Hugging Mommy's Heart!

This is Kammy getting ready for her dedication. She's wearing a dress big sisters wore and laying on a blanket that mommy made especially for her!

I mentioned this before, but she was the easiest going baby ever. Below, she is just home from the hospital, content and having a little chat with her daddy.These photos were all before my digital camera craze, so I had to pull them out of the scrapbook and scan them. Kayla and Kalli had more than their fair share of sister spats, but when Kammy came along, she gave them something different to focus on and everyone actually got along much better! =) Of course, looking at them in these sweet pictures, you would never believe that they ever fought at all. I was one happy mommy!Kammy asked for another horse party this year. Now 4 out of 6 parties have been such!It was easy and inexpensive, as we used mostly items on hand for decor. Here is the gift corner.Daddy brought home a huge horse balloon--sort of the highlight of party decor!For the third year in a row, Kammy chose Pepperoni Pizza and Root Beer Floats. I'm well aware that it's not the healthiest, but we always let the girls choose this one meal a year--whatever they want!Kammy enjoying her float!We printed a huge unicorn and played "Pin the horn on the unicorn!"Kammy asked for and icecream cake from her favorite place, Dairy Queen and then she put her favorite little horse, Beauty on top.

"Blow hard, Kammy!"She is at the funnest age. Six is awesome! She woke up literally bouncing and saying, "I'm six years old today, I'm six years old today!"

She was so grateful for all of her gifts, but the best part came when I was tucking her in for the night. She said, "Mommy, thank you for the wonderful party! You are the one that made it special--Mommy, you always make things so special for us!" There are a few things about that little articulate statement that thrill me:

1. I am proud to have a 6 year old who is thankful. One who does not have an entitlement spirit--who is not selfish!

2. The way she articulated her thoughts. Maybe I am wrong, but I don't think many girls her age can express themselves so honestly or so well.

3. She noticed! Let's face it, a mom's work often goes un-noticed. We just do what we are supposed to do. There's not really such a thing as going above and beyond, and if there was, we wouldn't get a bonus for it anyway. Her little heartfelt thanks was like a bonus to my heart--a great big hug, and I walked on air from her room back to mine. =)

McCall, Idaho Winter Carnival

Here are a few pictures of that little trip I was talking about in my previous post. I'm posting some pictures and I also copied Kayla's report paper she wrote on the trip. She is currently taking a course in Idaho History and although it wasn't required, I thought it couldn't hurt to make this trip a learning experience as well. I love snow and winter. I keep telling the hubby that I think I'm "called" to a more wintery climate, but so far he and God don't get it. :) These first 2 pictures are scenery shots on the trip up.

And now--from Kayla:

My family went on a little vacation to McCall, Idaho. They were just getting ready for their annual Winter Carnival. I am taking Idaho History, so mom had me write a report. She is typing it for me below. It is interesting. There are also some pictures of our trip.
The first carnival took place in 1924. It began with the largest train ever to enter McCall. It had 248 people on board and one of them was Idaho's govornor C. Moore. The very first carnival was called, "Payette Lakes Sports Carnival. It lasted three days. One of the biggest events was the dog sled races. They also had ski joring, which is when a skier is pulled by a horse! They had toboggan races and raced homemade snowmobiles on the frozen, snow-covered lake. These 'snowmobiles' were actually vehicles set on steel runners and driven by an airplane engine and propeller. Eventually, the carnival turned into an "ice break-up contest." People would buy tickets and guess what day, hour and minute the ice would break up on the lake. The person guessing the closest, won a prize. The last contest was in 1941 at what time gambling had become illegal. In 1965, the "Winter Carnival" began again and has continued to this day.

McCall can get up to 400 inches (33.3 feet) of snow each winter. One of the coolest things about the Winter Carnival these days are the fantastic ice sculptures. They might be animals, disney characters, Christmas or winter scenes. Whatever they are, they have amazing detail and are very beautiful! They are on nearly every corner and in front of nearly every store and shop. The sculptors work hard shaping the snow and pouring on water to maintain the icy surface. Awards are given for what judges say are the best. The town of McCall is beautiful with trees and snow. It is right on the Payette Lake. McCall has a population of 2,554. It is about 2 1/2 hours from our house on clear roads.

In January of this year, my family went to McCall. We stayed January 25-26. We stayed at the Western Mountain Lodge. We had a lot of fun! We looked at all kinds of sculptures, and since we were there a few days before the carnival began, we got to watch them working. There were bears, trains, trees and all kinds of other stuff all made out of snow! We were wondering why there were dragons, so we did some research and found out about the legend of "Sharlie." Some people say that they have seen a huge dragon, or sea creature and think it lives somewhere in the lake. Other people say there is no such thing and that it must be a log, a giant sturgeon, or even a herd of moose crossing the lake. This year, McCall is 100 years old, so we saw lots of sculptures with the number 100 as well.

McCall is a beautiful little town. It was founded in 1911 by Tom McCall. There was an article in the newspaper while we were there that talked about McCall's history. Tom McCall's daughter was McCall, Idaho's first schoolteacher. His son later became the first forest ranger. They were alone when they first came to McCall. They traded with an earlier setter named Denver, his homestead for their best harness, team and wagon. Someone asked Louisa, Tom's wife if she was lonely or discouraged in those hard early years and she said, "No, I had my family."
We also went sledding at Bear Park while we were there. The sledding hill ends in the lake, but don't worry. The lake freezes over every winter.

Enjoying pizza at Blue Moose Pizza.
Sledding at Bear Park.

Payette Lake.

Working on a sculpture with a chainsaw.

Back to Mom (Karen). Hope you enjoyed it. I thought she did quite well and I loved that they had fun too! We have gone I think 4 years now and I'd love to make it an official tradition!

Winter Blessings

Thinking this morning that my blessings are about as inmumerable as the snowflakes--only around here, you really can just about count the snowflakes. :) We were so excited about the 8 inches we were supposed to have for Thanksgiving day. Kalli said it best when she woke up and looked out the window to a bare yard, "The weatherman sure has a weird imagination!" Some of my winter blessings include my incredibly sweet family. Hubby made me a nice warm fire this morning before he left for a day at work. He's a keeper! Not just because he builds nice fires, either. My sweet girls will be helping me with laundry and Thanksgiving baking today. It is so much fun having girls to do things with! Last night we made snowballs using styrofoam balls, glue and sparkly fake snow.
Of all my winter blessings the very best is the gift of Jesus. He's the real reason why this whole season is such a joy to celebrate! Friday, while some of you brave the Black Friday shopping crowds, I will be keeping our tradition of decorating for Christmas. That is if I can actually FIND them! Our garage is the one spot that still lacks a LOT in the area of organization! I plan to take it a little easy with the decor this year since I have just about had my fill of unpacking and decorating here lately.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tiny Talk Feature!

I have been so busy lately that I almost forgot to listen, but the tinies are still talking. Here are just a few things that I'm able to recall.

I killed yet another upright vacuum a few weeks ago (we have wicked long hair around here) so I picked up an old canister vac on craigslist for $20. Kayla was showing it to the grandparents and papa asked if it used water. Kayla thoughtfully replied, "No....I think it runs on electricity."

Kammy is still trying to figure out this American Girl thing. "How can we be American girls, Nampa girls, and Idaho girls all at the same time?"

We were learning about shadows in school and I was going to try to explain what caused them. Kalli said, "they are caused because light cannot pass through opaque objects." Okay then....some days I wonder why I am the teacher!

Oh! And I was featured! Yep, little ole me! Mary @ Not Before 7, hosts Tiny Talk each Tuesday and has been doing a feature each week. This week she picked me! Thanks!

Picnick at the park

Last night our house was showing ...again...so we headed to the park for a couple of hours. I was a little worried that it was going to be miserable and hot, but it was quite comfy in the shade! In my opinion, we are very blessed to live in a dry climate. You southerners would never have believed that it was 90 degrees. With the soft breeze and the lack of humidity, it was great! Poor Babycakes has been having a terribly rough time cutting some teeth and has hardly slept at all for the last 48 hours. She finally dozed on the picnick blanket for a few minutes.
I fixed the most awesome veggie sandwiches compliments of Tasty Kitchen!

What made them even better was the fresh cucumbers from Grampapa's garden.

School's Out!

Well, it's actually been out a few weeks, but now it's official! Tonight our church had a special service for our homeschool students...that would be my kiddos. If you'd have told me even 10 years ago that I'd have four girls and homeschool, I'd have told you...uh, well...I'd have told you, "no way!" I guess God is trying to teach me patience...and it's looking like it might take a while. If I keep this up until Kaite graduates, I can retire with 24 years as a homeschool educator. Then, I'm going back to school myself...to get an 'education' LOL! Actually, I wouldn't trade what I am doing here for anything!

Love it! Daddy brought us a lesson from Ecclesiastes, and we learned that most commentators believe Solomon (the wisest man that ever lived) was a HOMESCHOOLER! Go figure!

Kayla read us a sample essay she did this year and briefly reported on her literature books. Kayla is very self-motivated, which is sooo nice!

I honestly don't think I have EVER had to remind her to get busy, but there have been a few times when I have had to force her to take a break.

Kalli demonstrated her knowledge of cups, pints, and quarts by making us some lemonade.

She also showed us how she can count money and tell time. Kalli is very imaginative and quite a writer. One day she was looking a pictures and making sentences about what could have been happening in those pictures...she looked at a picture of Ace and his pet lamb Baba and wrote, "Diligent Ace cares for precious Baba." Come on people....you have to admit the 'cuteness' of that!
Kammy modeled a bonnet we made in Home Ec when we studied the pilgrims.
Then they each received an award for their hard work. Kayla got a brand new pair of roller blades, Kalli a study Bible, and Kammy a PINK cowgirl hat.
Of course, Kaite had to try it on...

I am very proud of my students. Kayla completed 6th grade with a 97.8% gpa and has been passed to the 7th grade! Congratulations Kayla! Kalli completed the 2rd grade with a 98.2% gpa and has been passed to the 3rd grade! Congratulations Kalli!

Now, we plan to enjoy our SUMMER VACATION!