Greenhouse

Sunset and poison

This is an imperfect picture of our sunset, so is the next one. I have a new camera and I am still unsure of it on manual mode.

This is poke, I think people eat the leaves like salad. The berries are poisonous but some herbalists have had given them whole to people. If swallowed, they pass without killing you and are good for fibromialgia pain and for some types of cancer. I dont suggest taking them...
The root can be tinctured and given in miniscule amounts for ailments. Also not suggested without an herbalist! Basically if you have this plant in your area, make sure your children dont eat the berries.

Homeschool day 1

So today is our first official day of homeschool. We ususally, since Tad was 3, do school year around. Of course it was play learning when he was younger. We have never missed a summer. My kids really missed it this summer and most homeschool families start in early september or even august with the public school kids. We have been very busy doing the 2 adult tasks as we call them and above all spending time with daddy. He is leaving very soon for deployment so I allow the kids to follow him around the property working with him or watching him or just hanging out while he works. I follow him around quite a bit myself... When he is inside they hang with him while he watches a movie, follow him and hand him lightbulbs while he removes the energy suckers from the fixtures and adds in an efficient bulb, sit and stare at him while he does homework and enjoy their time playing with him. Even when exhausted he is quick to jump on the trampoline with them or build a new windmill, or explain how power works.
They have thoroughly enjoyed this time with him, I love and respect him even more for all that he does for us. Ladies, love your husband for his position as the leader of your home rather than for his performance, and his performance will soar!
As daddy is at work today, we did school! Nathalie is using The Reading lesson to follow 100 easy. Usually a child could move into pathways but she insists she cant/wont read. So we are not pushing, this is a program similar to 100 easy, but wont be as repetitive as she has done 100. Tad is reading the 2nd grade book in the I wonder series. I like this because it has a memory verse that they both learn and we talk about how it relates to our lives. We also used cuisenaire rod math today, they are needing something than just the workbook. I think we will order verbal math by the same company as The reading lesson.
Next we did sequential spelling, I highly recommend this! Its our favorite spelling program. The kids do their handwriting book for fun at random times and go through a yr program every 3 mo and so have done print, cursive and 2 levels of italics.
We were going to do story of the world but I accidently ordered only the activity book... Will place a new order today. I ordered a bible curriculum but Frank was very uncomfortable with its message. Its message was that a family of children saved another child by bringing him to church. The message was that the child only came to God through church and we believe it can be outside of church so we are sending it back and I think for now I will do as a local homeschool mom suggested and just use the bible!
Today our lesson for life is "obey quickly, not foolishly." Thus when I tell my children to please clean up, I want to hear yes maam and see quick movement towards the task and then get to watch them work diligently and happily. Rather than seeing them dance about and be silly and work slowly.

Godly Children

I finally have found, well a yr ago but still using it, someone who provides christian and biblical support for the way I raise my kids. Which tells me I am not just mean! I am finding more and more families who do things the way I do and I ENJOY them, enjoy their entire family. I had many families in Sc that I enjoyed for just this reason.
The sites are www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com (my very very favorite) and www.nogreatergood.com This one is by Michael and Debi Pearl. I enjoy the articles on these sites. I learn more biblical reasoning for raising children, running my home and respecting my husband no matter what. I read more in depth last night both on these sites and in my bible. I WANT Godly children. My children should be my gifts to God, not God's gift to me.

Visitors

I havent said a lot on here lately, we have been so busy. I have been uploading photos for the benefit of those who havent visited us. Our friends from Ga came for 2 wks, one wk in our rental house and then they moved us into our new house (thanks!) quicker than we could have alone by far. Nikki even unpacked with me and she is quite fast at this! She and I spent most of the 2 wks making wardrobes, my 2 children and her 4 are now well outfited with some nice looking items. I will post more pics on this.
Next came Franks brother Jacob, wife Tristin and very adorable daughter Briley. They spent a few days with us and according to Frank, Jacob worked him to death. They got quite a bit done and we learned that uncle Jacob can dig a hole with post hole digger faster than Frank... Nathalie and I got to enjoy Briley quite a bit while the men worked, she is such a sweet baby and she makes me want lots more!
Next we had Franks parents visit with his sister and her 4 children. They are wonderfully behaved children and we had a lot of fun with them. Pam and Pauline helped me in the kitchen with cooking and applesauce making and the 2 of them with Tad and one other child (cant remember, was this nathan?) helped to clear my herb garden of flower bulbs so that I could plant it.
Franks dad and myself helped put together a greenhouse, more dad than me... Thanks Dad! It is 10x12 and its a real greenhouse, not a modified building which was my initial idea. Dad has a lot of knowledge on, well everything. He has spent his life learning and he is now a walking encyclopedia with life experience. He is currently in nsg school, and performing well of course. He gave me a lot of information on year around gardening, sun exposure and why does this plant look like it wants to die etc. Pictures of the greenhouse coming up as soon as I upload them from camera.
We were happy to have all of our visitors, and now we are finishing up the 2 adult jobs-like cutting down large limbs hanging precariously over a barn or outbuilding (in one case, the house!) and preparing for Frank to be deployed. The kids are mentally preparing, I am trying not to think about it too much. Frank has done so much work every day to make sure I am well prepared for a yr alone. He has fixed things, made things better, bought a new dishwasher and installed it and even found a handy man I can call if I need help with something.
I will miss him. He is the best man I know and I love him dearly.

goat yard

This is our apple tree which is bearing too quickly to pick them all. They make very yummy applesauce and pies.


A good picture of Tad.

This is the goat yard as its more cleared. This was covered with 6-8 ft reeds some as much as 3" around, for 2 whole acres! This is tough to deal with when one doesnt have a bushhogger. Our fancy mower just pushed them down, but didnt cut them. My husband has devised many ways of cutting them down, some more difficult. He ended up settling on a electric trimmer. I have cut 1 extension cord in half with it while cutting reeds, tad has cut 2 and his own leg plus new pr jeans (which I made!!!).However, the reeds are almost all cleared and our 2 stone outbuildings, 3 barns, 1 shop and 1 greenhouse are easily accessed now.

Burning brush after several rainy days, the previous owner left a decent sized pile so we added to it and took care of it. It was cold and I was hoping it would last. Today is not quite 70 out at 9 am so I pray it keeps getting colder! No more hot, please Lord, please make it cold...

With daddy

My girl and the dog

Just pictures

This is my neice, my husbands brother and wifes first baby. She is super smart, we were amazed by all of her knowledge. She isnt a fussy baby, thank goodness for them and she is quite funny. She knows she is funny and that adds to it! She has a large vocabulary-she is 2 this mo. She liked our little animals and she LOVED being with Nathalie. When they went home Nathalie cried that her best friend was leaving...

Our new recliner, yes I just woke up. It fits the 3 of us, or Frank and me comfortably which is pretty good for a single recliner! The doubles were not instock but as you can see, we didnt need it.





A new telescope we bought on craigs list, its a nearly 400 $ telescope and we paid 50. Quite a deal! After some hard work on Franks part, it is put together and we can see things with it. Still needs fine tuning on our skills but the kids enjoy it.

The dog trying to get the cat, we are not sure how long this particular puppy will be living with us! She has vindictive pooping spells. Each day she poops downstairs, either because we dont let her have her way or because she assumes tomorrow she wont get her way. We left her outside for this and so she pooped on the deck... We have been dealing with this for over 2 wks now and I am just not this patient! We are looking for a new home.

Nathalie is stacking wood, cant you tell? She is my hat girl, leave out a hat and she will wear it. I have some great pictures of her in daddy's Indiana Jones hat-so dubbed by the kids who love Indiana Jones. I will upload those later, right now am off to work in my green house and pick more apples as the apples I had picked are applesauce! Anybody want free apples???
Still having blog picture trouble but thought I would try posting a few!

I am having so much trouble with pictures! Photobucket doesnt do large enough photos for blogs to bother with, and flickr doesnt work anymore. I used it for a few times and it was nice, it was slow to upload but not it doesnt even do anything, at all. I am tired of trying new things. If someone knows of a quick and easy way for me to upload photos and put them on my blog, please let me know!
Picture is of our ball friday night, the you are all going to be deployed ball. We had a good time and he was awfully nice looking!

Country life

I must say that country life is very busy compared to city life. Or perhaps thats because I stay home! We have moved into our new house and its a lot of work. The previous owners both worked and 2 acres of the land had become rather out of control. We have 6 acres total, 3 fenced in behind the house (field-ish area), knee high grass. Then about 1 acre where the house sits and it has nicely manicured grass which is fire ant and prickly dead grass free! Lastly is a 2 acre portion where the remaining 5 outbuildings sit and this is also fenced in. However, this section had 5-8 ft tall reeds, very large around and difficult to cut. We have rented a push behind bush hogger for a day, accomplished about 1/3 and since then Frank has been using a electric trimmer. We still have about 25 % to go!
The house is rather large, 3600 sq ft living space plus a oversized 2 car garage attached and 2 unfinished rooms, the pump room and the herb room. Half of the house is a walk out basement. 5 bed, 4 bath. Very comfortable ranch home. The whole acreage is fenced off in its various parts which is nice for the kids.
The outbuildings are a horse barn, a chicken/goat barn, a hay barn (3 sided), and 2 stone outbuildings. Lastly, in the goat area, is his shop. A very large garage/shop, much larger than the 2 car. His tools and new mower/mower trailor live here. Then in the yard area is my garden shed which will house the tiller and various other garden tools.
There is so much work to be done here! For the 2nd wk of our best friends visiting, they helped to move us in and unpack us. Nikki and I did a huge amount of sewing for our 2 wks, we made 6 + plus (9 for the girls) outfits for 6 children including pullovers, hoodies and long johns.
I have so much to write and not enough time! I love our new home and the lifestyle we can finally lead. We are buying goats and chickens for milk, meat and eggs. We will be doing year around gardening, I have a lime, lemon and banana plant started indoors as well as seedlings. Frank will be making my greenhouse this wkend if the one stone building has enough lighting. The life I have always wanted is a farm life in the country. We are right outside of the city limits here, close enough to people if we need something but far enough away from the noise of the world to hear God more clearly. It is a great place for our family, and I thank God for our blessings.
I have much more to post about our friends visit, sewing projects, home baking and much more!