How We Holiday



Ben and Leah on the Deutz



Sunny pond



It was a nice day in April, so we decided to have a nice family day together.  We went out to pick rocks. 

You may not be familiar with rock picking, or perhaps though you know what it is, you have never gotten the chance to do it.  Here are some pictures to illustrate the process for you.



All six kids on the flatbed wagon.



Leah is tired.



We started out in the barnyard, hooking up the flatbed wagon to the FarmTrac tractor.  The flatbed had some lumber on it, though, so we had to unload it before we could begin the real fun.

 Everybody had something to unload that was just his or her size.  We stacked the wood away, stopped at the house for water bottles and peanut butter and honey sandwiches as a picnic, and then we were off...

Being the pregnant lady of the group, I got to drive the tractor.  It was my first time really driving one, and it was really a lot of fun.  I see why the guys enjoy it!



Here's my self-portrait from the driver's seat.

Well, we drove around and picked rocks for about five hours that day.  There was a lunch break.  There were naps taken aboard the wagon.  But we were proud of all the kids for the good day they all put in.  We got tired, but we also had a really good time.  We picked four loads of rocks, and dumped three of them.  The fourth load we brought to the house so I can have more rocks to go around my flower beds.  It was a holiday on the farm.  ;)

p.s. I never told you what picking rocks really is.  You run along beside a slowly moving vehicle in a freshly plowed field, and when you see a big rock you run over to it, pick it up, run back to the vehicle, and throw it on.  Then you look for more rocks.  When the wagon is full, you throw them all off at the edge of the field and start over.  Fun, right?!

 

Well, here are the rest of the pictures.  Does anyone else have trouble positioning pictures on a blog?!?!?!

It might be easier to just go pick rocks for a while.

Somewhere, Under the Rainbow

This picture looks like it was taken in the spring, but the date there says January 23.  So warm this winter!  It was a pretty rainbow, though.

 Here are two pictures of Katie and Leah, loving each other.  If only it were always like this!

Trip to Colorado Springs

A few pictures from our trip to Colorado Springs.  David and I got to fly out for a long weekend with my parents, thanks to their generosity, and also with thanks to the good friends who cared for the other kids while we were gone, and also to Jason and Benjamin, who shouldered all the farm work alone.

We had a great time!  At the top there are David and my dad in front of the chapel at USAFA.

Second is the four of us at the class dinner.

Last is a picture of David on the Air Force campus, standing in front of one of their beautiful mountain views. 

Leah Turns Two

Here is a happy, smiley face

From a girl who is no longer a baby.

She turned two years old, just this week,

And now is quite a lady.

Leah Carole Grace

b. 10/21/09

Swimming Fun

 The girls and I went up to visit Lorielle in August, and had a wonderful time visiting.  They have a really beautiful pool, and we enjoyed swimming.  I may be a transplanted country girl, but I have still not gotten to the point where I enjoy pond swimming.  Ocean swimming?  Yes.  Lake swimming?  Depends on the lake.  Pond swimming? Just not there yet.  Not to say I would never do it, but let's just say it would have to be really, really hot out.

In any case, it was a wonderful treat to visit with family and swim in a beautiful, clear pool (thanks to Lorielle's hard work), with a beautiful view.

I know, I said no summer pictures.  But aren't you glad I did it anyway?  Such cute little swimmers!

HELP!

Apparently, it has been way too long since I posted anything on this blog.  Beside the fact that I have missed two entire seasons, I am having a lot more trouble getting things to look the way I want them to.  Look at the big picture up top.  Then look at the little picture to the right.  These are the same photo, uploaded in the same way, but the big one gets zoomed in somehow.  I do not know how this happens, and I do not like it.  Any advice?  Also, I used to be able to change the text color of the headings and titles, but I must have lost the secret.  Sigh. 

I will admit to being a perfectionist (seeking perfection, that is, not achieving it!), and so I am tempted to try to re-create all the time I lost on the blog here.  I should post pictures from last spring and summer.  But I am just going to have to jump in here where I am.  Fall.  More to come... 

In My Back Yard

 Yesterday morning, on my way home from the barn, I saw this beautiful moon and the pretty pastel sunrise sky, and I just had to get my camera and take a couple of pictures.  The snow was new, the sky was clear, and the temperature was about 10 degrees. 

Too often I get lonely and sometimes I get discouraged.  The Lord reminds me then of His love.  I am ashamed of my lack of faith when I see the beautiful gift: a moon setting in a delicate sky, with a frosted landscape below.

Thanks be to the Father, who does not forget the sparrows, and does not forget us.

Valentine's Day Surprise

 This Valentine's Day, a FedEx delivery person came to the door wtih a big box.  It was a box of flowers for the girls from their Grand-Daddy!  How romantic!

 Rachel, Katie and I went on a walk today.  It was almost 40 degrees outside, and we had been cooped up so long we just suited up and headed out.  The whole family has been sick with one thing after another for weeks now, and today we were the three who were healthy enough for a jaunt.

We were sad that the snow on Hill Road had melted so much that we could not get very good sled riding, but we did find some turkey tracks, made some good snowballs, and enjoy the fresh air.  I was able to add some extra fun and excitement by stepping through eighteen inches of snow into a groundhog hole.  I used to think Punxatawney Phil was cute, but now that I live here, I see him differently.  Framed in a circle, with little ticks at twelve, three, six and nine!

Chicken Update

I think the last time our chickens were on this blog, they were still chicks.  I thought it might be interesting for some of you, even those who are not named Anne, to see how they are doing.  I have found out that my cousin Anne is a really good chicken-picture-taker.  They never stop moving!  All these quick little movements make it hard to get a good shot. 

Well, our chickens are not as pampered as hers, but here are two representative pictures of them.  The rooster does have a name.  Amanda named him Jumper after she noticed a certain behavior pattern of his.  The hens are just called hens. 

All our hens and Jumper are Barred Plymouth Rock chickens.  We are also hosting four other chickens this winter.  (Snowbirds!)  There are two Comet hens, which are red and slightly smaller than the Barred Rocks, and then there are two Silkies, a rooster and a hen.  I am not a fan of the Silkies.  They just look weird to me.  The Comets are nice, though. 

The chickens had been pretty consistently laying about three eggs a day for most of the winter.  We were pleased at that, as we had been told they might not lay any.  Now that the days are getting longer, there are usually eight eggs out there each day.  There is one chicken, maybe two, laying really big eggs.  All the eggs are brown.

I like the chickens more now that they are grown, although usually I prefer baby animals of any type.  The chickens have so much character!  Out of the farm animals with which I have made acquaintance, I would definitely say chickens have the most pizzazz.  :)

Yummy Calzone

We made this for dinner one night, and everyone really liked it. It was whole wheat pizza dough for the crust, and turkey, broccoli, bacon, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing inside. I tried another one with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and some pepperoni, but it wasn't really that good because the bread soaked up all the sauce. I would like to try one with beef, onions, peppers and white American cheese. Also thought of tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms and mozzarella. Any other suggestions?

The Clock

Here is a video of the clock that my parents gave us for Christmas. Isn't it beautiful? Sorry about the shaky video. That was because Leah Carole was yanking on my leg while I was recording. You can hear her say "EE GA!" about 2/3 of the way through. I think that means "the clock!" in baby language.

Leah Learns to Walk!

Here is a video of some of Leah's first steps. She has been walking on her own for about a week, and it is amazing how fast she is improving. Maybe if kids wait a long time to walk, then they learn it faster?

10,001 Reasons to Repair Leaky Beanbags After Bedtime

Before, After, and After That

The window which would be a door.... The last time this framing was exposed,
maybe Abe Lincoln was President....

Is January really the best time to be working on this?

Icicles

Jadis would be proud.

Youth and Beauty

Tired Daddies can be more indulgent, especially when they get to sit on the heater vent and have their heads massaged by loving little hands. And of course, little girls love pretty hairdos. The result:

Request

Hi! If you are my friend or my family member and you are reading this, would you please send me an e-mail at my windstream address? I lost my e-mail address book, and I would like to have you all back! Thank you.
Much love from Dare

Snowstorm of the Week

It took a long time for winter to get started this year, but I think it's safe to say that it is definitely here now. Here is a picture from yesterday, when we were having the second big snowstorm in two weeks. (The picture is taken from the living room window. That is the road there, in between the guard rails.) This one was supposed to be bigger than last week's, but it has turned out to be a less-snow, more-wind-and-cold type of storm. They say we may get another storm next week. I'll take a white Christmas, but I hope the planes will be landing in Pittsburgh on Tuesday!

Painting

Here are Katie and Amanda, painting pictures in the kitchen.