Emma-doodle dog

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Meg’s homeschool chemistry experiment went a little south and several large blue-bottle flies escaped. But wait, it gets even better!  Meg then went away for highschool girl’s church camp and left me home alone with the two youngest kids and her escaped flies for company. Yes, I live the glamor life!!  Early on in our fly campaign, we discovered  this jumping spider on the outside of the glass, spending time stalking a few flies on the inside of the glass. It was fascinating to watch.  Eventually, I opened the window on top (double hung old-fashioned windows) and a few flies flew over and ended up between the glass and screen, which is where the spider happened to be.  I have to report that the spider did catch one of the flies, with Amie and Demi watching, mezmerized.  More homeschool science, yay…

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Amie’s Hogwarts for Muggles class last week was a potions class.  The kids had containers of  interesting things like “dragons breath”, “mandrake tears” etc.  They conducted several experiments with their concoctions and made a lap book filled with chemistry facts.  So much fun!

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extra bonus photo of my cute doggie.  I {heart} her.

I was lamenting that Oliver (a.k.a. Evil Kitty)  is a favorite photo subject because he is so much more easier to photograph, even though my dog is my big love. So, I thought I’d try to spend more time capturing her on camera.  She is a hard subject because she is so dark, she tends to show up as one big blob.

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My sister and I spent an afternoon packing up mom’s china.  This set of china has some history; her eldest brother brought it home from Hong Kong, during the Vietnam war- on the aircraft carrier he was stationed on…tucked away in boxes in the freezer. He was the cook. It’s a special story, we wanted to make sure that her china ended up safe and loved.  I was lucky enough to take it home with me.  My sister took home another all white set.

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my man-cub just moved up from a boy’s size 6 shoe, to a man’s size 8 shoe.  I was kind of sad.  Sky traveled up North for a family wedding, I stayed home with the two youngest, while Meg and Josie went to church camp.  Demi needed some up-keep done, such as a haircut (he wailed to me after it was done that he was now almost bald…I said, “good” in my best grumpy cat imitation) and then he needed new shoes and socks. Mission accomplished…it’s sad though, how quick they grow up.

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The new Dr. Who season starts this coming Saturday!!! We are so excited!  We are planning special food for the viewing, kind of like superbowl, but instead with time travel and mad men with a box  :)

Dr. Who Series 7 part 2 prequel

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Just found out last night, that a new Miss Julia book will be out on Tuesday!  It has been a few years since the last one.  If you don’t know Miss Julia, she is definitely worth a read- she is a very Southern older lady with moxie and a nose for mystery.  Outside her hard, proper shell is a heart of mush.  She is one of those characters that makes you wish that book characters were real and lived in your neighborhood :)

Miss Julia to the rescue

7 quick takes Friday is hosted at Conversion diary, hop on over!

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Sunday round-up

by Jenn on December 9, 2012

On our way back from Eastern Washington, we stopped and visited friends in Seattle.

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I really like downtown Seattle, it’s a neat place.  I enjoyed it this time through the eyes of a dog owner.  It’s a very dog-friendly city.  We had lunch at our favorite Crepe place and took Emma with us inside.

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I have to confess that a big part of my Seattle-love is the great photo opportunities.  Downtown Seattle is a feast for the eyes.

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Demi-Sky had his very first lacrosse game this weekend.

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Have I mentioned that Demi is now taller than I?

We weren’t the only family totally new to the game of lacrosse.  Several boys were new to the game, and at times it was sheer comedy.  We parents had a good time laughing at the antics.  The stick-hitting was a total surprise to me.  We asked in surprise “is that legal?!”

it’s a tough game.

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here’s the tip-off, or whatever you call it in lacrosse.  Have to admit, we laughed through this, too.  We were used to seeing it done in hockey, but the kids stand over the puck, we were surprised to see the guys on the ground here… this is Demi in blue.

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  • Sky is currently making us a new bed.  He is using this design from Ana White plans -Farmhouse queen bed
  • I am trying to get my homeschooling more organized.  13 years and school organization is my swan-song; or, more to the point, my albatross-song.  There is an interesting discussion on organization and motivation over at the hive boards.  This site,  The Power of Moms was linked to.  It seems to be a organization-central site, with an e-book, a program and message boards.  I know for me, I would crash and burn with it, but I thought I’d mention it, it might be just the sort of program to help someone else, just not me… They were running a special discount last week, keep your eyes peeled and you might see another sale.
  • Mystie, who blogs over at Simply Convivial is running a series on home/ life organization here- Applying GTD at Home.  She is also working on an E book about converting home organization over to completely digital formats.
  • And finally, I {heart} pinterest.  I love that I don’t have to bookmark things anymore, I just keep everything on my boards now. :)

Here are my boards, if you want to follow…

henjenca on pinterest

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7 Quick Takes -Thanksgiving edition

by Jenn on December 8, 2012

We spent Thanksgiving up north, in Washington State, visiting one of Sky’s brothers….
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I really love it there.  Eastern Washington is beautiful.  Actually, all of Washington is beautiful, I just prefer a bit more sun- which is why I have a hankering for the east side.

These are crab-apple trees and they line the driveway of Dr. Bros.’s house.

I {heart} these trees so much.

Dr. Bro. says they are messy, but I think that is rather un-poetic of him.

 

 

 

 

 

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The kids were in horse-heaven.

Aren’t they sweet?

True fact:  Dr. Bro is allergic to the hay he feeds them.

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We had a plethora of good eats.  I mentioned the now-legendary snickers salad in an earlier post… we also had several pies- Pumpkin, apple crisp and lemon meringue…just to name drop a few…. and I have to admit that I am lusting after his stove-top. I’ve already priced out the brand and I’m bugging Sky to get me one.  I never thought I’d prefer an electric stove-top over gas, but this wolf electric stove-top has won me over. It’s the simple cleaning possibilities that I am drooling over…

~4~

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Emma-doodle, she loved it.  She reveled in it.  She ran and ran and let the wind run through her ears.

Yes, it was 4 kids, 2 parents and a labradoodle in a van for 22 hours.  Oh the joy.

Actually, they were all good traveling companions.  Emma is a quiet soul, and was just happy to be included with her pack. We rented a van for the trip, and she had her own seat  :)

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The kids did a lot of riding.  Amie and Emma did a lot of exploring of the woods behind the house and saw deer several mornings and beautiful pheasants.  The kids, Sky and Dr. Bro also did some gun shooting.  Demi-Sky and Josie were total cracker-jack shots and had a bit of a rivalry going.  Josie edged him out,  I think.  She had incredible aim.  Hidden talent??

We did a lot of cooking, eating and lounging around.  Of course we visited Barnes & Nobles. Twice.

The second time was on Black Friday, because we are hardcore like that….

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Photo opp with the wonder-labradoodle!!  Her best trick?  She is no-touchy.

Seriously.  She will ask to be petted and then lean away from you/ move away from you.  She loves it/but can’t handle it. And yet, she follows me all around the house.  She is a finicky lover.  I think she is perfect for us, if she was too touchy, she would drive Sky crazy.

Can you see the not-so-subtle lean away from me here???

~7~

It was a great trip, we had a blast.  Next time though, I think we are flying  ;)

*7 Quick Takes Friday is hosted weekly over at Conversion Diary

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Wordless Wednesday- downtown

by Jenn on November 28, 2012

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Checking out downtown Seattle.

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Wordless Wednesday -Spoon not needed

by Jenn on May 16, 2012

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Happy Wordless Wednesday!

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7 Quick Takes -Spring Break edition

by Jenn on April 15, 2012

Hello lovelies!  Well, Spring break came and went here at {Home}...way too fast!

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Sky is making a farmhouse table using reclaimed wood.  This table will be longer than our current table, so we can fit more Bible College boys around it.  Right now we have a smaller table pushed against our table to make it longer. The table-top is made of curly-spalted maple wood and was left out in the open, has water-damage, fungus stains and termite holes. It has so much character.

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I put together a web-page for Sky for his woodworking, he is hoping to eventually sell furniture.  It’s in the very rough stages still, but it was a lot of fun to help him set it up and share with him my knowledge of working with wordpress, widgets, plugins and blog stuff. [I love talking blogging..love it!]

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Right before we were off for Spring Break, Josie did a report on The Diary of Anne Frank.  She also did a timeline project from the book.  This book had such a profound affect on me when I read it as a girl. It meant a lot to me to share it with her.  We had many discussions and did further research on the internet to help her understand what the times were like for Anne Frank before and after her hiding.  Once again, I grappled with describing absolute evil to my kids – and I struggled with the details I held back.  Some things I just can’t tell me kids about, yet.

~4~

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We continued art lessons during Spring Break.  Amie and Teddy worked on charcoal tea-pot drawings. Here is Amie’s finished work – love it!  Art class is ending after next week.  I am kind of relieved because gas prices are starting to take a huge toll on our budget. (I will, however, really miss my secret outings for a chocolate chip bagel & diet coke while they are at class!)

~5~

Meg was hired to exercise some horses five days a week.  She is so excited, working with horses is her dream job.  It was a little tricky the first week, I had to drive her back and forth.  I was really glad it was Spring Break because the driving would have added chaos to our day.

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Relief has arrived, though.  Meg just passed her driver’s license test.  She can now drive herself to her job.  I am equal parts relieved and terrified.  I’m having a hard time with letting her drive off alone.  I keep telling myself we were all new teen drivers and survived without incident. >Rinse and repeat…

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~7~

Here in Orange County we had dramatic weather shifts from beautiful sunny days to thunderstorms and rain. This messed with any beach plans.  The girls fit in a few horse riding/care days at our friend’s house.  My sister drove up and we spent an afternoon at the Orange Circle instead of the beach.  Whew, this vacation week just flew by!!

Did you have Spring Break? How was it?

7 Quick Takes Friday is hosted over at Conversion Diary every week.

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the wind beneath her wings

by Jenn on April 9, 2012

Piano recital-time is approaching.  Our piano teacher likes to add a little something extra to these performances and usually assigns some kind of neat extra, like artwork or an essay.  }I blame this on the fact that her child is not school age yet, more homework:the gift that keeps on giving for mom.

So- for the recital my kids were to compose a little essay to dedicate their performance at the recital to some person, ideal or sentiment.  These will be printed up in the little program booklet and the kiddos will read it/ speak it to the audience before they perform.

Let me preface this story by saying I had no preconceived ideas about this assignment, no guesses as to what my kids would pick (my kids always amaze and surprise me with their individual ways at looking at the world/life) and no real desire to delve deeply into it besides making sure it was done and punctuated correctly.

So, I pick up Amie after her last lesson and her teacher with simmering excitement bids me to sit down, takes my hand, and tells me that she has some exciting news about little Amie’s dedication….(I have to preface this by begging you to realize that I don’t expect adoration, thanks, fawning, etc. from my crew, I am just happy if they follow my directions without grumbling-they are all reaching tween/teen years- we are just trying to survive at this stage.  I drive them around, teach them, direct them, sacrifice for them and figure that someday- ten years from now when as a parent they are sitting up at 2 a.m. rocking a crying child who has just puked on them, my children will each, in turn lift of a prayer of love and thanksgiving for me, beyond that…not expecting fanfare…)   So, no passing thoughts as to who they will pick- but the way the teacher was acting, the fact that she took my hand…I will admit that just for a teeny/tiny fraction of an instant- my heart leapt a little at the thought that it must be me.  Amie must be giving her dedication to me, for the time I spend taking her to lessons, finding her music book, making sure she is clean before she goes, asking her to practice… just for an instant I kind of thought this.

drum-roll please…  her teacher told me with great excitement that Amie’s performance was dedicated with much love to ~

our dog, Emma.

yes, she is the wind beneath her wings.

this was the only way this story could end, really.

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