Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Baruch's "New Car"

Baruch has been saving his money to purchase a remote control car.
He had saved $5 over the past few months! Jacob announced he was
having a sale today to clean out his drawer (each of the kids have a
treasure drawer in the kitchen). Jacob said he would sell his remote
control car. "I thought that car would bring me some satisfaction.
I learned a lesson when I bought that car; things don't bring
satisfaction." He sold the car to Baruch for $2. I am so thankful
for Jacob learning such a valuable lesson at age eight and for
Baruch's blessing for saving his money! We will only find lasting
satisfaction in the Lord!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Tuesday Check Up

My check up this afternoon went well. Drew's Mom and Dad came to
watch the children. I had an appointment at 3:00 to pre-register at
the hospital. Then a baby check at 3:45. Drew met me after that and
we had a nice date to the Olive Garden. We both a few things we
wanted to discuss so it was really good to have some kid free time to
talk. I don't know if we came to any great conclusions but it was
still good to talk. We really took advantage of Grandma and Grandpa
- next we picked out glasses for Drew. Then to the mechanics to drop
off the car. He happened to have a car for sale, very similar to our
Olds (seats 6) that is a station wagon and seats 8. Please pray with
us about whether to get this or not. Hate to throw good money after
bad but it would be nice to all fit in one vehicle. When we finally
got home from all of our running Baruch was giving me a hug and I
told him I really missed him. He said "If you missed me so much why
did you leave". I told him Papa really had me running all over town
and I didn't know we were going to be gone so long. His reply "Did
you find the end of the road Mom?" Way to precious that guy!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Like Father Like Son!

Sunday Crown Group Get Together

Featuring Drew as host. Our Thursday night group got together this
afternoon for Taco lunch. I really enjoyed the fellowship. Here are
some pictures. Sorry no picture of Scott's wife, Connie, or Jacob
and Tim and Heidi's son, Wesley. I guess they were too busy to be
photographed. The group has been a huge blessing to me!

Jeremiah and Laura with baby Violet

Tim and Heidi and their youngest, Calista

Scott

Gwen and her little sister Tabitha

Cora

Cora, Abi and Mary

Mary telling stories to the girls in the hammock.

Abi and Cora

At bed time Abigail asked when Cora could come and play again. She
really enjoyed having the group over.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Hopscotch Time

All the kids are in their swimsuits!  No it is too cold to turn on the hose but warm enough to run around dry.  They slathered up with sunscreen and wanted to know the rules to hopscotch.  I double checked on line and my memory serves me correct (except for square 9).  So it is off to go into labor!  No really I don't think I will have to jump that vigorously.

Playing Hopscotch

Things You Need:
Chalk
Small stone
Preparation:
Step One
Choose a flat space to play with enough room for 7 large hops.
Step Two
Draw the design using single boxes and side-by-side boxes a little bigger than your feet.
Step Three
Draw 3 single boxes on top of one another and number them 1, 2 and 3, with 1 closest to the start/ finish line.
Step Four
Above square 3, draw two boxes side by side, numbered 4 and 5.
Step Five
Draw a single box, 6. And above that, draw side-by-side boxes 7 and 8.
Step Six
Draw a single box, 9. Draw a semicircle on top, labeled "Home."
Hopscotch Rules:
Step One
Toss a stone on square 1 from the start/finish line. You will hop over the stone on your way toward Home and pick it up on your way back. Don't step on a square with a stone. If you miss your toss, you lose your turn to the next player.
Step Two
Hop to the first empty Hopscotch square. Use one foot to reach a single box or both feet to arrive in side-by-side boxes. Don't put two feet in a single box or step outside the lines.
Step Three
Hop toward Home (you may use both feet at Home to turn around). Hop back, pausing at the square before your stone. Bend over and pick up the stone without moving your feet. Hop into that square and on toward the start/finish line.
Step Four
Play until you are "out." If you lose your balance or put your foot in the wrong place, you are "out" and lose your turn to the next player.
Step Five
Continue Hopscotch play by tossing the stone in the next numbered box and repeating the steps.

taken from:  http://www.ehow.com/how_2044144_play-hopscotch.html  (I added Step Six in the Preparation as I remember playing with 9 squares)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Saturday Reward Day

Our reward was a trip to Grandma and Pa's on Saturday! When I told
the children Friday that we were going to see Grandma and Pa Abram
said "I need Pa, I need Grandma" in such a sweet cute voice. We
really enjoyed the day at their house. Pa made chicken soup for
lunch. We had ham and turkey sandwiches for supper. Grandma made
some delicious cinnamon rolls. Grandma, Mary E. and I took a trip
in to Good Will and I found tons of things! When we got back Luke
and Anna were over for a visit. It was a treat to get to see the
newlyweds and their honeymoon pictures.

Saturday Pictures

More Pictures from Reward Day

Friday, April 18, 2008

Reward Friday

I started having the children keep a checklist about a month ago.  They each have one for each week.  If the list is not complete no reward for Friday.  Mary finished up her list this morning.    I planned to take everyone garage saling today.  A town close by is having a town wide sale.  BUT it is raining and I haven't come up with plan B yet.  To give you an idea of what we are up to; here is a copy of Mary's checklist for next week (the little check boxes next to each item didn't copy). 
Monday April 28 Mary
Daily Bible Reading
5 minute addition drill and multiplication fact sheet
Math Saxon ____________
Sing History Song Read 100 Most Important Events. . . p.103-105 and Streams of Civilization p. 378,379 highlighted yellow
Shurley English Ch. 13 Lesson 1
Practice Piano
Daily Chore

Tuesday April 29
Daily Bible Reading
5 minute addition drill and multiplication fact sheet
Math Saxon ____________
Sing History Song.  Do Key Outline
Shurley English Ch. 13 Lesson 2
Practice Piano
Daily Chore

Wednesday April 30
Daily Bible Reading
5 minute addition drill and multiplication fact sheet
Math Saxon ____________
Sing History Song.  Write Paragraph from Key Outline
Shurley English Ch. 13 Lesson 3
Practice Piano
Daily Chore

Thursday May 1
Daily Bible Reading
5 minute addition drill and multiplication fact sheet
Math Saxon ____________
Sing History Song.  Rewrite Paragraph in History Notebook
Shurley English Ch. 13 Test and Lesson 5
Practice Piano
Daily Chore

Friday May 2
Daily Bible Reading
Practice Piano
Daily Chore

Hair Cuts

Baruch

Baruch after his cut.

Baruch's favorite past time

"Mom, please take a picture of my tracks, just my tracks." So I
did, but I enjoy this one with the train operator in it better. Here
the conductor has three battery operated trains going at once. He is
very busy rotating the red track to keep them all on course. We have
been putting our battery recharger to good use :-)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Jacob lost his 7th tooth

The weather here has been so nice the past few days. Very windy but
warming up. As Jacob said "The wind is from the north Mom and that
is a good sign of warmer weather." The children have been eager to
finish their school work and get OUT and PLAY!

2 1/2 year old Hen

We picked up our baby chicks Monday night. They seem older than the
last batch we got. They are supposed to be a day old when you get
them but these seem way hardier or something. A few already have
feathers coming in on their wings. They are so cute. Abram is so
cute to watch with them. He is afraid of them. When I hold one and
he comes over he barely touches it and says several times "I pet it
Mama, I pet it". Drew is really anxious to get them near one of the
hens to see the reaction so we are going to try that when he gets
home tonight.

Baby Chicks

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Pictures from Aunt Jean's visit Sunday

I can't believe I forgot to mention. . . when Aunt Jean was here I was busily making hamburger patties in the kitchen while Drew and his Mom looked at pictures and the children were all (I thought all) playing in the living room.  Aunt Jean asked where Abram was.  We went into instant search mode.  Drew checked upstairs, then he , Mary, Abi and Jacob searched outside.  By the time I washed my hands and got out there they had circled the block.  Mom hoped into the van to make a larger circle.  I called "ABRAM!" and thought I heard very faintly "I'm right here".  I was in the alley behind our house.  I told Drew I swear I heard him answer me and called again.  He was in the van.  Abigail had left the door open and he hoped in and closed it!  Of coarse it was locked so we had to fish out the keys.  What a scare.  Aunt Jean's heart raced for about 1/2 hour after that and I had several braxton-hicks contractions!

Monday, April 07, 2008

A Day with Aunt Jean

We really enjoyed having Aunt Jean here for the afternoon and
evening. She and Mary visited Uncle Alan before coming here. He is
weak from chemo and it was really hard for Aunt Jean to see him.
Everyone has been looking forward to having Aunt Jean all week.
Every day Abigail went to the calendar to count down the days until
her visit. The children sense that she is really enjoying them and
the things they are interested in and gravitate to her. Jacob played
the piano for her and read to her. We had hamburgers for supper with
brownies, strawberries and ice cream for dessert. She is catching an
early flight home tomorrow so she and Mary didn't stay too late.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Ruth's Eye Surgery

Drew's Grandmother is scheduled for eye surgery tomorrow AM. Please
pray for the surgery and recovery. It is a two hour procedure
involving the removal of fluid and reattaching the retna. She will
have a local anesthetic which I am sure she is nervous about. Pray
too for Bill as he takes her to Iowa City. She currently has no
vision in that eye, which was the better of her eyes. She only has
peripheral vision in the other eye.

Congratulations Luke and Anna!

Luke and Anna had a beautiful wedding.  The ceremony touched me as the Pastor addressed them.  All time began with marriage (Adam and Eve) and we look forward to the culmination with the marriage supper of the Lamb.  The reception was so nice.  The meal was excellent, the hall spacious and we really enjoyed sharing in Luke and Anna's big day.  Drew said it was one of the nicest weddings we have been to apart from our own :-)  Below I have posted a few pictures of the big event.

Pa, Jacob, Uncle John, Aunt Pat

Mary, Aunt Jean, Mary Elisabeth, Jenn and Jordan

Drew's cousing Jo,

Abram and his Great Grandma Ruth Dancing!

Luke and Anna!

We enjoyed sitting by the Horaks neighbors

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Reward Friday

We ended up attending a play Friday night as a reward for the
children working so hard all week on their school work. The home
school group in Platteville WI put on an excellent production of
Peter Pan. The children really enjoyed themselves. They were pretty
funny when Peter Pan asked all the children who believe in fairies to
clap. They were looking at me like "Mom I thought fairies had evil
connotations, I don't think we should clap."

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

The Original Toll House Pie Recipe

This recipe was from Drew's Mom.  I just found it again.  This pie did turn out a bit better.  It just seemed creamier or something.  The ingredients (except 1/4 c less butter) were the same so it must be in the beating and mixing that made the difference.   

Toll House Pie
3/4 C butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C flour
1 C nuts (pecans or walnuts are best)
1 C chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars for 3 minutes.  Then add eggs and beat well again for 2 minutes.  Add flour and a pinch of salt and beat well again for 2 minutes.  Stir or beat in slowly the chocolate chips and nuts.  Put in 9" pie crust.  Bake at 325 for 45 - 50 minutes or until set in middle.

Beth's modifications:
I . . . 
Added 1 teaspoon vanilla when I added the eggs.  
Used freshly ground (on the finest setting) of white wheat.
Reduced white sugar to 1/8 C and used 2/3 C sucanat or rapadura (unrefined sugar) in place of the brown sugar.
Used Aldi brand semi-sweet chocolate chips and crispy pecans.

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