The many joys of parenting many!

The last week has been more busy than ever.  We added one more little one (for just a little while) to our mix…that makes 4 new ‘LITTLES’ with 6 original. Over the weekend we went to the park for a few hours and played on every-single-set-of-monkey-bars, every slide, every swing…LOVE-IT!!! We arranged everybody’s room in an efficient manner, did lots and lots of laundry, went to birthday parties, mowed/weeded the yard, prepared the kids play area,  tidied the house some more, fed chickens (which BTW haven’t started laying eggs since the move, poor gals), and have absolutely enjoyed SEEING fall arrive!
Here’s a quick mix of pics for you--

		Little Faces VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We are learning new things every day and taking it very slowly with our new children.  Parenting is totally a journey worth taking in stride. 
Thanks for stopping by for a visit…and thank you for your prayers.
Kimi

The Adventure Begins

We are finished with our state licensing, have our CPR/First Aid/Pool Safety certification and home study completed. With the recent tornadoes, it pushed back the program somewhat and we all have been eagerly waiting for the arrival of our children. 
We got to keep 3 precious kids last week, so they just did school along with us, along with everything else we do.  Here’s a little photo gallery of our week.  
Doing school

Playing in the rain

Going for a little trail ride

Picking fresh flowers

Picking cucumbers & green beans

We had such a great time with them. Keep us in your prayers. Our hands, our hearts and our home is open and waiting for our new little ones!
Thanks for stopping by and visiting. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Kimi

Happy July 4th!! {day 1}

Husband's off all weekend, weather is cooperating and we are all together!  This definitely makes for a wonderful 4th of July weekend. 
Here's a pictorial of our first day...Field trip to a civil war museum, bar-b-q with friends and just being together!

 This morning we woke up and decided to take a field trip to a museum.  Not far from where we live are many historical places to visit. This one is called "Crooked Creek Civil War Museum". Choc-full of all kinds of civil war guns, uniforms, saddles, cannon balls, photos, and too many other items to name, we took a short trip to a little area in our county called West Point. It is such a quaint little part of our county. I wouldn't mind living there. The curator is full of stories and trivia that tell about what happened here during the civil war.

The guns they are holding are authentic and all were used during the civil war. 

  This a one of 2 huge dioramas that are in the museum. Look at the little tiny men, complete with guns.

 Here the curator is giving us a personal tour and describing many things in great detail.

 You can take a walk along the paths that cover the 40 acre historical site or you can drive down to the winding creek below. Various trails lead to different parts of the river, and to many holes where the soldiers actually fought and hide from their foes. One boulder even has 2 bullet holes in it.  They found several bullets near the boulder and they are on display at the museum.

 My husband and I are standing next to a cabin that was moved to this property for the benefit of becoming a bed and breakfast. Inside is simply lovely. All very primitive, but thankfully, complete with air conditioner. (our warm Alabama days are hitting up into the high 90's)

 This is a pavilion complete with a few pic-nic tables and 2 carriages. The old wheels date back to the late 1800's on one and 1904 on the other.

 Each buggy is a 2-seater. 

 This bullet collection shows and assortment used during and after the civil war.

 One of the things I love about visiting a place like this is watching the kids explore on their own. Austin is looking at a couple of pages from an old book.  The magnifying light/glass really shows the detail of the photo. He thought it was fun to turn the light on and off too.

 These guns are so heavy...built well and lasted nearly 150 years.

The back side of the little cabin. This cabin was actually taken apart and moved. All the boards were numbered, disassembled and  then put completely reconstructed as the original building. It's really something amazing to see. 

 After leaving the museum, we headed on over to visit with our good friends, Jeff and Bridget and their family. We had such a good time together!~

All the kids were there...having fun outside. We were inside getting all the food ready. Hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, along with macaroni 'n cheese, and au gratin potatoes and chips, topped off with sweet tea. It was yummie and everyone ate way too much!

Afterwards we went outdoors and watched fireworks go off one after another.  It was loud and bright! We loved it! Then we ate snow cones and let the kids light sparklers.     Such a great way to start our celebration of our 4th of July!

We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating Independence Day and that you are able to spend time with those you love and care about too. 

Here's how the coop was moved...

...from the previous property to our new property.  We balanced it on the tractor with a 1200 lb round bale of hay.  Of course the hay weighed much more than the coop, but it worked.  We just strapped the coop onto the front and drove staight through the back pasture.  A few of the chickens were still inside.  We set it down carefully and opened the door.  Out they came running and when one of the kids tried to pick up a chicken, out from one of the chickens, came an egg as they were running around!  What a shock!

We found the perfect spot and positioned it on some cement blocks. 

How 'bout it was cold the day we moved it and then it got colder!! We didn't even have a chicken run made for them yet.  They didn't seem to care.  They just roamed freely in the pasture.  They even laid a few eggs nearly everyday.

Since we had a large warming lamp for them, they didn't seem to mind snuggling down in their coop.

Finally it warmed up some and the snow melted.  They are enjoying their free-ranging pasture.  We have to be careful the area predators  don't have a healthy organic snack.  We've already lost a few to the hawk family that lives in the woods nearby. 

Since it was beginning to get warmer, we decided to go ahead and build that chilcken run for them.  The kids and I set out and put up the lumber and started at it.  It ended up being 10 1/2 ft by 16 ft. 

We had the sides and top up and then we started on the fenced sides.  We really thought this would keep them inside for at least the time being...but, oh no!  They definitely flew the coop!  Aggrivating!!

Now, they have a safe little place to get fresh air and walk around. 

Next, I'm going to show you how we clipped our chickens' wings because they kept flying over the fencing.  It's easier than you'd think! 

The Time is Getting Nearer!

Oh how exciting! We are getting so close to moving into our new home!  Painting, laying flooring, cleaning, repairing walls, cleaning, etc.  Our days are filled with school, house chores, outdoor chores, new house work, and this is just the home side of our life. We love the fact that we're gonna be moved, unpacked, getting settled in and looking forward to the spring...oh, that means, garden time, hatching little chicks, and canning our fresh grown produce.  Mmmmm.....Every season brings it's own set of works, doesn't it. 

Just a little update on our progress.  Looking forward to posting some pictures and giving more updates! 

Blessings to your home from ours!  Kimi

A Trip to Amish Country-Tennessee

Last week for my birthday, we took a day trip to a nearby state to visit an Amish Community. The night before, we packed a huge pic-nic basket and carry cooler with lots of homemade goodies, homemade bread, muffins and sweet tea for the trip, so we wouldn't need to use the dreaded 'drive-thru' or stop at the convience stores on the way there or back home.  It made the trip so much more enjoyable, because I knew we were going to feel better the next day.  We went with our good friends Jeff and Bridget Koehoorn and their two boys, Tanner & Jody.  Since all of us like the outdoors, it made the day even better.  Such a great way to celebrate my birthday...

Here's  a little photo gallery of the day...heading into the Gorgeous state of Tennessee

I always enjoy seeing the ridges of the mountains as we pass by

On the way we saw these rolling hills...

 And this breathtaking valley!

 

 Here we are entering into the Amish community. We reserved a wagon for us all and arrived  that morning.  It was ready and waiting on us, so after walking around the little gift shop we all boarded and off we went!! Isn't this home charming?   Notice there are no electric poles/lines. I would love to have that clothes line in my back yard...talk about hanging out some clothes!!  They do not use any form of electric at all.  Their homes are very simple with little to no yard ornamentation.  Very beautiful though.  Very simple and lovely!

 

 This is a working saw mill, where they cut their own lumber to make everything from homes, outbuildings, sheds and workshops to furniture, wheels for buggies and tools.  Nothing is made using A-N-Y    F-O-R-M  of electric.  It is made using 'MAN POWER ONLY'.  

 

 Here is a beautiful home place.  You can see where the garden was and will be this spring.  They grown most everything they consume. 

 

 This is our driver/tour guide.  He was so friendly and very accomodating to us as a group.  Since it was about 20 degrees, he put gas heaters in our cart and put a cover over the top to keep the wind out.  It was very, very windy that day.  Micaylah is actually driving the horse and buggy herself!!  She was a little nervous at first, but then found out it wasn't as hard to do as she thought. 

 

 Garrett and Kyle are very interested in something across the road.  Our buggy seated 11 people and we had 10.  They have another buggy that seats 15 or 16.  Next time we will need to bring more friends!!

 

 Jeff and Bridget are enjoying some cuddle time...you two are sooo cute! 

 

 Austin is now driving the buggy.  He decided to give it a try too. 

 

 Camille is driving the cart now!!  Hey!  Keep your eyes on the road!  :)

 

 Austin and his Daddy are having some cuddle time too!  Sweet guys!  I love 'em!

 

 This little country store was probably one of the highlights of our trip.  There were more things in this little store than my little camera was able to capture. 

 

 This is the front of this little country store...look at the front. Isn't is so quaint!!

 

 Here are the proprietors...Grandma and Grandpa!!

 

The kids are taking it all in and of course, laughing, cutting up and being silly!

 The day was so pleasant and it seemed like it took only a moment to come and then go.  We visited with 'Grandma and Grandpa' and then we were on our way back home.

Thanks for coming by to share our trip with us!