Sunday, July 28, 2013

I'm home!

Camping was a wonderful vacation! I was hoping to update more about our vacation fun but alas I was too busy. I shall post more about our fun as the week progresses. 

I did finish Algebra 1 on my vacation! Very happy! :~D

I also wrote a couple short stories and I'd like to share the best one. 

The Continuous Rain
By Moriah Peters

He stared out the window. The early morning rain fell long and hard. It had been raining like this for the past 2 weeks. The surrounding area was drenched. His farm and crops would be ruined if there wasn't any dry spells. A sigh filled his depressed spirit with a dose of weariness. He depended on his crop and if it didn't make it, he'd loose everything. His adoring wife walked in. Her perfume filled the room with lilacs and spring. She walked over and leaned her head on his shoulder. Her presence bought a comfort in his heart. No matter what happens he will always have her with him.
The morning seemed longer than any other morning. The rain was discouraging and emotionally wrecking his heart. The rain had been a blessing, but now it felt like a curse. It was depressing and dreary. He woefully went to work with a heavy heart.
That same afternoon, there was a small patch of sunlight. 2 minutes of sweet, blistering, gorgeous, sunshine. The sunshine lifted his spirits. His wife was in the middle of kneading a batch of dough when he grabbed her hand covered in dough into his calloused hand barn and they ran outside together and danced in the sunshine. He picked his wife up and twirled in the sunshine, laughter filling them. But as soon as the sunshine came, it left. It poured.
He sighed as he went back into the barn, after walking his wife to the door of the house. The rain had immediately drenched his clothes, soaking him to the bone. He mucked the stalls, and restocked the hay. Then he walked to the back of the barn to the tool bench. He looked at the wood that lay on it. It was rich with aroma and as strong as oak. He gently lifted the wood, examining it with an eagle eye. He sat down at the bench and began to work with it.
It was nearing supper time when he emerged from the barn. He had fed and milked the cows, checked the chicken coop, and worked with the wood. His wife greeted him with a smile as his came in, as before, soaked to the bone. She sent him upstairs he came back down she was ladling hot creamy potato soup out of the pot. The pot was a special pot, passed down through generations. It had seen many generations and many stews. He smiled at the thought, and then quickly the smile disappeared as he thought about the fact that it was part of the farm.
The supper was filling and delicious, warming him inside and out. He enjoyed chatting with his wife about this and that. He went out one last time to check the barn to make sure it was set for the night and he walked back to his home in the pouring rain. He dodged puddles as he walked through the farmyard.
He suddenly stopped, exactly halfway between the house and the barn. He looked up at the dark clouds and pouring rain. His thoughts whirled. They whirled as fast as he could piece them together. Falling to his knees, he poured his heart to God. His feelings, his worries, his family, his wife, his farm, his house, and the old family cooking pot. As he got up, the rain was falling softer. When he got to the door of his house, where his lovely wife awaited with a towel to dry him off, he stopped. Turning around, he and his wife stared in astonishment. The clouds were breaking up, the rain was ending and the sun was just about to set. He looked at the sun set as a brilliant rainbow spread across the sky. 
He turned to face his wife, their faces mirrored the same smile: a smile of peace and hope. God was always in control. He leaned down and gave his wife a kiss. Then they ran outside laughing, dancing, and chasing each other with the knowledge God is still taking care of them. As they neared the barn he pulled his wife inside and showed her the piece of wood. With it he carved a small sign that said, “God's the farmer, I'm just a guest.”
The End


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Some of our adventures on camping trip!

Saturday we were packing, and preparing the cars for camping when we realized that the one car had a hole in the front tire. We had to get it patched and at 5:15 pm we were off!



The ride up was really nice. The fog and cloud were gorgeous!


We got all settled in our cabin and went to bed. 

Sunday we went to the Church for service and then came home to head to the beach! The air was slightly cool, but the lake water was a similar temperature so it felt good. 

There was a wasp nest on the porch so we got some spray and got rid of it. 


We also went fishing Sunday evening.  Only 1 fish was caught, a sunny about 3 inches big.

The sunset was breath taking!














I also got electrocuted a couple times (slightly :) So a couple of electricians came over yesterday and I shan't be able to have that happen again.

Our adventures have been fun, and we are getting ready to do some star gazing! 




Friday, July 12, 2013

We are busy busy busy!


See this list? Its a half mile long cause we are going camping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Our family's favorite time of year! 

Swimming, hiking, relaxing, the local library, sleeping slightly in, biking (I get to bring my bike! :~D So excited!) and much more! 

We also have a few surprises up our sleeve. And it you promise not to tell my sisters, I'll tell you! :~D

We are hoping to go see Almanzo Wilder's farm that he grew up on! 


For those of you who haven't read the Little House on the Prairie series (I have all of that series and several about her mother, grandmother, great grandmother and daughter.) this is the boy that Laura marries. In the series they place the book 2nd, but we tend to read it when Laura meets Almanzo. It fits better. :)

(And to my friends who {gasp!} who haven't read the series, I know who you are and I will shower the series on you when I return! Muhahahahaha! ;) 

So we shall be enjoying the wondrous camping trip and if I'll get a chance, I might post some pictures. :) 

Off to get ready! 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Another big change!

I got a hair cut! 




A wee bit of baking!

Remember that AWESOME new stove we got? 

Well we did some baking with it yesterday! Boy the house smells GREAT! 

We had 2 and 1/2 cups of black raspberries from our berry patch and we made muffins!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Too yummy, we only have 6 left as I speak. ;)


We used The Pillsbury Cookbook for our recipe. 

(For 2 dozen muffins or 4 dozen mini muffins {We had 1 dozen reg. and 2 dozen mini} :)

4 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of milk
2/3 cup of oil
2 eggs
Dash of cinnamon and sugar

Mix the dry ingredients, add the wet and mix it all up! Pour into greased muffin pans and bake at 400* for 18-22 minutes. We added blackberries. :) 


We also made banana bread!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

We used the Fanny Farmer's recipe.

3 ripe bananas well mashed
2 eggs well beaten
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Mix the ingredients, pour into 1 greased pan and bake for an hour at 350. Makes 1 loaf. 

Breakfast was delicious! 


Friday, July 5, 2013

Before and After

We had 2 big events happen today!

The first is the 3 year old's stitches were removed. On Sunday she fell off the couch and cut her lip. She is doing well and got them taken out today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next big even is the 7 year old got her hair cut! It is stinkin' adorable! She looks like she grew up a year or two! We decided it looks like Rapunzel's! :~) 


Our 4th of July fun!

Happy 237th birthday America! 

This is what we did to celebrate. :)

We started our celebrations on the 3rd and went to see fireworks!


We brought some homemade bubbles and several kids were having fun with our bubbles!




We got home around 11:30 and plopped everyone into bed.

On the 4th we had more fun with bubbles!


Uncle Sam - Audrey Hepburn style! (By the way, bubbles by the nose isn't comfortable! ;)

After we were outside with the bubbles for a while it started raining. We decided it was perfect for dancing in!









We ate lunch and all the girls took naps while I tackled a chapter of Algebra. 

After naps we watched the Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again and then went out to play when it was dry outside.

We had more fun with bubbles and then enjoyed a delicious dinner inside.

We had hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and tortilla chips. For desert we had cherry cobbler/pie for the big people and cotton candy push pops for the little people. 

All in all it was a delightful way to celebrate the 4th!!!!!