EKjourney Backup

Since our drake died a month or so back, our lady ducks have gotten a lot louder.  Their care is a lot more labor intensive than the other farm pets and we wondered if perhaps we should find them a new home.  We hadn't actively pursued one, after all they are our urban farm pets that we raised from only 2 days old and we enjoy having them. We were loading up horse poop mulch at the stable we often go to and we noticed a male Cayuga duck (same breed as ours) in the pond as we were heading out.  We asked the owners if they would be interested in having three ladies join their flock.  They were!  What a happy place for a duck to live...a nice large pond to swim in, a floating shelter for laying eggs, lots of grass for foraging, people who feed them regularly and enjoy watching them, and duck friends, plus we could visit them whenever we wanted.  I was sad to see them go but happy to have found the perfect home! \ Come on out and see! I don't think they quite...

Brighton loved having his hair cut.  I am not sure why I didn't take an after picture!

February Days, waiting for Spring! The hat I crocheted for EddieWin for Christmas wasn't fitting as well as I would have hoped and was unraveling a bit so I went to work making a new and improved one.  I had a new yarn stash to choose from and I crocheted a tighter stitch with a much larger brim and a finished edge.  I was happy with the way it turned out...and forgot to take a picture of the end product!  I would like to make myself one now. I found a really neat woven rug made with finger knitting weft and using a hula hoop and an old t-shirt for the loom.  I found this yarn at the Goodwill and I liked the colors so I crocheted the weft strands (instead of finger knitting).  It did not turn out well!  Not even worthy of a picture.  Brighton's canoe The children are interested in SCUBA now that Phil is taking his certification courses.  I managed to find some wet suits at the Goodwill for them.  We will start with the basics...becoming stro...

Here is a snapshot of a typical morning in the Kelly household. Glorielle is stirring between 5 and 6 but she is happy to cat nap or play in our bed so I can squeeze in a bit more rest time.  I am usually up by 7.  Tea, emails, baby cuddles, and I try to get devotion in here (and truthfully, I need to make sure this happens!!). Children up between 7:30-8:30.  I start waking everyone up by 8:00 but it can be a long process.  I don't wake up Brighton! Then, it is "organized chaos".  Breakfast is made and eaten, beds are made, children are dressed, the floor gets vacuumed, play time is squeezed in, Glorielle is fed and put back down to bed (by 9:00), the dishes get unloaded, the laundry is switched, the breakfast mess is cleaned up, toys and clutter are cleaned up, and then it is about 10:30 and Glorielle starts stirring. We have stopped doing workbook school in the morning.  I wasn't able to devote my attention to instruction, watching letter formation, liste...

The children and I had a project day here at home for Valentine's Day.  We made salt dough hearts and Valentine's for Daddy. I bought a box of cold cereal (the most favorite of breakfast treats LOL!) for breakfast and made alfredo with heart shaped hamburger patties for dinner and rice crispy treats (with alternative ingredients) with swirled chocolate hearts on the top for dessert. We focused on the verse in 1 John that says "We love because He first loved us." (4:19) and we talked about God's love throughout the day and how the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength and the second greatest, love your neighbor as yourself.  (Mark 12:30-31). Salt dough hearts. They were suppose to take 2 hours to dry but they took about 5! We are in the process of painting them but they will take a few coats and a varnish before they are done. I was going to have the childre...

We decided to spend some of our Christmas money making fun family memories.  Great Wolf Lodge (an indoor water park in Washington) had a homeschooling discount week so we booked a night.  Wednesday morning, we had breakfast at the Willamette Fruit Company and then drove up.  We checked in late afternoon and headed down to the pool for some swimming before dinner.  Grandma Tracy drove down (from Kent) to spend time with the children during the evening swim time.  I stayed in the room trying to get an overtired Glorielle to sleep!  The children and Phil spent most of the following morning in the water, we ate lunch, and then had another hour or so of playtime before we headed home.  The children loved it!!!! The girls peeking out of the fun children's sleep area. The boys doing the same. Evi was fearless!  She couldn't get enough splashing and even went down the medium sized slides over and over.  What a little thrill seeker!  Her face ...

The Boys The Girls