House hugs

How do you say goodbye to a house? It's not as if you can hug it and feel its warmth or know how much it will miss you...
How do you express this enormous gratitude for making you feel safe all these years and for the secure feeling of knowing that no matter how ugly the world around it could get, there was always one place that you "belong"? How can you thank a house for being present at so many important events or for housing unlimited amounts of memories that have been created there, how did this structure of wood and bricks become such a big part of our family and how will I ever say goodbye?
I didn't expect it to be this hard....

The fairy tree

When we first moved here, I found the perfect spot to hang these three little wind-chimes that my friend had given me at my surprise party in Alaska. I hung then in the tree in our backyard next to where the barn was built, the same tree that I planted our garden around and the same tree that I insisted hubby couldn't chop down just because it was ugly. It was in this tree that I first introduced J (then 2 1/2) to the magic of " fairies" living in our tree and how we could hear them when the wind blows...

After four years of hating it here, I finally think of it as home and wish that I could have felt that sooner..

Outdoor challenge

J said "Wow God, you're talented!"

I know that I signed up for this challenge, and I had every intent of seein it thru but our life has become a bit more than I can keep up with...we are still spending as much time outside as we can but taking pictures of every single day jsut hasn't been happening...the time is slipping away and we are down to counting down the days in our house with just two hands now...taking in every little bit we can now...

One Not so Small Change- April

I have been wanting to write about our :One Small Change" for som time now and I wanted the post to be just perfect so that my readers would have all the information they could possibly have and so my words would really speak to people about this change we've been making...but due to the move and the caos I call a life right now, I just haven't been able to get it done... So for now, I beg of you to go set your DVRs and simply watch this show on PBS TONIGHT!!!! I'll try to get back here and explain a big more about what our change has been but for now, here's a start! A movie really can change your life. I know this one did for us!


"Food, Inc." is one of a handful of movies that, I believe, have the power to invoke real positive change. On Wednesday night, April 21, PBS will air "Food, Inc." EVERYONE NEEDS to watch this very important film. If you've already seen it, watch it again with your family & friends. More info & broadcastschedule here ht...tp://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/See More


POV - Food, Inc. PBS
www.pbs.org

Outdoor challenge

The Ultimate blog party

This is something completely new to me, and I hope I am catching everything I am supposed to be doing to be included! Go over to The Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes for Mom and check it out! I love the idea of branching out and "meeting" new bloggers! I know I won't have the time to check out all of them but I am looking forward to exploring as many as I can!

On top of all the amazing blogs on the list, there are even prizes to be won! I think my number one prize to win would be US39-A two night stay at a Hilton Garden Inn. After a few months in a travel trailer, and we are SO going to need a break!! A few other favorites would be


US71 – A $50 Bear Bucks Card to Build A Bear Workshop from Lisa Schwab(My littlest has never been...wouldn't it be an amazing in route thing to do on our big move?!)
US44 – 4 winners will receive an eco-friendly solid wood bracelet (I love natural jewelry),
US83 – Disney Mickey 5-in-1 Tasty Baker by Pop Art (We love to make breakfast fun!),
US101 – One lucky winner will get this $450 Human Touch Foot and Calf Massager (I could so use this after all the packing! lol),
USC 60 – For one winner a $200 gift certificate for any Wall Slicks (Can't you just see these in our new schoolroom in WA?)

If you were to ask R, she'd say it was a hoopa hoop party....The hula party went off without a hitch! Everyone seemed to have a great time with the hula hoop contest, sac race and snow cones! Good old fashion fun in the sun! The day could not have been more perfect....now if only I could figure out how to keep them little forever!

Outdoor challenge

I love seeing what a few kids in a park can come up with to play and find....childhood at it's best!

Outdoor challenge

"I don't want Daddy to mow over the purple flowers...hurry lets pick them!"


Crafts are more fun when they're made in the sunshine!

I loved watching them get creative out in the beautiful day!

Most people see weeds....we see the beautiful yellow posies!

One Small Change

I guess I got a bit behind on my postings and completely missed posting about our "small" change for March!

Years ago,probably back in HS, I was on the hunt for cloth hankies to make into little angel dolls for a craft show (yes, I was crafty even way back then!) so I asked my grandparents to keep an eye out for them at flea markets and auctions. I was so thrilled when my Gram's neighbor and best friend, Cille, sent me a big ziploc bag full of hankies that her and her sisters had collected over the years. By that time, "the sisters" next door had mostly passed on and Cille was (and still is living) the only one left. My early childhood has many warm yellow memories of going over and sitting on the porch while the grownups chatted and there were always good smells coming from the kitchen...in my mind it's the ideal American neighborhood with the freedom of knowing your neighbors, and treating them like family. So....of course I could never use those hankies for a craft project that I was going to sell to strangers! lol In the mean time tho, those hankies became quite the travelers, being toted from Pennsylvania to Missouri to Alaska and then back down to the lower 48 where they currently reside in Texas! I bet the sisters never thought their hankies would go so far!

Since R was a baby and living in Texas (allergy capital of the world I swear!) she has had more issues with a runny nose than I know what to do with. When she was super little, her tiny nose would get SO raw from me wiping it constantly that I know it had to be painful. That is when I first got the idea to use cloth hankies. We used cloth diapers so why not this? Well, while preparing for this move, we've been going thru boxes and trying to really clean out things we don't need and of course along the way we've discovered forgotten "treassures" that are now must haves! lol This forgotten bag FULL of beautiful hankies is one of those forgotten but much loved treasures that is now part of our daily lives.

So, for March, just in time for more allergies- haha- we found a cute little basket and now proudly display our collection of cloth hankies.

The girls now love getting their noses wiped or using them to blow their noses after using the netting pot (yes even my two year old does it!) and they rush about to pick out their favorites

before the other can get to them! I know that it really is a small change but I like the idea of using old things in a world where everyone is fixed on using bigger and better new things....and the best part of all ? No more raw, red noses!

Outdoor challenge

Where have all the fireflies gone?

Over at 5 Orange Potatoes, a blog I regularly follow, this article was brought to my attention and I feel terribly compelled to share it with you too! It saddens me so much to think that the world has come to this and that people seem to be ok with it... why does the world have to push our kids so far that they can't even have playtime without being controled? Since when do we have to schedule outdoor time and active play?

It's articles like this that leave me totally cemented in the idea that we are doing what is right by homeschooling and that I know we can't fix the world but we are certainly doing everything in our power to give our kids the childhood that we want them to have....lots of free play, out under the sun, in the shade of a tree and with their feet and hands in contact with nature as much as we can...and reminds me why TV/electronics are not our friends and should be used with caution and limited almost as much as process foods....somedays I feel like we are crazy and that it would be so much easier to go with the flow and then an article like this snaps me back into reality and I feel like we are on the right path and that it is oh so worth all the research and work that goes into all the fun and joy we have in our lives....

I am so up for the challenge of posting a picture a day of my kids outside...I still think it's sad that "Children and Nature Awareness Month" even has to exist but glad that perhaps it will made a change in the life of even one child...

**I hope know one is offended my my ramblings. I don't think homeschooling is for everyone but appreciate it when the universe reminds me that it is definately for us!

One last hunt

The day started off with a feeling of blah...I wasn't as ready for Easter as I had hoped to be and didn't even have the eggs stuffed yet! I just knew our last Easter in our house was going to be a bust but I was too tired to do anything about it!

We spent the morning loading up another trailer of our household goods to our storage unit before getting to the festivities of the day but once we go in the groove of it, the day actually turned out quite lovely (but still so tiring! lol)

I had joined a swap for Easter goodies thru Bitsofgoodness and I had been stashing a few little goodies from the share table at school to hide about the house with clues in the eggs. The girls could hardly wait to find out what was in their eggs so Daddy took them out back and hide them as if egg hiding was a sport! lol A few were even hidden too good and had to be scouted for by Mom and Dad!

I am really trying to take everything in during this busy time, and to slow down in the moments when I can...I love the quiet memories we make when the rest of our lives seem to be going by so fast...next big events are the birthdays...where does the time go?