Bucket List : Week 1

Since we tend to home-school through the summer we try to make it a little more fun than the rest of the year.  Each Friday this summer is a fun day for our family.  We have a bucket list of adventures to check off as we go.  This week we had breakfast at the University of Idaho Arboretum and then spent the morning exploring.

Sydney and Georgia led the crew on a rabbit hunt.  It ended well for the rabbit.  He got away.

After breakfast we headed to the pond, it's not a terribly long walk, unless your legs are only twelve inches long...or you are extremely pregnant (actually only 25 weeks, but looks like 45).  Jack and I did a great job bringing up the rear.

Success!  We made it to the pond.  Earlier in the week the older kids participated in an herpetology class with a local Christian home-school science foundation.  They loved it and were thrilled when they saw that the pond and shore were filled with turtles!  Sticks are not effective turtle catchers if you were wondering.

When we got home at lunch time Georgia (3 years old) asked if she could have lunch after her nap!  She was worn out!  What a great day.  The only thing that could have made it better was if Daddy could have been there.  Alas, someone has to pay for our life of leisure.

Cowboy bedroom

Before Jack was born we had FIVE girls! I love having sweet girls! I love dressing girls, decorating girls rooms, shopping for girls, the whole package! But you can imagine my excitement when we found out that baby number six was a boy!! Excitement to have a son AND excited to finally decorate a boy bedroom! I knew instantly that we needed a cowboy bedroom and if the ultrasound was wrong, and the baby was a girl she was sure she would be thrilled with her cowboy bedroom, haha.

The first thing I bought was the cowboy bedding.

I thought about making an awesome vintagey

bedding set, but in the end...I'm just not that

awesome of a seamstress. I ended up loving the

this set that I purchased brand new from ebay for

forty dollars!

Rope border is must in a cowboy bedroom!

I grabbed some rope from the hardware store

and went to work with my staple gun (possibly

my favorite tool)! I went around the entire room

with the rope and I love the way it turned out!

This shelf was my very first DIY building project! I started

with pallets but they were just a little TOO rustic for me.

You can see the old the milk crates that I dumped

the yard toys out of and brought in for blanket and

diaper storage! The nice thing about a cowboy theme

is that old junk fits in easily.

Horses and cowboy boots make perfect accessories.

I found these for cheaps at the goodwill!

I love the quilt a friend made for Jack, but I love

the bunny ears even more. LOL!

How cute is this little sign set, made especially for the cowboy!

Big Boy

After His First Haircut with Clippers. I LOVE the cheesy smile!

Our Son, Jack, is getting so big. He seems to grow right before our very eyes! At 18 months he does not talk nearly as much as any of our girls did, but he will not be held back by his like of verbal skills. He is a mover and shaker, never content to be still, always wreaking havoc with his sisters (they actually JUST kicked him out of there room...AGAIN). He is so much fun to have around. We have recently started learning hymns and Jack loves them as much of the rest of us. Just listen to him sing one of our favorites, Holy, Holy, Holy! :)

Why I broke up with Facebook

My husband has made the suggestion that I quit Facebook several times over the last year. Being the completely submissive wife that I am, I chose to ignore him. His claim was that Facebook is a waste of time, every body is all up in your business, and thinks it is ridiculous to have 327 "friends" when you actually only talk to five people on the "friends" list. All good points, granted, but not good enough to sway a wise woman such as myself. My husband is AMAZING! He rarely forces me to do anything. He makes a suggestion and leaves it at that, praying that God would speak to my spirit and lead me (and also praying that I would listen, I'm sure :p) . He has actually said to me, "God is so much better at getting you to do the right thing than I am, so I just leave it to Him" (Hmmm, I kind of sound like a real pain, I'll pray about that).

This week I FINALLY realized why Facebook is such a bad influence on my life. I realized that I was sitting at the desk looking over the lives and choices and photos of my "friends" with a hideously critical spirit. "Well that person is an idiot, who does something like that." or "Oh MY GOODNESS, I cannot even BELIEVE that person calls them self a Christian!" or the worst, "Wow, so-and-so has really put on a lot weight!" (As if I HAVE any room to make that statement).

So you can clearly see that Facebook brings out the worst in me!! I'm thankful that the Lord has opened my eyes to the ugliness in my heart and I have since said farewell to the ever-entertaining world of Facebook. I am praying that the Lord will remove the critical spirit that has been made so obvious to me and asking my husband to forgive me for not submitting my will in the first place. Ugh, he is almost ALWAYS right! LOL, I should remember that the next time he makes a suggestion.

Ice Fishing

Here in North Idaho most of the ponds, small lakes and smaller reservoirs are frozen this time of year. Our family loves to make the trip out to Moose Creek to ice fish (by family I mean my husband and older children, I've never actually been). On New Year's Day Dave took the four oldest children out to ice fish. They all had the best time (of course, anything daddy does is fun). Alexis, was thrilled with the fish she caught and carried "him" around for the rest of the day until it was time to "cut his eyes out and eat him".