Garden 3...BUGS

Well the dreaded day has come...we have BUGS.  They are cabbage worms, squash bugs and aphids.  We also have rabbits.  And for someone who LOVES bunnies, well these are not!  They are evicted and we hope that the fence is going to do its job!  For the bugs I have ordered ladybugs to get the aphids and used BT organic spray for the other things. 

Right now we are harvesting cauliflower, lettuce, carrots and snap peas.  SOON we will have tomatoes.  I hope a lot because I have 18 plants!!  The plan is to share and can the rest!

 

And just because I can't "not" have a picture, here is Dale at my parents farm trimming their trees!

Garden 2

 

 

So this is progress about 3 weeks later.  We covered it with 6 mil plastic purchased from greenhouse superstore.  Stephen, the kids and I pulled the plastic over the pvc pipe, which is used for the frame.  There are two layers of plastic.

 

Inside you can see we are using some "grow boxes".  They are styrofoam boxes used to ship fish in!  We fill them with half native soil and then add good garden soil. 

 

 

First things planted!  Spinach and cilantro!  Very GOOD.  WE have enjoyed both a lot and will plant more of each.  It is a balance as I figure out what will grow here and when! 

 

Garden

It all started when I said I wanted a house that had room for a garden!  Well we had the room but no garden.  That is until late January when Stephen, my Daddy and friends helped us get started on the high tunnel greenhouse.  It is about 20x40 and I am enjoying being able to garden.  I don't like the rabbits or cabbage worms though!! 

Jack

IN LOVE!  Oh how I love this sweet little boy!  It was a dream to be able to help celebrate sweet Jack for his first birthday! Heather Belle and Jay did an amazing party and we all had such a great time!  Jack is such a happy baby!

WOW, there I go again!

I stink at blogging, I do!  Oh well...I try!

We are loving where we live. 

We have a huge garden, I mean HUGE! 
I don't get "home" as often because this is "home" now, what a blessing! 

We have great friends here. 

Kids love it! 

Our church is truly a family.

And I can't pick paint colors to save my life!!

Feeding Fairies

Well miss Meri Ellis has a new hobby....catching and feeding fairies!  Did you know that they eat apples and water and that they need milk so they won't get sick.  If you see glitter there has been a fairy.  Also if you hear a baby laugh a fairy is born!  Merideth is convinced of all this!!  She is a lot of fun!

Better late than never to post this one!

I think it would be really easy to fall back into the terrible routine of "just barely" doing school.  By that I mean doing "just enough" to count as school.  Not truley education my precious children.  I have not and am not doing that.  This is my JOB and I love it!  ...well most days!  Somedays it would be nice to not have a job and just drink coffee and sew!  Which leads me to I am getting that set up today!!  OH HAPPY DAY to have the sewing room/closet again!

We are going into week 4 this week.  I still have not begun foreign language or spelling for Dale.  I am not worried about those two, well maybe spelling.  We have been consistent in getting it all done otherwise and that is good.  I am ordering his spelling today.  Living here makes it hard just because there are no education stores.  But I have the internet! 

Meri Ellis is doing good.  She falls into the routine of, "I can't do this" and whines...OH JESUS HELP ME!  She needs me to be right by her the entire time she does school.  And that is different than Dale.  He is pretty independant at his work.  Oh she is a toot!  LOVE HER!

I was talking with a precious friend last week about being able to share and be real with others.  It seems to me that secrets or trials love the dark and it would be best to bring them to the LIGHT!  So I am gonna be real here.  (I think I have been mostly!)  Here are some prayer requests!
*Me and food, health overall and getting to the gym!
*School for kids
*Pray we can get into a routine!
*Godly friendships for all!

Stephen's dream shop is almost done!  It is a 30x50 and I pray he doesn't move out there!!

Gotta go!!  LOVE YOU READER!

week 8

YAY....week 8 sounds so great!  We have covered most of North America and will head on down to South America when we begin week 9.  The schedule is working out so well, we are going to take 2 weeks off then begin again!  During the 2 weeks off we are going to travel.  I am so excited!  We are going to Albuquerque for the hot air balloon festival.  We will be back for the weekend then we are going to Texas to see our family.  Can't wait!!  It will be a quick trick since we live closer and can go visit more often!

Meri Ellis is doing so wonderful with school and piano.  We are so proud of her.  She is reading so great and is really in love with books just like I am!  I can't believe we let her but she can drive a small motorcycle too!  I think she prefers the 4 wheeler though!!

Dale is great too.  He is enjoying the country life by catching spiders, tarantulas and other sorts of bugs!  He had a snake but it died, THANK YOU LORD!  He enjoys working on his fort and just being outside.  He is fascinated with WWII now and is so knowledgeable too!  He and his Papa have enjoyed watching and reading commentaries about the different battles and air craft!

I better run, Meri Ellis has piano and we need to head to town!!

Just living!

Not really a lot is going on here....just trying to keep posting!!

UGH, I did find out I  DEFINITELY have celiac disease. I had a dr think maybe the other dr was wrong and had to do all the testing again.  That really stinks after 3 months of gluten binging, I mean eating!!  So almost 2 weeks of g free eating, surely I will feel better soon!!  Part of not feeling well has to do with change.  Being in a new place is always an adjustment for me.  I am so thankful to be out of the big city, but long for the friends we made there and also the conveniences.  We do really love the smaller town and are enjoying our new home.  I bet in a month we will be all settled in and feeling like we have been here forever! 

Merideth is getting baptized next week!!  We are so excited for her!  She is ready, and has been waiting for this day for a while!  Her sweet Nonnie and Poppy get to be here and her Poppy, my Daddy, will baptise her!!

Well I better get school planned for the week!!  Lot's to do, funny since I said not a lot going on!!

We begin piano on Tuesday, company over for supper.  Bible study on Wednesday and then my parents get here!!  FUN WEEK!  And we will get all our school done!

2 weeks down! ...30+ to go!!

So far I am loving the My Father's World again this year! Last year we used a different curriculum and well it was overwhelming!! This year we are easing into school by actually going by what MFW recommends!! WHOA they are smart! So next week we are adding in the foreign language and spelling for Dale. Merideth will do the language also just not on his level. I am going to go back to the English/Grammar we used last year. It is Bob Jones and we use the workbooks, it is just a much better fit for our family! Just a disclaimer here~!! Homeschooling is not always pretty or perfect. We do brush our teeth before we begin our day and we do get dressed. BUT we may be cranky or messy and you know what "that is okay"! The kids aren't perfect and I am certainly not!! But this is what our little family is called to and we will do it, daily with HIS grace!!

This is not our home!

You know things don't always go like you "plan". I am not quite sure of what I am suppose to be learning in this newest season of life but am seeking His face during this time. I know it sounds so silly but I am still so sad and well ANGRY about the robbery. I know in my mind it is just "STUFF" but it was my stuff. The pictures are the hardest right now, to loose. If you are a little lost; our home was broken into on April 28th. We had gone camping and had a wonderful time. When we got home our house had been ransacked and two cars stolen!! "Remember Elizabeth it is just STUFF!!" 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17

HOME

For the past 3 or so months we have called our 36 foot RV HOME! This is due to a military move to a new state. Our home we are building was not finished. It has been interesting to live in such close quarters for this long. You really don't have any privacy!! Or convinenent storage space. BUT you sure do get to spend some good quality time together!! We have really enjoyed some aspects of this experience. We have learned to live with less, we have gotten more organized and I have figured out we sure don't need as many clothes as we have! Surprisingly I haven't missed the TV either!! I know family and friends have wanted to see where we are...at least it is a pic of the RV right?!! So in the pic is the couch/bed for the living room/kids room! Scouts kennel and Roys tank!! The recliners/captains seats!!...This is all multi purpose!! Since the photo we have made better window shades!

Thank you Kathy!

Thanks to my sweet friend Kathy and her blog I was able to login to mine, for some reason my iPad remembered my passwords and then I was able to get back on here!! I will post more later!!!

home again home again...

What a wonderful summer we have had. We got to do a lot of traveling and had a great time! I can now say I am a world traveler. The only thing I didn't like about the trip was being away from my precious babies! Oh and the LONG flight to Rome!! I will post about the trip in the future, it truly was a dream come true to go! We are about to kick of our school year here. Lots of changes in the curriculum department. I really believe that this year is going to be awesome! Dale and Meri Ellis are doing great and we are excited to learn new things! I will close with new pictures of the kids, of course the boy doesn't really like to be still enough for a picture!!

Texas trip

The kids and I are having a great trip "home".

We have been able too go to Jordan's high school graduation and party. The lake was so much fun! Dale and Meri both got to fish, she even baited the hook with worms! They both caught fish! We all swam in the lake, some of us got out once we saw good ole snakes! Yes, I said snakes!! The kids rode seados with Uncle Bob and Aunt Heather Belle, and the other big kids! Dale also learned the fine game of pool! He calls it "pitching balls" when he get one in! We have had a blast! We have gotten to hang out and play. Dale is learning how to tie the grape plants up, and Meri is "watching" the cats and one very special kitten! Mother and Daddy got the kids a swimming pool, it is a huge stock tank that they will later use for cattle, the kids love it and I'm loving the summer baths they take in the pool!

Tomorrow a dear friend and her family are coming over, I'm so excited to catch up! Later we are headed to Abilene to see some friends and then back to the farm! I'm looking forward to some sister time next week too!!

In the near future Stephen and I are going on an amazing trip. We are going on a cruise that will take us through the holy lands, specifically where Paul's ministry was. Stephen's father is very generously taking us! We are so excited! Many people are making this happen, from sweet friends watching our home....thanks Lizzie, Kathy and Paul, to parents and family keeping our kids! We are so blessed! Please pray for a great trip, safety for us and peace while we are away from the kids! I'm gonna miss them!

Long time no post...again!

So for some reason I can't seem to remember to post! I know Facebook keeps people pretty up to date but this is nice too.

We just got home from camping. This time in our new motor home. We went to Zion! It was so much fun. We hiked in the rain and then were warm and cozy inside out of the rain!

The kids and I are about to head to Texas for a fun trip! We are going to celebrate Jordan's high school graduation! The kids will stay long enough in Texas that they might get their Texas accents back!! Stephen and I are getting to go on an amazing trip. Lots of people are making it possible and we really appreciate it!

JOY

These two bring such joy to our lives...daily. Not going to say some days are harder and I may want a vacation day...but this is a season...one that is all to short. I pray that we are honoring God as we strive to raise these precious gifts to be conformed to His image.

LIFE!

Oh we are blessed indeed!

Disneyland!!!

You could have never told Stephen and I that we would enjoy Disneyland like we do! After the plane crash we went for the first time. It was something we had told the kids that we would do and just had not gotten around too! So we made a point to go! While there we had SO MUCH FUN that we got a season pass. We have been 3 times and once Cha Cha joined us! The photos are from our most recent trip in December. I think we may be headed there again soon! More to celebrate!

Grand Canyon

Stephen and Dale went to the Grand Canyon with some friends for a guy day. They had a great time and look forward to going again!!