Tuesday Morning -

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Banana Bread

Hope to get my card making stuff out this week...

This weather is gorgeous! My chickens are so happy.

I made banana bread yesterday, it is always a hit around here.
Baking with our Kitchen Aid Mixer is pretty dreamy.


Our hope is to help some of Willem's nausea and digestive issues with physical therapy and chiropractic. You know when something is out of place or out of alignment, other organs can be squished or out of place... praying he feels so much better soon.


I have a dentist appt I am not looking forward to today.

It is supposed to be 58 degrees today! But 30 degrees Sat. with a chance of snow.

The farm stores have baby chicks and they are irresistible!
One of Oren and Hazel's favorite outings is visiting the farm stores! We often see bunnies, puppies, and kittens and this time of year chicks! Not to mention they sometimes have great toys.



Encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 
Thessalonians 5:14


Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

More from the weekend

 I really love where we live.

Today Oren had to bring a Shamrock to school. On it he needed to write, draw, or include pictures of why he feels lucky.
He said he feels lucky that he is nice, that he likes to draw, and that we have a hot tub. :-)
He wanted to include pictures of his brothers and sisters and a picture of his cousin Ingrid. She is probably also his best friend.

It was darling!

I feel lucky that we have so much room to hike!

Making memories at home and near to home...

A little visit from my brother Phillip is excellent "March Medicine" -
He knows how my kids LOVE treasure hunts! And he is always up for an adventure.

Hazel, Jennifer, Jocelyn and Jenny and Jocelyn's dad went for a bike ride Friday after school. Jenny's dad loaded up their bikes and took them to a park. Oren thought it sounded like a wonderful outing and asked when we would be able to go to a park and ride. We made that happen today - Cascade Park - and spring was in the air!

Willem would have loved to join us but man, this poor guy - his seasonal allergies are flaring up and he is having stomach troubles on top of that.

Willem's basketball team played in Lewiston, we opted out. It is good we did. He has not felt well for four days. :-(
The main reason we did not go was because Tasha and Reese thought they may be able to get here over their mid winter break. But Lane had baseball practice so they stayed back. The cool thing is Uncle Phil was able to come and Willem would not have wanted to miss out on that time. Also, Merit had a scrimmage yesterday. Baseball season in underway and it feels great!


Our niece Emily had a great birthday yesterday!! She and her team won the state championship!

Today was our youth auction at church. It is fun to support these kids and to pray for them as they travel to Chicago this summer and make a difference in the lives of many. The youth auction is such a special event. So many terrific things are donated (and a good variety!). I love seeing so many come together to make this happen.


An appointment for Willem tomorrow, me Tuesday, Hazel Wednesday - plus hoping to get a day of subbing in. Favored Farmhouse shopping will also be a part of my week - shopping to upscale to then sell.

Thursday -

 Oren Paul

 I love our sunsets!!

A walk at sunset is always good for the soul.

This sweet girl and her baby doll! 

Monday Morning

The bleach soaked cotton ball worked pretty well!! See previous post!

I am laughing though! Because I was all natural when it came to laundry and cleaning supplies three years ago!
I bought the H2O laundry ball and beads. You "charge" it in the sunlight!! No detergent! It is supposed to help the fibers of your clothing last longer too and many people find good results.
Well, I thought I really liked it until Vance asked "why does this shirt stink?"
And "oh, I think you forgot to wash this."
I do really like H2O, Norwex too! Especially their cleaning cloths! But the laundry ball just wasn't for us.
I also made my own cleaner with vinegar and orange peel.
How strange that yesterday our whole house smelled of bleach!!


Oh this six year old!
I know soon he will have a loose tooth and his entire smile will change.
For now, I soak up the little boy grin.
And how fun he is!!

 Yesterday's army guy treasure hunt was a hit.

Old showers, basketball, I am feeling extra random today

Oren and Hazel are hunkering down and reading right now. Hazel is reading some darling chapter book about a girl and a horse. Oren has many interests when it comes to books.

I walked into the downstairs bathroom today, the sun brightly shining in... and I glanced in the shower - the caulking along the bottom has always had a rust/mildew problem but yikes. It looked bad! CLR and a toothbrush is what I attacked it with, but with little result. So I googled how to clean stained caulking. I saw a you tube video where the woman soaked cotton balls in bleach, set them on the caulk and left them for three hours!

Wish me luck

yesterday morning started with Hazel baking chocolate chip cookies

cake like but delicious! 

Cousin support at Wild Will's game!!

Quinn

Nova 

and Baer

sibling support too

What a terrific day of basketball and travel yesterday! 

Today Will is playing in Thorp and Easton.

We are cheering him on from home. 

Spring is in the Air

It's almost the weekend. 
Planning and juggling the weekend in my brain...
Willem plays basketball out of town.
Merit is hoping to go to the girls varsity game tomorrow night. 
I need to clean the coop in a bad way. I need to pull all of my old sunflower stalks out of the garden too. 

And, of course, I am hoping for moments like this... just moments at home. Quiet moments. 

I am headed to the Favored Farmhouse soon to drop off some fun stuff! 

And SPRING is in the AIR! 

Out on the farm

 Glimpses of spring ...

This girl is so good! 

She is a fun sister, a beautiful daughter, a sweet friend! 

Animals know they can trust her. 

She is such a gem.

 Chicken goodness

Chicken Heartache

My afternoon yesterday had me irritated and discouraged. Thankfully this mornings sunshine, coffee, and a new day has me feeling encouraged...

But just a bit on yesterday. 
There is a house not far from here that attracts the strangest of people. 
No garbage pick up for these folks when they can put their garbage in their yard or in the back of a pick up truck. The current tenants had three dogs. They roam and get into mischief... they have two now. The man believes one of them was shot. 
I get home yesterday to see one of these dogs with one my chickens in his mouth. This house is not super close to ours. So this dog traveled to get into some chicken trouble. I hollered and yelled and tried to get him to drop my injured chicken. He ran with it. I followed him into the neighbors yard, he finally dropped it, white feathers flying everywhere. The chicken tried to run away and he picked it up again. Feathers and blood covering the dogs mouth. 
I can describe my feelings as highly agitated and sad. 
The neighbor lady helped me in this seemingly pointless fight. 
The dog is a strong young pup and oh my lands we could not keep it away from the chickens. 
I drove to the garbage yard house. I knocked on the door and a man answered. Without swearing at all I told him of the unfortunate situation and demanded he go get his dog from my yard. 
I think I woke him up for a nap. 
Our convo was the least pleasant of encounters I have had over the past few months.
Fast forward.
I had two badly injured chickens. A man who did not seem sorry, but beat his dog in front of me. (Side note, I blame the man far more than I blame the dog)
Two hours later both chickens had passed. Strangely, I wanted to knock on the garbage yard door and make him aware of the outcome. I still do. 
I also want to take him to Judge Judy.
There is more to this story but I have re-entered my discouraged state so it is time to switch gears.


Thanksgivings:

10 cent thrift store early reader books that I can share with Oren and the other kinders I love

Vance's willingness to cook dinner

The sunshine! 

Some people go on vacations to get away from life's stresses - I honestly am quite refreshed by things like watching Hazel ride horse or going on a long walk with friends, or a fun dinner out. I feel thankful for this. 

My chickens, the ones I have left

Garbage pick up

Batido and Tamales

Homemade tamales and batido - our weekend all around has been good but Saturday afternoon was a highlight. 
Hazel's darling, friendly, polite friend Jennifer invited Hazel to her birthday party, just verbally. I hesitated taking Hazel there -- there was no invite or call from the parents. Jennifer's parents don't speak English. 
Hazel could not stop talking about it and was so excited! Jennifer gave Hazel her address. So we packaged up a cute, fun gift. Shopping for ten year old girls is the best! And Willem and I drove Hazel to Jennifer's house. Neighbor kids were there, Mexican music was playing... this girl of mine was SO excited!
I picked her up two hours later - well, I tried to - she BEGGED not to leave! They invited me in for tamales and batido! Oh my lands! A small house, FILLED with people, music playing, DELICIOUS food, smiles all around! Two women spoke a bit of English and we got by and I loved the comfort, laughter, and food! It was the best. 



We had a great Friday night of basketball too - 

 It was senior night! What a fun evening!

Sunday - church - a wonderful service

A hike with Vance - sun shining!

And dinner - our whole fam - at Inca

Today, cleaning and organizing 

We may even redeem the kids personal pan pizza certificates again. "Book It" is a fantastic motivator here.