this morning

the kids picked mulberries this morning and i made pancakes...
it was a delicious breakfast!

they rode bikes and played while i fed animals and collected eggs (our little chicks that were born under the porch are now laying eggs!!!)

then we headed to the land!
look at the arches!!!!
 it looks so amazing down there...and it is the basement!!!!

the kids had a blast runnign around and climbing on scaffolding =)

we then dug out the floor in jack's house...he said when we were finished "o mama, my back hurts! that is hard work!"
 =)
the funny thing is that i can't imagine his little 6 year old back really hurting...he just hears me say that so much now that i am pregnant!!! haha~!

now we are home...taco salads, romping outside a bit...about to clean and do some grocery shopping =) 

 

 

 

 

feed sacks into totes

i went to youtube and typed in something like "turning feed sack into tote bag" but i just tried to find the same one i used again and i couldn't find it! maybe go to google and type that in...it should send you to a youtube site ??
anywho...kayla =) it was SO easy.....the kids helped me sew long straight stitches =)
do you have a machine?
post a pic when you do one!!!!

sight words

i went to worksheetworks.com and printed off the sight word list
then printed it on cardstock at fed ex this morning...
i used a different color for each level ...
 

eating from the garden...

this week we've had greens quite a few nights..just a mixture of all sorts...
and then green shakes in the mornings...
cilantro thrown in with this and that rice dishes...
squash casserole and then pan fried squash...
peas picked and gobbled (not producing very much though..planted late)
and at least a strawberry or 2 a day which never get very far =) 

 

tote bags from chicken sacks!

i saw a lady in the feed and seed the other day who used a chicken feed bag as her shopping bag..i asked her if she made it bc i liked it so much...and she said she bought it somewhere...

but the kids and i thought we could give one a try...so today after a quick course on youtube =) (the place where you can learn to do just about anything)
we made one!

we have SO many of these sturdy bags so i think this will take the place of cutting out Bible flannel for me in the evenings =)
 

 

 

more of the arch

we leave each day around 4...
the kids and i...
i have found that it gives us the perfect amount of time to make and eat dinner together, take a bath, read books and snuggle into bed by 6:30 or 7
but it seems like lately stages are ALMOST finished at 4 and we miss the final bit!

so i can't wait to go out tomorrow and see this arch finished!
 

 

who needs a playground?

this is the kids favorite thing to do, place to be and "show" to watch
they are all up and under the guys while they work ...
it is different from conventional construction in so many ways but one is that there aren't lots of power tools and loud noises....
today everyone was quiet listening to a mourning dove and then calling back to it while laying brick...
 

 

 

 

 

the arch!!!

this is the arch over the stove in the basement...i LOVE It!!!!!!
 

 

 

 

 

Bible flannel board...finally finished!!!

it took many evenings to cut this out piece by piece but hip hip horray i am finished!
i can't wait to tell the kids stories with it...
i do hope it is a little less confusing than it looks though to find all the right pieces =) 

 

 

kory's cows

i can't believe i haven't posted this yet...or maybe i have and i can't remember...
wait, yes, i already did! ha!
anywho...love our friend kory
love his cows he sketched
can't wait to display in our new home!
 

our friend creighton cutts...

hello all!
our friend creighton cutts (son of marie cutts...my dear dear friend) started making honeypots in their barn years ago.....and has since created a business in athens, ga.  he used to own frontier...a WONDERFUL little gift shop downtown....displaying his honeypot candles amongst so many other eccentricities. but now, his full-time job is making and selling these honeypots...and he is always doing something good with the monies earned...donating to protect our waterways etc...
SO, there is a large project that he is hoping to get funded...and in order to do this, he needs a certain amount of pledges...you just have to pledge a dollar...and it is well-worth it!
check out this link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1029953918/honeypot-floatoshoot-tour-1
and if for some reason it doesn't take you there, then go to www.kickstarter.com and type in honeypots to view the video and make a pledge!
thanks so much! and yay creighton!!!

worksheetworks.com

for any of you who homeschool or think about wanting to...
this site is GREAT
worksheet templates and you can create your own...it is so cool!
even if you just need something to do with the kids on a saturday..you can make them a wordsearch with family names on it =) or a puzzle page with their favorite animals...whatever!
www.worksheetworks.com

baby taylor!

not sure if this picture is going to print up on here...
this has been the month for babies!
first our friends natalie and roland and their twin boys! and now our good friends kelly and jon kip and their baby taylor!
josh went to the hospital this evening....i stayed home as ez is still getting over the vestiges of a cough...
what a sweet sweet baby!!!!!
 

progress today....

all 3 pillars are finished...
and the fireplace base is up chest height!
the entrance to the fireplace will be an arch...so thinking that will maybe start to happen soon? maybe? or does that happen when you get to it up high..not sure...
anywho..i feel like they are building a cathedral....so fun!!!!

the boys went out tonight to a restaurant that you have to know someone to know it is a restaurant =)
a farm nearby which serves beef raised across the road and has a pub restaurant of sorts...
interested to hear all about it!

the folks who work at the new bakery have become buddies with the fellas so they are all off to trivia night!
 

 

more of jack's pictures =)

 

 

 

jack's perspective

i gave jack the camera and let him loose...
he took about 22 pictures of the mortar mixer =) some good ones too!
and another 30 or so of clay working...=)
here are a few!