Shortening the TO-DO list

I'm just excited to tell everyone that something that has been on my to-do list for 4 years now, is finally finished.

The leaky roof is fixed!!

Ok, so it hasn't rained yet to make sure it's really fixed, but I think it is.

Fall is here, and it hasn't rained in awhile, so we seized the opportunity to get the roof leak patched up. The oh-so-well built roof has three different roofs coming together and it was leaking for who knows how long. The funny thing is that when I went up in the attic to see exactly where it was leaking, I found a few catching trays to catch water and interestingly enough, it was right where the leak was. Hmmmm? Who knows!

The 1935 house is more of a patchwork quilt of sorts.

Good thing the patch is not on the road side of the house, so other's won't see it.

One more thing to check off my list!!

Homescoolers don't get sick days.....

They just have a difference pace day........

Hailey had a fever and a terrible cough today. I still took Will and his friend to their homeschool group today and Hailey stayed home with papa (who, by the way, sacrificed his sleep time, as he's been working graveyard).

I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed when I got home with the boys to find that Hailey had been working on school work all day, albeit in her pj's. After we got home, she did an oral presentation she had prepared for us, along with question and answer time, notes, a display, and map work.

I jokingly told papa I would go back to work full time and he could stay home and homeschool the kiddos!

What a blessing to have a partner who can help out, even with homeschool projects. And it's great for me to let go of always doing everything. I'm learning to let go and accept help. I really can't do it all. Can you believe I'm saying that? :)

We can home to her display up in the hallway. She did research and a report on Crater Lake (where wer're going to visit in October) and her favorite animal, the river otter.

Miss Hailey, in her pj's, sick, and still doing her schoolwork.

A homeschool moment..........

Today during our day we had what I like to call a "homeschool moment". It's a moment when you look around, see your kids enjoying to learn and have a large sigh of relief and say to yourself "this is why I homeschool!"

Here the kiddos are, Will is reading a book while Hailey sits, listens, and knits. Of course I was sitting with them also, reading, helping, and knitting.

Cucumber Boats!!!

Ever asked what to do with those oversized cucumbers in the garden?

Progress on the pantry on Labor Day

We've been wanting to put a pantry in for awhile now. And with all the recent canning activity it was time to make more room. Fortunately we have an underground basement, which stays fairly cool and dry. So, with scrap lumber from the neighbors garage demolition, we started the pantry project.

The VERY sturdy shelves in place. We used 2x6 for studs (free) and 3/4 inch plywood for the shelves (a very good price). With our house being as old as it is, we now say that this is the strongest and safest place to be if anything were to happen. We built it strong.

The pantry with some of the newly canned goods.
We also realized that we need to build another shelf on the other side for more goods.
Next we need to move the dry goods from the upstairs pantry down to the new one.


Ahhh....it makes me so happy to see a well stocked pantry.

Pictures from the kids' birthday party! It was a messy one!!!

Jello and whip cream with no utensils

Finger and body painting

Pie in the face!


Flour fight! This one was voted the funnest activity.

More of the flour fight.

We didn't even get a chance to do all the activities I had planned for the kids. As it was also raining pretty good during the party. But no one complained, as they we already messy anyway!!

I tried and it didn't work.....

I thought that if I looked like the rest of the world, but was a Christian, other's that I couldn't have reached out to would get to know me better and then I could share my experiences as a Christian with them. As most of you may know I've been working with "at-risk" teenagers the past few years. We'll I though that if I were "cool" in their eyes, then they would open up and listen to me and then my God honoring heart would shine through.

Oh, how terribly wrong I was.....if only I figured it out sooner.

It did work for the most part, but I recently felt that I really, really need to honor God in EVERYTHING I do. EVERYTHING!!

So, out went the nose ring, out went my pants, out went my shirts that I had to hold down when I bent over, out went shirts that were a little too tight (I keep thinking I might fit into them someday), out went tight skirts that my underwear line could be seen, out went any skirts that could be seen up if I didn't sit correctly (why have that worry anyway).

Some people might say it's extreme, well sometimes I operate in that way, and honestly sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet, especially if it's a God given request. It wasn't really that hard, as I already owned many, many skirts because I often went though times in my life where I wore only skirts. So I already had a lot of them.

My daughter and I sat down and had a discussion about the importance of being feminine and the importance of being modest. She already wears a lot of dresses and skirts also, so she wanted to join in with mama.

A lot of my tightish shirts ended up going to my daughter to wear, and fit her like a normal shirt is supposed to fit a little girl. And some of my skirts that were a little too short for my comfort, I just got my serger out and sewed them smaller to fit around her waist, and they fit her wonderfully. She was happy to get a few new skirts in the process of mama cleaning out her closet!

I added a few new blogs and sites to the right about modest attire, so for the ladies out there please browse.

Another fun thing I added recently is trying out new hair-do's. Those who know me know that I'm a pony tail, simple girl, and am lacking some of those "girly" skills. So far I've had fun in trying out new beautiful and feminine hairstyles.
Here are a few old fashion fun ones: http://intimelyfashion.com/main/?cat=10

Leviticus 20:26 (New International Version)
"You are to be holy to me [a] because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own."

1 Timothy 2:9
"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. "

Goodbye for now!!! :)