At Our Home....

... there is never time to be bored, I have been making fried pies, pumpkin rolls and pumpkin pies, to sell for extra income for over Christmas. money does not grow on trees around here. not to complain, we do have everything that we need. and are very thankful for that. Daily i am amazed at what God is doing in our life. this spring we moved to another town and left good friends and a decent paying jop behind, for us to be able to be together. It hasn't been easy, but whenever I get discouraged when money gets tight, I am reminded why we are doing this and that it is better on the long run. new opportunities have kept coming our way and the future looks promising. the big plus being that we are together, as a family should be. and Hubby is not gone for a week at a time, leaving me with all the child rearing duties. no more over the road trucking!!!

Rose has been fully potty trained, which has made her seem so grown up. the diaper years have gone by rather quickly. Her vocabulary seems to change daily, for a while she had a lot of "right!?" and "all day!" in her sentences, even when it didn't fit. "Da Da" has become "Daddeee" which saddens me just a little bit, it was ever so cute to see her running to the door yelling "DaDa! DaDa!" whenever he returned from work. I like baby language. Yes, that's me being all sentimental and wishing to freeze time.

DJ asks endless questions, which lead to some very interesting conversations. He definitely plans on being a Father when he grows up, he also has been fascinated with policeman and fire fighters. While watching a big truck getting pulled over in front of our house, he asked. "Can police officers be married?" "sure" "Than I'm surely gonna be a policeman". He can be sweet as pie one moment, and throw me for a loop the next.

Flossie is one of the sweetest children I know, always wanting to do what is pleasing to God. Has recently discovered Taylor Swift but notices that she wears too much makeup. still plays with her baby dolls and is a great big sister. One of her bottom teeth has loosened, which gets her all excited! "It means I'm growing up, Mom!" She has sucessfully made cookies from scratch, with my help only to put them to and from the oven and to read a few words from the recipe.

I will stand by them no matter what they are facing, I will pray with them, and ask God to show me how to teach. .... a mothers love!

Our sweet little Boy

While watching a western type movie, and seeing a man getting shot in the shoulder, DJ pipes up "being shot is even worser than birthing a child!"

Daddy and I just grin.

That's our boy!

He makes me smile.

A DAY FOR ART

For art

I had Isaac make 5 of these frames.

Than I covered them with an old vinyl window shade

and gave them to my paint lovin kids

they had so much fun making a painting of their very own.

we invited the two neighbor children over to join the fun, which is why Isaac made 5 frames

Here is the finished product.

The only thing was, they were hardly big enough for the energized little people.

Training

The queen of dress up.

wearing her sisters shoes
talking on the phone.

Being a bit more real.

Rose, you make us laugh everyday with all the funny things you do.

You can get me later for posting these pictures for the world to see.

they are memories dear to my heart.

Field Trip

Gauge and Flossie make a great pair when it comes to adventure.

I was so surprised that DJ let the birds sit on him.

"cool braids young lady!"
It was actually pouring down rain.
It is such a fun place to take the children .

I just love the expressions on each face.

the Kangaroos were one of our favorite parts,

it was very educational.

we learned a lot about caves as well.

{Gods handiwork}

The guide used the phrase "millions of years ago" several times.

which we don't teach our children, I was a little surprised that Flossie didn't set the record straight. she kept her mouth closed till we got home. we use a lot of Kent Hovinds literature

for our lessons on creation.

they were in "awe"

Jada was a "super trooper" in all the rain we encountered

that day.We also got to watch a group of public school children feed the bottle to some baby lambs.

Flossie volunteered to milk a cow, while I volunteered DJ. because I, his mother, know what he wants to do.{ya ya yah} he got in line to patiently wait his turn, but burst into tears and came back to me, saying "why did you make me stick up my hand when I didn't want to milk that huge old cow?" sorry son, I guess my hands were itchin to grab a cows utter once again, and I thought you were a lot like me. apparently not in this area.Fall colors are beautiful right now.

Rosie

"I love the way you Love Me"

Mammaw Sue

The children's adopted grandma.

Mam maw Sue is a fun person to be with, the

kind where you can eat from her bowl and she

doesn't mind. the breakfast in bed type.

she spoils the children enough but not too much

they enjoy helping her work .

Likes to dress just like Flossy.

Mam maw Sue took us in when we left the Amish and had no place

to go. she held each of our children on their first day.

she is always there for us when we need someone.

We are thankful to have her in our lives.

We love Her!

School

School is much easier if we do it together.

DJ can officially write his name with no help.

{his first name} notice the weeds that they so lovingly pick for me.
Flossy zooms through all her work as if it was no challenge.

and Rose , , , well she scribbles. even on the walls that are freshly painted, and when confronted about her art project she proudly proclaims "ya , me, baby, do it!"

....................................................
At the moment..... hubby is helping Flossy and DJ plug cotton in their ears to block out the sound of their little sisters horrible snoring. she has a cold.

Past and Present

As I drove into the wal-mart parking lot I noticed a familiar looking horse tied to the hitching post. without a doubt I knew the horse belonged to my older sister,{I remembered the horse from home} evidently she was doing some shopping, and my heart fluttered with anticipation at the thought of seeing her once again. I was a bit nervous because I had only seen her once in the past 8 years and she had not been a bit happy to see me. in fact they said not to come visit anymore unless we join the Amish again. As I got inside I glanced over to the little McDonald's and in the far corner she sat along with her husband and their two darling little girls. I watched from a distance for a second or two, and went on my way. I had a lot to ponder on while doing my shopping, plus a million questions from my 6 and 4 year old. That's your sister?? wow! than why don't we go talk to them? I had to admit I was afraid of being criticized, and today I didn't want to hear it. I was thinking, {being told all my childhood that what you wear or you being Amish is the key to heaven.} does the broad brimmed hat atop the frowned face and the pale half hidden face under the big black bonnet represent Christ? What do outsiders think/see when they see Amish people? I saw bondage. maybe it wasn't very Christ like of me for not talking to my own blood sister? What do you think?

......................................................................................................... .........................................................My sister Lavina. I have many sweet memories of her, she was there for me when I needed help getting my dress buttoned. she got married and named her first child Saloma, I was ten years old at the time. Saloma and I became fast friends she was my pet, like I had been her mothers. we moved away but still got to see each other once or twice a year. we missed each other. now that we live close enough to shop at the same wal-mart there is a great distance between us. I sent Birthday cards and never hear from her. maybe one day she will get married to someone not so strict, and we will reconnect. after all she is 18 already, and has 5 brothers between her and her two little sisters. I have learned not to be too sad about not being able to see my earthly family. but sometimes memories are great, and I get "zeit lang" {homesick}

Getting dressed.

When asked to go get dressed for church , DJ came downstairs all decked out, ready to go.

"No son, you can not wear your underwear on your head for church.

and.... change into a nice shirt too."

Boys will be Boys.

and four is a great age.