Fruit Kabobs

Here are the girls making breakfast this morning. I try to think of new and interesting ways of preparing foods to make meals fun!

We had kabobs on the grill a few nights ago and with the left over sticks I had this idea for the kids! They loved creating their own breakfast and enjoyed their exotic fruit!

Devin's Latest Fairy House

Ever since Devin was around 2, he has been fascinated with fairy's and fairy houses. We have an incredible book with tons of pictures of really cool fairy houses in all different settings. Whenever he rediscovers it, he gets so inspired! I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in learning more about this magical, creative hobby of fairy house building!

Here is a picture of Devin's latest fairy house complete with a ladder and swing that he made himself.

Warning: Fairy House Building can be Addictive!

Polly Pockets With Daddy

Joe is such an amazing father! He is always willing to play whatever the kids want him to. Today he enjoyed playing Polly Pockets with his little girls on a blanket outside on a warm summer evening. I love listening to their conversations when they are playing together joyfully. Joe helps Ivy with the dresses and shoes for her little dolls. Dakota guides Joe and tells him what will make nice outfits. They love their Daddy so much!

Dayna's Rockin Pickles!

When I woke up this morning I knew today was the perfect day to start our canning! I love the nurturing feeling of picking and storing veggies to enjoy for the rest of the year. Today we canned 12 jars of homemade bread and butter pickles fresh from our garden.
It took me most of the afternoon and evening, but we did it! The kids enjoyed the process and learned a lot about how much work it was for folks a hundred years ago to store food! Canning is one of many hobbies of mine that I love sharing with my family. Here are the pictures of the process.

LYFROKS

Here we all are in the back of our new RV with our licence plate "Life Rocks" LYFROKS!

My friend Rachel took our picture to send in for the Live and Learn Conference Directory. I wanted to do something a bit more creative, but maybe next year.

Time with the Parker's

Another fun summer weekend with great friends, who happen to be family!!

The Parker's are cousins from Michigan who spent the weekend with us. Pam and Dwayne have 8 children. They are just the nicest family anyone could ask to spend time with!
All of the children are homeschooled. This is what really brought Pam (their mother) and I together as friends. She and I bonded over cooking for 15 people. She is like a mentor to me! I am so grateful to have them in our lives!

They watched the Dr. Phil Show that we were on for the first time after dinner one night. Everyone enjoyed laughing and talking to the TV about how wrong Dr. Phil and the other school-advocates were about homeschooling. Here we were sitting with 10 kids who are all homeschooled and range in ages from 5-21. All amazing unique individuals with so much to offer the world.

I taught a natural childbirth class during their stay here and Pam sat in on it while the Dads were with our children. It made me feel so good that she shared my passions. She had 4 homebirths and all of her births, even in the hospital were natural, uncomplicated gentle births!

During the Parker's stay, we attended some amazing fireworks, went to the "bean-hole supper" at the lake, sat around a fire, swung in hammocks, filled the kitchen and cooked together. The kids played tag, hide and seek, Legos and so much more.....

There were quiet times where Pam and I sat at the picnic table and I listened to her share how terrific life is with 8 children. Our family feels so small in comparison. We laughed and talked about how blessed she and I both are. She "got" me in a way that made me feel so good about myself. To me, one of the signs of having an incredible friend is how they make you feel about yourself. I loved who I was when I was around her and their whole family! I hope I make my friends feel the same way!

I got teary when they left and had to give Pam a long second hug thanking her for being with us and sharing her beautiful family. My heart fills with gratitude for all that I learned from Pam this weekend. It was a time none of us will ever forget.

Picking Beans

Harvest time is so magical to me! I love when I go out in the garden and see veggies hanging on the vine. Devin, Dakota and Ivy have so enjoyed picking beans and sugar snap peas today.
There is SO much left to mature and grow, that this is just the beginning. I feel so blessed that we have the land to be able to offer them this incredible resource to not only learn from, but to eat healthy from too!!
I am going to make dilly beans and pickles tonight and tomorrow. Canning is the next big adventure for the kids that they are looking forward to.

Needle Felting

Today the kids and I attended a local Fiber-Arts Show. We all learned so much about this unique art form. Devin, Dakota & Ivy enjoyed a hands-on demonstration of needle felting. We all loved it and I plan on ordering a kit soon. Being at the Fiber-Art Show was very inspiring to all of us! I am so grateful that we live in an area with so many resources and interesting events going on to learn and grow from.

The Little Rock Hounds

Today was such an incredible day!! We went to visit a Rock & Gem shop which in the back, had mines and a place you could pan for rocks and gems. There was also a huge sandbox where you could sift through to find treasures. We went with a few close friends. The kids had such a fun time and learned so much! It was really interesting. Here are some pictures from today's rockin' Martin adventure!

Little Weasel!

Joe looked out the window today and saw our kitty Confetti with some large animal. Joe ran out to see Confetti fighting with a Weasel!! We have never seen one before. It sprayed Confetti with a really putrid odor!

We called my Mom, the cat expert, and she told us that we better wash confetti. I wore the gloves and held her while Joe shampooed her up with the kids Cherry scented- No Tears Shampoo. We actually didn't even know it was a weasel until my step-father told us!

I am so grateful for my parents!! Even all the way over in England, they help us out so much! I can't wait to see them in a few weeks when they fly over to attend the Live and Learn Conference with us!!

Here is a picture of Confetti, shortly after her "weasel stank scrub down."

Our First Pick!!

Today I picked the first of the vegetables from our garden!! Devin told me about the cukes in excitement as he ran into the house. I also picked purple beans (which surprisingly turn green after you cook them!) Yellow beans and a few sugar snap peas.

After all the hard work with a garden, it is so incredibly rewarding to pick your first veggies!

Family Weekend

This past weekend our family from the city came up to visit. My Uncle, Aunt & Cousin enjoyed spending time with us in the country swimming, relaxing and making s'mores around a fire.

Here Devin, Dakota & Ivy are with Lisa and Jamie. Ivy is enjoying a yummy s'more. It was such a busy, exciting weekend.

A Evening of Moshing Fun

Today Joe headed to the Boston area to see Slayer and Marilyn Manson with his good buddies, Chad, Steve and Mitch. He is such an amazing husband and father and I was so thrilled for him to be enjoying one of his passions in life, live metal music.

We will all be sleeping when he comes home at 2 or 3am tonight, so I look forward to hearing all about it tomorrow! I expecially can't wait to hear about Marilyn Manson!! Neither of us have seen him perform before and we hear his live performances are insane!

Prayer Flags

I love when I find something I haven't seen in a while!

I was going through my office the other day and came across some prayer flags that I got at a workshop with Suzanne Arms of http://www.birthingthefuture.com/ had a Women's Circle for birthworkers that I attended. She was such an inspiration to me.

These prayer flags needed to come out of storage! For years I was so afraid they damaged if I hung them outside. Now I feel that my worry is keeping me from enjoying them! I am SO glad I found them and brought them back into our lives to enjoy. The kids love them!

Every time I look at them I am filled with love, hope, and contentment! I love watching them blow in the breeze. Never again will I keep something in storage out of fear that it may get damaged. I will bring all that we love into our daily lives to share with one another.

Why I Respect Marilyn Manson

This Saturday Joe is going to see Marilyn Manson and Slayer perform live. If someone asked me what my "dream concert" would be it would be just those two bands! We couldn't believe that they were touring together. Slayer has been a part of our lives since Joe and I met. I remember being 15 and listening to Slayer. "Angel of Death" on Joe's stereo in his cool teenage-boy room. Heavy metal was a common interest of ours and something that brought us together when we met. I was fortunate to have met Tom Araya, the singer of Slayer when I was pregnant with Ivy. I told him that I was a Doula and listened to Slayer on the way to births. He said that it was really cool and gave me a hug.

Marilyn Manson, on the other hand came along later than my teenage years. As a young adult, I came to learn about him and how he became the Superstar that he is today. It amazed me to hear that even before he had a band, Marilyn Manson would stand outside at concerts giving out his flyer for people to come see him perform. He is the perfect example of the Law Of Attraction at work. He believed and felt he was a Superstar long before he actually was one. He truly lived his passion and was true to who he was from the beginning. His parents supported him every step of the way and they are a very close family.

He has helped so many teenagers feel they belong and are special and important. He is an amazing person, despite the first impression that he gives off to most in our culture. When I hear him speak and watch videos of his amazingly unique and artistic spirit, he inspires me! He reminds me that it doesn't matter what others think of me, as long as I am true to *Who I Am* I will always find Joy.

As a culture we encourage celebrating diversity of other nationalities, religions and lifestyle choices. Marilyn Manson reminds us to also honor the diversity of those with unique self expression. I respect him as a human being and thank him for the Joy he brings so many who can relate to him and feel better about themselves because of what he offers this World.

We all have something unique to offer one another if we can open our minds and hearts to receive eachothers amazing gifts.