Perfect Peace

This deserves its own place not because of the picture quality, but because of the accompanying quote. We had been living in the old homestead for about a week when these pictures were taken and had come back to the trailer to pick some things up and to have a good romp. Millie was resting in the hayfield when she thoughtfully said, with great earnestness, "Mama, this is my true home." Knowing that my love for our four-month stint in the trailer was echoed in her made me again thankful that God gave us that short season and allowed us to enjoy it so fully.

Home Sweet

I shoveled out 10 wheelbarrows of old manure from the new chicken coop in order to clear a corner for the chickens.

Sumac Gold approves of the luxury, high rise condos that were already present.

The Chef Herself

I finally made Millie an apron for her seventh birthday. She wanted me to take her picture in the tree.




And then I took some by the blank wall.


Inept yo-yo flower. (I had no instructions. I have no Internet. I need instructions!)


Fun ruffle and Millie's laughter.


She's laughing really hard in this one. Too bad all that shows is a stupid apron, huh?



And some chicken arms.



The End.

Henry the VIII, I Am

How could you not know we have royal blood in this family?


And this one, purely to store for blackmail purposes when they're older.

The Dig Site

Our new driveway must have been made on the graves of pirates, because it's chock full of treasure. I can't tell you how many bags of pottery shards, nails, bottlecaps, and other manner of valuables the girls have squirreled away in our house from their excavations.

And have I mentioned yet that my girls dress themselves most days?

Clubhouse Season

Another favorite playground at our new home isn't the safest of the bunch, but it might be the coolest.



They've named it "Nails," as in "Mama, can we go have a picnic lunch on Nails?"

Of course, sweets.




They've brought enough old-fashioned square nails inside for us to build a house entire, thus the name "Nails." They usually find them lying loose, but sometimes they have to pry them from scraps of old wood, as seen below.


Someone needs to teach Annika that repeatedly pounding an old hay hook into the nail head isn't the quickest way to extract it.


And someone needs to tell Susannah not to keep dropping her crackers through the knotholes to the ground floor.

Putting on a Spread

And then there are the days I find doll soup Millie has arranged on the sunroom rug.

Millie gathers bags of "herbs and spices" and stores them in the house for just such times. I confess I sometimes just see bagged weeds, seeds, rocks, and leaves and throw them outside. Adults have NO sense.

Hickory Nut Season

You can bet we're going to pick hickory nuts when my mom tells us they're ready.




Even Piper pitched in.


Susannah worked like she was depending on them for winter survival.








And this hands-on-hip pose??? She's been executing it perfectly non-stop for weeks now. In pajamas, in church clothes, fresh from the bathtub...NON-STOP. I don't know who's teaching her these things, but I know it's not me.


Annie took the rest of these pictures. I deleted the 30 that were blurry.

Hickory Nuts. Again.

We have enough for the winter, my mom has gathered enough for several nations of squirrels (those who know my mom know that I write that in all seriousness), and there are still more on the ground.






After gathering a small basket of nuts, we went for a woodsy walk.

Some highlights.

These two are a highlight, hm?


The reason for Annika's pout is priceless. She was upset because she couldn't figure out a way to fit her "stick" into her backpack. I told her that if she wanted it badly enough, she could carry it home.


So she did.


I think Millie's stick was a more sensible size, but who am I to judge?



And this lagging woodswoman leaving the fo-ah-est just made me laugh. What a funny, little priss she is.

And Now Piper

Piper wakes up in the van last Sunday. Here's the lesson.

One: Rub eyes


Two: Give your mama The Look.


Three: Do your exercises.

It Comes Earlier Each Year

The girls ran indoors, breathless, to announce, "Christmas is here! It's amazing! Christmas is here!!!

I'd noticed Millie cutting paper and yarn and Annie drawing on paper, but hadn't taken note of it until they led me outside to this.


With Annika's trademark spelling, they'd decorated the evergreen next to the driveway with dozens of personalized ornaments.




My favorite is this one Annie made for New Baby.

We've since started spelling lessons.