Great Great Gramma

I love you Gramma

Has anyone seen Caitlyn???

While the boys were away at Cousin's Club (they were gone for 3 days), Caitlyn was somewhat beside herself, not knowing what to do without her brothers. She clung to me like bees on honey. Always wanting me to play or read or hold her. While I enjoyed this extra time with her, it did get somewhat frustrating when I had plans of organizing my school room. Imagine her delight when she woke to them coming in after her nap yesterday afternoon! I haven't seen her since! She has been off playing with them all day! I am so blessed that my children enjoy eachother, and I pray that I can continue to foster this as they grow.

Motivate me!!??

I have been desperately trying to get back into shape after my very long recovery from major illnesses after Caitlyn was born. I actually started to run last summer and did it for a while, and lost some weight while doing it. But then we moved to Upstate NY in winter!! After the long break, let's just say, my same ol' attitude about running is back. I only run when chased! Karate has been fantastic, but it's not enough, at only 3 days/wk for 45 min. The roads out here are great, little traffic, beautiful scenery, and a little hilly (which isn't great for a beginner runner). But, I just can't seem to make myself do it! There is a 5k race in Sept, which seems really far off, and such a short distance. i cannot find anymore races around here, was hoping for a 10k. Although, that sounds like soooooooo much running! Oh yeah, not to mention the really scarey Rotty that lives about 5 houses down! He's one scarey, and BIG dog!! He lives down the flat road, which forces me to run down the other hilly road. So, there's my babble and whining about running and fitness. My dear running friends, kick my cyber bum and get me motivated to run!!!

Freedom

FREEDOM: 1.exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc. 2.the power to determine action without restraint. 3.political or national independence. 4.personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery

Today our pastor spoke on Freedom, and what it means to those of us who believe. As we celebrate our nation's freedom, with picnics, parties, fireworks and all the festivities, do we really understand what we have? Do we understand the lengths to which the soldiers went for this freedom? Freedom to worship Him who gave us this freedom. What else are we free from, in Christ?

Free from fear of death. When we believe in Him, we have no reason to fear death. Death actually means life, no more sin and sadness but life for Eternity with Him!

Freedom from condemnation. Christ died so that our sins would be forgiven, wihout guilt and conviction. To know that if we make a mistake, we can come to Him, with a repentant heart and He will truly forgive us! That we can brush off, and start anew each time we fall.

I know sometimes I take these things for granted, much more than I should. Thankyou Lord, for all you have done for us, and for the freedom we have to worship you. Thankyou for the men that fought for this freedom, let us not take our freedom for granted!

I had the feeling I was being watched by something tonight. As I was standing on our sidewalk waiting for the kiddos to come inside, and I turned towards the bush in fron of me and there sat a bird, about 2 ft from me. He never moved, just continued to watch me, and then Caitlyn, Ethan and Aaron. Yes, we looked him over from a small distance to make sure he wasn't hurt, nothing seemed to be wrong. Bizarre. He just kept tilting his head, wondering what we were doing. The children even got really close to it and he never moved. Nature is so amazing!

My neighbor called us over today to see an iceberg. Now, it has been an unseasonably cool summer, but not that cold! Turns out they went to Newfoundland for holiday last week and saw some icebergs. These icebergs make thier way all the way from Greenland, and float down what's now known as "Iceberg Alley" near Newfoundland. It actually takes these icebergs 2 yrs to go this distance. here is the remains of the one she brought home with her. She asked the boys if they wanted some for thier cold drink, but they thought that was gross! Truthfully, it's pretty pure water from the mountains, even though it spends it's time in the saltwater all throughout it's travel. Ryan took the picture, a budding photographer that boy!

Some of the many faces of Caitlyn

We have baby birds! Steve pointed out the nest on our front porch the other day and he wasn't sure if there were babies or not. Well, I managed to catch the mama going to feed the babies, and must have scared her away. That left the babies wondering where their food went! Sorry babies!

Horses and Turkeys and deer, Oh MY!

Because we live out in the country, we see a number of farms and wildlife whenever we drive somewhere. Caitlyn loves looking for the cows and horses, they are pretty easy to spot from her point of view. One of the things I remember vividly from my childhood is my dad always looking out the car window for deer and turkey. He's a hunter, so was always looking out for them, hunting or not. My mom also burned in my memory the fact that deer run out in the road when you least expect it especially in the spring and fall, so we always had our eyes peeled at dusk looking for them. Funny the way you remember some things from growing up. So, I have been teaching the boys to spot deer and turkey as we drive through the country side. Caitlyn is always asking me where the cows and horses are and I saw Aaron sitting up looking very intently out the window the other day in the car, it was so neat to see him interested in it like I was/am.

Last Week I took the plunge and brought everyone to the strawberry patch down the road to pick strawberries for jam. I was so excited to be making jam again!!! We picked 2 flates of strawberries (which is about 9 quarts-i think). It was a little difficult to convince Caitlyn they weren't for eating yet, hopefully the stained face and clothing didn't give her away to the farmer!

One of the blessings of many hands is, light labor. It only took about 1/2 an hr to pick all those strawberries and they were delighted when I mentioned they all needed to be smashed! So, they took turns mashing the berries woth all the noises that accompany boys smashing things.

Unfortunately, my luck ran out at that oint and the process became more difficult from there. I bought the wrong pectin. I will spare the details. So, 3 trips to the store, 9 boxes of pectin, and 24 hrs later, I have 24 jars of homemade strawberry jam! Yeah!

A few months ago the boys and I joined karate. It was a love of mine from childhood. I never got my black belt, and have always wanted to meet that goal. What better time to do this, then when you have 3 boys to enjoy it with!

Here they are having fun showing off some of the things they have learned so far.

Caitlyn is very instinctual, and it's been fun watching her. If there is a need, she seeks to help and fill that need. Especially when it's cleaning something, maybe because it's something she knows, and it's easy, who knows if it will branch out as she grows.

When we were at Aunt Pammy's house a few weekends ago, she saw the floor was dirty and needed to clean it. What a sweet little one. (now all i need to remember is these moments when she is pitching a fit when i ask her to clean up her toys, cause we all know that's not so sweet!!)

What's up mom?

How's my photography?

I am having fun with my camera, and I found I really love close-ups of things. Nature, faces etc. Don't have lot of time to take pictures or really learn how to do it right, but I am having fun playing anyway. So, how'd I do??

Our little stream

Loading up tools to work out in the back 40. Off they go! The tiny spot in the sky above the truck is a hot air balloon. it was really pretty to watch, but the camera couldn't pick it up well (hint, hint, I need a zoom lense!) Ethan and Aaron worked on this the whole afternoon. The ground gets very wet and mushy by the stream, so they made a little path with sticks to cross on.

They also put a makeshift railing to hold while going down the steep part of the path.

The guys are finally seeing how fun it is to play outside, and not asking about computer time every day! Yeah!!

Sunset on Hencoop

I know God does amazing water color all over the earth, and this sunset isn't the only cool one I've seen. But, each day I find new blessings living here. God's creation is so beautiful, i just have to share.

Our Garden

So, I had this grandiose idea for a garden this yr, and since it's my first, I may have bitten off more than I can chew (ha ha-pun not intended!)

On one side I have a 3 ft square for each boy to tend. Ethan chose peppers, Aaron chose watermelon, and Ryan chose celery. Then, behind them we have pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers and finally broccoli and tomato plants. Oh yeah, we have a pole bean tee pee somewhere towards the center of it all. It seems that in a majority of my garden are vine plants! So, it looks quite barren at the moment, but in a few weeks time, it will be overflowing! I actually decided to plant the lettuce up by the house (forgot to take pics of that-will next time) due to the wildlife that will enter my garden and eat the fruits of MY labor! That, and, I didn't have anymore room after accounting for the vines that will overtake the whole space.

Yesterday we finally got the bean plants in the ground. We had a little fun experimenting with them for Science class first. Photo tropism and Geo tropism are so cool, and our God is so cool for his creativity! We actually have one plant left, in an experiment still, hopefully he will be happy enough at the end to survive the transplant.

We are having one little (well, monumental in my world) problem though. Something is eating my broccoli!!!!! I have planted seven plants, and only one is left with any leaves!!! I have sprayed the leaves with an organic spray, containing oil of oregano, and hopefully this will help. I have since resigned to the fact, if I have any fruit at all from this garden I will be very happy.

We are having lots of fun with it anyway. The country is way cool

A work in progress

Steve and the children have decided to turn the back woods into a place where we can go to hang out and enjoy nature, a little more comfortably (?). They cleared a path to walk through, without being attacked by a variety of branches and thorns, and Steve is working on making steps down the steep hill to the stream. We also have a fire pit! When these things are finished they will start on a bridge to cross the little stream, the ground is so muddy that it's difficult to cross without sinking!

How fun! Have I told you how much I LOVE the country lately!!??

It didn't take long for the boys to love campfires! Especially when campfires usually mean s'mores!! We have had 3 fires already and I see many more in the future. What I love is the conversations that start around the fire. Ethan has asked some great questions for his age. Like, "Mom, how does the moon change shape? , but what i really loved was when he started singing "This little light of mine"!! So, the things we do and say really do sink in sometimes, thank you Lord.

Have I mentioned how much I love the country!?

bambi

Wednesday morning was unlike any other morning I have experienced. First, Steveoke me at 6:30 in the morning, which is way earlier than I would normally grace the day with my presence. But this morning, there was tiny little package waiting for me! As Steve was walking to the back 40 that morning, he was praying and gathering wood for a bon fire. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something and did a double take. A baby deer! A fawn, a newborn baby deer! Is it, hurt, orphaned, what? Why won't it move or call for it's mother? He decided it was in danger and brought it home and give it some milk. Then, he woke me to come see it and figure out what to do.

Well, after researching a bit, we found it is a very big misconception that a fawn left alone has been orphaned. The mother actually leaves the fawn in a safe place, within distance, while she goes to forage. A predator seeks movement, and if the fawn is very still, its in less danger, same reason the mother forages away from it, decreasing the chances of movement nearby.

The next big misconception is what to feed a baby deer, if by chance you have found one in need. Most people would think milk. Close to deer milk right? WRONG!!! It's one of the worst things to give a fawn. It can cause major damage inside and even cause death. If you must give something, try water first.

The last misconception we discovered was about the scent left from humans. Most people think if you touch an animal, the mother will reject it due to the scent. This is also very wrong (in most cases)!! The mother is very distraught for losing it's young. And it's also very happy to find it's young when it's returned/found!

Best thing to do if you see a fawn laying very still is to leave it be. The mother is probly watching him very closely nearby. If he seems in distress or extremely weak then is the time to intervene. Call the local wildlife conservation and they will know exactly what to do.

So, after all this, we decided the best thing to do is to return it back to the exact spot where he was found. I prayed all day that this little creature would not be negatively affected by the cow milk and the mother would find him and re-bond with him. When we retured at dusk to see if she had come back, he was gone! Yeah!! I love happy endings!

Another blessing.....Steve drove out early this morning and just a few houses down the road, he saw a mother deer crossing the road with a very tiny baby fawn, struggling to keep up. This was out little deer, united with his mommy! Thank you God, that was a sweet little blessing.