Our Newest Family Member

7 May posted by

Henry

Henry

Henry joined our family earlier this year. My middle daughter was headed to the store to buy some Wilton’s cake decorating supplies, but got sidetracked at a stop to the pet shop. She spent her money on him.:) He is quite a joy to us—when he’s not eating books.

3 Comments
Filed Under: Animals, Life at Hidden Pines

Recommended Links 11/19/10

19 Nov posted by

I haven’t put up a post with Recommended Links lately, so I have a lot of good things stored up. Here are some of them.

Social Media and Digital Discernment Bro. John MacArthur has written a convicting article on how social media is effecting us, and how a Christian should guard his/her time online.

A Time for Thanksgiving at Homeschool Heartbeat Listen to get ideas on how to in cooperate Thanksgiving into your schooling.

Colorado Foxes We just love pictures of animals, and love these little foxes. I can’t believe they get on top of houses!

Easy Peasy Pillow Making- RePurpose Crafting! Make easy pillows using placemats. Now why didn’t I think of that!?
Hat Tip: Money Saving Mom

Give Thanks Free Thanksgiving labels for gifts, place settings, etc.
Hat Tip: Money Saving Mom

Feminist Republican Sarah Palin Calls Supporters of Stay-at-Home Moms “Neanderthals” I was really disappointed to hear Sarah say this.

Reuse household items and save money 10 ways to give new purpose to old belongings

Time Management 101: Stop Trying to “Do It All” Be sure to read all of Crystal’s posts on time management.

How Do You Do It All? – Balancing Family and Home Business in the Real World Speaking of doing it all, I HIGHLY recommend the How Do You Do It All course by my friend, editor, author, business coach, and homeschool speaker, Mary Jo Tate. She is a single mother of 4 boys and works from home. She really knows what she’s talking about. She has been such a wonderful encourager to me!  This course is for anyone who needs to know how to manage their time better.  It is well worth your money!

What loneliness feels like Amy has put into words how I feel as a single mother. The ache is so very painful.

Facebook losing grip on Internet safety Their are many dangers for children on Facebook. If you have children, I would never let them use Facebook without you yourself being on there watching carefully and enacting all the privacy tools available. Even then, I would still be extremely careful what I post and allow the children to post.

Margin for Moms: An Interview with Carol Barnier “It’s okay to choose to say no to some activities, even some good activities, and just stay home.”

The Power of a Simple Gift Watch the joy on the children’s faces when they open their gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Be sure to grab a tissue!

Soldier’s heroic dog, brought from Afghanistan, mistakenly euthanized This is so very heartbreaking.:(

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Animals, Christian Life, Current Events, Frugality, Holidays, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Mothers, Recommended Links, Single Mothers

A Month of Thanksgiving – Our Pets

24 Nov posted by
A Month of Thanksgiving

“A dog wags its tail with its heart.”
—Martin Buxbaum

I am so thankful for our pets, Autumn the cat, Missy the puppy, and Teddy the neighbor’s dog. Each one of them bring such joy and fun to our lives. How good God was to give mankind the special joy of pets!

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: A Month of Thanksgiving, Animals, Encouraging Quotes

Fall So Far

26 Oct posted by
After a very busy summer, we are enjoying a much quieter fall. Missy is doing so well and has no problem with her once broken leg. After being cooped up for so long, she is enjoying spending almost all her time out in the backyard every day. She is such a joy to us. She is learning to bark at things, but barks more often than we’d like.:) The girls and I all have been sick for over a week, but are now much, much better. I find I still tire easily, and some of us have lingering coughs every now and then, but we are all doing much better. Our appetites have returned, and I find myself ravenous at times.

We are cleaning and organizing today, and will get back into our schoolbooks tomorrow. My youngest has been thoroughly cleaning her room today. She is a little pack rat, and saves the oddest things.:) The oldest girls do a great job of keeping theirs neat. I’ve got a lot of paperwork that I want to take care here in my bedroom/office. The girls will be hauling a load of pine cones to use as fire starters, and they will be cleaning out the inside of my car.

It is so hard to believe that November is almost here, and then Christmas will be following close behind. We want to start back to yard sales soon, to get Christmas gifts for our family. I do dread the busyness of the holidays—we almost always end up sick after going, going, and going. I’ll have to be diligent on not taking on too much, but it seems every year that there is nothing I can say no to. Taking quality vitamins, eating well (which is hard, when you are on the run!), and getting enough rest should help.

Here is a picture of Missy and Autumn on the bed. Missy loves to playfully attack her brother, and sometimes they will wrestle. Missy doesn’t understand why Autumn doesn’t join in playing with the dog squeaky toys though.

Missy and Autumn
Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Animals, Life at Hidden Pines

Introducing Missy Anne

13 Jul posted by
Please meet our new family member, Missy Anne—Anne with an “E”.

Missy Anne

Her mother is a Labrador, and her father is suspected to be a Boxer.

Missy sleeping in the Grass

The girls have never had a puppy of their own, and are so excited.

Missy Buns

And worn out.

1 Comment
Filed Under: Animals, Photography

Animal Adventures

27 Jun posted by
Lately there’s been a lot going on with our animals and wildlife. Living in the country gives one much to see and talk about. I cannot say how many snakes I’ve shot since the weather turned warm, several of them being water moccasins at the pond behind our house. I usually will not shoot a nonpoisonous snake, unless it’s too close to the house and may bite one of the animals or might get into the house, as one did last year. Our landlord had a time getting him out of our attic! Last week, I shot 2 rattlesnakes within 10 minutes, while we were walking in the woods along the mown trail. It has really discouraged me from walking in the woods. We normally walk in the evenings after supper; perhaps the snakes will be hiding during mid-mornings.

A Walk in the Woods

Daddy helped me get a shotgun last year, because he was tired of driving out to kill my snakes. I was really scared of guns at first, but now I love the security they give me. I don’t have to feel helpless when I see a snake, or feel someone is trying to harm us. I have a pistol that I carry when I go walking—it looks like one a cowboy would tote—but I love my shotgun the best. My oldest girls enjoy shooting, especially my middle daughter—she loves it!

A cat from the neighborhood jumped on our kitty Autumn last Saturday night. Autumn ended up with an infected wound and is on antibiotics. He is doing well, despite having to endure us shoving a buttered pill down his throat every morning.:) (In the picture below, Autumn was actually sleeping like this, but opened his eyes when he heard the camera click on.)

Autumn on Couch

Our neighbor’s dog, Teddy, who spends 90% of his time with us, often brings up things he has killed, including rats and ducks. When we were walking in the woods one morning a few weeks ago, Teddy was chasing grown deer. So it really came as no surprise to me this morning when he brought home a little baby fawn he had killed.:( He is a Labrador-Chow mix, so I find it hard to be mad at him. He’s just doing what Labrador’s do, and he probably thinks he is helping to provide for us. He is the best dog in the world—he obeys so well and is so sweet. He truly loves us, and we him. He’s so smart and does all sorts of tricks, like sit and stay. For some reason, though, he thinks speak means sneeze! He “sings” by howling with us. We so appreciate that our neighbor allows Teddy to spend so much time with us. I honestly thought I didn’t like dogs, because I had seen so many people let their dogs trash their homes and yards, but now realize that if dogs are taught well, or have plenty of room, they won’t trash things, nor leave their business in the yard.:)

Our Neighbor

My friend’s full-blooded chocolate Labrador just had 11 puppies! (She had 10 last time.) My friend believes the father is a Boxer. I’m not sure how they will look grown, but this is how they look now.

Puppy

Teddy brought this little fellow home to me one day after finding him at the pond. Teddy started to try to kill him, but obeyed when we told him not to.

Turtle

The girls call these little fellows the “weathermen”, because they let us know when it’s about to rain or already is raining.:) They always smile for the camera.;)

A Weatherman

Weathermen

Last is my mom’s rooster, who the girls have named Wendall. Wendall really doesn’t belong to anyone, but takes his meals at my folks’ house. He definitely lets them know when it’s time to get up and when it’s time to eat.

Wendall, the Rooster
Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Animals, Photography

Pamela and Claudia

7 Mar posted by
On our landlord’s property, there are three deer stands, two of which are occupied by flying squirrels.

Pamela lives in the one closest to our house,

Pamela Hiding

while Claudia lives in the farthest one away.

Claudia Climbing

Both girls are very shy, petite, and beautiful. Claudia keeps house much neater than does Pamela.

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Animals, Life at Hidden Pines

A Little Friend

17 Apr posted by
While about my house, I kept hearing a voice calling very loudly and noticed that it sounded like it was coming from a pipe. I found this little friend in a steel pipe outside.

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Animals, Photography