A Father's Dream Come True

Emma had long been lobbying to ride the mower. Erik's legs aren't quite long enough yet. But Emma's are...Here's pictures of Emma mowing the area outside our fence (because there are no obstacles). The funny thing is that Doug wouldn't let her drive in high gear. She was going very S-L-O-W-L-Y! I think Elisha could have run faster than Emma was driving ;-) Erik can't wait for his turn to drive the mower. Of course, he'll have to wear goggles and a mask because of his allergies! And Doug is just counting the days when he will no longer be responsible for the yard (I'll find something else for him to do...)

Pear Butter

Last spring, Emma and I took a canning class. We were anticipating a great harvest from our first garden. Well, the tomatoes didn't cooperate...although Everson enjoyed picking tomatoes as soon as they were ripe...and eating them right off the plant!

Last week, I split a case of 150 pears with someone from our produce coop. They weren't ripe when I got them. But it seems that my 75 pears all ripened at the same time. After forcing pear upon pear to each of my family members, I decided to actually put my canning class to good use. I had made pear butter before, only to have it eaten immediately by my children. Ellie and I processed a TON of pears. My wrists were sore from peeling. Poor Ellie's hands were tired from wrangling slippery pears so she could slice them.

At the end of the day, I had made a whopping 7 half-pints of pear butter. One was used at dinner on fresh bread, served with chicken noodle soup. One is in the fridge and the remaining 5 are in my pantry. What a great feeling! I can can anything! Last night I found a recipe for a marmalade that uses carrots, oranges, and lemons. I think I may just try it on my unsuspecting children. They DO like carrots, but the thought of spreading cold, mashed carrots on bread gives them the shivers.

Fortunately for me, my mom has done 3 estate sales this fall...and I have benefitted greatly...I have many many canning jars and rings.

We learned a lot from our garden this summer...how to grow things in the hot hot Texas sun...how our compost has to be more diverse...how strawberries need to be planted in the part of the yard that has more shade...

Next summer, I want to make and can spaghetti sauce and salsa!

An update on some close friends of ours: Many of our NY friends and family know David and Becky Pence. Pence Camp. "Parents" of Napoleon the Hedgehog...Ellie's first cousin ;-) Becky was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a few years ago. She has annual cancer screenings involving an iodine-free diet and radiation. This past winter, Becky was treated with her radioactive iodine...and then found out that she was pregnant. Before treatment, a pregnancy test was run...and the tech didn't read the report. I've pasted her email to this update so you can know and pray. Also, last Christmas (before the radiation and pregnancy), David and Becky completed foster parent training and were called with a placement for an infant. So in the midst of all of this, they have been parenting Aimee...and planning to adopt HER. I'll leave the rest of the information to Becky to explain. I'll keep you posted.

1. Madeleine Elise Pence was born on Monday, October 20th at 3:59 pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 4oz and was 20 inches long. We still do not know what, if any, effect her prenatal exposure to radioactive iodine had. So far she's been a bit of a human pin cushion as they draw (or attempt to draw) blood to run tests. She will see a pediatric endocrinologist on Monday for further evaluation. We're hopeful that, by then, they will be able to run the appropriate blood tests so that the doctor can give us some information.
2. Aimee turned 1 on September 17th and started walking not long thereafter! Her new daycare center also finally opened...just in time for her to start daycare before Madeleine arrived! It seems hard to believe but she will soon be with us for over a year now. She's getting so big and has quite a little personality of her own.
3. Aimee's parents had a crucial court date in early October. At that time the judge heard testimony and ruled them negligent parents...the first step towards terminating their parental rights. The next court date is scheduled for December 1st. On the 1st the judge will rule as to whether or not her parents have abandoned her (since they will not have seen or attempted to see her in over 6 months by that time). If the judge rules that they have abandoned her then their parental rights will automatically be terminated and she will be freed for adoption on the 1st! Once that happens, it's just a matter of filing the proper paperwork and waiting for a court date to finalize the adoption. We're hoping that it will be finalized in early 2009!

A recent conversation prompted me to give consistent blogging another try. Regardless of whether people leave a comment or not. Regardless of whether people send me newsy emails...though it would be nice to hear how your life is going...

We're in the throes of ballet and basketball. 3 hours of basketball practice (homeschool jr high boys) coached by Doug. Erik goes to practice and gets quite the workout. 5 ballet classes and a total of 7 hours of Nutcracker rehearsals last week. Plus AWANA.

And, oh yes, school.

And legos for Everson.

And Demolition Activites for Elisha...That kid is B-U-S-Y. His current favorite toy: anything with a cord. My blender base. The electric pencil sharpener. The handle to my electric knife (minus the blades, of course). Oh, and he likes remote controls too.

The kids participated in a History Fair last Thursday night. It's an annual event for our homeschool association. Erik and Ellie made a display on Lewis and Clark. Ellie even dressed up as Sacajawea and Erik was Meriweather Lewis...complete with coonskin cap and paper moccasins. Emma and her friend Stephanie did a display and mini-speech on The Great Depression. They even dressed up in 'depression-style' dresses and went barefoot.

We've been watching The Waltons on Wednesday nights after AWANA. The kids look so forward to popcorn, apple slices and The Waltons. Last year it was The Brady Bunch.

Monday and Wednesday are my stay home days. Today I'm doing some baking. I've already made homemade graham crackers - YUMMY and will be baking some bread this afternoon.