Winter Swimmers

One of the most fun things in our Colorado winter, has been getting
the kids into swimming lessons.  I've found that swimming isn't
necessarily standard fare everywhere in the country, but being raised
in sunny California, both AJ and I grew up in the water.
Learning to swim is just a good idea when you're going to be
hanging around water for recreation.

In North Idaho where we spend most of our time now-a-days,
the hot summer season is shorter, but we still spend a lot of it in the
lakes and streams.  It is really really good to see the kiddos catch on
to staying afloat and learning their strokes!

This year Aloria joined the ranks of swimming learners.
Isn't she just the darling-est thing ever in all that swim get-up?!

Our lessons take place at 5:30pm and we've had great instructors
who've fit seven children into two classes that overlap so we can
get out of there in an hour(!)

Still with the convenience of all that, it is a full-on sprint to get out
the door with 7 towels, swim caps, goggles, shoes, warm clothing over
swim garb (since it IS winter and there IS snow on the ground)...
then to get hair up, caps on, kids in, kids out, dried off, socks and shoes
onto wet feet, collecting of all said garb and paraphernalia and phew.
It's a workout just rehashing it!

A few fun photos from swim lessons :-)

WAHOO!  Come'on summer - we'll be ready for ya!

Landed.

We've landed.

It was a very full, blessed, and hectic couple weeks,
but worth the detour through California while on our
way to Winter in Colorado.

It wasn't until we drove our final miles and threw our
pillows on the floor of this high desert house, piled our
shoes by the door, and plopped onto the couch, that
the magnitude  of the undertaking hit me.

Sheer exhaustion.

48 hours later we are nearly unpacked and beginning
to see the promise of a comfortable settling in.
There have been good things for the kids to rediscover,
and the luxury of flush toilets and a dishwasher;
comfortable beds and a light, bright, warm, friendly indoors
also make this a pleasant landing place.

Still, it takes time for me to get my bearings.
Some adjustments to routine are planned, a reorder of
chores initiated, a shuffling of bedrooms, a mobile and
exploring baby to consider this time.
It all adds up to a lot.
It kind of feels like we need to jump in with both feet
and not waste time testing the waters.

I know I might not ever jump otherwise.

What an adventure :-)

******************

Would you like to see how we camped out on our way
South/East?

Last year we decided to shop for a travel trailer that would
(wishing/hoping/praying) fit all of us.
The little guy we ended up taking home had just come in and
was sitting yet-uncleaned at the back of the lot.  The only one
of it's kind at the dealership.

In only 24 feet of length this trailer sleeps 10 (or some varied number
of varying sized people :-)).

This sweet tiny room at the back end was a deal maker!
It has four bunks, fits the port-a-crib and has some
storage cabinets too.

While on the road, each child has one backpack for clothes.
It seems to be just right and backpacks can be stowed at
the end of beds or in the cabinets.

And THIS cool set up was just perfection to me.  It was a
great hope of mine to find something which could have all
the beds set up ready to be used as soon as we could pull
over and park.

Many trailers that accommodate a large number of people
have soft sided drop-downs which can be folded out once
parked, but the beds can only be set up after the tent-like
pop outs have been set up.

Awesomely, this trailer has a full bed that slides out like a drawer
from over the couch and dinette, making it possible (practical even)
to have every bed made and ready to climb into!

I  love it.  Love it.

Red Vines.
New traveling tradition :-)

Basically we drive for a day, stopping for fuel, potty breaks,
food, and when necessary(!) coffee.  Then at night we have
found staying in a "friendly" Wal Mart to work well.  Often we need
to restock on bottled water or some other necessity - like cookies -
and shopping is just a short hike away.

Usually we pack our own food for travels and alternate with
some eating out when we need a real break from the road.

What I pack to eat on the run?

*Bagels/Bread
*Cream Cheese
*Lunch Meat/Salami
*String Cheese
*Crackers
*Hard Boiled Eggs
*Bananas
*Cuties/Mandarins
*Washed Grapes
*Cut Cucumbers, Carrots, Snap Peas
*Nuts
*Pretzels

I don't pack all these things all the time
and I often add some special treats as well, but I find that
this list provides all we need to make any meal work.

Now.  As wonderful as that all is, I have to say I'm real
glad to be done traveling.  It's hard on the all the senses
and my system could use a good Fast and about a
months-worth of sleep!

Our faithful little trailer has been a fun toy and great alternative
to staying in a hotel (which has become a feat all its own with
the size family we have!).

Plus, who doesn't like a Red Vine every now and again :-)

Happy Landing to Us!

Pomegranates on Parade

Gramsie-dear sent a box of round, rosy-hued Pomegranates
from a tree in her back yard in California!

~Such a special treat and welcome taste of familiarity from our native lands.

Weather permitting, I do not allow Pomegranate eating inside the house :-)
Thankfully the weather was glorious today and I was without excuse for throwing on
EVERYONE'S fleeces and shoes.

Once they were all together and preoccupied, how could I not take along my
camera to document the picking of succulent red seeds?

Sometimes learning a new skill (like how to actually eat those seeds)

takes some concentration.

My fearless tree-climber claims this particular model of boot (a different one than we usually buy)
didn't "hold up" as well.    I can't help but raise only one eyebrow at that when my imagination is so
well trained. Haha :-D

This is a boy we're talking about here.

As you can see, it's a very smart move to take family photos when everyone is so happily
preoccupied!  You may feel free to borrow from my awesome ingenuity :-)




Even little brother joined the fun - only, no one offered to share their fruit .

He was forced to nibble on leaves and dirt.

Miss Carolina was just a bit of a Ham today.
That's somewhat unusual for her and I thought she was pretty fun!

I would say this face right here is a great reason for why we don't eat these in the house.

And this isn't even particularly messy for my Olie-girl who has to experience everything with all
her senses (so wearing it on her skin is all part of the delight)!

Believe it or not, Aloria was walking BACKWARDS (!!!)

And believe it or not, she didn't stumble and land on her kiester (again, !!!)

More delicious leaves and sticks :-)

My amazing crew - the Great Eight!  They sure enjoyed all the fabulous Gramsie-sent stickiness.
A bucket of water went a long way in spiffing them right up :-)

Sweet sweet dreams will be had tonight.


Thanks Gramsie!

Days of Light and Life!

After a month of sickness, quiet, and arranging the essentials of housekeeping,
we've graduated to "recovered, busy, and nesting in with creative homemaking".

We're trying hard to gather our bearings in the department of routine;
figuring out what the chores in this new house are, who should do which ones,
how to schedule it into a flow that works with our lifestyle.
It's tricky, but we're catching on!

I have a foreboding feeling that we'll get it down just when baby 8 comes
and changes the dynamic once again.
Now that we're finally into "next year"... the advent of his/her arrival is not so far away.

We started swim lessons this week.
I really wanted to blog about our first swim outing.
in winter.
and swim suites.
with 7 kids...

but I was too doggone tired to lift a finger when we got home from that!
Fun it was :-D

Seriously, I sit here smiling to myself as I think about how nothing in our culture is
set up for the accommodation of oddities like us. By oddities I mean:
People with more than four children to fit on a registration sheet.
People who take up a whole side of the pool in deck chairs and space for towels.
People who won't fit in a booth at a restaurant.
People who can barely squeeze down a grocery isle - even if the kids are in perfect form.
People who come out of the bathroom stall in droves........

-Speaking of this, do you ever experience the anxiety that accompanies the phenomena
of the trailing train when you turn the corner in a grocery store and you
 just KNOW that the oncoming traffic won't be watching for 4 more people trickling
along behind the 4 that just passed?

Parking lots are the worst.  I'm pretty sure they take years off my life.-

Anyway swimming.

My children had a blast!  They did awesome and I had a lot of good laughs watching
them. That Bryce...
It really was fun, but boy.  What a workout.
And I didn't even get into the water!!!

They are plugging themselves back into school work with admirable effort.
I'm so thrilled to have some spaces they can read and work their math problems
without some pint-sized pipsqueak reaching over and drawing on their homework.

We have one room here which we hope to use for a music room eventually.
It has glass doors and a bookcase wall which lends itself to being a library
or study.
We painted the walls deep blue there.
And so it has been dubbed "The Blue Room".
I'm grateful for the Blue Room when I see my boys sprawled out in their with
their clipboards and pencils.
Or the girls perusing the bin of borrowed library books.

I try to keep the two smallest people out of that room and because of that
it's become a haven for thinking.

It needs a sign over the doors.
I was wondering...
If I don't call it The Blue Room, I'm not sure if I should call it The Thinking Place
or maybe the Quiet Room, or how about A Piece of Peace.
Probably not The Concentration Camp.

The monkey bars are getting used.
Tonight however, I thought I would have a heart attack when I heard screaming
which I was certain meant impending death.
It was only one (nameless) person who would not articulate in words:
"Somebody help!  I'm stuck!  Help help HELP PLEASE!"
from 10 inches off the floor.

It is hard on the 32 week pregnant body to get that much adrenaline pumping
in a mad dash to save a life!  Neither of us was a happy camper.
No one died - or came remotely close to suffering even.
I should be glad.
Once again - another year of my life wiped clean off the slate :-D

Coming soon, I must post pictures of the kids many beautiful creative
projects - especially for the Grandma's.
I always think I'll get to it after I tuck everyone into bed,
but by that time, MY creative juices are all used up and bed (or some other mindless pastime)
is looking more...mindless.

Tonight I started you with a picture of Aloria
who surprised me in her stick-to-it-ive-ness with that Lollipop.
 I didn't pay enough attention to her because I thought she'd be slow.

However, once she discovered how to crunch in to that sweet treat, I didn't
get to her again before she consumed almost the whole thing!

Finally I leave you with Bryce Endurance.
You may think he crunched through his too.
Actually, against my good advice and years of experience on many sweet subjects,
(and I told him - "you shouldn't use your Lollipop as a paddle/bat/sword..".)
he had whacked that Lollipop to bits before we unwrapped it.

He ate his in pieces.

Didn't faze him a bit.

So much for my know-it-all :-D

In Which I Relinquish all Appearances of Coolness and Embrace Reality.

I had a hard time settling on a title for this post.  Among some of the options I considered were:
"Raisin' 'Em Redneck" and "We Call it School" and "We are "THOSE" Homeschoolers"
and you know what I mean by that last one, don't you.  I bet most of you are grinning because
you either know some of "those" homeschoolers, you attempt not to be one of "those"
homeschool families, or... you are one. :-)

For those of you in the dark, there's a bit of a running joke we (homeschooling) moms enjoy
about the homeschooling stereotype.  I won't digress into exactly what forms this stereotype takes,
and each of us likes to embellish with our own brand of humor, but basically, no one likes to be
lumped into a box and so we resist any outward appearance of fitting some definition that's well
established.
Heaven forbid we appear... dorky.
And here I insert (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) that homeschoolers have been trying to eradicate
that stereotype since the dawn of homeschoolism!
 I would know; I'm a K-12 homeschooled veteran dork myself.

My flesh can't help agree with my girlfriends - fellow moms, most of who were also home schooled -
when they refuse to drive a van until every other possible options has been exhausted.
And if they have to drive one, they'd prefer their progeny didn't disembark wearing outfits that matched
their siblings', or were arrayed in an excess of plaid or camo.  Don't we already draw enough attention
to ourselves by our numbers, or the fact that we're grocery shopping as a family event at 10am?

Despite my own aversion to being stereotyped, I'm not one to make a decision based on what other
people think.  If a thing makes sense than we do it.  If a monstrous vehicle is practical and serves our
needs well, we drive one.  If it makes sense to buy the same boots for everyone, we do.  If my
children like camo, leather belts, skirts with jeans underneath... I've been known to turn away a
discerning eye now and then for the joy of watching them be their own unique persons!

All this to say, it's become clear to me in recent years that the truth is:
we ARE "those" homeschoolers.
 
It'd be really great to be those cool homeschoolers, but then look at who my kids got for a mom.
I'm not complaining, just pointing out the obvious. :-)
I can't help but laugh.  I mean, just LOOK at us?!! 

The truth is such an irony sometimes!
And yes there really is a point to all this blather.

Today, my son Zachary invited his sister Susanna to go hunting with him.

While they were off on their venture, 

Clayton and Olivia built an "Almond Roaster" and a fire, 

and "roasted" almonds.

Zachary returned with his grinning sister 

who was holding a handful of limp squirrels by their tails.  

Then he showed her step by step how to gut and skin them, 

and roasted all three over Clay's fire. 

 The four siblings moved on to roasting (or at least blackening)

other things such as marshmallows, apples, and fingers.

And faces too.  

About the same time, while I watched the smoke rise beyond the picture window,

on the floor of my living room,three-year-old Bryce lounges with his blankie.

Little sister Aloria sits beside him and tenderly strokes his head.  

He knows he is loved.

It looks to me like the kind of life many children only dream of - the kind of friendships
most people never experience, love extended truly and without strings attached.

All of a sudden it doesn't seem to matter that we look like vagabonds and rednecks.
The important part is shining bright from underneath the soot and camo.

Now you can believe me or not when I say these are relatively common scenes in our home.
Sometimes there is more noise and less tolerance, but overall, this is what I get to be a part of
every day.

I've known for a long time that good character is not defined by outward appearance.
I also know that the playing field levels out quite a lot with with the advent of maturity.
There can be an awful lot of insecurity underneath a "cool" exterior.  Whatever we do or don't
drive, however we choose to dress, who we associate with, how we speak, what we say...
if in the end it doesn't come from a heart that loves Jesus and cherishes people
more than any of these external things?
It doesn't matter how together we appear.  It amounts to very little and maybe nothing at all.

And these are the conglomeration of thoughts, chuckles, sighs, and bright praise I found myself
reveling in today as I took in the amazing-ness of the people I call my children.
I'm really really thankful for them, and all the ways the Lord grows me up through being their mom.

And it almost (just almost) makes up for my being... dorky.  ;-D