prairie home adventures

so things are finally settling down out here on the farm.  okay we don't actually live on a farm, but there are cows mooing behind our house and since we live in a town with less than 200 people i think it's a fitting description anyway.  

the kids are finally settling into a routine of playing outside, cold weather or otherwise, and figuring out new games and enjoying cousins when they come around.  it's been an amazing transformation to watch our kids go from poking sticks at the ground, to running around playing cowboys and indians in a matter of a month.  yes, when we first got here and we'd send them out to play they had NO idea what playing outside was supposed to look like.   sure we'd taken them to the park before, but there was always a play structure that pretty much dictated what sort of activities they'd get to do.  occasionally someone would bring a ball and bat and batting practice would take place, but there wasn't enough opportunity for imagination i guess.  it's been a steep learning curve here!

now that the kids are getting better at becoming creative and will spend hours at a time outside doing Lord-knows-what, i think it's time for me to give them at least a little to work with.  so i've decided my next project is going to be to construct some teepees.  yep, living on the prairie you can't go without a fort or teepee, and since darren and i both have native american ancestry it seems only fitting that our kids would have a teepee rather than a fort.  i don't think it's going to be anything crazy, not like we're going to have working fire pits inside, just some poles and heavy canvas that i'll try to paint some primitive buffalo/hunt scenes on or something like that (unless claudia has her way and they all get painted pink and become princess palaces).  if i can pull it off, i'll consider buying some burlap or other natural looking material to make shifts for the girls to wear and some pants for joe.  yeah, i might be overly ambitious but it's something i would have loved as a kid.

i just hope that i don't end up getting a call from the neighbors that my kids have taken their kids hostage!

i'll keep you posted as i make progress on the teepees.

My Life. In Pictures. Friday

it's finally FRIDAY

today's photo is "something old" and i actually had a hard time thinking about this one. how old is old? ten years? twenty? i settled on my hardwood floors, the house is easily 50 years old, and the floors are original, so i suppose that counts as 'old'. i know, totally random, but i love them and have always wanted them, so the fact that they 'came with the house' is just a bonus. my kids are still learning that old-hardwood+socks=no traction/disaster, but it's been fun.

My Life. In Pictures. Thursday

Yaa it's THURSDAY!

something i do everyday.

I have to admit, i don't exactly do this 'everyday' but as i went around thinking about it, i could have taken a photo of the diaper changing table, of my dishwasher, or of the vacuum cleaner, but since the back of my house and the window over the sink in my kitchen are due east, most mornings i do get to watch sunrise and it made a much better photo op than the changing pad. :)

My Life. In Pictures. Wednesday

WEDNESDAY!

today is "view from my front door" and considering it's just my neighbor's house, i thought it would be better if i did "view through my front door" enjoy!

My Life. In Pictures. Tuesday

It's TUESDAY!

today is 'something on the table'



okay, so i cheated a little, and put her up there, but this is very typical "theia behavior". because she's a climber, we never usually have anything else on the table anyway, that and it's kitchen table, since we don't have a formal dinning room or anything, so it's not decorated anyway.

My Life. In Pictures. Monday

thanks to Ashley H. i decided i would like to try this, partly because i want to challenge my self to think of interesting things, and partly so i can motivate myself to blog everyday for 5 days!

pretty simple,

monday- something new
tuesday- something on the table
wednesday- view from my front door
thursday- something i do each day
friday- something old

who knows, maybe i'll start taking a photo a day for fun afterwards too. ;)

MONDAY
something new, a Fossil purse my mom gave me.

Funny funny, Stories from the front lines.

as an adoptive parent there are always times when you're asked questions and you wonder how much info you can get away with withholding without actually lying. i don't think that my status as a mother should be defined by the fact that i'm an 'adoptive mother' not a 'biological one' and this story a friend of mine posted is one of the most hilarious examples i know of.

you can click on the link and read this from my friend's site if you'd rather, but for ease of use i'm pasting the entire post here.

Large Families in General


Life changed quickly for us. It's been fun - and it has its funny moments too.

It now takes us 2-3 shopping carts for our Walmart trip. This is groceries + other supplies - but still, we always feel bad for the poor checker. And I've learned that people feel led to comment on large families just because we're ... um ... large!

Case in point - my last walmart trip. Hubby Chris wasn't there, but I had all 7 boys. Four of them went to the toy section (and were well behaved. they wanted to spend their allowance :))
Mikey, Nathan & Adam helped me shop. We filled three carts (yeah, i know - but I had a LIST!)

We finished shopping, located the other boys, approved their toys, and let them go through a nearby checkout so that they could check out first. (Trust me, it takes a LONG time to check out now.) So - I had three carts of supplies, packed to the gills, and only a 2 year old, a four year old, and a 13 year old with me. The checker looked at me, raised his eyebrows, and began checking us out.

One by one the other boys finished checking out and came to ask me if they could go out to the van. By the second or third boy, the checker raised his eyebrows again, and asked me exactly how many children I had. I smiled and told him we had seven, all boys. He asked how that happened. I told him we were very blessed.

He looked at me (raising his eyebrows even higher if possible) and asked what the age range was. So I told him we had a 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13 & 14 year old. He looked at me again and told me I didn't look old enough to have a fourteen year old. I just smiled and told him I'm older than I look. So he proceeded to ask my age. Usually I just tell nosy people that I'm old enough to have a fourteen year old, and leave it at that - but I wanted to see if his eyebrows could actually fall off his face, so I told him that I'm 28. LOL. I could see him do the math right then and there.

So he paused for a moment, and then asked if I was married. I smiled. Mikey rolled his eyes and told him that Dad was at home working. He asked if all the kids had the same Dad! (the nerve!) I smiled and told him yes, they did. (Totally not a lie, either! They all have the same bio dad, and the same adoptive dad!!). Mikey just grinned at him and kept loading groceries onto the counter.

He then asked if we had to pick names that were similar so that we didn't forget them. Oh my goodness! You've got to be kidding. So I smiled and told him that they all came with names. And I could remember them. (Remember, I'm smiling and being polite the ENTIRE time. He's starting to think that I got pregnant at 13, had my first kiddo at 14, etc.)

Raising his eyebrows disapprovingly, he asked if I was popping out another one any time soon. I had to laugh; I told him we'd see what God did. His eyebrows almost DID pop off his face. Then he asked Mikey if he wanted another sibling, or if he hoped we were done. Mikey smiled and said he wasn't sure, but it'd probably be nice to have another.

We got ready to leave. He stood there in shock as we pushed the carts out .... and as soon as we got out the door Mikey and I doubled over in laughter. Sometimes you've just got to laugh. And - hallelujah - it now takes a heck of a lot to make me blush.

Huntin' fo Wabbits

i can't believe it. i know we moved here for family and for all of the stuff, traditions, and memories that come with them, but i'm still surprised.

we've been here just over a month and we've already had family dinners, last minute stop overs, date nights, and today we're taking our kids to participate in the huge Easter Egg Hunt that my mom puts on with the neighbor women since they have a huge amount of kids in the neighborhood.

i don't think it's possible to really estimate the importance of family, and although there are rare and blessed people who can live apart from family, given the opportunity, living near family with them involved in your life can have atomic impact on your life and the lives of those in your family.

claudia has gotten more hugs and smooches in the past 5 weeks than she could possibly imagine, from all these people who love her, want her, and care about her. joe has had more fun, learned more games, and gotten to be a part of more adventures and made more friends that he ever could have hoped for. theia doesn't even know what to think. she's warmed up to everyone and has grown so accustomed to people just wanting to see her smile and hug her that she randomly walks up to strangers in public and hugs their legs, smiles, and then runs away giggling. i absolutely love it that she's learned that people love her, and doesn't expect that there would be some who don't. even though i do worry a little that her lack of stranger danger could be a problem in the furture!

everyone here is so unconditional, and the kids really really needed that. and i needed it too.