Friday, March 14, 2014

Baby projects

After a very long string of boys, the news of a girl was super exciting. Of course, that meant that lots of projects needed to be done!

Recovered bassinet for a *girl*

 Knit hat and sock set

Long tailed hat

embellished onsies for newborn

Vertebrae sweater
Not pictured is another sock and hat set to go with the above sweater in purple. I had to do something while I was sick in bed :)

I look forward to many many more knitting and sewing projects!!

People happenings

For a family that enjoys "just being" as opposed to "being busy", we really have been much busier than we normally are.

We had homeschool co-op every Friday, volleyball and Bible study with friends every Saturday, and each week usually brought another activity.

The end of January was the Rock and Mineral Show


The first week in February was our first historic dance (we had been going to dance practice every week, not to mention having all of the young ladies at my house sewing their costumes) What fun we all had!!

Girls with rag curls for the dance



#1 Dancing

#5 being a "weasel" 


#3 Dancing

#2 Dancing

Little boys

We went along with Daddy to Dallas for a speaking engagement and did a little shopping at Grapevine Mills Mall.

I took the 3 oldest to the Natural Science Museum in Houston.

We repainted the kitchen, dining room, and hallway .

I took #1 to see the Hobbit for her Birthday, and #2 enjoyed seeing it with Daddy for his "unbirthday"



We celebrated #4's 9th birthday.

We graduated to a big white van in anticipation of #7's arrival.

And then we got sick :(
A nasty cold swept through the house right before Baby Girl's arrival and even sent me to the hospital for the day- yuck!
While no one likes to be sick, it did slow us down and keep us home as we wait for our newest member to make her arrival.

 We're all on the mend now, and finishing up all of those projects that I didn't really think we would get to before Baby's arrival (like taxes and catching up the blog!), but each day goes pretty quickly since there is always something to do.


Projects!

Our little homestead is always changing to meet our needs and goals. We've been here four years now, and no two years have ever looked remotely the same. Step by step, we keep improving and stepping up to the next level.

This chicken coop (or chicken palace, as I like to call it), was probably one of the most ambitious projects that we've ever done. Hubby worked many many months making it just perfect, and creating for us a complex rotational chicken yard.It is awesome!


Greenhouse- finished January 2014
 complete with shelving, a grow bed and a aquaponics tank.
 #3 was probably the biggest helper in this project.


Key-hole raised beds.
There are 4 of them now to the side of the greenhouse. We are using raised beds for our main growing space this year.


The 4 beds were completed the first week in March.






Under Daddy's leadership, the 3 oldest undertook their first year selling seeds. Last year, they grew out, harvested, and packaged our favorite seeds, and they sold them this winter/spring. Team Work! They did good, too- making a nice profit their first season.


We're all looking forward to a busy and productive spring!