Word for Wednesday: Déjà vu

We picked mulberries off the trees last week. It reminded me of the huge, old mulberry tree that stood near the front of our house growing up. It was the best climbing tree ever, with large, low, sprawling branches – my favorite place to play. Our feet were stained purple all summer long. I was so sad when my dad cut the tree down. The berries covered the ground by the front door, and we kids were getting rich off swatting the summertime flies in the house, at a penny... Read More

Perfectly Destructible Piggy Banks

Junior has been fascinated with coins lately. He can regularly be found counting his 7 pennies, 4 nickels, 2 quarters, and 6 dimes. I bought him a piggy bank a few months ago. It shattered before it made it into the house. This is not at all unusual, and I’ve refused to buy another one until the kids can drive themselves to the store. (I figure I’ll have bigger worries than broken piggy banks then.) Junior is not one to be discouraged for long when duct tape might... Read More

Protected: Infertility Posts: Interlude

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Infertility Post 8: A Controversial Topic

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Word for Wednesday: Papilionidae

At this stage of parenthood, “developing my own interests” may be as simple and uninvolved as chasing backyard butterflies. Add a little Wordsworth, and it seems more aspiring… 🙂 I’ve watched you now a full half-hour; Self-poised upon that yellow flower And, little Butterfly! Indeed I know not if you sleep or feed. How motionless! – not frozen seas More motionless! and then What joy awaits you, when the breeze Hath found you out among the... Read More

Mother’s Day for Mama Mabel

The calf from last week’s post is still alive, but not without a good deal of blood, sweat, tears, and vet expenses. “He’s a dandy,” an old cattle rancher told us. Translation: he’s a big, fine-looking calf. But he wouldn’t nurse. We don’t know why. He was separated from his mother for a short time. Maybe he couldn’t nurse, or maybe he was traumatized. Then his mother, in pain, wouldn’t let him nurse. I found him curled... Read More

Wordless Wednesday: Culprit

I never did find out who put the “vases” there in the first place… (Click here to read more or leave a comment on Wordless Wednesday: Culprit)  Read More

A Week of Homeschooling

As the kids get older, we’re slowly shifting our focus toward homeschooling activities. Last week was a good one for showing the types of things we do. Monday, it looked like it was shaping up to be “Duck Week.” An egg hatched in our incubator overnight! It was at least a week early, so the first thing on the agenda involved ditching our original plans and driving into town for a heat lamp. My older daughter (now dubbed “Nutmeg” for the blog) is... Read More

How We Became Backyard Beekeepers

A huge box arrived on our doorstep one day last winter. The boys tore open the box and spread pieces of wood all over the living room floor. And so began our adventures with beekeeping… including me getting stung by a bee for the first time since childhood! (That story mid-way down…) Part 1: The Hiving of the Bees My husband built several hives. Then he ordered our bees, and we drove to Kansas City to pick them up. On the way home, some bees escaped and buzzed around... Read More

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