tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12905893342932665082024-03-12T23:17:17.743-04:00RichFamThe typical life of a Christ-centered, family-integrated,
fruitfully-multiplying, homeschool-or-bust family.RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-29959814782355512622012-04-04T11:33:00.000-04:002012-04-04T11:33:22.116-04:00Life is Learning...<div style="text-align: justify;">Grocery shopping with multiple children in tow. That's enough to send shivers up your spine, right?<br />
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But, that's exactly what most of us have to do. I, too, am familiar with the stress of trying to get groceries while simultaneously breaking up arguments between siblings every two seconds. Except I've come up with a more creative way to do it that lessens the time it takes to shop, as well as eliminating the bickering between siblings almost entirely!<br />
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We are homeschoolers, and while we do use some textbooks in our school lessons with our children, we also firmly believe in teaching them some actual life skills any time the opportunity arises.<br />
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One way I have begun teaching these life skills to my older children is by bringing them to the grocery store with me, and then letting THEM do the shopping. By themselves. Yes, you read that right.<br />
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(My older kids are ages 8 & 11, although we've been doing this since last year.) <br />
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I start off at home by making up my grocery list. The kids help me plan a meal menu for the week, and then they look in the fridge and pantry to see what ingredients we already have, so we will know what items we will need to get at the store. (I oftentimes have to help them out a little by giving them prompts for the things they add to the menu... "<em>What ingredients are needed to make blueberry muffins?</em>" And if they've forgotten an ingredient, I prompt them again, "<em>Do you think blueberry muffins would taste very good without sugar? Maybe we should add that to the list.</em>", etc.)<br />
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Once we have all of our meals planned for the week, and listed all of the items that are needed, I get to work dividing up the Master List into shorter, more manageable lists that the kids can do. (I generally give each child a list of items I know they will be able to locate easily in the store, along with a couple of potentially difficult items to give them a bit of a challenge. Keep in mind that you might also need to add a description next to the items on the list to help them locate it more easily. <br />
For example: Cottage Cheese -- (red tub labelled "small curd"), or Orange Juice -- ("Simply Orange" Pulp Free), etc.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_x2aeDjry1E/T3xmwkNTPoI/AAAAAAAABi0/EHleCSClgvo/s1600/Grocery+List.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_x2aeDjry1E/T3xmwkNTPoI/AAAAAAAABi0/EHleCSClgvo/s320/Grocery+List.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Then, we go to the store, I give each of the kids their own shopping cart, and send them to get each of the items on their lists. <br />
***NOTE*** It would be much easier (and safer) to go to the store earlier in the day, when it is less likely to be crowded.<br />
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When looking for all of the items on their lists, there are times when one of the kids will come to me and tell me they can't find something. As easy as it would be to tell them that they can find it on aisle 3, doing that isn't helping them with their problem solving skills. So, even though it might require a little extra time and effort, it is much better in the long run for them to be able to figure it out on their own. So, I prompt them again... "<em>This is chili powder. It is used to *spice* up and flavor foods. Where do you think it might be found, now that we know what it is used for?" </em>Hopefully, they will tell me that it should be in the spice aisle. If not, I keep prompting until they answer their own question.<br />
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Occasionally, as part of their "challenging" list items, I will ask the children to get produce where they are required to stay within a certain weight limit. For example: Apples -- (Gala, no more than 3 lbs). That way, they learn how to use the scale in the produce section of the store.<br />
***NOTE*** For this type of item, I will have it on my Master List, and show the children how to choose "good" apples and to use the produce scale a few times before adding it to their lists and sending them off to figure it out on their own.<br />
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Now, I've told you what I do with my older kids, but what do I do with the littles during all of this? Well, hopefully, Daddy is home and can keep them. If not (which is more often the case), we just bring them with us and add them to our lesson. Most of the time, while the older ones to go off to do their shopping on their own, I keep the littles with me while I get the items on my lists. I include them, and help them to feel useful by asking them to put certain items into the cart ("<em>I need 4 cans of these kidney beans. Could you count 4 cans and put them in the cart for me?</em>"). Since the littles love to help and feel "big", this often works out very well for us. But sometimes, my littlest reeeeeally wants to go with her big sister, so I turn that into a teaching moment, too.<br />
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My oldest (R.) is 11, and my littlest (C.) is 2. They have quite a bond, and C listens to her big sister very well. Right now, R's "what I want to be when I grow up" choice is to become a wife and mom (makes me proud). But, regardless of the career path she chooses, she will most likely also be married with children someday and will need to learn the skills involved to know how to handle grocery shopping with littles. So, I allow R to take C in the cart with her as she does her grocery shopping. If nothing else, it sure does open R's eyes to the constant "I want that's" that littles love to utter incessantly, and gives her some newfound respect for me when I have to hear that x4! :o)<br />
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When everyone has finished getting all the items on their lists, we go together to the checkout lane. However, I have each child empty their own carts onto the conveyor belt and the bagged items back into the cart (prompting them to be smart about how they reload the cart -- i.e.: being sure not to put canned goods on top of bread or eggs, etc).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4raOJONBCMA/T3xmzsxNJbI/AAAAAAAABjE/Au1aX7hDPNE/s1600/Ben+checking+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4raOJONBCMA/T3xmzsxNJbI/AAAAAAAABjE/Au1aX7hDPNE/s320/Ben+checking+out.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Occasionally, I allow the children to take their carts to the "Self Check" lane, so they can learn how to do that as well. They especially love that! However, it does take a LOT longer, so we don't do that very often. :o)<br />
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I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten compliments from people in the store who are utterly amazed that my children are capable of going grocery shopping at their young ages. One day, I even had a cashier tell me that she didn't even know how to go grocery shopping until she was in college, and that it was such an embarrassing and frustrating experience, it made her wish someone had taken the time to teach her when she was young. Overall, though, each person will need to evaluate their own children's maturity level and ability, and act accordingly. I wouldn't send my 5 year old off on her own in the store, but as she gets more familiar with the way things work, I might send her off with her older sister. That way, she gets to experience a little bit of independence from Mom, and begins to learn some important life skills.<br />
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Who knew going to the grocery store with kids could be so stress-free, educational, and FUN??? :o)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_olN-L3Nz3M/T3xmyAz8zII/AAAAAAAABi8/sBcavUJyQ8g/s1600/Ben+at+checkout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_olN-L3Nz3M/T3xmyAz8zII/AAAAAAAABi8/sBcavUJyQ8g/s320/Ben+at+checkout.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-2168213155442557002011-06-07T20:22:00.000-04:002011-06-07T20:22:04.857-04:00Moving On... (Again)<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Apparently, our family is destined to travel the country like Nomads or Gypsies... or, at least that's how it feels sometimes, since we seem to move every 2 years or so. I will say, though, that throughout all of these moves, we have seen the Hand of Almighty God at work in every single situation, always being faithful to answer our prayers as we seek to grow more spiritually mature and to act more like Him in all that we do. It has most definitely been painful at times, with many difficult lessons on patience, faithfulness, perseverance, etc. But, we fully trust in the Sovereignty of God and in His ability to bring us through any trials we may face in this life.<br />
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This latest move was especially exciting for me. I consider Tennessee my home state, spending the majority of my growing-up years there. So, when the Lord provided my husband with a JOB, a CHURCH, and a HOUSE during the course of ONE WEEKEND, and it "just-so-happened" to be in TN... I was ecstatic!<br />
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We only just moved into this house one week ago, so there is still a lot of "tweaking" to do to the house (painting, curtains, more pictures on the walls, etc), but I hope these pics will get the point across. And, we really love our new place. Many thanks to those of you who have been praying for our family during a(nother) difficult span of unemployment. Now, on to the house pics! :o)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The BEFORE and AFTER transformation (remember, it is still a work in progress):<br />
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The front of the house.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0a2Fozbzpw/Te60z-neKTI/AAAAAAAABhI/LrYSAf5NyrM/s1600/Front+of+house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0a2Fozbzpw/Te60z-neKTI/AAAAAAAABhI/LrYSAf5NyrM/s320/Front+of+house.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a><br />
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B's room BEFORE (excited that he has a view of the river from his window).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u7CTxwLc2xY/Te6ysWG5OWI/AAAAAAAABgI/fuj5QWa7qsM/s1600/ben%2527s+room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u7CTxwLc2xY/Te6ysWG5OWI/AAAAAAAABgI/fuj5QWa7qsM/s320/ben%2527s+room.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">AFTER</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2yd5wXUf1F0/Te6zrQktNOI/AAAAAAAABgc/jIDk--tFD3k/s1600/Ben%2527s+Room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2yd5wXUf1F0/Te6zrQktNOI/AAAAAAAABgc/jIDk--tFD3k/s320/Ben%2527s+Room.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
The Master Bedroom.<br />
BEFORE</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NboZRDOekQ0/Te6zj8vjvxI/AAAAAAAABgY/i0cbCKuOeGE/s1600/master+bedroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NboZRDOekQ0/Te6zj8vjvxI/AAAAAAAABgY/i0cbCKuOeGE/s320/master+bedroom.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">AFTER</div><div style="text-align: center;">I wish I could get a good pic of the whole room. It is HUGE! That is a King Sized bed, and it is still big enough to have a couch/sitting area on the other side of the room (if we had the furniture to put in it). :o)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PZuU-Z6G7CI/Te60mDcXy3I/AAAAAAAABhA/MGs7_LafWBI/s1600/Master+Bedroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PZuU-Z6G7CI/Te60mDcXy3I/AAAAAAAABhA/MGs7_LafWBI/s320/Master+Bedroom.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
The Girls' Room</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hRJSzc5Mn-0/Te60BVIBwyI/AAAAAAAABgo/uMUEe3vrKcI/s1600/Girls+Bedroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hRJSzc5Mn-0/Te60BVIBwyI/AAAAAAAABgo/uMUEe3vrKcI/s320/Girls+Bedroom.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Dining Area </div><div style="text-align: center;">BEFORE</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yEzVQ3-ZnD4/Te6y2Ae3roI/AAAAAAAABgM/8v95rkvpizU/s1600/dining+room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yEzVQ3-ZnD4/Te6y2Ae3roI/AAAAAAAABgM/8v95rkvpizU/s320/dining+room.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">AFTER</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkzuU5Jp5EQ/Te6zwAXhXcI/AAAAAAAABgg/AH_auH1X6XQ/s1600/Dining+Room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkzuU5Jp5EQ/Te6zwAXhXcI/AAAAAAAABgg/AH_auH1X6XQ/s320/Dining+Room.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Dining Room/Homeschool Area </div><div style="text-align: center;">BEFORE</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h2idfed-YYI/Te6y-VfH_BI/AAAAAAAABgQ/k4DL0kJuWTg/s1600/dining+room+and+master.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h2idfed-YYI/Te6y-VfH_BI/AAAAAAAABgQ/k4DL0kJuWTg/s320/dining+room+and+master.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">AFTER (I haven't gotten it organized yet. Thankfully, it is summer break, so I have a while before I have to get it finished. Yay! More time to procrastinate!) :o)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lzKDAiP7jbY/Te6z7ae8jjI/AAAAAAAABgk/LGF70Sm1YjI/s1600/Dining-Homeschool+Room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lzKDAiP7jbY/Te6z7ae8jjI/AAAAAAAABgk/LGF70Sm1YjI/s320/Dining-Homeschool+Room.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Kitchen</div><div style="text-align: center;">BEFORE</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RpZLYqzb2is/Te6zKZ8qCfI/AAAAAAAABgU/157oe3IfhuY/s1600/full+kitchen+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RpZLYqzb2is/Te6zKZ8qCfI/AAAAAAAABgU/157oe3IfhuY/s320/full+kitchen+view.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">AFTER<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2vvbeyhJgvI/Te60Nqrrp3I/AAAAAAAABgw/yBDVOmokBtU/s1600/Kitchen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2vvbeyhJgvI/Te60Nqrrp3I/AAAAAAAABgw/yBDVOmokBtU/s320/Kitchen.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Living Room/Kitchen area<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQ2Zu2qoGfg/Te60Z73WhxI/AAAAAAAABg4/w-7guacB6X0/s1600/Living+Room+other+side.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQ2Zu2qoGfg/Te60Z73WhxI/AAAAAAAABg4/w-7guacB6X0/s320/Living+Room+other+side.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Living Room (half of it, anyway)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H57fHGgwxWk/Te60T-5ZQxI/AAAAAAAABg0/YdVbdBGgshk/s1600/Living+Room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H57fHGgwxWk/Te60T-5ZQxI/AAAAAAAABg0/YdVbdBGgshk/s320/Living+Room.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The other half of the Living Room/Music Room. The kids are very excited to restart their piano & violin lessons soon! :o)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azl8fYAO5oU/Te60sfmdcUI/AAAAAAAABhE/oUQLjSAZmag/s1600/Other+side+of+Living+Room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azl8fYAO5oU/Te60sfmdcUI/AAAAAAAABhE/oUQLjSAZmag/s320/Other+side+of+Living+Room.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hope you enjoyed the "tour"! We really like it here so far. And, hopefully the Lord will let us live here for a little while before He moves us again! :o)</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-8505125288679844572011-04-25T22:17:00.000-04:002011-04-25T22:17:01.949-04:00Resurrection Rolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The kids and I decided to honor Resurrection Day by making these delicious, yet educational snacks -- Resurrection Rolls.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qMSShHd0Y_I/TbYgolhCTzI/AAAAAAAABfo/1bL53oKsPFU/s1600/Resurrection+Rolls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qMSShHd0Y_I/TbYgolhCTzI/AAAAAAAABfo/1bL53oKsPFU/s320/Resurrection+Rolls.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here is B, rolling his marshmallow (representing the body of Jesus) into butter (representing the oils used to prepare the body for burial), and cinnamon-sugar (representing the spices used in preserving the body), and wrapping it in the crescent roll (representing the linen cloth used to wrap Jesus' body).</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IfjfqpAObvw/TbYgJHvuYFI/AAAAAAAABfQ/0MQ06007T3I/s1600/Ben+making+rolls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IfjfqpAObvw/TbYgJHvuYFI/AAAAAAAABfQ/0MQ06007T3I/s320/Ben+making+rolls.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">After the rolls were baked in a 350 degree oven (representing the tomb) for 10-12 minutes, they were ready to be eaten -- much to the excitement of the children. :o)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> Here, I broke one of the rolls open, where the marshmallow has "mysteriously" disappeared.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-63fBdmN9C5k/TbYgVM4ywlI/AAAAAAAABfY/86xeF59OEpw/s1600/empty+roll.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-63fBdmN9C5k/TbYgVM4ywlI/AAAAAAAABfY/86xeF59OEpw/s320/empty+roll.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The "tomb" is empty! Jesus is alive! Praise be to God!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-40FT8eW1FGY/TbYguPC1nWI/AAAAAAAABfs/YkXr8iWsckI/s1600/The+tomb+is+empty.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-40FT8eW1FGY/TbYguPC1nWI/AAAAAAAABfs/YkXr8iWsckI/s320/The+tomb+is+empty.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The children thoroughly enjoyed the fact that they were able to eat this craft project, too. :o)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkIcr-j-2qc/TbYgaqOr7pI/AAAAAAAABfc/0GZrA8NThNQ/s1600/Hannah+eating+roll.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LkIcr-j-2qc/TbYgaqOr7pI/AAAAAAAABfc/0GZrA8NThNQ/s320/Hannah+eating+roll.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
Even little C got in on the action. Mmm... A tasty object lesson. :o)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2XXYi8H7K2M/TbYgP8hWUcI/AAAAAAAABfU/FU3Hn6hcqtI/s1600/Chloe+eating+roll.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2XXYi8H7K2M/TbYgP8hWUcI/AAAAAAAABfU/FU3Hn6hcqtI/s320/Chloe+eating+roll.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-29157223725960625422011-04-20T22:51:00.000-04:002011-04-20T22:51:30.931-04:00Artists in the Making<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today for Art class, I decided to give the kids the assignment of drawing a specific object. I told them to pretend that their hands were cameras, and they had to make a copy of the item in front of them. I have to admit, I was a little surprised by their artistic ability. All of them, in their own special way, made a very great picture.<br />
<br />
Here was the "inspiration" that they were assigned to draw:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmUkz5D78Ok/Ta-X8jvDJfI/AAAAAAAABe0/2Bj3ShSEVxU/s1600/The+art+inspiration.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmUkz5D78Ok/Ta-X8jvDJfI/AAAAAAAABe0/2Bj3ShSEVxU/s320/The+art+inspiration.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is what B (7 yrs) came up with:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SRacE5049SM/Ta-YCdXQHgI/AAAAAAAABe4/1kUvUvrMP0Q/s1600/Ben%2527s+drawing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SRacE5049SM/Ta-YCdXQHgI/AAAAAAAABe4/1kUvUvrMP0Q/s320/Ben%2527s+drawing.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
<br />
Here is R's (10 yrs) interpretation:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aGTThqlx5V0/Ta-YHwLa-8I/AAAAAAAABe8/eRFKGj2tsM4/s1600/Rebekah%2527s+drawing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aGTThqlx5V0/Ta-YHwLa-8I/AAAAAAAABe8/eRFKGj2tsM4/s320/Rebekah%2527s+drawing.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
H's (4 yrs) turned out to be more of an "abstract", but at least she tried... :o)<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-myUnlMOTlDA/Ta-YNJqz4NI/AAAAAAAABfA/ISDYR9CDBLw/s1600/Hannah%2527s+drawing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-myUnlMOTlDA/Ta-YNJqz4NI/AAAAAAAABfA/ISDYR9CDBLw/s320/Hannah%2527s+drawing.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
Overall, I was very impressed with my little up-and-coming artists. Now, to find a spot on the fridge to hang them... :o)<br />
</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-11977852690214598372011-03-14T09:55:00.000-04:002011-03-14T09:55:36.959-04:00Curriculum Giveaway from Veritas Press!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of my favorite websites (<a href="http://www.raisinghomemakers.com/">http://www.raisinghomemakers.com/</a>) announced a really incredible giveaway of some really incredible curriculum from <a href="http://www.veritaspress.com/">Veritas Press</a>!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gyvuZK-nscw/TX4dcSOFFII/AAAAAAAABeg/-e3-QpGmjgM/s1600/Curriculum+Giveaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gyvuZK-nscw/TX4dcSOFFII/AAAAAAAABeg/-e3-QpGmjgM/s320/Curriculum+Giveaway.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<br />
The giveaway is for their <a href="http://www.veritaspress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=000800">Kindergarten/First Grade Phonics Museum Combo Kit</a>.<br />
<br />
What all comes with the Phonics Museum Kindergarten/First Grade Combo Kit?:</div><ul><li>Two years worth of curriculum – four sturdy workbooks – two student workbooks and two teacher’s manuals (kindergarten and first grade)</li>
<li>The museum game board with game pieces </li>
<li>31 primers </li>
<li>Puzzle piece letters </li>
<li>Beautiful art covered flashcards </li>
<li>Step-by-step Lesson Plans </li>
<li>Deck of game cards </li>
<li>CD with original songs to help facilitate phonics concepts </li>
</ul><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">And... who doesn't like FREE???</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Head on over to the <a href="http://www.raisinghomemakers.com/">Raising Homemakers</a> website and enter for your chance to win this wonderful homeschool resource! :o)</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-5347936963784082842011-01-27T16:54:00.000-05:002011-01-27T16:54:15.069-05:00Baking Bread<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Making bread from scratch is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I recently found a <a href="http://www.futurechristianhomemakers.com/FCHLessonsIndex.html">wonderful website</a> that is dedicated to teaching young girls to become successful homemakers. One of the lessons on the site was bread making. And, since my littles are finally feeling better from their sicknesses, I thought this snowy day was as good as any for us to try it. :o)<br />
<br />
H probably had the most fun. For a girl who loves being clean, she sure did love getting messy! :o)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHhJyZu0uI/AAAAAAAABc8/iGwAt27zHIY/s1600/Hannah+B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHhJyZu0uI/AAAAAAAABc8/iGwAt27zHIY/s320/Hannah+B.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Kneading their own dough balls. Notice little H with her face covered in flour. :o)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHhY-W3kgI/AAAAAAAABdA/VlL8MO7WEvY/s1600/Kids+with+Dough+Ball.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHhY-W3kgI/AAAAAAAABdA/VlL8MO7WEvY/s320/Kids+with+Dough+Ball.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
All done rolling and shaping. Now, for the baking! :o)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHhe2smkEI/AAAAAAAABdE/_KxRVHbR8aM/s1600/Dough+in+Loaf+pans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHhe2smkEI/AAAAAAAABdE/_KxRVHbR8aM/s320/Dough+in+Loaf+pans.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
Both loaves cooling. We are so anxious to see how they taste!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHiCcW-NoI/AAAAAAAABdI/aZYtv2T0sj8/s1600/Finished+Loaves.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHiCcW-NoI/AAAAAAAABdI/aZYtv2T0sj8/s320/Finished+Loaves.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
The girls decided to baste their loaf with milk first. It gave it a very nice color. And very moist!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHif3mQi0I/AAAAAAAABdU/CblVtRX181k/s1600/Sliced+Loaf+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHif3mQi0I/AAAAAAAABdU/CblVtRX181k/s320/Sliced+Loaf+1.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
B chose to leave his loaf just the way the recipe called for. The crust didn't turn out as golden as the girls' did, but it was still very moist and delicious.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHiRt__qpI/AAAAAAAABdM/-8ZjZUM_olI/s1600/Loaf+2+Sliced.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHiRt__qpI/AAAAAAAABdM/-8ZjZUM_olI/s320/Loaf+2+Sliced.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
<br />
The best part was getting to eat our tasty creations! :o)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHisZXmzpI/AAAAAAAABdY/_2AiI8AN3tk/s1600/Eating+the+Bread.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TUHisZXmzpI/AAAAAAAABdY/_2AiI8AN3tk/s320/Eating+the+Bread.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
We had a really fun time together. Sure, it made a terrible mess in my freshly cleaned kitchen. But, the memories we made, and those flour-covered smiles are better than the cleanest kitchen in the world. We will definitely be experimenting with more bread recipes very soon! :o)</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-68213361771844521952011-01-20T14:47:00.000-05:002011-01-20T14:47:34.569-05:00A Happy Sick Birthday<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">My sweet little H is turning 4 years old today. She has been counting down the days for several weeks now. She has been so excited waiting for this day to come. And now, she is sick in bed with a terribly bad case of bronchitis. All she wants to do is sleep. She keeps asking if she is allowed to go to bed early! (This never happens, by the way). And, she is too sick to eat, so we aren't even going to make her birthday cake or have a party until she feels better.<br />
<br />
We've tried to make the best of this terribly sad situation. She gets to stay in bed all day (her choice, not ours), and watch as many movies as she wants. :o)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiPJX7LIGI/AAAAAAAABcw/ASDoB_aZTnU/s1600/Trying+to+get+better.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiPJX7LIGI/AAAAAAAABcw/ASDoB_aZTnU/s320/Trying+to+get+better.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Even as sick as she is, she tries to be a happy girl. :o)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiPG6UY_rI/AAAAAAAABcs/YqM7LCus7nE/s1600/Happy+Sick+Girl.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiPG6UY_rI/AAAAAAAABcs/YqM7LCus7nE/s320/Happy+Sick+Girl.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">You can see on her face that she doesn't feel very well, though. Poor little thing has no energy. :o(</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiPAXoaxzI/AAAAAAAABco/xe3yc5TWIug/s1600/Sweet+Baby+Girl.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiPAXoaxzI/AAAAAAAABco/xe3yc5TWIug/s320/Sweet+Baby+Girl.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">She tried to join the rest of the family for a while, but after a few minutes, she ran out of energy and completely zonked out. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiO3s17niI/AAAAAAAABck/mBVbSixwk1U/s1600/Hannah+zonked.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TTiO3s17niI/AAAAAAAABck/mBVbSixwk1U/s320/Hannah+zonked.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Sweet baby girl. We will celebrate your birthday when you are feeling much better!<br />
We love you!</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-75106606696183174842010-12-28T20:25:00.010-05:002011-01-05T20:57:00.854-05:00Her Favorite Birthday GiftMy sweet R just turned 10 years old. And her grandma couldn't have gotten a more perfect gift for her. :o)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">*NOTE* For those of you reading this on Facebook, you will need to <a href="http://richfam2u.blogspot.com/2010/12/her-favorite-birthday-gift.html">click this link</a> to see the video.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyulfj070fuf5fZf_HVKW8vSfvXEKN0_LxZRYI0LtBuYJ2tnpZGLxWGtZUu6d9kTQ4GWBHpdMKsboqBjVnwfA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy 10th Birthday my sweet, beautiful daughter!</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-48318245060085700302010-12-24T08:09:00.000-05:002010-12-24T08:09:23.794-05:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">My children are so creative. They wanted to do something special for everyone on Christmas, so they practiced this adorable little song. They wrote it all by themselves, and performed it for me. I thought it was so cute that I just HAD to record it and post it for everyone to see.<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas from the RichFam! (well... most of us, anyway...) :o)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyi5SkaDtOc6BI1OGev6PrzDZhexQxvFn0pNNWbBHDQ57VukpBg9ls6aX-VJGxow1IhHVGlfB3mIj822l9wPw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-78115759929274333072010-12-20T15:47:00.000-05:002010-12-20T15:47:18.020-05:00A "Bunny" for Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">For months and months our kids have been pestering us to get them a pet. I would have agreed to a cat, but 2 people in our family have discovered they are allergic to them, so that idea is scrapped. And I am NOT inclined to get something scaly, slimy, or creepy-crawly, so reptiles, amphibians and any and all invertebrates are also completely out of the question. <br />
<br />
The kids finally decided on a bunny. They are small, they are soft to pet, and fairly easy to maintain. So, Jay and I agreed... but with certain conditions. They had to prove to us that they were ready, willing, and able to take care of a pet.<br />
<br />
So, we came up with the "Pet Points" system. 100 points = a bunny. Each day, the kids need to perform extra tasks (in addition to their regular chores), that will show us that they are mature enough to handle the responsibility of having a pet.<br />
<br />
For example:<br />
<br />
* If they see a stray sock sitting in the middle of the floor, even if it is not their own, they should pick it up and put it in the laundry hamper.<br />
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* If their little sister is struggling to put her shoes on, they are to help her (without being asked).<br />
<br />
* Putting others ahead of themselves, etc.<br />
<br />
You get the idea...<br />
<br />
At first, the kids asked us how many points they had to earn to get a dog. Imagining the messes a dog can create in a house that I strive to keep clean and orderly, I cringed at the thought and told them they would have to earn 1,000 points to get a dog. So, the kids figured a bunny was a more attainable goal.<br />
<br />
Week after week, they have diligently been earning points towards a bunny. But, week after week, they have also been diligently LOSING points for bad behavior. Yes, my children can have bad behavior, too. :o) At the end of each week, they seem to have just about the same amount of points as they started with. It has been a bit frustrating for them.<br />
<br />
So Jay and I, seeing the roller coaster of earned and lost "pet points" day in and day out, decided that we would like to teach them a more important lesson through all of this. The lesson of God's grace and mercy.<br />
<br />
We decided to give the children the gift that they wanted more than anything... a DOG!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TQ-_SB0MRXI/AAAAAAAABcY/YvV_UQ9IEJ8/s1600/The+Bunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TQ-_SB0MRXI/AAAAAAAABcY/YvV_UQ9IEJ8/s200/The+Bunny.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">We have been so impressed with their effort to earn the "pet points" that we just could not stand giving them a pet that they were just "settling" for. We wanted to give them the thing that they thought they could never attain with their points. Plus, since this dog happens to be completely housebroken... I consider it a win-win. :o)<br />
<br />
And, as strange as it sounds, Jay and I really want to name this little dog "Bunny", since that was supposed to be the pet that they worked so hard to get in the first place. We plan on giving it to them for Christmas... IF we can wait that long!!! I REALLY want to give it to them early!!! :o)</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-84867725608857335102010-10-09T13:41:00.002-04:002010-10-10T16:55:49.426-04:00Free Books!My husband LOVES to read. So, when he learned that there was a way to get FREE books, he jumped at the chance!<br />
<br />
He discovered a website called Book Sneeze (<a href="http://www.booksneeze.com/">www.booksneeze.com</a>). It is a website dedicated to promoting Christian literature. Once you sign up and join, they will send you a free book, in exchange for an agreement from you to write a 200-word review on your blog after you've finished reading it. When you publish the review on your blog, they'll send you another book to read and review... FREE!<br />
<br />
So, if you start seeing random book reviews on my blog, don't worry. It's just my husband... doing what he can to get another free book to read. :o)<br />
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Make sure you check out Book Sneeze and see if there's a book available on the website that you would be interested in reading... for FREE! :o)RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-71324645044863640202010-07-17T19:30:00.000-04:002010-07-17T19:30:10.097-04:00High Tea at the RichFam House<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">R decided that today was going to be the day that we celebrated High Tea at the RichFam house. For a 9 year old, I think she did relatively well. She had a linen tablecloth (even though it was a brown and orange one we use at Thanksgiving), linen napkins (purple and white with grapes), and china dishes (yellow, green, and plaid). So, it wasn't exactly color coordinated, but she did her best. The tea (which she made all by herself) was delicious, and she even thought to add small crackers and cookies for everyone (served on a Christmas platter). :o)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
The Happy Hostess and her Guests.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIx_F5rDkI/AAAAAAAABb8/GqjfGbpR23U/s1600/High+Tea+set+up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIx_F5rDkI/AAAAAAAABb8/GqjfGbpR23U/s320/High+Tea+set+up.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
The Food.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIx0GDbnQI/AAAAAAAABb0/e3lGGrMjIEU/s1600/The+Food.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIx0GDbnQI/AAAAAAAABb0/e3lGGrMjIEU/s320/The+Food.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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H loved every minute of our Tea Party, making sure to speak in the most ADORABLE English accent. :o)<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIxdeMaw7I/AAAAAAAABbc/GRFWydJMXsw/s1600/Hannah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIxdeMaw7I/AAAAAAAABbc/GRFWydJMXsw/s320/Hannah.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
Here's B, trying his best to be "proper" by holding his pinky finger out as he eats his "crumpet". :o)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIxghyahqI/AAAAAAAABbk/r4QgEWn7iFI/s1600/Ben+%26+Crumpets.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIxghyahqI/AAAAAAAABbk/r4QgEWn7iFI/s320/Ben+%26+Crumpets.JPG" /></a><br />
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All in all, R has the makings of a gracious, beautiful hostess. She'll make a sweet little homemaker one day. :o)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIxqJe1AWI/AAAAAAAABbs/6fV-PtS4Qws/s1600/Bekah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TEIxqJe1AWI/AAAAAAAABbs/6fV-PtS4Qws/s320/Bekah.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-34204526858733175152010-05-29T17:32:00.000-04:002010-05-29T17:32:57.006-04:00A Very Amish Day<div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My husband has a slight obsession... with Amish/Mennonite people. Okay, maybe it isn't so slight. He LOVES them! So, when we learned that we lived near the largest Amish community in the world, I knew it was only a matter of time until we made our way over to see it. :o)<br />
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We started out eating lunch at one of the local Amish restaurants. Mmm... there's nothing quite like it. Very fresh and VERY tasty! Even the kids ate everything on their plates! (unfortunately, I have no pictures of this experience, because the Amish people do not like pictures to be taken of them).<br />
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Next, we made our way to an Amish Flea Market, where we saw a ton of wonderful Amish-made goods and crafts. One thing that got me cracking up on the way out, though, was this sight... See if you can guess what had me laughing so hard...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-pfRCWoI/AAAAAAAABaI/LJZbUqpVQJ0/s1600/Car+Seat+in+Amish+Buggy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-pfRCWoI/AAAAAAAABaI/LJZbUqpVQJ0/s320/Car+Seat+in+Amish+Buggy.JPG" /></a><br />
A car seat! Strapped into an Amish Buggy!!! HAHAHA! I had never seen such a sight! :o)<br />
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Then, we visited a local Amish Chocolatier. Mmmm... the wonderful smell of chocolate filled the air as we walked in. The last time the smell of so much chocolate entered my nostrils was when we took a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania. We, of course, had to take a few "samples" home with us, too! And, the kids had a blast in the kiddie area. :o)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-uQ0S1gI/AAAAAAAABaQ/Fqeq71ViLcY/s1600/Kids+in+Chocolate+Factory.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-uQ0S1gI/AAAAAAAABaQ/Fqeq71ViLcY/s320/Kids+in+Chocolate+Factory.JPG" /></a><br />
Finally, we went to tour a local Amish Farm. We got to see a house that was built and used by the Amish in the 1800s, as well as one that is used today. <br />
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Here are some pictures of their beautiful garden (and outhouse, to the left), as well as some canning jars, which they sterilize by sunning them...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_Q7_SR2I/AAAAAAAABa4/3huogop1CLU/s1600/Amish+Garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_Q7_SR2I/AAAAAAAABa4/3huogop1CLU/s320/Amish+Garden.JPG" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_V9CZJdI/AAAAAAAABbA/0-al7ETFg2M/s1600/Sunning+jars+for+Canning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_V9CZJdI/AAAAAAAABbA/0-al7ETFg2M/s320/Sunning+jars+for+Canning.JPG" /></a><br />
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Then, they took us to the barn, to learn about all the animals they raise. They allowed the kids to pet and play with them, too! :o)<br />
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Here is a 2 day old baby rabbit. Soooo sweet!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-fLdQ2RI/AAAAAAAABZ4/rnHhE_qEq_4/s1600/Baby+Rabbit+-+2+days+old.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-fLdQ2RI/AAAAAAAABZ4/rnHhE_qEq_4/s320/Baby+Rabbit+-+2+days+old.JPG" /></a><br />
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This is a foal named Thunder (whose mother is Lightning), born 2 weeks ago. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-YcrXMEI/AAAAAAAABZw/gWML1t_hVTM/s1600/Baby+Horse+-+2+weeks+old.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-YcrXMEI/AAAAAAAABZw/gWML1t_hVTM/s320/Baby+Horse+-+2+weeks+old.JPG" /></a><br />
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Baby Ducklings. (there were tons of adorable baby kittens, too, but they wouldn't stay still for pictures!) :o)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-kS0VMXI/AAAAAAAABaA/xtqfaf2BfhE/s1600/Baby+ducklings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-kS0VMXI/AAAAAAAABaA/xtqfaf2BfhE/s320/Baby+ducklings.JPG" /></a><br />
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We also got to tour an Amish school house. They teach grades 1 through 8 in the same room (after 8th grade, the Amish children will leave school and learn a trade). It was especially cool to see samples of the curriculum used to teach the children, because a large protion of it is what I use to teach MY children in homeschool! :o)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-LOuiQYI/AAAAAAAABZo/VwJMEvPUNDA/s1600/Amish+Schoolhouse.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-LOuiQYI/AAAAAAAABZo/VwJMEvPUNDA/s320/Amish+Schoolhouse.JPG" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-HjTsqjI/AAAAAAAABZg/65Is3QlpjC0/s1600/Amish+School+-+Board.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF-HjTsqjI/AAAAAAAABZg/65Is3QlpjC0/s320/Amish+School+-+Board.JPG" /></a><br />
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This is a picture of the alphabet that the Amish children also must learn. It is in German, because their Bibles are all written in German, and they must learn to read the letters in this format, if they are to be able to read the Bible.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF9-okFrRI/AAAAAAAABZY/QqyR2hTRFVE/s1600/Amish+School+-+Alphabet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF9-okFrRI/AAAAAAAABZY/QqyR2hTRFVE/s320/Amish+School+-+Alphabet.JPG" /></a><br />
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We ended our tour of the Yoder House with a Buggy ride. That was also a lot of fun! (and, it provided a nice, cool breeze and some relief from the heat of the day). :o)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF95XZzx_I/AAAAAAAABZQ/JQ6z2PzSxSs/s1600/Amish+Buggy+Ride.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF95XZzx_I/AAAAAAAABZQ/JQ6z2PzSxSs/s320/Amish+Buggy+Ride.JPG" /></a><br />
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We finished the day eating at another local Amish restaurant. I did manage to get a few pics of Baby C, eating a lemon. She was eager to try it...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_Dt-wQLI/AAAAAAAABaY/FhS_IKy2o58/s1600/Back+for+More+Lemon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_Dt-wQLI/AAAAAAAABaY/FhS_IKy2o58/s320/Back+for+More+Lemon.JPG" /></a><br />
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Then, came the reaction we were hoping for...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_JyQgocI/AAAAAAAABao/kUuKsttsRVc/s1600/Chloe+Sour+Lemon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_JyQgocI/AAAAAAAABao/kUuKsttsRVc/s320/Chloe+Sour+Lemon.JPG" /></a><br />
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But, what surprised us most of all, was that after she tasted the sourness of the lemon, she grabbed her daddy's hand and put that lemon in her mouth again! She wanted MORE! Silly baby... :o)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_HXWxwcI/AAAAAAAABag/a1qH-UmLr4w/s1600/Chloe+Eats+a+Lemon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_HXWxwcI/AAAAAAAABag/a1qH-UmLr4w/s320/Chloe+Eats+a+Lemon.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
We will definitley be making another trip into Amish Country very soon! :o)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_MPiU9HI/AAAAAAAABaw/IuO2bIZAVUE/s1600/Family+in+Amish+Country.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/TAF_MPiU9HI/AAAAAAAABaw/IuO2bIZAVUE/s320/Family+in+Amish+Country.JPG" /></a></div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-74794738234304209032010-05-03T10:13:00.000-04:002010-05-03T10:13:10.000-04:00When Sisters are Friends<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our girls love to play dress-up. They love to put on fancy dresses, plastic high heeled shoes, gobs of makeup, and pretend to be princesses in a wide variety of scenarios... locked in a tower, hosting a royal tea party, shipwrecked in the ocean and needing to be rescued by a daring prince (AKA - their brother who reluctantly agrees to play simply because he's bored and there are no other boys to play with), etc. The possibilities are endless! And their little imaginations never cease to amaze me. :o)<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Last year for her birthday, we got R a large case of makeup to use when playing dress-up. She was very excited about this gift, and treasured this makeup case like no other. She valued it, and kept it hidden from little people who would seek to destroy it. Unfortunately for her, the little people are very good at finding things that have been hidden from them. And little H just loves to wear makeup, almost as much as big sister R. The problem is that little H has yet to learn the art of seeking permission first. This has caused many struggles between the sisters, to say the least. :o)</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Because we are homeschoolers, our children get to spend much more time together than other families. Sometimes, this causes many stressful days, filled with arguing and hard lessons on being patient and putting others first. Other times, like this particular day, I was able to observe the fruit of our labor; the result of investing the time to teach our children the life-lessons of being kind to one another and putting others before ourselves. It doesn't always turn out this way, but when it does, it is worth blogging about. :o)<br />
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R discovered little H sneaking into her prized makeup case. Instead of screaming at her and starting a major argument, my sweet eldest daughter decided to bless little H with a special make-over. I just love watching as sisters become friends. :o)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97U3IjmRMI/AAAAAAAABYc/AXlhMGuQHnY/s1600/lipstick+on.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97U3IjmRMI/AAAAAAAABYc/AXlhMGuQHnY/s320/lipstick+on.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97WpTlmheI/AAAAAAAABZE/96uJXJfTP4g/s1600/Hannah+blush.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97WpTlmheI/AAAAAAAABZE/96uJXJfTP4g/s320/Hannah+blush.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97Vnw3p1WI/AAAAAAAABY0/ColISj3L4dk/s1600/Hannah+made-over.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97Vnw3p1WI/AAAAAAAABY0/ColISj3L4dk/s320/Hannah+made-over.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97VtKrh_iI/AAAAAAAABY8/5_UYHvXQe7g/s1600/thumbs+up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S97VtKrh_iI/AAAAAAAABY8/5_UYHvXQe7g/s320/thumbs+up.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-36573985371778379142010-04-30T23:30:00.001-04:002010-04-30T23:30:16.673-04:00The Wonderful World of Geo Caching!We've discovered a new love... Geo caching. (<a href="http://www.geocaching.com/">http://www.geocaching.com/</a>) <br />
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Basically, here's the rundown:<br />
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You find a cache that sounds interesting to you in an area near you. You enter the coordinates for the cache into your GPS and follow it to the site. You then proceed to search for a hidden container, inside of which contains a log book to document that you found the cache, and a variety of small, inexpensive trinkets. You may choose to take one of the trinkets, but must replace it with one of equal or greater value. That's it, in a nutshell.<br />
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Today, our family went on our first geocaching expedition. And, I'm afraid we're officially hooked. It is soooo much fun!!! :o)<br />
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I tried to document our day with pictures...<br />
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Here, we are searching for a cache.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubQm_VRFI/AAAAAAAABXk/ZASomAOe_HU/s1600/searching+for+cache.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubQm_VRFI/AAAAAAAABXk/ZASomAOe_HU/s320/searching+for+cache.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We've found our first cache!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubenNXQTI/AAAAAAAABXs/qAj7I5p1B4k/s1600/our+first+cache.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubenNXQTI/AAAAAAAABXs/qAj7I5p1B4k/s320/our+first+cache.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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B with the cache container (they come in all shapes & sizes. This one is considered a "micro")<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubjmlSyEI/AAAAAAAABX0/RooMEySf8p0/s1600/Ben+with+first+cache.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubjmlSyEI/AAAAAAAABX0/RooMEySf8p0/s320/Ben+with+first+cache.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Many of the geo cache sites have historical significance. This is particularly fun for homeschool history lessons!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubqOrqCGI/AAAAAAAABX8/UpyXW_J65E4/s1600/kids+near+historical+marker.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubqOrqCGI/AAAAAAAABX8/UpyXW_J65E4/s320/kids+near+historical+marker.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><br />
Jay has become the professional detective of the family. He finds all the hidden caches. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubvXq3-fI/AAAAAAAABYE/7O6Y8Mqw_2w/s1600/Jay+finding+cache.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ubvXq3-fI/AAAAAAAABYE/7O6Y8Mqw_2w/s320/Jay+finding+cache.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><br />
This cache container was filled with all sorts of neat little trinkets. The kids each got to take something from it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ub0e3g8vI/AAAAAAAABYM/u3aV_pR_kPY/s1600/Inside+the+cache.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S9ub0e3g8vI/AAAAAAAABYM/u3aV_pR_kPY/s320/Inside+the+cache.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><br />
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Now, the rules of geocaching are that if you remove an item from the container, you must also replace it with something of equal or greater value. The RichFam was more than happy to oblige...<br />
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Each time we find cache we fill it with either a silver coin with The Ten Commandments written on it, or a gospel tract in the form of a million dollar bill, most of which have the caricature of someone famous on them. Might as well spread the gospel while we are having fun, right? :o)</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-44229586394762725462010-04-17T09:02:00.006-04:002010-04-17T09:53:16.940-04:00Grandparents VisitMy mom has been missing her <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">grandbabies</span> lately. So much so, in fact, that she made the last-minute decision to fly out here for the weekend. And, of course, we didn't mind a bit! :o)<br /><br />The kids waited (a bit impatiently) outside for their rental car to come into view.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461100565809479346" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8m6B8vCPrI/AAAAAAAABWk/OJHtzli1I7E/s320/grandkids+waiting.JPG" />They even wrote a message to their grandparents on the driveway...<br /><br />This one says, "Welcome! Honk if you love us!" :o)<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461100573539118258" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8m6CZh7LLI/AAAAAAAABWs/MYnHG5pHqb8/s320/honk+if+you+love+us.JPG" /><br />This one says, "Grandma and Grandpa! We love you! Nice to see you again!" :o)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461100576676685010" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8m6ClN-pNI/AAAAAAAABW0/qM9gKndT0L4/s320/nice+to+see+you.JPG" />So far, we've spent our time together going shopping, sightseeing, playing spades (until 1:00 in the morning, like we're teenagers or something!), watching movies, etc. It's been a LOT of fun!<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461103016902139650" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8m8QnxEHwI/AAAAAAAABW8/y5_M6Fg_awY/s320/Gpa+with+grandkids.JPG" /><br />But, I think all this running around and excitement is catching up to poor "old" grandma and grandpa... what do you think? :o)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461103027065144274" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8m8RNoHQ9I/AAAAAAAABXE/XlMcldJ4Ng0/s320/Gma+Gpa+sleeping.JPG" />RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-61671473221444058062010-04-14T22:51:00.004-04:002010-04-14T23:37:45.050-04:00Birthday Boy!For some odd reason, all of my children's birthdays have fallen on church nights this year. This does not make for a happy mom. I am pressed for time and often don't get to merely enjoy the (abbreviated) celebration. B's birthday was no exception. And this year, of all years, his birthday fell on one of the busiest weeks we've had in a very long time.<br /><br />First, it was Easter week. In the life of a pastor's family, this is a big deal. Lots of preparation required. Second, we were planning an out-of-town trip, and I was busy packing and preparing for that. Somehow, in the middle of all of that, I had to find time (with 4 kids) to go shopping for the birthday boy... without him seeing anything that I was buying. Then, to top it all off, B ended up getting strep throat!!! So, while nursing him back to health (and keeping everything sanitized so the other kids didn't get it), I had to also find the time to bake and decorate the special birthday cake he requested.<br /><br />In light of all of this, I was not able to decorate an elaborate cake for him this year. When I asked him what he wanted a few months ago, he told me he wanted a hockey cake. Why he wanted a hockey cake, I will never know. He has never even seen a hockey game! He knows nothing about hockey! And, for that matter, neither do I. Nevertheless, I made him a hockey cake. But, due to our crazy schedule for the week, I had no choice but to make it a very simple one. He didn't mind... it still tasted <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">delish</span>!!! :o)<br /><br />The Cake.<br />Since I am so unfamiliar with hockey, I had to go online to find out what a hockey rink even looked like! I did the best I could to make it look the same. This is how it turned out...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460197178636513410" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8aEZ5Q4MII/AAAAAAAABWI/jhFgjWtm7J0/s320/The+design+model.JPG" /><br />I never thought to get hockey goals for the cake, so at the last minute, I had to try to get creative and make some myself. It's amazing what you can create with some hot glue and a few Q-Tips... :o)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460197171261480626" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8aEZdyiHrI/AAAAAAAABWA/PwwysNCEDrs/s320/The+Cake.JPG" /><br /><br />The decorations...<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460197184095935650" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8aEaNmgXKI/AAAAAAAABWQ/ld7XpWo2CmU/s320/The+decorations.JPG" /><br />Because B had strep throat and was very contagious, we were unable to have any friends over to help celebrate (although one dear soul risked her health and defied our warnings to wish B a Happy Birthday and have pizza and cake with us). <br /><br />Overall, though, B said it was the best birthday he's ever had. <br /><br />Poor guy... if a friend-less, strep throat-infected birthday is the best one he's ever had... he must have really hated his other birthdays! Ha ha. :o)<br /><br />We love you, B!!! :o)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460197193210649778" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S8aEavjn3LI/AAAAAAAABWY/31GsOL14tlw/s320/DSCN3096.JPG" />RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-29538718542821159462010-03-09T12:22:00.003-05:002010-03-09T13:22:01.722-05:00My Greatest JoyEach week in Sunday School, Jay assigns the class a verse of Scripture to memorize and recite the following week. Our children are no exception. Since we are a family integrated church, our children are with us in Sunday School class. And, yes, we fully expect them to learn the verses as well. They do amazingly well with this (ah, the blessings that come with having a young mind). :o)<br /><br />Here are the kids reciting some of the verses they have learned in recent weeks...<br /><br />B: Reciting Romans 12:1-2<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwjYEJJjmDva2kBCJY7SQ2J_q0CFAOKCMUdi2owPVVsXHu4ZZpv7o0DQdpdNteybeopufHjrR1iHNO6ft2w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />H: Reciting Genesis 1:1 as well as Psalm 19:1 (She managed to remember these verses, even though she had been sick all weekend! Poor, sweet girl).<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzWvERIT6rDaEWiQ5laNML7HJPUXJ5Ee1YDoPt-8A-RL9mhldp3QTguE3Dryfw80bC-JVwTDOem6ryUS0yPlA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxekFd4-dOrGQrJA1_r-i5ddutG_tL56TTlydCZh6T1epvksuRJPWYVqDrsZVqH1xbDa3AOsQTRSQm5nngmYA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />R: Reciting Philippian 4:8<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzWEHMCqEmeGkZW7ueGXlnOGx236VJ6SCZMiRISjud0wt52lNdGmoHFw4MS5eGjzMOyjItmj84sMTks9LtI3g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />I am so proud of my little Scripture memorizers! They bring me such joy.RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-61088740485146314662010-02-09T17:16:00.001-05:002010-02-10T17:03:19.309-05:00Snow Day!As many of you know, we've gotten a lot of snow here lately. The most snow this place has gotten in many years, actually. So, we've had many chances to get out and enjoy it! However, we live at the top of a hill. Good for flood areas, since we will always stay nice and dry. But bad for snow and ice, because the minute we leave our driveway, we start to slide down the hill.<br /><br />The other day was no exception. The roads were especially treacherous, and there was no way we were gonna venture out in it! Unfortunately, I neglected to do my grocery shopping the day before the storm hit, and we were out of basic necessities (milk, bread, etc). Jay did this sort of "blink, blink" look at me, then a "gulp, gulp", and he knew he was gonna have no choice but to make a grocery run for me. However, he decided he was gonna do it HIS way...<br /><br />We live in such a small town that everything is on one main street. And the house we now live in is within walking distance of just about any place on that street (the bank, the pharmacy, the 3 fast food restaurants in town, and the grocery store). So, Jay bundled up the older 2 kids, and off they went... WALKING to the store to get my groceries. :o)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435691640566250066" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S290v2CC-lI/AAAAAAAABUY/Yv36NKlrKCk/s320/walking+to+the+store.JPG" /><br /><br />Of course, like I said before, Jay wanted to do things HIS way. So, he stopped by our snow-covered tree, saying, "Hey B. Come over here a sec. I think I see a nest in this tree," just before shaking the snow out all over my unsuspecting 5 year old son. (I can't believe I was fortunate enough to catch it on camera!)...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435691635999484706" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S290vlBPqyI/AAAAAAAABUQ/RMl27Mficcs/s320/dad+mean+tree+trick.JPG" /><br /><br />They all arrived back safe and sound (albeit a little cold and wet and exhausted from hiking gallons of milk up that big hill). Jay had bought all of the necessities I asked for, and had even added a few more "necessities" of his own (Doritos, chocolate milk, candy bars, etc). Oh well, I guess I can't complain too much about the junk food. They deserved to have a little reward for all that hard work! :o)<br /><br />After they returned and I was able to make some food to feed the hungry beasts, we all decided to get bundled back up and go outside to PLAY! :o)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435693983309326002" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S2924NbhZrI/AAAAAAAABUs/Ot9B3G4xfLk/s320/DSCN2760.JPG" /><br /><br /><br />Snow angels are so much fun, Mom! :o)<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435701402772758274" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S299oFFc3wI/AAAAAAAABU4/nLUY7pnd8Os/s320/DSCN2783.JPG" /><br />We have a wonderful hill in our backyard (that matches the one that makes up our road), so the kids always enjoy sledding down it! Jay got in on the action, too (don't worry... he only fell once or twice). But this time, unfortunately, I was not fortunate enough to capture that on camera. Ha ha. :o)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435701407726861346" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S299oXimfCI/AAAAAAAABVA/ji5Iyeqcc68/s320/DSCN2759.JPG" /><br />And, since I always seem to be the one TAKING the pictures, I very rarely get the chance to be IN the pictures. So, I decided to try to take a self-portrait of baby C and I, all bundled up in the snow, too... :o)<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S3L1HzMm4JI/AAAAAAAABVM/cLb0cSM_cX8/s1600-h/chloe+%26+mommy.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436677214540587154" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S3L1HzMm4JI/AAAAAAAABVM/cLb0cSM_cX8/s320/chloe+%26+mommy.JPG" /></a><br />All in all, we have had some really wonderful snow days!!! It seems like every morning we wake up to another inch or two on the ground. The tracks the kids make in the snow while they are sledding are gone by the next day, so each day they get to enjoy fresh snow! <br /><br />We just love living here!!! :o)RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-72348708000984854922010-01-31T12:22:00.002-05:002010-02-06T12:45:01.997-05:00Yippee! She's 3!!!Yep. My sweet H just turned 3 years old. I can't believe it! She seems to have grown faster than the rest of the kids for some reason. And she is just the cutest little character, too! She comes up with the craziest sayings, and can just melt your heart! She is something special, that's for sure. :o)<br /><br />This year, H was VERY specific with her request for a birthday cake. I tried my hardest to convince her that she should get a Barbie Dress cake, like the one I made for her big sister (since I finally mastered that one!). But... she was very insistent. Over and over again, all she would ask for was a Princess Castle cake. <br /><br />Unfortunately for me, I am hopelessly new at this cake decorating thing. And, with our crazy hectic schedule, alongside the fact that her birthday fell on a church day... I didn't have as much time to plan out the cake like I did with the one I made for R's birthday. In fact, I only had 2 hours in which to completely decorate the cake before church started!<br /><br />So... I am a little embarrassed to show off this cake, because I am not especially proud of it. I know I could have done a MUCH better job if I had more time to prepare, etc. But, nevertheless... here is H's Princess Castle Birthday Cake...<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S22mOlXtyeI/AAAAAAAABUE/CaOl-XQZW3I/s1600-h/the+cake.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435183094786017762" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S22mOlXtyeI/AAAAAAAABUE/CaOl-XQZW3I/s320/the+cake.bmp" /></a><br />And, H told me later on, as she was looking at pictures of her cake...<br /><br />H: "I got my wished and it comed twue!"<br /><br />Me: "You did? What did you wish for?"<br /><br />H: "I got my pwincess castle cake, juss like I wanted!"<br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S22mOIsmGDI/AAAAAAAABT8/T4pKKEX9cyI/s1600-h/hannah+%26+cake.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435183087088965682" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S22mOIsmGDI/AAAAAAAABT8/T4pKKEX9cyI/s320/hannah+%26+cake.bmp" /></a><br />Happy 3rd Birthday, my sweet girl! You are growing up so fast and so big! We love you!!! :o)<br /><div></div></div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-49525208991140208992009-12-28T21:59:00.001-05:002010-01-19T15:59:43.798-05:00Birthday Cake!<div><div><div><div><div><div><div>It's hard to believe that I have a 9 year old! And yet, on a daily basis I am reminded that my beautiful daughter is, in fact, getting older and more responsible... and also opinionated. :o)<br /><br />She requested that I make her a special birthday cake this year. Now, I do not in ANY way pretend to be a cake decorator. BUT, I make an effort to get my kids the cake they want for their birthday, but also one that won't break the bank. The only way to accomplish this is to make it myself (store-bought cakes are soooo expensive!).<br /><br />R told me that she wanted a 3 dimensional Barbie Doll cake this year. Since I had never made one before, I researched online and got some ideas. Then, R and I got together and drew out a design on paper. And finally, I frosted and decorated those ideas onto the cake.<br /><br />This is what we came up with (and remember, I am NOT a professional)...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428553878424753122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1YY_Z-Tk-I/AAAAAAAABPs/hZX7pEv61Fc/s320/The+Cake.bmp" border="0" /><br />It isn't the greatest job in the world, but it sure made a very happy 9 year old! :o)<br /></div></div></div></div></div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428553881955218914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1YY_nICNeI/AAAAAAAABP0/fFs-3VIV0iM/s320/Bekah+and+her+Cake.bmp" border="0" />And the others really enjoyed eating my creation. :o)<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428555170350098658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1YaKmxT6OI/AAAAAAAABQA/jn2UsS3mFro/s320/The+Cake+and+Kids.bmp" border="0" /><br />They did get a little sadistic about it, though. I think Jay and B enjoyed cutting it up a little too much. Ha ha. :o)<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557800605304962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1YcjtPBSII/AAAAAAAABQc/6qBYZ0FIxcY/s320/Cut+up+Barbie+dress.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br />Poor, legless Barbie. :o)<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428557807518370962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1YckG_OTJI/AAAAAAAABQk/5O1UygnR_xo/s320/Death+of+Barbie.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br />R told us it was the best birthday EVER! Why? Well, not only did she get to keep the Barbie Doll that had been her cake...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428555184823803602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1YaLcsHHtI/AAAAAAAABQQ/RgXFQSTj-Mc/s320/Barbie+Back+Together.bmp" border="0" /><br />She also got an ipod!!! She was so thrilled! What a fun birthday! :o)<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428555178762764210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1YaLGHC_7I/AAAAAAAABQI/EeHCBWewqhE/s320/Bekah%27s+ipod.bmp" border="0" /></div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-48764922548107860312009-12-23T20:23:00.001-05:002010-01-18T21:23:05.374-05:00A New Home - A New Beginning<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428256735420150610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UKvaBW81I/AAAAAAAABPY/3J6WrwM-7AQ/s200/P1050419.JPG" border="0" />Due to the fact that baby C was in the hospital and Jay was with us instead of with the moving truck, Charles (Jay's dad) ended up driving to our new house in Ohio all by himself.<br /><br />Did I mention that we had never seen the house before we moved here? So, we really had no way of telling Charles how to get here or what to do once he got here. What a strange situation we found ourselves in!<br /><br />Thankfully, we have a truly wonderful new church family who understood the difficult circumstances, and were there to make everything run as smoothly as possible. They got the key to the house from the landlord, came in and did some cleaning, helped Charles get here (and even let him stay the night at one of their houses). <br /><br />And most impressive of all, they unloaded the truck, got all of the beds set up in the bedrooms (complete with linens), and started unpacking various boxes for us, setting the kitchen up and even buying tons of food to stock the cupboards and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">refrigerator, so we would have things to eat for the first few days.<br /><br />When we (FINALLY) arrived to our new home, we came in to find all of the furniture set up, all of the beds ready to sleep in, the kitchen completely unpacked and ready to use, and best of all...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428256623785623826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UKo6JnQRI/AAAAAAAABO4/DlVMI6Or69w/s200/P1050275.JPG" border="0" />The ladies of the church set up a beautiful Christmas tree for us!!! What a sweet sentiment! What's more, they also thought about the kids...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428256627513368450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UKpICYH4I/AAAAAAAABPA/EFuto3532tk/s200/P1050276.JPG" border="0" />A brand new sled and candy for each of them! :o)<br /><br />Best of all, the kids woke up the next morning to several inches of fluffy white snow! So, of course, they immediately set out to get some use out of their new gift!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428256632352449266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UKpaEGovI/AAAAAAAABPI/_P519mVZmYc/s200/P1050313.JPG" border="0" /><br /></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428256730861505090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UKvJCfikI/AAAAAAAABPQ/E6YTXHMj4WY/s200/P1050346.JPG" border="0" /><br />Jay and I really began to feel truly loved and appreciated at this new church. A brand new beginning for the RichFam. :o)<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UKvpjgIqI/AAAAAAAABPg/jLeZHr7I-QM/s1600-h/P1050421.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428256739589890722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UKvpjgIqI/AAAAAAAABPg/jLeZHr7I-QM/s200/P1050421.JPG" border="0" /></a>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-6638612075684241542009-12-20T16:38:00.001-05:002010-01-18T20:22:43.868-05:00A Snag in Our Plans<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UIIhSDm2I/AAAAAAAABOs/vx_A3SLccto/s1600-h/P1050263.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428253868331080546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UIIhSDm2I/AAAAAAAABOs/vx_A3SLccto/s200/P1050263.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div>We hit a very unexpected little snag as we were moving from Florida to Ohio.<br /><br />We were stopped over at my parents' house in TN (letting the kids celebrate Christmas with the grandparents while Jay was busy driving the moving truck to Ohio). I noticed one morning that baby C had a vey "gunky" eye. Being a mother of 4 youngsters, I thought I knew what the problem was. I figured she had pink eye, and planned to take her to a local pediatrician to get some eye drops.<br /><br />However, after calling several pediatricians in the area, I was told that they would not see us on a one-time-only basis. So, I took her to a walk-in clinic. However, they also informed me that they would not see her, this time stating that they would not see anyone under 1 year of age. My only other option was to take her to the ER at the local hospital.<br /><br />Once there, the nurses took baby C's temperature and noticed that she had a slight fever. Due to the fact that she was only 2 weeks old, they informed me that the standard procedure was to transfer her to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and admit her for a few days while they ran a battery of tests.<br /><br />I was in complete shock! I mean, I only needed to get some eye drops for her goopy eye! And yet, there we were, en route to Vandy. I called Jay to let him know what was happening, and he immediately left his dad (who would be driving with the moving truck and all of our belongings to our new house in Ohio all by himself now), and changed his route from South Carolina to be with me and baby C at the hospital. He drove for 20 straight hours - from FL to SC to TN - before he finally met up with us at Vanderbilt.<br /><br />Meanwhile, baby C and I got settled at the hospital, where doctors and nurses quickly hooked her up with an IV, and began drawing blood for the long battery of tests. The biggest shock of all was learning that they were going to do a spinal tap on my precious 2 week old baby to test her for bacterial meningitis. Hearing her screams as they did the spinal tap was the most heartbreaking sound in the world!<br /><br />Thankfully, my wonderful friend, Tonya (who lives in Nashville), was able to be there to hold my hand and offer some wonderful words of encouragement, since Jay was not able to get there in time. It was really nice to see her after many years of living so far away from each other. And what a blessing she turned out to be, too! She and her husband, Brian, took our younger 3 children to their house to play with their 5 kids, and kept them all overnight, feeding them, buying them gifts, and completely spoiling them for us! It's just so amazing to me how your true friends are never far from your hearts, even when they are far from your house. :o)<br /><br />We were told baby C must stay at the hospital for at least 48 hours, until the blood test results could come back. Then, as long as all of the tests were negative and everything looked good with her, we would then be permitted to leave, and continue on our way to Ohio. Which is exactly what happened. And, do you know what that goopy eye thing turned out to be? A clogged tear duct, perfectly harmless and completely normal. Something that will eventually clear up on its own. (sigh).<br /><br />Oh well. God had His reasons for keeping us there longer than we anticipated. It is just so incredible to think about the whole situation and how God's hand was evident throughout it all.<br /><br />It "just so happened" that baby C ended up going to Vanderbilt - one of the best children's hospitals in the world. We "just so happened" to be in Nashville where all of my friends and family live (and also so I knew my way around the area). My friend Tonya "just so happened" to have that entire week off of work, so that when I called her to help, her schedule was completely clear and she had nothing standing in the way. There are so many "just so happened" things that occurred with this situation, that it is unfathomable to think that it was anything but the hand of Almighty God, making the whole situation as easy as possible for us.<br /><br />Praise the Lord! :o)<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428253867936002978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UIIfz3M6I/AAAAAAAABOk/1TctDYAtgug/s200/P1050261.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428253861448117842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1UIIHpB7lI/AAAAAAAABOc/jPTeYm7G_1Y/s200/P1050257.JPG" border="0" />RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-63413204681736473642009-12-18T16:04:00.001-05:002010-01-18T16:38:01.788-05:00Moving Day!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1TUTfrlN4I/AAAAAAAABN4/Fl17ZGtANDc/s1600-h/moving+day.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428196882275186562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 125px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 88px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1TUTfrlN4I/AAAAAAAABN4/Fl17ZGtANDc/s200/moving+day.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Two weeks (to the day) after baby C was born, we moved out of the Sunshine State.<br /><br />FINALLY! We have told ourselves for TWO YEARS that living in Florida was merely temporary. A stopping point on our way to better things. Unfortunately, God had other plans.<br /><br />We arrived in Florida under some severely tough circumstances and, although we never really felt at home there, we know we were placed there for a reason. We made some wonderful friends, grew stronger in our relationship with the Lord, and grew closer together as a family. Florida ended up being a place of healing for our hurting family. And getting the green light to move away told us that God thought we had done enough healing, and that it was time to start focusing on other things.<br /><br />So, we packed up and headed north towards our new home in OHIO! My mom was with us, and she drove the kids and I to her house in TN (so we could celebrate Christmas), while Jay stayed behind and loaded the moving truck. Then, he and his dad took a different route, through South Carolina to go straight to the new house.<br /><br />However, we ran into a little snag along the way... which I will write about in the next post. :o)</div>RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1290589334293266508.post-55707044536675918792009-12-14T09:50:00.000-05:002010-01-18T16:08:18.134-05:00Playing Catch UpWOW! I just cannot seem to find time to update my blog lately!<br /><br />Let's see... my last post was about the birth of baby C. Since then, things have been pretty hectic here in the RichFam! I will try to post all of these in the order they occurred in, but there's no telling, so... I hope you like reading! :o)<br /><br />When baby C was 5 days old, my friend (and fellow homeschooling mama) Mandy, of Giggles to Grace Photography, did a newborn photoshoot of baby C, for FREE as a gift! And what an amazing gift it was! She is so very talented! Here is a sampling of the pics she did for us...<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428186883007745042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1TLNdgcjBI/AAAAAAAABNg/oUKti_OksFQ/s200/IMG_2726.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427412330624661474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1IKwlB1N-I/AAAAAAAABMo/bfM0cABatiw/s200/IMG_2689.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427412320829062466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1IKwAiYPUI/AAAAAAAABMg/pPLUWNE-Vp0/s200/IMG_2678.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427412312237212850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 158px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1IKvgh7BLI/AAAAAAAABMY/ofiAOTl8FHo/s200/IMG_2676.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428185840577688786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1TKQyJwNNI/AAAAAAAABNA/npJe-aSELPM/s200/IMG_2694.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428185847511044546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1TKRL-y0cI/AAAAAAAABNI/H-w6KwK8rFc/s200/IMG_2703.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428186873859272338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1TLM7bR7pI/AAAAAAAABNY/53xSoWhQteA/s200/IMG_2749.jpg" border="0" /></p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428189097545002802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LFKrKVIzGOw/S1TNOXTRbzI/AAAAAAAABNs/0B4WcNCd0eM/s200/IMG_2737.jpg" border="0" />RichFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13910622986712162775noreply@blogger.com0