I know it's a weed...

But really, they are pretty.

Especially when you have a whole field of them... like our backyard.

Sadness

We lost a kite today. Well, not quite. We know where it is... at least 20 feet up in a tree in our neighbors yard.

We have a pretty open backyard but if you let go of the string then it's not so good. The kite got away from Marissa and I gawked a few seconds too long before I took off after it and it is now stuck. What a bummer. Maybe if I can make friends with someone who owns a bucket truck.... or a local firefighter... Maybe we'll just enjoy it flying in the tree.

Playin' at a park.

Back when the weather was warm... well, it's warm again but we did go through a cold snap (not as cold as some places because at least we didn't get snow, although it got close)... I took the kids to a park. I figured they were tired of playing inside and the yard really doesn't have much to offer. They had a good time and so it was a hit. It's right next to the Saginaw River so we took a walk to look at the river as well. Ben is really wanting to go fishing - memories from the island and our neighbor, Will. It was a nice afternoon.

I would have put captions in for all the pictures but they are pretty self explanitory and I'm sure you can be just as clever (or more so) than I so just enjoy! We had a nice time.

Is it really worth it?

I have found a store that sells produce at a better price than Wal-Mart. Since we have started eating more produce, it seems pretty necessary to go to this other store for said produce, but then I have to go to Wal-Mart for everything else. Today, I realized that Kroger brand stuff is sometimes cheaper than Wal-Mart brand stuff. So now the question is, do I go to three stores to get all my food stuff or do I just figure it's not that big of a deal? Sure, I'll save a few dollars but taking my 5 children to 3 grocery stores in one day seems a little much, and really isn't much fun for anyone. You might say I could do it on different days but that would cost more in gas, therefore canceling out the money I would save.

Castle Museum

I really didn't take very many pictures. It is always hard, and a little disappointing when I try to take pictures inside with glass reflecting the flash back at me and not really being able to see what I'm taking a picture of because I want my kids in focus so nothing else is. Anyway, We had a good time walking around and the outside of the building was really neat.

They had several different exhibits - Barbie Doll through the years; model trains and logging history of Michigan in the basement; static room displays of olden day home stuff, beauty shop, doctor and dentist stuff; and other things. The main exhibit, which changes, was the American Soldier. We have been studying World War 1 and 2 so I thought it would be interesting for the kids to see it in another setting. The museum had huge photos from the different wars that we have fought in with captions to go along with them, from the Civil War to present day. It was certainly interesting to see the change in warfare, uniforms and equipment. I am really glad that we don't have the constant civil unrest as some other countries do.

That's all I took. Nothing exciting at all. How disappointing. Maybe we'll go again just so I can take pictures. Then again, how exciting are Barbie Dolls in cases and all that other stuff, if you're not really there to see it? So this will probably do.

Serious Sleeper

She fell asleep during our nightly routine, with her arms folded. Kevin took her to bed and she kept her arms folded. I just thought it was cute.


I really have lots of things to blog about - museum, zoo, park, and chickens - so I'll do that soon! I'm sure you're dying with anticipation now.

What to do...

I am actually really tired of the sun not setting until after 8 p.m. Back in Alaska, we would have this problem all summer long but the kids were younger and it didn't seem like such a big deal to put them to bed when the sun was still shinning because we knew it would shine all night long. Now, the kids are older and I like reading books to them and then, all of a sudden, it's after 8 and we need to get our nightly routine going. I am to the point where I pretend Day Light Savings didn't really happen so it's really only 7 and we are right on time. I really wish we (the country) would get rid of the whole time change thing because I'd rather have the sun come up earlier in the morning to help me get up than to have it stay up later at night. Maybe that's just me, and maybe it stems from the time I spent on the island where the sun came up and went down at about the same time all year round.

Kemiah's new favorite thing to say.

And this one is really irritating. Any time I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do she will actually say, "I don't want to." Then she fights me the whole way and cries and ends up in the corner, which she doesn't want to do so she keeps saying it over and over again. I am really working on having her say, "Yes, Mom." We'll just have to keep working on it. I know it's just a phase so we'll be through it shortly. I hope we can both survive.

I think Xiomara's funny.

If only she knew what she had said. She was standing on a stool and I was pushing her hand on my tummy to try and feel the baby. The baby had just moved her foot so I was going all over my belly. Eventually Xiomara put her hand around my back and said, "She's back here." I laughed and said, "No, she's not back there." Xiomara innocently asked, "Why is it fat?" Thank you, my little sweetie.

They're here!

I had just gotten out of bed (7:30) and the phone rang. It was the post office calling to say they had a peeping box for us. I told her I had to get my kids up (they were all still in bed) but we'd be there soon. She asked if I wanted my carrier to bring them. I told her I don't get my mail until the afternoon. She asked a few people there and we decided it would be best if I came to get them. It was easy to get the kids up... "Hey, the chicks are here. We have to go get them!" They all scrambled out of bed, got dressed and were downstairs rather quickly. (I did have to take Kemiah's sheet, blankets and jammies down to the washing machine because she had wet her bed. Oh well.) We made the short trip to the post office and I asked, "Do you want to wait here or come inside with me?" They all wanted to come in so they all unbuckled and went in. There were a few snow flurries coming down and it was cold. It was a quick trip in, grabbed the box and went back out to the car. It was so fun to hear their peeping! We got them home and went up to the bathroom. The kids helped transfer them to the shower - they brought them to me so I could put them in one by one to show them where to get water. It was so loud in the shower stall with all those little chicks peeping away - some can get really loud.

I was so glad that I took the time to actually clean the shower door before we got the chicks. It made a huge difference. It's actually clear and we can watch the chicks very easily, without making them too cool.




Their new environment with the food stuff in the red tray. It took them a little while before they figured out they could eat it but once they did it was madness. Now they are eating gravel type food. Kevin rearranged things when he got home and placed the box they were shipped in on the floor of the shower so they could use that as a sleeping area. It worked for a while but now they sleep where ever and still usually in a group. Which is funny to watch because if anyone wiggles it wakes the entire pile up.

The kids were so excited to hold the chicks. Xiomara.... not so much. She's still afraid of animals. She will pet them if they are in someone else's hand or on the ground but she ran out of this picture when her black chick ran towards her.

Production Red...


Buff Orpington...

Black Sex...

It has been a fun day with the chicks, watching them, holding them, petting them and so forth. They have settled down quite a bit and aren't peeping as loud. They have figured out how to lay down to sleep instead of trying to sleep standing up. They are eating well and everything seems to be going great (for the first day). We ordered 25 and they ended up sending us 27 - 9 of each type: Black Sex, Production Reds, and Buff Orpingtons. They hatched on Wednesday so they are very young and small. It amazes me that they already know so much - walking, eating, jumping, drinking, sleeping, pecking and other such things.

We tried rotating through the chicks as we handled them so that they would not get overwhelmed or too dehydrated. We want to handle them a lot so that they will grow up used to us - like our other chickens. I think what we'll have to do in the future is just pull out one type at a time so that we know they are all getting handled and no one is left out. We shall see.

The other excitement for the day was that the three oldest kids started piano lessons. A friend from Church is teaching them and they are all excited. Xiomara asked if she could too but I told her she would have a wait a little while. Maybe one of the other kids will teach her as they learn and she'll be the best piano player of them all. As with anything new they are very excited and took turns practicing today (between periods of watching the chicks).

A little disappointed.

Kevin ordered our baby chicks last Wednesday from a hatchery in Iowa. Yes, we are going to have chickens again. We thought they would arrive today so we waited, all day, at home, reading, painting, playing and cleaning (an all of that was after we did school). The phone call we thought would come never came. I guess they'll arrive tomorrow. The kids were more disappointed than I was but I am getting a little excited to hear their peeps and hold the little balls of fluff. They grow so fast and don't stay little for very long. They'll be staying in the shower stall in the upstairs bathroom for a while. Then we'll make them a place in the basement. Eventually they will move out to the not-yet-designed-or-constructed hen house behind the garage. As always, it will add excitement to our less than ordinary lives. We'll expect eggs in September so I hope we aren't disappointed with that as well. Don't worry, I'll post pictures when they do arrive.

No more diapers... I hope.

Okay, at least for the next three months. Kemiah is sleeping in bed without a diaper for the first time tonight. She has been keeping it dry several nights in a row so I figured it was time to ditch the diaper. She seemed okay with that. A funny thing is that we came home from the library on Tuesday with a book about no more diapers. It was a book for kids about potty training. I think Emily picked it out but I read it to Kemiah tonight and we talked about how she is a big girl and not wearing diapers anymore! I'll be pleased enough for the both of us. Maybe I can potty train the new baby right away and I won't have to worry about diapers ever again... Never mind.

Love the view

I'm only missing the beach and sea of the island or the mountains of the last frontier, but really, it's pretty great. It's just different and different is looking good. The sun sets right in our backyard and we have 8 acres of farm land behind us so there are no obstructions to the sunset. I find myself running outside, camera in hand, to try and capture the beauty of it, just like I would in Dominica or Alaska. Of course, it's never quite the same as reality but I'll share it anyway.

I will some times catch myself glancing out the windows of the house to see if there is a wandering cow or moose. They don't have those things here and I'm sure, some day, I'll quit looking. I just laugh at myself - and Kevin will tell you he does that a lot (laugh at me, that is).

9 months

I know why the Lord had pregnancy last 9 months... At least this is my opinion. Other than the fact that the baby needs time to form and get a healthy start, we need time to get ready for the new arrival. I am getting to the slightly uncomfortable stage and still have a hard time believing that we are going to have another baby. At times I long to hold her in my arms and yet, I'm not quite ready for her to be here. I remember feeling this way with the others. I was always ready to deliver and yet, it was always so easy to care for the baby inside the womb - no crying, feeding, chasing, changing, spit-up, etc. But you also miss the sweetness, love, smiles, learning, growth, amazement, etc. So the 9 months gives you time to prepare for all the changes and anticipate all the wonderful things yet to come. Nothing earth shattering but helps me deal with the thought that I have 3 more months to go.

Guess what our favorite thing to do is?

This actually happened in the middle of March but I'm just now posting about it. It is now the kids favorite thing to do - go outside and ride bikes around the house. It's even better now because Dad took the fence down (we'll put it back up but in a new configuration) so they can ride all the way around the house, with my van parked at the end of the driveway so they don't end up in the road. Even Kemiah gets all excited about going outside and loves to ride the tricycles. Marissa figured out how to ride her bike without training wheels and loves to chase Ben. We are all very glad that it is getting warmer to be able to play outside more. Eventually we'll go to a park and maybe even do some kite flying!

Several days late but oh well.

I turned the big 35 at the end of March. My husband teases that my birthday is the 27th so this year I used that to my advantage - we sort of celebrated all weekend. Saturday was "My Fake Birthday." Sunday was "Almost My Birthday." Monday was "My Real Birthday." I didn't get gifts every day but I did make dessert each night and that usually is only reserved for special occasions. The first night was probably my favorite - chocolate lava cup cakes. I served them with real whipped cream and I thought they were delicious! Kevin took one bite and said they were too much. Ben ate all of his but kept saying it was disgusting (too raw for him). Marissa liked hers but it was a bit rich - she ate it all anyway. The others liked theirs - my real kids.

Sunday night I made my Dad's Rice Chex with white chocolate Almond Bark. It's super easy and really tasty.

Monday some friends came over to play and they brought cake and ice cream so that's what we had for lunch - we had a really late breakfast. It was so great to have people come over and I'm thankful that I have friends who care about me. Thanks!

Monday night we enjoyed a new dessert that I wanted to try out and it was better the next night because it actually had time to freeze. The best part was the strawberries! I love them and really missed them while we were on the island. Keeping with tradition I got a gift that plugs in - an inverter for my laser printer so that I can actually use it. [That's a long story so I won't go into it but we now have a printer I can use at home.]

I am most thankful for my children and husband, and all my family and friends who care enough to think of me on my birthday! Thank you all.