Got these "Sure to make you smile" pictures in an email today.

This one might have been Photoshopped, but it's still humorous.

This one was my favorite!

M.I.A.

I just wanted to let my readers know that I haven't disappeared, and I'm sorry I haven't posted for almost a week now. There just hasn't been a ton to write about from around here lately. We have been busy with school now. Granted, it only takes us a few hours each day to get our schoolwork done, but then I have to make up for those few lost hours in my housework, cooking, etc. etc. Plus I need time to do my reading. ☺ And if truth be told I probably do more reading lately than I should be. Books are very distracting to me. ☺ Speaking of which...Dave is making me two floor-to-ceiling book shelves! I am so excited about these. He built one yesterday, and today he installed it. We still need to sand and stain it, but at least it's in place, and you can get an idea of how it will look. Both shelves are 8' in height.

You can see my old shelf to the left of the new one. It's mighty overcrowded. ☺ Actually I should probably be sanding right now instead of writing on my blog. Hmm...

Anyways, I have more to write about this week as last night we went to a Minnesota Twins game! Dave has pictures on his phone so once I get those from him I will upload them and write about our trip.

I also have to fill out a survey that Leah tagged me in. That should be fun. ☺ So thanks for your patience with me and for sticking with me even when I'm absent. Bye!

It's gonna be cold...or not.

The weekly poll had a shocking result: a tie! **roll your eyes** Okay, so maybe that wasn't very shocking, but it just goes to show you that when it comes to the weather nobody really knows what's going to happen except for God. "Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word;" ~Psalm 148:8.

Living in Minnesota you have to expect the unexpected. It can be 90° on Tuesday and 60° on Wednesday. Movies often portray our state as a blustery tundra and with good reason: it's cold here in the winter. There hasn't been a huge amount of snow the last few years, but it certainly hasn't been warm. Check out this funny video for proof (Minnesotans for Global Warming). Personally, I think it's going to be bitterly cold this winter. But even if it isn't am I going to put my -20° Columbia® jacket into storage? I think not.

Onto the next poll! I've had weeds on my mind since I spent several days last week hunched over, yankin' unwanted plants from my driveway.

I'm no Julia Child, but it can't be THAT bad, right?

I cook the same foods every week. I rotate between preparing chicken several different ways to making spaghetti, tater tot hotdish, tacos, pizza, and I recently added lasagna to my repertoire. A few weeks ago I decided to make breakfast foods for supper, just to add some flair. I had quite the spread: scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and french toast. I (emphasis on the I) thought it was pretty tasty, and everyone cleaned their plate so I figured that was a good sign. Afterwards I asked David, "So, how was it?" He was silent for 3 seconds, and then he responded, "Well, it's something to eat." I laughed heartily.

Now tonight our main course was beef roast and carrots that I had in the slow cooker all afternoon. I made some stuffing to go along with it, and we had pickles and fruit, too. Emma and Paige weren't exactly thrilled about eating the carrots and beef, but after sampling it Emma declared, "This is better than cat food!"

You are all invited over to my house for dinner. I'll make mac 'n cheese.

"We babies have lots to say."

Abby and Brett were conversing. Pay no attention to the women behind the camera. ☺

Labor Day at Madison Lake

Yesterday we spent a very nice holiday at nearby Madison Lake. Our family went as well as Dave's parents, and his sister, Beth, and her husband, Adam, and their four boys. Carrie, Dave's mom, packed a huge spread for a picnic lunch, and his dad, Carl, grilled out. After lunch the kids went swimming and played on the beach. Then they all went fishing with Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Adam. Dave, Beth and I stayed by the babies. The weather was wonderful: sunny and about 80°, and the company was fun as always.

Brett

Brett and Abby

Paige

Hunter and Emma

Will

Dave, Brett, and Beth

~~There was an odd lady with abnormally large sunglasses in there as well

We started school

Today our school year officially began. I was very nervous about it all summer long. Last year I received a sampling of what it would be like to teach both girls at the same time, and admittedly I wasn't the best at keeping them both occupied at the same time. I noticed that they don't like to just sit and wait while the other child is attended to, especially Emily. "What next?" is something she frequently asks. So with that knowledge I figured that this year wouldn't be any easier since Emma is now in Kindergarten, and Paige is in 2ND grade and thus we have more subjects to get through.

But today went very well. ☺ Yes, I had to kind of keep the ball rolling for Emily as she wants to be constantly learning, but that ended up being a blessing as then we did an extra subject today that I wasn't planning on. The girls each made a tree with glued-on paper leaves, and they also examined their fingerprints. And since Paige has just taken off with her reading this summer she was able to read the directions for each of her problems by herself. That was so encouraging to see!

This was neat: When my curriculum arrived last week I noticed that I was missing two books of worksheets for Emily. One of them was Book 1 of her Language Arts program, so we really needed that book to begin that subject today. I figured the shipment wouldn't arrive until at least this afternoon (if it came today at all), but instead the package arrived at 9 o'clock this morning, just as we were about to begin! Providential!

Please be in prayer for our upcoming year. Pray that I would have patience with my girls and they would have patience with me; that I would be sensitive to their individual learning styles; and that we would bring glory and honor to our Father. I consider it a joy and a privilege to teach my girls myself, and I thank my gracious LORD for allowing me to do so. May He be magnified in ours lives.

Little discoveries

Several weeks ago I walked into the toy room and noticed the girls had taped some of their art onto the wall.

I thought this was really neat of them to do. The art quickly became part of the wall decor, and I would walk past it without looking at it and realizing it was there anymore.

But yesterday morning I happened to walk into the toy room, and I noticed the art again. I figured it had been on the wall long enough, and I started to take it off. That's when I learned the reason behind the strategic placement of the pictures.

Hidden beneath their masterpieces was a math problem and a stick figure person. I'll give them this:  they are clever!