We've updated April. Enjoy!
We're good. God has continued to provide for us and we've been fed and rent has been covered in one way or another for 3 months. God is more than good.
He is an amazing magician. One day, earlier in the month, we got an anonymous envelope stuck onto our front door with money inside and this message written on the outside
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
And all these things shall be added to you. -Matthew 6:33
This verse has been rolling around in our brains since. God wants us to abide in Him and He will take care of us. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:19.
This last Sunday at church, God told me to just “praise Him.” Sing praises, speak praises...as a family praise Him. So I have, and surprise-surprise, He is holding us up! He’s already done a couple sneaky things in the last couple days to show me how! Praise God!
The summer is starting to book up already with lots of visitors! I love it. Grandma Jean is coming for a couple weeks at the beginning of June. She’ll get to be here for Benjamin’s 4th birthday. WooHoo! Two of my closest friends are going to visit at the end of June. One was able to book a ticket already. I can’t wait for the next installment of “Girl’s Weekend Extravaganza!” I love that my dearest friends and I have managed to get together at least once a year since college, regardless of wherever we’ve ended up living. They are truly part of my family. Also, Jon’s cousin Anna just booked her tickets to visit us. She's coming out for all of July. I can’t wait! She is a remarkably precious person. I love her. Yay!
I got to see Gone With The Wind on the big screen with one of my girlfriends. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. It was amazing and I'm so glad my first time seeing it was on the big screen. I love classic movie night at the movie theater! Now I want to read the sequel, Scarlett.
We got treated to a visit to the Discovery Science Museum for Bubblefest 2010. It’s nice to have a friend with a press pass. It gets us into some fun places for free. It was an unbelievable show. Bubbles and laser lights filled every square inch of the room and we were all laughing, grinning, and just having fun (not to mention choking on bubbles)! Too bad no pictures were allowed in the show. We had a great time enjoying the rest of the museum with our friends. It is a very hands-on place of learning for the kids. It’s nice when fun overlaps with learning. This totally counts for science. Homeschooling is so fun.
I spent the week of Spring Break catching up on bookkeeping. I even reclaimed all the boxes and laundry baskets that had been filled with papers, notes, and unopened mail! Everything now has a place and is organized, filed, and ready for me to start living in real time instead of constantly being in a “catch up” state. Just a little bit more work and I’ll be fully caught up. I’ve been buried for years and it feels like I can breathe again. It’s a nice feeling.
We tilled and prepped the garden bed outside and planted corn, jalapeños, squash, salad, oregano, basil, & cilantro directly into the garden. Still have a few more weeks to wait to transplant the other seeds we started indoors last month. Now we have to figure out how to kill all the rats that live in our bushes so they don't eat our plants. That’s a project for this coming weekend I suppose. I plan to use traps instead of poison. It just doesn’t seem like a good idea to use poison around kids, dogs, and growing vegetables. So far the corn, salad, basil, oregano, & 1 squash sprouted. It's so fun watching things grow, especially when it's a noticeable difference day by day. I really hope the jalapeños and cilantro decide to sprout. The ones I started indoors never did, so I was hoping that they might if I planted them directly outside. We'll see.
And to end with the funny quote of the month:
Ben asked "Caleb, do you think I'm pretty?"
Caleb replied "No, and you should be glad."
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
March 2010
March has been a month of God reminding us that He is our provider. He is faithful and true! I write this message as a praise and testimony to the Lord! We have not been paid since about mid-late February. As I write this, we still have yet to receive a paycheck and it is the end of March. Yet the Lord miraculously has provided us with March’s rent! Thank you Lord! The sweet Lord has also been steadily trickling blessings down onto us over the last month and a half, just when we need it; a few bucks found buried in a pile of paperwork, a bit found in my dresser drawer, money from an old debt owed to us, money from returning an unwanted product, groceries bought by my parents, birthday money in the mail, and monetary gifts from Jon’s mom and church. I can’t stress enough how unexpected and in perfect timing all this money is! It is there just as soon as we are down to our last groceries, again and again. I could never have predicted the Lord would work it out like He has. To top it all off, the Lord went beyond necessity and included blessing us with fun! We were treated to Disneyland to celebrate Jon’s birthday, to dinner for our 9th anniversary, and to Jon’s favorite restaurant for his birthday. Thank the Lord and thank all the wonderful people He used to bless us!!!
The kids and I planted a vegetable/herb garden. Dirt, sun, and air are free. Seeds and water are cheap. So far we have planted our first batch of seeds indoors. We can’t wait until they are big enough to transplant outdoors. I hope this plan works and we end up with yummy, home grown veggies and herbs. I don’t have a very good track record with indoor plants. The ones that have survived me are Very (with a capital V) hardy.
Benjamin has been really into dressing up lately. He especially loves the super hero capes Aunt Laura made for Caleb when Caleb was little. Ben has a hard time staying in any costume for more than 2 seconds though. He is constantly taking different costumes on and off and on again, at least until he gets the perfect setup. Then he doesn’t want to take it off for a long, long time.
We have pictures from a field trip to the La Brea Tar Pits. We had a great afternoon. We learned that the fossils found in the tar pits date back to the Ice Age and not to the time of the dinosaurs. We even got to see some archeologists actively excavating. They still have some active sites. A few places on the property have tar leaking up through the ground. Of course the boys loved poking at the tar with sticks.
Caleb did a biography presentation on Buzz Aldrin at his school. The assignment included dressing up and giving the presentation as if he were Buzz Aldrin. It was adorable seeing all the kids in their costumes. We recorded it, but missed the beginning with the video camera. It goes “Hello, my name is Caleb Hartshorn, but today I am Buzz Aldrin...”
I am still waiting on the KOCE website to upload the television program that Caleb and his friend Sam got to be on. It should be soon. I’ll post the clip of them as soon as it is available. More information about their 15 seconds of fame is under our “Older Posts” category in February’s news.
The kids and I planted a vegetable/herb garden. Dirt, sun, and air are free. Seeds and water are cheap. So far we have planted our first batch of seeds indoors. We can’t wait until they are big enough to transplant outdoors. I hope this plan works and we end up with yummy, home grown veggies and herbs. I don’t have a very good track record with indoor plants. The ones that have survived me are Very (with a capital V) hardy.
Benjamin has been really into dressing up lately. He especially loves the super hero capes Aunt Laura made for Caleb when Caleb was little. Ben has a hard time staying in any costume for more than 2 seconds though. He is constantly taking different costumes on and off and on again, at least until he gets the perfect setup. Then he doesn’t want to take it off for a long, long time.
We have pictures from a field trip to the La Brea Tar Pits. We had a great afternoon. We learned that the fossils found in the tar pits date back to the Ice Age and not to the time of the dinosaurs. We even got to see some archeologists actively excavating. They still have some active sites. A few places on the property have tar leaking up through the ground. Of course the boys loved poking at the tar with sticks.
Caleb did a biography presentation on Buzz Aldrin at his school. The assignment included dressing up and giving the presentation as if he were Buzz Aldrin. It was adorable seeing all the kids in their costumes. We recorded it, but missed the beginning with the video camera. It goes “Hello, my name is Caleb Hartshorn, but today I am Buzz Aldrin...”
I am still waiting on the KOCE website to upload the television program that Caleb and his friend Sam got to be on. It should be soon. I’ll post the clip of them as soon as it is available. More information about their 15 seconds of fame is under our “Older Posts” category in February’s news.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
February 2010
We had a great snow day with the Flores family. It was a fantastic sunny day in the mountains, but there was tons of snow thanks to the all the extra rain we got this year. Benjamin enjoyed sledding this year. Finally! Everyone was beaming with smiles all day.
Juan took Caleb & Sam with him for a press outing on the R/V Sea Explorer with the Ocean Institute in Dana Point. Thanks for taking the boys Juan! They spotted a fin whale. It is the second largest whale. The Ocean Institute took a sample of the sea floor and needed two cute small volunteers. Our boys fit the bill and got to dig in to examine the sludgy sea floor sediment and the animals that live there. They also got to watch a plankton dredge. Then the researcher used a microscope to examine the water sample and showed what they could see under the microscope on a larger viewing screen. The boys got to try to identify types of plankton they could see from the water sample. Caleb and Sam even got interviewed by KOCE. It was aired on television on February 24th on "Real Orange," a KOCE program. It was a very short segment and they didn’t use much of the footage they took, but their 15 seconds of fame was adorable. It is not available online yet, but I’ve been assured it will be soon. Once it is available, I plan to post the clip so you don’t have to watch the whole program. If you prefer, you can check it out at http://video.koce.org/program/1310579128 once it is available. While the boys were busy with all that, Tracy and I took the little ones to the Santa Ana Zoo. It is a very small zoo, but it is just right for a 2 and a 3 year old. Ben was anxious to find all the birds, which really surprised me. I thought he would like all the little busy monkeys that the zoo is known for. He was finally satisfied when we found the bald eagle. It had been injured and rescued. Ben was captivated and didn’t want to move on to the next animal. He also enjoyed the birds hanging out at the pond in the aviary.
Juan took Caleb & Sam with him for a press outing on the R/V Sea Explorer with the Ocean Institute in Dana Point. Thanks for taking the boys Juan! They spotted a fin whale. It is the second largest whale. The Ocean Institute took a sample of the sea floor and needed two cute small volunteers. Our boys fit the bill and got to dig in to examine the sludgy sea floor sediment and the animals that live there. They also got to watch a plankton dredge. Then the researcher used a microscope to examine the water sample and showed what they could see under the microscope on a larger viewing screen. The boys got to try to identify types of plankton they could see from the water sample. Caleb and Sam even got interviewed by KOCE. It was aired on television on February 24th on "Real Orange," a KOCE program. It was a very short segment and they didn’t use much of the footage they took, but their 15 seconds of fame was adorable. It is not available online yet, but I’ve been assured it will be soon. Once it is available, I plan to post the clip so you don’t have to watch the whole program. If you prefer, you can check it out at http://video.koce.org/program/1310579128 once it is available. While the boys were busy with all that, Tracy and I took the little ones to the Santa Ana Zoo. It is a very small zoo, but it is just right for a 2 and a 3 year old. Ben was anxious to find all the birds, which really surprised me. I thought he would like all the little busy monkeys that the zoo is known for. He was finally satisfied when we found the bald eagle. It had been injured and rescued. Ben was captivated and didn’t want to move on to the next animal. He also enjoyed the birds hanging out at the pond in the aviary.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
January 2010
This month the boys went on a field trip to the Anaheim Fire Station. It was a good time and they both got to climb through the fire engine. We also learned the difference between a fire truck and a fire engine...a fire truck has ladders on top and fire engines do not. Who knew?
Ben and Xena finally got much needed haircuts. Since I'm the one that does the hair cutting, I tend to go too long in between. Oh well. That's the busy life of a home schooling mom. So many things to do and only so much time & energy.
I finally decided to make some sewing goodies to sell. I took a poll from my friends to see what they thought might sell and the verdict is coffee cozies. In the next couple weeks I plan to whip some up and try to sell them online. We'll see how that goes.
Ben and Xena finally got much needed haircuts. Since I'm the one that does the hair cutting, I tend to go too long in between. Oh well. That's the busy life of a home schooling mom. So many things to do and only so much time & energy.
I finally decided to make some sewing goodies to sell. I took a poll from my friends to see what they thought might sell and the verdict is coffee cozies. In the next couple weeks I plan to whip some up and try to sell them online. We'll see how that goes.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
December 2009
We had a BIG December. Jon’s brother and his family came for a visit, Jeremy & Julie. They have a 4 year old daughter, Emily, and twin baby boys, Ethan & Shepard, who we finally got to meet!!! We had a very Merry “early” Christmas with them and Granny. We spent a lot of really wonderful time together, including a trip to the zoo and to the snow. It was Emily's first time with snow and she loved it. Ben loved the snow too, but he did not love sledding. Caleb and I used up the little bit of sunlight we had flying and screaming down the hill on our two-person sled over and over. The best part of the day at the zoo was watching the kids run back and forth at the hippo tank being chased by the hippos! We were so glad that our family was in town to see Caleb’s school play. He was the narrator and he and his friends had a great time. After our guests moved on to Northern California to see Julie’s family, we loaded up in Granny’s car and drove straight through to Texas. Our Hawaiian family, Uncle Pete, Tia Val, Anna & Andrew, were out there visiting on their Christmas break. We surprised everyone out there, except Grandma Jean, our co-conspirator. We got to stay in a little trailer that is next to Grandma Jean's house. The tenant was house sitting elsewhere, and was just fine with us staying there. I had a great time with all our family, but I have a special place in my heart for Anna. It was really nice to spend time with her. Caleb couldn’t get enough of Andrew. He just really looks up to Andrew. I am so thankful for that relationship. We all just love Aaron. I really appreciate that guy whenever I’m around him, not to mention all the hilarity that ensues. Xena adjusted very quickly to being a free roaming dog in a forest. Caleb received his first pocket knife and learned how to whittle, shot his first gun, and lit his first match to help the men disintegrate the burn pile that had gotten very large. I am very proud of Caleb and am glad to see him enjoying his boyhood. Anna, myself, and Ben also all got to shoot a hand gun for the first time. Jon found his childhood weapons collection stored in a shed on the land. He left them lying around for Caleb to find and when Caleb did, he asked Jon if those were Raphael’s weapons (the ninja turtle). Jon showed off his skills with the nunchucks and sais for Caleb. Impressed is putting it mildly…Caleb was filled with awe and wonderment with his Dad’s super cool skills. I just laughed.
Monday, November 30, 2009
November 2009
In November we celebrated my Grandma Ower’s 90th birthday. The family threw her a surprise birthday party and Owers from all over showed up to share the day with her. It was so nice to catch up with cousins and family I haven’t seen in years. It was especially nice for my kids to get to meet and play with my cousins’ kids, Kaitlyn and Koltyn. Thanksgiving was celebrated at our house this year. Aaron, Jon’s cousin, flew out from Texas and my parent’s and my brother drove down from Hanford. Granny spent time with us too. We had a great week with good food, good company, and fun games. I am thankful.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
October 2009
We had a very busy and full month, so there are tons of pictures. Enjoy!
We got treated to a day at Disneyland by our friends who have the magic press pass. Yea! For extra fun, we kept it a surprise from the kids until the morning of. They were so surprised and running up and down the hall shouting with joy when we told them that morning. It was a fantastic day, and Caleb and Ben had a blast! Caleb and his friend Sammy were super brave and went on all the big rides for the first time ever and loved them! Caleb was very partial to Haunted Mansion, which was extra spooky for Halloween. My favorite quote of the day from Ben was when we were halfway through It's a Small World. He looked up at me in wonderment and asked, "Mommy...what is this place?" I said, "It’s a small world honey." Awww…. Oh, and Caleb lost his 2nd tooth in the parking lot when we arrived, so all of our pictures from the day have his sweet little toothy grin. It was such a great day!
We went camping at Palomar Mountain with friends and also checked out the Palomar Observatory. It was a great time. We took our puppy with us for the first time and she did great. Caleb got to have his own tent and snuggle his puppy all night. Great childhood memories being made here.
We got invited to an Alice in Wonderland adults Halloween party the night before Halloween. I worked very hard to make our costumes. If you look carefully in the picture, you can see Jon’s itty bitty top hat too. It was hilarious and my cheeks still hurt the next day from smiling all night long. There were so many amazing and elaborate costumes, but I only posted pictures of a few. I was a Cheshire Cat and Jon was the walrus. As in…the walrus and the carpenter were walking close at hand, the beach was wide from side to side, but much too full of sand…
Grandma Jean arrived for a couple more days before heading back to Texas. She spent a month in Kauai visiting all our family there. She was back just in time for a trip to the pumpkin patch and a nice afternoon. We went to a friend’s house for pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating. Caleb carved his own pumpkin by himself for the first time. Ben requested that his Daddy help him carve a robot pumpkin. He was grinning ear to ear at first, especially at cleaning out the pumpkin guts part, but lost interest very quickly. Caleb was a Clone Trooper and Ben was a Bobble Head Darth Vader. He didn’t want to keep his helmet on from house to house, so we had to keep taking it on and off between homes. Silly Ben. We ending our Halloween night watching Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.
We got treated to a day at Disneyland by our friends who have the magic press pass. Yea! For extra fun, we kept it a surprise from the kids until the morning of. They were so surprised and running up and down the hall shouting with joy when we told them that morning. It was a fantastic day, and Caleb and Ben had a blast! Caleb and his friend Sammy were super brave and went on all the big rides for the first time ever and loved them! Caleb was very partial to Haunted Mansion, which was extra spooky for Halloween. My favorite quote of the day from Ben was when we were halfway through It's a Small World. He looked up at me in wonderment and asked, "Mommy...what is this place?" I said, "It’s a small world honey." Awww…. Oh, and Caleb lost his 2nd tooth in the parking lot when we arrived, so all of our pictures from the day have his sweet little toothy grin. It was such a great day!
We went camping at Palomar Mountain with friends and also checked out the Palomar Observatory. It was a great time. We took our puppy with us for the first time and she did great. Caleb got to have his own tent and snuggle his puppy all night. Great childhood memories being made here.
We got invited to an Alice in Wonderland adults Halloween party the night before Halloween. I worked very hard to make our costumes. If you look carefully in the picture, you can see Jon’s itty bitty top hat too. It was hilarious and my cheeks still hurt the next day from smiling all night long. There were so many amazing and elaborate costumes, but I only posted pictures of a few. I was a Cheshire Cat and Jon was the walrus. As in…the walrus and the carpenter were walking close at hand, the beach was wide from side to side, but much too full of sand…
Grandma Jean arrived for a couple more days before heading back to Texas. She spent a month in Kauai visiting all our family there. She was back just in time for a trip to the pumpkin patch and a nice afternoon. We went to a friend’s house for pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating. Caleb carved his own pumpkin by himself for the first time. Ben requested that his Daddy help him carve a robot pumpkin. He was grinning ear to ear at first, especially at cleaning out the pumpkin guts part, but lost interest very quickly. Caleb was a Clone Trooper and Ben was a Bobble Head Darth Vader. He didn’t want to keep his helmet on from house to house, so we had to keep taking it on and off between homes. Silly Ben. We ending our Halloween night watching Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.
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