Summer update

No, I have not fallen off of the face of the earth, bur sometimes I think that it would be nice. The summer has been way to busy here in our hen house. I remember having lazy days in the summer as a young girl and I wish I could have them back. I am a home body and having one activity a day is sometimes to much for me. With four children it is bound to happen that there will be hair cuts and ball games on the day so I better learn to live with it. For a short summery of the past few months continue reading.

End of May and the month of June!

It was filled with ball games, cancelled ball games and make-up ball games. We have had a very wet summer. It you can believe it our grass is still green! Usually, by this time of year The Rooster does not have to mow very often because the dry weather has caused to grass to go dormant. Most of our games would begin around 6 PM so that would mean I would have to have supper on the table no later then 4:30. It seemed like as soon as I was done cooking lunch I would have to get started on supper. That is the life of a baseball mom.

Chick #1 was on a large team this year so she did not get in a lot of playing of time. She basically likes to play because she can hang out with her best friend (white haired chick) (sorry, I do not have picture) and a lot of other girls. The girls were scared to bat the ball this year because many of them were hit with wild pitches. Chick #1 was one of the few who did pull off a few hits. In this photo she missed that ball, but it was taken early in the season. The umpire in an ever famous pastor around these parts who I will not name. Let just say that he and The Rooster like to pump iron together.


Chick #4 is a trooper and gets drug to everything. He loves all of the activity and was a blue ringpop junky during the ball season. If his little lips were not blue it just did not seem like a ball game. As you can see he was very lucky on a little fishing trip we took. He had the first catch of the day. We were all very proud of the little guy for bringing in the fish. Can you tell he has two older sisters? Yep! He is using a pink fishing pole. He really thinks that he should have Superman fishing pole, but beggars can not be choosers.

Chick #3 also played t-ball but I did not get any pictures of it. A pregnant mommy just can remember everything. She did have fun when we went to a 4-H painting class. She was in the youngest of the three group and did very well on her art work. She is still working on growing out her bangs. Some days she will have a head band on and on others she will put her bangs in little pig tails on the sides of her face. I am impressed that she works so hard at keeping them out of her eyes.
Once while it was pouring cats and dogs there was not any lighting and the little chicks went out to play. Kids just do not play in the rain like they used too, I hardly ever seem them stomping in puddles any more. My little ones love it. When chick #1 was under 1 year old The Rooster used to take her out into rain and walk around with her.

Chick #2 was the catcher with the mostest! He would dive, run around and roll to get the ball quickly. All of that movement would make the chick a sweaty mess. His last game ended after 10 PM and I made him take a shower before he could crawl into bed. He was just mud and sweat. As long as he was behind the home plate his head was in the game. We had to watch out if he was in the outfield though. He was more likely to be catching June bugs than watching the ball. What do you expect he is only 9.

Dancing dolls

It seems that I am having troubles with posting photos again and it takes over 45 min. Maybe that is one of many reasons I have not been posting anything. Life may settle down for a little while since the girls are now done with dance. We have have their photos taken, rehearsed and performed over the past two weeks. During that same time there has also been many ball practices, games and graduations to attend. Both of the little chicks wanted curls for the dance recital so I pick up some fun little foam curlers. They absolutely loved having their hair in rollers and having a fuss made over them. Of course the Ugly Duckling needed one roller too. He really did not want to have his photo taken but the oldest was finally able to hold him still. During the recital the oldest chick had four costume changes and the younger one only three. This whole year chick #3 kept telling me that she hated dance and wanted to quit. She never cried about going, she just was never really excited. Then it came time for recital, costumes, jewelry, lip gloss and curls. She was is heaven! I told her that this is what all of the practicing was for and now it was time for her to show off. This little chick now tells me that she never wants to quit dance and she was a little sad when the recital was over. I am glad that she now understand that hard work can really have a fun pay off.

Money

I am disgusted with how much money these candidates for president are going through. The three of them have raised over 70 million dollars in the past month. That is just one month of fund raising. 70 Million seems like a huge amount of money to me. Lets face it, filling up our suburban feels like a huge amount of money right now. I suppose I could use all of my research skills and try to find out what these three yahoos are spending their money on, but what would that matter. We all know they "need" expensive clothes and meals and shampoo and whatever else they think they deserve. But I will not waste my time in that way. I see so many places and charitable organizations that need help. America would do so much better to help children or the elderly than to pour their money into this crazy campaign.

Little eggs chicks and food

I have been very absent from my blog for some time. Educating children can take a lot of time and we have been hitting the books. In our house we will be continuing school for most of the summer because we will be taking off the months of October and half of November when this new little chick is born. Speaking of the new little chick, he or she is causing me to pop out all over. I am sure that everyone who now sees me knows that I am pregnant. The new little babe is also causing my hunger to increase be leaps and bounds. Most women love chocolate and crave it. That used to be me but no more. I do not know what it is but the thought of chocolate is not appealing. I am hungry for vegetables and fruit. Now that is different! My first little chick caused me to love salty things, the next three were sweet tooth babies plus a craving for pepper. The consequences of the sweet tooth were three cavities. Yuck! I had never had a filling before and looked to my children to tell me what that experience was like. Now, it seems, I will be having a little veggie baby. So, what could that mean about this little one. Maybe it will grow up to be a wonderful gardener, which I am not.

Easter Chicks

Easter at our house was a very exciting event this year. NaNa and my sister and her son were able to come down for a visit. It was a very quick one but it was very nice. The cousins had a great time playing and getting to know each again. They had just seen each other in January but they needed a little time to get familiar with each other again. They came on Good Friday and little chick #4 was finally back to normal. He had been suffering from a fever for most of the week that finally broke Friday afternoon. Saturday was a birthday celebration for little chick #3 who turned 6 and that meant a family trip to one of those fun pizza places. The food was very good and the kids had a blast. After the services on Sunday we finally got down to dying Easter eggs and having a little hunt. We hunted eggs for a while outdoors which called for coats since it was only 34 degrees. After that I wanted to head back inside the house. I think chick #4 was tuckered out from the cold weather outside and needed a snack. As soon as he found a egg in the house, he stopped where he was and peeled it. The little shells dropped right to the floor and he started munching. It was a very cute three year old moment.

An apple a day

You Are an Apple

You are strong, powerful, and even a bit stubborn at times. You have enough strength to help those around you in trouble. You are adventurous and charming. Many people are drawn to you. You love life, and you enjoy traveling the world. You enjoy fine food, art, and culture. People have accused you of being a snob, but that's not accurate. You do enjoy the best things in life. Unlike snobs, you truly appreciate quality... not just pretend to.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

A six year old chick

This little chick turned 6 years old today. We got her two gifts and I think that she is happy with them. She never really asked for anything to specific but I guess that means she is happy with her little life.
She did ask for something tho. I will not be baking her birthday cake until Sat. for her party with family and I asked her if she wanted me to make her some special cookies or if she wanted daddy to pick something up from the bakery for her. She knew right away what she wanted, doughnuts. We never ever have doughnuts. In fact my little chicks had never ever seen a whole box of doughnuts. The hen house was full of excitement waiting for The Rooster to come home from work this afternoon. You would have thought that he was bringing home a new little puppy the way the chicks were acting. Oh the squeals that I heard when he drove into the drive way.
I had to take a photo of her eating the wonderful doughnut. She had chocolate from ear to ear.

Plus here is a photo of the girl chicks in their ballet outfits. Both of the girls danced in a local talent show on Sunday night and chick #3 just loved wearing her tutu. I was going to post a cute picture of chick #3 when she was a babe but my scanner and I do not have a good relationship. I can not get it to do anything right. I think that the Rooster is going to have to look at it and make it cooperate with me.

More in Issues ect.

It seems that you can still down load from the archive of old issues ect. shows. You can find it here. There is also a petition that is being signed so that you can voice your opinion on the canceling of this wonderful radio program. Please visit here it you would like to sign it. You are also asked to call or write to David L. Strand. He is the executive Director for Communication Services for the LCMS. David L. Strand, (314) 996-1200 or (888)843-5267 david.strand@lcms.org . The voice of the laity can have a very strong impact at times like these.

A Sad Day in the LCMS

It seems that one of our little seminaries has gone a bit to far. Maybe it is on the orders of our not so wonderful present Mr. Kieschnick. (Yes, I am leaving off the Dr. part on purpose) They have pulled the plug on one of the most wonderful resources that our church had to offer. Issues Ect. is now gone. No longer will people listen to Pastor Todd Wilkin, Jeff Scwartz and the confessional LCMS view about issues in our world. "Fired" was the gift they were given by the synod this week. They took all of the wonderful archives away as well. What a horrid thing to happen to the LCMS during holy week. I pray that the safety of Higher Things and Good News magazines will not be touched. Boo to you St. Louis.

I have news

Myspace Countdown Clocks at WishAFriend.com

Two days

Remember my last post about my sons new bike? He needed this bike because he had such tire issues with his last bike. Today, he walks into the house to announce that his front tire is flat. In just two days his front tire is flat. What does this boy do on the bike to flatten a tire so fast. Tomorrow he will have a lesson in fixing flat tires.

Nine year old boy

Here is little chick #2 nine years ago. He had his 9th birthday on Monday, it does not seem like it was that many years ago when he was little. Now I could hardly pick him up he has grown so much.
He was surprised by a new bmx bike on his birthday. He really had no idea that he was going to be getting a bike. Last summer he was really hard on his bike and popped a few tires because it is just so cool to skid when you are a boy. Well we said we would only fix the tire so many times. He then started riding the Roosters 26" bike so it was really time he had one to fit himself.
It was such a nice day that he had to try it out. Of course he now want to raise up the seat and try to learn a few tricks. I am sure that my heart will stop when I see him practicing his new stunts. Hopefully we will not have any broken bones.
Look at all of the candles on that cake. He blew them all out in one great big breath. The cake was left over from a fundraiser that I had worked at the night before and worked well for our small celebration. On Saturday, he will be having a party with a few friends and I will be decorating a cake for that. He wants me to make a camouflaged cake. I will keep you posted on how that turns out.

freedoms

Our freedoms as homeschooling families are being threatened once again in this country. The government is again sticking it's nose in a place where it does not belong. Children are given to parents to be raised and taught. It is not the governments job to do this. In California the courts have made a terrible ruling stating that parents can not teach their children at home unless they have a teacher certification. To learn more about this please go to Focus On The Family and listen to their broadcast on this topic. Then please visit the Home School Legal Defense Association web site and sign their petition dealing with this subject. We must begin to stand together and fight for our freedoms to raise our children without government interference.

Glass, Glass, Glass

Some of you may know that The Rooster's grandmother died in December. As it now turns out his Grandfather is moving into a assisted living center and their apartment needed to be cleaned out. I have had many things brought into my house and I do not know where I will put them or what I will do with them. As to date I have three garbage bags of sheets and different cloth items, Grandma's sewing box, two quilts, and a table full of glass. Soon to come are two dressers and glass cabinet. The girls just love all of the glass pieces and think that it is beautiful. I am hoping the The Rooster's Dad will come over and pick out a few things. I think that I will keep a few items and maybe one of the Roosters aunts will want something. But I just do not have the room to keep all of this stuff. I wish that we could go back to days when people just had a few precious item. Now it seems that we have hundreds of precious things and we are always looking for more. I know that grandma bought many of things at garage sales so they are not that precious. A few still have the color dot on the bottom so you could tell who would get the money when it sold. It has been hard to see the aunts and uncles of the Rooster trying to find ways to deal with all of the stuff that these people kept.

History fair

I have a very good reason for not blogging lately. The hen house has been very busy researching history projects. A little over a month ago The chicks sign-up to be in a home school history fair. The oldest chicks have been reading, studying and typing. I had to help chick #2 with some of the typing he had to do for his project. He is pretty slow and he would also become frustrated. I figured it was better for me to type his words instead of having him give up. Chick #1 picked Elizabeth I of England for her project and Chick #2 picked the topic of Daniel Boone. They enjoyed finding their books at the library and I helped them find a few web sites they could research. It really amazed me how much more they learned besides history. The listed included library skills, grammar, organization, cooking, leather work, spelling, reading, comprehension and time management. I knew that Chick #1 would do very well on writing her project and finding information. I did not really know how well Chick #2 would do on his project. It turned out that he did very well. I had to give him a little more guidance than the older child. We would decide on a topic of Daniel Boone's life to research, for example his birth. Then I would give him a few question to find the answers for and he would then put those question and answers into sentence form and type them up. The chicks also had to prepare a two minute presentation about their topic. Chick #1 and I were able to find a few poems written by Queen Elizabeth the I, so she read those for her presentation. The presentation for Chick #2 was a little more difficult. He did not want to do it, but I had assign it to him so that meant he had to. It took a little brain storming on both of our parts until we came up with something. First, he had found a funny little story about Daniel Boone walking back-wards in the woods to loose some Indians. Then after that he talked about Daniel being a excellent tracker and showed everyone some animal tracks that he had printed off. It was such an enjoyable evening to see all of the work that these home school students had done. There were about 36 student at the history fair.

Chick #1 is standing here with her history board and hand made item. We had found an Elizabethan recipe for Apple Moye which is like apple sauce. She had fun cooking and severing it to the parents and children.
Here she is reading the poems written by Queen Elizabeth the I. She read very well but Elizabethan poetry is a little hard to understand. She presents herself so well in front of an audience. I had asked her if she was nervous at all. She said "No, I was so nervous for (Chick #2). He looked scared Mommy." That was just such a sweet thing for her to say.

Chick #2 was proud of his board and his leather pouch that he had made. At first he thought the pouch would be difficult to put together but then he quickly caught onto the idea. He spoke very well during his presentation. I was surprised how clear his speaking was and how calm he sounded because I knew that he was very nervous.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my readers out there. It is going to be a very cold day here with temp dropping all day long. A sweater will definitely be needed today. After my little chicks finished their breakfast this morning they were able to munch on chocolates given to them by their NaNa and PaPa. I had surprised them with Valentines hanging from the stairs and then they saw them as soon as they walked down the stairs. The older chicks are busy working on a history fair project. They have been learning how to do research and organize their thoughts onto the computer keyboard. They have two weeks left for this project and I hope that they will get everything done. I will have to post photos of their display boards after they have them put together. They are now finished with their chores so I need to go and tell them what things they need to be working on next.

A three year old is in the house

Chick #4 is three year olds today. He is a very active little guy and is always jumping off of our stairs. At this point in his life he loves super heroes and Disney Cars stuff and Veggie tale pirates. He wants a Spiderman cake today so I guess I should get started on that. Right now he is battling yet another winter cold and hopefully is will not last for to long.

Here is a picture of the little guy when he was about two days old. Notice how his hair color has changed? All of my babies are born with a dark full head of hair but that always loose it all. Well all but chick #1, she started to get hair cuts when she was six months old. Her little bangs were hanging in her eyes. Chick #4's hair grew back really blond but now it has darkened up a little more. In the past year he has done many new things and I am sure that while he is three he will be amazing.

Ash Wedneday

I love Ash Wednesday and the imposition of the ashes. In all reality I love the whole lenten season. Our sinful nature is thrown into our face and the grace of our Heavely Father is poured out upon us. My little chicks have always loved having the ashes placed upon their foreheads as our family kneels at the table. Our sins are ever before us and the payments for our sins is spoken in our ear. The sacrifice of God's only son paided for all our sin. This blood is the price and we can simple say thankyou. Do we disever this grace? Did we choose it? No! God choose it for us and we let the Holy Spirit work as it will.

Savior, when in dust to Thee

Low we bow the adoring knee;

When repentant, to the skies

Scarce we lift our weeping eyes;

O, by all Thy pains and woe

Suffered once for us below,

Bending from Thy throne on high,

Hear our penitential cry!

By Thy helpless infant years,

By Thy life of want and tears,

By Thy days of deep distress

In the savage wilderness,

By the dread, mysterious hour

Of the insulting tempter's pow'r,

Turn, O turn a fav'ing eye;

Hear our penitential cry!

By Thine hour of dire despair,

By Thine agony of prayer,

By the cross, the nail, the thorn,

Piercing spear, and torturing scorn,

By the gloom that veiled the skies

O'er the dreadful sacrifice,

Listen to our humble sigh;

Hear our penitential cry!

By Thy deep expiring groan,

By the sad seputchral stone,

By the vault whose dark abode

Held in vain the rising God,

O, from earth to heav'n restored,

Mighty, reascended Lord,

Bending from Thy throne on high,

Hear our penitential cry!

LSB 419

A Peom

Blogging is making me fat.

For I sit in my chair like a cat.

I look and I read

then I click and I type.

Oh, I can't miss any of that Lutheran hype.

Blogging is making me fat.

Blogging is making me fat,

drool runs down my chin to my hat.

There are photos of food

and recipes for the mood,

all you need is this and that.

Oh, bogging is making me fat.

Blogging is making me fat,

because I like to post pictures in fact.

I sit at the keyboard looking at photos of chicks,

they are cute in their hats or playing with sticks.

I need to get up and cook some more food.

Oh, blogging is making me fat!

By: The Hen