Too Much Fun

It was quiet...too quiet. I could sense that somewhere, someone was having too much fun. So, after a diligent search of all the usual "trouble" spots, I found my youngest son enjoying his favorite pastime...toilet paper tugging. Honestly, I don't know how to get him to stop doing it. At least now I have an answer when Eric asks me at the end of every week: "It's time to buy another pack of toilet paper AGAIN?!" ;-)

12 Years!

Yesterday, Eric and I celebrated 12 years of being together in holy matrimony! Even though Eric had to work, and I did school with the kids, we had a nice evening together. Eric brought home dinner, flowers, and a little bag of my favorite caramel chocolates! He is so thoughtful and kind, and he also cleaned out our kitchen pantry as an extra gift for me! He is taking the next few days off of work so that I can catch up on housework, and perform the annual "switching of the clothes" from Summer wardrobe to Winter wardrobe for everyone. It used to take me only a day, but now it takes about 3 days, as we have added more little people to our family. ;-)

I am so thankful for Eric, and I can honestly say that I am more in love with him now than when we first met! ;-)

Sciota Schoolhouse

We were out driving around the countryside by our house, when I spotted this old town hall that used to be the schoolhouse for the Lewiston School District...way back in the 1860's. The building is still in really good shape, and I'm thinking about submitting the photo to "The Old Schoolhouse" magazine, since they use these kind of images for the front cover of their homeschool publication. I'll have to dig up some history about the area and the building before I submit the information. It will be fun, if I can find the spare time! ;-)

Construction Paper and Glue Sticks

Here are some fun pages that the girls created for their "Science Portfolios":

Another Sheriff in Town

Columbus Day Craft

Today is Columbus Day, so we read "COLUMBUS" by Ingri & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. It was a wonderful story! I love these books so much, and I really appreciate the fact that the lessons include a time of "narration" from my children so that I can know for certain that they understand what we are learning. The books help to stimulate deeper thinking, and we can reflect on each character's strengths and weaknesses. Of course, we end the lesson by tying all that we have learned to what God did through that person to shape the beginnings of our great nation! I am eagerly anticipating the next set of books to guide us through America's Providential History!

Autumn's Touch

Cooler weather is starting to reach our "neck of the woods" now, and here is a picture of my favorite tree in our side yard:



Here is the same tree, a few days later:

Our Happy Home

The picture above is sunrise as seen from our huge living room window at our house! I always love being able to look out my window and see the expansive farm field and the various colors that God paints for us in the morning! This sunrise was actually more dramatic and beautiful earlier, but I didn't think about getting my camera out until most of the colors had faded away. However, it made me think of how thankful I am for my wonderful home! It was new when we bought it, and it is still so nice and just the right size for our family! We have a lot of yard space to play in, and a huge deck that we put a safety gate on so that the boys can play safely. Even though we don't have a fence around the yard, the girls are old enough to know to stay away from the street. Not that the street is a problem, because we get only a few cars a day back here in the "boonies"! We only have three neighbors close to us, and they are very nice. Our neighborhood is very nice as well, and we feel safe and happy here. This Summer, we thought about moving, but decided that it just isn't worth it. We love our home, our location, our neighborhood, and the fact that we can homeschool and live off of Eric's income without having to stretch our dollars too thin. It would take a major change in circumstances to make us move, and I have "peace like a river" when I think about staying here and enjoying life with my wonderful family!