Wordless Wednesday!

Four Wheelin' Fun!

One thing we want our kids to not miss out on is good fun adventures.  Two years ago when we only had a 7yr old and 3 yr old doing things was a breeze.  We were known to jump in the car after Tim got off work on a Friday night and off we would go.  Out on an adventure.  We would sleep in our minivan at a camp site and just drive here and there seeking new places to explore.  Now that we have 12 it's not that easy.  No jumping in the 15 passenger van for an over night adventure for us anymore.  Trips have to be planned out and thought through!  So we've come up with new ways to have adventures while spending time one on one with our kiddos.  This past Saturday Tim and I were able to take Maxwell (12) and Johnston (9) four wheeling for the first time.

 They had a blast as did we.  Tim is a lot more daring then I so he and Max took off and made new paths through the brush.  Johnston and I stuck to the already tried and true path.  We found tire tracks filled with water from a recent rain that was swarming with tadpoles.  We are thinking of returning this weekend to see if the tadpoles are still alive or if the tire track has dried up.  It would be great to see them still thriving!  One of the many joys of homeschooling! ;)

After thirty minutes or so Johnston was begging to be in the drivers seat.  He did great!  He had us zooming along the path at a pretty good speed.  (My foot was poised on the foot brake just in case, but I didn't have to use it.)  I loved seeing the boys grinning so proudly as they drove these monster wheelers!  They grew a few inches just in confidence I think.  LOL! We've taken four of our twelve kiddos four wheeling so far...only eight left!  Looking forward to our next adventures!

Active Imaginations!

There is something wonderful about a child's imagination.  I love seeing my kids growing and expanding their imaginations!  Our kids enjoy building with all kinds of different things.  Legos, lincoln logs, tinker toys, magnitex, erector sets, and Kinex.  That's not counting playdoh and all other sorts of materials we use. 

Davidson build a machette like Daddy's with K'nex!  (He was very proud of it!)

Johnston built this and knowing him it has something to do with Star Wars!  (Death Star?)

Yet another Star Wars thing made out of K'nex!

Were Not Guilty Anymore!

This song has become one of our kids favorites lately.  It speaks to each of us in different ways, but it has such a powerful message for my newest additions concerning their pasts.  We have such a loving Father!

Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins!

We are trying to cook more at home while trying to cut out processed foods at the same time.  Not that we are never going to have Fruit Loops or MacNCheese, but we are trying to eat a little healthier!  Also, from reading blogs of other mega families (mega families are families that don't fit in a mini van! That's us!) cooking from scratch is also cheaper.  So we are going to put that to practice and see if it's true!  LOL!  Anything to make our pennies stretch! (Or Buffalo nickels!) While in Florida this past weekend we were blessed to see my parents honored  for their services as Elders.  They played some clips of things my dad had said during teaching or preaching.  One thing he said has stayed in my mind and makes me chuckle....he said that during  financial lean times in their marriage  he had to squeeze his Buffalo nickel so hard he waited for it to poop!  Priceless daddy!!!! 

Today we tried Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins from recipezaar.  Yummo!  We of course tripled the recipe and I used applesauce instead of oil.  I read the comments on the side of the page and noticed that people said they were slightly bland so I used more brown sugar and cinnamon!  They were moist and so yummy!  They ended up tasting like apple cinnamon muffins.  They were not only delicious, they were easy to make.  Morgan (14) and Becca (10) did everything themselves!  Our tripled batch made 48 muffins which with peach yogurt covered one breakfast for our family!

Johnston enjoying his muffin!

Wordless Wednesday!

    

Morgan is 14!

When Morgan came to live with us she was this shy 12 year old and now she is this amazing 14 year old.  I have seen her blossom and grow both physically and spiritually over the past 17 months. It is such an honor to parent her and spend time with her.  One of our favorite things we get to do once in a while is have chips n dip at El Sombrero!  I so enjoy these trips and the opoortunity to do things one on one with her.  To invest the time and memories into her life.  God has some wonderful things in store for this young lady and I cannot wait to see what He calls her to do with her life!

For her birthday we wanted to do something new.  Something she had never done before.  So I was able to get permission from some friends to use their four wheelers.  She was so surprised and a little overwhelmed at first!  LOL!  Tim took her out for over an hour and the smile on her face at the end of their ride was PRICELESS!  She has talked about it many times and can't wait until she gets to do it again!  LOL!