It's so hard to say goodbye...

Today was a sad day. We lost our beloved chicken to death this afternoon. Her name was Jr. I'm not sure why the kids named her that but since she was a baby chick she was their favorite. She was always a bit slower that the other hens which is probably why the kids liked her so much. She was a good friend. One day we lost 4 of our chickens to what we think were coyotes. Jr's feathers were everywhere so we think she must have gotten away. after that she was never the same. She sat and sat and was slow and tired. I think she was injured somehow. Today when the kids opened the chicken coop, Jr. was lying down sort of twitching and opening and closing her eyes. the kids scooped her up and brought her into the back of daddys red truck. They came and got me and we took care of Jr. in her last moments. She finally went limp and the kids all cried. James said she was his favorite friend.
Goodbye Jr.! we'll miss you!

Who are you?

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

I know, I know- I need to get pictures on here more often! It's not that I'm busy raising and homeschooling four kids-wait-yes-that is the reason.
We went camping over the weekend. I managed to get some decent non-blurry pictures. It was great fun but very hot.

Pat me on the back for getting these pictures up!

More Funnies & teeth

Here's James with something missing



This was something funny James said to me this morning. Although it was quite convicting!

James: Mom-can I have an apple for breakfast?
Me: I guess so-don't you want some cereal?
James: No-I don't like eating sugar for breakfast


Maybe I should be making some healthier breakfasts?

Funny things my kids say

Libby: We have a 6-wheeler. if it doesn't start, you have to pray and if it doesn't start when you pray-you have to put gas in it!

Libby and Sydney walking outside with walking sticks.
libby: Mom, we're grandmas!
Sydney: No-only Libby is cuz Grandmas have curly hair!

Vacation

I have many pictures from our recent vacation but this is one of my favorites!



and this

Civil War

We went to a civil war reenactment in Jacksonville. The girls got these adorable bonnetts.



It was really loud and the kids spent most of the time like this.

it was so hot that day that when the soldiers fell down dead, they would army crawl into some shade.

Swimming

The kids have been taking swimming lessons. I'm waiting for that great moment where they realize they can float by themselves!

A day at the park

Saturday was a great day. We went to the park to ride bikes and play. James is learning to ride without training wheels. We had a great time and we got some good exercise.

Flowers and chickens

We planted some flowers today-the kids helped a lot!

This is James holding Jr. the chicken. She's the kid's favorite chicken. We have 12 chickens.

This chicken's name is Mrs. Mean. Apparently she is not very nice.

Memorial Day

Father and son

This is Libby saying MY turn!

Tire swing fun!

The Pens have been confiscated

Apples

The children love apples! They took out their apple seeds today so they could plant them.

Tony

This is Tony the toad. Tony likes to hang out in a jar and jump on the bed. He also likes to ride around in plastic cars. Tony has many toad friends some of which I am sad to say are deceased. The Deweeses love Tony the toad. We hope he stays around a while longer!

Driving the Bus

Bugs

My children consistently find all sorts of creatures outside that I would never even spot with my eye, let alone catch anything. This is by far one of the coolest. Props to my boy James for being able to hold anything sqirmy and not care one bit. Must be a boy thing although Sydney is pretty great at holding hippity hoppity toads.

Pure Joy

This is Joel and he just started smiling. He is pure joy to have around!

Joel Daniel

Joel Daniel has arrived! He was born on April 11th, 2007 @ 2:43PM. He weighed 7lbs, 12oz and measured 20 inches long. He is an awesome baby. We had a long, hard homebirth lasting 22 hours. It was worth it though. He's an angel! Hoping to get some pics on here soon.

Welcome

This blog has been created to keep family and friends updated on the upcoming arrival of our newest addition to the family. I(Kristen) am 23 days from my due date of April 12th, 2007. I hope to post pictures and possibly live blog my labor! Should be an exciting adventure! As of now, I havn't made much progress so I dont have much to update you on right now. The coming days and weeks should be exciting though! Keep checking back for updates!