Creation Museum day 3

Saturday - back to the museum.

This time we started in the gardens. Very nice.



The sad thing is...my batteries on my camera died and my extras were dead too! So that was the last picture we took at the Creation Museum.

Arrrgggghhh...can you say frustration?!

We also went to their petting zoo. (But, of course, that was AFTER my batteries died). We all liked petting the animals. They have a Zonkey (cross between a zebra and a donkey) and a Zorse (cross between a zebra and a horse), some goats, alpacas, and other little animals.

And we went back into the museum to see another presentation and visit the planetarium again (that was so cool!).

Over all it was a great trip. And since we did get the year family membership, we can go back! And next time we plan to go to the Cincinnati Zoo also. If you didn't know, we're a zoo going family. :)

I hope you enjoyed this little trip to the Creation Museum (we sure did). And again, if you haven't ever been, I really encourage you to try to go. It's worth it!!


Until next time...

Chocolate Friday - Nutella in bulk?!

Have you ever wanted to buy Nutella in bulk?

Oh, yum!

Well now you can! That's right. I found a package of THREE jars of Nutella at Sam's Club.

The only bad thing is that it wasn't a local Sam's. I found it in Cincinnati, OH when we went to the Creation Museum last week. My hubby was so sweet, he bought it for me. (It was only $7.22!!)

Now if they would only stock it around here.



As you can see, I've already opened it up! lol

For more yummy chocolate and recipes visit Lisa at Stop and Smell the Chocolates.


Until next time...

Creation Museum day 2

We spent the night with my brother who lives on the northern side of Cincinnati. (Thanks for putting up with us).

We left his place the next morning and got to the museum again around 11:00. Don't ask me why we got there so late when we were so close this time. I guess since we were so close we were taking our time getting ready.

We went back to the walk through part and picked up where we left off the day before. Wow! So much information!

Watching one of the videos in the walk through.

Riding the Triceratops.

Checking out fossils.

Come back tomorrow for more. Remember we decided to get the year membership and ended up spending 3 days at the museum.


Until next time...

Creation Museum day 1

We left at 6:30 in the morning, Thursday.

Got to the Museum around 11:30. Yes, it took us 5 hours to drive up to northern Kentucky. (We had a 30 minute rest stop on the way).

Bought 2 day passes for the family and found out that for only $11 more we could get a year family pass which includes the planetarium. If you don't have the year membership, the planetarium is extra. We had until the end of the next day to update if we wanted to.

By the end of that day we realized that we would need to update. There just wasn't enough time to see everything!


She was seriously enjoying the toys in the bookstore. :) At one point she had about 20 little stuffed animals on the table. I had taken her to the bathroom and missed going into one of the presentations with everyone else. So we went and enjoyed ourselves in the bookstore. It was nice to spend a little one-on-one time with her. She is so cute!

For lunch we ate some food we had brought from home. (If you go and you are on a budget, I suggest bringing your own lunch. They let you eat in the pavilions out in the gardens. The food in the cafe and grill is kind of expensive).

As we were cleaning up after lunch an Amish couple came over and started talking to us. They were very nice and we learned a few things we didn't know before. There were several plain groups there in the three days we went. I guess it's a nice attraction for them.

The building is really nice.

The main walk through in the museum is soooo full of information, that we had to come back the next day and finish it. They recommend you take 2-3 hours for that part. It winds its way from the top floor down to the lower level. They have another little cafe down there too. My husband did buy a cappuccino at that one(yuck - sorry all you coffee and similar drink lovers out there - I can't stand the stuff).

The Palm Tree Cafe where hubby bought his cappuccino. Very nice. (The decor, not the drink).

More later.


Until next time...

Creation Museum visited

Back from the Creation Museum. If you've never been, I HIGHLY recommend it!

Got to meet Ken Ham.


(Now you know why I don't usually take full length photos of me).

Anyway, more later. It's soooooo humid here. I'm sticky and just want to sit in front of a fan.

Until next time...

being thankful

Today I was pondering on some things that have been happening lately. I was faced with a choice. Be thankful or complain. Since the children of Israel were severely punished for murmuring and complaining in the desert, I chose to think instead on what I could be thankful for.

My dryer is not blowing hot air. It's not completely broken, just not drying the clothes.

Well, I have five clothes lines outside to hang my clothes on...but...

It's been so humid lately that it takes all day to dry the clothes...so...

I got behind on my laundry...but...

My mom lives about an hour away and graciously allowed me to bring a ton of laundry to her house over the weekend and do it all...so...

I finished my laundry and now only have to put it away...and...

Had a nice visit with my mom (and my girls and youngest son)...and...

Today the humidity was down and the clothes are drying on the line way faster than last week.

ALSO

We are faced with moving...soon.

So. I can either lament or complain, worry and fret.

OR...look forward to what the Lord is going to bring in our life.

There are so many things that we have to decide (the main one being where exactly to go)...but...

Things seem to be falling into place...and...

I look forward to writing a post soon on how everything has worked out...so...

I am choosing NOT to complain or worry about this move.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
- 1 Th 5:18

Until next time...

What's going on...

...at my house?

Boxes packed

Bubble wrap for fragile items

Boxes to be packed

Junk to get rid of (yard sale - oh yeah!)

So far it looks like we'll be headed west...way west...like New Mexico west.
Quite a switch from eastern Tennessee.
And if nothing changes in the near future, it looks like we'll be leaving within a couple of months.
We're looking forward to what God has for us.

Until next time...

brotherly love

M.J. painting A.M.'s toenails. (Excuse the messy floor).

Until next time...

some updates

So some updates are due I suppose.

Pregnancy: going well. Nothing unusual. Starting to feel a little more awake now. :) Just finished the first trimester so it should pick up a little.

Moving? Ehh...not sure. Still looking of course. I must say that we have two possibilities and BOTH are in New Mexico. Quite a change, huh? Well, if that's where God wants us. But we are taking it slow.

Kids are healthy.

School is going well.

Animals are healthy and growing. Getting more chicks this week and next. If we do move far away, some friends are going to be benefiting from our farm. :) We won't be taking animals with us if we go too far.

So, that's it in a nutshell.



Until next time...

now we are 4

Our 7th child, N.D., had a birthday a few days ago.

Newborn

Age 1

Age 2

Age 3

Now 4!!!

Happy Birthday, N.D.!

I've got one word to describe this boy...fireball!! lol

Until next time...

a question, a cry, a plea for help (and advice)

I wrote this on a couple of email digests I get and thought I'd try this avenue as well.

"I posted a question similar to this last year, but I thought I'd try again. We need a place to live. We would prefer to be out in the country, no close neighbors, with some land for our animals. We don't have good credit and can't possible get a loan to buy anything. We also don't want to go into debt that way. We would have to rent or rent to own. It needs to be a larger size house, since we have nine children and are due with number ten in November. That presents another dilemma; November is when we need to be out of this house. I would really like to move at least a month or two before if not sooner. If we move out of this area I hate to leave my midwife, but am confident God will supply another one. So we really don't care where we go as long as it's where God wants us. We will do everything we can to find a place and see if that's God's will. I hope I'm making sense. I'll be glad to answer any questions anyone might have. As far as my dh's job, he is self-employed and has been doing construction (trim carpentry) for the last several years. He wants to learn to weld and has a lot of equipment already. He just needs someone to teach him. If anyone has any ideas, knows of any places for rent in the country, or just any advice in general, I'd really appreciate it."



Until next time...

Happy "late" Mother's Day to the mothers

Happy "late" Mother's Day!!

Yes. It's been a while.

I think this is the longest I've gone without posting anything. So sorry.

Between pregnancy, homeschool, new animals, plants, and sunny days my life has been full.

I met a new friend and didn't post about it.

Our animals are growing and I haven't posted about it.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day and well...I'm posting about it now. :)

So how's life treating you?

Until next time...

It's a Secret!!

The latest addition to our mini-farm.



Isn't she adorable?! Oh, and the baby goat is cute too. hahaha
Seriously, though, they are both adorable. I put this one on to show how small she is. That's my two year old daughter with her.


Now usually a goat will have twins and even sometimes more. A Nubian goat, which is what we have, is even known to have as many as four and five at one time!! Of course that means bottle feeding the ones that can't nurse. But for some reason, maybe because she is an older goat, ours only had one this time. We have her female kid from her last kidding, and she has a buck twin, but the previous owner sold him to someone else. So we know she is capable of having twins, she just didn't this time.

We named this one Secret, because it seemed to be a secret that Dignity (the nanny) was even going to have a kid. And of course, as my oldest daughter and I predicted, she had her Sunday morning while we were off to church.

So that's our big news.



Until next time...

of sandals and girls

(No way could I wear these. Just thought I'd share).

It's that time of year again.

Time to shop for girls' shoes. Sandals to be exact.

(These I could probably handle).

I have a dilemma. Where do I get shoes this year?

We're pretty cheap sometimes when it comes to the children's shoes. I mean by next year, they've outgrown them. Why spend tons of money on something that they wear for a few months at the most? And forget about passing them down through more than two siblings. By the time my third son gets a pair of shoes there's hardly any wear left in them at all. So we end up buying some new ones anyway.

Now most of the time for us new means Goodwill or yard sales. I've found practically brand new shoes for a fraction of the price.

But sometimes, it's just not happening. No matter how many Goodwills or yard sales I frequent, I just can't seem to find that elusive pair of shoes that someone needs.

And right now, my girls need sandals for the summer.

(I love this color).

So tell me...where do you get your sandals?

Wal-Mart? Hmm...we've done that and they fall apart too quickly.

Target? I usually don't shop there. Do they have good quality shoes?

JC Penney? Sears? I avoid the mall as much as possible. But for good sandals I could possibly brave it. (Especially if I can stop for a Cinnabon afterward).

Payless? I've bought shoes there before, but they seem to be the same quality as Wal-Mart.

Any other ideas?



Until next time...

the wonders of God

Have you been watching my baby ticker on the sidebar?

I find it amazing how much it resembles a baby now.

Aren't the works of God marvelous?


Until next time...

growing

Our ducks and geese are growing. Losing the downy feathers and getting the older ones.


Until next time...

lunch date

Went and ate lunch today with daddy.

waiting for lunch

handing out lunch

eating lunch (or should I say devouring lunch - this one has been eating a lot lately...hmmm...I might be getting out the next size up in clothes for him to wear).

and a good time was had by all!



Until next time...

things can go wrong

Yesterday's appointment was for 2 of the children at the dentist. At 9:00 a.m.

Up at 6:30. Family devotions - 7:00. Breakfast - 7:45. Everyone dressed by 8:20. In the van at 8:30. Wow. Good to go.

Wait a minute. Van won't start. The ignition is broken. WHAT?! I'm actually going to be on time for once in my life! Why is this happening!?

Called the dentist office and they said to come in as soon as we could because they had blocked off 1 1/2 hours for the work. Yikes!

Thankfully, hubby is still home and since he is self-employed he can take a day off without any notice whatsoever and not be penalized for it.

So after 30 minutes of trying to fix ignition, I and the two appointments head off in my husband's car. Which stinks because he had loaded up the trash to take off the night before. Thankfully it was warm and we rolled down the windows. Swung by the convenience center to dump trash. It's closed on Wednesdays. Double yuck!

Jumped on the interstate. Got to Knoxville, construction cones are everywhere! (Which is nothing new in Knoxville). Noooooo!! I'm already late, come on people!

Thankfully only one lane was closed and the traffic is not heavy. Whew! A reprieve.

Got to the dentist a good 50 minutes AFTER scheduled appointment. I felt soooo bad. But the people there are VERY nice and understanding when I told them all that had transpired.

One child they said they would finish his dental work that morning and they would try to get the other one worked in.

They managed to do both. So glad. I have another appointment for the one next week. And another appointment the following week for a couple of other children. We know the people at the dentist very well. :)

Left the dentist a little after 12 noon with cavities filled.

Stopped by a bookstore to trade books. Found a few good ones. Life is good. :) The day is looking up.

Started home with stinky trash. Feeling a little sick so stopped by my favorite eatery (Texas Roadhouse) for some Rattlesnake Bites and an order of fries to hold us until we got home. Yum! They also threw in their yummy rolls and a bag of peanuts.

So, although the day started out pretty bad, it ended well.

The van however is a different story. :)


Until next time...