Judy & Garrett

For several weeks now, the kids and I have been meeting up with two of our friends for an afternoon at the Museum of Life and Science. We love this museum and we are thrilled to have friends that we can enjoy it alongside of. Judy and Garrett are so friendly and fun to be with. Garrett is Julian's age. They get along well. I always enjoy having adult conversations with Judy amongst the play, and what not, that takes place at the museum. She is so sweet, so good at loving on my kids and helping me out.

I thought I would share a few photos from our afternoon out with our friends.

Loving Our Garden

Last Friday night, we ventured out to Lowe's Hardware and purchased more for our garden.  We picked up some okra, more herbs, petunias for Maddie, soil, and compost.  We planned on using most of Saturday for planting and such.  

Saturday, we woke up and went to the Farmer's Market in Downtown Durham.  One can not help but be inspired when visiting this place.  We picked up some fresh kale, collard greens, strawberries and cilantro.  

That afternoon, we worked on getting rocks and weeds out of the garden.  We also pampered our plants by topping the soil right around them with compost.  We planted our kale that we grew from seed, as well as things we had bought the previous night.  After working hard and getting a vision of what our garden could become, we decided we wanted it to be bigger.  Scott got out the tiller and he expanded our growing area.  He also tilled up a spot just under the deck.  Which leads me to tell you that Kalen, Brayden and I made another trip out to Lowe's to get seeds to grow bush beans, snow peas, cucumbers,  & zucchini.  We also picked up a red pepper plant, another okra plant, and two more tomato plants.  Can you tell I was excited?

It ended up being a really hot day, like 84 degrees, here in Durham.  I was loving the warmth.  The kids were so helpful and understanding.  Kalen and Madelyn were especially good with the watering and planting.  Julian was most helpful with getting rocks out of the garden and watering.

Do you know how we water our garden?  Remember after Christmas I told you all Scott used some of his Christmas money to get a rain barrel.  I have posted some pictures of our barrel.  These are mostly for our good friend, Daniel, who had asked us about what ours looked like.  We love using the water to water our garden, outside plants & flowers and to wash our vehicles with.  The rain drains off our roof into our gutter that leads right to our rain barrel.  Currently, it is overflowing.  It most be monsoon season around here.  We have had a ton of rain yesterday and today.  

Mads and K plant an okra plant.  Kalen has compost that he is surrounding the plant with.  

Here's Maddie planting our Parsley, Basil & Dill.

This is our compost area.  To the left is the leftovers from the past few months, weeks, and days.  The square on the right is our old compost that has actually started a garden all on its own.  We had thrown some potatoes and pumpkin seeds in the compost at one time or another and now they are growing into plants.  

Here you can see where we have expanded our garden. 

These are photos of our rain barrel.

Our precious and delicious first harvest.  

He Shoots . . . He Scores!

Saturday, Julian scored his first soccer goal of the season. His good buddy, Payton scored as well. It was a big moment for Jules. Proud soccer mom just had to share.

  

Julian on the left, Payton on the right, just after the goal.  Click on this picture to see Julian's smile.  :)

Julian on the right, after passing up to Payton.

Kalen (playing keeper) hangs out with Payton's brother, Jordan, during the game.  

Art

This week I took out one of my handy homeschooling resources on Art.  It is The Children's Book of Art by Rosie Dickens.  I really like Usborne books.  This one has great pictures and concise information on mediums of Art, as well as specific artists and their work.  We studied two artists this week that worked in Italy during the Renassiance, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti.  Madelyn and Kalen and I were studying a book called Papa Piccolo within our Five In A Row unit series.  The book's setting is Italy, so studying these two artists from this same country was quite fitting.  We talked about da Vinci's Mona Lisa and

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel painting.  

I think it is important to allow children to test out all different forms of Art.  I may not know a lot about technique of this or that, but I can find out.  We shouldn't dumb down our kid's experience with the Arts.  They are quite capable of understanding well and experimenting with much.  I want our children to be comfortable expressing themselves and appreciating the expressions of others.  The kid's had a stab at their own Art throughout the week.  Just wanted to share a bit of it.

Annie's Barbershop

When I was a little girl, I remember cutting and styling my doll's hair.  I loved the thought of having a head of hair and being able to change it.  I would always love watching the hair stylist that I would go to, always wanting to be them.  

I have four beautiful heads of hair that I get to cut every 3 weeks or so.  No appointment necessary, I have to be in the right mood though.  The kids are use to our little system and it works.  It can get messy, but it is manageable.  A home haircut is easy on the wallet as well.

Madelyn wanted a new look, so I took off several inches this morning.  I was shaking a little as I did it.  It turned out very well.  Her cut is super cute.  She has extremely straight hair like her mom.  It is quite easy to cut and shape.  

All the boys got their usual cut.  Brayden did amazingly well today.  He sat on the stool instead of being strapped in the booster seat.  I like my boy's hair long.  I have had comments made to me about it being long, but I truly like it.   

Happy Earth Day!

"The primary way simple living families care for the earth is by using less of its precious resources."  

Use it up, 

Wear it out,

Make it do,

Do without.

"Simple living, living lighter on the earth, is, by its very definition, a vote for the planet."  

~from the book Living Simply with Children

"Now if I believe in God's Son and remember that He became man, all creatures will appear a hundred times more beautiful to me than before.  They I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon, the stars, trees, apples, as I reflect that He is Lord over all things."  ~ Martin Luther

"The creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite and the most abundant furnishings.  Everything in it tells us of God.  ~John Calvin

Last fall, I listened to a podcast that featured an author named J. Matthew Sleeth, MD.   He was speaking at Rob Bell's church for a series called God is Green.  He was discussing his life and his book Serve God Save The Planet.  Scott and his Dad have read the book.  I have only read parts of it.  It is good.  Sleeth is a Christian that is passionate about calling others to action.  He has changed his life in drastic ways in order to be kinder to the environment and truly make a difference.  

In the back of Sleeth's book he has several helpful lists.  I will share bits from each with you.  

Lord, help me TODAY to:

* Pick up and throw away any trash I see on the ground.

* Turn off the faucet while brushing my teeth and shaving.

* Turn my thermostat up three degrees (in summer) or down three degrees (in winter).

* Wash my dishes by hand, or if I use a dishwasher, run it only with a full load, and not use heat for the drying cycle.

* Turn off the lights, TV radio, and stereo when I leave the room for more than sixty seconds. 

* Give something away.

* Spend at least ten minutes with the you, quietly, in nature.

Lord, help me THIS WEEK to:

* Read Psalms 23, 24, 104, 147, and 148.

* Take a day of rest - no shopping, no work, no driving.

* Bike, walk, carpool, or use public transportation instead of driving.

* Avoid the mall completely.

* Visit the grocery store only once.

* Recycle everything I can.

* Consciously combine trips and errands.

* Buy only fair-trade and shade-grown coffee and other sustainably grown foods.

* Donate a box of books to the library.

* Avoid fast-food restaurants. 

* Air-dry my laundry.  

* Buy only "tree free" toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues made from recycled paper.

* Change at least five lightbulbs in my home to compact fluorescents.

Lord, help me THIS MONTH to:

* Stock up on handkerchiefs, cloth shopping bags, and cloth napkins so I can kick the paper habit.

* Clean out my closets and donate clothes I have not worn in the past year.

* Compost my food and yard waste. 

* Install low-flow showerheads.

* Save all the catalogs that I don't want to receive and call each one, asking to be taken off its mailing list.

* Disconnect the ice maker in my freezer.

* Unplug the TV and stereo when not in use, or put them on a switched power strip or outlet.

* Start a weekly or monthly family night where we eat dinner together, play games, or read a book aloud.

Lord, help me THIS YEAR to:

* Donate my old cell phone, computer, or printer to a good cause.

* Set up a recycling program at my workplace, church, or school.

* Cut way back on the Christmas frenzy.

* Set up a share board in my church or organize a clothing exchange.

* Start a tool library or toy library in my town or church.

* Use no pesticides or chemicals on my lawn or garden.

* Instead of a birthday gift or flowers for a a funeral, send a donation to charity.

* Pick one endangered species and do something to help save it.

* Start a vegetable garden at home.

* Stay closer to home on my next family trip and stay home on one holiday when I usually travel.  

Visit www.servegodsavetheplanet.org to read more about Sleeth, his book and his podcasts. 

Our family has actively been changing the way we live for years.  We still have a long way to go.  Living simply is our goal.  I think the ideas listed above are good ones.  Jot a couple of them down and make a change.

Madelyn's Hats

While we were at my Mom's house, Maddie and my mom had a little time to themselves. Mom showed Madelyn a tiny knitting loom that could be used to make a hat for a baby doll. Maddie immediately took to it and began working on her first knitting project. We had to go soon after that, so she brought the loom and yarn home with her. Today, she finished her little hat. It was such a sweet moment when she realized that she had made something on her own. I did tie up the end part, but she did everything else. Kalen was amazed at her work and asked her to make a hat for his monkey. An hour later, monkey had a hat. Of course, proud Mom was there to take photos.  

Madelyn has a true interest in crocheting, knitting and sewing. Thankfully, her grandmother knows a lot more than I do. We are so proud of this interest she has and that she is confident enough to pursue something that is a challenge.

Way to go, Madelyn!

Back Home to King

This weekend the kids and I headed back to my hometown, King. One of my best friends from high school, Elizabeth, was to have a baby shower on Saturday.  Mom said she and Annette would help out with the kids, so I decided to stay for the weekend. 

I was also able to visit with two of my friends from King, Laurie and Torie. We sat for hours just catching up. We missed our fourth buddy, Gari Leigh, her daughter was sick. We still get together every 6 months or so. Laurie is about to pop any day. She is having a baby girl, her second,  within the next few weeks. Torie brought her little boy, Eli. What a cutie.  I am so thankful that my girls and I from back home still get together and spend time with one another.  

The kids played and played at Mom's house. They get so creative with her. There is never a dull moment.

Saturday afternoon I went to Elizabeth's baby shower. As a woman, what's better than going to a baby shower.  You get to eat, gab, give a gift and watch someone you love open gifts for a long time. She opened gifts the entire 2 hours. Needless to say, she left with quite a loot. It was good to see her family and several people I had not seen in a long time.  It is such a delight to be a part of the life of a friend that is pregnant and entering into parenthood.  It is like our friendship goes on to another level.  We can relate to one another all the better.  Elizabeth and I get along great.  We lost touch over the years, we reconnected at her wedding and are closer now. I just love her easy going personality and humor.  I look forward to meeting her new little one in May.  

It is fun going back home.  There is so much I miss about not living in a small town like King.  As I was home this time I noticed more all the pastures, farms, tiny back roads, quiet nights, kind waves throughout town from perfect strangers, and of course that southern accent.  

All the while, this weekend, Scott plugged away at a paper that is due this upcoming week.  He'll be done with classes in a couple of weeks.  

This is Kalen and my Mom having a cute moment.

Brady and Maddie having a couple pretzels on Grandma's comfy couch.

This is Eli and Torie at the coffee shop.

Laurie and Torie

Torie & I

This is Elizabeth.  To all those that asked her how she was doing, 

she said, "I'm ready." :)  She's having a baby girl, Emery Anne.

Elizabeth & I