Topsoil and Tears

Abby can find fun in anything, and a huge pile of soil is no exception. She had a blast digging and rolling down the pile over and over again. I actually have a cute video of her rolling down the pile, but I've exceeded my video upload limit for a free account unfortunately and I don't want to pay for more storage. I guess I'll have to find another free hosting service.



Even though she had some fun, we worked long hours all week in the yard and she began having a hard time coping, especially toward the end of the days when she was tired and hungry. But thankfully it's done now, and we can get back to doing her school and a somewhat normal routine.

Long Weekend

After celebrating Mother's Day on Friday, we spent the weekend clearing weeds from our property. We tried to get the kids to help out by picking up rocks and pinecones and even pulling weeds, but most of the time they spent playing or pestering one another. It was a long weekend for all of us, especially for Abby. She didn't have a nap or quiet time for three days, she played and worked hard for two days, and she was dog tired by Sunday evening.

New Posts

I have been having a very hard time getting pictures uploaded and posts written on my blogs. I simply don't have the time available that I used to have since we began doing Abby's "school." However, today I have a "free" day, so I am going to publish quite a few posts. Some of these posts are pretty old, but since I use this as an online scrapbook of sorts for each of the kids, I am going to post them anyway. We have had an extraordinarily busy month, and we took lots of pictures!

New Addition

This is about step three of 24 steps!

We installed a new addition to our backyard this weekend, and best of all, my dad flew up to help us put together our new playstructure! I told the kids several months ago that we would be getting it, and every time we went to Costco we looked at it and dreamed about having it in our yard. Needless to say, when Granpa flew in this weekend, they were very excited.


Having a snack on the new play structure picnic table.

I don't think they had been assembling it for 30 minutes before Abby asked if it was done yet! She had a hard time staying off of it while we were trying to get it all together (which took about 14 hours over two days). During a break, I gave them a snack and let them eat it on the new picnic table. That placated them for a short time.


Done at last! (Abby is already breaking
a longstanding rule...no climbing up the slide!)

Finally, fairly early Sunday morning it was assembled, anchored, and ready to play on! We have had several bumps already, but they are getting the hang of it. I think they each have hit their head on the crossbeam of the playhouse part a dozen times or so, but now they are used to ducking their heads.


Spying out the "bad guys."

Making Friends

Some new friends from Ryan's homeschool group invited us out to their farm for lunch yesterday. They have a horse, a cow, two sheep, three rabbits, chickens, cats, and a dog. Abby loves animals and she really enjoyed feeding the sheep. She was intimidated by the cow (large calf, really), but she still feed her too. She loved holding the dwarf bunny and playing with the dog the best, though the hammock was great fun too.


There was a small patch of mud on the north side of the barn, but of course my little girl found it and apparently rolled around in it from the looks of her! It was lovely red clay mud. Abby was dirtier than all the other five kids put together! Thankfully I always keep a change of clothes in the car for her (can you see why?), and I was able to change her before putting her in the van. We had a lovely time, and Abby can't wait to go back.

Jumping Rope

Both kids got jump ropes in their stockings this year, and after we took the tree down, there was room inside the house to jump. Abby hasn't quite got the hang of it, but she puts her all into it!

They Found It

The kids were disappointed that I had to put our pinecone feeders on the fence and ground for the birds to eat, and frankly so was I. However, I had left one hanging on the tree, and at last the birds have discovered it. I guess now that they know what to look for, they can find them wherever we put them. I'm thinking we'll make some more since they've just about eaten all that we've put out.

King of the Castle

As we were getting out of the van last week, Abby asked me when Jesus was coming to His castle. I asked her where she heard Jesus had a castle, and she said, "Nowhere, but Jesus is the King and kings live in castles." Made sense to me!

Playing Farmyard

We went to see the movie Charlotte's Web last weekend, and it must have inspired the kids to play with their farm animals. I heard them mooing and quacking, and then they were grouping the animals off into families while following Charlotte's instructions.

Adorable

Abigail looks adorable in hats, and this Santa hat is no exception. I am disappointed that it is not a well-lit image, but I had to share it anyway.

Inside Exercise

It that time of year again...non-stop wet weather. I actually love this time of year, except for the need to find ways to let my kids burn off all their energy. I have lots of activities we can do, but it's hard to find something to do inside that will really wear them out. I was desperate one day recently and I went into the garage and dug out our mini-trampoline. Why didn't I do it sooner? Now when they are bouncing off the walls, I get out the timer and they take turns jumping. Abby jumped for about 20 minutes straight the other day because Ryan didn't want a turn!

This is Abby showing her Star Jump from gymnastics.

For Hannah

For some reason the last couple of days Abby has been saying, "I miss Hannah." I asked her which Hannah she's talking about, and she said, "My cousin Hannah." I have to laugh at this since she's only met Hannah once and Abby wasn't even two yet! She see Hannah's blog once in a while, but that's all the contact she has with her. Perhaps it's because we bought and wrapped Hannah's Christmas presents last week that she is thinking about her.

So, Hannah, Abigail sends her love and misses you!

Autumn Colors

Fall is my favorite time of year, and this year the season appears to be lasting longer than usual. It seems like the changing of the leaves only lasts a couple of weeks, but it's been going on for over a month now. The kids and I have been going for walks in the morning if there's a break in the rain, and I brought my camera along today. Abby loves leaves, and by the time we get back home she usually has fists full of leaves she's collected along the way.

This trail is half a block from our
house and runs along a wooded creek.

I am so thankful God gave us such a beautiful season before the gray cold colors of winter set in!

New Clothes

Sandy, a friend of mine from long ago, sent Abby a huge box of clothes that her daughter can no longer wear. Abigail was thrilled! As I was going through the box, Abby was ripping off her clothes and trying on the new stuff. It was hilarious. I knew she liked clothes, but I've never quiet seen her this excited before. There were some adorable coats and jackets, some really nice matching outfits, and Abby's favorite...a pair of pink suede boots. Thanks so much, Sandy and Tia!

Upgrading

I upgraded my blogs to the new beta version, and I'm having to "refine" some things. I started with Abby's, so if it looks a little odd, that's why. Thanks for your patience!

Abby's Song

I first heard this song on Julia's website, and it so describes Abby that we have dubbed it "Abby's Song." I haven't been able to figure out a good way to play a song embedded on this blog, so here's a link to our family website where you can hear it.

Getting in some Reading

This morning as I was fixing breakfast, my little helper wasn't nearby. I went to investigate where she might be and found her snuggled comfortably in Daddy's chair reading a book. In case you can't make out the title, it's I Want To Be a Gymnast. She looked so cute and grown up, I couldn't resist a photo. She was enthralled with the book all morning, showing me the pictures of the girls doing splits and jumps and such.

One Year Anniversary

Today is the first anniversary of Abigail's blog. I have been going back through last year's posts reminding myself of all the events, and it has been a blessing to see Abby's progress and to read cute things she did that I have already forgot about.

Yeah, Daddy!

Yesterday was a big day for our family, especially for Daddy. After almost three years of school, he graduated with his bachelor's degree! We celebrated by going out to dinner after the ceremony with some friends of ours. Abby and Ryan both were very well-behaved the whole day, and we had a great dinner. Abby ate well, as usual, and then enjoyed her sundae by drinking it through a straw!