No, not money. I miss grass. And leaves. And even weeds. So I went looking for some green pictures, and found these photos of Brett working in her herb garden. I hadn’t seen these before, which means that I didn’t take them. I think Jim must have, because the boys don’t usually take pictures of […]
We’ve had a whole bunch of little birdhouses hanging around the barn for several years. Jim decided to let the children each have one. They got to decide where to hang it, and the boys put them up. This one is Hewitt‘s: Don’t you just love Hewitt’s smile? He seems to have forgotten how, and […]
The other day I caught Brett holding a green thing and putting things in her mouth. I couldn’t figure out what she was doing until she showed me this: It seems that she was picking raspberries from our bushes and didn’t have any place to put them. Since she didn’t want to get her clothes […]
Ok – I’ve never really had a nanny. But I did (do) have a really good friend who would come over a LOT and help with the kids, and watch them, and make me and Jim spend alone time together. But do you know what she did? She got married! And then she moved away! […]
I’m afraid that Brett has an incurable disease. It’s called readaholism. Yes, she’s a readaholic. I’ve tried to stage several interventions. But they just don’t work. I think there must be a genetic component to this disease. And yes, it is inherited.
Last night we left the children with sitters while Jim and I took a 6 hour shopping date. I had given Brett instructions on making dinner for everyone. When we got home, the house was peaceful and looked better than when I had left it, despite the fact that they’d eaten dinner, milked goats, and […]
I’ve posted before about my family’s love of having pancakes for dinner. Well, Brett tried a new twist: Yes, those are chocolate pancakes with smiley faces in them. Isn’t she a creative cook? They were REALLY popular.
As homeschooling parents, we try very hard to teach our children things that will be useful for their future. Things that show how talented they are. Things that when other people see them, they say, “Wow, you are such amazing parents and your children are incredible!” In order to be successful teachers, it is very […]
St. Patrick’s Day is my birthday (hence the name Patti Jo). The night before my birthday, Colter said, “Brett, come here.” whisper, whisper, whisper Brett said, “Dad, come here.” whisper, whisper, whisper Mom said, “If you really want to give me a birthday present, you’ll let me sleep-in in the morning, and not have to […]
Brett made us nachos for dinner last night. I don’t remember what I was doing, but I heard her repeatedly saying stuff such as, “Get your hands off!” “Ooooh, YOU!” “Would you stop that!” I wanted to see how she would handle it (either that or I was just being lazy), so I didn’t interfere. […]
During one night of Grandma’s visit, the following conversation took place: Grandma: “What’s for dinner?” Me: “Pancakes.” Grandma: “Pancakes?!?!” Me: “Yep.” (Now, I must point out that my children and my husband are THRILLED when I make pancakes for dinner. But I’m afraid my mother was horrified). Grandma: “I could really go for pizza.” (Me […]
One of the best memories of our vacation was our Princess Breakfast. It was a special treat for the girls. Brett and Jade really enjoyed it, but it was the most magical for Indigo. Here is a photo of Indigo getting ready: And here are all the girls with Belle: The other princesses that visited […]
We’re back from our awesome Disney Vacation. I’ll post photos later, but wanted to list our favorite moments while it was still fresh. Fletcher: Test track in the dark Indigo: Seeing Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and all them Hewitt: Cars! Fletcher: The Lion King Show Colter: Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach Brett: Blizzard Beach […]
How do you share a single slushy amongst these eight children? Like this (note the anticipation and finger sucking going on): Unfortunately, it’s hard to get all 8 heads on the eight straws at the same time. This was about the best we could do: They still enjoyed it!
Grandma flew me and Brett and Indigo to Florida a few weekends ago to sell soap at her community craft fair. Since she got the tickets she got us a “nice” early flight so we could spend as much time with her as possible. Of course, that meant we had to get out of bed […]