Life with 8 Children...

Come, Come, Ye Saints (All Is Well)

2011-05-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

I have never heard this song sung with so much passion. So, I stole it from cassi !
I love this guy!!!

What we've been up to...

2011-05-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

So it's been a long time since I've posted. But I'm finally up on line!!! I hooked the computer up all by myself! Yay me! So anyway, here are some of the things our family has been up to since we went off line...

As you know we have pretty much moved completely. The house is no where near finished but I do plan to put up before and after pictures of each room as we go... All except for the bathroom. For, while I did THINK about taking pictures, I was so icked out by the condition of the "before" state I REFUSED to take any!

I didn't think to take any pictures of us unpacking (who would?) but here's a picture of what happens to the boxes as we unpack them.

Ammon spent some time "cow sitting" for a brown and white Holstein bull calf named Hershey. He did such a great job that we bought him a little Jersey bull calf to care fr over the next year. His name is Reese's... Fitting since the other calf looks like he might end up becoming a permanent fixture around here.

The really funny thing is that he and Larry have become pretty good buddies!

All of the rabbits that we bred began producing abundant litters! I think we ended up with around 40 babies! Anyway, we have picked out the cream of the crop and are selling off the rest! The same neighbor that we're cow-sitting for plowed our garden for us!

Then Abbie helped Daddy plant tomatoes and peppers!!!!
This is from breakfast this morning. The day was so beautiful that I couldn't stay inside! Rose and Sarah were THRILLED to have me take pictures of them early in the morning pre-shower mode!

Malachi spends most of his free time practicing his golf swing with the real golf set that Papa got him for his birthday!

While I spend most of MY time admiring my Horses...

Hannah seems to have inherited Rose's love of horses...

She spends most of her time begging for a ride...

and Rose spends most of her time on the big horses...

and helping her sisters torture the little one!

Update

2011-05-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, I officially think my phone is AWESOME! We have wireless internet here at the new house but we haven't set up any of the computers yet... So I am typing this from my phone!
I can't wait to give you ton of updates! (With pictures now that my phone also has an camera on it too!
Isn't technology wonderful?

Think Positive...

2011-04-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

When it's dinner time and you realize the oven is still on from lunch... at least you don't have to wait for it to preheat! ;P

Imagine...

2011-04-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

the sun is shining and warm. The wind is blowing steadily and cool. You are on the back a of stunning black horse. You are riding through fields as eagles fly over head. Imagine the peace as you walk into the woods and the wind stops rushing and is quiet. The only sound is the soft patter of hooves on the leaf covered ground. Ahead, a fallen log. The horse in front of you, clears it with no problem. You brace yourself, fearing the jolt of a jump, afraid of falling. Suddenly you're over it. You barely even felt the jump! To the left, in the clearing, is a herd of deer grazing and showing no interest in you. Your heart flutters a little as you look to your right a see a very steep cliff. But you're not afraid for long because you're taken back by the creek at the bottom and how smoothly it curves and curls through the trees. You hear very little except for the rustling of trees and the occasional sound of birds over head. That's when you look up to see the light shining through the tree tops. It shimmers as each breeze changes direction of the shadows and light. You take in a deep breath and enjoy the fresh air as it fills your lungs. Your horse gives a quiet whiny of her own. This is peace. This is the closest you have been to God in a long time. For four hours you wander through the forest following deer trails. You find yourself wondering if this could be real. The answer? Yes! There is nothing more real then the sound of hooves padding the soft undergrowth. The high lasts you an entire week and you wish you could do it over again... Then you realize that you CAN!

Dear Meanlooklady,

2011-03-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

You have no idea what kind of day I had. Yes, yes, I know. I went grocery shopping at 11:00 at night, in filthy jeans, a nasty sweatshirt, hair that was so grimy it might have stayed in a ponytail even if I had taken the scrunchy out, and I'm sure the smell of horse manure still lingered in the air around me.
I know you saw that I had a cart full of convenience foods and I know it took forever for me to load everything on the conveyor belt. The price check annoyed me almost as much as it did you. I would have just had the checkout boy put the waffles back but I had promised them to my daughter.
I saw you roll your eyes and it made me squirm a little, but I wasn't about to let my baby girl go without her waffles. I heard your sigh as you tapped your toe trying to make it obvious that you were annoyed. But when you glared at me... and then refused to make eye contact with me as you began texting, I became a little angry myself.
I was tired. My head hurt and I was aching from the physical labor I had been doing all day. I had spent the day dealing with horses, tiling a bathroom with a grouchy husband, and watching my daughter bury her pet bird of nearly seven years. (By the way, this is the same daughter that I promised the waffles to.) I hadn't showered because I still hadn't been home yet. My kids were out in the van with with my grouchy (and now exhausted) husband.
So I took a breath, and squared my shoulders, and I decided I wasn't angry with you any more.
You see, I've been you, Girlie. I know what it's like to be dressed to the hilt and in a hurry. I know what it's like to be impatient and angry at the world. It's so easy to get ticked off when the checkout boy moves a little to slowly for your pace. Its so easy to feel superior to the white trash with the cartful of frozen pizzas and sugar based cereals.
But Sweety, there is something you need to know. One day it will happen to you. You will be caught unaware. Someone will be there to knock you down. When it happens for the first time, you will most likely return to your car; fighting tears the entire way. You will rehash, over and over, what you did wrong, and and how unjustly you were treated. You will cry because you allowed someone to stomp on you. You will be angry and hurt and, hopefully, you will seek out a friend that has a shoulder to cry on. I hope you have one that will comfort you and get angry for you because that is so hard to deal with.
But tonight? Tonight there are no tears from me. I have seen both sides and, while you almost got to me, I will not be pulled down. I am a mother... and a wife and... most importantly... a daughter of God. I went back to my van full of snoring children, loaded up my groceries, kissed my husband, and came home to write you a little note.
Yours Truly,
Erica

Nesting boxes done!

2011-03-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

With 6 pregnant bunnies there is a lot to do to get ready. Today, Ammon, Chi, Gabie, and Hannah helped me with that process...
I don't have a working camera right now so I can only TELL you about the wonderful nesting boxes that the kids made today. I stepped in from time to time to help them with a crooked nail or cut, other than that, they did it all on their own. (Right down to putting straw in the boxes and placing them into the cages!)
I could just see how good they felt when they were done! Gabriel practically beamed!!! Ammon keeps going out to check for baby bunnies and Hannah is very proud to point out which nails she hammered!
It was a good day... it was just a good day... (happy sigh)

Blogs worth "following"...

2011-03-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

To me, it seems... interesting... that I would have "followers". It makes me smile, but I must admit that I don't know why anyone would "follow" me. Allow me to explain...

In all honesty, the whole reason I got started on my blog in the first place was because I was hoping that one day I would be the insightful, humorous, mother of 8, that knew all the answers. I envisioned women (and men) flocking to me for wisdom and parenting advise.

Alas, after blogging for four years, it seems I am still far from that woman. Being a mother of 8 children doesn't make you the all knowing giver of wisdom that others might assume you are. I seek advise more often than I give it. I delight in sharing my mishaps and mess ups as an ever learning mother.

So, where does such a woman go when seeking inspiration, advise, or entertainment? There is no way that I could possibly put all of my fantastic favorites up at the same time! I hope to share more sites with you as time goes on, but I thought you might enjoy seeing where I head when I am searching for...

humor: themotherloadhome

beauty: Andrew

inspiration: Ranee , fromsilencetosong

just plain fun: formerlyphread, maddoxmayhem

homeschooling: chocolateonmycranium

Parenting: oldfashionedmotherhood, beingamotherwhoknows

farming/homesteading: kellesneverdonefarm, selfsustainedliving

These are the blogs that I like to visit when I am at a loss and need to be uplifted... blogs that I feel are worthy of "following"...

Just felt like sharing...

2011-03-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

The other day while I was talking to my son, in a "motherly fashion"... not really yelling, more like... lecturing. My daughter Sarah started laughing. When I asked her why she was laughing she said. "I never thought you would remind me of a Hannah Montana song!"

Funny thing is... When you think of it in the context of parent to child, and switch that for the last verse... it really fits quite well. Keep in mind, most of my children don't have bad attitudes, so we spent a large amount of time laughing and planning how that song could be turned to a funny little video showcasing parent/child relationships. It's become a big joke now and I sing it to my kids when I'm handing out chores.

sick...

2011-02-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

Ever been so sick you just wanna' cry... but you can't cry 'cause you know you'll start coughing... again... and you'll wake up your husband who has to work through the night the following day... and that would be bad, because you worry enough about him and all the driving he does as it is... So you just sit at your desk... 'cause lying down isn't really an option... for the same reason that you can't cry... and you read a BUNCH of blogs... and you change your blog around 50 million times... and post a lot... about nothing in particular... because you know you're never gonna fall asleep anyway... because you're so sick that you just wanna' cry.
Really?... Never?... Well, me either...

Two Things...

2011-02-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

First:

I love this time of year! Spring is coming! March is almost here! There are so many things to look forward to... flowers, gardens, leaves on the trees, baby animals, chickens laying again!

Even though the kids have been pretty sick, they are all enjoying the sudden rise in temperatures outside. Keep in mind that they are out with their rabbits and mini horse everyday, rain or shine. It's so nice that they don't have to get all bundled up just to go out to do their chores. I've even caught them sneaking outside, math books in hand, to sit out on the trampoline and soak up the sun while they do their home work!

I am looking forward to our move too! That was supposed to happen this week, but a bout with pneumonia has kept me in bed this week, hence all the recent posts and blog changes I am sooo looking forward to getting our pasture up and getting our horses on our property!

I have finally reached the point to where I feel comfortable posting pictures of the house. I figure you all know it's a work in progress and I hope you won't judge me to harshly on the house. We bought it for it's potential, not for it's current state.

At the risk of sounding like a sappy movie, I am... blissful. I am happy and content. Okay, so I'm not really content because I am so full of anticipation for what this new season has in store for my family that I can hardly sit still.

Second:

With Every Drop of Blood

James and Christopher Collier

We just finished a fantastic historical novel about the Civil War era. It tells a story from from the perspective of a 14-yr-old southern boy, right at the end of the war. He is helping to haul supplies to the Confederate Army when he is capture by a black Yankee Private. There was enough action to keep all of my children drawn in, but it was still mild enough that I didn't feel like I was corrupting young minds. I read it out loud to all of my school aged children; 7-12 yrs old

*NOTE*
Some of the language made me quite uncomfortable because I not only had to say the "N" word out loud but had to explain to my children what it meant (racism is beyond their comprehension). There is a very well worded forward about the history of that word and why the author, though uncomfortable with it, chose to include it in the reading.

Sarah

2011-02-23T18:08:00.000-08:00

My Sunny Funny Sarah... always smiling, always happy. She is butterflies and rainbows, fairytales and pixie dust. You will never meet such a sweet spirit, even if you live 1000 life times. Never will you see a child try as hard to succeed as she does, and never will you see one so desperate to please adults. Her entire being revolves around love; giving and receiving. She craves affection, and passes it out willingly to anyone in need.

Sarah lives by the mantra JOY: Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last!

She is always willing to serve others and constantly asks if I need her to do anything to help.

She is the 2nd oldest of my children and Rose's twin sister. Her compassion is at a level that even I have a difficult time comprehending sometimes. She took it upon herself to pardon our Thanksgiving turkey this year. "Dinner" is now happily living out the rest of his years on another farm.

She is extremely talented in art. Her specialty is anime and she has recently discovered that she is quite good with charcoal pencil as well. When I say talented, I don't just mean the "that's a pretty picture I'll hang it on my fridge" talented. She really is "you should do that for a living when you grow up" talented!

Aside from her passion for drawing there is only one other thing that Sarah lives for... animals. Sarah puts any other child that I have ever met to shame with the love and devotions she shows to ANY animal.She prefers the small ones like chinchillas and rabbits and cats. But she has run the gamut on pets and will take in ANY sick or injured animal that she can get her hands on!

She currently owns several Mini-Lop Rabits and breeds them for 4-H. She also cares for her 5 chinchillas and hopes to breed them soon.

Anyone who has the pleasure to meet this sweet girl is truly blessed. She is an inspiration to me. I have watched her fight for her life, and struggle with basic daily activities, always with a positive attitude. Her determination wins anyone's heart who takes the time to get to know her. I am honored that she is my daughter and hope that one day she grows to be the wife and mother she wants to be!

Sarah's Blog

2011-02-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Sarah's blog is now open to the public! sleschorn.blogspot.com
It's entitled "Butterflies and Rainbows". I giggle when ever I think of that title because it is SOOOO Sarah! Feel Free to visit. She wants followers too!

Rose's Blog

2011-02-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, I have changed the permissions on Rose's blog from private to public. She is currently working on a new post. Her posts are usually short but always come from the heart. Take the time to look it over.

Where'd my picture go?

2011-02-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

Okay so I took down the latest picture of my kiddos on accident while I was playing around with that Paint.net stuff. I kinda like how my new header turned out though. So, I'm just gonna leave it like this for a little while. I'll get a new picture up as soon as I can but for now, you get this.
Also, I'm still trying to make my labels list look prettier and smaller... If anyone knows how feel free to let me know!

So a little story about this weekend...

2011-02-20T21:03:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that the previous owners of our house left quite a bit of junk behind. Along with their toys, clothes, furniture and trash they also left behind clues of their many... extra circular activities. Back in December, I found several issues of a very well known magazine. I know they only collected them for the articles! While I am sure that the reading is very intellectual, I chose to file these particular magazines in the circular filing cabinet. Then I took the trash out myself, in order to avoid any chance of young minds being scarred.

Since then, we have set the children to working on the demo of the upstairs. Originally I looked at this as a way to get them out of our hair while we did actual work on the main floor. Surprisingly enough, the kids have taken on this task with great enthusiasm! They have most of the walls upstairs completely demolished and have been very good about bagging up their mess.

Fast forward to this past Saturday...

John and I left all of the kids at Shannon's in order to get some things moved into the house. While we were at the house John was upstairs and he notice a stack of these same magazines in a contractor trash bag... Uh OH!

He says, "Honey, I thought you threw away all the naughty magazines."

I say, "Yeah... weeks ago...Why?"

He says, "Well there are a bunch more upstairs in the trash."

Needless to say someone found more. So much for protecting innocent minds... (sigh)

Later, when we got home we asked out oldest girls if they had been the ones to find them. Secretly I was hoping it was them. Why? Because they are 12 and they know about the birds and the bees. .. and I trust their discernment. Anyway, it wasn't them.

So john asks the boys... They looked at him with blank faces. Not lying faces. Just "I have no idea what you're talking about" faces. Malachi did say that Hannah had found some magazines but he didn't see them.

Being that is was night time and Hannah was already asleep we closed the conversation for the night. Of course I couldn't sleep, not knowing that my baby girl had seen such horrible stuff. I sat awake wondering how her little mind had processed those images.

Keep in mind, this is my little girl that likes to pull her night gown off of her shoulder so that she can be "pretty". She is also the one that loves that show "Toddler's in Tiaras" and wants to be on a runway when she grows up. So no, I didn't sleep most of the night. When I did, my dreams were whacked out and crazy dreams of my daughter becoming a "bunny" in her young adult years.

So Sunday morning John asks Hannah about the situation.

"Hannah, did you find some magazines upstairs in the new house?"

"Yes"

"Were there pictures of ladies in them."

"YES!... and they were NOT being MODEST... and I didn't want the BOYS to see THEM so I just THREW THEM IN THE TRASH!"

I was so happy I wanted to cry. Instead of all the horrible fears I had conjured up in my head about my daughter being sucked into a life of vanity and lust, she showed me that she has the fortitude to withstand such temptations. She was so repulsed that her face was all crinkled up for the rest of the conversation.

The moral here? Even if your child is only 5, they are capable of taking a stand against immorality. You don't have to have had the "sex talk" yet. If you teach your children about right and wrong, when they are faced with something unexpected they will know to listen to that still small voice. Hannah had no idea what she was looking at. I had never talked to her about pornography but she had the wherewithal to know that it was something she should not look at, and to protect her brothers from it.

Why I love my husband...

2011-02-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

I love my husband... It's not because he sends me flowers for Valentines Day.
It's because he teaches my boys that they must always treat girls as though they are princesses. It's because of his smile, and that dimple that I adore so much. It's because he is my teddy bear that lets me put my freezing cold feet on him at night when I am cold. It's because he works hard every day and struggles to provide what his family not only needs, but what we want as well.

It's because he's been there for the labor and delivery of all 8 of our children. It's because of how much he adores our children.

I love my husband because he sits through "chick-flicks" with me, and hugs me when I 'm sad. It's because he prays with us at the table every time we sit down to eat, or because of his desire to always do right. It's certainly not because he's perfect. It's because he suffers through books with me like "Twilight" and "Little House", and because he makes breakfast (and most other meals) on the weekends. He helps with laundry and housework when ever he is home.

I love my husband because he is my best friend. He gets angry when I am wronged and encourages me when I am down. He supports, comforts me, prays with me, and listens to me.

An inconvenience

2011-02-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a tip...
If you are having a challenge with getting your child to do tasks that you ask them to do, when you ask them to do them, inconvenience them!
For instance, when your daughter is supposed to scoop the litter and "forgets", wake her up at 11:30 pm when she is sound asleep. Tell her that she forgot that she promised she would have it done by the end of the day, and she only has 30 minutes left to get it done.
Or, if your son leaves the leftovers on the table and forgets to take them out to the chicken after you have asked him to three times, don't yell or spank. Wait until his FAVORITE tv show is on. You know, the one he's been waiting all week to watch? Tell him right in the middle of the "good part" that he needs to do it right then... and MAKE him.
I promise you that the next day, they will be much more willing to do what they are asked when they are just working on homework.
:)

Thunder... A horse worth knowing.

2011-01-16T12:22:00.001-08:00

I've been sitting here thinking for about 20 minutes now, thinking about all the things I want to say. I keep starting this post and erasing it. I realize that I am not sure of the right way to tell this story. There are so many wonderful stories that I have heard since Rose pushed me into the horse world. These stories make you laugh and some may make you cry. Most of them have happy endings... others do not. Then there are the ones that aren't quite finished yet. Now, as I sit at my keyboard I realize that I am actually in one of those... an unended story.

Thunder was originally called Dirty Thunder by his previous owners. (A name that he will never be called again.) He is a 14 year old Appaloosa gelding. (That just means he's been snipped.) He is one of the most loving horses I have ever known. He has more personality than any other horse in this hemisphere. When he has a saddle on his back he has one goal in mind, and that is to GO. He is high spirited and funny. He is a lady's man to beat all ladies' men. He is papered and is a decedent of Dreamfinder. (Not that I care) He is also blind.

About 11 years ago a woman received a call. A friend of a friend had seen a horse that was severely under weight. That woman drove to the location of the horse to check him out. She had never seen a horse so starved and emaciated. After an argument with the owner of the horse and the police being called, the woman returned home without the horse. A few days later, another visit ended with similar results. Finally, that woman hitched up her trailer and returned to the property determined not to leave without the horse.

When face to face with the owners for the third time the woman offered three choices... "One; you can sell him to me. Two; you and give him to me. Three; we can shoot him so that I know he is no longer suffering."

The owners were shocked at her nerve and threatened to call the police again. That is when the woman very calmly explained to them that she was willing to go to jail and that could be option four. She also told them that as they were calling the police she would be calling the two local news stations. Unwilling to be embarased infront of local telivision cameras, they chose option two.

The horse was quickly loaded into the tailer and was headed to a new home. Unfortunately, he fell while he was in the trailer heading to his new home. The woman and her husband had to pull him off with a rope. She slept for two weeks in a stall with the horse. She fed the horse one handful at a time, soaking each handful of feed in water before placing it in his mouth. Slowly but surely he regained his strength. Sadly, malnutrition had destroyed his eyesight. It did not however, destroy his spirit or his goofy sense of humor!

As for the woman in this story; she is still picking up horses from neglectful owners, caring for them until they are strong again, and rehoming them when they are ready. Her name is Tammy and even though we have only known each other for a short time, I have grown to respect her more than most human beings I know.

Now, it is my turn to love, care for, and ride Thunder. I am not anxious about what I will teach him, but what I will learn from this young hearted jokster. I only hope I am up to the challenge.

This just in...

2011-01-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

Lacey-Belle is, in fact, pregnant and should be delivering within the next 3-4 weeks! Tune in for more details and pictures as we try to give this mare the love and care that she has not had in several years. We will be trying to help her weight with a prescription diet. We will try to heal her spirit with lots of LOVE!
We are not sure how this will all turn out because she has not had the proper care for a mare in foal. Wish us luck and pray for my Rosie to have the strength to handle whatever might happen! She'll be a very young grandmother!

Rose

2011-01-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

What to say about her...

Rose is one of my 12 yr old twins. From the time she was first born she has been independent. She craves adulthood more than any of my other children. When something needs done she is the one I know I can count on. She is caring and level headed, fun and funny! She is my Rosie-Posie!

Rose enjoys all animals. She Raises Flemish Giants for 4-H, loves working with our chickens and ducks, and has had a pet cockatiel (Banana) since she was seven. She also adores her miniature horse named Dreamer, which she cares for almost completely on her own.

One of the things that set her apart from my other children is her passion for horses. She and Sarah (and recently Ammon too) have been "working" for our farrier for a couple of months now. They aren't paid for the work, except that they usually get a ride on one of the gentler horses when they are done. Rose is THRILLED to be spending time with the horses and soaks up everything Cody (and more recently, his Aunt Tammy) tells her.

She recently saw her dreams come true when we gave her an early Christmas present; a 4-yr-old, bay, quarter horse, mare. Watching the two of them meet brought tears to my eyes! She used her Christmas money from Uncle Bobby, Nanna, and Pappa to purchase a new pair of boots and a used show halter. She can hardly wait to show at the fair this year.

I have no idea what she will be when she grows up but I know that she will do it well. Things have always seemed to come pretty easy to Rose. She takes pride in a job well done. Though at times I have wished that school was a little more challenging for her.

Rose is, in a lot of ways, my teacher. I wish I had her natural patience and understanding. She often comforts ME when I am down. I can always count on her patting my arm or giving me a random hug just because she wants to connect with me. I want to be just like her when I grow up!

Just so ya' know...

2010-12-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

I am working on my posts about my children. So far I only have one partially done. I will post them in age order, beginning with Rose, and work my way down to Abbie. I am very surprised at how much trouble I am having with Rose's post. I expect the same level of difficulty with all of them though, because I am still facing the "What I want the world to know about my children" thing

In other news... all is well here. We bought a house in Owen county on 4 acres right next to 15 acres of land that is currently only being used to house horses. We're working on it on the weekends and plan to movein, in early spring. Things really seem to be looking up.

Stay tuned for further updates!

True Love...

2010-11-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Rose and Lacey-Bell meet for the first time.

Remember Estrella?

2010-11-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is her when she was only 3 days old! Three other babies had already died. So I syringe fed her. When she and the other babies were only two weeks old her mother passed away! Then we began doing the same with all of them. We managed to save 4 of them (Estrella included). It's hard to believe that she was ever so tiny!

Now here she is at 2 months! She has good type and a nice semi arch... when her feet aren't slipping out from under her! She is just about the sweetest rabbit! The fact that she was a Flemish lended toward a naturally gentle disposition anyway. The fact that she was bottle raised only made her more sweet!

A free verse... of sorts...

2010-10-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Oh Chocolate Bar how I love you
on this cool fall day.
while children
run shooting and flying;
creating chaos.
You, oh Chocolate Bar,
you are my pool of peace and bliss.
You are the cotton balls in my ears.
You numb the rattling of the house
and the sound of wizards at war.
You silence bickering
and discussions of Halloween costumes.
You are the provider of patience,
the reward I seek.
With your smooth milky texture
on my tongue
I close my eyes and smile.
There is no smell of dirty diapers in the air,
no sink full of dirty dishes before me.
Thank you Chocolate bar,
giver of warm and happy feelings.
Thank you

Okay, Okay...

2010-10-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

So, my husband says I'm grounded from Facebook until I've posted on my blog again! So here I am... posting... on my blog... This is me... posting... on my blog...

In all seriousness, I am feeling a little repentant about the lack of attention I've been paying to all 3 of my devoted followers! LOL!

I have to admit that I do sometimes feel silly typing when I don't know who is reading my blog. For instance, a couple of weeks ago we were at the Covered Bridge Festival. John ran into one of his high school classmates. My children swarmed her table of goodies. Now, mind you, none of them were misbehaving they just seem to overwhelm people when they're all together. I said, "Hi I'm Erica. Sorry for the chaos. They can get a little crazy sometimes." Then his friend says to me, with a smile, "Oh, I know, I read your blog."

Really? Hmmm. How come she never made any comments or said "hi" or anything? Please, if you read my blog let me know sometime... That way I don't feel like I'm typing to... um... myself. Trust me, I do not need a keyboard to talk to myself!

On with the updates...

THE CREW:

I want to do an update on all of the kiddos but to be honest I need to wait a day or two. A lot has gone on over the past two weeks and I am beat. I want to have a clear head and really think about the things I want the world to know about my children. For now, I'll just talk about what's on my mind...

The thing about having so many children is that they often get lumped together. Comments like, "Your children are so well behaved.", are thrown out by unknowing family members and friends. The truth is that I have some children that ARE well behaved and some that are not as polished in the art of obedience as I would like them to be. Of course, I'm sure the negative comments are there to but never said to my face... even when they are deserved. :)

I really wish that more of our family and friends had the opportunity to really spend time one on one with each of them. That way they could learn to appreciate the little personality traits. They could take in Ammon's thoughtfulness, and maybe take something from his easy going attitude. Or perhaps they might catch some of Gabriel's Fire for life!!! One might want to be careful what they take from my Chi... I wouldn't want anyone to blow up their house or any thing. Super geniuses have a tendency to do that you know?

More to come on my kiddos in a few short days. I think I'll write a separate post about each one. I don't promise a new one every day, but get to all of them... maybe I'll even have pictures or something! :)

ANIMALS:

In bunny news: 4 of the baby Flemishes survived after their momma died when they were just a couple weeks old. We have also had another litter of Mini lops. Juliet gave birth to 3 healthy and happy bunnies which have all been successfully weaned.

We are looking to purchase a few more of both breeds in the very near future in order to have the stock for the shows next year.

*Rose and Sarah have begun "working" with our farrier. He is teaching them how to care for his two, and his aunt's 15-ish horses. (That number chances because she is always taking in rescues and re-homing them.) They don't get paid or anything. They are just doing it for the experience and time with horses. It's a fair trade I think, He gets help and my girls get to do what they love!

Dreamer is turning out to be the perfect mini-horse! He rode Hannah, Maggie and Abbie around the field yesterday for quite a while. (All at separate times) We have discovered that he likes sugar. So if he gets loose, Rose just shows him her hand and he comes right to her. She doesn't even have to have sugar in it now! YAY!

Well it's late, so I'll call it a night. I take no responsibility for the improper use of grammar or sloppy content of this post! I figure it's just better to get it out there than to not post anything at all!

Why I shop at Once apon a Child...

2010-10-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

winter coat (Abbie)
winter coat and matching snow pants for (Maggie)
4 winter hats (Abbie, Maggie, Hannah, Gabie)
1 pair mittens (Abbie)
1 pair Spider man snow boots (Gabie)
1 pair Hannah Montana snow boots (Hannah)
3 brand new pairs of Sketchers tennis shoes (Ammon, Chi, Gabie)
1 hoodie sweatshirt (Abbie)
2 long sleeved shirts (Abbie)
1 pair Baby Gap jeans (Abbie)
1 pair Children's Place jeans (Abbie)
1 pair purple tennis shoes (Hannah)

______________________________

Grand Total $83.27

WaVaHo Field trip!

2010-09-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know... (drum roll please...) we HOME SCHOOL! (Gasp!) I know, I know. but don't worry... it's perfectly legal and we DO socialize. One of the things we do for school is a weekly History Co-op. This is where all the stir crazy homeschooling moms get their kids together and have hands-on activities that have to do with the history subject for the year. (As if schooling our children and regular household chores wasn't enough right?) Any way, this year is all about American History. So, our entire group of homeschoolers went on a field trip to Dobbs Park last Tuesday, to visit their Native American History Center.

This is what happened while we were there...

Even Abbie got in on the fun!!!

The director of the Center had a nice activity planned for the kids.

When the kiddos were done slathering paint on their sticks (and in some cases themselves) they were given a tour of the History center and then we went outside to eat under the pavilion. Sorry there are no pictures of this, I had left my camera inside.

Many thanks to April for arranging everything! All the kids had a blast making their coup sticks and sand art! I tried to get more pictures of the older kids but they all came out really blurry.

A Star is born...

2010-09-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

Well we did end up loosing 3 babies but we still have 6 that are healthy and strong! They will be two weeks old tomorrow. This is the little one that we bottle fed for a few days. She is doing very well (I say she but it really is to early to tell). We have named it Estrella. It means "star" in Spanish. It might end up being show qualitybut not breedable. He has to much black, blue, and grey in her genes.
I'll put up some more pics of the other bunnies soon but I thought you guys would like an update!

A Little Bunny Heartbreak...

2010-09-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

As I posted last week Ebony Had 9 bouncy baby bunnies. Sadly, three of them passed away on day 4. Today is day 6 and I think we might loose another one. He is pretty weak but has a big personality. I have begun supplementing it's feeds with a homemade formula (recommended by our vet) and it has a very vigorous appetite. All of the others are very healthy and strong! Most of them are twice the size of this little one, and are rapidly becoming the cute little rabbits I was hoping to see!

I'm not sure that my stepping in is going to save this little guy but I figure that not helping at all... well... won't help. So here's hoping! Updates soon!

Goin' on a hike...

2010-09-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

Monday was Labor day and john had the day off. Abbie actually woke up sick so we took her to Aunt Missy for the afternoon and took the rest of the seemingly healthy children on a hike at McComick's Creek State Park. We hiked trail 3 down to the creek and followed the creek up to the water falls.

Gabriel decided to scale a cliff just for the fun of it. John and I had to actually stop him because I think the little stinker would have actually made it to the top!

John pointed out a snake on the path...

and it took quite a bit of convincing to get the kids to leave it be and not take it home as a pet!

About 3 minutes into the hike we discovered that Abbie wasn't the only one feeling under the weather! We carried Maggie most of the time. She would perk up every now and then but most of the time this is how she felt!

I don't think the boys appreciate my need to do a photo shoot on nearly every hike we take. But some of my favorite pictures of them are during times like this!

Hannah thought this was the Water fall we were looking for and was very excited to point it out to Maggie! I was nearly ready to turn back just so I didn't have to disappoint her!

You should have seen how excited she got when we got to this set of falls! She was sure we were there!

Malachi found some fossils of some kind of shells. I tried to get a good picture but they just didn't come out very clear

Ammon and Chi got to show off their agility by crossing this fallen tree.

When we finally reached the falls and the pool at the bottom we all rolled up our pants and waded a little. It was really to cold to get really wet. Poor Gabie fell twice and ended up soaked!

John opted NOT to get in the water (shocking!) So he sat on a nearby fallen tree...

and took these wonderful pictures!

When Rose and Sarah climbed up to the very same cave that I remember sitting in when I was their age I HAD to get a picture! John wasn't to happy about them being out so far on the ledge of a cliff. This picture doesn't do the height justice because I was actually on a stair case leading up the cliff.

This picture shows it a little better.

Funny thing... We didn't get a single picture of the actual falls while we were at the foot! Oh well, Guess we'll just have to go again! This is the view from the top of the cliff that we climbed via the stairs. (Now maybe you understand Johns concerns with the cave!)

Just some pictures...

2010-09-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Malachi the wizard!

Malachi made a swing out of a couple of jump ropes and a log! It's actually pretty strong. The boys have been enjoying it for a few days now.

Gabie taking his turn!

Abbie-snail loves to draw on our patio.

This is Sarahs latest artwork... she loves to draw with chalk pastels... sidwalk chalk is the next best thing!

Rose's has begun training Dreamer. He is doing really well!

Hangin' out in the barn...

2010-09-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we spent the day outside enjoying the fall weather! While we were out there, we decided to clean out the barn and enjoy some cuddle time with the rabbits.

The little ones were so sweet about it that I had to run inside and get the camera!

Abbie has been calling Sarah's baby mini-lop "my bunny" for a couple of days now and she says it's name is Mommy. Don't ask me where she got that from.

This is Ammon's Emily. He is very excited to breed her in a couple of months!

This is Gabriel's Wanda. She's a sandy.

Even John got in on the bunny cuddling. Poppie, is the father of the babies that were just born today!

I love those spontaneous happy moments!

Ebony had her babies today!

2010-09-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

This is our first litter of Flemish giants! Ebony and Poppie are the proud parents of 9 babies! As far as we can tell, there are 5 black 3 white and 1 lt grey. Their colors will show up better in a couple days. The funny thing is that she didn't even use the nesting box! She nested right next to the box!

Our plan is to take pictures every day to track the change over the next twenty days!

The Head Piece...

2010-09-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl of about 12 my sister, Missy, began taking me to SCA events. One that I particularly remember was at St. Mary of the Woods collage. Missy made me a skirt and loaned me her favorite headpiece. It was hand made by one of her friends. I remember looking so elegant in it (a rarity for me)! I loved to show it off as different gentlemen stopped me to ask who had made it. At the time, I was sure it was how exquisite I looked in it that attracted them. Little did I know they were just interested in the craftsmanship.
Well, years have passed. I now have daughters that same age. My nephew's 12th birthday party was a Renaissance theme. Missy set to work creating wonderful costumes for all of the children who attended! I almost cried when I saw my Rose in the very same headpiece that I had worn so many years ago. It was a little worn, the pearls didn't seam as shiny to me as they once had. But Rose didn't notice. She held her head high and giggled and flirted in the same way that I once did. It truly turned her into a princess.
At the end of the day, Missy pulled Rose aside and told her that she was giving her the head piece. Rose now has it in a special place in her room and says it is her favorite thing. I know that she will always treasure it. I'm sure it sounds a little silly to be so sentimental about something so simple, but watching my daughter that day, truly caused me to re-live one of my favorite childhood memories. That in itself, was a priceless gift!
Thank you Missy.

Glacier

2010-08-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

I have had some requests to post pictures of our White Flemish Buck. This is Glacier! He's pretty big for buck. I like this picture of Abbie lying with him because you really get a feel for his length. When he streatches out he can almost match her, head to toe! He is supper sweet to just like our Poppie! I have yet to meet a Flemish that I haven't absolutely LOVED!

A bad day to be a goat!

2010-08-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

My mom kept hearing this sound... IT was a goat FREAKING out !!!!!! We have a house on the porch for outdoor cats to get away from predators if they need to. (Hence the tiny hole!) Well' Lola saw the hole and decided to stick her head in it!

So this is what we had to do...

I am happy to report that she has survived her ordeal and is resting with her beloved horse!

So how's MY day going?

2010-08-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

So glad you asked! Welllll... For starters, it's the hottest day of the year. By hot I mean air-so-thick-you-can't-catch-your-breath-when-you-walk-out-the-door hot!

So what does one do when it's so hot out side and they own cold hardy rabbits? Why, one goes out into said sweltering heat and mucks out the barn, of coarse! She removes ALL of the rabbit cages from the barn and puts them under the shade next to the house. (that's 14 rabbits in all)

What does she find while she and her daughters are so diligently working? 4 dead/ dying chickens! Yes that's right, 4! Three were already dead (and they had to have passed in the past 4 hours because they were alive enough to exit the coop when the girls let them out at 7:30)! The 4th one sadly took it's dying breath in my hands. (heartbreaking!)

What was the problem? Well, apparently chickens don't handle heat to well. So, I came in to call the vet. While I was inside talking to the vet Rose came running it to tell me that Dreamer had drank some of the bleach we were using to clean the trays. NICE!

No worries though, The vet said it probably wasn't a high enough concentration to be dangerous. Do you know what it's like to be laughed at by a vet?

While sitting in here writing about my morning, Rose, Sarah, and Abbie all came in. Rose and Sarah, to tell me their jobs were done. Abbie? To show me the giant straw she'd been using to drink out of the duck pond.

(*Sigh*)

Same ol', same ol'...

2010-08-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some new pictures of our animals...

Our Turkey "Dinner" is getting much bigger and has really blossomed into a nice young tom! He'll be great for his pupose at Thanksgiving! (Shh it's a secret... he thinks he's the king)

Rosie's "Dreamer" is SO CUTE! He can be a bit of a pickle when he wants to be but he LOVES carrots and will do just about anything to get one!

This is one of our newest additions. Her name is Ebony. She is, of course, a Flemish Giant. She weighs in at about 17 lbs (small for a flemish) We got her for Poppie.

Along with our Flemishes we are also raising Mini-lops! These are a couple of our babies. They should be ready to breed in a few months.

This is my Goat Lola. We love her. She has a very interesting personallity. She doesn't like people to get to close to her, but she's very dog-like. She even picks up her bowl and drops it in front of you if she wants fed. She's a very funny little thing.

Look what Rosie got!!!!

2010-07-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, what do you do when your little girl turns 12 and she's wanted a horse all her life!?! You buy her a miniature horse ... AND THEN... you bring it home in your van!!!! I'll post better pictures soon but come on! I HAD A HORSE A GOAT AND 5 RABBITS IN MY VAN!!!! I HAD TO POST THIS ONE FAST! His nae is Dreamer and he is a 4 month old miniature horse... NOT A PONY!
PS... The Goat is MINE!!! I really have always wanted one! Her name is Lola! I LOVE HER!!!!!

2010-07-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Okay so this isn't all of the fair stuff that's been going on... But I had to ge tsomething up! Here's the line up...

Rose:

Photography poster - purple

Fine arts - drawing of a horse - blue

Arts and Crafts - wreath - bluetie dye pillow case - blue

Rabbit club - educational poster - blue

photograph purple award and honorable mention

showmanship - blue ribbon

Flemish Giant - Best of Breed & Over al single category - 1st pick

Poultry - buff orpington pullet - blue

barred Rock cockerel - blue

barred rock pullet - bluefawn

pekin duck - blue

Sarah:

Fine Arts - charcoal pastel of blue whales - blue ribbon, purple ribbon

Arts and Crafts - wreath - blue

tie dye pillowcase - blue

Rabbit club - educational poster - blue

ribboncharcoal drawing of rabbit with basket - blue

showman ship - red ribbon

Mini lop - 2nd place in variety

Poultry - barred Rock pullet - blue

buff orpington pullet - blue

fawn peking duck - blue

Jabyn:

Cats - cat care poster - blue Ribbon and SELECTED FOR STATE

poultry - buff oprington pullet - blu ribbon

arts and crafts - tiedie pillow case - blue

arts and crafts - wreath - blue

Poultry - buff orpington pullet - blue

Poultry - Barred Rock pullet - blue

Poultry - buff pekin duck - blue

Ammon:

rocketry - Model rocket - blue ribbon

Entomology - shadow box - blue ribbon, reserve grand champion

arts and crafts - tie die pillow case - blue ribbon

Poultry - Turkey - blue

Poultry - buff pekin duck - blue

poultry - barred rock pullet - blue

poultry - barred rock cockerell - blue

poultry - buff orpington pullet - blue

Malachi:

bug project - blue

pillow case - blue

model rocket - blue

Pekin duck - blue

All in all, It was a super fun week. I had no idea the work that goes into each of the projects. I'm so proud of all the kids!

Why I DONT normally do "projects" while John's not around...

2010-06-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

I was trying to get a lot of much needed stuff done around the house today... you know, sorting storage and switching clothing... that kind of stuff.

Here is a list of all the things that happened while I was trying to do that...

The dog got up ON TOP of the kitchen counter to get to the bag of cat food that I was trying to keep safe!
Maggie let two of the inside rabbits out of their cages! (luckily they were both males!)
Ammon (trying to help) thought he would clean the bathroom with BLEACH!!!!
Hannah (trying to help) tried to wash some dishes and soaked the floor!!!!!
Malachi brought an "old" wasps' nest in the house to show me... THAT STILL HAD WASPS IN IT!!!

At this point, the only child (or dog for that matter) that isn't grounded for the rest of their lives is Abbie... but the night's still young!

Our Bunnies @ 10 days old!

2010-06-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time again...

2010-06-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Please ignore all the painful looks in this picture! All of my kids were actually thrilled when I was taking the picture but my neon green shirt was reflecting the sun. Poor Gabie had REAL tears coming from his eyes by the time we were done!!! They were all so excited to be helping me pick from the garden they could barely stand still for the picture! Abbie's zucchini weighed just about as much as she does! guess what's for dinner!!!

Bunnies! 10 days old!

2010-06-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

Here are our baby bunnies at 10 days old! They are so stinkin' cute I just wanna squish 'em!!!! All of them have their eyes open and they are hopping around like little pieces of pop corn! It's so cute to see their little heads pop up out of nowhere! Love them!

Ammon with Penguin!

Malachi With Oreo

Gabriel With Zorro

Hannah With Spot

Maggie helping me hold Ying-Yang

That's my boy!

2010-06-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have often said that you will never here a sentence come out of Gabie's mouth that does not end in an exclamation point! He is a super fun ball of energy!

Today he walks up to me while I'm trying to assemble a wheelbarrow. This is how the conversation went:

Gabriel: "Mommy... Mommy...Mommy..."
Me: "Yes Gabie"
Gabriel: "I know we're NOT supposed to say fart buuut... I have something to tell you!"
Me: (assuming he was about to tell on someone, and QUITE annoyed with the stupid wheelbarrow) What Gabie John?
Gabriel: The farts that you can hear... They feel the best!

In truth, I've never thought about it before. Good to know...(sigh)

*Sorry bout the weird lay out but for whatever reason my computer decided that this is the way my post will look!*

So have you...

2010-06-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

ever had one of those mornings when you're running late for a doctors appointment (that you KNEW you should have set the alarm for) and then you suddenly realize that you might be out of underwear because you're so behind in laundry. So you're running back and forth (in nothing but a towel, I might add) from the laundry area to the bedroom, praying that your darling husband might have mixed some of your unmentionables with some of his work clothes. Only to trip over the very basket you had just been searching through... falling flat on your face...sending your towel flying... all the while being sung a song (specially written by your two-yr -old) with the lyrics "Mommy haba nakey butt, Mommy haba nakey butt!"?

Ya... Me either!

Baby Bunnies...

2010-06-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Juliet had her babies last Sunday. She had 7 but only five survived. Today, they are one week old! They don't have their eyes open yet but that isn't due to happen for a few more days.

Their Ears were laying back on their head at first but just today they have started flopping around when you pick them up. Soooo CUTE!!!!

After the Rain...

2010-06-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Our ducks don't like the pool we have for them! They have recently commandeered the dogs' 3-gallon water dish. It's quite funny to watch them scare the 65+ pound dogs away and lay in their bowl! But that's not what these pictures are of obviously. It rained last night. I mean it POURED!!!! It caused a huge puddle near the barn and the ducks have been playing and quacking all morning long! It just cracks me up!

BUMMER!

2010-06-04T05:50:00.002-07:00

So it would figure that Shannon and Brian would be gone with their girls and Rose and Sarah, and John would be away at work when I was woken up at 2 am with that cry that EVERY mom knows. The one that says "You're not gonna have time to get me to the bathroom! Grab the first thing you can and catch it or you're gonna have a big mess to clean up!"

Poor Abbie was the first to start two hours later it was Maggie! Maggie seems to be over it already but poor Abbie is like the energizer bunny of puking... she just keeps going and going and going! Now I'm sitting next to her ready to jump at any moment!

So... After I forced this out of them...

2010-06-04T05:50:00.001-07:00

I let them do this...

and this...

and this...
oh, and this...

I'm so proud!

Abbie and Maggie

2010-06-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Nothing makes me smile like this!

Our Life!

2010-06-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

Now that I've finally figured out how to get things loaded properly with this slow internet I feel like I can really continue with our blog!
So here's the run down as of late... I'll split in into categories...

Our Plan...
John is employed now with a stable long lasting company. Herff Jones in Indianapolis. He feels challenged but not overwhelmed in his new position and looks to stay there forever if he can!
Right now he is living in Indy with his brother durring the week and comming home on weekends. Our hope is to be free of a car payment before we move to Danville and find some acreage. At this point we still plan to adopt a sibling pair of boys when Abbie is 5-ish and if we keep on track finacially and as a family unit we believe we can make this happen. That is only 3 years away sometimes it's hard to think about the fact that our future sons are out there somewhere living what ever hardships their life might bring that will eventually lead them to our family.

THE KIDS...
Rose and Sarah are, of course doing great, and have enjoyed singing in the Terre Haute Children's Choir all this year! They both started out in lyric Choir but Rosie was moved up to the more advanced Treble Choir after the Christmas break! Their singing has improved so much! I just can't say enough good things about the program!
Sarah received two Chinchillas for Christmas this year. She is currently saving up Money to buy a male so that she can breed them.

Ammon also has been enjoying Choir this year! He is in a different, non-auditioned group called Sing Up! He has done fantastic and has he has enjoyed it and scouts this year. He has also joined the 4-h dog agility club with his dog Lyla. This year has been wonderful for his confidence!
He is always helping and trying to find someway to serve others!

Chi started out in public school this year but we quickly realized it didn't work for our schedule and that he wasn't happy there so he spent the rest of the year homeschooling with the rest of us. He is sucking in ANYTHING that he can about science! He loves Robotics, computers and Chemistry! For his reading today he chose a chemestry book!

Gabie had the opportunity to go to public kindergarten and loved it. It was only about 2 1/2 hours each day and for me it was a lot more of a social activity for him than any thing. He had his graduation last night and it was REALLY sweet. I hope to get some pics up soon!

Hannah Rachel is a sight to see. Right now she is all about being a princess, Her very favorite show is "Toddlers in Tiaras" and she wants more than any thing to be a pagent girl! She recenly got her first pet! A Flemish Giant Rabbit! She is so big that she can barely hold her. She'll max out at apx 22 lbs! I have discovered recently that she takes after her big brother Ammon and likes things neat and tidy!

Maggie is my little spit-fire. While she has toned down quite a bit since we moved here (meaning she hasn't flooded anything recently) she still likes to run the show. She is super funny and has really taken the role of big sister to new heights. She can climb a tree as well as ANY of her siblings...though it's often the ladder to her rescue when she can't get down!

Then there's Abbie. My sweet tubby Abbie! She loves anything that Maggie and Hannah love. Right now her favorite thing is food! But she doesn't like "bean beans" (green beans). She "lub uh duckies" and any other animal. I think she's taking after Sarah were that's concerned!

Animals:
We are the proud parents of 32-ish chickens. Our Buff Orpingtons are due to start laying some time in August and out Plymouth Rocks should start in October-ish.

We also Purchased a breeding pair of Flemish Giant Rabbits! These suckers are HUGE! And super sweet! I bought Crystal for Hannah and then Rosie bought Poppy for herself. We hope to have baby bunnies in the next couple of months.
On top of the Flemish Giants we have accuired mini-lops which we hope to breed eventually as well.

Along with our Buffs we accidentally received a white Turkey. She's super fun... and WAY smarter than we thought she turn out to be! Her name is dinner... She matures fully right around Thanksgiving.... but I don't think I'll have the heart to eat her she LOVES to be hand fed worms and is just so interesting!

I butchered 11 of our 22 chickens and they were YUMMY! I ended up putting the rest on Craig's list because of convenience sake. I plan to get about 50 next next spring an put them all in the freezer for the year.

We ended up keeping two of the puppies that Lady had on my birthday...oh the drama! Lyla is the one that Ammon got to name and Larry was my favorite of the bunch. Lyla is very quite and well behaved. Larry was what I believe to be the pick of the litter. He was the most handsome and I think the most trainable. But I believe he has a long way to go before we'll be the good dog he can be.

There are a LOT more aimals that I could write about but I'll save the chaos for another time!

Me...
I'm doin' ok. I still have to fight my natural tendency to whine and complain. I feel like at this point Heavenly Father has lead us here for some reason. Why? I'm not quite sure of yet. I feel much more confident in my Homeschooling abilities than I once did.
While living with my sister and her family can be challenging at times I love that I am rarely lonely. We've got a pretty good routine going. Though I wish I was able to keep up the house a bit better for hers and Brians sake.
I still get homesick for AZ and all my friends out there. I cry at times when I think about the beautiful home I had to leave. But I am slowly accepting the fact that it is time to look forward to loving a new home of my own. I still jokingly tell people that I live in AZ and I'm just on an extended visit. But everyone else knows I'm here to stay.
Well I don't really expect many people to actually read all of this. but I thought I'd put itout ther at least for my own records.
Love you all!

Spring is Here!!!

2010-03-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I have decided to start up with my blog again. No more sulking. To me, SPRING is a much better time of year to start you resolutions than New Years!!!! Everything is new and fresh and clean. (I am also going to be having my kids blog as well. So if you don't have your invite please let me know in the comment post and I'll send you one!)
I have a whole list of things to report and promise an update by the end of the weekend! Maybe I'll go all out and get pictures up also!

Introducing...

2009-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

An Update...

2009-11-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

For now I will just let you know that we are settling into a routine in Indiana. John has a job that has good earning potential but is currently a fraction of what we were making previously. We are living with my sister until we can get back on our feet. We've been here since late July but I have not had the required mindset to post anything. (A million points to Shannon and Brian for taking in 10 people a cat, a dog, and a bird with out hesitation!)
It's fall and it is beautiful here! I'm setting aside my absolute disdain for Indiana winters and pretending we won't have one this year. So all is well in the Leschorn life.
I have recently discovered Dave Ramsey and I am using our situation to take advantage of the advice he offers in his program. We'll see how that goes.
Much love to all the friends and family that have been praying for us. Please keep it up!
-Erica-

Well...

2009-07-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

John called me this morning. He only said a few words but I knew exactly what they meant...
John: "I need you to sit down"
Me: "Oh my Gosh, you lost your job!"
No warning. The only reason is that the company needs to down size. His boss "plans to help him transition" what ever that means.
We haven't quite decided what to do yet but I will keep you updated.
Prayer would be nice... Thanks.

happy 4th!

2009-07-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Rose and Sarah sing "Bubbly"

2009-06-30T17:12:00.001-07:00

Hannah's Birthday!

2009-06-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

Maggie Strikes Again!

2009-06-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I try to take a nap when the babies do...

Sometimes they wake up before I do!

Hannah Leschorn's 4th birthday

2009-06-24T10:41:00.001-07:00

Hannah woke up yesterday with a stomach flu but by mid afternoon she was ready to party!!! She was so excited! I love that she couldn't help but eat the icing as she was trying to "help" I'm glad I thought to give her her own plate of icing... there was a LOT of double dipping going on there!!!!

Shhhhhhhh....

2009-06-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

We're not going to tell her it's her 4th birthday today!

We're hoping she won't remember. She's been counting down the days! She woke up at 3 this morning with the stomach flu. She can't even hold down water or pedialite... so birthday cake is out of the question! Poor Baby!!!
I can't believe how big she is. When we first moved out here she wasn't even walking yet! Now she is the girliest girl you will ever meet! Every thing she wears is pink and every thing she likes has to do with princesses, dress up, or being a big girl!
Happy Birthday Hannah Banana! We love you!

Dear Daddy,

2009-06-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

I'm glad you liked the picture I drew of you!
Love,
Malachi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSE AND SARAH!!!!!

2009-06-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it!Rose and Sarah truned 11 on the 18th! We would have had these pictures up sooner but we were having a little trouble with the computer. Nanna went all out and bought party favors including little horns that I hapliy sent home with her! Yes, the kids loved them... they will love blowing on them just as much at Nana's house!

Abbie took Sarahs horn and wouldn't give it back! Sarah was very nice about the whole thing! I don't know why, but some how it's become a family tradition of ours for the birthday child to try to fight daddy for a bigger pice with the first cut. So that's what the laughing in the picture below is about.
Since the first cut /piece goes to the birthday boy/girl you can understand how motivated the kids get!!!! Their birthday party will be in July at Shanni's house but this gave all of us the oppurtunity to celibrate their special day with them!

I'm home...

2009-06-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

All is well!

So here's the thing...

2009-06-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm having surgery tomorrow...
I've known for a while that it was going to happen...
I've only told like 5 people...
It's just out-patient...
I'm still scared out of my mind!
I'll let you know when I'm home.

A day at the Zoo!

2009-06-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Entrance with membership... 0 dollars

gas to get there... 10 dollars

stoller rental... 9 dollars

lunch for 12... 65 dollars

extra bottles of water... 13 dollars

Getting to spend the day with 10 of the best kids on the planet...

Priceless!

My little Snaggle tooth!

2009-06-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of My Gabie! He accidentally knocked his first tooth loose when he got kicked off a bed (resulting in 5 stitches to the back of his ear) by his oldest sister (who felt really bad about the whole thing) Then a week later he was on his bunk bed and Ammon made him hit his mouth on the rail, causing yet another trip from the toothfairy! His Top left front tooth is loose now because he hit it on Malachi's head when he flipped over the front of his scooter! Oh ya, and the Mark above his eye is because he was climbing on my counters and fell - hitting his face on the corner of our microwave on the way down!

Why Laundry is such a problem for me!!!!!

2009-06-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I leave clothing in baskets for ANY length of time! But I have to admit that this is their largest structure yet! Hannah played in it for HOURS!!!!

My Abbie

2009-06-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

These are just two pictures of my Abbie (who officially turned 18 mos old yesterday) just being her cute sweet self! A couple of days before this first picture was taken she fell off the couch and caught herself with her face...can we say CARPET BURN! Ouch! This was almost a 6 weeks ago and you can still see the mark on her nose!

And this would be the reason that I keep all our Art supplies on the top shelf of my school cabinets... shouldn't I have known better than to expect the kids to put the paint away on the right shelf?

Don't let this bottom picture fool you. Abbie is not nearly as busy as my Maggie was at this age! This is the only picture of her trouble making...because it's the only trouble she's ever gotten into! Well, unless you count the fact that both she and Maggie took their diapers off and put them in the toilet this morning... and then one (or both) flushed it!

Joe Jonas Dances to Single Ladies

2009-06-11T12:41:00.001-07:00

Here's a little smile for all of you!!!!! My girls and I have not laughed this hard in WEEKS!!!!!!

I'm Taking a Break...

2009-05-10T17:10:00.001-07:00

Not feeling much like blogging... or talking really... it's only temporary... Thanks for the kind words...

Good-Bye Mini Nana...

2009-05-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

(1910-2009)

Good Friends!

2009-04-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

Okay so all my worries about whether or not these two would get along have been completely laid to rest. As Abbie has grown into a toddler these last few weeks, she has discovered that she wants to do EVERYTHING that her big sister does! Maggie in turn has discovered that she likes to teach Abbie everything she knows!!!

It is so sweet to watch her help Abbie onto their little tricycle! Then Maggie will push Abbie around on it!

When Maggie gets tired of the game and walks away, Abbie just gives this little whimper and Maggie comes running back to her aid!!!

Grandma's surprise

2009-04-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is a little out of order but while my mother was here she bought a little ball at Target for Maggie. If she had known how popular it would be she would have bought 2 of them because Maggie and Abbie chase that thing for ever in our side yard!

It's a really neat ball because it has little beads that float around inside it.

I love this picture because the ball is mid-air right after Abbie threw it!

How Leschorns sleep!

2009-04-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ummmm.... SERIOUSLY?

So...WHY do we have a bed for each child?

(The sheet that was on the bed at bed time is wrapped up around Hannah's legs!!! Pillows are on the floor... along with the blanket. But who needs blankets when you've got a dog to keep you warm!)

My New Hero...

2009-04-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you know who this woman is. Her name is Irena Sendler. I learned about her last night as I watched the new Hallmark movie about her life story. Then I did further research today via the internet. In the course of 2 1/2 years she rescued 2500 children from the ghetto in Warsaw Poland durring the German occupation in WWII. One at a time, she and several colleagues smuggled Jewish babies and children through under ground sewers, in coffins, in wheel barrows, in ambulances and even a tool box!

She not only saved these children from certain death but re-homed them and kept record of where the children were being sent so that they could one day be reunited with their Jewish families!

The truly amazing thing to me is that when she was finally captured. She endured three months of torture where her legs and feet were broken and her teeth pulled. Yet, she NEVER reveled any information about the people who helped her or the where abouts of the children. She lived to be 98 years old and was never happy with how "few" children she was able to save.

I'd like to think that I would be as courageous as this woman if I were in the same situation but I guess you never know how you'd react to a given situation until you're in it.

(PS. In 2007 she was nominated for the nobel peace prize but it was granted to Al Gore for his work in the documentory about Global Warming! - I am ashamed to know that the human race has come to this!)

WHAT NOT TO WEAR!

2009-04-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

Would SOMEBODY turn me in already! I mean I watch Stacy and Clinton all the time. I TRY to follow their rules...really, I do. But come on. Every time I think I have an outfit that looks good I see myself in a picture and want to cringe.
I don't just want the clothes! I want the hair... the makeup... the jewelry! The whole thing darn it!
Or maybe I could do that extreme makeover thing and get my teeth done too!
Okay I'm done with my little pity party...mostly. It's just that I'm really tired of looking so frumpy, and never allowing pictures to be taken on me with my kids because I don't want to be the scummy mom with t-shirts and jeans all the time.
Okay deep breath ... (sigh)

Disposable Pets!!!!

2009-04-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

Okay when I was young there was this tv show. I think it was Family Ties but I'm not sure. Anyway, I specifically remember this episode where Alex (Michele J Fox) takes the little brother to preschool and teaches the whole class about running a business. As a class they decide to "run" a pet store. So Alex starts helping them plan the kinds of animals they're gonna have. Some little kid says "Lets sell frogs!"
That's when Alex says "...okay now we have to separate the frogs...tree frogs, slimy frogs, disposable frogs..."
At that point the teacher interrupts, "DISPOSABLE frogs?"
Alex's reply? "Yeah you know, the kind that die as soon as you bring them home."

Well, there we go! Because Alex P. Keaton said it was so, we know they exist! All of this story has a point. Little Max is dying! Honestly it TICKS ME OFF! I mean really Is it that hard to check and make sure that the hamster your selling is healthy!?! I mean I paid 16 bucks for the silly little thing! Since we brought him home he's had diarrhea and now he's cold and only moves if you poke him!!!! All any moron would have had to do is check his cage before they sold him to us. THAT'S HOW WE FOUND OUT!!! UUUUUGGGGG! (I DID look but it was spotless...as in just-been-cleaned-so-someone-should have-noticed-the green slime spotless) Can you FEEL my frustration? Poor Ammon! The worst part about it is that we are afraid that what ever Max has... Zorro will get it to!
So, now I can take them in for an even exchange! We can't get our money back and go to a different store AND we can't have little Max back so that Ammon can bury him. What does that teach my 8-yr-old!?!

PET SMART STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Oh yeah, and they're way over priced to!)

Welcome Max and Zoro!

2009-04-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

As you all know Ammon lost his Olivia about 3 weeks ago. Knowing that Olivia was going to pass, we have been talking about the option of getting a new pet. Neither John or I pushed and we let Ammon decide when he was ready. Ammon was clear about his feelings that there would never be another lizard like Olivia, but he was interested in getting different pet. His Choice? Russian Dwarf Hamsters. NOT MY FIRST CHOICE... FOR SURE! He loves them though!

This is the tashmahaul (I know I didn't spell that right but I even googled it and could not find the correct spelling!) of all hamster cages. John and I bought the cage and Ammon bought the extra tubes (17.00 can you believe it!?!) Ammon has a grand plan of having tubing and cages running all over our school room!

Ummm...We'll see.Here's Ammon as I tried to take a picture of his squirmy self holding his new little guys. (see bottom right corner) One of them is climbing down his back at this point so the picture was a wash!

First Timer!

2009-04-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

Announcing the loss of Gabie John's first tooth! He had a little help knocking it loose from his older sister - who gave him a good blow (accidentally of course) resulting in 5 stitches behind his ear - ironically it fell out the day he was having his stitches removed!
Funny story: The Tooth Fairy mistakenly grabbed 2 FIVE dollar bills instead of 2 one dollar bills and put them in Gabie's froggy pillow. She was not aware of this until Gabie informed his mother!!!!

Blue and Gold!

2009-04-13T23:37:00.000-07:00

Ammon's first Blue and Gold Banquet was in March and with all of the chaos lately I haven't had the chance to blog about it yet. He was so tickled to have an evening all about him! I was so excited for him and he now has a new found desire to earn his Wolf! I'm so excited! We've been working on a couple of his badges and he's just about ready to sign off on them! Malachi and Gabie can't wait until they get to be in scouts to and neither can John!!!! He loves doing all of those activities with his boys!

Look what I got!

2009-04-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

Two bones fractured clean through and a third has stress fractures! No cool story... I don't know how I did it!

Chi's Birthday Surprise!

2009-04-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

As promised...Here is Chi's big birthday SURPRISE! I was so excited about this, I could barely contain myself! I called a nice restaurant last week and arranged for Malachi to have a tour of their kitchen. PERFECT for my future Chef/Scientist! John took him for the tour, and then they ate dinner. (Mommy got to stay home with a sick baby.) They went for the tour and Chi barely said a word the entire night... even when they surprised him and John by bringing out a huge brownie with 7 candles on it he barely spoke.
On the way home John called me to tell me he was a little disappointed by Chi's reaction (he wasn't as animated as you would expect a 7-yr-old receiving the perfect gift should be) I assured him that he loved it and that he needed a chance to soak it all in and then he'd tell us how much he liked it.
Sure enough! First thing this morning Malachi started telling me all about the tour, and the restaurant, and the kitchen. Did you know that they have refrigerators and freezers big enough to walk in!?! He told me about how fast every one was moving around and how fast people were cutting things up. "... and they didn't use recipe cards like you, MOM!"

Any fear that he didn't enjoy himself completely disappeared! I am so excited for him! Happy Birthday Chi-Chi!

Happy Birthday Chi-Chi

2009-03-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

This super funny, costume lovin', picky eatin', toothless smile turned 7 today! We will celebrate next week when his sisters and Nana and Papa are home to party with us, but I just couldn't let the day pass with out tellin' my shinin' star HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Mommy and Daddy have an awesome surprise all planned out for him... Tune in on Thursday for more info!!!!!

Farewell Olivia

2009-03-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Olivia passed away this morning. There were tears from all of us (except Gabie) and a funeral. I cannot tell you how difficult it is to watch your son grieve over the loss of such a precious pet.

A Day at the Park with Nana!

2009-03-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Happy St...uh...Buggies Day!

2009-03-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

So, this post is two fold... 1) to show you how wild and crazy our family can be on St Patrick's 2) To try out this new collage thing!

In case you were wondering the only thing that these pictures have to do with St. Patty's day is the fact that the kiddos had their hair sprayed green and they were taken on March 17. The fact that they are eating suckers with scorpions and worm in them has a lot more to do with the fact that they have a grandmother that enjoys buying them things!
Just what DO you buy the child who has every thing, anyway? Why, lollipops will bugs in the center that's what! (Thank you Grandma!)
Oh ya, and just so you know, HANNAH was the only one brave enough to actually eat the scorpion too. She says it tasted "sweet"... in case you ever get a hankerin' for a sweetly flavored arthropod!---Is that what they are? I know they're not insects.

Making Elves

2009-03-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know many people that are as creative as my girls! I mean it. You know the type of women that make their own decorations for the Holidays and paint the Art work that hangs on their walls? Then you must have met my two oldest daughters!
This afternoon they discovered some type of acorn in the trees that grow next to our house. So what did they do? They came up with a craft project for my younger children!

They all set to work gathering other natural items...bottle brush flowers, thorns from bushes, Other flowers...whatever they could find.

Then they got out mu permanent markers to draw faces! Their finished product? ELVES! I would never have thought of that in a million years!

Am I wrong to brag?

Mental Note:

2009-03-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

When you find yourself standing in front of the pantry, jaw dropped, and fuming, because your two year old has covered not only herself but her baby sister as well, in syrup...

STOP!

Take a picture!

Because even though you may be livid that you're about to give her her third bath in two hours, you will regret it when you go to tell the story and don't have pictures to back it up!

Look Who's Walking!!!!!

2009-03-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

Abbie took her first step the day that I left for Idaho and today she was walking all over the park! Oh my goodness! I want to cry!

Arizona Science Center

2009-03-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Girls day out!

2009-03-18T10:48:00.001-07:00

The "Jungle" gym!

2009-03-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Twins

2009-03-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am so happy that Kira and Hannah have hit it off so well! They spent quite a lot of time playing...We hardly saw the two of them for the entire visit! Hannah adores Kira and wants to be just like her big cousin. We had a hard time finding an outfit that Hannah would be willing to wear and then Shanni had Kira put her blue dress back on. Then Hannah was happy to where a dress that wasn't pink!

Sir Ammon, Prince Gabie, and Maggie the Destroyer!

2009-03-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

I don't think there is any thing sweeter than Big brothers playing "battle" with their baby sister! They are so careful to only hit her sword...but shes not nearly so cautious! They are so sweet and understanding when she whacks them really hard!

Future Architects...

2009-03-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Shannon took all the kids down to the park while I stayed home. They made use of a bucket and a bunch of water bottles and plastic cups.

This has to be one of the most detailed sand castle I've ever seen a group of kids come up with!

They were all so proud of it!

Attention

2009-03-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Valentines Day!

2009-03-18T10:27:00.000-07:00