Yee Haw!

Rolling down the AstroTurf hill? Free.

We went to the Rodeo yesterday for $12!!!! Thanks to our awesome homeschool group, we got free tickets, free parking, and because we are cheap, we did only free things. At the very end of our day (and our energy) I let the girls ride the ponies for $6 a piece. In all, we were gone for 5 hours and filled that time up with free things! Not bad.

Let me clarify for those of you who don't rodeo, we did not watch the rodeo, we just went for the extra stuff.

Our little group of homeschool friends...

This little lamb was born yesterday afternoon. There were lots of new baby piggies too.

Just hatched!

This little one was loving the heater.

So we walked through the rows and rows of places where the contestants keep their animals. Not sure what that's called. Apparently, they have to decorate their little "stall" which I am sure everyone loves the person who started that. This Princess Cow booth was our favorite.

Petting zoo...

They had a really cute section called Kid's Country. I won't bore you with all the pictures but it was Little Bit's favorite part.

At the end of Kid's Country, they got "paid" and got to buy a snack.

Went to the pig races and saw the famous swimming pig. They worked for Oreos.

But what did my children REALLY want to do?

And of course it was free, so I said yes. It really is a BIG escalator.

We were exhausted at the end of 5 hours. NO idea how many miles we walked. But, I'm hoping this gets us back on track with Daylight Saving Time. We went to bed at a decent hour so that's a good start.

Today is Princess Class. I still need to tell you about that. And of course, it's Friday night Bible study so we've got to get the house cleaned up. Didn't we just have people over here on Wednesday night? What happened to our clean?

Super Bloggers Don't Skip A Day

Whew! I made it. I must post every day because Carrie says that's what super bloggers do. Today you get a bullet list.

• We have our church group coming over in t minus 1 hour and 50 minutes. I just scrubbed the toilet and now I'm going to make hamburger patties. #thingsyoudon'twanttoknowwhenyougotosomeone'shouse
• Ridiculous hash mark, that one.
• the girls are cleaning too
• we tilled the garden last night but I didn't have time to plant anything today.
• we went to the park
• and we did school
• We have 13 more weeks of History to do this year and 12 more weeks of school.
• I've been running like a chicken with my head cut off today.
• We planted flowers in the front yard yesterday and spread mulch.
• I am very nature-y.
• One thing that is important to do when company comes over is hide all the containers of dirt and slugs the girls have been collecting on the back porch.
• Remember that, OK?
• Especially if you are grilling hamburgers on said porch.
• After you scrubbed the toilet.

See you tomorrow!

They're Listening!!!

Over the weekend I gave a little lecture entitled, "Put Things Back Where You Got Them."

Then yesterday, I went to make a sandwich and saw this:

That's an empty container that used to have ham in it. The plastic bag is laid neatly to the side.
So, this is progress, right?

Peaceful

Sunday afternoon S declared we were picking up the house. We all worked together and got the girls' room, their bathroom, the homeschool room, and living room cleaned up. What a difference!

Today I got groceries for the week and got a lot of laundry done. The girls have the day off of school (we are taking 2 days of Spring break this week and 3 another week.) so their job is to clean the toy room.

But even before we got all that done, my husband said, "We have such a peaceful house."

Looking around at the chaos and disorder around here sometimes would make you wonder. Knowing the worry and swirling thoughts in my head sometimes might not make you think of peace. Looking at our family calendar might not either.

But it's true. S grew up in a home that wasn't all that peaceful. In our house, there is no fighting. There is no yelling or slamming of doors. There is not uncontrolled anger or alcohol or many other things that make a home un-peaceful.

Why? Because we have arranged our lives in such superior ways? Because we are not busy? Because I am so organized and on top of things that there is never a moment's concern?

Please. You must know me better than that.

Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. It is given from God. We cannot manufacture it ourselves. It is not a feeling. I don't believe it is solely dependent on our circumstances either. God is bigger than that.

Can our brothers and sisters in Japan feel peace right now? I pray that they will, even though their circumstances are anything but peaceful right now. God can give peace to His people. It is a fruit of the Spirit, if we are walking in the Spirit. And no matter what circumstances we are in....we are at peace with God because of the sacrifice our Lord made on the cross for us.

That is maybe the best peace of all.

So if you are in an unpeaceful circumstance today---house is a mess, kids are sick, bank account is empty, not sure what you are going to do about supper, loved one in the hospital, marriage on the rocks, etc. know that peace does not come from those things anyway.

Peace comes only from God.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Friday Is My Favorite

I love Fridays. We never get as much school done on Fridays but usually that's OK because I feel pretty good about what we've gotten done earlier in the week. My Friday schedule is lighter on purpose.

It's house cleaning day. I really like to clean on Fridays and have a pretty house on Saturday morning. I don't like spending my whole weekend cleaning.

Plus, we have some folks over for Bible study on Friday nights so that's really good motivation for cleaning.

And Bible study? It's the best. We all just love it. It's so nice to have time to really dig into God's word. It seems at church there isn't really a time to do that. Which is too bad.

And one of the ladies brings over her 7 year old daughter so Little Bit has a playmate and they have a good time. Sweetheart goes back and forth between playing with them, doing her own thing, or organizing activities for the little girls. She's very helpful. Sometimes she sits in with us for awhile but it's all really over her head and boring so she wanders off.

Friday nights are not about the kids. And I guess that's OK.

Oh, and we have to go to the grocery store but that is NOT my favorite Friday activity. However, we like to eat so I shall procure food. At least enough to make it until payday.

And I had to turn on the heat this morning. Ridiculous because it will be in the 70s today. March is always like that.

OK then. I think that's all the disjointed thoughts I can throw your way on a Friday. If you made it this far, I hope you didn't have a brain spasm trying to figure out any cohesiveness to this post, which seems to be absent.

Happy Friday!! Especially if you love Fridays like me!

Also, I could use some Spring Cleaning motivation. Anyone got a good website to encourage me?