Beautiful Sunny Day

What a glorious day it was today. The sun was bright, the sky was blue and the temps were in the high 60s. It was such a treat for the last day of October.

We had a good school morning. Everyone was able to work around the table for a while and then we broke off to do reading in various places. It worked well today.

Gabe and I set up one of the experiments in his Zoology I Science book. It involved making bug traps and seeing which type of food (or location) the bugs like best. Hopefully the bugs will stay active for a few days and we can see how it works.

Gabe sets up the bug trap experiment

Gabe was also on the bug hunt today. The warmer weather brought out a lot of bugs and he was in little boy heaven. He found a large bug that he was quite excited about. We looked it up and it was an "Assasin Bug". Very interesting. This particular one was a bee assasin. He had to check and see if it would kill another bug. He went out and found a yellow jacket and caught it (carefully). He put it in the jar with the assasin and sure enough, the bug jumped on the wasp and soon after, the wasp was dead. It was really quite cool.

I told Gabe we should put the assasin bug in our killing jar and add him to our collection, but he thinks he is too interesting to kill, so we will probably let him go tomorrow.

The Youngers had their lunch outside at the picnic table. They didn't want to interrupt their play for too long. We all spent most of the afternoon outside. The kids played, Bessie went for a run and read some of Tom Sawyer, I cut down some of the old corn stalks and put it in with the chickens and then did some stitching . It was such a nice day to be out.

Bess takes advantage of our un-October weather

Mom and Dad came over for dinner. They live in a small town that makes a big deal out of trick or treating...they get lots of kids at their door, so they try and not be at home during T & T hours. We had burgers, fries, baked beans and apple muffins that Bessie made this afternoon.

After dinner we went out and enjoyed the campfire. It was still so warm. What a pleasant way to spend an hour or two. The company was wonderful and the conversation good. The kids enjoyed playing in the dark. The Littles were very nervous at first. When they first came, they were almost phobic of the dark and especially being outside after dark. They have come a long way.

Enjoying the campfire

Toy Monkey

Here is my latest cross-stitch block. This one was quick and easy.

Dan was up at 5am this morning. Way too early even considering his little body is still on Day Light Savings Time! The Littles are not quiet if they are awake. There is lots of sighing, yawning, rolling over and general noise if they are awake. I finally brought him into our room and plopped him on the floor next to the bed. At least there, I could keep him quiet enough so he didn't wake up the other kids.

We had a really good school time today. The Little's are still a little unsure how school and home flow, but we are getting there and most of our days are more productive than not. Bessie and I went over her schedule and tweaked it a bit to make sure she is getting enough hours in. This is the first year we have counted hours and I'm a bit nervous about having enough. She reads and reads and reads, but is a very quick reader, so I'm not sure how it is all adding up.

Bessie and Gabe had dental cleanings today so we trucked off to the dentist after lunch. Mom and Dad met us there to watch the Littles while I went in with Gabe. Rachel came in and watched Gabe get his cleaning and have a sealant put on. We are still trying to get the Littles added to our dental insurance, so they have never been. She seemed to think it was pretty cool and she wanted to go.

We went up to Mom and Dad's for a short visit. The kids played outside. It was cold and still a bit breezy, but sunny and nice. We got home in time for dinner, which was just sandwiches as Bri was working late and wouldn't be home to eat.

Blustery Sunday

The wind has just been a howling today. There have been wind advisories all day. Thankfully, it isn't terribly cold, mid-40s. The sun has been in and out, mostly out with a few sprinkles. As the sun goes down, we might get a few snow showers.

We had a good morning. Everyone was up nice and early due to the time change, so no rushing around to get ready for church. We had a guest speaker today. He works with a NY organization that promotes legislative accountability and responsibility. He was very interesting to listen to. Some of what he had to say was quite discouraging, but I think it is good to realize that Christian's need to at least get out and vote.

Dispite the vicious winds, Bri and I went for a walk. Gabe tagged along. I told him that we didn't walk slow and that we went farther than when we walk as a family. He assured us he could keep up and he did. It was nice to have that time with him. We saw a wild turkey, a great blue heron, a small snake (squashed in the road), a very cold sluggish stag beetle and the smallest wooly-bear caterpiller I've ever seen.

I was able to get some stitching in today. I have a dealine of Tuesday for a block I'm working on. I'm almost finished and may get it done tonight.

We had tea tonight for our supper. It was a very enjoyable time. This is the first time Brian was able to join us and he thought it was a wonderful idea.

The Littles hit the wall early tonight because of the time change. We kept them up a bit longer, but finally put them to bed. We played some more Uno Attack. That is Gabe's favorite game right now.

Happy Birthday, Bessie!

Today was Bessie's 14th birthday. I can't believe how the time has flown by. She is becoming such a wonderful young woman. We are so proud of her.

We decided to make life nice and easy for today and went with sandwiches for lunch instead of a hot meal. We made a quick trip to the grocery store.

We decided to have the gathering at mom and dad's because it is more centrally located. Theresa and the kids came down and we had hoped that Dave and his family would come, but I knew they had some things they wanted to get done this weekend.

Enjoying some songs at the piano

It was a very nice day. We had so much food, as always! Mom had gotten veggies and dip and made up a pickle platter. We had assorted crackers with different cheeses, cold meat and cheese with veggies for subs and chips and salsa. We did make your own sundaes for dessert.

The kids get to eat in the living room

Bessie got some nice things today. We had given her a digital camera earlier in the day for her big gift. She has been wanting one for a while. Glenn and Theresa and their family gave her a great gift bag full of fun things...chocolates, comfy socks, picture frame and other assorted things. They also gave her a nice photo album...just right to go with her new camera. Mom and Dad gave her one of those flexible silicon muffin pans and money. She can't wait to try out the muffin pan.

Bessie loves chocolate

The kids had a terrific time playing. The weather was very rainy and windy, so everyone stayed inside, but that didn't damper the fun. The bigger girls played cards and Gabe and Zeb did a lot of running around. The Littles joined in here and there and generally had a great time. The adults relaxed and chatted.

Say "cheese"

We got home about 6:15pm. The Littles watched a video and then headed to bed. Dan was a little slow to go to sleep as he had fallen asleep in the van on the way home.

Bri, Bess, Gabe and I played a couple games of UNO Attack, then Bessie watched some Pride and Prejudice, a new DVD she received, while I snuggled with Gabe.

It was a very good day for all.

We continued to work on our Civil War era study today. Gabe and I read a book on the underground railroad. I am hoping to find a sight in the area someplace that had a "railroad" stop in it. I think this would help make the whole idea come alive.

It was such a nice day that the kids spend most of the afternoon outside. The leaves have all fallen and are quite crispy now, but the youngers had fun playing in them.

Enjoying the leaves

Raking up the leaves was on this weekends agenda, but I think we are in for some severe weather...rain, high winds and snow before it winds down on Monday.

Bessie and Gabe have been feeding the neighbors cats for the last 10 days. Today was the last day. We all walked over this morning. I helped Bess clean the litter box and vacuum up the litter the cats spread around. Nothing worse than coming home to a mess.

Bri got home a little early today. We quickly mixed up De'Etta's chicken divan and then he and I went for a walk. What a treat! It is so nice now that Bessie can stay with the youngers for short periods of time. It was such a nice day out...clear, but cool, great walking weather.

I took a nice hot tub this evening. One of my favorite indulgences.

Bri, Bess, Gabe and I watched Princess Bride after the Littles were in bed. The movie was an early birthday present for Bess.

The plans for tomorrow have been totally changed. We are heading over to mom and dad's for an impromtu gathering for Bessie. I'll need to whip up some food in the morning and make pies.

Theresa and the kids are coming down (Glenn has to work) and hopefully Dave and his family will come up for a little while.

Bessie loves seeing the cousins, so this will be a great way for her to spend her birthday. I can't believe she is going to be 14!

Not too much going on this week...at least nothing terribly exciting.

Our weather has been cloudy and cold this week. Very early winterish. Most of the leaves have fallen and it is quite gray.

We have gotten quite a bit of school done this week. Things are settling in better and everyone has started to accept that we do school at home. The new kids, especially Rachel were very confused by this. I guess no one homeschools in the Philippines.

Bessie usually has piano on Wednesdays, but she has been having headaches a lot lately and didn't feel up to going. She has a doctor's appointment next week. Hopefully we will get to the bottom of the problem.

Thursday was Dan's last day of nursery school. His teacher made quite a fuss over him and she gave him a book when he left. She was almost in tears when I picked him up. We go to church with them, so it isn't like we won't see them again!

Brian come home from work early so that I could go out shopping for Bessie's birthday, which is Saturday. I had pretty good success. Brian is going to pick up one more item today.

I had choir Thursday evening. Gabe likes to come with me. He brings the portable DVD player and sits in the back of the church. We finished up going through our Stars and Stripes musical. We will be doing run throughs for the next few weeks and then have our preformance the weekend of the 18th.

Today has turned off sunny and cold. The sky is so blue and a welcome change from the grayness of this week. I'll post more later.

This week will be Dan's last week of nursery school. I am feeling more relieved about this decision every day. His teacher said all the kids were wild today and we sure could tell when he got home. He spent quite a bit of time in the "uncooperative chair", a name coined by Bessie and Gabe from one of their favorite picture books, Julius, Baby of the World.

We hit the post office and one of the libraries after we picked up Dan. This week quite a few of our TOG books were available at our local library. Most often we have to order them from our regional system. We have come to the Civil War period in our studies and we are going to settle here for a bit. We haven't studied this time period indepth before and we might not come to it again before Bess graduates. She is doing a lot of reading in the dialectic and rhetoric levels (the literature selections). I'm still trying to come up with some good activities to do with the youngers.

We had a pretty quiet afternoon. Bessie made Jodi's pull apart rolls to go with our ravioli for dinner. I worked on a stitching project. I sat in the room with the woodstove and have to admit that the wonderful heat made me so sleepy that I know I dozed off a time or two.

Brian and Bess finished up their movie after dinner. Brian was a bit disappointed with part of the ending and wants to get the older version. I'll have to look and see if they have it at the library.

Monday Home Day

We had a pretty good day today. We were able to stay at home and get some good school done. Everyone at good attitudes and that made things go much smoother.

I did table school with Gabe this morning and helped Bessie with her science. She is doing Apologia Biology and she needed the microscope. We usually use the dissecting scope which has a binocular view, but today she needed the compound scope with the higher power to look at some prepared slides and it only has a monocular view. It took her a bit to figure out how to get the best view, but then she was able to do the rest the of assignment with no trouble.

After lunch I worked with the girls on math and then I took the plunge and started doing the phonograms for SWR. Gabe knew almost all of the sounds. Rachel did well repeating the sounds and I think she'll catch on quickly. Hannah had definite trouble pronouncing some of the sounds, so we will have to do some speech work while we work through the phonograms. I am going to start the Wise Guide with Gabe.

Mom and Dad called and they are having a good time in Ohio. They said they visited an Amish area today. I'm not sure where they went. They will be heading home on Wednesday.

I finally called Dan's nursery school teacher and told her we had decided to stop bringing Dan. It was a tough decision, but I think we made the right choice. She was very gracious about it. This will be his last week. I know he has a good time, but we really feel he will do better on several levels at home.

Bessie made chicken pot pie for dinner. It was very yummy. We had a good chuckle when Rachel asked Bessie is she was making "pie pot". The language thing can be quite humorous at time.

Brian and Bess watched some of the Count of Monte Cristo after the Littles were in bed and I was snuggling with Gabe.

I can't believe it is Sunday already. I have been lax in my blogging duties. I'll give a quick recap of what has been going on.

Thursday...
We were all so excited today, Brian is coming home tonight. Dan had nursery school and we did school at home. I spent the afternoon cleaning up some. I had choir in the evening. Gabe came with me and Bessie watched the Littles at home. We are finishing up reheasals for our Stars and Stripes musical we are doing in Novemeber and started working on our Christmas Cantata.

I put everyone to bed (Bessie stayed up) because Brian's flight wasn't scheduled until after 11pm. I woke everyone up around 10 and we headed to the airport. It is always so exciting for the kids to go to the airport in their jammies. Brian was already waiting at the baggage area when we got there. They had a real strong tail wind and made excellent time. It is so good to have him home. He was only been gone a week, but we all miss him when he is away.

It was around 1am before we got home, tucked everyone back in and finally called it a day.

Friday....
Pretty quiet day. Bri slept in a bit. It will take him a few days to get over all the time changes he has been threw over the last week. He started the woodstove...the first time of the season. I love the woodstove, even though it can be messy. It is always so nice to have that one really warm spot to retreat too.

Bessie and I headed to the beauty salon and WalMart. Bess got a very cute cut. It is just above her shoulders and slightly layered so it flips out nicely. It looks very nice. She wants me to highlight again. We ran in and picked up a few things in Wallie-world.

I had the Secret Prayer Sister reveal dinner tonight. I was undecided until almost the last minute whether I would go or not. Brian encouraged me to attend and I'm glad he did. It was a very fun evening. We had a great meal, a wonderful devotional time, played some fun games, revealed to our sisters and picked new secret sisters. It was a terrific time of fellowship and fun.

Saturday...
Today we ran some errands. We made a trip to the library and then up to the base to pick up Bri's car. It wouldn't start. The battery cable was bad. He fussed around with it and got it going then we went in seperate directions. The kids and I stopped at Michael's and Bri stopped at the grocery store.

We had a quiet afternoon and evening. Everyone is still tired from being up late on Thursday.

After dinner, everyone had showers and then to bed.

Sunday...
We went to Sunday school and church this morning. Bessie went home with people from church to babysit for them this afternoon. We had a nice lunch. Brian loves to put something in the crock pot on Saturday night so that it is ready for lunch after church.

Bri is getting wood and doing some outside chores as it is suppose to ran later.

That pretty much sums it up for now. Nothing majorly exciting, except for Bri coming home.