When You See the Perfect Spot…

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While you’re out and about one lovely Saturday afternoon and you see the perfect spot for a family picture… But first you have to get all those little players in the game with you… And the family clown can’t get it together… Until he does, but everyone’s eyes are squinty-shut… But eventually it’s close enough to count… Because the best pictures aren’t perfect–they’re the ones that show everyone’s personality perfectly. I’m no professional photographer, but I have to admit that I pretty much never buy the kiddos school pictures anymore. … Continue Reading…

Those Boys…the Daily Farm Adventures {95}

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On Monday I posted about our boys (especially that youngest one!) pretty much never taking anything seriously. Or if they do, it’s for like 5 minutes. Thus I give you one of my sons IN a water-er. I have no explanation for this. Actually, after they got into a wrestling match trying to push each other down a dirt hill while playing catch… And then took after each other with stick swords in the cow field… I was pretty much ignoring anything that didn’t involve loss of limbs. Which meant … Continue Reading…

In the Cold, In the Wet…the Daily Farm Adventures {94}

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This past weekend we pulled the sides down on the chicken house for the winter. It was cold. And wet. And we all worked anyway. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have some fun along the way. Because honestly, these boys are never serious for very long! We added some screws to the towing skids to strengthen them up. Those skids are also what we attach the side walls to when they are rolled down. Everyone got to help out working tools and running errands. Then we unrolled the plastic sides … Continue Reading…

Dirt, Dogs, and Raising Warriors…the Daily Farm Adventures {91}

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Ok, ok, I’m a terrible blogger. I just get wrapped up in living life sometimes and forget to go and write about it! {smile} I miss writing, but not so much that I’d give up the moments I had out in the real world instead of at the computer. Then I’ll have some crazy moment that takes me back to a post I remember writing (like this one) and I go hunt it up, read it, and think, “hmm, I should get back to writing–I have things to say!” So … Continue Reading…

College Football…in the Rain

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This past weekend we packed up the kiddos…and a change of clothes…and my Father-in-Law…and headed down to North Carolina to watch our Hokies play my Sister-in-Law’s Pirates. Mr. Fix-It and I are both Tech Alumni (his Dad too!), but life hasn’t involved much time or energy for college football in the early years of the farm and family. But my SIL is a dedicated fan for her team and has been trying to get us to one of the games, since we play each other now, for the last couple … Continue Reading…

Forest Sunrise and Taking Deep Breaths…the Daily Farm Adventures

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Sometimes walking the dogs at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning lets you see some wonderful moments. Like the the way the sunrise lights through the foggy woods like a forest fire. And it lets you do a lot of thinking. Like about the school year starting soon and how awful the beginning was last year…and how you survived it. And it got better. And getting to the other side of it might have redeemed that heartache a little. Now we know we can do it. We’re ready to … Continue Reading…

Ending our Summer Vacation

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Labor Day on Monday was technically our last day of summer here. I know it’s not the calendar’s last day, but after Labor Day we roll into the school year, so it’s our last day of our summer schedule and routine. Besides cleaning and organizing all. weekend. long. to get ready for a good start, we took a little time on Monday to go hiking out at the tree farm. We loaded up the dogs and a water bottle and headed out for an hour or two. Speedracer was the most … Continue Reading…

Another First Day of School

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This use to be my crew… Now I’ve got this… Forgive me if I keel over and die right now. There is simply no preparation in life for facing this. {smile} And it’s probably only going to get worse. My chubby-cheeked babes are all gone. We’re back to packing lunches and fussing about homework and getting everyone up before it’s light outside. (I have no sympathy there, since Coal gets me up at 5:30 every morning anyway!) Who knows what the school year has for us this time. The Ladybug … Continue Reading…

Summer is Winding Down…

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I know everyone is in back-to-school mode. We don’t go back until the day after Labor Day, so we’re fighting that a little bit. We did get all our school supply shopping done (except for earbuds, I didn’t find earbuds on sale anywhere) and I’m starting to stock up on lunch supplies and snacks for the first few weeks. But otherwise, we are not going into full-school-prep yet. To underline that, our kiddos have been packing up and heading out on “adventures” every day with the dogs. No explanation of … Continue Reading…

Another Birthday for Our Ladybug

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The world was a different place, and I was a different person in it 11 years ago when the Ladybug was born…when we brought her home from the hospital in an old 1970’s blue Ford pick up (which ran out of gas on the way, but don’t you EVER, EVER, tell Mr. Fix-It I told you!!). Without a/c. In Virginia. Smack in the middle of August. {smile} We were so young. We had no idea all the things we didn’t know! I could put a lot of words to this post, … Continue Reading…

Finding Peace as a Working Momma

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Being a Christian is hard. Being a momma is hard. Being a Christian working momma is hard. With so many competing priorities, needs, and desires deep in your heart it’s very easy to get out of balance and suddenly feel like you’re living in a house of cards, ready to tumble down at any moment. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I have shared in the struggle. Today I’m over at Christian Working Mama sharing my heart, some tears, and some of the joy that has come into … Continue Reading…

Family Camping…the Soaking Wet Version

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Well, we tried going camping again this past 4th of July. We enjoyed it last year and it seemed like a great idea. We definitely made some memories–of being rained out and wet. {smile} The Cowboy didn’t even have to fall in the creek this time to end up soaking wet. We got there about 9:30 am and Mr. Fix-It set us up with a “kitchen” this time. Car camping is so much easier than backpacking! You can bring all the little conveniences with you because you don’t have to … Continue Reading…

We Had a Birthday!

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Mr. Fix-It doesn’t get off work very often. It’s the nature of working for a family-owned small business. The benefits are not the same as what I take for granted. He doesn’t have much paid leave, and what he does have, he tries to save for holidays or traveling to see family. So when I decided to take the first couple days of summer break off with the kiddos earlier this week, I was tickled that he up and decided to schedule a day off to spend with us. And … Continue Reading…

Just Let Them Play

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This past weekend the kiddos did their chores and were finally allowed out of the house to “go play!”  (Ah, the drama of an hour of chores and cleaning on Saturday morning!) At one point, as they trooped back for some snacks, I snapped a few pictures. Besides those moments (which ended up a little blurry because I’m out of practice) my mind snapped back to something from a few years ago… Same 3 kiddos. Same gate. Same yard. Same woods they were playing in back in 2012. And then … Continue Reading…

Our Kids Favorite Chores…the Daily Farm Adventures {82}

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Our kiddos do chores. Every day. Every morning and every evening, actually. And every weekend. Around here, everyone does–right down to the babysitters and the dogs. So when Speedracer came up to me last weekend and said, “can we do chores like last weekend? that was so fun!” which chores did he mean? Cleaning out the barn. But he really meant any of them What he meant was can we all go out and do the chores together?  Because that’s their favorite chores. When the kids and the parents are all … Continue Reading…

On Spring Break…

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We had company for spring break that we weren’t expecting until just a few days before. Family visits are always a good thing! I just didn’t have anything prepped for the blog before I had to go into “clean EVERYTHING” mode. {smile} I’ve been working through my hard-core spring cleaning, but as I mentioned before, sometimes you make a bigger mess to begin with, and I had to put a few things back together before we could welcome guests. Then I went into ENOY EVERYTHING mode. {smile} The crew spend … Continue Reading…

Spring Cleaning is Overwhelming (Here’s a Few Helps)…the Daily Farm Adventures {78}

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I’ve written before about all the Spring Cleaning we do around the farmyard. Well, this weekend I was busy with the traditional kind of spring cleaning. The house. Ugh! I’m not much of a cleaner, more of a straighten-upper–which I realize every time I start doing any deep cleaning. {sigh}So I made sure to take a lot of breaks to walk the dogs. And feed the dogs. And just watch the dogs. Did I mention taking a lot of breaks? Oh yes, and if you don’t follow us on Facebook, … Continue Reading…

When There Are No Last Moments…Grieving and Growing

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All this chatter about Brittany Maynard makes me sad. Not just for her–although I have found myself praying for her so often since hearing her story–but for everyone in the conversation. So many hurting hearts. So many dealing with tough, tough choices. But what makes me so sad about this talk of “death with dignity” is that it assumes that cancer is taking your choices away and there is a way to wrestle control back from it and be in charge of “the end” yourself. I can see where you … Continue Reading…

Kids Need More Than Book-Learning

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Ok, we’re not even a month into the school year and I’m already over the homework. Sheesh. I’m just the Momma, it’s not even my homework! And the more I read and think and pray, the more oppose to homework I am, except for two cases… The child is not being diligent and getting their classwork finished and has to bring it home to work on it. This would go hand-in-hand with a student with a specific learning challenge that needs extra work. (Um, we have one of those. Maybe two. … Continue Reading…

Growing into Their Toolbelts…the Daily Farm Adventures {69}

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We’ve been taking care of some maintenance around here this weekend. Mr. Fix-It’s been working on the vehicles after work in the garage the last couple weeks and the Cowboy has been upset that he had to go to bed and miss out. So the boys worked in some tool-time Saturday and Sunday. We were watching one of those DIY shows the other day and a couple decided to be general contractor for their own “dream house” build. Neither one of them had ever so much as built a bookcase … Continue Reading…

The Value of Serving TOGETHER

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If you follow us on Facebook, you might have seen some of our summer posts about Mr. Fix-It and I leading a VBS class together this past summer. Not just being someone else’s helper, but planning, teaching, and leading our own class. Together. It was a completely new experience for us, as individuals and as a couple. I’ll just come right out and admit that I was nervous. One, because it was new. And two, because Mr. Fix-It and I are very different personality-wise and this kind of activity really, … Continue Reading…

Back-To-School Means It Must Be Fall

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Be still my poor, pounding, Momma-heart…my munchkins are so grown now! Getting ready for school, getting them off to school, getting them home from school, and getting them use to school has taken up pretty much my every waking minute lately. Oh yeah, and then soccer, and lamb sorting (lamb harvest is just a few weeks away!), and now Mr. Fix-It and I are teaching 4th-6th graders at church on Wednesday nights. We’ve had friends over for football and friends over for lunch and friends over for shooting…sigh…life simply never … Continue Reading…

Are They Grown, Or Not?

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Mr. Fix-It and I have spent a lot of time talking about current events lately. Always dangerous! {smile} And about our munchkins growing up so fast and all the new things just over the horizon for our family…like public school and riding the bus and the Ladybug mentioning that she wants a TV in her own room. (Um…no.) Something that has long been on my mind because of my other job (the full-time, in an office, get a paycheck, one) and now is on his mind too, is the almost … Continue Reading…

Sailboats, Birthdays, and Blue Chairs..the Daily Farm Adventures {63}

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Usually the Daily Farm Adventures are filled with…well…farm adventures. {smile} But this weekend our days were filled with sailboats and shopping for the Ladybug’s birthday. She turns 10 today, ya know. And she celebrated in grand style by winning the church’s first Sailboat Regatta! The kiddos and Mr. Fix-It have been working on their first sailboats for a week now. They sanded, and sanded, and sanded, and sanded some more, and then painted. This was the first time they used spray paint. There were a few runs, but mostly on … Continue Reading…

Thoughts of the End of Summer…the Daily Farm Adventures {62}

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I came across this quote on Pinterest the other day and just loved it… I’m still struggling a little with keeping my camera in hand this year. But I find that my eye is still…trained?…prepped?…to see things that I would have missed before. I find that this farm life has shown me to appreciate things I wouldn’t have thought to like before. To see with new eyes. To be inspired by things I would have completely passed by. Like buzzards… I always associated them with death before, and that is … Continue Reading…

Modesty is for Boys Too

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I talked last week about the modesty guidelines we use with our Ladybug for dressing like a girl after God’s heart and it was our most popular post for the whole month.  I know everyone loves to write about the heart issue when it comes to this topic and debate scripture, but if we step aside from that for a moment there’s a practical side too. When you want to do the right thing, what does that look like? I shared our daughter’s specific, concrete, take-this-list-shopping guidance to give you a jumping off point … Continue Reading…

A Tough Row to Hoe

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You know something I struggle with? Not getting my own way. {smile} But you know what’s REALLY hard? Compromising what I want for what I know is right–and things are STILL not easy. For some reason (Christian immaturity, probably!) I feel like when I submit to God in something, the clouds should break open and sunshine should pour through and everything should become rainbows and roses and suddenly I’m on easy street. I mean, I’m doing the Will of God–that means it should be easy, right? Ha! Not so much. … Continue Reading…

Kids and Chores…5 Reasons Why We Don’t Give Allowance for Chores

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Our kiddo work. Hard. Every. Single. Day. And I’m not talking about making their beds or putting their toys away. They sweat, they haul. they dump, they drag, they scrub, they pull…you name it around here and they’ve probably put hands to doing it. And because we post so many pictures of outside work, sometimes folks ask if they do any inside chores. Oh yes, they do! They do laundry (every single step in the process!), load and unload the dishwasher, sweep the floors, empty the trash cans, dust, vacuum, … Continue Reading…

When Things Change…the Daily Farm Adventures {55}

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The Ladybug has been off at camp this week and it’s been just us and the boys. It’s made for an interesting change in the household dynamic, to say the least. {smile} We all miss her, but Speedracer really misses her. Monday evening the boys and I rounded up and penned the sheep. Then a red pick up truck rolled into the driveway with a stock rack on the back. They loaded up a couple sheep and a couple chickens and drove away. I may have cried. Just a little. … Continue Reading…

I Think Perhaps I Will Write Again

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I think perhaps I will write again. I think perhaps I have words again. I think perhaps I have missed the weight of my camera in my hand. Perhaps it is a lie that a “smartphone” can meet all our needs in one neat little device. Perhaps there is a need for more than one lens. Perhaps there is a need for time, a need to find time, a need to slow down the moments and run our fingers through them as they flow by. Perhaps there is a need … Continue Reading…