I'm here

I have not disappeared!  I just haven't been doing a whole lot lately.  We have taken a 2 month break from school (something we have not done in the past with schooling year round).  We are all looking forward to starting school back up in August and getting back into a routine once again.  

The garden is doing well.  We have been eating fresh green beans, tomatoes, cucumber and are still waiting for the sweet potato, peppers and the onions.  We found a snake hanging out on one of the green bean leaves.  Scared all the kids but I think it is just a garter snake.  

Our 'friends' continue to visit.  The deer hasn't been coming around during the day lately but I've seen her at night.  I've also seen the raccoons as well.  One actually climbed up onto the bird feeder and was eating out of it.  This guy was big too!!  We've also had quite a few rabbits in the yard which the kids love to watch.  No new birds.  We've enjoyed the Indigo Bunting all summer and our other usual birds.  We didn't get very many goldfinch this year though.  The woodpeckers and bluejays will come visit every now and then....and we have an abundance of doves, chickadees and cardinals!  

Other than that...I guess there's nothing to update on.  Baby girl did get another tooth....finally.  Number 5.  She is just soooo different than the other 4.  They all had a mouthful before they were a year old!  We haven't moved her onto chunky solids yet cause she can't chew :)  We've also discovered she loves to wrestle with the kids....especially her big sister (3 yr old).  It is so funny to watch them.  They are all such blessings! 

Unwelcomed guests!

So, with our deer friend visiting daily....we thought it was time we bought her some real food to munch on instead of birdseed.  We bought this wildlife mix and nicely poured it out in her usual feeding spot before heading to bed.  Well, when we heard a rustle outside, hubby and I quickly headed towards the door to peek on our friend.  We didn't find our friend.  Instead we found 2 very unwelcomed guests!!  RACCOONS!  Guess that will be the last night of wildlife food we put out on the deck!!

Our friend

Birthday

Our boy is now 8 years old!  These kids are just growing up way too fast!!  I was very proud of our girl taking charge of the party this year.  Mommy wasn't feeling the greatest, so she made the cake and decorated it all by herself.  She did a great job and our birthday boy was very happy with the results!  Besides getting some fun toys and treats as presents, he also got alot of books!  He has already read (yes, in 24 hrs) 5 of his books.  This kid LOVES to read!!  Here's a few pics from yesterday.

And our deer friend has been visiting daily....right up to the house.  She doesn't startle too easily.  The kids can stand by the door and watch her as she licks birdseed off the deck.  It still startles me to turn and look out the door and see her staring back at me!!!  Here's a few pics of our friend...

The shrinking garden

We've noticed that 2 of our rather large tomato plants are getting smaller and smaller.  We've also noticed a few ends here and there that have been snapped off of the other leafy greens.  Today confirmed the culprit!!!
I walked into the kitchen and was face to face with our deer friend.  He was just feet from the door.  Wasn't even scared either.  Just looked at me :)  What a sneak.  So glad our garden is feeding the local wildlife....not!

Sonight curriculum

Recently an article was posted about Ken Ham by the cofounder of Sonlight...a popular curriculum used among Christian homeschoolers.  I'm going to sum up the article for you but I've posted the link below.
We, as Christians, need to be very careful which curriculum we choose for our children.  I'm not saying all of Sonlight's curriculum is bad but we can see the approach that Sonlight has taken when it comes to Biblical viewpoints especially about the origins of the earth.  Sonlights position is that they present different world views about how the earth is created and show that Christians can differ in what they believe......as parents you are free to teach your children which viewpoint you hold to.
 I believe the Bible is VERY clear on the origins of the earth and to suggest that Christians can differ on this viewpoint is not biblical!!  We need to be teaching our children God's absolute truth with no compromise.  We DO need to teach them what the world believes and show them through scripture why those views are wrong.  But we certainly do not need to present different world views with the idea that it is OK for Christians to differ on what they believe!!

Here is the link to the entire article
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2013/07/03/cofounder-of-sonlight-calls-me-pope-ham/

*I can't believe the sheer disrespect and rudeness towards Ken Ham from Holzmann.  What a reflection of his character which is another reason I would never recommend Sonlight to anyone!!*

Garden and updates

We have been finally getting produce from our garden!  It's been great.  This is our first garden that has actually worked.  It's exciting to go out and see all the veggies growing, waiting for them to ripen.  So far we've been able to pick the onions and tomatoes, but our cayenne, beans and grape tomatoes will soon be ready.  Cucumbers are taking awhile to get here and I'm not sure how the sweet potato are doing.

This cold is still hanging on as well.  More of a sinus thing I guess.  Hopefully it will clear up soon.  So thankful the rest of the family didn't get anymore that some light sneezing.

We have taken quite a nice break from school.  We usually school year round but taking the month of June off was really nice!!  Need to get back into the swing of things though.  Maybe after our boys birthday!  Hard to believe we will be celebrating an 8th birthday for him on Monday!!  These kiddos need to slow down on their growing.

Hubby is still doing well surgery wise.  He is going on 17 months since his last surgery which is amazing!!!  Our God is so good!

I think that's it for the updates right now........