Ramblings of a pregnant mama

I'm addicted to raw carmel dip and apples.

Seriously addicted.

I made a triple batch on Monday and it's gone today. 

It's the perfect fill-er-up and is actually good for you

...so I don't feel too bad.

The kids and I saw what we thought was a badger the other night on our way home

...it was huge, and black and scary looking. 

My husband saw it later that night and confirmed it was indeed a badger.

After an hour or so of research we all now know a lot about badgers,

and we hopefully have nothing to worry about.
Although Ozzie keeps talking about how it bothers him to know it's out there.

I think my nesting has rubbed off on the 3 little kids. They completely rearranged the girls room yesterday. Moved the bed, all the baskets, their smallish book shelf & even moved their taped up art work to another wall.
If only they had the desire to organize the clothes storage too.

It was 47 degrees the other day and the little kids thought it was an all out heat wave

...I tried to tell them it wasn't quite swim-suit and sprinkler weather.

But they didn't believe me,

and actually spent nearly an hour playing in the sprinkler.

It has been a rare day to have all 6 of the kids home lately.

1-2-3 and sometimes all 4 of the boys have been out in the field,

working, digging, rock picking, rock burying, dirt moving....

the tractor-machine knowledge these boys have already blows my mind.

I was a born and raised city girl,

and I am totally raising country kids

...that know more than me sometimes. {grin}

I am 35 weeks today.

It has me a bit emotional about this milestone.

They girls were born at 35 weeks due to my car accident.

I wasn't ready to be done with that pregnancy and it was difficult

...to emotionally and physically recover from that ordeal.

But I did. And I'm incredibly grateful.

And feeling oh so blessed for each additional day this babe is inside me.

savor has been my word lately. completely savor.

I am still up and going, a little bit slower though

...and by late afternoon I am sore.

I can't complain though, this pregnancy has been so easy thus far.

I am feeling a bit smothered in this tiny farmhouse lately

and the thought of another little person needing their own space too. sigh.

I know we won't always be in this tiny house,

but we are right now and we have to make it work.

And really it's not just making it work I desire

...I want to be content with what we have,

content with what God has provided for us.

because really, it is enough.

I just emptied an entire month of photos off of my camera.

I haven't been using it quite as much lately.

Ebb and flow. Ebb and flow.

I miss it though.

There have just been other things calling my attention.

Grandpa has been in the hospital for 2 weeks now.

It's a blood clot in his leg.

They tried a procedure that didn't work and eventually did a bypass.

It's been up and down

...on the up now and hopefully staying that way.

With the big boys gone nearly everyday

...in the school of hard rocks as we joke

I've been spending a lot more time learning with the littles.

no set curriculum, we moved away from that type of schooling a while ago

but more life learning, soaking up more opportunities,

and letting their interests lead.
It's been a breath of fresh air.

The kids are getting increasingly excited about this little babe

We started a paper chain countdown,

which makes it seem really really not very far away.

Ozzie saw a baby at a restaurant the other day,

he spent most of the dinner carefully watching that little baby.

Later he told me all about the babies tiny hands and how they were clenched together.

He told me about his tiny nose and how he made squishy faces.

I loved sitting there listening to him tell me all about this baby.

He is going to be such a good big brother, again.

off to finish up the chickpea veggie curry I have cooking,
before the ever-hungry stampede of boys walk in the door.

talk to you soon friends.

late night talking

Gavin sprained his foot, badly.
and keeping him off of his foot has been insanely hard
...he is my go-go-go all the time boy and this has been torture for him.
Especially during harvest. sigh.

my garden is still producing like crazy
...and I am savoring each and every basket full.

the last 4 nights we've had at least one of the littles climb into bed with us
...they seem to snuggle up to dad more than me
I think they've missed him being so busy with harvest.

the girls are practicing their baby crawl and baby walk
...so they can teach the baby
they've also been rocking & singing their babies to sleep in their cradle.
I think they are practicing.

they gave my belly a hundred kisses tonight...
and then prayed that the baby would love them. oh my.

The girls and I took Ozzie out to the field to ride with dad this afternoon
...the combine was broken down so we monkeyed around in the pick-up
and when he was finally ready to roll Ozzie had changed his mind.
I think the fact that he had eaten everything out of his lunch box had something to do with it. ha.

Grayson has been out with the men from morning till night...
driving the pick-up, manning the service truck, un-hooking trailers, filling fuel
...and that's just what I've seen him do.

It's only a glimpse of what this farm is going to be like when there are 4 {or more} boys out there working the farm with their dad
...and that amazes me.

We had popcorn topped with crushed kale chips and homemade raspberry ice cream for dinner.
...because that's how we roll when mama is tired and already cooked for an army today.
The phrase barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen has been coming to mind a lot lately. ha.

Feeding a family of 8 three meals a day is hard work
not to mention snacks and now all the packed lunches for the field.
I honestly love preparing healthy food though
...it's the cleaning up I could do without so much of.

There were 2 skunks fighting in the farm yard near our house last night.
they were screeching and spraying, oh my!
The boys shot at them with pellet guns and a pistil and the skunks didn't care one bit
...they finally ran off but not without leaving behind their nauseating stench for us to enjoy all night and most of the day.
oh, and I had left clothes out on the clothes line. sigh.

The kids are already talking about snow,
and making plans for what they are going to build in the snow
...oh and snow ice cream.

I am 28 1/2 weeks pregnant
...seriously how did that happen, it's going by so fast
yet so slow, I am still in awe of this little miracle growing inside of me.

This little babe has had the hiccups quite a bit this week
...which means I can tell that he/she is already head down.
All of my babies tend to go head down early and stay that way,
we'll see what this little one does.

It's been so long since I have sat down and just wrote
...blogging has always been and ebb and flow thing for me.
finding time to sit down at the computer is rare,
at least I have instagram now.
I guess that's how my life goes, and i'm okay with it.

that's about it friends
for now.

right now

I love

...every.single little kick inside my belly

...hearing Ozzie call me ma

...listening to the littles play their imagination games

...watching the boys play capture the flag as the sun sets



right now, I love

...fillings baskets of beautiful harvest from our garden

...watching the changing color of the fields

...the warm summer days and the cool fall nights

...being surprised with handfuls of garden goodness that the littles have picked



right now, I love

...seeing all the kids delight in playing with the kittens all.day.long.

...watching the littles enjoy learning letters and words

...the way the sun streams in my bedroom window in the morning

...having big boys that work by my side and talk as friends



right now, I love

...watching my freezer fill up with garden goodness

...hearing the kids giggles and hollers outside as they play

...that my kids are home with me every.single.day

...hearing our oldest talk with his dad about science.tech stuff and not understanding a word



right now, I love

...when Gavin hugs me and then my belly every night

...watching the girls giggle in delight when the baby kicks them

...taking pictures with my phone and not always having my big camera in hand

...the photos from the last 2 weeks that I just unloaded from my camera



right now, I love

...watching my toes disappear beneath my growing belly

...the looks people give us when we are all out together

...adjusting to being along on the farm

...hearing long awaited answered prayers for a dear friend



right now, I love

...making lunch, dinner and snacks around what we picked from the garden

...when I sit to read to the littles the big boys still want to come and join

...hearing the girls talk about being big sisters and how much they are going to love this baby

...the quietness that surrounds me as I write and the kids enjoy quiet time


{these are all instagram photos... I'm brittanyclaireandco if you're there}

lots of words sprinkled with lots of photos

my head is swirling with thoughts,

which means I must write....

so here it goes!

we're back out in the camper again...

not that I expect you to keep up with our in's and out's of camper to house. 

with the flooded basement the boys needed to move out

and it was the perfect time to work on the bathroom

so we're locked out for a while.

it's quite a chore to feed the cats around here

we feed them a raw diet of various fish, chicken, raw eggs, vegetables & scraps.

it's not pretty to prepare...

but they sure do love it.

Even the kittens come running now.

Ozzie is still the caterpillar hunter around here,

he will spend an hour or more searching through the garden for them.

This is can't-see-em

...he's quite creative with the names I would say. :)

The girls are going to turn FOUR this weekend. gasp.

...and they are already talking about turning five.

they went and got dressed the other day and came outside to tell me,

I must take their picture.

Then they proceeded to tell me how pretty their dresses were

and their headbands and church shoes and pretty nails.

they are girly alright.

Nolia came in from the swingset today and said...

"mama you don't need to teach me to pump on the swings anymore, 

I can do it, so now you can teach me to read" 

They are usually hot on the tails of anything Ozzie is doing

and he recently made the announcement, at dinner,

that he was ready to read now.

Gavin on the other hand.

He can read.

But he doesn't want to.

so, different from his book worm big brothers.

He would much rather work with his hands.

all.day.long and with a cheerful heart.

they are each so unique and amazing in their own ways

...I pray they never loose sight of the talents and gifts God has given them,

but that they embrace, grow and follow their dreams.

We have been spending a lot of time in the garden lately,

harvesting baskets full of beauty,

weeding, playing, hunting, digging, weeding more

and just being.

I am so thankful for the many willing hands,

and it makes my heart happy that it is more than work to them

...it's a way of life

and so much more.

The littles love to harvest more than weed

and when they aren't harvesting peas and greens and tomatoes,

they are hunting frogs and digging in the dirt.

They big boys are awesome at weeding,

when they aren't making weapons and games out of weeds

and chasing each other through the garden.

Grandma & Grandpa move this week,

the youngest four are going to have a hard time adjusting.

At least we can still see them when we go into town.

It will be a good change though,

a change that we are all ready for.

at least we think...

Some neighbors of ours, well, they live 20ish miles away

but anyway.... they saw a mountain lion in their pasture this week.

We saw one 2 years ago near our farm, but never again.

kinda scary.

And completely unrelated,

the girls and Ozzie keep saying they hear a wild cow in the woods...

and continually talk about how if it's a mama it would be nice,

but if it's a bull it would chase them.

imaginations.running.wild.

the kids have been working on a fort-hide-out-shop-house,

what have you, in the woods for some time now.

They've cleared branches, smoothed out the rough floor,

brought chairs, tables, and most recently lights.

It's a pretty special spot really,

i'll have to get some pictures of it....

this one below is one from a campground recently.

they make forts every.where.we.go.

I had the big boys write out goal cards for themselves recently...

instead of telling them what I want them to do,

 I wanted to know what they wanted to do :: for themselves.

I was pleasantly surprised at what their goals were.

Vance wanted to learn more history and find an animal activist group to get involved in.

He also wanted to spend one-on-one time with each of the littles kids everyday.

That boy has a huge heart and it shows.

Grayson wants to read through the whole bible this year

and his science-tech goals were almost more than I could understand. ha.

they had a lot more goals, those were just a few.

Gavin told me to make his goals for him,

and then he just wanted to copy Vance's goals,

but finally he came up with some of his own.

His favorite one is...

do something nice for everyone in the family each day.

I asked the little kids too, and got responses like this...

sing to the kittens

build legos

play in the dirt

have a baby sister

have a baby brother

play house

paint pictures

love Jesus

eat squash?!

get treats at Grandma's house

fun.fun.

speaking of squash...

the kale chips have been such a hit,

I am making squash and zucchini chips too.

yum.yum.yum.

we roasted zucchini, squash and carrot sticks in the oven,

with coconut oil, sea salt and some with crushed red pepper.

oh they were so good and so easy.

there is a picture on instagram if you want to see...

I am being extremely distracted 

by the bumping and moving around in my belly right now.

It's awesome.

and that's about it friends....

early morning talking :: and photos

.hello lovely friends.

I sorta.kinda have a rule about staying off-line on the weekends
but i'm having a bout of insomnia
and i'm pretty good at breaking my own rules. sigh.

I might.sorta. have an addiction to instagram
but the good news is I have almost completely given up facebook and twitter
too much social media causes brain damage, i'm pretty sure. :)

don't worry family and friends
I haven't given up facebook for good, just laying low.
I share some of my instagram photos on facebook too.



this belly is growing
and this baby is moving
it's awesome

You know that look you get when you turn around
and someone realizes you have a big belly
and they might have actually let out a gasp
yeah, that happened to me this week
...the six kids by my side may have contributed to the shock



i'm sorta feeling lonely lately
I have friends, I have family, I have a house-full
but i'm realizing more and more
...that my so called different life choices
have lead me to be not like anyone else. hmmm.

don't get me wrong.
I'm happy with our life and I wouldn't change it
but sometimes I just wish I had more friends
...you know, like me.

.just keeping it real here.



you all rock at naming kittens by the way
Vance was all about the name Izzy
and the girls LOVED Molly
so the twins are now officially named....
Izzy & Molly

now that would be in order...
Penn.Maize.Lucy.Marley.Moby.Brie.Brin.Brigg.Austin.Lola.Dakota.Kayla.Izzy.Molly
whew.

and have no fear
the latest kittens will be our last
all of our cats will be fixed soon
we have the perfect sized farm brood now
and we now have 9 females. Ha!



these are all instagram photos
...if you couldn't tell
you can follow me there at brittanyclaireandco
I posted my feed on the bottom of my blog
for all you non-instagram people. :)

want to hear some big news?!
our little 'ole country church broke our attendance record this week
26 over the last record
we had a grand total of 126 people. Whoooo!
we usually have 60ish



I resorted to giving the little kids an m&m
every time they said their bible verse.
because they were being stubborn about saying it when I asked
not sure if that was a good thing or not.
anyway, they say it about 20 times a day now
and we're out of m&m's
which is really a good thing because i'm still not eating sugar
and they shouldn't either.
even though my oldest son says that's not cool
::run on sentence much::



if you can't tell from the above picture
i'm raising wild monkeys
who run and jump and play and get muddy and come up with the wildest ideas
all.day.long.

and that is okay with me
because aside from being wild
they love God, love each other, respect others & dream big
what more could I hope for.

I think that's about all friends
what do you say about a new recipe next?
I have about 10+ to share :: soon.

late night talking

I almost didn't turn my laptop on to write tonight, but my mind is racing with thoughts...
and blogging helps.

I'm 21 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I haven't taken a belly picture this week...
it will probably be next week before I get that done.
I don't think much has changed...
besides this little one getting bigger and kicking harder.
After the girls I wasn't quite sure I'd ever have a baby belly again...
even now I look down in awe.
love.love.love

Ozzie fell off of a chair into the coffee table. sigh.
It left a 1 in. long gash that opened 1/4 in. wide
...we put butterfly bandages on it right away and it sealed.
I told him his best friend from home has a scar on her forehead,
from falling off of a hotel bed.
He said "awesome, we'll match" and told everyone he saw about it.

The girls have been calling each other "why-i-oughta" today.
"Come here why-i-oughta" "why-i-oughta where are you?"
"I wish your name really was why-i-oughta"
Where they got this from, I have no idea....
they are full of it pretty much all of the time.

Grandma came over to bring me the green should.be.yellow peppers
she picked from our garden...
and while she's giving me our peppers she is telling me this
..."I was snooping in your house the other day, I can't remember why,
and I noticed there was a black spot on the ceiling in the north west corner of the house.
If that is mold, you'll all get sick, you better clean that up with bleach right away....
oh and there are too many weeds in your garden."
Between the peppers and the snooping and the spot on the ceiling that has been there,
long before we moved in and the weeds that I can obviously see....
I didn't really have much to say other than "Okay, thanks Grandma"

I am finally on instagram and I really like it...
you can find me at brittanyclaireandco
I think I might even give up facebook for instagram,
it's so easy and simple and I LOVE pictures.
Say hey if you find me there, I'd love to follow back.

We're out of coconut oil and raw honey. gasp.
These are serious staples in our house, I feel lost without them.
I am waiting for a free shipping sale on coconut oil from tropical tradition
because $20 shipping just hurts...
and the bee man hasn't been here since last fall.
where are you bee man?!

It's really late now, this baby in my belly is kicking for attention and my husband is ready for bed
...so i'm off.
Goodnight friends.

i'll be back tomorrow, with pictures

Ramblings :: I don't want to forget

Eliza came up to me today and said 

"Nolia fell on her head gently and got not.so.hurt". 

All I could mutter without giggling was "I'm glad she fell gently and not hard"

I found myself saying 

"please keep your lips off of each other" 

to the boys earlier today. 

At least they weren't hitting. {grin}

We're still living in the camper...
{currently at a friends farm}

 and honestly I like it more than the farm house. 

I feel a sense of peace and contentment in here

 ...that I don't feel in the house. 

hmmmm :: now to discover what that is.

We leave this weekend for a couple weeks. 

Headed back to our old.hometown for my fathers wedding

 and then on to some other places to spend time with family and friends. 

The kids are excited to say the least!

Our mama lucy had her kittens last week. 

.Triplets. 

We are all in awe of their tiny perfection.

The girls keep telling me they hope there are 3 babies in my belly

 :: a boy for Ozzie and two girls for them ::

I'm thinking that they might be a bit disappointed. {grin}

I bought a couple tank tops...

 you know because mine were .already.too.small! 

I skipped right over the medium and went straight to the large. 

Which is what my baby belly does

...it gets very.large.

I :think: I might have felt the baby kick a few times now.... 

not sure but all I know is the time is coming and that is my favorite part of pregnancy. 

I love me some baby kicks!

Our friends lama escaped :twice: today
it is currently wondering around the fields
...in and out of the farm yard.
The kids & a friend tried to catch it with a carrot trail,
but that didn't work.
I'm getting the feeling lamas are troublesome animals.

The pictures on my blog are still not crisp like they should be. 

Apparently it's a lightroom glitch that others have had trouble with as well. 

I could probably find a work around but honestly I don't have time. boo-hoo. 

If you can stand to be patient with me hopefully we'll get it fixed

 ...sometime soon. 

My garden isn't doing the best. 

We planted in the heat, then it rained, 

then it went down into the 40's and 50's for a couple weeks. 

.not.good.for.seeds.but.good.for.weeds.sigh. 

We replanted some...

but it's going to be a race against the first frost now. 

The girls have been singing the song from the video...

over and over and over.

it's positively adorable.

I also overheard them singing...

"Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my ma & pa"

Anyone know what song that is?!?

and just for fun...

if you could pick what I blogged about next

...what would it be?

a new recipe.

the triplet kittens.

where we've been boondocking.

road trip rewind.

farm work with dad.

baby #7 ::you asked it::

or......

:: I'm thinking ::

...about putting music back on my blog

...I might not get the corn planted in time

...our mama Lucy is going to have kittens soon

...about making kidney bean mash for lunch

...we should paint our house red

...we should have bought a king bed

...I really miss my best friend

...it's funny the most popular search on my blog, recently, has been "big twin belly"

...I really hope our apple trees are filled with apples this year

...it's crazy my 11 year old is learning to drive a semi-truck

...about what kind of dreamy salad I'm going to make with our first salad greens

...we should plant more carrots

...about trying to get our family to come here for Thanksgiving

...how amazing our God is

...about what I should do with the sprouted chickpeas in our fridge

...I think about food a lot

...I hope it rains, on our garden at least, while we are gone this week

...I am going to cut my hair short finally

...about how much mommy blogging has changed since I started years ago

...about how I used to get 10k+ views a day and multiple hateful comments

...about how I didn't sell-out and stayed genuine and true to me

...the {Boat Song} by JJ Heller is my new favorite song

...I should have cut out sugar years and years ago, I feel so much better

...about giving the girls our bed and buying a king bed finally

...our travels this winter

...I must secretly catch the girls singing and dancing while playing their ukes on camera

...I should have painted the floor mud color instead of white

...why is Ozzie wearing his church clothes today, did he really sleep in them?

...about what a blessing it was to talk with another large family mama yesterday

...I really need to update my photography blog

...I like my new header and blog layout, what do you think?

...I have a lot on my mind {grin}

what are you thinking?

Random thoughts from... what day is it?

So... I had no idea today was Memorial Day until a few minutes ago.

I'm not surprised I didn't know.

Our farming, homeschooling, non-TV, happy homebody lifestyle

leads the way to not keeping up with things like that.

If we wouldn't have been in the garden all week,

which we are 95% done planting,

I might have looked on calendar and noticed

...but I didn't.

I hope that doesn't come across disrespectful,

I have the utmost respect for all who have served our country

...soliders, wives, children, families.

We are so blessed to have willing hearts to serve and protect our country

...and they are worthy of our respect everyday.

Memorial Day seems more like a party, grill-out, pools open day, to me.

The boys are in and out of the house today

...helping dad in the shop

and eating all the food in the house. {grin}

The girls and I are finishing up laundry

and getting the RV ready for a trip next week.

We're going to family camp for a week.

I made our family favorite salad dressing for lunch today

...healthy creamy italian dressing.

I ate 2 bowls full of salad....

You can check out the recipe on this Whats For Lunch post , from last year.

I, for the first time in my life, have a laptop.

My husband had one for work, back when he worked IT full time.

It was his though, not mine. 

This new, to me. laptop is all mime

...but I do happily share. {grin}

I decided since I was learning a new computer

and my old editing software wouldn't work on this computer,

it was time for a change.

I finally bought lightroom. gasp!

I am really enjoying it so far

...but I have so much to learn still,

and I am a slow learner with all things technical.

I have tons of photos from our trip ready to share

...I have one truly silly hang-up.

What do I call it?

Road trip Rewind, RV Rewind, Rewind to {Alabama, ect.}.

You're probably all laughing at me right now. Ha!

I seem to get stuck on the idea of things being out of order

...you know since my blog is like our family storybook.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure it out soon.

I hear a few boys on the mowers

and some pounding in the shop.

Ozzie is outside, very joyfully, washing the van 

and the girls are finishing their mid-day bath.

It's time for me to jump off and get back to work.

Happy Day my friends!

:: Well hello there ::

I've been staring at this empty page for 10 minutes now,
thoughts of what to say coming and going,
but nothing feels right.

I've been gone so long it's like I've forgotten how to do this whole blogging thing...
and maybe that's a good thing.
being away from the computer,
away from watching others lives through a window,
away from sharing with others online...
it's helped me rediscover some things.

There has been lots of change going on around here,
spending almost 4 months on the road....
has a way of doing that to you. {grin}
We've grown as a family, learned as a family & discovered so much.
I'll have to write an entire post just on that.

We have been home for a nearly 2 weeks,
and I still haven't unpacked the rv.
Well, we all brought a few things out, but not much.
It's still our home and it won't be long before we're back in it
...we already have a couple summer trips planned.

Adjusting to being back on the farm has been harder than I thought
...we really settled into the simplicity of life on the road.
Less space, less stuff, less distraction.
Not to mention we came home to sewer trouble. sigh.

Funny story...
I had big plans for our first trip to town when we got back to the farm.
One of the stops being the grocery store.
Myself and all six kids marched into our local grocery ready to stock up,
We quickly filled the cart with what looked like a lot of food.
...remember we had been shopping for a small rv fridge for the last few months.
At the check-out the cashier commented on how "healthy we ate".
We're defiantly back in meat and potatoes North Dakota!
On to store number 2 where did the same thing,
and heard a very similar comment from the cashier.
It looked like a lot of food...
until we got home and started putting it all in the fridge.
It only filled up half of one fridge and a quarter of the other fridge.
I guess we were really out of the habit of buying big and being an hour from the store.
I didn't make the same mistake this week...
our fridges are now bursting at the seams! {grin}

We haven't had much, scratch that, any down time since we got back.
Farming is back in full force,
the farm yard is full of semi trucks, tractors, gators, & trucks
and the lull of big engines is continual.
Even in all the chaos there is such a peace about farming.

My awesome husband tilled the entire garden for me.
I have a pile of organic heirloom seeds waiting to be planted
and now it's just a last frost waiting game.
Any day now, any day.
I can hardly wait!

We're back in full swing with school.
well as full swing as this eclectic, unschooling, homeschooling mama can get.
We ordered a few new school books for the summer
...i'll have to share what we're doing in another post.
Vance had his 1st of 2 days of homeschooling testing today,
we missed it over the winter so he is making it up with a local friend & teacher.
She already graded the first part and he scored a 99 & 98, ranking at 7.9th grade.

I have so many stories and pictures to share with you from our trip.
I had picked out my favorites and edited them when I could along the road,
hoping to share them before now. Ha!
Well, now that we are home we realized that they didn't back up and I lost them all. sigh.
At least I still have the negatives.
I promise i'll be sharing very soon,
I am bursting at the seams now that we are home.

although, I'm not sure if anyone is still around here?!
::::::::crickets chirping::::::::
I am not one to be too concerned with stats,
but I was a little sad when I saw I had lost so many readers.
smaller is better, right!!

Well I think I have filled you in on almost everything
...for today that is.
It's great to be back friends!
Talk to you soon!

words from the camper

We moved on to another campground in Florida. It's much less appealing to the eyes but full of nearby activities. We are surrounded by retiries, at the last campground and this one. We are definitely the minority... which is what we're used to anyway. :)

I was boasting a few days ago about how I haven't discovered anything I wished we had brought from home yet....
and then today I discovered I really wish we would have brought a cooler, the stroller & my big laundry bag.

I thought we were all on the mend, but we're not.
I'm sure all of our camp neighbors can hear the coughing...
it's not pretty.
Nolia has been the hardest hit, with Eliza right behind...
I am on the verge of finding an urgent care to take her to. sigh.
If you wouldn't mind, we would appreciate your prayers.

Playing jenga on a slightly unsteady rv table adds a whole new dimension to the game
...but it's still fun.

We've decided that Florida is expensive. The fuel is expensive. The food is expensive. The campgrounds are expensive. The laundry mat is expensive. It sure is pretty though. :)

Everyone in the family has a bike, but me.
I have started searching craigslist for a bike and a trailer for the girls...
so we can go further and faster.
We went into a bike shop today. I found a beautiful creamy yellow beach cruiser... it was $989. Ouch.

My wonderful husband gave me fudge for Valentines Day.
I haven't decided if I'm sharing or not. Ha!

We have finally established our RV chore chart
...now we just need to follow through with it better. :)

I met a nice older woman at the campground laundry mat, I had started the conversation and one thing led to another... and then we discovered that she lived one street over from our old home. AND she was a teacher at the boys old school. What a small world it is.

Did I already mention that we only brought boots along?
Most of our shoes were ruined in the basement flood last year
...and little & big feet had grown.
I searched locally but ended up ordering them online and having them shipped to the campground.

Happy Valentines Day friends.
goodnight.

late night talking

Our mild winter is gone
and the usual harsh, frozen North Dakota winter is here.
It's -14 degrees with a wind chill of -35.
brrrrrrrr.

I love the way it looks driving over the pass on the way to town.
Makes me think of the Arctic...
frozen water on both sides
...nothing to be seen for miles.
It is truly gorgeous.

We are almost ready for our big trip.

It will only be a few days now before we are on the road.

Excited doesn't even come close to describing how I feel.

It's hard to think about what you are going to really need.

3 months is a long time, but not that long.

Our book pile is growing rapidly

and I can't decide how many outfits we all need. hmmmm.

if you're wondering what's on my nightstand...
my Bible, journal/calender, morning yoga book, kindle, The Values Driven Family, Excellent Wife, Child Guidance, this years seed catalog, the kids character story books.
...and yeah, they will be coming with me. {grin}

We're cleaning out all the food from the fridge and cabinets
and I'm wondering how often we are going to need
to go grocery shopping with our tiny RV fridge.
At least we'll have a big pantry!

I'm a bit nervous about leaving the cats.
We have a cat shop on the farm
with huge hay bales & heating pads to keep them warm
and more than enough food.
but... I'm still nervous.
They're part of our family
and we don't want anything to happen to them.



I have finally started a photography blog.
I'll be sharing most of my photography sessions on there.
I don't have much on there yet, I need to catch up... big time!
check it out and let me know what you think! {grin}

All of you who filled out the Contact Us form

regarding the photography shoots & visiting

look for a reply from me within the next few days

I have received quite a few questions about our trip.
So I thought I would put together a You Asked It post.
If you have a question you can leave it in the comments here
and I'll add it to the post.

I better get back to packing while the house is quiet and calm!
Goodnight friends!

late night talking

Life has been busy this week...
but really, when isn't it busy?
I guess it's just been a different kind of busy.

It's freezing cold and windy and foggy.
The sky was white today and the ground is partially white.
The trees are covered in frost.
The boys said "it looks like the earth is losing all it's color,
but it's a good thing we have lots of color inside!"
I agree.

{this picture was before the sky turned white and the fog settled in}


We've been learning a lot about St. Nick lately.
It's been incredibly fascinating for me, my husband and the kids!
We watched a beautiful fiction movie about St Nick as a child.
It was called  Joulutarina - Christmas Story. You can find it on Netflix.

The boys have been big time into science experiments of all kinds lately.
I love watching them dive into learning all on their own...
watching them discover passions and interests...
and having fun doing it!

I caught the girls dressing up in Ozzie pajamas today.

They were pretending something, I'm sure.
I love their imaginations, such a gift.

Later in the day I saw Eliza looking at herself in her reflection on the window.

It was sweet and innocent and left me thinking....

I hope they always see themselves as beautifully and wonderfully made.
I guess I should make sure I'm lead by a good example shouldn't I.

We went to town yesterday just for fun,

although we did still manage to go grocery shopping.

That was, after nearly 3 hours of swimming and then the library.

By the time we made it home I ended up making dinner at 9pm.
The kids said it was an awesome day!
That makes it all worth it.

On our way to town we passed a delivery truck.

We usually joke "I hope they aren't coming to our house"

When we got home we saw that they did indeed come to our house.

It was addressed to Ozzie.

He read his name, and was so proud....

and he has been carrying it around with him all day.

Only a few more days until his birthday. eeeek!

I started this post last night, finally, hopefully finishing it tonight!
continuing now...

I just realized this evening, when I finally got around to washing our swim stuff
...that I forgot my swimsuit at the Y. sigh.
I called, they have it, it's in the lost and found box, with my name on it.
Anyone else think it's weird they wouldn't hold it behind the desk?
Hope it still there when we get back to town.

As we left the library the other day, I heard the train coming.
We headed straight home and the train beat us.
We saw it multiple times on the drive, and wondered who would come through town first.
At least it's fun to watch the train go by. {grin}

I still haven't started my Christmas shopping. sigh. I know.
I have ideas, I just need to get it done.
The kids however have been on a gift making craze
...and honestly some of their gifts are incredibly awesome.
I love seeing their creative side shine through.

We've been making cookies and cookies and cookies and chocolate candies.

oh, I love Christmas baking!

We made candy cane sugar cookies for our homeschool cookie exchange.

Well, actually the BOYS made the cookies

...I think I am raising a house full of chefs. yummy!

I made a Christmas tree decorating video.

Hopefully I can put it together and share it tomorrow.

it's not the best thing ever, but it's beautiful all the same.

My best friend wrote something on her blog recently that really stuck with me.

"I'm finally feeling like I've got a pretty good handle on the routine of our life at this moment...but I know that won't last long! God has a habit of shaking up my snow globe the moment the flakes settle!!"

My flakes settled and God has been shaking them up lately. I said I don't like monotony {grin}



I have more to say, but it's late, and I must sleep
...before it's time to get up and do it all again {grin}

goodnight friends.

dear journal

We awoke to gorgeous falling snow, with no wind.
It wasn't the snow we're used to.
Once the sun came out the snow was gone.

The field work is officially done.
All that is left is preparing the farm for winter,
and hauling some gravel.

We had already winterized our RV.
So this weekends trip we had pink tinted water. ack.
My husband said it was non-toxic,
but I still tried not to use it.



Ozzie cried for Grandma & Grandpa last night.
It made me teary too.
And made me think how hard it's going to be on the kids
...when we really lose them.

We fed the wildcats outside on our patio, instead of next door.
5 of us huddled together to watch them out the bathroom window.
We only counted 5.

The girls are becoming quite enamored with babywearing again.
I love it. I've missed it.
Although there is no way I'm wearing them both,
like I used to.

...Eliza is holding onto her sister standing on the bed. LOVE...

I didn't take any pictures on our trip this weekend.

It was fast and furious and fun.

We went straight from our trip to a barn party,

hosted by some friends from church.

We all went on an old fashion horse draw wagon ride

...through the dark, quiet, middle of nowhere.

It was beautiful.

I tried a new kombucha drink.

It was weak.

I am determined to start making my own, soon!!

I read through my 2011 bucket list.

We've done a lot, but still have a lot to do.

I might have to move some over to the 2012 list.

We ran out of coconut oil.

Coconut oil is a staple around here.

I have a hard time functioning in the kitchen without it.

We have to drive 2 hours to the store to buy it.

I have tons of onions from the garden

...and now I'm dreaming of homemade onion rings.

Healthy real food style of course. {grin}

Gavin and dad played some baseball today
...on our road.
Which works well considering we have zero traffic.

Grandma dropped off a box of magazines before they left.
I looked through 4 of them last night.
I was slightly appalled, disgusted & discouraged.

Lucy is still nursing her babies
...although less and less every week.
It's been interested to watch her try to wean them.

I've sort of vanished from facebook and twitter.

Not sure how long it will last.

I just didn't feel it was a wise use of my time,

and it was so easy to step away from.

I've been contacted by a couple companies lately,

wanting me to do a giveaway on my blog.

I'm going to do it, you'll be happy I did. 

The girls asked to walk over to Grandma & Grandpas today,

just to check to see if they were really gone.

They came back declaring...

"they're gone, they're really gone, oh no!"

I tend to write these type of journal posts often.
They're important to me,
I never want to forget even the little things.
Not sure if the name dear journal will stick though.
I don't like monotony {grin}

It's time to start planning our winter RV trip.

I'm sooooo excited!

I'll be posting about it soon,

and you'll have a chance to help us decide where we go.