1 year anniversary of this blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 year ago today I started this lovely blog. Its been a good friend and a fun way to write.

I want to thank all of you for reading my blog!

Your comments have been wonderful to receive! 

Thank you for all your support!

Here are some highlights of the year!

All in all its been a great year!

Who knows what Saturday is?

Who knows what Saturday is?

The 1 year anniversary of Home on the Erie Canal!

Remember the very first post?

 

School year is coming. Public schoolers face it in dread, homeschoolers rejoice; unless they did school all summer! :~) We got our school books this week. I was technically going to start this week, just doing Latin and French. That said, I've been busy. Never got it done. My goal is next week!

This is my first year of high school. Feels like I just started in 3rd or something. My one sister is in 1st grade! She has her new books, and is ready to go. Another is in preschool. How did they get to be SO big? This school year will be very different from previous years. I will have a little sister soon. Any day in fact. I have never done school with a new born, 3-6 month sister, yes. But NEVER one this little.

Homeschooling Myths I want to clear up!

1. Many people think homeschoolers get a pass to do NOTHING. That is not true. We do just as much work. This year I have enough books to choke a horse. :~)

2. They also think they wear skirts NON-STOP. I do, 95% of the time, my choice, my Mom and sisters where shorts more often.

3. Homeschooler's live in the middle of NOWHERE. Nope, I live 20 minutes away form at least 2, maybe 3, Walmart's! I live in a small town. Not exactly the wilderness.

4. This myth is NONSENSE. Homeschooler's do school in jammies! Well it is not exactly nonsense. We do, occasionally. :~) I don't. I can't be in my jammies that long. Especially since A) I do it in the afternoon, and B) I can't go to the library or anything.

Don't dread school, it is the best thing since sliced bread!!

A late evening episode!

Last night I was sorting laundry in my room. The kids were playing with the neighbor kids. Dad was doing dishes and Mom was putting her feet up. (She sprained it on Saturday). All of a sudden I heard screams, screams are normal but these are screams of fright and distress. I came downstairs to see L-Jo being ushered into the house.

A fox bit my sister.

We called 9-1-1 and they came quickly. This fox had attacked a couple other people but soon the fox's life was disposed off. The 7 year old was hysterical. She always gets hysterical when people get hurt.

The kids were playing outside when a fox bounded up and tried to attack them. T-Tot hit the fox with her balloons and Lil' G was knocked over. The neighbor kids ran away screaming. That's how I knew something was wrong.

L-Jo, Mom, and Dad went to the ER, and she was treated for rabies. She was a little shell shocked but a little trooper. One of the doctors brought in an Ipad and put on Dora so they could give her the shots. All she did was say "Ow".

Grandpa came bearing lifesaver peppermints and stayed with us girlies. After we showered the girls down, we enjoyed watching Parent Trap and put them to bed. I stayed up until 1:00, but couldn't stay alert so I headed off to bed. They literally got home 5 minutes after I went to bed.

L-Jo is doing fine and currently watching Hello Dolly. Laundry is awaiting, so I bid adieu. :)

Belated camping pictures!

Sigh.... I wanted to post the photos and just plain forgot....

Highlights from camping!

The Almanzo Wilder farm! 

At the playground! 

A dust storm on our way home when we visited the Almanzo Wilder farm. 

Boating on Lake George with new friends!

The Piggy rock! I was wearing a jean pencil skirt.....but I made it up!

The stars were gorgeous!

Swinging fun!

Playground fashion! We went to dinner that day cause it was hot and we didn't feel like cooking. Afterwards we went to the play ground!

A wasp nest!

The moon! (This has to be one of my most favorite photos from the whole trip, and I took it which makes it even better! :) 

The Milky Way and a satellite. The sky is so clear you could see the Milky way with your eyes!

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