World War l play

Our older kids are involved in a co-op through our church and this past weekend they performed a world war 1 musical about what life was like for the average family in those days.

Talk about faith.!!

The kids did a great job and even Coop and Cullen got to be involved.

Up date on my training for the 5-k

So I'm hot and heavy in my training for the 5k.(I hope you're still training as well!)
I'm running for a total of 21 mins at a time on my run days.
I'm walking the rest of the time..
On my walk days I'm doing 35 mins.
I have also added jumping on the trampoline for ten mins at the end of my workout.
Did you know that jumping on the trampoline can help you lose weight and it's good for the lymph system. (I'm not so sure it's good for the bladder though..:)


Last week was HARD!! I didn't want to work out at all. I had low energy and a low mood
for a couple of days but I did feel better when I was finished.

So some of the benefits so far:
1- I have been staying up later with my sweet adorable hubby.
2-I have been sleeping better.
3-My clothes feel loose and I had to go down a size in pants. :)
4-More energy.....I feel better now than I have in a long time.
5-I've lost 6lbs

So over all I think I'm on the right track.

How's your training going??
Come on tell us!

Who says girls can't chase down a chicken..This is one true country girl!!!

Shopping day at the whole food market

Yes, I know the whole food market is expensive but..........I'm trying to make sure my family eats healthier so we buy less junk and save our money for good produced fresh food...

Virtually everything that we buy called "food" has been dramatically depleted of its nutritional value.

So what do we do? According to Kevin Trudeau - "Natural cures they don't want you to know about" start with these simple changes in your eating habit and you will feel great and be healthier..So I took the first seven out of his book and going to give it a try.....

1. Eat more fresh organic fruits and veggies..yes they do taste better. no chemicals or pesticides

2.Buy a juice machine..I'm borrowing my friends juicer this weekend to see if I like it. So far it's awesome, the juice is incredible.

3.Eat raw organic nuts and seeds

4.Get natural sunlight:Your body needs sunlight. Do not use sunglasses or sun screens, The sun enters through the eyes and stimulates energy in the entire body. 30 mins a day, minimum, in the sun promotes incredible health benefits.

5.Eat a organic apple a day: They say it's true this is a natural cure for dozens of various diseases.

6.Use organic sea salt: They say this one change in your diet can make you lose between five and ten pounds in the first 30 days..:)

7. Eat organic dark chocolate *yum yum!!*

So I felt just a tad bit out of place...5 of my six kids two 'car buggies' yes the big ole yellow car buggy the kids just couldn't be talked out of.( Like we need more attention....)

All the moms in the place had neat hair, neat buggy's, and come to think of it neat kids...hair bows in place clean face and matching shoes.....

hmmmm.........They only had one though so I didn't feel too bad...

I hope your thinking of ways to help your family be healthier...Start small and work up to the big things....I'm new at this as well so if you have any suggestions let us hear from you.....

until next time~

Providing shelter....

His hands gently hold the small frail treasure he has found and runs towards me with his eyes full of concern wanting me to "find the babies mama." I can't, I look but his mom is no where to be found. Was this baby too young to fly from her nest? Is her mom like me wondering why she had to leave 'so soon.'

There is a certain order to nature and living without your child is not supposed to be part of it.....

There is no order.

The pain that sweep across your heart in a matter of minutes is breathtaking. I feel at times that I push back as much pain as I can and then when the least little thing happens that reminds me of the hurt of losing William I cry out to the Lord that this cross is too heavy.

Too heavy to carry around all day and night.

Too heavy and I see no sign that it will ever get easier to carry except for my friends who like Cooper pick me up and whisper that they're here. Help me find shelter from the cruelty of death.

Friends that gently support and encourage and help carry me to the next day.

Friends that are more like family.....

Friends that provide a shelter for your bruised heart....

Friends that cover you with their hands and prayers.

Although Cooper couldn't change the out come for his little bird

He was there until she found shelter and felt safe.

Although my friends can't change what happened

they can walk this road with me until I feel

like I'm strong enough to take flight

and not feel like I have a broken wing.

Thank you Lord for friends...

Happenings on the Farm

Growing our own veggies is one of the most rewarding things I've done.

But what if your not in a position to have a garden?

Buy Local.....In the town we live in they have local farmers sitting out on the tail gates of their trucks selling their fresh fruits and vegetables.

This is a fun day for the whole family.

We carry a big basket and haggle with the locals...If I don't know how to cook something I'll ask...It's usually older folks who still do things the ole fashioned way and they love telling you their secrets to the best squash around..

I bought cucumbers this time to make a fresh cucumber scrub that Taylor and I wanted to try.

The plums just bring back happy childhood memories....The road we lived on had tons of plum trees and I remember riding my bike and stopping to get a handful of the sour treats and stuffing my pockets full of them...nothing better than salt and a plum...:)

Sometimes I do things the hard way just so my kids will be able to say we used to have to shell peas for hours on the back porch....I know it might be easier to just buy em but I would miss out on the 3 hours of the laughs, the moans, the complaints, and the happiness of making my kids work for their food..
Last year I gave each of my older kids 7.00 a piece and let them out at the farmers market and told them to 'buy the most food' and who -ever did got an ice-cream.. They had a blast and it was fun to see what they bought..

We are gearing up for blue-berry season and we have a local guy who has a good size patch.I give each kid a bucket and say don't come back to the car until it's filled...I know I'm mean!!They beg to go back though.

Sometimes we think we're doing our kids a favor if we make things easier for them, but I believe the opposite is true. Teach them hard work and when the load is easy they will be thankful....

Splish splash our first day at the pool.

After yard saleing on Saturday I came home and got Scott and the little ones and we went swimming at a friends pool....Tucker needed to earn a required merit badge for boy scouts so Scott worked with him while I kept a sharp eye on the water.

It's great having access to a pool where you don't have to worry about dress code or lack there of around your kids.

Since we're trying to save on our power bill this should be a great way for the kids to cool off.

Thanks to Anna and Brock who have always opened their pool doors to us..:) This is a great blessing for a large family.

This is great entertainment with no money involved.... I love doing this with the kids.....

Everyone seems to perk up with they know we're going and I LOVE building these memories...

Who says you can't do things when you have lots of kids..It just takes alittle planning.

You gotta look close

This post update is for Darby:) She asked about our newest members..

We had our baby rabbits last week but the mom had them covered up

so we only just recently got our first view of them...

Their very pink and very blind and have no hair..Go figure!

We believe we have around 12 babies still hard to tell because of all the fur...

Yard Sale treasure's

Industrial size cookie sheets: $4

Prince Caspian Costume from Disney

75 cents

My new favorite coffee cup...10 cents

I got to spend the whole day with my two oldest kids..

I don't get to do this often but I miss it..I loved spending the

day with them and embarrassing them when I got the opportunity..:)

I'm am going to try and find ways to sneak away with them more often.

I love their company and I adore their smiles and the way they goof around with each

other....

After a hot day Junkin we finished up our afternoon at a cool Mexican Restaurant laughing and

going over the days Junk...

This is a great hobby for the whole family...

Having lunch and fun with my two oldest priceless...

Making Soap

On my journey to teaching Taylor and Channie about things they can do to help enrich their future home I wanted them to learn how to make their own healthy home-made soap.

Since I was never taught these things and they're probably a lost art Kathy from teaching good things and I decided to go straight to the top and learn from a pro..

Missi from Cheeky Maiden Soap Company came into my home and worked with the girls and Kathy and I for an entire day and showed us step by step how to make beautiful delicious soap. This has to be one of my new favorite things to do.It's simple (especially when you have Missi standing over you walking you through step by step.) I'm a very visual learner so this was more than helpful.

Learning to do new things just takes a little practice..If you don't know how to do something find someone who would come over and teach you.

I'm never afraid to ask someone to show me and the girls how to do something.

Just don't let your summer get away from you..

Decide what you want to learn and plan on learning a new thing at least once a month during summer.

Soap making is a way that the girls can earn money or supplement their future husbands income..

We made 5lbs of goat milk, oatmeal and lavender soap. You notice I said goat milk....Yes it's from our goats..I guess 6.00am milkings have paid off.:)

Now start planning!!What do you want to teach your kids this summer?