ehm prays too

i was getting ready for a night shift and mema was getting the kids to bed i over heard the prayers...
ehm said in her prayers "thank you Jesus, for taking my corner time"

i explained to her that Jesus had to die to save us from the punishment our sins bring on us. that punishment is a very long time out, in the corner by yourself.

i am glad that she gets it.

dressing with pokeys

ehm and jam were playing dress up this afternoon. ehm got out the Cinderella outfit and then got my heels and clomped danced around the house. jam thought it looked like fun and he got out a beautiful tutu and clomped flitted through the kitchen. every dancer must of course have a nice rest after such a strenuous work out…so out came the footie pajamas. ehm helped jam put  his on (over his clothes, which made them rather tight). she held out one arm and then the next. then came time for the feet, well first she convinced him to sit down and said “give me you feet, not that feet the other feet” after the first one got stuffed down into the leg opening, she said “now the next feet, and shake it all about. do the pokey pokey and do the pokey pokey….” then she got stuck in an infinite pokey loop. like a bad cd.  i think it is interesting that now we do the pokey pokey instead of the hokey pokey and all while getting ready for a play time “nap” that lasted all of 20 seconds before they got up and were playing something else. at least they are playing nicely and not hitting or biting like yesterday.

 

of course it has been a few minutes, and they are playing with the marbles and the screaming and squealing ensues… se la vie.

Jesus, Pirates, and the Oregon Trail

we went to the oregon trail museum in baker city this last weekend. my family, the nieces, and in-laws. if you have never been, you should put it on your bucket list. it is way fun and very informative. there are actual horses, buffalo, oxen, sheep that have been stuffed (is taxadermied the right term?) they are set up to look like they are traveling on the oregon trail. there are foot paths you can walk on when the weather is nice and see ruts from the wagons. it is very neat to be in the place where these brave americans ventured out to find a better life.

while we were enjoying the life size wagon train, we talked about how the people had to walk 10-20 miles each day and once the children out grew their shoes, they went barefoot. this is our last field trip of the school year. and we are now enjoying the summer before third grade (gah! third grade? oh time, please slow down, just a bit)

near the end of the display, there is a man driving his sheep. he has a nice staff and about six sheep. of course his hair is long, because there were no barber shops along the oregon trail. Ehm sees the shepherd and yells out “LOOK! I FOUND JESUS! I SEE JESUS, HI, JESUS!” now i am trying not to laugh, because her faith is so perfectly childlike. but Jesus on the oregon trail? then i took a closer look, it does look like the classic pictures of the Savior that are so often portrayed. Ehm was so happy that she got to see “her Jesus.”

then comes the part of the museum where we start our oregon trail adventure starting at independence, missouri. there is a wonderful display of a ship in a box and Baba thinks it is a pirate ship. she has an unnatural fascination with all things pirate and has for over a year now.

right now in the exhibit room there is a life size wagon and foam blocks that are labeled (beans, rice, fine clothes, work clothes, china, grandmother’s clock, chair, bed roll, bedding, linens, gun making supplies, bullets, whiskey, medicine, cast-iron stove, cook ware, bacon, hard tack, dried fruit, trinkets, toys…there are many others to, i can’t recall any more at the moment.) the idea is to pack your wagon making sure not to exceed the weight limit and to make sure you are taking the necessary things and not wasting room on things you would like, but are not necessary. this is a fun way to learn about how difficult traveling would have been. also makes me grateful for all the things i have and feel that i can not live without.

there is a place to put on a puppet show with animal puppets, and a giant magnet word board (this was my favorite), also a dress up corner and a play camera to see what clothes and hats from that time were like.


the kids loved this part a lot. and who doesn’t like dress up?

all in all it was a very educational and super fun time had by all. and now i have shared it with you so now you know the oregon trail started out with pirates  on a ship and ended with Jesus and his sheep.







 click on the photo to read more true stories

bucket head

this is the container for our home made baby wipes. i was getting ready to make some more and Ehm decided to run off with the box. then she came back into the kitchen with the bucket on her ead. it was funny to watch her parading around so proud of herself. whe tried to get Jam to put it on too, but he would have nothing to do with it. Ehm put it back on and played like that for about 15 min. what a goofy, spontaneous, and fun thing to do!

thanks for reading...

another new project

like i need a new project, right? oh, well. i have already started...oh you want to know what it is? well my oldest daughter needs a little encouragement to read more. not that she can't read, quite the opposite, she reads very well. but she needs a little push to read more. so i came up with the idea to have her write book reviews. what better place to share them but here with you all...
our goal is two small books or part of a larger book each day.

Rudolph to the Rescue by Robert L May
 
Yah's OPINION: "I like this book because it is a new story and i have never heard it before."
SUMMARY "Rudolph found some animals that were different and helped them find the circus. Everyone loved the new circus. Rudolph helped Santa deliver presents to the kids at the circus."
Ehm had her OPINION too: "Reindeer and Big Papa in a red car." (we call my grandpa Big Papa, and this last christmas season Ehm called every santa she saw "Big Papa")
 
My OPINION: i enjoyed the illustrations in this book. rudolph is very helpful and caring, i liked that too. of course i like the happy ending as well. lesson is to care for others and be helpful.
Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen
  
Yah's OPINION: "I like it, I LOVE it! Because the girl is tall like me. This is a really good book."
SUMMARY "A girl with big feet and long legs, all she had to do was walk into a room to be noticed. Sassy got to dance with a tall boy, but the mean girls didn't get to go to the dance school."
Ehm's OPINION: "Cinderella is dancing up there."
my OPINION: i got this book because Yah likes to dance and the pictures are so wonderful. the girl is very tall and teased for being different. we got this when Yah's allergies were very bad and kids at school were teasing her because of it. this book shows that being tall or different is not a bad thing, but to use your differences to help you succeed.
have you read any good books lately, or do you have a book that you would like us to review? let me know!
thanks for reading...

sweet little piggy toes

a few weeks ago, Ehm asked me to help put her sandals on. when i put her foot into the shoe, she screamed like i was killing her loudly protested. after a close inspection of the shoe, i decided there must be something wrong with her foot.
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sure enough, the big toe was gray on the side. weird. i tried again to put on the shoe, *insert more screaming* but it was no use. i finally just snatched her up and put her into the car with shoes in the diaper bag just in case.
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later that night she kept saying owie, owie, foot. i could not figure it out. so i looked at her foot again to be shocked by discover her in-grown toenail. yes, my dear sweet baby not yet two years old, has an ingrown toenail! What?
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compelled to ease her discomfort, i got out the clippers and rooted around skillfully got to work. there was putrid green and yellow pus oozing from her sweet toe after i clipped away some of  the skin. *you need to know i have had several ingrown toenails myself, so i know how to remedy this sort of owie* while i was torturing helping my sweet baby girl to feel better, she was SCREAMING (yes, in all caps. my ears are still ringing.)
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ever the one to stick her nose into other's business concerned for others welfare, Yah came into my room to see why her sister was so upset. i explained about Ehm's toe and Yah was disgusted enthralled to find out all about it.
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i fixed Ehm's toe and after about a week, it was all better and there was no more protesting about wearing shoes. *insert awe and applause for a job well done*
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.
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just yesterday, Yah told me her foot hurt....yep, you guessed it now she has an ingrown toenail. What? i did not realize ingrown toe nails are contagious. don't come to my house for a while. Yah's poor toe was bright red and festered, i went to get the clippers and she asked me "what are you going to do?" *whimper*
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i reminded her of little sisters toe and what i did to fix it. "oh No, you are NOT going to do that to me." she said in total seven year old defiance.
"yes, i am" i said in the "i mean business" tone that every nurse has used with Yah. i got the clippers and the hydrogen-per-oxide and was about to reach for her foot, when Yah screamed said "wait, wait, wait, i have something i need to ask you." what. "if you just leave it alone, what will happen?"
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your foot will turn into one big oozing, bleeding sore and then dad will cut it off with a saw well...i will have to take you to the doctor and they will give you several shots in your toe and then he will cut on your toe with a knife and then he will poke down inside it with medicine and it hurts really bad and you will scream and cry.
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now Yah's eyes are bugging outta her head and she decides to let "nurse mom" fix her foot. this is going to hurt, but try not to scream, your brother is sleeping and he doesn't feel well, ...and we don't want to scare your sister.
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Yah was very brave and let me fix her toe. she did cry, but not much screaming. then it was Ehm's turn to wonder what mom was doing to big sister. when she understood what was going on, she took off her sock and said "foot owie" (her foot is fine) i thought it was so funny that she needed a band-aid too.
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the kids are staying at grandma and papa's house tonight, as daddy-o and i both have to work. when they got to our house to get the kids, Yah told papa:
"guess what, papa? i finally have my very own in grown toe nail! mom fixed it and put on a band-aid"
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well, isn't that an interesting thing to be proud of?
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link up your true story and play along with all the fun!

thanks for reading...have a great tuesday!

summer blueberries…yum?

i got some blueberries for the kids to have. Ehm has never had them. her reaction was not what i was expecting. she got a tart one right off the bat, and she made the cutest face.

but she tried again after spitting that one out. and she loves them. the 3 pound package was gone in about two days. those girls can pack away the berries!

how do you feel about blueberries?
what kind of berries do you like?
as always; thanks for reading…

p365 August part 1

yeah, well i decided waiting till the end of the month to post my p365 is just NOT going to work out. it takes too much time, and then windows live writer gets upset trying to post so many photos all at once. i did finally convince wlw to get the job done, but i will try to make it easier for my self too. i decided to post every 5 days or so. that would make six p365 posts in a month. that doesn’t sound like too much does it? i would hate to have become a bore.
aug. 1
daddy-o and i got to have our night at the hotel. his mom is the head of the housekeeping department and she had rose petals put on our bed,

and swans by the hot tub. she also left coke and root beer in the fridge, and cookies and doritos on the counter. how nice is that? thank the Lord i have such nice family. daddy-o and i had a great time just being together and we went out to dinner at a local irish steakhouse.

aug. 2
when we came home from our “get away” this is what we saw
everyone was in our pool! they were having a great time. Ehm was motoring all over in her life jacket. and papa was throwing Yah and Baba into the water. they loved it and begged for more.
aug. 3
we played inside because it was windy. Ehm wanted to wear her brother’s vest and HAD to have it zipped.

a big wind storm came through and there were black clouds over us. but town had an orangey pinkish glow. it was cool and creepy at the same time. almost looked like a fire. then it rained big drops.


this is “rose bluey” Yah saved her allowance for three months to get fish, tank, and accessories. she is very proud of rose (don’t tell her “rose” is a boy) and feeds her every night. she is responsible for cleaning the tank and telling mom or daddy-o when she needs more water. i am hoping to give her freedom and empowerment by having her be in charge of something.

aug. 4
that loose tooth from july? well it finally came out. you can read more about it and our tooth fairy traditions here. (aren’t you proud of me? i can put a link in my post. i have been dreaming of this for a while now, and windows live writer has a handy little button so i can. wow, i’m so cool!)


a big thunderstorm came through. it was amazing. i went out for about 15 min. and got some great shots. the storm lasted well over two hours. it also started three grass fires in the area.


aug. 5
this is what i heard while i was trying to sleep.

this yellow crop duster has been our “friend” for the last eight years. he flies over and “buzzes” our house. i know it isn’t on purpose, he is just doing his job. sometimes he seems to turn right over our house after every pass!

well, this isn’t too bad, right?
thanks for reading…

July 365 my summer in photos i heart faces #30

I am always chasing down one of the kids with the camera. One of the few occasions when I had left the camera at home, my husband turned to me and asked, aren't you going to take a picture of that? I have learned not to leave my camera in the car, memories are forever lost; and cameras get stolen by the bad guys that drilled a hole in my door. Always take the camera with you, even if you don't plan on using it, you never know what cute things those kids are going to do, and what memory you will be able to forever hold on to.
so there are lots of people doing project 365. i don't know the rules. i am making my own as i go along... i am going to take a photo each day for at least 365 days. i will post them, although not more than once per week (i just don't have the time) and i plan on commenting on what happened that day or about the photo. so i have a thing about starting in the middle of a month and waited till july to start. i thought this makes sense as it is also the start of a new fiscal year for many companies...
i think this will be fun, although i am having some trouble getting all these pics to behave the way i want them to in this post.
the best way to start anything is with family, so here are the babies meeting Grandma GG for the first time. she is 97 and is visiting from CA. we had a great time while she was here. don’t know how much longer she will last. at Granny and Gramp’s house. the girls are playing under the mountain lion (cougar) rug. they had tons of fun chasing Gramps around the house. “just like a lion dance!”

Jam playing in the park while mommy took some other little boy’s pictures.

this is the new kitty. she is so sweet. her name is maid Marion, but i call her baby.

on independence day all decked out.

my sparkler. sparklers are my absolute favorite!

Ehm declaring independence from clothes. i hope this isn’t a sign of things to come…



my place of employment

what i see in the morning when i get home from work

she has learned to drink the milk from the bowl

must pat bottom of bowl to get every last drop out

need to lick underside of bowl to be sure some cereal goodness hasn’t leaked through

yes, i love cereal, can’t you tell?

yes, this is my clothes line, these are just ordinary pants on the line, but just to the left the sprinkler is going…yep everything got soaked. i am trying to get the baby pants to grow into daddy pants no luck so far. maybe they need more water…

first night camping, s’mores are a must. Yah burns her mallows on purpose. yuck!

pretty bike downtown McCall


ice cream alley open till 10 for dancers yea!

danced at the ice rink, nice and cool ahhh

flower from hen and chicks

silly Baba kept making faces so she could see them on the LCD screen. goofy kid

beautiful Payette lake

double rainbow on the way home cool right?
work in the daylight

field growing 4 types of lettuce, looks funny to me. this is just down the road from my house

my fortune, not that i had Chinese food, just the cookie. still not sure what the unexpected event is…maybe “soon” is longer than i think

daddy-o got the pool ready for Yah’s party

invitations to the mermaid party

fluoride treatment. no complaining , she is very good for the dentist and hygienist

in the creek at Albertson’s park. the water is cold. mom and Yah had a fun time at the park by themselves

at the train depot. she is so beautiful

the pond was amazing, lots of fish too

sunset

what i see before i go to work

i did it!

in the front yard


where is ehm? she loves to play peek-a-boo with this hat. looks like holly hobby

my mom workin out. go mom!

this gal stayed at our hotel for her honeymoon and let me take a pic of her in the dress

irrigation pipe across the road from my house

i pass this ditch on my way home. i like the tall grass weeds

she tried to pull this tooth…

no it did not come out on this day, but the string slipped off and she was sure surprised

getting ready to go

ehm loves the animals

8 months old by gate number 8

look! see the sheep?

funny how they both sleep the same way. this actually happens a lot, even when they are in their beds, they will be in the same pose.

i think these are garlic flowers, i know they are not onions…just not quite sure. just down the road from our place

grain ready for the harvest

this is part of our view. fields and the hills

well this has been our July in review, hope you enjoyed coming on this photo journal journey… have a great week and check out all the other summer vacation photos over at i heart faces.



thanks for reading…