Fall dress up fun!!

Victoria as a leopard/tiger or something! :)

Alanta just dressed for extreme school spirit day at her school! Colors were purple and silver, so she wore a vikings jersey! :)

Annabel as a cat!

Samuel with a tiger face!

Bryce...well don't really know what he is...he just wanted to wear all this :)

Alemu as a bat!

Kids at School in their costumes! They all march around the round-a-bout in front of their school, so everyone could see each others costumes. I spend some time in each of their classrooms for their parties also. It was fun! What a blessing children are!!!

Carving Pumpkins...

JoAnne in the crown her daughter Alemitu made her! Happy Birthday JoAnne, your a AWESOME sister!

Yummmy....chocolate pumpkin muffins

JoAnne had us over for some fall fun, Saturday! We carved pumpkins, had hot chocolate, apple cider, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin breads! It was a lot of fun, and much easier then doing it in the house, the kids also really enjoyed the company of friends! It was also JoAnne's birthday that day!! Thanks JoAnne for the fun!!

Alemu and Samuel...A.C.E Students!!

Life without kids at home....(for most of the day)

Its been real nice with the kids going to public school now! Although I feel like I want to get so much done while they're gone that I don't get much done....time flies when your having fun...then their home. I have managed to go out for lunch with my mom and sister, we used to do it a lot before I home schooled. I also cleaned a house with my mom for Eric's company and plan to do more when they are available. Besides cleaning my own house, I've also built a couple bunny cages (we have two bunnies now...and I'm in love with them). I also can leave whenever I want, or just sit in my house with out several kids needing my attention at the same time...now I just have one who seems to talk non-stop :) Those are some of the benefit's of public school, for me, now here are few for the kids...they have a social life beyond me, they have friends their age, they have extra activities like band, soccer, and other sport options at school, and more. The only thing that makes me sad is I feel they are not getting as good of an education as before. They also get the bad language and behavior from some kids at school. Not to mention, most importantly, the christian based learning and bible class they had in DVD school. But I'm starting "Adventures in Theology" bible study with the kids, and weekly bible memory verses also this week. My prayer is that they can be a light to the kids at school and maybe even the teachers. Thinking of that, Alanta has been learning some questionable things at school lately. First in History she is learning all about Mohammad and his religion, having to draw some vase that has to do with that too...I doubt they will study Christianity. Then in Science they had to do a report on climate change, and he preferred it to be done off Obama's speech in the paper, but we had her do it on "Global Warming," a scientific and biblical expose' of climate change. Which is good if anyone wants to get it, its a DVD, by coral ridge ministries.



Bryce and Alemu have been playing soccer for their school now. They love it!! Alemu is the best player on his team, he almost gets all the goals! I haven't got to see Bryce play yet, but I'm sure he's doing great too, he has a game today that I'll get to see. Alemu and Samuel are going to be rewarded the ACE award tomorrow from school for being such great students, so that awesome!! I guess they choose kids at the end of each month. Victoria is learning to play flute in band and is loving it also!!



So that's my update on how things are going here lately!! I'm enjoying every minute of my free time, and thanking God for this day that He has made!!!

First Day of School...

Annabel...after a long day at school...

All the NEW kids at the school...

The elementry kids ready for the bus...

Alanta ready for school...a little nervous

Well the kids had their first day of school today! This morning was a little hectic, but went well. Alanta's bus for some reason drove right by us as the driver smiled and waved...hoping tomorrow they stop!! Was a little nervous Annabel was going to get scared and refuse to get on the bus, she started to but her sweet sister Victoria comforted her saying she could sit by her on the bus, so she went happily! Then I met them at school and she said she was scared but she quickly went on with her class. No tears....amazing!!! They all came home talking all at once, excited about school and loving it!! I was SO relieved they had a great day...what a blessing!! Then when tonight rolled around Alanta (the one who so desperately wanted to go to school) started to cry. She was over whelmed by all the rules, scared she was going to be tardy or do something wrong. She was convinced she wanted to go back to homeschooling after one day!!! It's so sad to see your child full of fear, but knowing that its the best thing for her right now. I had a long talk with her and she calmed down. It is a lot to be thrown into from homeschooling to Jr. high, but after a week or two she'll be fine...I hope!

The kids all made friends, and Alanta's friend is moving into a house right across the road from our house! It is so amazing how God works things out that way!! The boys all got to know the three brothers of Alanta's friend too, and are excited to have them move in. There are no kids currently living next to us, so this is answered prayer...three boys all around my boys ages and a twelve year old girl...what more could I ask for??

Today after the kids left I got a little giddy....FREEDOM!! It is such a strange feeling...kids can actually go to school for several hours and I can have a break??? I took full advantage of Eric taking Blayd to work and got my hair done...something I haven't done for a long time! Enjoyed taking care of some errands...without having to figure out who will watch the kids...or having to wait until Eric gets home to go. I could get used to this! Don't get me wrong, homeschooling is GREAT, but for my situation right now Eric and I feel this is best for the kids and me, this year at least.

Praying tomorrow goes good and no one gets too scared. I really think this school is GREAT, seems to be a perfect match for my children! Thank you God for your provision!!!

Public School???

Well yesterday I made it to the public school and registered my kids!! Yeah, that's right, public school!! I sat for almost two hours at the elementary school filling out papers until my hand was cramping, then I had to go to the Jr. high school and fill out papers for Alanta (can't believe she's in Jr. high). I Can't believe they are no longer going to be at home with me everyday!! I don't know what I'll do with myself, with just Blayd at home. It's been three years of home school with kids home everyday. Last year, at times, it was a little much with all the kids home. I think it will be good for both me and the kids that they go to school this year. I also found out that the school they will be going to is very small and personal. Only 15-20 kids in a class! I think the kids will do great and have fun. One thing they will miss is the Bible being integrated in everything they learn. So I decided we will do devotions, and memory verses each week, and try to get them into church programs as much as possible. I am thankful that I was able to home school them as long as we did, I think it was especially good for Alemu and Samuel for the first year they were here with us. Now that I know they are all going to school I can't wait until they start, they are getting restless and ready for it to start too!

Compliments from a 3 year old...

Blayd comes out of his room one day with the sweetest smile on his face! "Mom" he says excitedly "you are the most Beautiful girl in the whole world!!!" Wow, I think to myself, what a sweetie!! So I grab him in my arms and give him a big kiss. "Thanks, buddy" I say. Then he tells me why he thinks I'm SO beautiful, "you made my bed SO awesome!!!" Ohhhh....that's why he complimented me, I had put some different blankets on his bed for Sisay (who was spending the night) to sleep on! Sadly I had to tell my ecstatic 3yr. old son that it wasn't for him that I put new blankets on his bed....thankfully he took it well, and it didn't bother him too much!

EGGS.....

our dog Queen

one VERY large egg...one small

We have recently gotten our first eggs from our chickens....YEAH!!! How exciting to find a fresh egg or two....the kids have actually been fighting on who gets to go check for the eggs! We think we have a rooster in the batch though, so that's no good, got to get it away from those chickens! The eggs have been all different sizes...one even had three yokes inside!!

On the other hand...some sad news...our dog Queen got out of our invisible fence (no, it's not imaginary,just under ground) and got hit by a car...she didn't make it. SO sad, she was a very good dog, the kids favorite!! For some reason our animals seem to run away or die lately. God only knows why our kids have to go through that, especially Alemu and Samuel. They have gone through so many losses, its really hard on Alemu especially! I'm am sure though, that God will work it out for the good of the children, as He molds and forms them.

Butchering chickens

Friday, July 3rd, we butchered our chickens. It was very interesting...to say the least! Something I've never done before, but it really wasn't as bad as I imagined. Of course the only thing I really did was pluck the chickens...but that was enough. It was one of the hottest days we've had this summer, 100 degrees, and we had the fire pit burning hot (to use for helping the feathers come out easier). Eric worked hard, he butchered 9 chickens!!

The kids didn't mind watching...to my surprise! I thought they would be grossed out, but they did well. Alemu knew all about it, it was something he remembers doing in Ethiopia. He sure enjoyed the chicken when we cooked it and so did Joanne's Ethiopian kids, they gobbled it up quick.

I'm attaching a video of the butchering of chickens (for those interested in the process)...it may not be suitable for all...kind of graphic! Viewer discretion is advised!!

At the Ranch...

the boys

sammy talking to a grasshopper! one of his, and the youger kids favorite activities that keeps them occupied for hours! playing with grasshoppers!!

Victoria

the loft we slept in (and i got bit)

my stylish son :) He's wearing a glove that he found at the ranch, and hasn't taken off since! He's in his swimming trunks again, and is wearing some wool socks I bought before we left for the kids because they get leg aches a lot, he apparently thought they were cool...he wore them the whole time we were there!

Alemu driving four wheeler for the first time by himself

We went to my mom and dads ranch last weekend...what an interesting time!! My dad leases out his land for cows to graze and this time they were in our camping site. They relieved themselves throughout our campsite...gross!! Well we got that cleaned up as good as we could, but the cows refused to stay away!! They are SO curious that they continued to come to our campsite even though we scared them away with four wheelers...you would think they would be afraid after being chased with strange, loud, wild machines! There were a few bulls in the mix that were being very aggressive to the females...moaning loudly with thick snot running down their faces, and the look of desire in their eyes!! One morning at 5am. I got up because of a spider had bitten me...needing to go to the bathroom badly, and not wanting to wake my mom and dad in the motor home to use their toilet, I decided to take a quick run behind the shop...not a good idea! As I was about to end my visit to the back of the shop, I heard the loud moaning of that love hungry bull!! It came around the side of the shop and we locked eyes...but only briefly... for I was not going to wait to see what he thought of ME! I jolted around and ran as fast as my legs could take me and I could here the bulls hoofs thumping fast behind me...I didn't know if he was heading after me or running away, but I wasn't about to turn around and find out!! I got back into the shop with my heart pounding and adrenalin rushing, laughing to myself thinking...that was interesting!! Then I looked down at my arm that had been bitten by a spider noticing it growing in width and getting quite red, I hoped it wasn't a black widow that had bit me or some other highly venomous spider.

Well...my spider bite did get nice and swollen, red, sore, and itched, but seems to be getting better now, I thank the Lord!!

The kids enjoyed themselves, but not so much that first night, we had bought two small 2 person tents for the oldest four to sleep in, 2 in each tent. The first night we stayed in the tents, but I had a hard time sleeping worrying about the kids, cows roaming around and knowing that certain animals could be lurking around, bears, cougars, both had been seen on the ranch before. Alemu said he couldn't sleep good either, and they all woke up a little damp from dew. So the next night we stayed in the shop on the loft that Eric and dad had built that day. (that is where I got bit at night in my sleep!!) We did quite a bit of things, took walks...of course I had to find a tick on ME, I hate ticks and that was the only one we saw all weekend ....we went fishing, rode four wheelers, and had a picnic at the top of the mountain!! All in all it was interesting, fun, and a relaxing (somewhat) weekend!!

Bryce...

(notice the opened package from his flashlight with extra batteries)

This is Bryce for you...prepared for whatever may come!!! He's got a bag filled to brim with gadgets...he's also in swimming shorts at all times...prepared to go to grandmas for a swim...on a moments notice!!!

Happy 12th Birthday Alanta!!!!

I can't believe I have a 12 year old!!!!

We celebrated Alanta's 12th birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Friday. After a day of swimming she enjoyed a night with her cousins who live 4 hours away and also shared her birthday with one of them!

Alanta also got brackets for braces on Tuesday! She goes back in on the 25th to get the wire on, and an expander (?i think that's what they call it?) on the roof of her mouth.....fun!!!! (not really)Hoping it's not too painful after!

Chicken, Chickens, and more Chickens!!!

A couple of my cute kids with the new chicks!

The outside part of the chicken coop!

One of our cute chickens!

We got the rest of our chicks last Friday.....18 more! Kids are having fun with them! They have been doing great (well..maybe good) at keeping up on the chore of feeding and watering them each day. The big chickens go through their food and water fast, even with big feeders, so the kids have to check twice a day. Got part of our coop done, so that's nice. Cant wait to get it fully finished.

At the ranch...

We went to my Mom and Dad's ranch for Memorial weekend. We had a lot of fun! Wade and Victoria let us use their trailer, that's was awesome. We were going to tent it, I thought it sounded fun....glad we didn't...it got really cold at night. The daytime weather was beautiful!! We went on a little hike in the woods with the kids...we did not run into any cougars (thank goodness)mom and dad had seen some tracks though!!

At the top of the mountain....beautiful view!!

Mom and Dad....still in love.... after 39 years of marriage!!!

We caught some delicious trout!!

At the big pond (Annabel and Samuel)

Kids having fun in the pond...trying to stay afloat on home made raft.(the big pond)

ahhhh...another family picture....of a bunch of dirty rug rats :)

I'm not 30.....YET!!!!

I can still say I'm in my twenties for one more week!!! I was surprised Saturday night with my 30th Birthday party. I was tricked into thinking I was going to my sisters for a Game Night....Lana had been trying to get one started for awhile. Instead I opened the door to a group of crazy people singing "Happy Birthday" dressed up 90's style, I guess, stretch pants, big hair, and rolled Jordach jeans, among other things :) I wish I had my camara with me, they looked GREAT :) It was quite embarrassing, and surprising....although I had been a little suspicious that something might happen one of those days. My mom and JoAnne had worked hard, and had a blast putting together a video, interviewing family and friends about me. It was hilarious!!! I was SO surprised to see my two brothers and their family's up for my birthday!!!! They drove four hours....it was awesome to see them there!!

It's been a little depressing the last month, or more, knowing I was turning 30, but I think I'm fine with it now. Thirty really isn't that old anyway!!!

Thank you Mom and JoAnne for a WONDERFUL Birthday party!! Thanks to all who came!!!

Me and the kids painted part of the unfinished chicken/garden shed/play house, Saturday, while Eric was hard at work building it! We just couldn't wait until it was finished, so we did what we could. It was a lot of fun for all!!

Don't worry, the kids play house is not IN the chicken pen. We just thought since we are building, just as well add a play house to it too! Eric has pretty much built all of it out of scrap wood from his jobs, he is amazing!!