Rockets...and new suits

Catchy title, huh? :O) Read on, and you'll understand.
Katie got a model rocket last week, so she and her Dad (mostly Dad) spent alot of time putting it together and getting it all set up.

They chose a place to set it up where it surely wouldn't land in a tree. There were no trees close enough. (whatever) Katie was all excited....I've never seen one of these things blast off....I tried to get a picture of take-off but it was too fast. It was gone before I knew it! Plus...it's hard to take a picture when you're squealing and running in the opposite direction. (The dogs did NOT like this....Diamond ended up in the doghouse pouting) So where did it land, you ask? In a tree. It nestled in one of the tallest trees on one of the tallest hills on our property. I never would have believed it would have gone so far so fast! Matt ended up having to cut the tree down to get the rocket. Oh well...it was a huge oak...it'll make good firewood. :O)
Ok, so there's the rocket part of the title. Now onto the new suit. Just thought I'd post a picture of Jacob in his new suit. Ain't he slick? :O)

Winter is definitely here!

Yesterday was Day One of our 2nd semester and what a good school day we had! The kids always fall right back in sequence no matter how long our break has been, and I am one thankful mama!
And brrrr! It's cold here! Yesterdays high was 23 degrees! I never ever never wear shoes in the house (don't even wear them often outside!), much less socks, but yesterday was definitely sock day! We spent most of the day huddled around the woodstove! I have 3 birdfeeders outside my living room window (near the woodstove) so we watched the birds alot yesterday. :) They ate like there was no tomorrow! It's funny how, over the past several years, we've been able to recognize a few birds that come here year after year. For instance, there's a little chickadee with a cowlick on the back of his hear, whom I have affectionately dubbed "Cowlick." There's another little bird that always has a baldspot on his head. :) Then there is a really (and I do mean really) chubby goldfinch named Eglon...named for that...um, shall we say "fat" king in the Bible. :) Anyway, they're fun to watch...even if I'm the only one who really enjoys that pasttime.
Matthew 6:25-26 ¶Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

We're off to a new year!

2008 is up and running now and we wish you a Happy New Year! We'll begin our 2nd semester of homeschool tomorrow. I think the hardest part will be just getting the kids out of bed in the morning. We've been sleeping in during our vacation, and sometimes it's hard to get adjusted to waking up early. But once they get out of bed, I am confident hoping things will go smoothly.

Thought I'd post a picture of one of the gifts Katie got for Christmas. It's a neat little kit where you make a mold of the human skeleton, let it harden, remove it from the mold, then put it together with magnets or just glue it on a background. The kit includes many different colors of paint, but who wants a red skeleton?? She really enjoyed doing this. Gotta love those educational games! :O)