A man came into the thrift store and donated a ton of stuff from his storage unit. Which is very cool, really, except he gave us 10 bottles of years expired hot sauce and 8 bottles of years expired bbq sauce. Which I brought home because I hate to waste food. It actually tastes fine(umm...vinegar and bourban will do that,no?) He came back today and gave 10 boxes of sourdough mix. Expired in 97. What in the world...I think he is a bona fide hoarder. So I brought them home and substituted fresh yeast and it is cooking up beautifully. The boss man thinks I am nuts, and tried to argue with me to throw it away. He also gave me "rotten" bread for my chickens. I think it was two day old stale bread. It made the MOST tasty triple berry bread pudding ever. I have always thought if I lived in a big city I would be one of those dumpster diving food recyclers.
Pip goes to the ortho on Wednesday to get her cast off. Yay! She just finished ten days of antibiotics and the wound still looks bad to me...I guess we will see what happens.
Thursday Gavin and Griffon are going to the dr for check ups. Gavin has not been to a dr in 10 years. Griffon has only seen a non er dr once and the guy was a putz. I am very much hoping we can have a respectful visit, and get some answers about Griffon's excema and Gavin's hearing/speech delay. Then on Tuesday Trinity and Christian will go in(also haven't been seen for 10 years). Just a check up, no concerns there. The following Tuesday Logan and Jubilee will go in. Logan has never seen a dr(he is 9), and Jubilee has only been seen for her broken arm last year. I want to know if the bags under her eyes are from allergies, and if so I would like allergy testing for her and Griffon both.
I will be testing next Saturday. Timing was great this month, and I feel a lot of symptoms, which is odd being so close to o, but I felt this way last time too. My fingers are crossed.
Next blog post will be chock full of pictures. I have been using my camera phone too much lately and want to get some better pics soon.
I planned 14 weeks of school and we start on Monday. I am very excited for this upcoming year. It should go smoothly, and with 5 kids reading independently I feel like it should be a tad easier.
After record high temps for well over a month we have had some beautiful weather. Rain broke through the drought and is in the forecast for a few more days at least. I pray that it will help farmers get a second harvest of hay, because prices are high and supplies are low. If it gets to the point of not being able to find hay we will have to give Bella(the horse) away, and we really don't want to do that. She has shown no signs of heat since being bred by the neighbors stallion in May...I wonder if we will have a foal in April.Short of taking her to the vet there really aren't any signs or symptoms.

Almond Mango granola is baking. Spaghetti sauce is simmering. A triple batch of dough is rising. My home smells good!
I am working on that dream schedule. The one that allows each child to thrive in our homeschool, and helps us keep the house sparkling, and gives us opportunities outdoors . *Snort* The one that I will make with gusto and despair following because I am NOT a schedule person. I like making them though. It helps a lot to have them also. (I always type a lot as alot, which I am aware is not a word. I love spellcheck!)
Pip's infection is receding, thanks to keflex. Only a couple more weeks of the cast and we should be back to normal.
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We caught a juvenile timber rattler last night. I almost stepped on it three days ago. Two days ago we had a hen die from a snake bite. Last night I was watering the tomatoes and there he was again, coiled up on the raised bed. With Brian's help I got him in the critter keeper and we relocated him to a place he can grow without harming people or livestock, and a place where no ranchers should kill him. Honestly, the ranchers kill every snake they come across, no regard for how beneficial a ratsnake can be.
No interest in the house. I am really content either way, so I am not stressing about it. I do wish someone would look at it though. I have lots of plans for it if it doesn't sell...I am remotivated to work this property as much as possible.

Pip's leg is in a boot, as she has a sore from the temp cast that is likely abscessing. If it looks any worse tomorrow I am taking her back in, as it is starting to look streaky red to me, and is hard and spreading. She hates the boot and tries to push it off constantly, and screams and cries that her foot hurts all the time. It is pretty heartbreaking. :(
Tonight was our last ladies meeting for at least a month and a half. We finished the study of James. It was really great and I will miss these Tuesday night meetings for sure. Small groups are starting in Sept and I will be leading one, so hopefully I won't miss the gals too much as I prepare.
My back is pretty sore from holding the baby so much, I will update soon!

Pippi broke her leg. She was playing in Trinity's room and jumped off the bed, landing only on one foot. I heard the snap, so we headed to the ER. Because this was her second break in 10 months we had to make another trip to the DR today so they could look her over. :( Obviously they said she is fine and not abused, but how terrible for her. We will be going to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow morning to get her permanent cast.
I have not heard any feedback from our showing on Sat, would really like to know if they had anything to say. I got some paint to redo the front of the house a bit.
Tonight I am going to watch Harry Potter 7.2 with my ladies Bible Study group. This is amusing to me because there are definitely those in our church who think anything HP is bad , but my ladies group are far more relaxed.
One of the pastors approached me and asked if I would lead a small group this fall! I am very excited about this, as it will be more like a small home church than a Bible study, and will be comfy and intimate. I will start leadership training on that next month, then the group begins the last week of Aug.

I have been longing for something simpler for some time now. This has led Brian and I to seek out a Realtor and we will see if we can sell the house. If we can we will be moving back to Michigan. We would be leaving the country behind to become suburban or urban growers. I have made a list of homes from what I can see on line. Our new basement would be where we grow year round, the majority of our backyard would be gardened, with a few hens. I don't think we would bring our bees with us, but we would start a new hive up there. The homes I have looked at have a much more Waldorfy feel...lots of original woodwork and coziness.
The Realtor will be coming by on Monday. On the phone she seemed confident that we can do this. I feel my heart flutter with hope that we can. There is also fear, as there are some legal issues Brian will have to resolve. Issues that will take a lawyer and money. Issues that are 16 years old, that we thought were dealt with, that have potential jail time involved. Ugh...I do not want to be afraid, but I also am trying to see this all the way through.
So lots of planning, for a maybe future. If that doesn't happen we are still plowing ahead here. Tuesday we will be butchering 15 roosters. My hens will be forever grateful! We had to pull our squash and cucumber plants because of squash bugs laying their eggs. We burned them, and hope that that is the end of that. The tomatoes are doing great, as is the asparagus. It is so hot that we water twice a day and still worry about how scorched the plants are. Record breaking temps here, and a record month of over 100 degree days. I looked up MI and it is 20 degrees cooler. I should not tease myself like that, but the heat makes me crazy lol!
I need to get ready for church. Tomorrow will be telling.

Brian is taking Trinity and Christian to the first youth bible study. They are starting with John. Christian has been reading diligently for weeks now, and is so excited to be joining the youth group.
I am trying to have the house looking gorgeous by the time Brian gets home. I feel very bad that it has suffered, even though my ridiculous standards are far above what others would call bad. We are used to an immaculate home, and to have it be at all out of order is not good for my mental health. So I am going to try to mop and beautify in 1/2 hour.And fold 2 loads of laundry, and declutter a bit more. The problem with decluttering is that I really do use most of my stuff. It all fits the guideline of being used or being valued for enhancing our area.
I want to sit down and do a good long post on where I am in life right now. I need to actually work right now. I promise to make time to update better.

I am printing off some roller coaster word searches, and a couple Angelina Ballerina coloring pages for the 6 kidlets who will be home while I am at the store today. Trinity is at Youth Camp with church. The older three boys will go to Kid Camp at the end of the month.
I damaged my hand by walking through a doorway yesterday. :/ Yes, I am that clumsy. I just banged it into the frame just right. That warranted a trip to the VA for an x-ray. I am supposed to ice it, elevate it, and not use it for 2 weeks. *sigh* I actually feel a bit guilty because I have no plans to follow that advice.
We have had soooo many donations lately, and I do not have reliable volunteers so I am trekking to work early to try to sort some of it. I can not abide the mess or disorganization that will result if I throw it all in the back room.
I am really struggling with homeschooling ideals and reality. I don't want to work anymore, I really miss being home for the kids 24 hrs a day. :( Yet I still feel led to keep going, and am going to try waking the kids up earlier in the am so we can do 2 hrs before I leave. I don't know if that is realistic or not yet, just an idea right now.