Adventures at 37 below!

Today Caleb and I ventured out for Extra Foods Family appreciation sale day.  It's hard to miss out on the $30 savings that I get when I spend $200.  I try to get the bulk of our groceries at the beginning of the month and just pick up fruits, veggies and dairy as needed.  It was a pretty fun adventure, in spite of the -37 temp.  Scott had the van warmed up for us and the stores were warm, as usual.  We made up a song on the way there and Caleb fell asleep on the way home.  He was very helpful and politely told the checker lady to "Have a nice day!"  Scott worked the second half of the day and before we knew it, bedtime had arrived.  I still hear two little boys talking to their daddy, as they shine their flashlights around the room, and quite possibly in his eyes to make sure that he's not asleep yet:).  The middle part of the day didn't involve much sitting for me.  It was straighten up the house because the children had fun dumping stuff kind of day.  Thankfully Elyssia finished her school work quickly and we were able to listen to the beginning of an audio tape.  We didn't make up stories today, but I'm sure we'll have time to do that tomorrow.  Here are some funny pics from our day:

Kiersten on the counter under the guise of "helping" me put groceries away. She managed to eat almost a whole chicken sandwich too!

Caleb measuring the distance between the counter and the light(or trying to get away with being on the counter.) I'm sensing a trend here:))).

The child LOVES brushing her teeth!

Or eating the toothpaste:)  Elyssia found her in the sink like this.  Apparently she can get in there all by herself now.

A clean kitchen! ( a rare sight sometimes)

Fresh banana walnut bread for tomorrow.

Meet Samson!

Caleb ran off and came back saying, "yook, I have yong hair too!) He was so pleased with himself.

The part where Samson tied the two fox tails together and set fire to the fields(the kids had to stay back and only Scott touched the candle for this part of the story.)

Samson drinking out of the jawbone after defeating his enemies with it.

Carrying the gates of the city.

Leaving them on the mountain...

Delilah trying to figure out the secret of Samson's strength.(The hair has become unmanageable:).

Indiana Caleb made an appearance, thinking that it was perhaps time to stop for a snack:))).

Samson working for the Philistines after his eyes were put out.

Between the pillars.

And the pillars come down.

   Caleb got very upset after this happened.  He said it wasn't funny and the didn't like it.  He pushed all the chairs across the room and dragged the blanket to the kitchen.  He was so upset his face turned red.  Maybe we'll have to give him more warning before doing something like this again:).
  Caleb also informed us that March is his birthday.  He said that he's going to get underwear for his birthday and be potty "tained".  It's so funny, especially since he keeps bringing it up.  I'm thinking that he's finally ready.  Our plan was to train him after we got back from vacation, but if he's going to take the initiative to do it now, I don't think we'll stop him.  It will be interesting to see if he keeps bringing it up and what he does in the next couple weeks.  He also picked out something for his brother and sisters while we were out.  Here is a pic of the boys with theirs:

Thomas and another train Pez dispensers.

Elyssia got the pig from toy story.  Garrison had asked for a Buzz Lightyear one, but I haven't seen any.  They have all the other dispensers from Toy Story now.  We didn't start out to collect them, but I'd gotten some of them with a free gift card that I had for the dollar store.  Now the kids really like them, so we've picked up a couple since then. Kiersten got Arrowroot cookies and Scott got a Cadbury egg.
  Well, that was our day.  It's still really cold, but it's quiet and I'm looking forward to getting under the nice warm covers and staying there as long as possible:). 

Blog or Sleep

Hmmm.  Tough choice, but I obviously chose sleep last night.  I think I went to bed around 7:30!  I was sorely lacking and it had definitely caught up with me.  I was thankful that Scott was home for most of the day.  He took over quite a bit of the food and entertainment part of the day.  Here was breakfast:

Delicous Blueberry Pancakes! (I just noticed that the one on the right looks like a heart:).

Crafts for the day:

Tie dying a shirt for Kiersten.

Learning about the Phoenicians.

Making homemade snow globes.

They used coconut for the snow.

Wondering if others have good ideas for other pretend snow.

 

 

Making Pita Bread.

The pita bread was really good!  The kids wanted to fill theirs with tuna and Garrison used another one at supper time.  He put spaghetti in his:).  The snow globes were a big success.  Pretty easy to make, but looking for other things to put inside for the figurines and also the snow.  All in all it was a pretty good day.  I didn't take pictures of the devotions.  Scott showed the kids the fleece part of  Gideon's story.  The lights were off and on for night and day.  Then he had Garrison sneak into the Midianites camp and listen as they were talking about a dream the one man had.  He dreamt that a barley cake rolled into their camp.  The other Midianite told him that it was a picture of Gideon coming in and defeating them.  He was right and they were defeated by Gideon and a handful of men with God on their side.  They also lost most of their men because it was dark, they were scared and they ended up killing each other in the confusion.  Not a nice way to go.

A super cute Kiersten with her new favorite drink.

Kiersten is almost rash free now that we've switched her to rice milk.  She LOVES this stuff and it works great for her to have it with her cereal.  Now, we've just got to keep her from drinking the leftover from Caleb's cup.  She doesn't understand yet, that that is what gives her the rash.  She's doing pretty good though and I'm happy we've found something to substitute.
  Church today was quite good.  There was more snow on the way to church, but it doesn't seem to be causing too much trouble.  The temperature dropped to -26 after a week of pretty nice weather.  We had a pretty good crowd out for church.  Alan and Brenda were back from Hawaii and looking nice and tan.  They're only here til Tuesday though, then it's back on the plane.  They're heading to the Domican Republic for their daughter's wedding.  They're quite happy to be escaping the snow for several weeks:).  The man we were expecting this afternoon was delayed by an unexpected family thing.  Hopefully he will arrive sometime this week.  Other than that, we were able to enjoy spending the rest of the afternoon at home.  I skyped with some of my family and Elyssia actually got me sewing again.  Here is a picture of the progress I made on my quilt tonight:

There are 25 new pieces sewn together and the squares on the right are the completed blocks:).  I'm doing it by hand, so it will probably take me another couple months, but progress is good, right.  I think Mrs. Reid would be happy with me:).  I haven't worked on it since before I got married.  I have to admit that I started it while Scott was courting me.  I LOVE quilts, but I'd never made one before.  I got all the pieces cut out, sewed some together and can't remember why I stopped.  I should have started it up before we had Elyssia, but I didn't really do a whole lot productive during that pregnancy.  Time for a fresh start.  I'm thankful that I have all the materials already.  I paid about $60 for all the materials.  The ladies in our church that quilt say that they usually spend close to $300 on their materials and another $300 if they want someone to do the finishing part.  I'm putting fabric store on my places to stop while on vacation.  I should get enough material for the girls curtains, a couple dresses and maybe some extra for some block quilts.  Sharon and Brenda were telling me that the prices are still so cheap compared to up here.  Good time to stock up a bit.  Elyssia is already working on her next little quilt.  She's doing this one by hand though.  I need a refresher course on my mom's sewing machine, but haven't gotten it yet.  Sharon also wants to start making these little dresses and shorts for kids in Africa.  They sound really simple and it would be something that we ladies could do together.  The busy year is starting to look even busier.  Good thing I'm teaching on Mary and Martha at the next Bible study:)  I need to apply some of it to my own life.  Busy isn't always best.  Finding the right balance is what we need.  Another goal, but not a resolution.  We know where those go:). 
  Well, I'm thinking I should head to bed pretty soon.  I could've used a nap this afternoon, but didn't get a chance. I can hardly keep my eyes open now zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...  Oh, was that me:)  Have a great week!

Guinea pig

A faster way to get the laundry down the stairs!

A little high. (lost a couple clothes.)

Seems just about right.(now to get a pulley system rigged for bringing it back up:)  Actually the boys were a great help today.  They helped with all the transferring and between the two of them they were able to drag a full one back up the stairs.  Thankful for all my little helpers!

Here's the guinea pig. (Don't worry, I tested several times and tightened it really good.)

 Pushing off the wall.

Their toys needed a trip too:)(I couldn't do the two older ones because they were too heavy and I don't think Kiersten would have like it.)

Our fancy supper.  Scalloped Potatoes with Ham.

Ribs

Oops, this pic should have been lower down.  My new passport arrived!

Trying out something new.  This is the Cookie Dough Pie from Stone Cold Creamery.

Kiersten must still be hungry:)  Too bad the bottle is pretty much empty.

 Devotions = Gideon
  * Please excuse the mess.  Scott got home with just enough time to eat, do devotions and head back to town for the church business meeting.  I usually have time to finish the dishes and straighten things up while he plays with the kids.  Now you know what our house looks like(sometimes:).

Gideon threshing the wheat, but checking to make sure that there weren't any Midianites.

The angel speaks to Gideon. "The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour."

The angel sets the flesh and unleavened cakes on fire.

Gideon shocked and a bit scared.

The Midianite discovering that their idol had been cast down.

Coming to Gideon's father and demanding that he be handed over.

Gideon still carrying his snow shovel? Not sure why, but a guy's always gotta be prepared:)

The Midianite in the camp:) 

They didn't break the pitchers at our house, but they did when it really happened.

.The part that was missing was the fleece test and the part where God showed Gideon that he didn't need  a large army because HE was on their side.  Scott may do that with them another night.  It's a little overwhelming to put it all into one short session.
  Today was okay.  We did a bit of school, but the kids weren't really into it as much today.  I think the colds have taken a bit of the energy out of all of us.  Sometimes they're zooming around, but the next thing you know they're kinda lethargic. I let them listen to several Odyssey episodes.  They really enjoyed those.  Supper took quite a bit of time to prepare and the afternoon went by quickly, since I had a lot of phone calls to make.  There is a real shortage in rentals in Kindersley.  I called at least 10 of those listed and only one has an apartment opening up at the end of Feb.  She didn't know what the monthly cost was though.  Kindersley really wants to become a city, but they have to have 5,000 people to qualify.  If no one takes the initiative to start building more apartments, houses, etc., I don't think it's going to happen for a LONG time.  How can people move here if there aren't places to live and if the only places to rent cost $1,200. I can't see many people with regular paying jobs really being able to afford that.  We'll see though.  If the Lord wants these two families in Kindersley, I know He can open something up.  Praying it's soon though:).
  I'll just share two of the stories from today.  I'd like to get to bed a bit earlier tonight:). 
                                                    "The Crayon Artist Girl"
                                                      By:Elyssia Holloway

  Sophie, the crayon artist girl, lives in America.  She loves to draw pictures of horses and reptiles.  Her favorite colors are green, blue, brown and pink.  She draws most days.  She wants to be famous.  She puts some of her pictures on her walls and some she gives away to her family and friends.
                                                      -The End-

                                        "The Lion And His Lion Friends"
                                             By: Garrison Holloway

  Once in a town, named Box, lived a lion, named Jack.  His best friends were Elizabeth and Jenny.  They liked to hunt mice and eat them.  One day, a bad guy came to steal Jack's girlfriends, but Jack and his guy friends roared at them and scared them away.  When the man was running he fell in a hole that the lions had dug.
  Then a baby, named Kiersten, came.  The lions loved her and were very nice to her.  One of the lions let baby ride on his back.  Then God produced some water to drink and grass for them to eat.
                                                       ~ The End~

Never a dull moment...  The last load of laundry is in the dryer and I'm thinking about all the things we have left to do in the month ahead.  Yesterday we found out that we won't have to do the Manor hymn sing.  They have the flu circulating and they aren't allowing any visitors. I pray they get better soon.  Have a great weekend!

Showers of Blessings...

  I know that it's late.  We had Prayer meeting tonight and didn't get home until after 8:30.  I had one call come in and another 2 calls that needed to be made after that. Now it's after 11 and I'm just getting started!  I have to share the day though.  It started pretty early.  We needed to be ready to head into town at 8.  The trip was good, the car pickup went well.  I had a library book to drop off, then we were headed home, minus Elyssia who was at the quilting bee.  On the way home I thought that it might be a good idea and check in on a friend in Eatonia.  We haven't been picking her up for church because of weather issues, but today was clear and the first day that I had a vehicle again:).  We ended up visiting with her and her little boy for several hours.  It really seems that it was the Lord putting it on my heart to make that visit and she had a lot to share. We now need prayer that there will be a place for her to rent in Kindersley.  She asked us to do some checking for her and it doesn't look like there's much right now.  Scott is building some houses in the Spring that won't cost as much, but that is still a ways off.  The newest 4 plex costs 1,200 a month plus utilities.  Is that what people are paying these days, cause it seems ridiculous to me.  Like someone is taking advantage of the lack of places to rent.  It reminds me once again how blessed we are to live on this little farm.
  So, the second blessing was that all 3 kids went down for a nap when we got home around 2.  They slept for close to 3 hours!  Even Kiersten, who has been Little Miss 15 minute power napper once a day.  It either caught up with her or the Lord knew I needed the extra time to make phone calls.  Several people that I hadn't talked to in several months and all the calls for the friend needing a new place. 
  Scott and Elyssia arrived home around 5 bringing Blessing #3! No, it's not a new baby:))).  The lady Elyssia went with had decided that the kids needed special quilts for traveling to Georgia.  She made one for the boys and one for the girls.  Then she and Elyssia sewed a doll quilt today after the quilting bee!  I'm so behind the times.  Elyssia is only 6 and she's made 2 doll quilts already.  She also came home with a bag of fabric squares and scraps.  Seriously cute ones too!  I'm not sure she will share with me.  I told her tonight that she'll have to teach me how to make quilts now that she's kinda the expert:)  She agreed.  So, I'm sure you're wanting to see pictures of these quilts.  Here they are:

The boy quilt.( you should be able to see all the squares in detail if you click on the photo.  She used some super cute prints for both of them. 

The quilt that Elyssia made.

The girl quilt.  It has paper doll girls and boys with outfits as a border.

I'm not sure by Garrison's face if he's tired or just doesn't like the idea of sharing:)

The girls are happy to snuggle.

Elyssia's fabric bag is spilling over!

 Devotions was done by the Mama at church tonight.  Presenting the story of Esther!

Mordecai informing Esther about Haman's plan. Not sure what she's smiling about.

Baby is playing Haman.

Garrison's helping her to have a scary face.  I thought I got all the spaghetti sauce off from supper, but this pic shows otherwise.  Garrison and Caleb seem to have saved some for later as well.

Esther praying before she goes before the King uninvited.

We were all relieved when the King  put out the sceptor.

The first feast.  Baby is crying because she didn't get any jelly beans:(.

Haman leading Mordecai around in the King's best robe.

The second feast!

Haman is hung(only on a hanger though:))).

Garrison decides that he wants to do it again, only this time he wants to be king instead of Mordecai.

Queen Elyssia?

A self portrait drawn by Elyssia(She's finally changed her style.  I like these eyes she's drawn!)

Well, that's the short version of our very full day.  We'll have to do extra school to make up for today, but we should still have time to do the sewing project that Elyssia has planned.  It's off to sleep I go....