From This Front Porch: October 2010

Happy Halloween 2010

We had a nice time at the school fall carnival last night. Here is a picture of the kids on our way out the door. I think we all had enough craziness, chaos, noise and excitement for the whole weekend. Thankfully they ended up with hardly any candy. Colter traded all his candy, except one piece, in on quarters so he became a little richer out of the deal. The girls decided to keep their candy. ;)

Tomorrow evening Mom and Dad are bringing over soup and I think I will make some of these...

you can find the recipe here!

Randy's getting ready for elk hunting next week. I'm going to be making summer sausage with all the leftover ground elk from last year. Should be a good week!

Have fun and be safe!!!

Crab Croissant Melts

There is a little Cafe in town here that makes these delicious sandwiches. I thought I would try and imitate them one day and came up with this recipe. My family loved it so we enjoy it once and a while on Saturday afternoons when we have lunch together. It is rather rich so we don't indulge to often. You can find the recipe at our Country Kitchen Recipes blog site.

www.countrykitchenrecipes.blogspot.com

I have a couple other recipes to share soon! My favorite bread recipe and an Apple Pie with a crisp top are coming this month! My desire to post recipes kind of died right along with my appetite when I had morning sickness the last 4 months but now my appetite is alive and well so watch out!!! ;) lol!

Happy Halloween Weekend to all!
We are celebrating tonight instead of on Sunday.There is a carnival at the school tonight so we will be bringing a clown, a policeman and witch! What creatures will you be celebrating with?

Little Exchanges

An exchange between Daddy and Maya one Saturday Morning
as the sun makes it's appearance upon the horizon. We treasure the mornings when Daddy is home.

*****

This Mom's recent thought on being a parent...

When I am up with one of my little ones at 4:30 in the morning, tucking them back into bed, and they reach up and hug my neck and kiss my lips before they snuggle into their blankets, my heart sings.

I'm reminded that God gives us these little beings to gently love and firmly teach. In return for this, we receive an abundance of love and we are forced to learn so much. It is a beautiful and miraculous exchange.

*****

Some recent exchanges that make us chuckle...

Randy and the kids are outside in the garden cutting down cornstalks and hauling them to the burn pile.
Colter: "Dad"
Randy: "What?"
Colter: "It really smells like pigs."
Randy: " Maybe Duane and Janette are cleaning out their pig barns."
Colter: (very excited) "That's COOL that we can smell that all the way over here!"
Maya: (also very excited)"YEAH! and I have a stuffy nose and I can still smell it!"
So Duane and Janette, aren't you glad that your pig farm smell brings so much excitement to our country kids? ;)

Then at Kindergarten show and tell one day a little boy named Boe is showing his giant zucchini that he found in his Mother's garden.
Boe: "Does any one have any questions? Maya?"
Maya: "Why does it have seeds inside it?"
Boe: "Well that's how it was born!"
Maya: "Oh!"
Like they say... Everything I need to know, I learned in Kindergarten.

So this week is Red Ribbon Week at school and Maya has informed Randy and I several times that they have red ribbons to wear at school that say... "Free Drugs". Even though it doesn't seem like a laughing matter, we both have a hard time keeping a straight face as we inform her that they probably say "Drug Free", not "Free Drugs". Then she says, very straight faced, "Oh yeah! Drug Free!"
It makes me wonder just how much kindergartners can understand about this whole awful drug thing. These things haven't even occurred to their innocent little minds.
So, everything I didn't need to know I learned in kindergarten too. Although the sad day will soon come when they do need to know about the way the world is.

And an exchange between sister...
Maya: "Kyla, do you like the way I dressed baby Mia?"
Kyla: (reading her book-does not answer)
Maya: "Ky-la!
Kyla: (no answer)
Maya: "KY-LA, do you like how I dressed baby Mia?"
Kyla: (without looking up) "sort-of Maya"
Maya: "BUT KYLA! YOU SHOULD LIKE IT ALL-THE-WAY!"

All these little moments...
I wouldn't exchange them for anything!

Memory Lane Monday: The Voyage

please press the arrow to start slideshow and the arrow to start music directly at the left on my sidebar

This special post today was actually created by my Dad and dedicated to my Mom for their 35th wedding anniversary and shared on our family web site. I asked them if I could share it on my blog and then I added a few more pictures that I had. I love this song that my Dad found...

Life is an ocean.
Love is a boat.
In troubled waters it keeps us a'float.
When we started the voyage, there was just me and you.
Now gathered 'round us we have our own crew.

Thanks Dad and Mom for your constant love for each other through the past 35 years of the voyage. Your an inspiration to all of us to keep our boat a'float!

We love you!

What's around the next corner on Memory Lane?
See you next Monday!

Grab my button and take your own walk down memory lane every Monday!
(copy and paste this code)
Don't forget to leave me a comment so I can walk along with you!

Jumping Jacks and Silly Bands: Maya Turns 6!

Once upon a time, a little girl named Maya turned 6...

And they all lived happily ever after. The End.

Memory Lane Monday: Dresden, Germany-Oct. 1999

Boat on the Elbe River bordering the Czech Republic

Back in April, I started out these Memory Lane Monday posts with a post about the streets of Dresden. These pictures were all taken by Randy when he was on a trip to Dresden in October of 1999 for work. I really enjoyed seeing all the sights that he saw through his pictures and now it's fun to go back and look at them again...

The following three pictures are taken of the Köenigstein – Saxony's Impenetrable Fortress overlooking the Elbe River below.

The Schloss Moritzburg Castle (below) was built from 1542–1546 as a hunting lodge.

The Semperoper Opera House was first built in 1841.

Beautiful architecture inside and old church.

The Zwinger Palace was constructed in stages from 1710 to 1728.

Many of the buildings above were damaged during the bombing of World War II and had to be restored over the following years.

Below is a newer building. If you watched the video in the last post (From Sand to Chip) you may recognize it. It is the AMD Fab in Dresden. Randy took this picture as he was flying out.

So, currently Randy is on another business trip. He is in the 45 largest state. 159 miles from N. to S. and 89 miles at it's greatest width. Population is over 621,760. He had a maple turkey sandwich for lunch and he went to bed about 2 hours ago. Any guesses where he is? (sorry, no prizes this time ;)

What's around the next corner on Memory Lane?
See you next Monday!

Grab my button and take your own walk down memory lane every Monday!
(copy and paste this code)
Don't forget to leave me a comment so I can walk along with you!

From Sand To Chip

Sometimes I ask my husband "what in the world do you do all day?" Mostly he ignores me but once and a while he tries to explain it to me. At some point I usually get that lost look in my eyes and say "whatever you say..."

A couple weeks ago, he showed me this fascinating video and I finally said "OH, now I get it...... kinda..." Some of you may find this video interesting too. So this is how computer chips are made...

He has been to this AMD Fab in Dresden, Germany. The copper technology in this video is the technology of his company and he helped design the tools that do the copper process along with many of the other tools that do processes on these silicon wafers that eventually become computer chips. Those computer chips go into your computer and make it do the things it does.

'Nough said...

It's A...

...GAME!!!

Somewhere hidden on this blog is the answer to the question...Is it a Boy or a Girl?

If you are the first to find the answer and leave a comment you will win a $15 gift certificate to the business of your choice.

So, just leave a comment of the year, month, and day of the post that you found the answer to the question. When you come to the right place it will be VERY obvious what the answer is! If you happen to already know the answer, go ahead and play along. The right answer is not WHAT the baby is, but WHERE the answer is found on the blog.

If you win you may choose a $15 gift certificate from one of the following businesses...

Coldstone Creamery
Starbucks
Lowes
HuHot
Target
Borders
Ross
TJMaxx
Bed, Bath and Beyond
Pier 1 Imports
Famous Dave's
Home Depot
Famous Footwear
Bajio Mexican Grill
Five Guys Burgers and Fries

One Hint: Our blog Archives on the side of the blog may make your search easier. But don't search back before MARCH 2009 because it is mostly slideshows and will slow you down.

Have Fun and Enjoy this Beautiful Day!

A Cluck Cluck Here and a Cluck Cluck There

You can't really bring mother hens into a school classroom for show and tell, so recently I took these pictures of the kids so they could bring in a picture of themselves holding their chickens to show the kids in their class. They also brought in a few colorful hard-boiled eggs too. The kids and the teachers alike think it's a pretty cool show and tell...

Speaking of Mother Hens... Scurry on over to The Prairie Hen Speaks Her Mind and take a look at another of my favorite blogs. Raimie is having a super giveaway and it ends tomorrow!!! Now that's something to cluck cluck about!

P.S. Don't you hate it when you get whipped in the face by a chicken wing?

Me Too!

Mom Turns 60!

On September 28th, Mom turned the big Six-Oh! On the following Friday night I planned a surprise birthday party for her at our house. I told her we were going to have knit night at our house and to come around 6:30. All the guests came a little earlier and when her and Dad came in the house we all sang "Happy Birthday." We REALLY surprised her! Here are a few pictures from the party (Thanks to my friend Colleen T. for taking all these pictures!!!)

Life is Beauty Full

This post title and picture are inspired by one of my favorite blogs Flower Patch Farmgirl. I love Shannan's inspiring way and positive look at life.

Today is not beautiful. It's cloudy and yucky and black and bare out. My house isn't as
"neat as a pin" and I have company coming tonight. Colter is getting over being sick. It's Maya's birthday today and I still don't have a gift for her. I took a nap but I'm still tired. I ate but I'm still hungry.

But, life is "Beauty Full" and here are a few reasons why...
-the sun is shining somewhere
-Maya took cupcakes to school today with strawberry fruit snacks on top
-I took two loads of stuff to the thrift store last week
-We get company for a few nights
-the kids have all grown several inches this past year (we measured them Wed night)
-we live a quiet life
-I get to go pick up Kyla (my right-hand helper) in a few minutes.
-There are so many more reasons why... but my brain just quit.

No news on what baby is yet. She could be a boy or he could be a girl. We just don't know yet because I had to cancel my appointment this morning due to a sick child. So... we shall wait another week and see. :)

All for now...

Back to School-2010

The first day of school for these kids was September 1st. Here they are ready to go out the door. Maya was very excited to finally be able to join the kids in this magical place called school!

I love the picture below of the kids. I took it two days earlier as I was making breakfast. I was having them get up and out of bed a little earlier to help them adjust to their new school morning hours. Here they are gathered on the chair doing a picture puzzle together. So long summer...

It was a difficult morning after I dropped them off. I came home a moped around a bit but very soon I got in the car and headed to the school to pick up Maya! She is in a half day class so... not so bad! She was bubbling and bursting with excitement and happiness... and she still is! Love her enthusiasm. I need some more of that!!!

Kyla and Colter are both enjoying school too. Colter is coming along well in his reading and he says math is his favorite subject now. ;) Kyla has noticed this year that she has a lot more responsibility and homework. I've noticed that too.

Happy school year to all!

Family of Five

I really wanted to get a family picture of us taken while we were still a family of five but before I start to look like a whale, so on the last Sunday in August we made a half-hearted attempt at getting a picture. Here are a few more pictures of the kids we took for fun...

Now we are looking forward to being a family of six! We are all excited for the ultrasound on Friday that will tell us if we are going to have a sister or brother! We'll let YOU ALL know too!

We had a wonderful day today and feel ready to tackle a new week! Hope all are well!

From This Front Porch