Ummm! Something Smells Good!

Today I made homemade bread for the first time! Believe it or not we are eating it, and enjoying it! My kind friend loaned me her Bosch Mixer two weeks ago (maybe 3!) It took me a while to get the right ingredients and then a little longer to find the recipe I wanted to use. Another friend told me about the http://urbanhomemaker.com/website. I downloaded her e-book on bread making, pretty informative and it led me step by step through the process. There are things I'm wondering about, like should the dough have actually been coming out of the top of the mixer? I turned it off when this happened! As I scooped it out into another bowl to rise, I felt pretty defeated, but alas when all was said and done it did not look half bad! In time I will get the hang of it. This evening my family enjoyed some homemade vegetable soup with their bread and butter! Well, let's face it - we all enjoyed the bread much more than the soup. Some of the veggies were given to me by a generous friend, some were from our own garden. I knew my family wouldn't eat them raw so I disguised them in a soup. Most were blended so they didn't even know they were there!! Think of all the nutrition I was able to pour into their mouths, and down their throats this evening! Here's another website I refer to, to make me feel good when I serve my family a healthy meal - http://whfoods.com/.

Someday, I may show you a picture of my bread, but for today enjoy the picture I downloaded. And try to imagine the yummy smell!

Dinner with an Author

This weekend is the annual home educators conference. From what I've heard our valley puts on one of the best conferences in the country. It's so good that I decided to stay home this year! I love to be encouraged by the speakers, but hate the temptation I face in the exhibit hall to spend money on beautiful books, teacher helps, etc.!! Anyway, in making that decision I knew I was giving up hearing this marvelous woman speak! The children and I studied her history book this year. I am very picky with my history. I don't know if it's discernment or a critical spirit, but I could never find anything I was completely happy with until I read The Mystery of History. We had a fabulous year studying Creation - well, we haven't exactly finished - I think we are almost to Nehemiah! This book was so informative. World history with a special emphasis on God's chosen nation Israel.
Sorry, if I'm rambling - I just love this history program!! Anyway, Amy (my sister) was invited to have dinner with Mrs. Hobar and asked if I would like to come along. Wow! What was I going to say, no? It was a very special evening. I enjoyed Mrs. Hobar's vibrant personality. She is every bit as beautiful as her picture! The best part is now that I've met and spoken with her I've decided not to delay reading the rest of book 1! Just a few things she said made me want to dive into books, 2,3, and 4! Well 4 is not finished yet, but you can bet I'll be praying that God will give her the time and wisdom she needs to complete #4! You can pray for me that God will help me see a way to cover some American History (5th grade standards) and also continue on our journey of The Mystery of History!

More fun with Irrigation!

The weather is warming up this week. Sunday and Monday were very spring like and we enjoyed the change. Tuesday morning we woke up to our neighbor surveying the orchard on his quad! That means we're getting water!! Bret, Lilly, and Garret disappeared after breakfast. Lilly appeared 1/2 hour later with her light blue pants caked in mud - ughh!! Apparently, I didn't see her before she headed out the door. The pants are still sitting in oxyclean - we'll see what happens when I wash them today! In the late afternoon I started some freezer cooking for friends coming over this evening. This really made the house hot, so after dinner the girls and I took a walk to the levy. Have you ever been near an orchard that's just been irrigated? I can't describe how wonderful it felt. The air was cool, the smell of the earth penetrated our noses! Wow! We enjoyed a leisurely walk with Frisbee and Eyore! Yes, Eyore walked with us all the way to the levy! This is the second time she's done that. And the second time we had to pick her up and walk her part of the way home. She is obviously unaware of the danger that nightfall will bring, and had no interest in returning with us.

About 3/4's of the way back, Rachel decided to take her flip flops off and walk in the muddy water! She said it felt so good! I wouldn't let Lilly do it and I think I had a good enough idea of what walking in the mud felt like - so Rachel was on her own. Once she got past the water she was forced to walk on dry dirt, then dead weeds, next gravel. Finally, she hit the grass and we handed her the hose! She said she felt like she was wearing shoes by the time she got to the yard!

Well, it will be even hotter today! That's ok! We're enjoying the last part of our summer!

P.S. Happy late birthday to my mom and Aunt Ellen! I love you both very much!

2008 Champs/A Great Day!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

This was the verse I taught Rachel - oh so many years ago. She hated swim lessons and she kicked and screamed her way through more than one session! I didn't let up - I knew God would give her the ability. I prayed for her, with her, you get the point!I'm happy to say that the Lord did strengthen Rachel and Saturday was proof of His awesome power and the ability He grants through hard work and effort. Rachel walked away with two heat winners and an 8th place (2nd in her heat) on Saturday! We were stoked!!!
Here's the stats:

100 yard Free Style: 1.1690 (improved time of 12.93 seconds)

100 yard Individual Medley 1.2944 (improved time of 5.97 seconds, 8th place overall)

50 yard Breast Stroke: 46.16 (improved time of 3.16 seconds)

Rachel and Bret worked very hard this season. They started late, but they both improved their times and they're a lot stronger than when they started (especially after biking 3.1 miles to and from practice!). Bret didn't have enough meets to make it to champs, but he enjoyed the day with Dad. They rode their bikes down to see us for a little bit. And were privileged to see Rachel win her heat in the 100 yard free!

What we will do now that swim is over? Tomorrow we'll pull some of those neglected weeds, and then Rachel will settle down to Grammar and Science (at her request!) Our regular school year will begin August 4th!

Hope your weekend was as fun filled as ours was!

Family Camp

This year RGBC returned to my favorite Family Camp spot. For the first time in 8 years Wade and I were not on the camp board - whewhuu!!! We got to sit back and relax! In fact, it felt so weird when we were packing. We didn't have anything extra to bring, nothing to shop for, hardly any stress! We liked it this way! For several reasons we opted for a tent this year instead of our trailer. The most important being -Lilly. This was the first time she ever slept in a tent:)! She slept with her brothers and sister while mom and dad camped right next door. I had a hard time with this at first, but eventually realized she was much closer to me than she is at home in her bedroom!
Bret and Wade spent much of their free time playing airsoft with all the boys, and an occasional grown up. I have some terrific pictures in my head of these handsome boys all dressed in their gear. However, for most of the weekend my camera was not nearby. While the guys played airsoft - Lilly, Rachel, Garret and I took off with some other families to the nearby lake. We rented a party boat, swam, ate and enjoyed each other's company. (I didn't have my camera -grrr!)
Sue spent her free time on this industrious project. She is shelling almonds. Rachel was a good helper.
Martin after our chapel service this morning.
A very cute couple! Michelle can copy this and send it to them - thanks!
One of the most special parts of family camp is the camp fire! Here we encourage one another in song and word. The first night the children were encouraged to obey their parents. Ephesians 6:1. Parents were encouraged to protect their children and train them in the way of the Lord. Saturday, we were enthralled with some stories from the book of Acts. Pastor Tim encouraged us to be ready to stand for Christ. I plan to start re-reading Acts this week. This morning the lesson was for the parents - Psalm 119:33-48. We were encouraged to teach our children to love the Word of God. Wow! I plan to meditate on this as well.

After our camp fire talk - there are always marshmallows!
The next two pictures are for Uncle Jon. Can you guess what the kids are playing?
Mafia!

Wade and another techy dude! This is their serious face!
This is their happy face! He is a missionary and familiar to those of us around RGBC.
Here's Wade ready for another game, what? The kids are too tired! Wade outlasted them all!
Continued worship after the service was over!
Family camp is a great place to make new friends!


Well, the date is already set for next year. Same place, same weekend. We're all looking forward to it!

Two Holes in One

We're letting you see a little more of the nature that we are privileged to enjoy around here. Last night Wade started cutting dead limbs and branches out of the tree on the front drive. Tonight we discovered why these branches died. It had become home to some woodpeckers!
Here is one nest that is still fairly intact, even after the chainsaw ripped through it!
Wade has been doing all this hard work in 100+ degree weather! Take a shower before you come to bed honey;)! Oh, and thanks to the woodpeckers we'll have a warm day or two in January!

Are You My Mother?

This is the third set of baby birds since we've lived here (March '08). These babes seem very bold, they're the first ones I could get a picture of. Their loving mommy and daddy work all day to feed them!

Happy 40th Anniversary

Today we celebrated my parent's 40th wedding anniversary!
They have a special trip planned in September, but for today they were happy to spend the day with us!
Grandma, Uncle D. and Aunt C. were also a part of our celebration. We enjoyed entertaining them in and around our new home.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you, and thank God for your faithfulness to Him and to each other.

Happy 4th of July!

Notions of Liberty

"It is impossible to beat the notion of liberty out of these people. It is rooted in 'em from childhood." British General Thomas Gage

My Crew is now off to celebrate their liberty by exercising the right granted to them in the second amendment!

Please join us in thanking God for the way He has abundantly blessed America. Have a safe and Happy 4th!

The Best of Both Worlds

This is a first for the Crews. A bike that is not a birthday gift, or a Christmas present. The rising gas prices seemed to warrant this purchase. Why did I call this blog the Best of Both Worlds? That's how I felt today. Rachel, Bret and I rode three miles to town (swim team) and back this morning. This evening our whole Crew took a bike ride to the nearby state park. We enjoyed inspecting our friends' young almond orchard (with rows of beans growing between the trees!). The shade offered by the walnut trees, just when we were working up a sweat. And our destination, a breezy ride through the state park(permission granted by the ranger). So you see - we really have the best of both worlds living here. A short ride to town and an enjoyable ride in the country!
So what's this? Rachel wiped out on the way into the gravel driveway! Oops! She's a trooper though, and looking forward to riding to swim practice again tomorrow!