Pumpkin Carving and Another Birthday!

On Monday we carved pumpkins and baked the pumpkin seeds. One of the nice things about homeschooling is that you can count "carving pumpkins" as art! The kids had fun, although Mark was a little unsure about sticking his hand inside the pumpkin. The next day we baked the seeds...one batch was made with butter and salt and another batch was made with butter and garlic salt. Yum!

Last week we discussed how Jesus is the "Bread of Life." And this week we talked about how He is a Rock. To go along with our theme of Bread of Life, we made bread for a friend of ours and delivered it with some homemade jam (I made the bread, not the jam. ) Our week continued with lots of school on Tues. and Wed. And on Wed. afternoon, Aunt Jen and her children came down. The older kids had a nature walk with Mr. Wentzel, our neighbor. He took them for a walk up the lane and had a discussion on different types of trees. Discovery Club followed the walk. And then we had a birthday supper and celebration for Mia. We had all 9 of her grandkids here. What a blessing! We love you, Mia.

A New Photographer in Our Home...

Rachel asked me if she could use the camera yesterday. She took many pictures, mostly of Mark, Sarah and her baby-doll. I think she did pretty good for a 4 1/2 year old!! She took all of the above pictures, except the one of herself. I took that one!

A Week at the Baily House

On Monday afternoons for 2 or so hours, I have been helping Mike at work. It has been nice for both of us. Heather, one of our babysitters, has been coming over and playing with the children. This past Monday when I came home, I found her "all done up." Not by Rachel, but by Jonathan!! Sorry, Heather!

That same day, we had Mawcaw and Pawpaw (Mike's grandparents), Aunt Ann, and Uncle Tim over for dinner. Here is a sweet picture of Mawcaw, Jonathan and Mark. The kids did a nice job of entertaining everyone. Never a dull moment here ;) Jonathan and Mawcaw were looking at pictures and I asked, "Jonathan, would you like to show Mawcaw your Indian outfit?" And he gently responded, "Not now, Mom, Mawcaw and I are enjoying looking at pictures!" We all had a nice time visiting.

We do have our rough days but this week seemed to have some very kind and thoughtful moments. Or maybe I just noticed the kindness more ... Today as I was dressing Sarah, Mark walked in the room, looked at Sarah and said, "Hold!" I smiled at him and asked, "Do you want to hold Sarah?" And he got very excited and started giggling!! Mark did hold Sarah and she didn't seem to mind . I think she is getting used to being constantly doted over by her older siblings.

And finally, the kids surprised me with a nice gift of leaves. It may sound crazy, but really, it is very thoughtful. Sometimes the kids have a "Celebration." This is something that they have created and come up with all by themselves. Basically, they celebrate Mike and I as their parents. They often hang balloons and make us presents and so on. This week they gave me a bowl full of leaves! Earlier that day I had taken the kids outside and made the comment that I really liked fall and I was sad that the leaves were all falling. So, Jonathan and Rachel gathered leaves and gave them to me so I would not be sad.

Oh, and did you know that horses don't need barns to live in? Rachel told me the other day that if we got a horse (which I have no intention of getting, at least not for a long, long time) it would not need a barn. I told her, "Yes, horses DO need barns." And she, again, said they would not need a barn. I finally asked where she would keep a horse. Her reply was, "in our basement... or maybe in our garage!"

Playing in the leaves

Mike took Monday off. So, we only did a little bit of school- math and science. And since it was such a beautiful day, we spent time outside. Mike and the kids made a leaf pile! And then we went on a hike in the woods. I came back separately (Sarah was in the sling) and saw a buck!! We really have been enjoying living in the country. The neighbors have a large rope swing and we found a great grape-vine swing near our house! What fun! Hopefully, this does not mean more trips to the ER...

Happenings This Week

This week was a very fun week. Thankfully, no major accidents like last week. We continued memorizing our scripture verse: " I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of the world." We studied about the Pilgrims and the sun. Jonathan memorized a poem called If I knew by Maud Wyman. He also learned how to borrow/rename in math. Rachel is continuing to learn how to read. And today we went on a field trip with our homeschool group to see Charlotte's Web! I did take all 4 kids but I had help!! Hannah, my sweet friend and babysitter came along and was a great help. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and then we also forgot Hannah's camera. (At least I remembered the kids... :) So, instead of getting a cute picture of us at the play, you get one of me reading to all the kids one evening this week.

We do love to read at our house. All of us, even Mark. A love of reading is something I hope to instill in our children. I hope they love to read ( particularly the Bible!) Speaking of reading, it is nearing bedtime at our house. Goodnight to all!

Jonathan's Birthday Party

I should be doing laundry, or cleaning up the house, or starting dinner but I am enjoying blogging. That may be a good thing or maybe a bad thing... I thought I would add a few more pictures from the last few weeks.

Jonathan celebrated his 7th birthday with a sleepover. He had a terrific time!! He said, "This is the best birthday party ever!!!" We had a pirate-themed party. A pirate hat cake, a treasure hunt, dodge-ball and more dodge-ball. Our new home has a large basement PERFECT for 7 boys with lots of energy. I told Mike that I did the planning/organizing of the party and he did the execution. Mike got to sleep downstairs with the boys -they slept on the floor, Mike got a couch. And I slept upstairs with Sarah. The next day after the boys left, Boppa took several of us horseback-riding. What a treat! Mike and Aunt Jen stayed back at the house with Mark, Sarah, and Aunt Jen's twins. Isaiah got to ride on his own horse, while Nathaniel, Jonathan, Eliza and Rachel all rode with someone. Rachel absolutely loves animals, so this was such a treat for her. I enjoyed it, too, except for being sore for days... :)

Do I look like I know what I am doing on that horse? I don't. Well, my horse kept stopping and would not walk behind the other horses. And my foot kept coming out of the stirrups. And... But I still had fun. Maybe I should take lessons from Lindsay and Hannah, my sweet babysitters.

Our first week of school

Here are some pictures of our first week of school. Our first week of school was let's just say... difficult. It would have been fine, except that everyone except Mike was sick. EVERYONE. :)
Rachel and I had fevers that week and Jonathan, Mark, and Sarah all had colds. We managed to make it okay but we are all grateful to be healthy!!!! Oh, by the way, I was actually in the room when Mark covered himself with markers. I was working with Jonathan and looked up to see Mark all decorated. He did that in seconds...!!