We live a life of faith-filled adventure! We are a family with eight energetic, loving, crazy, happy, and very noisy children. Ray and I thought our family was complete when we had four children. Now, when people ask us if we will have any more children, we simply answer, "We don't know." We have learned that God sometimes has surprises in store for us, as He did when He brought home our two girls from Ethiopia!
I called the kids to the door to take a picture of them. You would think by looking at the lower half of the picture that it must be summer. Then you look at the upper half and you know that it is winter! Kids just don't feel the weather like we do.
These nutty boys were having so much fun outside that they didn't want to come in. So why not serve dinner outside? They were happy. Play time right til bed time!
Cooper and Briton have been poring over bird books. Cooper came up with the grand scheme of making bird traps. He had learned how to do this while he was having a conversation with a gentleman we ran into on one of our walks. Funny how people wonder about socialization of homeschooled kids. :o)
The way it happened was this: I was out for a walk one day with some of the children. We ran into an old friend, and as I was chatting with the lady, the husband very kindly let the little boys sit on the bumper of his car and had some interesting chat time. I had no idea what they were discussing until Cooper told me that that was where he learned how to trap birds!
The boys built their trap and then set up their stools by the kitchen glass door. I heard them discussing what kind of bird each of them would catch. Cooper reckoned he would catch a Stellar Jay. Briton was going to catch a Cardinal. It didn't matter that we don't get Cardinals in our area. He liked the picture in the book and that was good enough!
The one that I heard them talking negatively about was the eagle, "We don't want to catch an eagle cause he'll kill our birds!" As darkness descended still the boys sat. They were determined they would catch something, simply because they had set up their cages. The faith of a child is a beautiful thing!
As it got to the near pitch black stage Cooper was sure he saw one of the boxes had fallen down. There must surely be a bird caught! Now, neither of these boys likes the dark. In fact, they are both terrified of it. They sleep with lights on every night.
But hey! There was a bird out there and they had no choice! If they didn't go out there the *eagle* might come and kill their bird. They had to go. It was do or die. Literally!
So they bravely threw on their jackets, held hands, and walked slowly and cautiously out to the boxes, which were strategically placed a little too close to the woods behind our property. They discovered the box had fallen by itself and then they made a quick bee-line back to the house.
That night they went to bed knowing that in the morning there would be two birds. One for each of them. They had decided that if they caught too many of them they would sell them. Cooper woke early and before he could even get dressed he was out the door checking on his boxes. Again, a box had blown over, but there was no bird inside.
I was a little worried about how their litle hearts would fare with no birds coming, but I worried needlessly. They soon forgot about their traps and began another game of imagination and adventure elsewhere. .
I found a fabulous way to school the younger ones. Every day I have to report on what the kids have done in school, so I write up an observation making note of what they have done. I find it is easier to do this while schooling than later, cause then I remember more.
So then I had all the little children cluster around me at the computer desk. They each had a stool as their desk top. I could teach from one to the next so easily. I would love one of those kidney shaped tables, but I am not likely to get one.
Other times I have a child at the computer who needs help with reading, and so I cluster the children around me and that child, so I don't have to wander too far.
One day Dane came downstairs and grabbed my camera and said he *had* to take a picture of my kind of schooling. grin
This method worked wonderfully until I realized the one negative side effect of sitting in one place for so long. My butt grew! I put on nearly 10 lbs! lol! So now we are back to schooling anywhere as I dance around kitchen. :o) .
One day I was sitting in the kitchen, and Briton came into the room pushing a laundry basket. He had a proud look on his face, as he stood up straight and strode with head held high back down to the laundry room.
He had seen the girls doing laundry and had been watching them. That little guy had learned each and every step of running a load of laundry! He moved the washing to the dryer, emptied the lint guard, turned the machine to go on for 60 minutes, and shut the door!
Climbing Up To Empty the Washer
Most Efficient Way of Getting the Clothes Out
Loading the Dryer
I had someone video tape, while I took some pictures and it was amazing. Hopefully sometime I will be able to post the video. It really shows just how capable our little children are and how much they want to be considered big enough to help! Briton was as pleased as punch when he completed the job with no errors!
Now I just wish my older boys could learn to do as well! .
Savannah is the most adorable little girl. She has really melded (if there is such a word!) into our family. She has had ups and downs and learned many lessons, but through it all she has been a real little trouper with a very sweet heart. I am so glad to have her as my daughter!
I have heard mothers say that when they heard their child say, "I love you," for the first time when it was not being prompted by the mother saying it first, that it is a wonderful feeling. Well, I think I heard comments recently that, to me, dug deeper into Savannah's heart.
One day, I was doing her hair, and I told her how adorable she looked. She turned to me from looking in the bathroom mirror, and said, "You are the best mother in the whole world." Those words meant more to me than anything I have ever heard from her. More than, "I love you." Why? Because her Sintayehu, her Enat, was so very special to her heart.
After this comment, we began talking about other things and her Ethiopian mother came up. We talked about how big her missing her was in the beginning - even to six months ago. Savannah used her hands to show me a 12" space and said she missed her that much in the beginning. She then gestured again to show me a 2" gap and told me that was how much she missed her now.
She then burst out cheerfully, "I still love her."
What a beautiful remark. Her heart's pain has diminished, but her heart's love has not grown any dimmer. How wonderful to see my little girl come to a place where she can tell me that I am the best mum in the world (and trust me, this little one struggles with English, so where she got those words is beyond me!), but yet still be able to tell me moments later how much she still loves Sintayehu. Through it all, she was beaming.
Since that time, she has a few more times spontaneously said other comments of a similar nature that really show her belief that she is home and she knows how much she is loved and accepted. What a wonderful feeling for both of us!
I was sitting working on my blog today when Savannah came bounding into the room.
"Mum, can I tell you something? I love you. You are the best mum and dad and everybody."
I smiled at her and gave her a hug and said she was the best Sweet Savannah. When I sat back, she just stood there looking at me for the longest time with this satisfied smile on her face.
It is truly remarkable. It is like something has just clicked in her little head.
It is almost like she is saying, "I like these people. They *are* my family. I am happy. I love them. Yes." If you could only see the look in her eyes as she makes these comments. .
A friend gave us some clothes recently and the girls had fun finding things they liked in the gift. We don't normally get offered hand-me-downs for our girls, so it was a real blessing for us.
I think it is time I gave God His own post. You see, there are so many times when I see provision in our life and I praise Him. But really, this is a journal and what better place to record how good He is to us than in our family journal!
Example:
This week I changed our menu. We have a three month, 2 week menu. This way we have a set menu for three months and I know what we are eating. We have fourteen different things, so we only encounter the same items twice a month. It works well for a number of reasons, including the fact that the children can be taught to cook because they know which items are on the menu, and they have three months to become proficient.
So, as I said, on Monday I changed our menu. This is a picture of the new menu:
The interesting thing is that the next day our dear friend who supplies us with bread gave me a call and asked if I needed any bread? Well, the funny thing was that that very day I was making buns for the first time in years because I had run out and I committed myself to making Sloppy Joes *before* I had looked in the freezer to see if I had buns. Of course I would have buns! I always had and abundance of buns. Right? Wrong! This day I had no buns. So out came the bread machine.
Then the phone rang, and I said, "Yes! I can use some buns!" Her husband, Bill, came by a few minutes later and he had lots of boxes of buns. I took what I could use and my son carried them down to the freezer room.
It wasn't until later that evening that I was unpacking the bread and buns into the freezer that I saw God's specific provision. Garlic bread.
If you notice my menu, it says Spaghetti/Garlic Bread/Salad. Well, I don't usually write such a detailed menu, but this time I did because I wanted to be sure to get my vegetables and salads on the menu because I have been notorious for slipping in that regard.
As I wrote garlic bread on the menu, I remember thinking that I would just have to get off my lazy butt and make the stuff. I certainly wasn't buying it! I never buy it. Much too expensive! So there I was all ready to do a little extra work to make my meal more than just a meal, and God honoured and blessed my busy little life by sending me the bread.
That is just another way that God honours us mums that have big families. He knows how much time it takes. One loaf of bread for you is three loaves of bread for us.
I love the fact that when my mum comes over for any event she invariably ends up picking up a children's book and reads it to the children. They quickly cluster around her and settle in for a good listen. This time with Granny has become such a special part of their visits with her. She infuses wonderful feeling into the characters in the story, and for me, her daughter, listening to her reading stories to my children brings back memories of my childhood. .
Raine's new extensions. This time we did the yarn extensions. They took less time (9 hours instead of 11) and look more real. This picture was taken before I trimmed the bottom of her hair. It was much nicer than working with synthetic hair. My husband and Cassidy went to the wool shop without me and did the choosing. I am impressed. They brought home three shades: one grey/black, one dark brown, and one black. Combined they created a really nice look. Everywhere she go people comment on her hair. They have been in for two weeks so far and they show no signs of wear. The last extensions lasted for eight weeks before I took them out. By then they were looking like dreadlocks. :o)
Savannah had her hair done in Christmas colours (could also be Ethiopian colours!). I actually find that with baby soft hair they don't keep the beads and styles very long. So I end up doing something cute and it lasts for a few days to a week. In this style I put an elastic on the pony, then I beaded three beads and then I joined the tail of that one to the beginning of another pony tail. At that point I added the two together and wrapped an elastic around them and then added more beads. In this manner, her beads are actually very securely attached to her head. They do not hang loose and I got a good week out of them.
If I did the same style to Raine they would have been attached for at least a month. Raine and Savannah's hair could not be more different! Raine's hair is a coarse, thick texture, and Savannah's is soft and fine. I condition them the same, but Raine' is different. Here Savannah's hair is in cute little triangles. So sweet for a cute little girl!
While at my sister's this Christmas, I had the pleasure of seeing her daughter's 'other' side. She is a hoot!! To me, I believe everyone should experience a boy. Well, my sister's first child is a sweet, kind little girl. But she is all girl. Ahria, on the other hand, is almost boy. *grin* I LOVE it!! Of course, I am partial to boys, so what can I say. *smile*
What I discovered while trying to take her picture is that this little girl can NOT just take a picture. She must perform. She is only two years old, but what an actress!! It wasn't until I was watching her totally UNable to take a normal picture that I realized who she resembled! My dad's sister, Auntie Lorna, in England. I told my Dad and he totally agreed. The ironic thing is that she even looks the spitting image of her!! Too cute!
So here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. My sister asked me to dress her and I had the pleasure of picking out a dress from her closet and putting her hair in the cutest little braids. I then stood her in front of the tree and told her Auntie wanted to take a picture. And this is what I got:
And finally, when I walked over to her and gently placed her hands by her side and said, "Ahria, just put your hands like this, okay?" this is what I got:
Look at her stiff little hands. She has no clue how to just stand still. She HAS to pose!! So cute!
Then later, at the dinner table, I wanted a picture of her and Briton cause they are so adorable. Well, here we go again. *laugh* Briton loves to have his picture taken and posed accordingly. Ahria....
When I make spaghetti, I make spaghetti! I remember having a friend many years ago who would make spaghetti for each time she had it. I told her how my mother always made it by the batch. My friend figured it took her only a few minutes to make the recipe, so there was no need to do more than one batch at a time.
I am sharing this information with you because I want you to know that *anytime* you can make a batch of anything for the freezer you are saving yourself so much time. Think about it.
When you are going to make a dinner of spaghetti sauce you are going to get out the ingredients - 5 minutes, brown the meat and onions - 10 minutes, open the cans - 5 minutes, compile the ingredients and add the spices - 10 minutes, clean up your mess - 10 minutes. Total: 40 minutes.
When I make a batch up spaghetti and that includes one for that evening, plus three or four for the freezer it takes me: about 60 minutes to do it all. I simply brown more ground beef and open more cans. But I still have to only compile the recipe and clean the kitchen one time.
When my family was smaller I would make the same size batch as I do now, but at that time it stretched further, so I could easily put 8-10 batches of sauce in the freezer!! Do the math - that would save me 10 recipes x 40 minutes= 400 minutes. Instead I would spend 60 minutes.
Now that might not sound that astounding, but imagine if you have other recipes that could be put in the freezer? What about Sloppy Joe sauce? Or Chicken and Sauce recipes? When I had more small children and less older helpers I used to live on my freezer sauces and recipes. Now that I have older children to help with the cooking I can rely on less freezer and more fresh. So if you are a mum who has limited time, but you don't want to do a lot of freezer meals, you could simply do the spaghetti sauce, because that is a really easy to one to put away!
And think what you could do with the time you are not cooking? Relax, go for a walk, read to your children, blog, read a book, work on a craft. All in one hour a day!
Preparing the Sauce
A Full Batch of Sauce
Freezer Batch Spaghetti Sauce
6lb ground beef 2 medium onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 10 oz cans mushrooms 2 - 28 oz cans diced tomatoes 2 large pasta sauce cans (Heinz 2.84 litres each) 1 can 680 mls pasta sauce 2-3 cups water (enough to wash out pasta cans) 2 Tbsp oregano 2 Tbsp basil 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup sugar
1) Brown ground beef and onions. Pour into a huge cooking pan. (at least 12" tall)
2) In a couple tablespoons of olive oil, lighty saute the green and red peppers, celery, and garlic.
3) Add the green and red peppers, celery, and garlic to the browned ground beef.
4) Add the mushrooms, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, water, spices, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Mix well.
5) Bring to a high heat - do NOT burn - then turn down to very low and let simmer quietly for a few hours. Stir occasionally. Cool and then freeze in family size portions.
Part 4 - Later in the evening my brother took his daughter home to his house to have Christmas with her. This was the only time we had with Colt, so we did the gift giving from our family to Colt, and he to us.
All the Kids Watching Colt Open His Gifts
I was so impressed with his thoughtfulness. He doesn't have much, not having a well paying job, and having to support himself with rent and such, but all that aside, he still managed to bring gifts that were just right for each of us.
Cassidy knew that Colt was walking to work and decided on December 22nd to knit him a scarf. Did I mention that he had never knitted before? Nope. Never. He went to the store with his dad and picked out the wool he wanted. When he got home he discovered the needles he needed to use were at my friend's house. So he went on a two km sprint to get them. Once back, he had a quick (literally 3 minute) lesson in knitting and then began. He worked for the rest of that day, and by the end of the following day, right before bedtime, he was done. A beautiful warm scarf! Is there anything that boy can't do? Actually, we have discovered one thing he struggles with: writing.
Cassidy's pleasure is written all over his face.
Dane gave Colt a copy of the remarkable fiction short story that he wrote and illustrated about World War II.
Colt got a copy of the first blog I made: Raising My Boys In the Country. That has got to be the best gift. What child (not mine!) doesn't love pouring over stories about their own childhood!
We also exchanged gifts with my parents. I love giving to my mother because she is the most appreciative person. Anything you give her delights her.
Savannah has discovered the joy of gift giving!
Me and My Sister - So Glad I Have a Sister!
Cassidy, always a boy with a book in hand. Sneaking away for a few minutes respite from the craziness of the day!
We thought the evening was drawing to a close. After all, it was about 11:00 pm. And then...
Uncle Dave threw on the stereo FULL BLAST with Neil Diamond. Oh my goodness! We ALL love Neil Diamond. All that is, except for the teen boys. They decided they were not being roped in and so they slunk off to the basement to play some Play Station. But not the wee ones. Let the party begin! They danced and danced and danced until past 1:00 am!
And my mum was loving it all! While we adults stood around watching and smiling and taking pictures, she sat on the couch as their main audience clapping with a wide smile all over face and a glint of tears in her eyes.
Ray Got in On the Action
Then He Wangled My Mum into the Dancing.
The next thing I knew I saw Cassidy with a small sleepy child in his arms carrying him off to bed.
When all the children were tucked into bed we gave my sister the present that touched our hearts the most. It was just her, Dave, Ray and I, and it wasn't for any fanfare. It was simply something I wanted her to experience. There is a wonderful organization in China called Harmony House.
This home is a ministry in China that I learned about when I read the book Saving Levi. That book began us on the journey to adopting our girls. I wanted my sister to feel that feeling in her heart that comes from having a connection with a child in another country.
So we decided to connect her with a foster child through Harmony House. In this small organization they take children that have been abandoned due to deformities, and they pay for surgery for them. These children then typically live in the home for about two years before they are then adopted into families.
There are 19 children that can be fostered, so it is a small home. If you read the story of Saving Levi, you would be so touched. This tiny baby boy was found badly burned and abandoned in a field. Through the book you will see how God spoke to the hearts of John Bentley and his family. How He showed how he would use this tiny baby boy to change the world. It is a story of love and triumph and you will be changed after reading it. As we were. And now because of that book we have two little girls living in our home that would otherwise probably not be.
Please consider fostering one of these children. You can go to their website and look at the pictures, read the profiles, and then choose the child you want to foster. In this way we were able to choose a little boy, Benjamin, for my sister. I thought I would choose a girl, since she has daughters, but when I saw his sweet little face I was so drawn to him. Wouldn't you be? .
I called the kids to the door to take a picture of them. You would think by looking at the lower half of the picture that it must be summer. Then you look at the upper half and you know that it is winter! Kids just don't feel the weather like we do.
These nutty boys were having so much fun outside that they didn't want to come in. So why not serve dinner outside? They were happy. Play time right til bed time!
As darkness descended still the boys sat. They were determined they would catch something, simply because they had set up their cages. The faith of a child is a beautiful thing!
As it got to the near pitch black stage Cooper was sure he saw one of the boxes had fallen down. There must surely be a bird caught! Now, neither of these boys likes the dark. In fact, they are both terrified of it. They sleep with lights on every night.
I was a little worried about how their litle hearts would fare with no birds coming, but I worried needlessly. They soon forgot about their traps and began another game of imagination and adventure elsewhere.
Climbing Up To Empty the Washer
Loading the Dryer
Raine's new extensions. This time we did the yarn extensions. They took less time (9 hours instead of 11) and look more real. This picture was taken before I trimmed the bottom of her hair. It was much nicer than working with synthetic hair. My husband and Cassidy went to the wool shop without me and did the choosing. I am impressed. They brought home three shades: one grey/black, one dark brown, and one black. Combined they created a really nice look. Everywhere she go people comment on her hair. They have been in for two weeks so far and they show no signs of wear. The last extensions lasted for eight weeks before I took them out. By then they were looking like dreadlocks. :o)
Savannah had her hair done in Christmas colours (could also be Ethiopian colours!). I actually find that with baby soft hair they don't keep the beads and styles very long. So I end up doing something cute and it lasts for a few days to a week. In this style I put an elastic on the pony, then I beaded three beads and then I joined the tail of that one to the beginning of another pony tail. At that point I added the two together and wrapped an elastic around them and then added more beads. In this manner, her beads are actually very securely attached to her head. They do not hang loose and I got a good week out of them.
Here Savannah's hair is in cute little triangles. So sweet for a cute little girl!
.
And finally, when I walked over to her and gently placed her hands by her side and said, "Ahria, just put your hands like this, okay?" this is what I got:
Look at her stiff little hands. She has no clue how to just stand still. She HAS to pose!! So cute!
She just couldn't resist...
Preparing the Sauce
A Full Batch of Sauce
Cassidy's pleasure is written all over his face.
Dane gave Colt a copy of the remarkable fiction short story that he wrote and illustrated about World War II.
Colt got a copy of the first blog I made: Raising My Boys In the Country. That has got to be the best gift. What child (not mine!) doesn't love pouring over stories about their own childhood!
Savannah has discovered the joy of gift giving!
Me and My Sister - So Glad I Have a Sister!
Cassidy, always a boy with a book in hand. Sneaking away for a few minutes respite from the craziness of the day!
And my mum was loving it all! While we adults stood around watching and smiling and taking pictures, she sat on the couch as their main audience clapping with a wide smile all over face and a glint of tears in her eyes.
The next thing I knew I saw Cassidy with a small sleepy child in his arms carrying him off to bed.
When all the children were tucked into bed we gave my sister the present that touched our hearts the most. It was just her, Dave, Ray and I, and it wasn't for any fanfare. It was simply something I wanted her to experience. There is a wonderful organization in China called Harmony House.
