Warning May Cause an Allergic Reaction

Is anyone else finding the pine pollen particularly bad this year?

It's A Sweet Baby Girl!

Some fellow homeschoolers who live fairly close to us just bought two goats. They were told that they had not been exposed to the billy. Three days before they left for a trip to Sweden, one of the goats surprised them with a baby. They called and wanted to know if Mr. Garvey would be interested in feeding and watering the goats as well as helping out with the second female goat should she deliver while they were gone. Mr. Garvey has had a lot of experience with goats and was excited to get to be around goats again. He is amazing to watch. He is so confident and capable. He knows just what to do to get them to go where he wants them to go. On Friday we arrived to find momma #2 giving birth. Mr. Garvey jumped right in. He wiped off the new baby and declared it's a girl. We stayed until we were sure the baby was up on its legs and nursing. Here are some pictures we took today of the 2-day old baby goat. So sweet!

"You Mean You Are Old?"

The other day the girls wanted to brush my hair which is one of my all time favorite things. They will literally brush it for hours if I let them. Anyways I was on the sofa nearly comatose from all of the brushing Mary and Miss Almanzo had done, when Mr. Laura walked up.

Mr. Laura: It looks like you have a few white hairs right here.

Ma: That's because I do.

Mr. Laura: You mean you are old?

Ma: Well I wouldn't exactly put it that way, but yes I am getting older with each passing minute.

Mr. Laura: I didn't know you were old. Are you going to die?

Ma: I'm not planning on dying anytime soon, but yes someday I will die.

Mr. Laura running off to tell the others: Hey guys, momma is old! Come look.

I think this is the first time I have been declared "old". I must admit it really bothered me. So much for the peaceful, blissful state created by all of the hair brushing.

Happy Birthday Mr. Garvey!

Happy Birthday Mr. Garvey! He is turning either 8 or 9 or 10 or 11. As far as the U.S. is concerned he is turning 8. We believe that he is much older. Mr. Garvey has been waiting patiently for his birthday. He has had to watch all six of us have our "Happy Birthdays". After much anticipation and excitement his time has finally arrived.

In honor of Mr. Garvey's ?th birthday here are 8+ things about him that you may not know.

1. He loves sunglasses, his bicycle, and the Dixie Chicks.


2. He is very organized with his possessions. I know two other boys who could learn a thing or two from him.


3. He can climb trees really well. In Ethiopia he used to take his family's goats out to graze. He would have to climb a tree everyday and sit and watch the goats because of the threat of lion attacks.


4. He is a wonderful big brother to Mr. Laura who absolutely adores and worships Mr. Garvey.
   
5. He has the most wonderful set of dimples I have ever seen. I'm so glad he's happy here because that means I get to see him flash those dimples many many times a day.


6. He was one of the oldest kids to come to our agency's orphanage in Ethiopia. All of the little kids adored him. Whenever we would arrive back at the center, all of the kids would run out and chant his name over and over. He would work his way through the crowd like a rock star among his many adoring fans.


7. He is really strong. He taught us their version of "hide and seek". It involves the seeker carrying all found persons back to base piggyback style. He can actually carry me on his back. He can pick Pa up and make it a few steps.


8. His favorite movies are "Karate Kid" and "Spy Kids".


9. He loves $$$ but not to spend. He is a saver. He analyzes every potential purchase and then ultimately decides that it isn't worth it. I know four other kids who could learn a financial lesson from him.

Have a wonderful day, Mr. Garvey!

A Lesson in Thoughtfulness and Selflessness

Friday night is Parents Night Out at our local gymnastics center. The kids love it. It is 3 hours of running around, making noise, playing games and snacking on pizza and juice. When Pa and I arrived to pick them up last night, about 25-30 kids were engaged in a rather energetic game of Duck, Duck, Goose. A handful of the children had not yet had the pleasure of being the "goose". Mr. Edwards was one of them. He was frantically waving his hand in the air to be chosen. I have to admit that I was a bit embarrassed by his apparent desperation. After all he is 10 years old and one of the oldest children there. Surely it wasn't THAT important that he get to be the goose.

Turns out it was important, but not for the reasons I assumed. In the next few minutes I would see what his desperation was all about. He was not desperate to chase down the one who would eventually choose him. He was not desperate to outrun the person he would ultimately pick as goose. In fact, I would soon learn that he was not desperate at all.

After finally being chosen goose, it was now his turn to choose the next goose. He began to walk around the circle tapping the other children's heads and saying duck until he reached the smallest girl there. She was probably 3 or 4 years old. He tapped her on the head and said, "Goose". He took off running and she after him. Half-way around the circle he slowed his pace considerably. The little girl, still running her heart out, tagged him before he reached the open spot in the circle. She was so thrilled to have tagged him. I was grateful I had arrived a few minutes early to witness this act. It was a small act but the thoughtfulness and selflessness behind it were great indeed.

The Twins

On paper Mr. Laura is 1.5 months older than Mary. When we received the referral for Mr. Garvey, Mary, and Miss Almanzo, Mr. Laura was very excited about having a "twin". He would show everyone their picture and say, "This is my twin sister."

Reality turned out to be much different than Mr. Laura expected. Instead of a twin he got a much bigger, stronger and no doubt older sister. Both Mary and Mr. Laura have strong personalities. They took an instant dislike to one another.

What they have eventually learned is that they each have something to offer the other. Mary left behind a younger brother whom she cared for almost exclusively for a period of time. Mr. Laura has always loved to "play" the baby. Their relationship changed for the better once Mr. Laura realized he had another willing and capable "mama" and Mary realized she had a "baby" brother again.

Addiction? You Decide....

Here is a picture of Mr. Edwards. It is 7:40 am and he is waiting on his toast to pop. He got six books for his birthday which was only a week ago. In this picture he is reading the last of those birthday books.

Should we plan an intervention?

You Look Like You Are Going to Cry

My children are excellent eaters. They love veggies of all sorts. Others are often amazed at the kinds of vegetables they will eat and the fact that they will choose veggies over more typical "kid fare". Right after Mr. Garvey, Mary, and Miss Almanzo came to live with us, a friend cooked a meal for us which included baked chicken, mashed potatoes, a salad, and kale. When they saw the kale they went crazy yelling, "channa, channa, channa"(their name for cooked greens). Pa and I portioned out the kale and needless to say neither of us got a bite of kale for ourselves.

On Saturday I took Mr. Laura and Miss Almanzo with me to run some errands. While out, we stopped for lunch. Mr. Laura and Miss Almanzo both ordered water. The waitress stood there in disbelief. "You really want water for them to drink?", she asked. "Yes", I replied. Next Miss Almanzo decided that she wanted broccoli instead of french fries with her meal. Again the waitress was dumbfounded. "She really doesn't want french fries?" she asked. "No" I replied. In the waitress's defense she was young, probably in high school and no kids of her own.

This morning I was in a cooking mood. I made "yellow soup" because Mr. Garvey has been requesting it for days now. It is a yellow split pea soup with coconut milk, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and cilantro. It is really creamy and tasty.

Mr. Edwards started looking through his cookbooks and wanted to know if we had the ingredients to make another kind of soup. This particular recipe came from his cookbook called "The Soup Bible". Honestly soup is practically a religion for Mr. Edwards. He is that serious about it. He has very discriminating tastes when it comes to soup. He could eat good soup for every meal every day. Some of you may remember the Seinfeld episode about the "Soup Nazi". In these parts Mr. Edwards is our "Soup Nazi".



The soup Mr. Edwards chose was a spicy carrot soup with garlic croutons. After simmering the carrots until tender, it is spiced with cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper and then pureed. Pa had made some sourdough bread last night. We cubed a bit of it, tossed it with olive oil and garlic and toasted it until brown and crispy. We then topped the soups with the croutons.

I asked Mr. Edwards how he liked the soup. He replied, "It is WON-DER-FUL". With every bite he took, he moaned "MMMMM!" Mr. Garvey started laughing and said to Mr. Edwards, "You look like you're going to cry". He really did. He was thoroughly savoring each and every spoonful. <>

Tiny Butterfly Girl to Visit Mr. Laura Tonight

Today Mr. Laura lost his first tooth. True to form however, he did it his own way. He did not lose a tooth from the bottom as expected. Instead he lost one of his top two front teeth. This probably happened because he has an extra baby tooth and things were getting pretty tight up there.

Mr. Laura is so excited that he has joined the ranks of those eligible for a visit by Tiny Butterfly Girl.