Funny girl

Some funny things Georgia has said lately. 
  

👧🏼Mama, your yuggy. 
👩🏼What? 
👧🏼Mama, your yugly. 
👩🏼What!?
👧🏼Mama, your yuvely.
👩🏼… I’m what?
👧🏼Yovely!!!!
👩🏼Ohhhh lovely. Haha thank you. Wait where did you learn that!? Lol 

   
    
 
 Just let Georgia taste my coffee. 

She sometimes asks. 

This was a good day because it was strong with no sugar and hardly any cream. 

She got it in her mouth and just started shaking her head. 

She waited until I finished it. She spit it back into my empty cup and said NOT GOOD. Not. Good!

   
   
Yes. She tucked the puppies in. 

  
She climbed up in our bed last night apparently when Quinton and I were sleeping. I found her in between us at like 3am. This morning when I asked her how she got there and why, she said, “when I was in my bed, the Pirates were in my bed, trying to get my eyes, so I had to come in your bed.” Who can argue with that logic? Lol 
   
 
The sandpipers on the beach were all ducks. This was an indisputable fact according to Georgia. 

  
   
    
  
 

Socialization

Homeschool has been a pretty common topic around our home lately. And whenever it comes up people who haven’t done it, and who really love us, and our kids, tend to get a little stressed out. They stress how we must work diligently to socialize our kiddos so they don’t become strange or weird, and they usually cite some homeschoolers they know who didn’t turn out socially normal enough for their taste. 

I can totally relate to this line of thought as the only homeschoolers I’d met when growing up fit this category, but how many I’d met that were completely under the radar I will never know. 

And I say “when growing up” because once I hit college, I did meet a bunch of homeschoolers who were nothing short of pretty amazing. 
They were much better read than I, socially very capable, joyful usually, and way more interested in their learning. 

Notice I didn’t say school. 

They were interested in their learning; they loved to learn and were resourceful in how they looked for ways to learn things they were interested in. Also they loved Jesus, genuinely, and when they had questions about him, they read their Bibles or they talked to pastors or teachers. Most of them are now married to other socially normal people and have beautiful children. This was one of my first glimpses into another way of approaching school. 

So recently, after the socialization topic coming up a bit more than normal, I coincidentally read a Post that one of my Facebook friends shared on her wall(maybe it was coming up a bit more in her circles as well). 

And after reading it I followed a link to this post. Where, through grace filled sarcasm, I realized just how socialized my kids are, with people of many ages, races, and ideologies. 

Well, as most “internetting” goes  (I love Quintonisms) that post led to this one which led to THIS ONE. And This one is the one that sent the corners of my mouth upward and my mind spinning. It helped me use mega blocks and measuring cups to teach addition, subtraction, fractions, and phonics in like five minute intervals while Georgia had no idea she was earning today.  I had really been so bogged down lately by the hard work of it all and the self imposed anxiety, that I had whizzed right by the gift that it is to teach my kids. 

So. I thought I’d share our recent socialization 😉 and these links because it’s easy to get bogged down by hard work and mommy anxiety. 

  
Cow appreciation day   
    
    
    
    
    

Getting to make homemade logs for our trains with our friends and innovative Daddy.  

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
 

  
 
And our recent play date  

    
    
   
  I realize it might look like we sometimes have it together, let me not fool you. We have days where we watch way too much TV or have this happen.  

 
We have whole days of discipline and madness. But when there are days like this, or let’s be real, moments like this  

   
I hope to rejoice in God and what he’s doing instead of blinding my eyes and hardening my heart under work and anxiety. 

Us lately

 Getting some Yaya time!  
 

Not getting any sleep time    
  
Painting time! 

   

  

  

  
Bath time    
 
 Sick kid cuddle time   
 
Great neighbors/ veggie time  

   
  Painting with chalk time  

 
Turns chalk paint fight time  

    
 
Swimming time 

  
We’ve been having a good time, happy not to be sick, anymore! 
Also somehow google maps decides to retake their photos of our address for street view literally days after we move in. Guess who made it on candid camera? 

  

Daddy update: lemonade And floor hockey

                

Daddy update: entertaining children

When Quinton’s at work and he wants to see what we are up to 
Georgia decided to paint the house 🙂 with water.

   
      

While we were outside painting and chalking the sidewalk 

  it started to rain  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Awakening

God has been revealing my heart to me greatly in the last few days. Our family has been sick nearing a month now. And we are looking as if we are on the mend. I don’t know if it was the isolation from  community or the medication or the amount of television we watched, but I have been out of it. 

I have been seeking God like I haven’t in a while. Like he’s been coaxing me out of a self inflicted comfort fog that had consumed me and my motives for living and parenting and loving my husband for a lot longer than this illness. Post partum depression hit me hard after both pregnancies.  In fact I’m thankful for this sickness pulling me out of my numbness. I’m thankful for the unwavering and awe inspiring grace God has lavished on my through my husband. He has forgiven more than I thought I’d ever ask of him. 

God. What he’s been doing in my life. He’s introduced me to a whole other side of himself. Knowing unconditional love when you are in such a place, is an unspeakable blessing. 
God made me crave him again. It’s funny how sleepless nights, pain, and hard work cause us to rely more heavily on God. He uses our sin and our circumstances. 
Anyway, I’ve been pained at how big my children are. Pained that I can’t make a perfect life for them. Pained that I have been far from a perfect parent. And God showed me that, that’s not why I am here. That’s not what I am doing. They aren’t my little possessions. They are his people, he is growing them. He has gifted me the opportunity to be his hands for these little ones. 

He’s shown me that I can’t find my significance in anything but him. Not in being a doula, or a stay at home mom, or a married woman, or a graduate, or a non graduate by choice. 
I am embarrassed, looking back at my Facebook feed and seeing, glaringly, how I seek approval from people through trying to fit into my church crowd or the doula crowd  or the VCU crowd. 

#somanydoulaposts

#notthebestidea

#stilllovetodoula #butsonotMyfirstlove

I still judge myself with comdemning voices from painting critiques or Facebook comments. I hear fresh in my mind, all of the careful instructions of well meaning bystanders, to be careful not to make my kiddos weird homeschoolers. 
I won’t say “Not anymore.” Because though sin has been put to death in me, it is a continual putting to death. And even as I write this, I think of who will or will not read this and what they may think. 
But in a sense, I have been truly freed, again, from all that sin has shackled me to. In Christ, I can stand, significant. No matter what my life’s work looks like at that moment. Because I’m not found in any title other than redeemed. 

Visiting

The dogs are happy about this visit. 

   

So are the guys  

 Loving the wii 😆
Georgia really enjoyed the (museum ) “newseum”. 

   
 

We all did really 🙂 even Gideon wouldn’t sleep. He had to look at all the helicopters and parachutes. 

  
I enjoyed my nursing buddy 

  

We’re going to a friend’s house !

Well, not just any friend! Mah best friend. 

We play this game when Georgia and I are in the truck driving, usually on the way to community group, but really anywhere we are going. It’s sort of a mix of things. 

This chant my mom would do when we were kids that went like this:

“We’re going on a bear hunt.

(Echo) we’re going on a bear hunt.

But I’m not scared! 

(Echo) but I’m not scared!

Cuz I got me a gun.

(Echo) cuz I got me a gun.

And I got three bullets. 

(echo) and I got three bullets.

So we’re walking along and we come to ah……

Tree!!!

Can’t go over it..

Can’t go under it..

Gotta go around it!

We’re going on a  bear hunt.

(Echo) we’re going on a bear hunt.

But I’m not scared! 

(Echo) but I’m not scared!

Cuz I got me a gun.

(Echo) cuz I got me a gun.

And I got three bullets! 

(Echo) and I’ve got three bullets.

We’re walking along and we come to a river. 

We can’t go over it! 

We can’t go under it! 

We can’t go around it! 

We gotta go through it!!”

And Daniel tiger’s neighborhood:

“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor.

Would you be my, could you be my, would you be my neighbor.

Its Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood a land of make believe, won’t you ride along with me (ride along..)

Its Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood so much to do so much to see, won’t you ride along with me (ride along..)

I got lots of friends for you and me, in this land of make believe, a friendly face on every streets just waiting to greet you.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor, Daniel tiger’s Neighborhood!”

So how we do our game, is

We’re going to a friends house 

(Echo) we’re going to a friends house!

And she lives in the …__________

City!!!

And her name is …____________ 

(Usually) Ariana! 

And we’re driving along on…___________

I-95 North! 

And we come to a…____________

Traffic light!

And today it is…________

Red!!

So we have to ..________

Stop!!!

And we …____

Look both ways!!!

Now it’s green so we can go.

And we’re driving along and we go over a …________

Bridge!!!!

And we see a …_________

Truck!!!

And we go beside some white flowers…

And we say…_________

Hi white flowers!!!!!

And we come to a stop sign!!

And we have to …_______

Stop!!!

And we look…__________

Both ways!!!!!

So anyways on with the story!

We are almost in NC visiting my friend Samantha and her hubby Will. Oh and their two dogs, Kenny and Hank. 

   

   

And  a side note.  

 We hit a lightning bug. It stayed with us a while .. In spirit 😛

About our mini farm

I realized today that it may be confusing- especially to those who have never been to our home- when we talk about our farm. It’s a name that sort of just stuck. And it does apply. But it may not be what you first think of when you visit. 

  
According to Google: 

1. farm

   färm/

   noun

   noun: farm; plural noun: farms

   1. 1. 

      an area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals, typically under the control of one owner or manager.

      synonyms:

      ranch, farmstead, plantation, estate, family farm, dairy farm, hobby farm;  farmland, market garden “a farm of 100 acres”

      • the main dwelling place on a farm; a farmhouse.

        “a half-timbered farm
   2. And according to Google’s definition of a hobby farm:
      
      
      hob·by farm

      noun

      noun: hobby farm; plural noun: hobby farms

      1. a small farm operated for pleasure or supplemental income rather than for primary income.

         
         

         
         

         
         

        
      We really fall under that definition. 

      
      

      Quinton happily works his job and I work at home with my kids and I am a doula. 

      Our hope is to learn a number of skills that my grandparents and maybe even his grandparents would have known how to do. 

      It really feels to me like I’m following in my great grandparents footsteps. They were first generation Norwegian Americans farming in North Dakota. My grandma remembers carrying milk and eggs from her home on the farm to the town creamery. One of our cast iron skillets came from her and she may have even eaten food from it in that original farm home outside of Finley. 

      We’ve started on a garden bed, a compost bin which may become a pile, and we were given an upcycled dog pen that we are converting into a chicken run. 

        
      Our first farming project is starting our chicken run. We are collecting free wood to build the coop and we hope to buy chickens early next year. 

        
      Quinton is trying hard to talk me into having a goat or two. I mean it’s not that much of him talking, more like, just look at this cuteness.
      http://youtu.be/AWvefaN8USk

      We’ve played with the idea of farming bees. And we may look into that after getting our bearings for a few years. 

Q barbecue

Grandma Mary and my aunt Vicki came down for a day with the kids and I.  

 We explored the Chesterfield/ Midlothian section of Hull St and stopped off at Q barbecue for our first time. 

  
We will be coming back. 

   

We ordered and then waited             

And then the food arrived   

  

        

She was dancing she was so happy.

     
       

Yum!!!

And the bathroom was full of clever and hilarious signs.