It just doesn't get much better than this!
Sophie wanted to hop on, too, but we were out of room...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sledding Fun
The pictures speak for themselves.
It just doesn't get much better than this!
Sophie wanted to hop on, too, but we were out of room...
It just doesn't get much better than this!
Sophie wanted to hop on, too, but we were out of room...
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
That girl...
She's got cool duds.
She's got the shades.
And a phone to boot.
Her big plans? Read a book over the phone to Grandma!
She's got the shades.
And a phone to boot.
Her big plans? Read a book over the phone to Grandma!
The goat story
Do you know what is causing a portion of my blogging paralysis? The goats.
I have, I "kid" you not, hundreds of goat pics to sort through. It's irrelevant that you don't particularly care to see goat pictures. I still want to find the best ones.
And it has turned into a really long saga of what's happening with goats here on Faith Mountain Farm. In the past two months we've gone from 7 goats down to 2. And we like it like that. (We meaning Mark and I. The children are another story. They still miss the kids. It was a sad, sad scene). But if I told you about it now I would have to tell the whole sordid tale, and I don't have time right now. And it's not really sordid...I just like using that word every now and again.
But one of these days, I'll tell you the goat story. I know, I know...the suspense is killing you. I guess I'd better tell it soon, seeing as our doe Sally is due to deliver her kids in ONE WEEK.
But I've been working through my tendency to not blog out of chronological order, and have just been tossing out the random memories from late winter. But the goats do need to be dealt with properly on this here blog. Soon.
I have, I "kid" you not, hundreds of goat pics to sort through. It's irrelevant that you don't particularly care to see goat pictures. I still want to find the best ones.
And it has turned into a really long saga of what's happening with goats here on Faith Mountain Farm. In the past two months we've gone from 7 goats down to 2. And we like it like that. (We meaning Mark and I. The children are another story. They still miss the kids. It was a sad, sad scene). But if I told you about it now I would have to tell the whole sordid tale, and I don't have time right now. And it's not really sordid...I just like using that word every now and again.
But one of these days, I'll tell you the goat story. I know, I know...the suspense is killing you. I guess I'd better tell it soon, seeing as our doe Sally is due to deliver her kids in ONE WEEK.
But I've been working through my tendency to not blog out of chronological order, and have just been tossing out the random memories from late winter. But the goats do need to be dealt with properly on this here blog. Soon.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Snowshoeing
You know, I've seriously considered changing the name of this blog from "Our Mountain Meanderings" to "We used to meander through the mountains but then we started this little farm and we are now always doing something farm-related instead of meandering." The short version could be "Our Work on our Mountain Farm." I haven't made the change yet, obviously.
But we finally took an afternoon a few weekends ago to breathe some life into our meandering ways again.
The weather has been warm for the most part, and it was the perfect day to head out.
Except for the snow part. Snow that has been experiencing warmth and rain is more akin to snow-cone/slushy ice.
Maneuvering through thigh-deep snow-cones became a bit cumbersome for Mark with the extra 30 lbs. of Anna and 10 lbs. of backpack on his back, and Jacob's perseverance through such experiences is at a pretty low level. So after a bit, they headed back home and Andrew, Sophie, and I continued on to the tracks and the lake a ways behind our house.
We had a great time exploring, that boy and I...although we did have a harrowing time with Sophie. For reasons I will never understand, she went loping out onto the ice, right to the edge of the open water. We hollered and whistled for her to no avail. And then it happened. The ice crumbled beneath her and she splashed in. She tried several times to clamber out, but the ice simply crumpled with each attempt. "Jesus, help her!" was all I could say. And then she was out, racing and shaking her way back up the bank towards us. We didn't know whether to love on her or scold her-I think we did both!
It was a valuable lesson for Andrew in what to do if she hadn't been able to get out...it's one thing to hear "don't go after an animal, because the ice will just break for you, too, and she's not worth losing your life over." It's quite another thing to have seen the ice giving way underneath her, and seeing her struggle to climb out onto solid ice. I think he'll remember!
Of course later, as we were making our way inland along a stream, she started barking and carrying on, giving us the clue to head the other way. It was probably a moose, and I'm thankful we were spared an encounter. Yes, my love/hate relationship with that dog continues!
But we finally took an afternoon a few weekends ago to breathe some life into our meandering ways again.
The weather has been warm for the most part, and it was the perfect day to head out.
Except for the snow part. Snow that has been experiencing warmth and rain is more akin to snow-cone/slushy ice.
Maneuvering through thigh-deep snow-cones became a bit cumbersome for Mark with the extra 30 lbs. of Anna and 10 lbs. of backpack on his back, and Jacob's perseverance through such experiences is at a pretty low level. So after a bit, they headed back home and Andrew, Sophie, and I continued on to the tracks and the lake a ways behind our house.
We had a great time exploring, that boy and I...although we did have a harrowing time with Sophie. For reasons I will never understand, she went loping out onto the ice, right to the edge of the open water. We hollered and whistled for her to no avail. And then it happened. The ice crumbled beneath her and she splashed in. She tried several times to clamber out, but the ice simply crumpled with each attempt. "Jesus, help her!" was all I could say. And then she was out, racing and shaking her way back up the bank towards us. We didn't know whether to love on her or scold her-I think we did both!
It was a valuable lesson for Andrew in what to do if she hadn't been able to get out...it's one thing to hear "don't go after an animal, because the ice will just break for you, too, and she's not worth losing your life over." It's quite another thing to have seen the ice giving way underneath her, and seeing her struggle to climb out onto solid ice. I think he'll remember!
Of course later, as we were making our way inland along a stream, she started barking and carrying on, giving us the clue to head the other way. It was probably a moose, and I'm thankful we were spared an encounter. Yes, my love/hate relationship with that dog continues!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Valentine's Day Party!
My family has an annual Valentine's Day party...this year Tricia hosted us!
There was plenty of food, lots of game-playing and laughter...
...and apparently some nap-taking going on!
There was plenty of food, lots of game-playing and laughter...
...and apparently some nap-taking going on!
Jacob-isms
Here's more of Super-Man, with a drawing Grandma made for him of Super Man, which has since been cut out, laminated, and gets flown around here on a regular basis. Would you believe me if I told you that he has never seen Super Man in a movie or comic book or anything? Where do they learn it from?
This is the latest addition to Jacob's imagination. Warrior wristbands. Neither he nor I know what they are actually called. But he saw them on soldiers in his picture Bible. Tell me, who sees a picture of a warrior and then looks at the dixie cups in the bathroom and says "Aha! That's what I can use!" Nobody I know. Except Jacob.
And then there's his perpetual one-liners, which Rebecca could probably fill in here better than I could. Trust me when I say we try and teach him to be kind and loving.
But while having dinner with my parents and Rebecca at their house the other day, he went around the table and pronounced a character trait over each of them. I'll leave out names to protect their identity.
"________ is the rudest, __________ is the laziest, and _____________ is the ugliest."
And then he was getting a piggy-back ride from Uncle Jerry the other night, and hollered, "Giddy-up, old piggy!"
Sorry. So very, very sorry! As is true with Jacob most of the time, I have no idea where this comes from.
This is the latest addition to Jacob's imagination. Warrior wristbands. Neither he nor I know what they are actually called. But he saw them on soldiers in his picture Bible. Tell me, who sees a picture of a warrior and then looks at the dixie cups in the bathroom and says "Aha! That's what I can use!" Nobody I know. Except Jacob.
And then there's his perpetual one-liners, which Rebecca could probably fill in here better than I could. Trust me when I say we try and teach him to be kind and loving.
But while having dinner with my parents and Rebecca at their house the other day, he went around the table and pronounced a character trait over each of them. I'll leave out names to protect their identity.
"________ is the rudest, __________ is the laziest, and _____________ is the ugliest."
And then he was getting a piggy-back ride from Uncle Jerry the other night, and hollered, "Giddy-up, old piggy!"
Sorry. So very, very sorry! As is true with Jacob most of the time, I have no idea where this comes from.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Finally, a response I like
And no, it's not a response from someone else. It's my own response to a question I receive frequently, yet I've always struggled to keep my answer both concise and comprehensive.
Homeschooling: How, why, for how long, what-in-the-heck-do-you-think-you're-doing-to-your kids, are you crazy, etc, etc, etc. Phrased a million-and-one-ways, but all boil down to why we think it's better for our family to homeschool. Sometimes the questions are innocent curiosity. Sometimes morbid curiosity. :) Sometimes malicious. Sometimes judgmental. Sometimes seeking.
And finally, after expounding upon a nugget of thought from someone else on the subject, I have created my own analogy that I feel goes more to the heart of the matter than "Christian curriculum" vs. "secular curriculum."
For the record, I KNOW that our reasons doesn't apply to everyone or even anyone, and that everyone has their own reasons for homeschooling or public schooling or anything else in-between. This story just explains our heart motivation for doing what we do...take it for what it's worth...which may not be much!
Want to hear it? If not, see you next post!
Homeschooling: How, why, for how long, what-in-the-heck-do-you-think-you're-doing-to-your kids, are you crazy, etc, etc, etc. Phrased a million-and-one-ways, but all boil down to why we think it's better for our family to homeschool. Sometimes the questions are innocent curiosity. Sometimes morbid curiosity. :) Sometimes malicious. Sometimes judgmental. Sometimes seeking.
And finally, after expounding upon a nugget of thought from someone else on the subject, I have created my own analogy that I feel goes more to the heart of the matter than "Christian curriculum" vs. "secular curriculum."
For the record, I KNOW that our reasons doesn't apply to everyone or even anyone, and that everyone has their own reasons for homeschooling or public schooling or anything else in-between. This story just explains our heart motivation for doing what we do...take it for what it's worth...which may not be much!
Want to hear it? If not, see you next post!
Just suppose you have worked and prayed and invested over a period of time, and you finally have a nice investment account of $100,000. (If that's not a stretch for you, feel free to up the amount)!
You are so grateful to have the security of $100,000, and you know you need to manage it well at the risk of losing it altogether, nor should you hoard it. You've sought advice and prayed for wisdom, and you know how you should put your money to good use.
However, in the town where you live, you've heard that there's a woman who has a degree in finance. You're not sure where she studied, what she was taught, what she teaches others to do with their money, or how she manages her own money. But they say that, since she has a degree in finance, that everyone should really trust her to manage their money for them.
And so you follow along with what everyone else is doing. You add the woman's name to your account. You and she both have a debit card and know the PIN to make transactions. At first you didn't feel comfortable with this, but you've met her a few times and she seems like a very nice lady. And those who have used her services and financial company before didn't have any major complaints.
Is this a likely story? Would we do this?
Would we really let a virtual, albeit nice, stranger, have control of our investment?
No, we wouldn't. And if we wouldn't allow this with our money, then why in the world would we allow this with our children's hearts and minds? There may be an "expert" at the public school down the street. She may be very nice. But we don't see the wisdom in allowing transactions to be made in the lives of our children without our authority and consent.
You are so grateful to have the security of $100,000, and you know you need to manage it well at the risk of losing it altogether, nor should you hoard it. You've sought advice and prayed for wisdom, and you know how you should put your money to good use.
However, in the town where you live, you've heard that there's a woman who has a degree in finance. You're not sure where she studied, what she was taught, what she teaches others to do with their money, or how she manages her own money. But they say that, since she has a degree in finance, that everyone should really trust her to manage their money for them.
And so you follow along with what everyone else is doing. You add the woman's name to your account. You and she both have a debit card and know the PIN to make transactions. At first you didn't feel comfortable with this, but you've met her a few times and she seems like a very nice lady. And those who have used her services and financial company before didn't have any major complaints.
Is this a likely story? Would we do this?
Would we really let a virtual, albeit nice, stranger, have control of our investment?
No, we wouldn't. And if we wouldn't allow this with our money, then why in the world would we allow this with our children's hearts and minds? There may be an "expert" at the public school down the street. She may be very nice. But we don't see the wisdom in allowing transactions to be made in the lives of our children without our authority and consent.
Okay...so maybe it's not very concise. But I'm sure that being shared verbally, it comes out a lot more quickly, right? :)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Valentine's Day
What do you do when your local Ace Hardware has a super-cool kids' tent and crawl-through tunnel on sale in December, but you've already finished Christmas shopping?
You buy it regardless and save it for Ethiopian Christmas in January, which you forget till the day after, so you save it for Valentine's Day.
That's what we would do, anyway.
You buy it regardless and save it for Ethiopian Christmas in January, which you forget till the day after, so you save it for Valentine's Day.
That's what we would do, anyway.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Snow workers
It's a good thing these kids know how to work...
But everyone needs a rest now and again!
But everyone needs a rest now and again!
Happy Birthday, Mark!
I made grand plans for Mark's birthday this year...and we were able to do about half of it!
For Christmas, Rebecca had given me a certificate for a free weekend of babysitting, so I reserved her far in advance! I asked Chad, who is a deacon, to preach in place of Mark that Sunday, and had Tommy (who was a dairy farmer in his pre-Alaska days) all lined up to milk the goat while we were away! Since Rebecca would be at our house, Tricia and Jerry graciously invited us to use their house (they're on the slope working) as our B & B!
But between the third blizzard in as many days, Rebecca getting sick on Friday, and Mark having to work on Saturday to cover for one of his employees who became unexpectedly unavailable...we didn't get away Friday not. BUT, we were able to leave Saturday, and just took the kids to mom's since Rebecca still wasn't feeling great.
I love celebrating Mark on his birthday, but he is definitely opposed to a big deal being made of him! So this was the perfect weekend-away from a big party and fuss in exchange for a quiet night of pizza and a movie...and the chance to SLEEP IN!!! We had gorgeous weather on Sunday, so we went snowshoeing and had a fabulous time.
And in lieu of a birthday cake and party, we all met at Cold Stone for ice cream before heading home!
Even the kids thought it was a great weekend!
And they agree with me...their dad is pretty amazing and is worth celebrating, even if he doesn't think so!
For Christmas, Rebecca had given me a certificate for a free weekend of babysitting, so I reserved her far in advance! I asked Chad, who is a deacon, to preach in place of Mark that Sunday, and had Tommy (who was a dairy farmer in his pre-Alaska days) all lined up to milk the goat while we were away! Since Rebecca would be at our house, Tricia and Jerry graciously invited us to use their house (they're on the slope working) as our B & B!
But between the third blizzard in as many days, Rebecca getting sick on Friday, and Mark having to work on Saturday to cover for one of his employees who became unexpectedly unavailable...we didn't get away Friday not. BUT, we were able to leave Saturday, and just took the kids to mom's since Rebecca still wasn't feeling great.
I love celebrating Mark on his birthday, but he is definitely opposed to a big deal being made of him! So this was the perfect weekend-away from a big party and fuss in exchange for a quiet night of pizza and a movie...and the chance to SLEEP IN!!! We had gorgeous weather on Sunday, so we went snowshoeing and had a fabulous time.
And in lieu of a birthday cake and party, we all met at Cold Stone for ice cream before heading home!
Even the kids thought it was a great weekend!
And they agree with me...their dad is pretty amazing and is worth celebrating, even if he doesn't think so!
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Trade-Offs
It's funny, but I've recently read a similar post on a few of the blogs I follow, posts that say something like "I know I'm not blogging...but certainly not for lack of content."
And when I read them, I think "I should really post something like that so that people don't think we've fallen off the edge of the world."
But it's more than just busy. It's all about trade-offs.
We each are only given 24 hours. No more. No less.
You know that whole "rocks/pebbles/sand/water in a jar" analogy? If you fill your jar up with sand, the little stuff of life, you won't have room for the big rock priorities. So put in your priorities first, then the other important stuff, and whatever room is left for the things of lesser importance will shift around in their till your jar (day/life) is full.
I've been a little frustrated with my lack of blogging. Getting behind is no way to catch up from behind. Trust me, I've tried.
But then I realized that I was simply making time trade-offs. I haven't been blogging much. But I've added other things to my life. Like milking the goat. Like exercising. Like playing games with my kids. Like carting the boys to swimming lessons. Like sleeping. Yes, believe it or not, I'm actually getting a decent night's sleep most nights.
Most things remain. Teaching my children. Cleaning the house. Cooking. Leading worship. Caring for the farm.
Some things are temporarily getting the boot. Email. Blogging.
All in all, I think that for the time being, my trade-offs are all good. Focusing more on the important than on the urgent.
We're working on getting a little more organized with our days. Trying to be more structured (in a flexible kind of way!) with our school days, now that we're not carting off to the chiropractor twice a week and such.
Honestly, this whole concept of trade-offs, which is pretty simplistic on the surface, has us really re-thinking our priorities for when Karis (and possibly a brother...we're praying on it, and more on that later on the other blog!) comes home. Adjusting and attaching and incorporating any new child into a family takes time. More trade-offs. Worthwhile, sure. We're just trying to do some forward-thinking here.
But I tell you what, if I ever find the button on my kids that brings instant focus and efficiency to whatever activity they're engaged in, we'll be on a roll and fit everything in our 24 hours. (If you know where that button is, please share the secret)!
And when I read them, I think "I should really post something like that so that people don't think we've fallen off the edge of the world."
But it's more than just busy. It's all about trade-offs.
We each are only given 24 hours. No more. No less.
You know that whole "rocks/pebbles/sand/water in a jar" analogy? If you fill your jar up with sand, the little stuff of life, you won't have room for the big rock priorities. So put in your priorities first, then the other important stuff, and whatever room is left for the things of lesser importance will shift around in their till your jar (day/life) is full.
I've been a little frustrated with my lack of blogging. Getting behind is no way to catch up from behind. Trust me, I've tried.
But then I realized that I was simply making time trade-offs. I haven't been blogging much. But I've added other things to my life. Like milking the goat. Like exercising. Like playing games with my kids. Like carting the boys to swimming lessons. Like sleeping. Yes, believe it or not, I'm actually getting a decent night's sleep most nights.
Most things remain. Teaching my children. Cleaning the house. Cooking. Leading worship. Caring for the farm.
Some things are temporarily getting the boot. Email. Blogging.
All in all, I think that for the time being, my trade-offs are all good. Focusing more on the important than on the urgent.
We're working on getting a little more organized with our days. Trying to be more structured (in a flexible kind of way!) with our school days, now that we're not carting off to the chiropractor twice a week and such.
Honestly, this whole concept of trade-offs, which is pretty simplistic on the surface, has us really re-thinking our priorities for when Karis (and possibly a brother...we're praying on it, and more on that later on the other blog!) comes home. Adjusting and attaching and incorporating any new child into a family takes time. More trade-offs. Worthwhile, sure. We're just trying to do some forward-thinking here.
But I tell you what, if I ever find the button on my kids that brings instant focus and efficiency to whatever activity they're engaged in, we'll be on a roll and fit everything in our 24 hours. (If you know where that button is, please share the secret)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)