Could this be his calling??

Now, I couldn't leave out Joshua!

This past Christmas Joshua got a blue guitar for his size. He really enjoys playing with it around the house. Karl likes to strum his strings every once in awhile here at the house and Joshua likes to join in. I caught both of them strumming their strings together and had a chance to video tape it. It was fun watching father and son share this special time together. Maybe....a band??

Father & son making music together

Could this be her calling?

I don't know about you but every once in awhile I find interesting videos on my camera. My kids like to play with my digital camera and its funny to see what I find. I found this video today.

Anna likes reporting the weather as you can see. I have several more at home. Maybe I should be fostering this.....hmmmm.

MY BUNS!!!!

HAMBURGER BUNS

I wanted to share 'MY BUNS' with you all!! I have recently taken up baking from scratch. That is, I make homemade bread by hand (sometimes I will borrow my friend's bread machine!). I really enjoy doing/making the dough from scratch. There is something to be said about using your hands to bake/make like our ancestors did. The whole 'kneading' the bread is relaxing. I do have to plan for it. I can't just wake up and bake bread. Though I am sure that is what I do!

The kids like to 'knead' the dough (mostly they are playing). Joshua likes it the most. He really enjoys cooking. Anna likes the 'quick' cooking. She can't wait for the rising, kneading, rising, baking and timing of the bread. Joshua is a little bit more patient.

I wanted to share some of the breads I have been baking. Mostly I do whole wheat bread. I have done hamburger and hot dog buns (yum!) And today I did a buckwheat bread. I do like mixing it up by adding all kinds of nutritional flours into the breads.

My regular ingredients that I do keep on hand are: organic white and wheat flour (I like to mix the 2 50/50), soy flour, flax seed, cracked wheat, yeast, dry milk powder and vital gluten.

Here are some photos...
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

I forgot, we also make homemade pizza dough!
Here is Joshua smoothing his out.

SWIMMING LESSONS...

After one year of lessons look at how far both the kids have gone!! Watch our 2 little fishes go.

Joshua is on Level 3, Kicking. He is really close to moving up! He needs to swim on his front and back (kicking) for 15 feet without taking a breath! Which he can totally do. In 3 weeks for the next session the instructors have him signed up for Level 4, Crawl Stroke!!!!! I can't imagine him in the BIG pool with Anna. In Level 4 he will learn the side glide kick for 20 feet and crawl stroke for 20 feet (and no breathing breaks!) Can a 4 year old do that???

Anna just moved up to Level 5, Freestyle!! She will be learning the crawl stroke with breathing with a minimum of 4 breaths. WOW! This is amazing for Anna because she didn't like to get her face wet let alone put her head underwater! Anna has grown so much in the water. I bet if you ask her if she ever was afraid of the water she would look at you crazy. Just watch her go:

I am extremely proud of both of our kids. They always try and do their best at any activity that they are involved in!! And it shows! Now, I guess its my turn. Since, I don't know how to swim I better start thinking about lessons...hmmmm. I have been contemplating this for years and I'll let you know when I start my lessons. AND no, I won't document them!

I had one those, ahhhhh moments.......

I love being a mom to my 2 wonderful kids. They really are great. God has blessed us in so many ways. I pray that our children continue to bless us as they get older.

Earlier this week I was cleaning around the house (and purging). I got to our school room and noticed it was a mess (ha, ha, ha I really wasn't surprised!) I needed to clean out the book shelves, donate some books and clean the game shelf. The kids helped with what they wanted to donate and what they wanted to keep. A very productive morning.

Later that afternoon..... I over heard my kids talking:

Anna: Lets play a game.

Joshua: We should say thank you to mommy for fixing these shelves for us.

Anna: OK.

Joshua & Anna: Mommy, mommy, thank you for organizing the shelves for us!

I just melted. I couldn't believe my 4 yr. old teaching my 8 yr. old. To see our teachings (through the yelling, reminding to help out or do this) that they really do get it.

Thank you Lord for your love and patience, for showing me patience, for my husband who has given me the opportunity to stay home and teach our children. Thank you!