4.5.16 posters

Ahh spring time. The time of big school projects. The time my brain is forced to mush stage from worry, frustration, over exertion of creativity, and excitement of new learning. As usual we have a lot of projects because we have multiple students participating and I expect high levels of learning to occur!

And as usual we have a lot of procrastination, some intentional and some seasonal. This year the assignment was to read about a person in history and do a story board, poster board, and 3-5 minute speech in costume! John chose John Deere. Mark chose Abraham Lincoln, and Aliza chose a famous red head Elizabeth the first.

John's board after working all day typing and gathering information into one spot. After he had been instructed what to do and had put his touches on the design.

The little girls helping. Coloring his board. Painting the table and each other and books with poster paint. Using half the glue on some project yet to be found limiting Mark's amount to use.

Aliza working to get her information from her sources onto the computer into usable poster additions. How thankful I was for her capability, vision, and preparedness!! She had pictures ready and printed for her poster, her speech mostly composed, and she had key costume elements. Phew for one I didn't have to drag to completion.

Harold also tackling piles of math homework. As state testing is upon us as well the teachers have been cramming information for the past 6 weeks. Of course homework is never a concern for Harold who opts to do it as he pleases, but after some parent teacher conferences we are again recommitted to doing our work for a few weeks at least. One teacher commented he was the most stubborn student she had ever had. I laughed and said "Don't worry there's more of them. We breed them well...."

At this point late Friday and Saturday I was ready to pull my hair out and so worried about the speeches that had not been started. Speaking is a big deal to me. I want my kids to be confident, to be memorized, to  be interesting and most of all to feel successful. Sunday is a hands off homework day so I tried to be peaceful while listening to conference but was stewing and fretting. Monday I picked the kids up slightly early so we  begin composing speeches for Mark and John. (Projects were due to present the next night!)

They both knew their information, but had nothing written down. John had put together some notes early in the morning and I had composed a speech for him based on the notes and conversations we had had. I set him to work typing the speech and Mark and I began orally composing and rehearsing his speech.

After 10x running through I started transcribing his speech and let him go do chores. John wearily drug himself in to begin his recitation practice. Dinner was being put together by Aliza, Anna was working through her Monday mountain of homework and the little kids were somewhere playing. John got through his speech 5 grudging times. We ate, did family home evening and I listened to speeches ones more time before bed. I was panicked that they hadn't rehearsed enough to be prepared.
We worked more this morning and I turned them loose to school and scouts later. The agony of cramming!
I'm happy to report I did not send a who thought of this idea to any teacher involved nor did we revolt and just abstain from participating. But man I was tired and frazzled.
TO BE CONTINUED...

4.4.16 A Little Reality

A friend commented how great everything looks on blogs and how neat it is that I have undertaken this endeavor to capture my family life. It comes with a cost. Blogs are such a small picture of the real life that is behind them. The crying babies who are teething, the wrestling jumping toddlers munching crackers and cereal on your freshly made bed, or drawing with their sister's make-up all over the basement walls are the activity behind the words.

Life is real and it is messy a lot of the time. It is not happy or pleasant, it is work and it is tedious. My question for conference was how can I find more joy in motherhood? Meaning how can I not be exhausted and grouchy and short all the time with my deaf children who never come when I call, who hide in the dark recesses of their rooms and who walk away as I ask them to do their chores repeatedly (and I have 8 who do this! How can I love this job more and not yearn to be anywhere else- like college doing something I want to do? Why does it have to be so messy and so much on me to make it better?

Well the answer came in many talks- pray more, center my life more on the important things- blogging possibly isn't one of those or reading other blogs. And finally it's my choice to be happy or miserable. So with all of the realities and responsibilities I chose how I handle it. Feeling like an indentured servant to my husband or feeling glad I can have children, and happy they are healthy and determined. Thankful we have so much and challenged to make life inspiring, organized, and beautiful for those same people. Also reveling in my blessing of having so much love and life constantly swirling around me. I am never lonely and rarely bored. So it's my choice how I live this life I have chosen. Thus my attempt to record happy, funny, accomplishments of our family.

I'm sure if I gave you a rundown of the in-betweens and the majority of the holding, correcting, coercing, hollering and giving-up that happens here you would be amazed we have any successes. But we do. I loved Elder Holland's counsel that God loves us when we keep trying even if we don't get far that we just keep trying. That's motherhood and life here we keep trying to make progress and do better. How thankful I am for that opportunity and that challenge as daunting as it daily is.

So no need to measure our smiley faces by your real house. I only write sporadically because I have to come to that smiley face place in my mind. I often skip weeks because I'm too much in the mire of the real that is here. But I'm working daily to listen to the truths I've listed, to be grateful and see the good, to trust in God and His Care for this SUPER STUBBORN family we have created and to live in His Light. My best to you. Please remember if you are feeling overwhelmed with the burdens you carry they are most likely not true reflections of the blessings God has given, but Satan warping the good to be bad. Truth is hard to discern but through prayer and faith I have found the help I needed to realize the difference. My best to you today.

4.4.16 A family

These guys are getting in trouble for being rowdy during the prayer. They look very disciplined don't they? Mostly they are just goons. Brothers who love being together. Tussling like bear cubs, thinking alike about the importance of chickens and cows, and always there to share blame and joy of living!

These three are always ready and eager to help me cook. Afton mastered climbing on buckets so she can be part of the action. I'm not excited about this development but she is so joyful to be one with her big sisters. Note her cheesy grin with Millie. She is learning fast!

And some random pictures I found on my phone. These were taken while I was in the grocery store. Obviously they were having a good time.

One of the thoughts from conference that rang so true to me was about  'the powerful influence older siblings can have on younger in shaping their lives and helping them as they grow and develop!'
It is a struggle to have such vast differences in ages, developmental needs and interests but it is so good to hear and see them loving and teaching and nurturing each other. It's not all roses and smiles here though,  there's LOTS of crying and disgruntled times but there are powerful teaching moments too. The insistence of the littles to do what the olders do is sometimes good- like potty training, reading scriptures and eating spinach!

 Last week the olders decided we would have "their favorite spinach" as the hot vegetable for dinner. Millie and Livy do not like spinach. They watched in amazement as the olders raced to see who could eat their entire helping of spinach first and then declared "Yum! My favorite!! Look my muscles are growing!!" I sat silently watching and listening. Livy turned to her plate stirred her small pile of spinach tentatively stuck in her fork for a strand or two of spinach and tasted it again for the first time. She declared "yum? I like spinach?!" Millie looked quizzically at her also tenaciously trying the spinach on her plate. She was not so convinced.
I thought man all those years of force feeding the older 5 is sure paying off right now.

I did the sleepless nights, the awful mealtimes. The meltdowns and the messes. It was intense with the first 5 or 6, they all came so fast. And I thought I would loose my mind. Listening to people now I probably could have got med's and should have done counseling. But we did survive and they survived and they are so helpful and good now (for the most part....) We still go rounds as I am constantly warning and reminding them not to teach the youngers bad habits- climbing trees, hitting etc. But a lot of the enduring is paying off right now. Phew!! 

Time does pass and from enduring and patiently spoon feeding the toddlers eventually makes kids who willingly and mostly happily eat their dinner and then they can do the dishes! Or maybe they even made the dinner or chose the dreaded courses! Life is good and thank goodness it keeps moving on.

3.29.16 trees

Our yard has overgrown in the past years. It has great potential though and as the kids get more competent it is time to try to reclaim the land and vegetation.  Our trees are becoming an obstruction and a major water drain. So with Harold home for a week we proceeded to thin our forest. We used a chain and our excursion and got to work.

We also worked on our apple TREEs. These trees have great potential and bear lots of fruit each year-which we feed the animals because it is wormy. Unfortunately, we are very ignorant as to how to care for them. So we took the mighty sawsall and our master gardener book and youtube and hacked those trees down to size. It took many battery recharges and lots of time and hopefully they will be productive this year too. We learned  a new organic way to control bugs and are excited to try again.

The kids had a good time loading and driving the 4wheeler and trailer back and forth to the burn pile. It was a busy week and hopefully our work will bring the desired fruit.

I didn't end up sitting in my chair all week long. I ended up very tired, scratched and happy that we conquered another big project with my crew of helpers. I love working with my kids. I love seeing them develop skills and muscles. I sincerely hope we did not kill our trees. And now with the kids back in school  and my little ones cranky and cross I really miss the entertainment and help they provide. It hits me more and more often how good it is to be a family. We have arrived.

When we had just two or three kids it didn't feel like we were a family, but now as we have grown in maturity, size, ability, and number our space feels like family. Hopefully, we are giving them a foundation that will allow them to build the lives they desire for themselves someday. Hopefully, the skills I lack and areas I am weak in will not hinder their development too much. And hopefully, we can accomplish the pile of homework that is shortly coming because we didn't complete it over spring break choosing rather to enjoy the outdoors and move in the sunshine, and play a bit too. Ah the up and down of life. Best to you today.   

3.25.16- Some more spring break

I began spring break thinking I was going to be sitting for a week. I'm trying to teach and allow my older children independence and responsibility for chores and cooking here at home. So I remove myself from the situation, but remain close enough to monitor (listen) and wait and wait for the task to be accomplished. I thought it would be a very long week of patience and inactivity. It's such a toss up with older kids, work with them and then get frustrated the job isn't getting done in a more (experienced) timely manner or let them learn and be patient. If I'm not in the thick of their task then I don't get as frustrated, hence a more positive experience for them. I hope.
I got some cute pictures while I waited.
Millie needed another trim according to her very conscientious hair designer Livy. So she has a big window of bangs. Thanks Liv. Mollies hair was almost all even with hair advancing over her ears. Thank goodness she is such a cutey.

 Reed is Loving his birthday gun. A real bb gun which his brothers provided a real bb for. Dad removed it after bed and will get that opportunity corrected. Fake guns break almost instantaneously especially in a  houseful of brothers. A real bb gun is just a bit more in price and should hold up longer. Reed is in heaven.
Snuggling with my Livy under the quilt I made for a Laurel project back in my Young Women days.

Reed's birthday. He requested a marshmallow cake. We were delighted to indulge in another angel food cake.

My budding photographer loves to document her hand in picture taking at our house, and to spend some time amusing herself.

Probably Afton's number one fan. Harold has really loved playing with her and carrying her this way. She of course obliges happily to go for a ride. He is also sharing his beloved teddy bear from his baby-hood. She will go to bed pretty peacefully with bear by her side. I love watching these sweet sibling relationships develop as different personalities and maturities happen.

And happy to report that the sitting was quickly replaced by much action and labor. We got the crew mostly mobilized. I found I can keep about 7 kids going at a time the other 3 are good at being MIA. But that's over half active so we call it a success. More about that tomorrow.

3.26.16 animal harvest

A rare learning opportunity came this week. We got to watch the harvest of an animal here at the farm. As the kids are getting more involved in the care and keeping of the animals and are older and more educationally wise I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn. The older kids were there feeding when the company arrived so they got the nitty-gritty bullet scene. The rest of the crew arrived after the dramatic end of the steers life. In time to watch it be removed from its pen. Is that more happy to live and die in the same few acres you spent your whole life? I know holistic practitioners are big into content animals- this one was very loved and will be very delicious!!
The kids climbed up for a better view of the show. 

After the cow was removed from its pen it was skinned and prepared to depart. I think the removal of organs is so interesting. I love to see how they are all connected together. Forgive the sun glare- it was a beautiful day. It is a very physically demanding job to harvest animals, these guys are tough.

The kids exclaiming over how gross or cool it was to watch the process. Surprisingly Mark was the most grossed out. He mourns the loss of any animal, of which he considers all to be pets. We again had to reassure him that all animals are made for the use of man and this is the reason they feed them - so the animals can feed us. He was much better after the steer was skinned.

My brave and curious John asked to touch before the carcass left. Reed was getting up his nerve too.

Yep that's the steer ready to go. They pronounced the fat to be sticky. The steer will provide many good meals in the months to come. We are thankful for the bounty that is ours and the skills and opportunity to live so well on the farm.

3.25.16 pulling a pin

 Our baby is quite the clever one. I had found a pin on the floor and hooked it onto my shirt to return to the sewing supplies.  she of course discovered the new adornment and pulled it off my shirt and poked me. I proceeded to push the pin deep into a chair thinking it wouldn't hurt anyone and I could take it with me when I left.

 She slipped off my lap and tried to pinch the pin out. Finding this unsuccessful she proceeded to pull with her teeth.

 See the wet spot she showed me her skill several times. She of course succeeded.

 My great grandmother would often comment "I was getting too big for my britches." This little lady is in that category right now! After the pin pulling she finished her bed time snack only by feeding herself via spoon or fingers but absolutely no interference from mom!!

The happy camper finally ready for bed.

A quick end note. These stories are mostly for the benefit of my children. Our children have come very quickly to our home and I fear to admit but I remember few details of the older kids antics. I'm sure they had similar cuteness and stubbornness. Of course the anecdotes would be different as supplies and opportunities were different but the idea is the same nonetheless. As we get nearer the end (surely over half-way) I want to remember these times and need to remind myself these kiddos are amazing and quickly and slowly advancing into their individual self's. Afton is changing so quickly and is such a ham thanks to the adoring fan club that constantly attends her. We are thankful for each time we get to go through the stages with each child in our home. They are all unique but funny and quite accomplished.