Sunday, August 23, 2009

Best in Show


Since Elizabeth would never post this herself, I waited till she was gone to post it. E talked about the fair in her last post without mentioning that she herself won a prize - BEST OF SHOW!!!! She entered her baby slings and a set of vestments she made earlier in the year. The slings both won in their categories, but her vestments won the entire shebang, for sewing at least. I'm proud of her. If you want to give a beautiful gift to a seminarian, priest or other cleric, she's the gal to talk to.

-Jason

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The County Fair is in town!!

We are so excited because it's county fair weekend! (Bear in mind that the largest town in the county has a population of only 10,000 people so this is not like the Houston Rodeo or anything...)

There is horse racing, stock shows, queen contest, a carnival with real carnies, country music dances and yummy, expensive fair food! There are also exhibits of vegetables, baked goods, art & crafts and other handmade goods. A butternut squash from our garden even earned a 2nd place ribbon! We entered some of the girl's artwork and they were awarded their very own ribbons and petty prize money. (pictures to follow soon)

Lots of fun riding the carnival rides...


Friday, August 14, 2009

Sling Samples


Custom Made Ring Slings... now available at a store near you! (ha, ha- I wish...well maybe not because if that really were the case, my kids would be largley unsupervised while I slaved away at the sewing machine)












Immunizations

So, I had an interesting conversation with the girls' doctor yesterday about... dun, duh, dun...
Vaccines!
When I mentioned that we stopped Anne's shots after a year, I could tell he was a bit concerned. He was so nice though and he talked to me about the adult difficulties caused by chicken pox, measles and rubella...all of which are shots I am for-going right now! I can see that it's important to have a good relationship with your children's doctor, one where you can speak directly and openly at least.



As a mother, isn't it interesting how many things you have to become an "expert" on for your families' sake? Trying to figure out what's in the food you eat, the shots you're supposed to get, the best places to shop, how best to discipline for long term success and of course, the best course of action for school or homeschool! And my kids are 3 and under!!!

I tip my hat to all those moms who have managed to raise healthy children that love the Lord!

Monday, August 3, 2009

About our garden


Since this blog is entitled "Home Grown Kids & Vegetables", here's the skinny on the fabulous garden Jason has grown for us:



  • Items planted: butternut squash, green beans, radishes, 3 varieties of tomato, onions, garlic, red leaf lettuce, yellow squash, zucchini, jalapenos, banana peppers, bell peppers, watermelon & musk melon.
  • Right now, we are harvesting squash, zucchini, onions, peppers, lettuce & grape tomatoes.
  • The herb garden has 2 kinds of basil, oregano, 2 kinds of mint, Italian parsley & some struggling rosemary.


Back from the Beach

We are back home from spending 3 days at the beach in Port Aransas and I have to say, I am glad to be back in the 'mild' humidity of the hill country air. That sandy, salty and sticky air at the beach made me just feel gritty all the time! I am so glad that we could go though. I enjoyed the relief from looming piles of dirty dishes and laundry, the girls had a marvelous time splashing and digging (Rose splashed, Anne dug) and Jason had a few days of vacation from lesson planning. The cool breeze coming off the gulf was so pleasant that Michael slept through all of our beachside adventures and all 3 kids slept soundly after playing so much in the sand.


So, Anne was definitely petrified of the rolling waves and the tug of the current in the shallow sand, but am I an awful mom for dragging her in kicking and screaming anyway? I thought that if I held her and we played together that she might see how much fun it could be, but she didn't and I hope that I didn't make it worse by making her go in... I was holding her after all...
Oh well, I really can't blame her, I hate all that salty water splashing in my eyes and mouth!


Okay, so the beach is not my favorite destination but I must say, God's creativity and power is on display there in a special way. Holding my tiny infant as I watched the vast ocean sprawl before me helped me appreciate God's ability to be omnipotent while at the same time, leaving no detail unnoticed or unattended.