Vacation

We're home from a 5 day trip to see Ram's grandma. We're exhausted doing the trip so quickly, but have a busy weekend now. I have lots to blog about but don't see any time to blog until after all the Reformation/Halloween/Fall activities are done at church. As soon as I was caught up on posting pictures from this summer it was vacation time!

Pumpkin Farm Field Trip

Lamb 3 driving the tractor

Lamb 1 playing on the tires

Lamb 2 driving the tractor

3 Lambs on the hay bales-sorry for the glare 

3 Lambs doing the small straw bale maze-Lamb 2 was really good at this!

Riding the wagon with friends-the wagon took just us and one other family.

Lamb 1, A, T, Lamb 2, Lamb 3

Lamb 3 picking the perfect pumpkin

With our pumpkins we chose
Lamb 1, T, Lamb 3, A, Lamb 2

Lamb 3 in the corn pile

Lamb 1 in the corn pile-I had to watch him the closest, that he didn't stick corn in his ears-go figure since he is the oldest Lamb! 

Lamb 2 in the corn pile
I commented that in MN they would never have a corn pile for kids-we knew too many accidents on the farms with people in corn bins. I know this was just a few inches and parents/teachers watch their kids, but we didn't stay in the corn bin long. In MN we had a sand table filled with corn, but didn't get in the corn.

Eating popcorn and drinking juice with friends

We were on vacation when Lamb 3's preschool class went to the pumpkin farm for a field trip. So I organized our own field trip with my friend Joelle's kids. The dads had to work, but the moms and kids had a great field trip. It happened to be a day that some of the local schools had off so they opened up to the public, not just field trips while we were there. It was crowded and if I ever organize a field trip again we'll try to avoid a day that the schools are off. But we had a great time and we look forward to going again next year. The weather was beautiful the day we went-after that it got colder and rainy some days.

Zoo Field Trip

3 Lambs

On the boat ride-our first time taking this ride!

Ewe's favorite part, the penguins!

Lamb 3's preschool class went to the zoo in September. It was the perfect day-not too hot, not crowded. I had never been to the zoo for a field trip in the fall before. We had a great time. I love that we homeschool so all 3 Lambs can go on the field trips together. Unfortunately Ram had to work that day, but the rest of us had fun!

Then Lamb 2 had speech and then Grandma came over for the afternoon to visit. We went out to eat with Grandma that night. We fit a lot into one day but we had a great time!

Apple Orchard

Joelle and I took another field trip together, this time to the apple orchard.

A getting a high up apple

Isn't T cute here?

Lamb 1 picking the perfect apple

Lamb 2 and 3 picking apples

Lamb 3 pulling the wagon

Joelle, Elizabeth, Ewe
A, T, Lamb 1, Lamb 2, Lamb 3
The blue bucket is Joelle's. The other buckets are ours. We made some applesauce and ate some plain.

This was the only photo I have of Elizabeth's week long visit. I'm glad we took this photo!

Swimming

Our subdivision has a pool that we really enjoyed this summer. Our housing association fees are high, but we have free Internet and free use of the pool all summer. Our city has crowded city pools so the pool in our subdivision was great. The pool used salt water, not chlorine, which made it even better. Ram and I enjoyed getting our exercise in the pool this summer. All of the Lambs improved their swimming skills after swim lessons this summer by going to the pool regularly. We look forward to the pool next summer. Ewe bought a new suit at the end of the season so she is ready for next summer!

School House Field Trip

My friend Joelle organized a field trip for us to go to the Bown House. We enjoyed stepping back in time a little, especially the old school house. The Lambs had been to old school houses when we lived in MN, but Joelle's daughter had not been before. These photos were taken with Ram's phone while my camera was in the shop.

4 students in this classroom

Lamb 2 talking on the telephone

Lamb 2 pumping water, Lamb 1 churning butter

Lamb 3 baking, A washing clothes

A, Lamb 3, Lamb 1, Lamb 2 outside the Bown House

We then went to Powells and spent way too much money on old fashioned candy. Thanks, Joelle for organizing this field trip for us!

Cherish the Ladies Groupie

In August I demanded asked Ram and his parents for a definite date for our fall vacation because I needed wanted to know if it would be possible for us to go to the Cherish the Ladies concert when they came to ID. I was so happy when I found out that Ram and his dad's schedule both worked for vacation to be a different time than the concert!

Waiting 2 months after tickets were purchased+
2 take out pizzas for the Lambs+
paying babysitter for 9 hours+
dinner and dessert for Ram and Ewe+
2 tickets to the concert+
buying 3 CDs+
driving 2 hours one way=

Listening to Cherish the Ladies CDs all the way there and back+
Front row seats for a wonderful concert+
Hot date for Ram and Ewe+
Ewe getting her picture taken and the autograph of the best flautist Ewe has ever met!

Joanie Madden and Ewe

cherishtheladies.com

Church Kickball Tournament

In August, after church one Sunday, our church members got together for a fun afternoon. The youth sold subs for us to eat lunch there together and the youth made some money for their trip next summer. Then teams were formed and all were invited to play kickball. It was a great idea because all ages can play kickball!

Lamb 1 kicking

Lamb 2 played kickball for a little while and then he decided to just watch

I'll spare you the photos of Ram playing kickball and Lamb 3 playing on the playground.

Last vacation photos

We stopped on the way home to see friends. They moved from MN about half a year before we did. We were all excited to see each other after more than a year.

This is the best photo that I could get. Lamb 3 did not want to be in the photo. I believe they are 8,7,6,5,4, and 2 when this photo was taken.

Chick-Fil-A

On August 1 we began our drive home from IN. We knew it was the day to eat at Chick-Fil-A to show that we support them and their morals. The line in Merrillville, IN at lunch time was wrapped around the building. We drove on to Davenport, IA and stopped to eat supper there. There was a little line but not like Merrillville.

You can see that Taco John's had no customers and Chick-Fil-A had a line.

We are excited because a Chick-Fil-A is being built right down the road from us. We are looking forward to the Grand Opening. The Lambs are enjoying watching the building progress as we drive by. It looks like it will have a nice playground inside too.

Zoo and other vacation photos

These jeeps were a ride you could pay for when I was little. I rode them several times when I visited my grandma. Now they are no longer able a zoo ride. Lamb 2 and 3 enjoyed pretending to drive them though.

Lamb 1 and Ewe's dad
We rode this ride that took the place of the jeeps.

Lamb 2 is still talking about riding a real horse, not just a pony, at the zoo.

Lamb 1 

Lamb 3 didn't want anything to do with riding a real horse, but he was very excited to ride the carousel horse!

3 Lambs on the train at the zoo

This wasn't the first time our Lambs got near animals, but it hasn't been that long that they weren't afraid of the animals. Lamb 2 and 3 brushing a goat at the petting zoo.

Lamb 3 with his godfather, we were excited to meet Darin's wife too on this visit. 

Lamb 2 and 3 at the park. We went to the park a few times while we visited Grandpa and Grandma.

And all the photos we took of Grandpa and Grandma before we left, none of them turned out-they were all fuzzy, I don't know what happened!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day

October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day. I would put a link, but many of the sites I found want us to remember our children that are now angels. I believe my 6 miscarried Lambs are in heaven, but they are not angels. Angels were created during creation by God, not babies that go to heaven.
We have not named our miscarried babies. This is partly because I would have a difficult time coming up with 12 (first and middle) names. Also because each time we have had a baby boy we have saved our girl names. I feel like we should save our baby names for any possible future living children. Also our 3 boys only know about one of these miscarriages. It is much easier for all of us when they talk about our miscarried baby thinking of that one and I think of all of our miscarriages. Someday I would like to name them, but not yet.
If our miscarried babies would have lived, we would have a 7 year old and 5 children that are under 3 years old. This is a difficult concept for me because if the 7 year old would have lived then we wouldn't have Lamb 2.
I wish I had some great words of wisdom for others that have experienced the loss of an infant. I have found the book and blog He Remembers the Barren very helpful. Also, I'm blogging about this because I know very few women that had more than one or two miscarriages-I'm here to tell you that I've had 6. You are not alone if you have had several miscarriages.
I imagine we all know someone that has had a miscarriage or stillbirth or loss of an infant under age one. Today is a good day to remember those families in your prayers.

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

Oscar the Grouch

Ram wore an Oscar the Grouch t-shirt last night. Here's the supper conversation...

Lamb 3: Papa, I know who is on your shirt because he's in one of my books.

Ewe: Do you know that Oscar the Grouch is on a TV show?

Lamb 3: No, but I know he is in one of my books!

Conversations like this remind me why I've made a list of classic Disney movies and we're going to watch most of what is on the list before we go to Disneyland.

More about vacation

We had a get together at one of our former churches in MN. Many of our former members came to one church that one night to see us. One of the members said she never thought she would see us again. That broke my heart. I answered that of course we would come back and visit! Many of our members got a little older and their health is failing a little more. We could see that more after being gone than if we would have been there the whole time. It was very bittersweet to see everyone again. Those few that weren't able to be there were missed even more by us. It was great to show them pictures of our new house and tell them about our new church and preschool.
We got together with some of the pastors from the area. It was great to see them and their wives again. So far we don't know the pastors here that well. Plus our area is spread out-even into OR, not within 45 minutes like we had in MN.
We visited friends in the area and did a little shopping in MN. I miss no sales tax on food or clothing or shoes. I miss knowing exactly which store in which town to get something at. Living in the city means most stores are just down the street, but the stores don't always have what I want. We ate breakfast at the town cafe one morning and visited the people from our old town. We all had an adjustment at our favorite chiropractor. We closed our bank account in our former town. We bought stamps at our old town's post office. We bought Lamb 1 and 2 new shoes. We bought a bunch of sauerkraut that must be a Midwestern thing because I can't find it here. We were only there for one night, but we fit in seeing a lot of people.
Then we drove and stayed with friends and visited other friends that live near them now. Then we drove straight through from MN to IN. We arrived at my parents at 3am. The Lambs did not go to sleep until after midnight. That was a long drive with Lambs awake. But it meant after sleeping in that we had another day at Ewe's parents during our short vacation that we wouldn't have had if we had stayed at a hotel that night.

Meal planning this week

I went to the farmer's market last Saturday so planning meals was easy-just use the fresh produce! I should have gone to the farmer's market more this summer, it would have made meal planning so much easier. Here's what we made:
1. Where we buy farm eggs they haven't had any to sell the last few weeks. I haven't checked if they have any again. So I bought 3 dozen at the farmer's market and Lamb 3 requested egg salad when he saw the eggs I bought.
2. Ram grilled salmon that his dad caught on his Alaska trip. That was a nice treat.
3. We made a stir fry with chicken and veggies.
4. I made a butternut squash stew that was delicious-with apples and pork. Also made biscuits to eat with it and paleo banana bread for breakfast.
5. Tomorrow we plan to have stuffed peppers. All my Lambs love the stuffed part, some of them like the peppers.
6. Recently I made an elk roast thanks to some nice friends that gave it to us after a good hunting season last year.
7. I still have a few more ideas of meals to make from meat/veggies in the freezer. Next week I am getting 20 lbs of chicken so I need to make as much room as possible in my little freezer above the fridge. There are some leftovers in there and also a lot of tomatoes so perhaps we will have homemade tomato soup.

Rapunzel, let your hair down again!

During our vacation I stopped at my favorite hair stylist and had my hair cut. It ended up being almost exactly 2 years since the first Rapunzel letting her hair down. 

This was taken the day before the hair cut. 

12 inches were given to Wigs 4 Kids with childhood leukemia, if I pull the wavy hair straight (which is allowed). After 21 inches two years ago, it didn't seem like very much.

I forgot to take a picture after the haircut. When I thought of it after vacation, my camera was in the shop. Now it has been a few months and my hair is a little longer. Oh well. I don't even have any photos of myself around that time because I usually take the pictures. It was cut a little longer this time than last time. Last time I was excited after the hair cut when it grew out long enough to reach to touch my chin again. This time it touched below my chin right after it was cut. I suppose I could have donated an inch or two more this time, but I don't like my hair that short. I'm going to try to grow my hair out and get it cut/donate at least one more time before I turn 40.

As always, this hair was donated to Wigs 4 Kids with childhood leukemia in memory of our friend, Harrison. I received a thank you card from Wigs for Kids and Harrison's mom received a card too. Harrison is still in our hearts and his family is still in our thoughts and prayers.

Vacation pictures-Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Lamb 1 in tree, Lamb 2 with sticks

Lamb 3

Lamb 2

Lamb 2, Lamb 3, Lamb 1

Our vacation in July we stopped at Teddy Roosevelt National Park for a place to walk around and get out of the car for a little. The Lambs found sticks on the ground and a nice tree to climb near the visitor's center. Ram and I had a chance to examine the windshield as a truck threw gravel at us in MT making one small and one large spot on the windshield. This traveling day took longer than we expected so we did not connect with DakotaPam this trip. Other than this stop at Teddy Roosevelt National Park, we just drove and stopped when needed for food, restrooms, or hotel from ID to MN. We tried to do this part of the trip quickly to get to the part of the trip where we could see family and friends.

VBS 2012

I am writing this the day before I post it. Everyone in our family has had the stomach virus except for me. I am assuming that I will get it too so I'm writing this while I'm still well.
I didn't take my camera to VBS every day and I was really too busy helping/teaching the preschool class to take very many pictures. Here are a few.

One day of VBS the fire truck visited. It had nothing to do with VBS other than to break up the week with something fun for the kids. VBS went 9-12 for preschool, 9-3 for school age kids. Some of the staff from Camp Perkins led the school age VBS.

Preschool VBS music time had some time to march with musical instruments. Lamb 3 is in the light blue shirt.

On the last day of VBS it was water day. After a shortened lesson time the preschoolers were able to play on this slide one of the members brought. It was great for them to have their own area away from the big kids. Lamb 3 is being splashed by one of the 1 1/2 year old twins from our church after going down the slide.

Lamb 2 on the slip and slide one of the members brought for water day.

Lamb 1 on the slip and slide.

It was a fun week and great to see so many kids that aren't members of our church attend too. A few of the school age kids asked for a Bible which we gladly provided for them.