Preschool Performance

Sarah had her last day of school today.

She sang songs and made me smile so much

that my lips hurt.

That's a good feeling.

Preschool just does that to me.

Singapore

Matthew and Alex are back from Singapore!

(It makes me very happy to say that.)

It's always nice when your family is home,

SAFE AND SOUND, from a faraway country.

Ya know what I mean?

While there they participated in the

Singapore International

Mathematics Challenge 2010

with their high school team.

And they never once chewed gum.

Because in Singapore that's illegal.

And doing anything illegal,

especially in a foreign country,

makes momma very nervous.

Welcome home guys.

Strawberry Shortcake

This was the Strawberry Shortcake I made for Book Club.

~ important note ~

It looked better than it tasted.

sigh

So, I will continue my search for a shortcake

that has ingredients I can live with

and looks good enough to eat too.

The sunflowers are still growing.

The girls and I planted these back in April.

And look at them now!

We have so much fun watching sunflowers grow.

Every day we note the changes.

Sarah also likes me to read the children's book,

Mortimer's First Garden, for inspiration.

Isn't it funny how mice in picture books are so cute.

Tell me.....

did our farmer ancesters think that too?

Ranae as "Ugly"

Just hatched!

Making friends with the cat.

Final song.

Ranae's play performance was this week.

She was nervous and excited .....and brilliant.

She had the lead roll of Ugly in the school musical.

(The story of the Ugly Duckling.)
She had so much fun and has a talent for acting.

I wonder where this will lead......

Sarah's Gymnastic Program

Today was Sarah's last day of gymnastics at her preschool.

It was hard to take a picture of her because she was a blur of movement!

She giggled and smiled and rolled and balanced.

And to top it off she was awarded a medal and bracelet!

I can be sure she's happy when that single dimple begins to show.

Beyond cute!

Princess the Cat

Princess is a quiet, cautious cat that doesn't like crowds.

At 13 years old she is still a great farm cat.

(Although her dream job is lap kitty.)

Today she found a comfortable out of the way place to nap.

She's looking at me as if to say,

"Please don't make me get up."

Lunchbox line-up

This is the daily lunchbox line-up.

My kids all take their lunch every day.

(Sarah only twice a week.)

I have gotten making lunches down to a science.

One day I am going to figure out just how many lunches I have made over the years.

5 kids X 13 school years minus holidays and sick days.......

Hmmmm.

Dare I ask them how many times they have swapped lunches?

Mostly I think they like it because they don't have to stand in the cafeteria line.

But I like to think that they also like the lunches I make.

Some things just get better with experience.

LOTS and LOTS of experience.

Spring Ballet Show

After church today we headed to the theatre.

Sarah's ballet studio was having their Spring Ballet Show.

What a joy to see!

Pancake Saturday

I love making pancakes.

And the kids love eating pancakes.

A good combination.

And on this Saturday I made special pancakes.

Made very easy with my new pancake pen from WS.

And even though pancakes are great,

and even though they are warm and sweet,

and in our mouth right now,

we still ask this question.....

Which is better, pancakes or waffles???

Is that not like a question a goat would ask?

When my goats have sweet, green, hay

in their mouth right now,

they will still ask themselves this question.....

Which is better, this hay or the grass on the other side of the fence?

So, today, I will give you the answer to the age old question:

Is the grass always greener on the other side?

-drum roll please-

The answer is: they are both green and good.

But you should be happy with what you have.

Happy Mother's Day!

(Sarah and I~2007)

I love being a mom.

It's my dream job.

I love runny noses,

dirty faces,

snacks,

sweaty smiles,

loud giggles (even in church),

nap time,

patty cake,

preschool,

laundry,

elementary school,

piano practice,

middle school,

pimples,

braces,

high school boys taller than me,

driving lessons....

I love it all.

What an awesome responsibility

and what a blessing.

Being a mom is the best career choice I ever made.

Shy Wolf Sanctuary

Today our 4-H club went to Shy Wolf Sanctuary.

It was a wonderful visit.

I would encourage anyone to donate

their time or money to such a worthy cause.

Matthew petting a wolf.

Kevin petting a wolf dog.


Ranae getting a kiss from a wolf.

This wolf did not like people.

It would growl when Alex faced it.

But if he turned his shoulders to the side it would stop.

When he turned his eyes to look at the wolf it would growl again.

Notice the smaller mesh fence.

Good idea.

STAR GIRL

Here's my most cherished lawn ornament.

And she's got her eyes on me....

because I'm holding dinner.

Raccoon Trap

We have a problem.

Any raccoon that visits my small farm life regularly

is a problem.

They may look cute.....

but they would eat a baby goat if they caught 'em.

So Matthew engineered this trap.

And my husband filled it with hot dogs.

The hot dogs are gone.

But the raccoon is still visiting.

The only thing worse than a raccoon.....

is a smart raccoon.