missions in the Home

2010-02-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

I was running an errand this afternoon and listening to the local Christian radio talk show. I didn't catch the entire topic, but it was talking about getting caught up in the everyday grind of our lives. A young mother of two had called in and was struggling with not being "in a mission field". She said something to the effect that missionaries have it easy because they are able to have something to show for what they are doing, that they were living it everyday. She didn't word it that way, but that is what she meant. I wanted to be able to shout through the radio to her (I try not to make phone calls on the road:)) MOTHERS, WE ARE ON A MISSION!!!!!! Everyday you are able to train up your children for the next generation. There is no greater mission than this. We are losing our children to the "world" at an alarming rate. And the key to this is it is not about what or how you are feeling, it is that self sacrificing love that only we are able to give to our children. Why have we lost this today? Is there just too much other stuff out there that we can not focus on this key element in our lives? I realize that I am needing to somehow step up to the plate more to somehow to mentor to these young mothers out there with this mentality. Now don't get me wrong, there are days, especially during the long, long, winter days when my kids are bouncing off the walls, that I too struggling with the choice to be home. This is the greatest job ever, because if you do it well, the rewards are everlasting. I don't know about you, but I would much rather spend time now training my children to be mature, responsible adults. Than to not, and struggle as I watch my grown children struggle through their lives and make all kinds of mistakes, because I was too selfish to spend my time training them up as children.

Goodbye Ardee

2010-02-23T07:56:00.001-08:00

January 10, 2008 - February 23, 2010

It isn't over yet!

2010-02-22T10:57:00.001-08:00

Well here we are with another storm that is moving through, and the third week in a row I have had to cancel a visit with my sister. Kristy lives up in Bay City and 2 weeks ago we were hit with 9 inches, last week my niece was sick and now today we are dealing with another storm. (Sorry Krissy!) The kids spent a couple hours outside playing in it. Homeschooling can be a bummer when mom doesn't give snow days:) But they did get some playing in.

We also have worked on notebooking for history this morning. Things have gotten a "blah" on the creative side of things so I tried to inspire them this morning with some ideas that they could do. So far this is what they have done this morning.

I have been BUSY this morning also. I have 3 loaves of bread in the oven right now in my new pans that I love. I also have my 5th block of cheddar cheese in the press right now. I am finding out when you have the right equipment and do it a few times, it almost becomes second nature. We get raw milk shares from friends of ours and we were able to trade extra gallons of milk every week for a block of cheese for them!! So we also then have extras for our cheese. We also had 6 chicks hatch a couple of weeks ago. They are much bigger now, but it is always fun to see them come out of their eggs!!

Packing up

2010-02-19T04:47:00.000-08:00

A couple months back I had posted that we had some news that might come to pass, but we weren't certain. Well we have taken the leap and are putting our house up for sale. Scott's grandma passed away back in August. She lived in a farm house that her and Grandpa bought back in the 60's. We have drooled over this house for about 10 years now. As our family was growing by leaps and bounds and Grandma's health declined we offered to move in and take care of her and purchase the house. With Grandpa being gone for almost 30 years, Grandma was independent and didn't like that situation, so we went ahead 8 years ago and purchase this house. We love this house and have put a lot of time, money, and energy into it, which has made this decision somewhat difficult. There are several things that make it easier and that is SPACE! We have 5 kids stuffed into a house built for 2 or 3. Homeschooling means we have A LOT of stuff most people don't. We are just crowded. Now don't get me wrong, we have always made do and will if this falls through, but Grandma's house is very, very appealing. Just the basement alone (it is the entire floor plan of the house, open, and newer, very usable space) is worth trying to sell our place. That will be the hard part. Michigan has been HARD hit in a lot of things, but real estate is the big one. 8 years ago when we bought this, houses were EXPENSIVE. We had very few to choose from and especially any that would fit 5 kids comfortably, which is how we ended up here. At this point we won't get back what we put into this. On the same side though we are able to get grandma's for much, much lower than we could of dreamed of 10 years ago. If we are able to make all this work and put some time and money into grandma's we will get a lot of this back (if the market ever returns:))) So we are on a mission the next two weeks, Clean, paint, de-clutter and pray HARD! One bonus we have is his Uncle and Aunt own the local real estate agency and they will be able to maybe give our house a "push". Time will tell. Hubby has been VERY busy with the radio hosting job. He was just made for this position and LOVES it. This week alone he has been able to "book" Dr. Voddie Baucham (Family Driven Faith, excellent book, it will really change your thoughts on the "youth ministry driven culture" we live in), Dr. Emerson Eggerichs from the Love and Respect Ministry (He was our old Pastor in the first church we started attending after becoming Christians) and Alex Kendrick from Facing the Giants (the coach) and Fireproof!!!! I have the link on the side bar to the Christian Devotions Speak UP! site and you can listen to Hubby interview some great authors, speakers and ministry leaders. I have enjoyed listening so much. All these people have some great stories to share.

Sad News

2010-02-19T04:31:00.000-08:00

In the midst of all the exciting things happening around here, life has found a way to throw us a blow. Last weekend our daughters had a sleep over. Saturday morning they were playing a game with hubby running through the house and between the two decks outside. I was out doing chores and let our male Lab Ardee out of his kennel so I could feed and water him (he was banned there because our female is in heat and we did NOT want another batch of puppies this spring) I put him on his leash and went into the garage to do something and the next thing I know one of the girls was screaming. I went running, Hubby went running and come to find out she had slipped and fallen near Ardee and he bit her...BAD. We were devestated. We got the girl calmed and dressed her wound, called her folks, called the police, called the vet. Everything we needed to do. After talking to the vet we made the very, VERY, difficult decsion that Ardee will have to go. We unfortunatly have to wait 10 days before he can be put down due to the laws here in Michigan. This is the hardest thing we have had with our animals. He is in his kennel outside my kitchen window and it is killing me. I spent two days crying and then reality kicked in and know there is no other choice. He has a record now (we have a record now) and if we were even able to find him a new home (no one will take them usually after something like this has happened) and he bit again, we would be in trouble. We have tons of kids (and adults) running through this house constantly and I would be stressed all the time having to watch him...it just can't be. It is so hard knowing this is the dog that lays on our beds when we are sick and won't leave until we get up. This is the dog my kids wrestle on the floor with, and the two younger ones have been known to "ride" him. We have many memories with him, thankfully until last weekend...all good. Thankfully the girls parents were WONDERFUL, and made us feel better over what happened. I look forward to next week when this is all behind us.

Exciting News

2010-01-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

I had posted about Hubby being invited to talk on a "Blog Talk" radio show a couple of weeks ago. Well to make a LONG story short, they asked him to HOST the Tuesday night radio show program!!!! We were sooo excited. This is totally a God thing. He has no background, no schooling, no experience in radio at all. He goal this year was just to get his book out there and published and now he has been turned in a different direction completely. He has done an interview, ran the switchboard, and been on a couple more of the shows in the last couple of weeks. Technology is amazing, he is able to do all of this through our bedroom in his sweats!! Check out the site it is www.christiandevotions.us . They have two shows, He said, she said on Friday nights, and the one Hubby will be hosting Christian Devotions Speak Up! on Tuesday nights. There is also devotions you can sign up for to be emailed to you every morning. I told him I had a feeling about 2010, but I had no idea we would start the year out with such a bang. I am keeping busy with fiber orders, baby rabbit sales, a hat order and a stocking order, so the New Year is looking bright for us!

Ice Skating

2010-01-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

We went to a homeschool open ice skating event today at a indoor rink about 30 miles from us. The kids and I skated for 2 1/2 hours almost straight! I LOVE to ice skate. When I was a kid I was lucky enough to have a Dad that built ice rinks in our backyard! I was going to be the next Dorthy Hamill...then real life kicked in LOL. I still can do most of the tricks. My kids were pretty impressed with their "really old mom" out there showing up the young ones:))) We had a blast !

Horse Back Riding

2010-01-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

Our younger daughter is...how should I put this...well..um HORSE CRAZY!!! She has loved horses since she was very small. We have the stuffed horses, horse curtains, horse bedding, horse magazines, everything except for, well, the horse! About 2 years ago we became aware of a riding stable about three miles from us that does thereputic riding. When I called to asked if B. could just get lessons we found out she was able to and has been taking almost weekly lessons from Mrs. Chris. She loves it, almost every Wednesday morning she comes down with her "cowgirl" gear on complete with her hat. Here are some pics. of her last lesson. I must admit, I love to ride, but watching her gallop makes me nervous. She isn't even phased!

Baby English Angoras

2010-01-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

Pictures

2010-01-03T16:57:00.001-08:00

Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese

Cheese Press from Hubby

Youngest and I Christmas morning

My Girls

Beginnings

2010-01-03T14:04:00.001-08:00

Everything is quite around here today. The youngest three and I just finished the second Anne of Green Gables movie and now are off playing. Hubby and "the eldest" are in Indiana to take home his friend who has been staying with us. The last five days or so has been filled with games and food. We have had a great time. I have my 2# block of cheese sitting on my counter waiting to be waxed. I am soo excited to try it, but will have to wait about 4 weeks. I am posting pictures of the last week or so. Enjoy!

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

We had a very peaceful and wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year. We have spent time at home today with Hubby and the kids playing games and I have been making Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese with the cheese press Hubby got me for Christmas! Our oldest two boys have a couple of friends over (one all the way from Indiana who is spending a few days with us) The younger ones and I watched Little Women today (the one with Wynonna Rider and Susan Sarandon) I love that movie! I am pretty sure now I was shipped to the wrong century:)!!! I know God has plans for me here though. Hubby has diligently pursuing publishing houses for his book the last few weeks, and this morning he was surprised with an invited to a web-cast (I think this is what you would call it) to a Christian Devotional site here: http://christiandevotions.us/hsss.html
He will be on at 7:00p.m. eastern time tonight to talk about the site (he has a couple of submissions sent in here) and hopefully be able to mention his book and our convictions on family. We are really excited, and this is right up his alley (with the talking thing LOL)!!!!!!!!! I have another batch of angora rabbits, this time it is English ones. I hope to post some pics yet this weekend! I have quite a few for sale right now. With the cheese making going on in the kitchen, Hubby is considering some goats for the fam! (my dream) Hope everyone has had a blessed New Year!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T16:37:00.000-08:00

Hundred Fold Harvest Debut Album!!!

I made my goal and finished the four crocheted stockings to give as gifts with a day to spare:) The past couple of weeks have been so nice here. I can not remember the last time we had a peaceful time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have accomplished ALOT in the past few weeks. I was able to make some of the presents, our two oldest sons and their band "Hundred Fold Harvest" recorded their first CD and they spent hours getting that ready, but all the kids in the band are awesome and they just had a great time spending time together doing this. We are so proud of them. The music is just beautiful. Hubby was able to wrap up an almost five year long project last week with the completion of his first book! I am so proud of him. It is a family devotional based on our memories of the past and present. It is a really fun book to do as a family as there are activities that go along with each devo. There is also a companion book for families to write their own memories down each day. It has now been sent to a couple of publishers and we are hoping for the best. He also has had an individual devotion (one day) accepted on an on-line devotional site. He is really hoping this starts a new path for him. The girls and I have been baking up a storm, with the girls doing alot of it this year. It is so amazing to have daughters that I can ask them to help with almost anything and they usually jump at the chance, and sometimes do a better job than I do!!! I see all the years of training the kids in everything starting to shine through on all of them. We are able to spend time with both families the next few days, my folks and sisters and families tomorrow, and Hubby's fam on Sun. Our oldest son's friend from Indiana will be spending a few days with us over the New Year. Life is Good!

Rabbits

2009-12-21T08:06:00.001-08:00

Winter Storm Watch

2009-12-08T04:57:00.000-08:00

The first "big one" is predicted for the next 2-3 days. The only problem is that we live right in the "middle of the mitten" and what we get is never as much as what they predict. The kiddos are hopeful though that the snow pants and boots will be needed for morning chores. We have only had about an inch of snow so far this entire season (with Gr. Rapids getting over 10 inches in the same storm!) Things are continuing to be busy around here. The count down to Christmas (and break) has begun. School is going well, Oldest got his PSAT scores in the mail this last weekend and he did VERY well. We are so proud of him, although he would have probably qualified for the national merit scholarship, he is only a sophmore and you have to be in your junior year to qualify. As a homeschool mom with no "college teacher" training, this just continues to help me know that what we have choosen for our kids is so RIGHT! All of them show so many different talents, with music being the common bond for all of them. So far we have a pianist, an AWSOME guitarist, a flutist, a violinist (who has am AMAZING voice for a 10 year old), and....yup...a wanna-be drummer, time to invest in the earplugs and more hair dye for Mom! I have been busy spinning and crocheting up a storm. I have an angora shawl finished for my sister, and 4 Christmas stockings almost finished for family. I am hopeful they will all be finished by Christmas Eve, although I had my doubts at one point!

More Pictures

2009-11-13T06:12:00.001-08:00

K and Ardee at dog obedience graduation (yes, he passed:))

K's art project

Dad's Birthday

Cam's Birthday

Pictures

2009-11-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

Lab puppies

Chicken run

Injured finger

Angora hat and scarf

Dyed angora yarn

Thankfulness

2009-11-13T05:39:00.000-08:00

Crochet Christmas stocking

Baby angoras
I have found that being thankful can be one of the hardest character traits to teach our kids (and myself). In this world of the "have everything you want" society, we take alot for granted. I am trying to get my kids to think of just one thing a day they can be thankful for. Even though we homeschool, which keeps alot of the "junk" out of our home, this task can be difficult. I try to remind them they ALWAYS have three meals with snacks in between, every day, warm beds, all the clothes they could possibly imagine (even if they are hand-me-downs or Goodwill specials)and we still struggle. This morning I made blueberry buckle (from frozen blueberries we "put-up" this summer). My youngest decided he didn't like it before he even tried it. In our house that can be cause for severe punishment LOL, or I could turn it into a teaching moment, which I did, although I am not always tactful in the way I do this. My kids are spoiled (my oldest prefers the term blessed:)) most mornings they get muffins, pancakes, fresh bread, eggs from our chickens, homemade cinnamon rolls(a favorite in our house) or what ever else I feel like whipping up. They do not know the concept of fending for themselves most mornings. Which can sometimes cause a bigger struggle in thankfulness because they do not realize this is NOT the norm. Which is when I proceed to go into another disscussion on the subject. I would challenge anyone to write down one thing a day they are thankful for (even if it is just getting out of bed this morning) and realize we are more "blessed" by just that one thing that what alot of people may have in a lifetime. The puppies and bunnies are growing by leaps and bounds. I am really excited with this last batch of angoras because I got three pitch black ones. This will be the first of this color in our "herd" and can not wait to spin some of it in a couple of months. We are very busy right now, but I am still trying to find time to start some homemade Christmas presents. I am machine knitting angora hat and scarves, hand crocheting Christmas stockings and several other projects. I would love to be able to sell the Christmas stockings and have a plan for next year to start them in January to have a bunch ready for the 2010 holiday season. The kids and I decided to surprise my hubby and re-do the chicken run fence ourselves. All went well until I smashed my finger with a hammer! We did get it finished but my "crochet finger" was severly injured in the process. It looks great and was well worth the effort.

New and Old Babies on the farm

2009-10-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

Mama Laura

Baby bunnies

Baby puppies

I got up during the middle of the night to check on my angora rabbit "Laura" to see if she had her babies and she did!!!! We have 6 new babies and I could have a black colored on in this batch which we have never had. Here are pictures of them and the puppies that turned a week old this week. There are 5 of them.

For Sale

2009-10-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

My 8 year old is on a mission. He is trying to save up his money to purchase something and his entrapernereal skills are coming out. (I think I will have him advertise, plan, and run my next garage sale) Scott suggested I list his item on my blog for him to sell.....um.... well here it goes:

one really nice "slightly used" water bottle backpack. Paid $40 will sacrifice for $20. Contact Josh in the comments.:)

My Morning

2009-10-13T05:06:00.001-07:00

Where to begin

2009-10-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

The biggest problem I have blogging is that I am not very good at keeping up with it! Much has gone on since the last post, almost too much to remember but I will try! I promised my little sis that I would post something! Our garden was pretty much a complete wash this year other than a few little tomatoes and two little...um tiny summer squash that I brought in this week. Usually we are over run with those things, not this year! Thanks to Grandma Joyce we had canned goods in the pantry though! She brought probably the last of it yesterday. I felt so spoiled this year by her! I am so thankful, and I know she likes to keep busy too! Our 7th year of homeschooling started this year. I can't believe our youngest is now the same age as what our oldest was when we started this journey! We always have a few "hicups" the first couple of weeks and then we get back on track. Vacation in the U.P. was awsome again. We have been going to the same cabins for about 7 years now and were surprised to find a for sale sign on the property when we got there this year. It was somewhat sad knowing that we might not be going there next year if the owners change. We are overly busy with everything right now and I am still trying to fine tune all the activities so we are not overwhelmed (and right now we are!) The boys have stuck with their band and are getting ready to record a Christmas album. Very talented group of kids. 5 of the 8 band members played at a church function a couple weeks back, our two sons included, and I kid you not there were women CRYING in the pews. The kids did some old hymns and the two sister put together a medley of old fashioned hymns, it was amazing!!! They have finally decided on a band name it is "Hundred-fold Harvest" Scott and older daughter traveled to Pennsylvania on a business trip (Scott has taken one kid with him the last couple of years for this trip) the company he goes to every fall is just a group of great people and always make him feel at home when he is there. Well one of the ladies who works there does Dove chocolate parties, (I have never heard of these, but if one comes to town I WILL be there:)) so she took K. for the afternoon while Scott did other things and they made the CUTEST little chocolates and put them in little baggies and made wrappers for the top of the package. They looked just like little store bought packages! TOO CUTE this is right up her "artsy" side. She had a blast. My friend and I went the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival two weekends ago. We had a great time, we stayed up there in a hotel, took a sock knitting class and got to touch alot of wool and yarn and fiber ohhhhh! We may have some other big news on the horizon, but right now it is up in the air, but I will post something when we know more. Our female lab is due any day with her second batch of puppies. We have learned a whole lot from this breeding business. Like if you leave on vacation, and you think they are in their own kennels and nothing will happen, because she won't chew through wire, and wood, and more wire...think again! So the kids are excited about that. I have my "mama" hen sitting on about 13 eggs in the barn right now and hoping that they will hatch before it snows. I also have one pregnant angora rabbit. So it feels like spring in the baby animal area. Well that is it for now, the house is quiet and empty and I am going to take advantage of it and go spin some wool.

B. with her shiny new braces.

Our garden harvest!

K. and her delicious chocolates!!

J. got baptised in the St. Mary's River!

Whitefish Point

Me and my boys

First bean picking

2009-08-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

I just brought in the first beans from our garden...now if I were a single woman, this might be close to a dinner size amount but, seeing how there are 7 of us, it just doesn't cut the mustard LOL. Our garden is the worse one we have ever had. We had 5" of rain in a couple hours about 2 weeks after we planted and it pretty much did us in. Thanks to Mom and Dad B., Grandma Joyce and some of their neighbors we have fresh veggies right now! And boy do they taste good!

Countryside Aces ~ ROSETTE WINNERS

2009-07-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

The performing arts section for 4-H was this morning. Both our boys played in a band and our older son had a piano solo. Well Nolan brought home a rosette and so did the band YEA!!!!!! We are so proud of them. There are 8 kids in the band and they only practiced a couple of months. The judge asked if they would perform at her church in a couple of weeks!!!

4-H fair

2009-07-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a great fair so far this week. Kay recieved 3 blue ribbons, and 2 honor awards. The honor ribbons were for her oil painting and her whole wheat bread and her other exhibt was a sun-dress. Bekah got a blue ribbon for her skirt, a blue for her lemon tarts (thank you Grandma Joyce) and today she showed rabbits for the first time. She recieved a B-red ribbon for breeding class, because her rabbit is molting and the poor thing is almost bald:) For showmanship she received an honor award, I was really proud of how well she did for the first year! Joshie did clover bud showmanship, which basically is the judge going through each step and letting the little kids see how to do it. He did great working with Bekah's rabbit and wants to go on next year. The two older boys are in a band and they will be performing on Thursday morning so hopefull more awards and more pictures to be posted!

V.B.S. gone BAD:)

2009-07-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

This past week was VBS at church. With 4-H fair being next week for us I wasn't able to work all week because I was doing running for the kids to practice and meetings, but Hubby and some of the kids helped. We always have a mission goal for the kids, and this time it was a local pregnancy center. Well the first goal was our associate pastor would shave his head, we beat that goal the third night, so the second goal was one of the other guys would and of course hubby couldn't be out done so you guessed it he is now bald! Its funny because a couple of our younger ones were really upset with him. Joshie told he he wouldn't look at him unless his hat was on! I don't think he has either! This only thing I have gotten out of the whole deal were a couple of really good wise cracks about rubbing his head 3 times and seeing if a genie appears:)!!!! Hubby is the one in the middle.

R.I.P. Matthias

2009-07-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

We had to put Matthias down yesterday. He just wasn't getting any better and I hated to see him the way he was. Why is it that animals become so much of our lives? I have realized one thing over the last 7 years of having "farm" animals is that death is just a part of the lifestyle. I spent most of the afternoon cleaning out the rabbit barn and crying! LOL Matthias was my oldest sons, but he was one of my favorites. We also have one of the original 2 rabbits, Elizabeth, that started the angora craze here, not doing well. She was a gift from hubby over 4 years ago, so I am hoping for the best and expecting the worst.

Happenings

2009-07-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors in the middle of a "pond" after the storm

Our sad garden (yes those are tomatos!)

Boys playing a board game

Happy Birthday Joshie!

My boys on the "torpedo" on the 4th

The summer is flying by! We have a tremendous amount of stuff going on this summer. This week was our "baby's" 8th birthday. Happy Birthday Joshie! Hubby is in Tennessee, hopefully this will be his last trip for a little bit. He has spent alot of time this spring and summer on the road and I am ready for it to be done! We spent the 4th with friends at the lake and had a great time. The boys and hubby went fishing last weekend so the girls and I painted their room. I will post pictures as soon as it is clean:) We went to visit my sister in Bay City also and worked on 4-H projects so we had a busy weekend. The kids had friends spend the night last night. We have a couple of very busy weeks coming up between VBS and 4-H fair which everyone is involved in. Before we know it school will be back! I have a sick angorga, I think he may have had a stroke. It doesn't look good and he is one of the original 3 that we got, so it is especially hard, I keep hoping but I dont think he will make it. Our garden is is a "sad state of affairs"! We have had record rainfall in April and June. Shortly after we planted we had 5" of rain in one night and almost our entire 2 acres was under water. So the only thing I can hope for now is a beautifully warm fall!

Promise 2009 Unafraid

2009-06-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

My oldest son has been traveling for the last 2 weeks with a college/high school drama team. It is called "Promise 2009 Unafraid" It is a group of 25 high school student from surrounding states that take this program on the road. We were fortunate to have them hit our home congregation on Tuesday. It was AWSOME! Our son is a HUGE piano man, but singing has never been one of his things, until now! Hubby and I were somewhat "dumb-struck" (which is why only half of the song is on tape LOL) by his singing, because he never like to do it. He is singing the solo part here: Remember to pause my blog music on the bottom tool bar and this might take a minute before you can listen without it skipping.

Dyed Angora Fiber

2009-06-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

I had never dyed my angora fur before it was turned into yarn...until today. I took some older stuff I hadn't used and dyed it with Wiltons cake icing dye. Right now I am carding it and it turned out pretty good! The color is "copper" I was worried it would felt while it dyed but it didn't! I am just carding it with dog brushes as I am still trying to get my hands on some real carders or a drum carder, but for now these work.

Piano Recital 2

2009-06-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

My camera atomatically split the recital into two parts and I couldn't get it all downloaded so this is the second half! Note: having problems getting part 2 uploaded. Maybe hubby will be able to when he gets back!

Piano recital

2009-06-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

I am going to be a bragging, proud mom in this post and put my oldest son in the spotlight here. God has truly gifted him with a musical talent and it shows! Enjoy!

Rabbits for Sale

2009-06-08T05:56:00.001-07:00

These are the rabbits we have for sale right now:

The first picture is Laura, she is a french angora and was born in Oct. 2008. She is $40. The next ones are George and Jerry, also French and born in Oct. 2008. One is black the other is blue in color. They are $40 each. The next three are the english angoras and they have pedigree papers. They were born in April. Two of them are REW and the other is a tort. They are $50 each. The last one is Willie, he is a REW french and was born in Oct. 08'. He is also $40.

Summer

2009-06-07T03:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted. Lots of things have been going on around here, we finally finshed our 6th year of homeschool (happy dance). All the puppies where sold within a matter of a couple of days. We could have sold 20 if we would have had them. We were somewhat worried that we wouldn't with the economy so bad here in Michigan, but they went like wild fire and all to really good homes. We even had some people call us a week later to give us updates and tell us how sweet all the puppies were. I have sold some more rabbits last week also. Hubby and I went on our yearly escape to Mackinac Island. It was wonderful, but we had to buy mittens so we could do our usual bike riding expeditions. It was COLD, but the sun was shinning and there was no snow LOL. That Michigan in June. I haven't posted much about this, but he has been writing a book for 3 years now and finally finished a couple of months ago! What a huge accomplishment, now he is editing and hoping to get it published. It is a family devotion, but not like the ones that are out there. These are family memories for us, even from when we were kids. Then there are activities to do each night like green pea fight in the kitchen (watch out for this one moms!), everyone pitch in with dishes, but first get your swim suits on, and lots of different things like that. There will also be a companion book that your can write your own family story memories. It is so fun to do at the table at night. He started his book ministry blog last week and I have it linked here so hopefully he will start blogging soon (hint):) He has been traveling for work alot this spring so I used that time to refinish Grandmas and Grandpas table that we have and the benches that my father in law made to go with them. They turned out beautiful! Here are some new pics:

pictures

2009-05-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here are my baby bunnies that have grown alot! The other picture is of a "rabbit tractor" that my father-in-law built. It is soooo cool. It will hold 2-3 rabbits and they get fresh air and grass. Willie is test running it for us. He seems to be enjoying it. The puppies are growing too. We have sold a couple of them. I will try to get pictures post of those.

Puppy Pictures

2009-04-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of the puppies from today. They are 2 weeks old this weekend. Their eyes are starting to open and they are getting up a little. Every now and then you will hear a little yipe coming from the crate!

First Order

2009-04-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready to ship my first "real sale" to a shop here in Michigan!!! I am so excited. She wanted just raw angora fiber, but she needs 8 ounces which doesn't seem like alot but since it is so light it is quite a bit. I was concerned I didn't have enough in stock and still have enough to spin with, but after going through all of what we have there was PLENTY with more to spare! LOL Not much else is happening here. The puppies are doing great and getting bigger every day. Hubby is on a business trip to New York and Massachusetts this week and won't be home until Friday night. I already miss him. It is really hard when he travels on both of us. I end up doing all 5 of the kids running alone, and he is driving between the two states this week so he will have a long one too. Here are some pictures of my first sale ready to be boxed and sent.

Baby English Angoras

2009-04-17T05:37:00.000-07:00

These will be available in mid-May. They are pedigreed and I am asking $50 each. I have BEW, REW, and torte.

Things are blooming on the farm

2009-04-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! 4 of the 5 kids have had the "plague" since Thurs. Our youngest had to be taken to the e.r. at 2 a.m. Sunday morning with an asthma attack, he is at home but has some kind of virus. My bedroom is an infirmary right now. Sat morning around 1 a.m. it was a nursery as our lab had her pups! 9 beautiful pups, 3 chocolate and 6 black, just like mama. So between the two nights hubby and I got very little sleep! We did have a blessed Easter although only half of us were at church together. I am also posting pictures of the baby angoras, they have grown ALOT in a week. I finally got a chocolate angora (that I a keeping for myself) You can see he has a white stripe, which my horse crazy daughter informed me it would be called a "blaze" by all the "horse experts" so that might be his name! Thanks Bekah! The bunnies and puppies are ALL for sale!!! I also sent out my first sample skein of angora yarn to a shop in hopes of selling some!!!

Baby Angora bunnies!!!!

2009-04-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

We had another batch of angora babies on Wednesday night while we were at church!! These are English angoras ( I think they look like ewoks) They look like little rats right now, the pictures were taken right after they were born! There are 7 of them. Hopefully we will be able to sell some of them! We had a lot of people interested when we had the french angoras for sale, everyone wanted these kind so we are hopeful that we can sell at least half of them. We did end up selling 3 of the 7 french babies. Today is our 17th wedding anniversary! It measures up to about 30 years in today standards! We will hopefully be celebrating in May up at Mackinaw Island! We already have reservations at the Inn that we have stayed at the last few years. Hubby will be gone about 2 weeks, every month, out of the next 3 months on business, so the trip will be a welcomed change after him being gone so much!

Yarn in shop

2009-03-28T11:10:00.001-07:00

I have 4 new skeins of yarn that are for sale. They vary in yardage and price. Angora yarn is 7 times warmer than wool and has a beautiful "halo" effect when crocheted or knitted. They are sometime referred to as "urban sheep" due to the fact that alot of people in apartments or homes in the city can keep angoras as a source of fiber. We comb ours out to get the fiber (no, we do not kill them!) and then we spin them here at home. I have two grey skeins (although the rabbits would be considered a "black color") and two natural skeins. I charge $0.28 a yard. The skeins range from $23 to $38 and they are between 84 yards to 140 yards. Leave a comment here if you are interested in them or would like more information. I can also dye a skein any color you have in mind.

Happenings

2009-03-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

I havent taken the time to post anything for awhile, so I thought I would get some pictures on to show what has been going on. We are FINALLY coming out of winter and seeing the sun, it was in the 50's here yesterday and hopefully more of the same the next couple of days. Two of my kids got 4-H medals for their rabbit project (showing). We are really proud of that! We had 2 medals and one rosette, and 3 honorary ribbons won at fair last year! I cant wait for this year. I have become interested in finding ways to make at much food around here as I can. Yes, I have always done this to some degree but I am trying to be ever more innovative. One of the pictures is of our 3 youngest making egg noodles we made ALOT (as you can see from the pic) and they were delicious! A couple of years ago when Grandma moved into her new place we did a table swap and we took the table that has many memories for my husband and even for the kids and I. Well, we (I:)) have wanted benches for them because some times we have been known to have 8 or more kids around it, so I asked my father in law if he could make some and they turned out beautiful. Joshua is showing us how real men drink chocolate milk! We also went to visit my sister and spend the day so I put in a picture of my niece isn't she sweet?!! Here are all the pictures:

Shop stuff

2009-02-19T08:21:00.000-08:00

I still have some hand-spun angora rabbit items for sale. The hats are $35.00 each. The mittens are $40 (size med./large,) and the hand crocheted whirly scarf is $50. Put a comment in the comment box if you are interested in them:)Thanks Bekah for modeling!

Homeschool week

2009-02-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

As the week has progressed I have come more to terms with the realization of why we homeschool. In the midst of Orthodontrist appointments, horseback riding lessons, music practice, piano lessons, kids getting together with friends and everything in between I have come to the realization as to why we do what we do (and this is a we not a me). I am a part of everything they do. I am their chauffer, their confident, their teacher, cook, nurse, everything. That is a part of their lives I wont give up easily, yet know it is coming to an end quickly. I have struggled with that "public school" mentality for so long and realize I am where I am supposed to be. It has taken me 6 years of homeschooling to get here, but I think I finally get it!

Will Winter EVER End?

2009-01-30T16:09:00.001-08:00

This is the big question on my mind. Here in Michigan it has been COLD and I don't mean freezing I mean teens and single digits for most of the last 3 weeks. I woke up to more snow this week and as much as I love the snow I am ready for a thaw! In the midst of my "cabin fever" I decided to rip the wall paper off my kitchen (I know my husband thought the same thing) It needed to be done, but we were going to wait until we re-did the entire kitchen, cupboards and everything. Well with the economy so bad especially here in Michigan we know we wont be able to for a few more years. So the kids and I started ripping paper down last Thurs. and gave Grandma Joyce a holler and by Thurs. this week it was all done (thank you Grandma) That woman is amazing, she could outdo me in a day. So here are some pictures of my "way under $100 kitchen make-over". I love it! I am also throwing in some pics of the dogs and Cool stuff from our Africa Unit study that we finished out this week with our feast.

Deep thought for Saturday morning

2009-01-10T04:44:00.000-08:00

I have a question for some of you out there that have animals that has been on my mind. Does anyone but me sometimes do morning chores in their pj's? I told you it was deep :) For Christmas Hubby got me a pair of pink footie zip-up pj's (think Ralphie from Christmas story without the ears and the eyes staring up at him) and I wear them quite often because here in Michigan, nights get cold, especially with Hubby turning down the furnace (WAY down). So I usually do the rabbits early in the morning and bring them in to groom them, well the other day I had my pj's on and he took one look at me and wanted to know why I was doing chores in my pink footies? My answer: they are very warm. So back to my original question, does anyone else do this?!

Gingerbread houses

2008-12-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how much time goes between some of my posts without even realizing it! All is well here. It snowed again last night. I spent some time in Florida the week before Thanksgiving with Hubby, who was there on business and I flew for the First time EVER (yes you read that right). I really loved it and we had a great couple of days together as we always do. Last Sat. my daughters had 6 girls over for a gingerbread house making day. We just did it with graham crackers and icing, but the turned out great! Here are some pics. Youngest son and I made one later that evening after all the girls left. What a wonderful time we all had, I had 2 moms helping and I am sure this will be the 1rst annual one.

Baby bunnies

2008-11-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures from today. My how they have grown!

Amazing Gadgets

2008-10-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

I am sooo amazed at the new Knitty Loom gadget that are coming out! Having our own source of fiber (angora rabbits) and really enjoying spinning right now I am now looking at ways to quickly make things to sell. Although we are still at step 1 with a "shop" and havent sold anything I continue to look for outlets to sell things. I found this cool sock loom that makes "just like hand knitted socks" that look store bought!! Go here http://www.decoraccentsinc.com/ if you havent seen these yet. They also have a blog that you can see these things in action!

Angora Rabbit Babies

2008-10-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

Here are our babies, I will have to take new pictures, because they have already grown and changed again. These are for sale.

Mint Farm in Trouble

2008-10-22T02:41:00.000-07:00

This is so sad to me and it helps me realize that this type of thing is happening all the time today and now it is close to home. A local mint farm (the largest in the U.S.) is less than a mile from us. The fields are all around us and bring wonderful smells to the air every August. I always look forward to harvesting time because this is one farm smell that is soooo awsome! Well now this farm is being forclosed on and are in need of selling off mint oil stock by Nov. 1 to save this farm. I can't believe our community would let this happen we have a whole 3 day long celebration every August "The Mint Festival" that revolves around this farm. I will be purchasing some off the oil and I know there are alot of people out there who would use some (making soaps or other great things you can do with it). Go here www.getmint.com to see the farm and if you feel led place an order. It really is not expensive at all and has lots of great uses. There is also a youtube video at the bottom you can watch and see the owner tell about the farm. We need to stick together and help these places out.

Check out the angora babies

2008-10-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

If you want to see pictures of the babies check out my other blog site. www.tailspinyarn.blogspot.com

Another giveaway

2008-10-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here is another giveaway on this blog: http://eclecticculturefarm.blogspot.com/

Bloggy Give away

2008-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Dalyn at Muckboots N aprons is doing a giveaway on her blog. Go check it out here:http://muckbootsnaprons.blogspot.com/2008/10/bloggy-giveaways.html

Happenings

2008-10-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

I just got back from taking our youngest daughter to horseback riding lessons. She is in horse heaven right now and soooo much enjoyed it. She did a week long camp at an equestrian center that is only 3 miles from us this summer, and we decided to let her do every other week lessons (money is an issue as lessons are quite expensive) but she is sooo thrilled. I will remember the camera at her next lesson so I can post some pictures. I really like this place because not only do the kids ride for close to an hour they also have to put the horses away, take off all the tack and put that away, and brush the horses AND clean out the stall of the horse they rode, real life stuff. On the animal front here, the baby angoras are doing great so far, they will be a week old on Wed. we are helping mama feed them as rabbits can be finicky about feeding them and she was, so we bring her in the house every day around 2 and feed them all. I will post pictures of them later this week. Our "mama" hen surprised us with a fall batch of 5 chicks out in the barn so even though fall is around the corner things are blooming here.

Babies

2008-10-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Little did we know last night that we would already have babies this morning! Koko had her babies during the night and when I went out to the barn early this morning I found all 7 of them doing well. We are hoping for the best after losing our first batch of babies this summer. I am a little wiser and found some tips that will hopefully help keep this batch alive.

My Chicken Tractor

2008-10-07T16:49:00.001-07:00

My Father-in-law is the Best!!!! He retired a couple of years back and picked up woodworking projects as a hobby. He does alot of neat little projects to sell here and there, and some cool corn toss games for the outdoors. Well a couple of weeks back hubby told him if he wanted a great idea for me for a Christmas present that I would love a chicken tractor. Now if you have no idea what I am talking about, (no I haven't been hanging out too long with the chickens and lost it!) basically it is a chicken coop on wheels so you can have free rangers in the yard and they are safe and you can find the eggs they are laying. Well tonight my Christmas present rolled into our yard unexpectantly!!!!! We are so excited. He did an awsome job and we wasted no time rounding up some girls to get in there. In the pictures you will notice the "Nee's girls" on back of the barn, that's my nickname. Thanks Dad Mc, I love it!!! Well we finally got our 11 turkeys butchered this past Sat. with Grandma Joyces help. Here are the before pictures:(I'll spare you the after!) and also the kids are mad cuz all the animals are on the blog and they're not!!! Sorry guys! Here they are working dilligently! Life is good! Oh! also one of my angoras is due to have babies any time this week!

The best laid plans

2008-09-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

What is that old saying about best laid plans?
Well I didn't do so well. I had every intention of working on my blog this summer and trying to learn more about it, well summer has come and gone and I haven't posted since May! Just not my season for this I guess. All is well here. Hubby and 2nd oldest are on a business trip to Pennsylvania this week. They are getting home today. We are so fortunate to homeschool so he can take a kid with him on a "field trip" and have some company while he works. Hubby is a chemist so this is also a science lesson for my son who was traveling with him. School is going well. We had a little bit of a bumpy start, but we had just returned from our week in the U.P. on the St. Mary's River and we all wanted to stay this year. Hubby and I are in the process of looking at "stuff" more seriously and how we do things. Its a long story but we know that some of the things we have always just done have become less than joyful and we both have been moved to change things. All is well with the animal part of the farm. We have turkeys to be butched next week. The rabbits are all good and kicking out the fur so much that with school starting I have boxes of it sitting right now:) I am trying to talk hubby into a chicken tractor next year so we can have some more "free rangers" than we do now, so I will also be able to find their eggs (little devils they are) The picture above is of our "puppy" Ardee, as you can see he is very, very large and just as spoiled! He is a hoot though. I never understood people not liking dogs (nice ones) they have such personalities especially him. Well I need to get the rest of my day started. I hope to do more posting but only time will tell!

Too long!

2008-06-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

It has been crazy around here lately! I still have a ton of pictures I want to get on here and redo the blog some now that school is done for us and I have more time, but it will have to wait for now! We have had a TON going on and it started a couple of weeks ago. Second son broke his foot jumping on the trampoline and was looking at possible surgery. Right now it looks ok but we are still in waiting mode to see. Then a couple of weeks later my 89 year Grandma passed away suddenly. ( I say suddenly because she could still beat me in a foot race and play cards until all hours of the morning with Hubby and I:)) Then last Friday night we got slammed with a HUGE storm (it was originally thought to be a tornado that went through but now they are calling it "Straight line winds" over 75mph)We have damage to the house (minor compared to the other houses I've seen around here), lost a few trees, the above trampoline is destroyed and hubby's truck took a beating. So we are still without power, they are saying 11:00 pm tomorrow. So in the mean time I stole the generator from the freezer to get on-line and check things out:) We had our first batch of angora babies born yesterday only 1 of the 3 survived. I think mama had a hard time being its here first batch and all the craziness going on around here not to mention the 90+ temperatures. So we will try again and hope we have the one still make it. The kids are staying at Grandpas and Grandmas because all you "hicks" know when the power is out in the country NO WATER WHICH MEANS NO POTTY and with 5 kids that doesnt work real well! I am getting them today because I Miss them sooooo much and we will make do until tomorrow if I have to get water for the toilet from the drainage ditch! My oldest son had his piano recital last night and did ABSOULUTELY AMAZING!!!! God has given him an amazing gift. He plays right from his toes and I almost started crying it was so moving. Hubby and I were both so proud (still not sure where the music talent comes from though). Well I need to get my freezer plug back in! I will hopefully have more on next week and more regularly.

Simple Devotions

2008-05-14T05:06:00.000-07:00

I decided to participate with Peggy in her simple devotions because it spoke right to my heart today. I am finding myself waking up these mornings "dreading" my day and all that I have to accomplish. Her posting hit the nail on the head for me. It is funny how you know all of this in your heart, but until it is presented to you it just feels like confusion and lack of dilligence in your mind. Thank you Peggy for putting things into perspective for me today!!! Right now I have fear, unrest and unforgiveness in my heart and I know I need to give it all to God! Things otherwise are blooming here on the "farm" The chickens and turkeys are growing, we are hoping to have baby angoras within the next month and the kids seem to grow taller from one day to the next (especially my oldest!). I am thankful for it all.

Down on the farm

2008-04-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

We have alot going on around here!!! I am posting pictures of all the work hubby did. There is also a picture of our FIRST INCUBATED CHICK!! Hubby got me an incubator for Christmas (okay I'm weird) and so we put 9 eggs in 21 days ago and the first one hatched this afternoon. Now we think there is another cheeping inside one of the other eggs. Only time will tell!

Table Setting?!?!?!?!?!?

2008-04-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

Now let me start by saying this is NOT a normal occurrence in our house! Yes, we keep chickens and turkeys in the dinning room and yes I have eggs incubating in there now too, but, we don't let our animals hang out on the table. I am planning on taking pictures of all the work Hubby has done on the farm the past couple weeks and get them posted later.

Ardee

2008-04-02T09:45:00.002-07:00

My youngest son found our "girl dogs" shirt that a neighbor made for HER, I don't know if you can tell but it is purple with pink dots! So poor Ardee has it on this morning. Hopefully he won't get a complex over this one! The chickens are growing and doing good, but here in Michigan we are still fighting cold, frost and yes we had snow on the ground last week, so the chickens are still in my dinning room until it warms up a little. I feel bad because we had a touch of warm on Sunday and I moved them outside to a little area that we have for our babies, but it got really cold fast by afternoon and I lost 2. Usually by now it is warm out but that is Michigan weather for ya! Gotta love it.

Poor Ardee

2008-04-02T09:45:00.001-07:00

Funny Farm

2008-03-27T05:35:00.001-07:00

Funny Farm

2008-03-27T05:18:00.000-07:00

The farm has grown in the last week! My hubby went to a taxidermy trade show in Grand Rapids last week and he bought a puppy!!! His name is Artie and he is a beautiful Golden Lab. We already have a black lab, so we are hoping for puppies in a couple of years! We also got our chickens and turkeys for the year. So if you walked into my dining room/schoolroom/animal nursery this is what you find! Puppy kennel on one side and boxes of birds on the other! LOL Needless to say we aren't doing much "dining" in here right now!!

Angora Hats

2008-03-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! Check out the pictures below. We raise angora rabbits and hope to increase their numbers this spring/summer for the purpose of spinning their fiber. I got a spinning wheel for Christmas last year and with only having 6 rabbits and not a ton of time right now I haven't spun a ton of yarn. This weekend I was able to take my daughters knitting loom (thank you Bekah :))and make a hat out of 100% angora yarn. The color of the yarn is the color of three of our bunnies mixed together. Angora is warmer than wool and being in Michigan right now, we need all the warmth we can get. The rabbit is my sons rabbit, Matthiais, the second one is my tools, and the third one is my second oldest, Cameron who was the reciepient of the gift!(He hasn't taken it off since last night!!) Now if I could just get my slideshow to work on my sidebar I will be all set.

Angora hats

2008-03-10T07:15:00.001-07:00