Charlotte Mason Would've Loved My House

All these years of encouraging Nature Study with my kids have backfired.

I wanted them to learn to identify trees/birds/flowers.  To observe butterflies and clouds.  I envisioned family nature walks, hand in hand, where we did bark rubbings, picked flowers to press, spied birds, and spotted rainbows.

Somewhere, things when wrong.

MY kids want to fill my house with things I pray I don't find in my bed.  They want to dig up every last grusome detail of a Bloodsucking Conenose's behavior and then systematically fill me in at the dinner table.  What is this Conenose that I was happily ignorant of five minutes ago when I was mashing your potatoes?  "Mom, did you know that it climbs on you at night and sucks your blood while sitting on your mouth?  They call it the kissing bug."  Lovely.  Remind me to keep my mouth closed when I sleep.

They want to 'capture and keep' everything they find as well.  For further observation of course.

"Mom, trust me, this cricket can't get out of his tiny jar.  He loves it in there."  He did not.  

"Mom, those little tadpoles won't go anywhere, they can't."  Ah, but they could. 

"Mom, just one more glass jar.  I need it for my 14th crawfish."  Sure thing, we don't really need drinkware anyway.   

While I do feel slightly betrayed by Charlotte Mason and all the Nature Study books/articles I've read in the past, in truth I am glad.  The kids are learning.  Observing.  Identifying.  Consulting resources.  Gathering and internalizing information.  Preparing them for a lifetime of independent learning.  Til then I'm checking my shoes before I step into them.

H~s 9th

Happy Birthday to my beautiful 9 year old Harper! And, since I am in a picture kind of mood, here is a collage of H's Yellowstone trip. You know what I noticed most about H in all the vacation pictures? She is always smiling. I know that there were times in our trip where she was frustrated or cranky, but she always tried to smile for the pictures. I love that about her :)




(I had to add the following because it really shows her heart)

He has a six shooter, shooting EVERYTHING.

Her name is Harper.

AND, this...this, is the cutest video EVER.








(Just to make sure it's heard...his first words are "I shoot a mountain lion, Harper.")

She's such a good big sister. LOVE you H!

(Wow...2 blog posts in 2 days. A record. :)

2011 Vacation Slideshow

I had SUCH a great time making this. We had a wonderful trip and made many memories. I've done my best here to put them in the order they occurred. It is my hope that this video captures a small fraction of what I have stored in my heart.


(Don't expand because I saved this video in an easy to upload format because it was so long :)

Bits and Pieces

Writing to remember a few snippets from today...

In random order:

Harper: At dinner, she said, "Mama, do you know you have the best mama smile ever?" I don't know what she's up to, and frankly, I don't care. I'll take it :)

Quinn: This afternoon the kids went door to door looking for work. (Yes we feed them) Surprisingly, a neighbor told them to pick up sticks from the yard and she would pay them $2 each. She went to give them the money beforehand, and Quinn gave it back to her saying that he couldn't take it until she saw the job he had done. I WAS SO PROUD OF HIM!!! I saw a glimmer of the man that I pray for him to be.

Nate: After the kids brought their money home to show us, Ben told them that they now had to pay taxes. Running away upstairs, Nate yelled as he went, "I don't believe in taxes."

Judah: It is so fun to walk hand in hand with Judah. He is so short and his little legs are so chubby, that he has to take five steps for every one of mine. I love it. I looked down at him today as we were walking and felt happiness and sadness at the same time. It is such a precious time, that will be gone all too quickly...

Sonora: Alright, I admit, I saved this one for last. The first words I heard this morning have stuck with me all day...She walked down the stairs, and the first thing out of her mouth was, "What is that ugly smell? Smells like chicken."

A Perfect Day

Today was a perfect day.

Beautiful weather, awesome agenda of activities, interesting conversations, loving family, and a day where smiles lit up every moment. My heart is full.

Here is what I managed to capture from what the girls called "the best, most best day EVER!"...

The tea room provided beautiful hats for the girls to use during tea.

The atmosphere, service, and TEA were fantastic! What a treat!!

FINALLY at the barn!

The riding lesson started with a grooming lesson.

More grooming...although, this was considerably more scary!

Harper riding after all her hard work.

Sonora learning the reins.

Getting ready to brush AGAIN :)

I LOVE this picture...it sums up the day for me...ALL SMILES!

Thank you April and Will for the gift of a perfect day...it will be remembered...