Turning 3

Lillie at age 2

My daughter turned 3 yesterday! As with all my kids....I am just in love with her! Although there are days I am exausted from taking care of her, I am so greatful God gave me this sweet, beautiful, yet spitfire of a girl! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILLIE, WE ALL LOVE YOU!!!
See how big she has grown!

What a big 3 year old you are!

Visted a new church

Since we have moved, we have not found a new church. It hasn't been my priority for a long time. Finally my priorities have change and I am glad for that. As I have been preparing for homeschooling and have noticed my kids acting up, I decided it was NOW that a home church be found. So in the next couple of weeks we will be looking for a church. This Sunday we went to a small church....I mean small! Only 3 families. No Sunday school. I let the pastor and his family know that my children have only gone to church a couple times this past year and that they have never had to stay in the service with me. They almost always went to a childrens church.

I must say I am dissapointed in myself for not training my children to be able to sit and behave for any period of time. :( And I am now on a mission to teach that to my 10, 7, and 2 (almost 3) year old. They did great though. (ofcourse I felt embarassed for them not sitting the whole time) They all sat good for 40 minutes. I must think positive and realize that 40 mintues is BIG for children who have never had to sit.

I loved that the families there homeschool and very very sweet to me. They realized that this is a learning process for my kids and that practicing at home is a good way to help the kids learn.

I am anxious to start family worship time and doing devotionals with them again. I also plan on having the kids sit in one spot and practice sitting for periods of time.

The church was great, and we plan on going again. Maybe next time my husband will accompany us.

oh Lord!!! I am happy to be in your presence again!

Completing Him Challenge Week 1

Decided this would be a fun challenge. It was started by Courtney and is at her blog.

For week one:

June 14 – Step 1: Post a picture and/or write about your dating days.

So here we go.....
Casey and I met at a big camping bonfire party and I was just smitten by him. His nickname was "The Firefighter". And I love a man in uniform. I had no clue if he was a real firefighter or not. He was not feeling well so I was checking in with him every once in a while. The next morning my friends had left with out me and I needed a ride home. Fortunalty Casey was there and asked if he could take me home. This was the start of our relationship. Our dating consisted of meeting at a local hang out and just talking and having fun. I don't think we really ever went out on a real dinner date.

Here is a pictures of us at the Oregon Coast on a boat hunting for crab legs. Sorry the quality is not so great. Our scanner is not that great!



Step 2: Consider: How much time do you spend on a daily/weekly basis cultivating your marriage now? In what ways can you regain some of what has been lost in the daily shuffle of life?

I haven't been doing this at all. After almost 11 years of marriage, we have really lost touch. So this week I will spend some more one on one time with my husband and remind him how much I love him and respect him! I will lift him up in prayer and make sure I tell and show him I love him! With having 3 children and soon to be 4 (Step daughter comming for the summer!!!! :) ) we really haven't had any alone time at all. I need to make it a priority.

Wish I had more pics, but our scanner is not working very well!

Update from the homefront!

WOW it has been awhile since I have posted. That seems to be the norm around here. We are a very busy family. Both Casey and I have been going to school. Him full time and me part time. It has been hectic, but very enjoyable for me. I actually like going to school and as of right now am pulling A's in both classes! YAY!

The boys school year is almost over and I am as excited as them to have a summer break. The boys have done great in school and really have enjoyed thier teachers this year. I was able to go on a field trip with both of them! It was so good to be able to spend time with them at school. I think Andrew will have a boy teacher next year and he is excited for that. Male teachers are hard to come by! :) Joe is starting something new next year. He was accepted into Oregon Virtual Academy and will be schooling at home. He and I are excited for this and can't wait for the curriculum to come in the mail! :D

Lillie is growing like a weed. She is imaginative playing so much now and everytime I try to video her, she spots me and stops playing! :( She is slowly potty training and is excited to go to preschool this comming fall!

The weather here has been cold and raining one day to sunny the next. I was able to get some planting done, but then we had a wind storm and the chickens were able to sneek out and ate all my crop. So I am starting over and gardening veggies in the front yard in pots. Hopefully we will be able to eat some fresh veggies this year!


Here is a picture of the kids and I at the sportsman show with the golden Eagle.

And here is the one from last year. I love comparing the 2. Boy the kids have grown!

Cooking With Lillie - Making Playdough Part 2

Part 2 of making playdough! See this post to go to the beginning.

Once the burner is on medium, soon the wet dough will begin to form and look like this. Keep stirring. ;)

You may have to start flopping the dough over to make sure all is getting heated. It will soon start to take on a solid form. The color will brighten up also.

When it looks like the above picture, I flop it out onto a counter and begin kneading it and helping it cool down. WARNING: it will be very hot. You may have to wait a few minutes before you can knead it.

Let it cool enough for your anxious child to play, and your done! Enjoy! This batch makes quite a bit. It can be doubled, but you will need a bigger skillet because this recipe fills mine to the brim!
Grandmas Soft Playdough

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cup salt
3 cups water
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon cream of tarter
food coloring
spices or extract for smell

First mix all the dry ingredients
(for this time, I added allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sometimes I add lavender, or vanilla)
Then add all the dry ingredients and mix together.
Turn stove on medium heat.
Stir till dough takes form and looks like playdough!

We store ours in a tupperware container and use it for months!

So tell me? How do you make your playdough?

Cooking With Lillie - Making Playdough Part 1

This is a playdough recipe that I just love, and Lillie loves making it with me! To make it easy for my 2 year old to help, we first get all the ingredients ready! I put them all in small containers that she can easily poor into the skillet.
FYI : Although the skillet is on the burner, I do not actually turn on the burner till Lillie is done stirring and I move her out of the way! :) Yes, I know kitchen safety!! :)

Here is Lillie patiently waiting for me to get the move on! :)

Stir, stir, stir. This is Lillie favorite thing to do! She is mixing all the dry ingredients together before we add the wet!
I mix the food coloring into the water before we it to the dry ingredients. Stirring is so much fun!

When it starts to look like this, I move Lillie away from the stove, and I turn the burner on and stir some more. So here is the brief pause while I move her.........
Okay, really it is because Blogger will only allow me to use 5 photos at a time! :( Be back in a moment!

Here are all out ingredients ready to go!

Touring Tuesday

I was recently reading a blog that was doing a Touring Tuesday and was really enjoying it. Her blog is now not working, so I thought I would give it a try. So, every Tuesday I will try to give you a tour of areas of my home, town, and fun places we go! Please come along and enjoy the tours!

Our first tour will be the outside of our home. This is what people see when they first pull up to out house!

This is what you see from the other side of the street. This is a rental, so there is not a whole lot we can to. Or want to pay to have done! :)

If we are still here this summer, we are going to power wash the fence, fix the rotten ones, and repaint it!

Come on through the gate. Their are about 16 rose bushes in the river rock. They are beautiful in the summer, but a little dull in the winter!

Their is always someone waiting for you at the door!



Welcome to our little home!

Check back next week, and I will let you in to see the kitchen, or maybe a field trip!
Leave a comment please, I would love to know who is stopping by! :D