Lego Creations

 We had a crazy end to our week last Friday, which included a head injury.  Don't worry everyone is fine now.  It was just an accident that happened while we were playing with friends in the gym and it was just a gash on the noggin.  But it did mean that Hen had to lie low for a few days, which meant that all the boys had to lie low, because that sweet little boy just has to do what his brothers are doin'!  So we got out the Legos.  And after two whole days of Legos all over the family room here's what we have.   A Star Wars Republic Drop Ship....

 It is hard to explain to you just how enormous this thing is and all of its capabilities.  It's wingspan is about two and a half feet.  It has a cockpit, opening doors for missile storage and can shoot missiles.

 Here is  close up of the front.  It can also hook up to the AT-TE Walker.  You can see how it sits on top a little in this photo.  What you can not see is how Badger designed a fully functioning latch system that runs inside the AT-TE which allows the bottom structure to accept the Drop Ship and support its weight. 

I'll admit to you that I do not really care about Legos.  (i know, i know)  But I am so very captivated when this boy of mine can make them DO things.  He has such an engineering mind, and is growing in his skills.  I know some of you will appreciate this post more than others (uncle brian?)  But I just couldn't not "mark this one down."  These kids are so extraordinary, and it should be celebrated.

Our Baby is 9

And so it happened...our eldest boy turned nine.

Oh, my son.  What words can I write for you that properly express all that I hope for you?  You amaze me!  You always have, since the day you were born.  We are proud of who you are and of the man you are becoming.  We love you so much, and are so thankful to be your parents.

You are our little sportman!

 A wonderful big brother!

 My sweet and helpful boy!  I love your ideas, your love for reading, your gentle teaching to your brothers, how you want to include me in your day.  I love baking with you, reading with you, playing with you, going for walks with you, working in the garden with you, making art with you.  May God continue to bless you as you grow.

And as always...here are a few pictures of the cake.  What a good idea you had Badger for a scarecrow cake!

Peaches, Flooring, and Happenings...

 Nope.  Not apples.  Peaches.  Because that's how ambitious I am!  On top of all the harvesting here, I decided to buy a box of Michigan peaches to put up for the winter.  They were beautiful....I couldn't resist!

 I blanched them, and the boys peeled them.  All 68 of them or something like that.  Then I sliced them and froze them for peach crisp, and peach pie, and fresh peaches on our granola. Yum!

 Six giant bags of peaches are in my freezer. :) And 26 jars of homemade salsa are in my cupboard!  Thanks to my mom who brought tomatoes from a friend and worked hard hard hard with me all last Saturday.  And well, actually there are only 13 jars in the cupboard she has half of them.  

Also, recently...the men put in the laminate floor in the orange room.  Our eldest son worked all day with papa on measuring and cutting boards and laying them down.  It was a joy to see them work together, and to witness how capable our boy is.  How hardworking and interested and helpful.

We've also just been getting into the swing of school.  Our days go so well when I actually get my stuff together ahead of time and have lots of projects and ideas for them.  No, I don't actually always "do" the stuff with them, but I am the idea maker alot of the time!  Having more structure in our school day really seems to suit us.  It's definitely NOT like school structure at all.  More like...have lots of things lined up to do that are interesting, hands on, and pertinent and then go with the flow.  But we do make sure we get to Math, Bible, and Handwriting everyday, while the other subjects kind of shift around depending on how we are doing, what harvesting needs to get done, and what field trips we are taking!  It's been a good fall so far.  I hope it continues so!

Summertime!

Sunshine comes in many forms. This beauty greets us in the morning out the dining room windows.  Several of them actually.  The song birds have decided to claim them and we do not mind.  There is always something to watch while we are sitting to eat or to do a creative project.

 Here's Hen all ready for a walk.  Such a happy boy.

 Little Owl with his walking stick.  Reminder to self, don't ever try to convince a boy to choose a smaller stick unless you really feel like getting into it.

 Many of our walks end at a park of some sort.  The brothers wouldn't all look at the camera. (I don't blame them as I am not one to pose children) I love this picture even though they aren't all looking in the same place because it is so natural.

 Hammock love.

 Badger at soccer.  The boy loves to run.  And run.  And run....

 Go team!

Little Men

Recently, a lady from our town decided to give away some old books.  They had belonged to her mother who is now in her eighties.  There were two bags of them.  All from the twenties, published on "wartime" paper.  Several Alcott, a book of poetry and other books of which I had never heard.  How this woman, who I do not personally know, found me to give them to is somewhat of a mystery.  And since, I think of these delicious books as valuable treasure, I am inclined to think that somehow God's hand was in this.

Today, my Badger found Little Men.  He's read Little Women.  Back when he was six.  He loved it.  I was so glad.  Today he started this one and after reading about the Saturday night pillow fights, decided it was delicious too.  

I delight in having a boy that loves to read as much as I do.  It is such a privilege to be able to find books for him to devour.  I used to think it a burden, because finding things that were age appropriate yet still engage him, has been time consuming.  Now as he gets older, and I know him even better, I am finding more and more things that he is ready for and it is so amazing.  He is reading and thinking and his mind is being shaped by these books.  What a privilege to be part of that.

Eight!

Badger is now officially eight years old. Wow! Here is a recent picture of him in his favorite spot, up in one of the apple trees. Greensleeves, his favorite hen, often joins him up there. She sits on his foot and he strokes her neck. It's really so sweet to watch.

We celebrated this weekend with a family party one day and a relaxing day at church and home the next day. We took a long walk as part of the festivities and let Badger be the leader, choosing where we went. I can't believe he's eight.

The cake is a target with arrows. Can you tell? The flavor was Badger's specific request. Yellow cake, with four layers. Chocolate frosting and raspberry filling. It was very good and quite fun to make. (although I admit it would've been even more fun if it was done before 10pm. when am I ever going to learn to get started earlier?)

I wanted to find a picture of the boy when he was much smaller to show you in honor of his birthday. But honestly, I'm feeling all "november-y" lately, which sometimes gets in the way of getting things done. I love November. It always is a time of inwardness for me, which can be a very good thing. So I apologize to you if the blog is updated less frequently. Please be patient with me. :) November-ness never lasts too long.

Gallery

More of Badger's Creations for you to enjoy.....

You might remember Wall-E from a week ago, but now he has a friend. Isn't she sweet? Her arms actually move. Cool.

Badger has also been creating paper costumes. The ring is made from paper and foil from a candy wrapper. The boy is frugal!
Badger created some "movie star" glasses...."you wear those during a movie, Mama"...hee hee....
And this one....this one is a disguise. He was hoping it looked like Hercule Poirot, detective. I think it's pretty good, don't you?

Badger's Paper Projects

Badger, our eldest boy, is a uniquely introverted person. Whenever he needs some "down time" I can expect him to be doing one of two things....reading....or making something. He's been doing some really neat things with paper lately and I thought you might like to take a peek.

These first few are from a Star Wars lift the flap book that he is making. (all of these are totally his idea and independent work)

see the little ewok tree house?

He's also been exploring the world of Pop-ups. This one may be my favorite....
It's a mummy. And it was taped shut to the wall in the dining room. And in the other corner of the room was another piece of paper folded closed that had a secret message that helped you find the mummy. It was written in hieroglyphs which is also one of his hobbies. (I couldn't find that paper to photograph it, sorry...)

scary scene with bat

treasure chest that opens with the card

And a field of sunflowers. Apparently there is a message on this one too...see the hieroglyphs hiding between the stems....free points to whoever can figure it out. I'd have to go grab the book and look them up, because even though I faithfully decipher most of his codes I can't remember them to save my life. It's rough having a seven year old that is smarter than you. :)

Bounteous Blessings

Sunday nights are cozy, but Sunday nights can also be bittersweet. I love that "settled in" feeling that comes on Sundays, usually right as we are sitting down to dinner. We eat together, we get in our jammies and we snuggle in for an episode of Nature on PBS. Since this is our "routine" on the weekends that we are home, it feels familiar and good and it is something the kids look forward to each week. After the show, they hop off to bed and fall asleep with just a story or two. Then J and I settle in with Masterpiece Mystery. (yes, we do. I especially love Poirot. Oooo and Ms. Marple. :) I read those books as a kid, and I loved them then and I love them now too!) Unfortunately, as we snuggle on the couch, that slightly stressful feeling of "Oh no tomorrow is a workday for J" creeps in. It can't really be avoided. Oh yes, we survive the work week just fine. And yes, I know it's not like he isn't here morning and evening. I do have it so easy compared to some mums that really are parenting much more alone than I. It's just that we like him so much and we want him to be here all the time! And that is what I mean by bittersweet.

Last night we enjoyed our usual routine and just as J was falling asleep a show on PBS about World War II came on. And for some reason I watched it. And I learned that during the war there were American Civilians that were captured in a prisoner of war camp in the Philippines. Now maybe you knew this, but I had no idea about it! I was shocked and horrified. The worst part about it besides being captured of course was that they were starving. Literally starving. Little children died of hunger. The whole show was really eye opening actually. (Thank you Ken Burns.) I went to bed upset, and woke up today thinking about how very blessed I was to be able to make carrot cake pancakes for my family this morning without having to go through hardly any trouble at all. We are so blessed. So very, very blessed.

The rest of the morning was spent working in the gardens, because I felt a deep need to tend to the things I've been given. Here was the bounty from today.

See the green pepper? I was excited about that delicious critter. I've never been too successful with peppers, but this year they're doing great. It looks like there'll be some sweet red peppers soon! Wahoo! There was also a giant bowl of basil that was harvested this morn, and promptly made into pesto. Yum!

Those little grey beauties are garlic. It is small I know, but I hadn't even planted any this year so I'm happy about it! It must've grown from some small bulbs that I hadn't found when digging up last year's harvest. It smells soooo good.

Have I told you about Badger's onions? He planted 100 of them. :) We haven't had to buy onions since early spring. They are getting big now and I'm looking forward to digging them up! I hope we have enough to last through the winter.

Badger helped so much in the garden this spring. He planted the onions, spinach, lettuce, corn, and kohlrabi. And the best part is he wanted to do it! I love that the boys are learning to grow things to eat. Oh, and he also planted the sunflowers and morning glories for the Sunflower House! As soon as it blooms I'll take a picture so you can see it. It's starting to be tall enough to feel like a house now. Fun times. We've so many reasons to be thankful.

For the Love of the Game

Baseball. Oh, how these little boys love baseball.

This is what the rest of the family does during the game. There is never enough room on the blankets for all of the snuggling, lounging, and occasional wrestling that goes on during the hour we watch Brother play.

Look! Hen's standing. Doesn't that look funny? He is walking more and more on his own every day. :)

Owl can not wait until he is old enough to get out on the field. (you have to be 5) One more year dearheart.

Waiting for a turn to bat. Badger is playing coach pitch this year. He is doing so well! And having so much fun! I tried to get a picture of him batting, but he was so quick I only captured him running to first base.

Cricket's turn.

Having a chat with coach at first base.

Good game. Good game. Good game. Good game......