Garden Full of Memories

So...growing up I always wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder.  You know?  From the prairie?  Well, minus the bugs and critters...and with indoor plumbing.  Ha!

Now, 30 years later, I am pretty much living my dream, but with the niceties of indoor plumbing and running water.   We live "in the country," surrounded by nice neighbors who are close but not TOO close.  One neighbor trades mules, so we always have 4-6 mules running around near our house, which the kiddos love!  Across the street they have lots of cows.  Normally we like to watch the cows and listen to them, although last night at 3 am when we had the windows open because our air had gone out, I would have much preferred hamburgers to neighboring cattle!  They were LOUD.  Anyway, I digress!  We have about an acre, we don't live in the city limits, and we have big, BIG garden.  There is nothing like fresh vegetables coming from God's blessing our hard work to prepare and work the soil.   Though we do put a lot of sweat into it, we never forget that God gives the increase, not us!  The past few years we have reaped very little due to inconsistent weather, so hopefully this year will be better.

Whether we are able to harvest much or not, I am thankful for our garden in so many ways! 

1.  It teaches my kids (and me, I must confess!) the value of hard work.  The kiddos have their own garden patch this year, and Daddy and I are not touching it!  The only thing we did was help get it tilled up and show them WHAT to do.  They had to plant it, and they must water, weed, tend, and harvest their garden patch.  They are so proud of their lilac peppers, orange peppers, snap peas, and blue corn!   They are also old enough to REALLY help in the "big garden" this year, so they are learning that yummy things don't come easy!

2.  Fresh food can't be beat.  The stuff in the store just isn't the same!

3.  The garden is a growing, living, "breathing" proof to me of just how much my husband loves me.  He doesn't eat vegetables or fruit (except green beans and potatoes), yet he toils tirelessly in the garden helping to prepare, tend, and weed the soil for our veggies and fruit.   What a blessing he is!

4.   Tomato tying brings great memories!  Who knew that tearing old sheets for tomato ties could be so fun?  My kids beg for tomato tying day so that they can run across the yard pulling a piece of fabric loose from an old sheet.  Their squeals of delight just can't be beat!

5.   Sometimes Daddy will pull out the "tractor" (riding lawn mower) just for fun, and the kids get to ride around and around the yard.   I wish I could grab onto those smiles of joy and keep them close forever!  

6.  Gardening teaches patience and waiting on God's timing.   When my son planted his blue corn, he ran outside EVERY MORNING for about 2 weeks waiting for a sprout.  When the tiniest green leaf poked its head out of the soil, he came running inside yelling for us to come look because "MY CORN IS GROWING!"   In the meantime, we had lots of discussions about how good things come to those who wait...  More recently, we have seen tiny veggies on our plants and are waiting for them to come to fruition.   This weekend marked our first produce...3 cucumbers and a squash.   The kids gobbled up "their" veggies with wild abandon. 

7.  Picking rocks from our soil can tame even the worst temper tantrum...

8.  Gardening is GOOD exercise...and very helpful for weight watchers! 

Prophets and Kings

As I have mentioned before, we are studying the Scriptures in a "timeline" approach at home.   We have covered up through Jeroboam and are getting ready to dive more deeply into the kings and prophets.   The kids are making a Bible notebook of their journeys through Scripture, so here are a few of the pages we have used so far...feel free to use for your own personal Scripture studies!!

We are using the following book to connect Bible history to secular history.

Big Book of History Fold Out Timeline

MOST of the Scriptural information in it is sound.  We found a few "iffy" places where they stretched their assumptions, but nothing that would affect one's salvation.  Just a few things stated as fact that are unknown for sure.   It's refreshing to read something that doesn't advocate the "millions of years ago" garbage.  :)  We also learned about the first flushing toilets centuries ago...haha...the kids LOVED that, especially my boy!


I Know all about King David!    The kids had to list all they knew about King David OR draw a picture of their favorite parts!!  We also did one for Saul and Solomon.   If you want those, let me know. :)

5 year old sample: 

7 year old sample:

A Man after God's own Heart  we listed attributes of David that were "after God's own heart." 

Kings  self explanatory :)

Prophets  Ditto :)


We are also using timeline pictures from this book:   Big Picture Bible Timeline 
 Here is a sample from my 7 year old.

Summer Schedules

Summer is supposed to be carefree and easy, right?    Not so in this house!  :)   Somehow, having everyone home (though fabulously special and a time to cherish!) is harder than having the school routine going.  So far, we've been late EVERYWHERE as we try to adjust to everyone working around everyone else.  Interesting!

So...we developed a summer "routine."  For my rigid, don't-change-anything-without-telling-me daughter, it's been a little tough to not have exact times listed, but as a basic guide for our days, it is working well.   I am sure it will require some "tweaking," but for now, here it is!

Summertime Daily Routine

Rise and shine with a (quiet!) smile!  J

Morning chores

Breakfast/Daddy school time/Morning play

Outdoor and Indoor Chores

Kids’ Independent Playtime

MUNCHA  MUNCHA    LUNCHA

Family reading time

Quiet/Rest time (in your own rooms, QUIET, sleep or read)

Play time/ Daddy school/ Afternoon chores

Brain Time!   Fred, Puzzles, Games

BIBLE STUDY

Dinner

Baths, reading, evening chores, family time

Good Night, Sleep Tight!