Sisters......

4th of July 2012
Jo, me, and B

Remember Barney, the humongous dinosaur in purple with a green belly? Well, his dino buddy BJ would sing a song about his little sister Baby Bop. Whenever I think of my sisters, I start to hum that sweet diddy:
    "Cause I know she's always there,
      and I know she'll always care,
      She's my sister, I love my sister!"                                                                                                                      God has blessed me with a wonderful family. My parents got married and soon after the blessings began to arrive:

• Big Bro
• Big Sis #1
• Jo Big Sis #2
• B Big Sis #3

and last but not least,  me.... Yes, the baby of the family, born when my brother was 10 and sisters were 9, 7, and 5. My Mom told me she cried when she found out she was pregnant with me....I don't hold it against her at all....I figured she was just plain tired! My brother supposedly dropped the watermelon he was carrying up the stairs when he heard that he had acquired ANOTHER sister...guess he was hoping for a boy.He always told me that the watermelon slipped out of his hands and it had nothing to do with me being a girl! Nice bro :) With Big sis#1 and Jo being 9 and 7, there was a bit of trouble regarding who was going to hold me. Big Sis #1, being older, probably got chosen since she was of course, older! And so in retaliation, Jo would come in to my parents' bedroom , when I was sleeping and jiggle the crib until I woke up so she could get her turn. This is my reasoning behind why I still love taking naps. I was sleep deprived as an infant!!!! Jo has also confessed to being a bit upset when I came along because without me they were a family of 6, a nice even number. And you know all of those yummy danishes that my Mom would buy for a Sunday treat were now out because she would have had to buy 2 packages instead of just one. So basically I'm to blame for ending that tradition. Now B tells me her little world suffered a very severe jolt when I came along, too! My entrance into the world now meant that she no longer would hold the coveted baby spot in the family! Don't worry, I've forgiven them all and then some!

My Dad worked very hard outside of our home and my Mom worked very hard inside our home. We were by no means rich as the world would say but in my opinion we had it all. We knew we were loved and cared for, we had clothes, food and plenty of fun. We went camping in our trailer and brought our dogs along. Dad had a little sailboat and after work during the week he'd take us girls out to Lake Perris for sailing and swimming. We skated, rode bikes and my Dad loved to go to the school behind our house and fly kites with us! So many happy memories.....to be continued.

     

hot, hot, hot!

Wonderful and hot onion!

      We are deep in the throes of summer here! With temps reaching well over 100* each day, we all breathe a sigh of relief when the sun goes down to take a much needed rest :) It is hot...phew!
       My husband, whom I call " the farmer" but who insists he is "just a gardener", has grown some spectacular onions this year. They make me so happy when I cut them, I cry...a lot! They are very strong but good.
       And so we plod along here.....with the high temps comes the return of pencils, papers and school books! The school year of 2012-2013 will soon begin with two students amidst the drone of the air conditioner, the clink of ice in the glasses of refreshing lemonade and ice tea and the drip of the popsicles.
       Here are our general courses of Study for this year:

        Rachel will be in Grade 9:

                    Rod and Staff Bible 9
                    Teaching Textbooks Algebra II
                    Easy Grammar Ultimate 9
                    Learning Language Arts Through Literature---American Literature
                    California State History
                    Astronomy/Zoology/ Biology 101
                    Health
                    Typing

           Hannah will be in Grade 5:

                     Rod and Staff Bible 5
                     Teaching Textbooks 5
                      Sequential Spelling Book 4
                      Learning Language Arts Through Literature---Purple Book
                      California State History
                      Daily Geography Lessons
                      Astronomy/Zoology/ Biology 101

      Looks like that will be enough to keep us all busy in the learning department!  We will continue in our studies of cooking, sewing, animal husbandry, physical education, fiddle and piano playing and whatever else God brings us to do this year!
       Leaving you with a quote from the King James Bible for today------
"I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord."  Psalm 104: 33-34
     What's going on in your neck of the woods?