A Finished Project

This afternoon, we were summoned upstairs, with excitement, as Thomas had a special building project to share with us.

Thomas has been working on this K'Nex roller coaster since January...a gift from his Great Grandma Joan, he has slowly worked to put it together.  At first it was difficult, the pieces were quite small and it required a lot of focused attention on his part.  I have to say, this has been the first project that Thomas has not torn apart after it became too difficult... he stuck to it and he finished!

We watched as the roller coaster car zoomed and zipped around the 4 foot structure!  Very impressive for a seven year old little boy...  I can't wait to see what else our son can do when he puts his mind to it and perseveres... anything is possible!

Sheep Shearing 101

Today the children were able to enjoy a bit of farm life!

We joined a small crowd of young ones eager to learn about sheep and their wool.


We apprehensively witnessed how the farmer clips off the sheep's thick coat...Sarah and I felt a bit sad for the poor old sheep... she went from being warm and cozy to naked in just a few short minutes!

The dog was ready to keep that sheep in line if necessary!

After the sheep was sheared, we learned about the process of cleaning, combing and spinning the wool into yarn.

Of course we had to hold a few baby lambs...

They were adorable...

An Unexpected Visitor

This morning I was gazing out of the window, sipping my coffee, and enjoying the beautiful spring morning. As I took in the scene, I saw a strange lizard like creature slowly creeping out of the grass onto our street.


I called out to Sarah and we quickly ran outside to take a closer look at this interesting creature. Sarah just finished studying amphibians and was fascinated at the specimen just outside her door.


She quickly determined it was a salamander, and would not be of harm, and collected her specimen for further inspection in a handy glass jar. She gave her new friend a bit of water and it seemed happy that she did.


We then snapped a few photos and after a bit of discussion about keeping it, taking it to the herpetology lab at NNU, or letting it free where it could live it's days in its natural environment... we decided the best thing was to release it back.



And so, we walked down our path to our lovely pond with plenty of rocks, water and bugs and set it free...

I told Sarah, "God used us today to save this Salamander's life..." he was destined for disaster on the path he was heading.

Living Out Her Passions

My daughter has a passion.

It is not an all consuming passion, but it is a deep seated enjoyment of horses!

I don't know how it all started. Perhaps is was her first viewing of Black Beauty... or just falling in love with the beauty of a horse in the pasture...yearning for a horse of her own.

The reality is, a horse of her own, is most likely not in her near future. Yet, we encouraged our daughter to pray and to wait. As life has unfolded we have encountered many opportunities to enjoy and be around horses. God has a way of answering little girls prayers...

Sarah using "Princess" to demonstrate the importance of grooming

One of these opportunities has been involving our family in 4H.

This past month, Sarah has devoted herself to researching, preparing and writing an oral presentation for the Ada County 4H Horse Illustrated Talk/Demonstration contest. This year she chose the topic of "General Horse Care". As always, she is full to the brim with fresh knowledge and eager to share with others all she has learned. She prepared an 8 minute illustrated talk and did a fabulous job presenting her information!




What a joy to see her confidently speaking in public at such a young age.

Sarah received a 2nd Place Ribbon for her efforts!

A Wild Weekend!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity...

Sarah has been studying Bears over the past month. The small Science Club we belong to decided to take a field trip to "Yellow Stone Bear World" (near Rexburg, Idaho) and the Wolf and Bear Discovery Center (in West Yellowstone, MT). It was a great day of learning about bears and their habitat. What a great way to have fun together and enjoy some "hands on" learning in the process!

Yellowstone Bear World is a zoo of sorts. It's main goal is to share wildlife that are common to Northern Idaho and Montana. They have a small drive-thru "safari" of sorts. As well as a large petting zoo filled with some usual and not so usual animals.

Sarah and the Noisy Pig!

Thomas feeding the deer...

Our families had a lot of fun watching the bears up close
(from the safety of Kronz Family RV).

Thomas at the helm... on the lookout for bears!

DON'T FEED THE BEAR!

The next day we were thrilled to have the opportunity to spend some time at Yellowstone National Park.

Later in the Day at the South Entrance of the Park

The air was a brisk 22 degrees. It was beautiful...the steam rising from the lakes and streams as well as the thermal activity was amazing... We saw a Bison that walked right by our car on the road. I dared not get out to find the camera! Elk were plentiful as well. The bears were elusive.




The highlight of the day was Old Faithful! We had fun checking out the Historic Old Faithful Inn and shared a meal with our friends from back home.

A fun time shared with the best of friends...

Sarah enjoying her first glimpse of Old Faithful

The Historic Old Faithful Inn

Sarah making friends with the Elk

Later, as the temperatures came up, we enjoyed a few excursions by West Lake on our way out of the South End of the Park toward the Grand Teton National Park.

The Continental Divide!

A walk along West Thumb

Thermal Activity near West Thumb

I love watching my family walk through the forest...

The Grand Teton's...

Another State!
Sarah and Thomas at the border of Wyoming and Idaho

It was a very full day... but worth every mile!

Back to the Books!

Today marked the first day of our 2009/10 school year!

We have been busy all summer with lots of activity and learning opportunities... but now it's time to stop and reinforce and gain more knowledge through book learning for a while!

Homeschooling is such a blessing... I am so thrilled that I have the opportunity to be with my children throughout the day.

Education is discipleship; whomever we allow to educate our children is discipling our children.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40 ESV).

This is the main reason my husband and I have chosen to school our children at home. We have been convinced that this is the best way to really "know" our kids and keep their hearts turned toward us... and for them to really "know" and understand us.

Simply walking the road of life together...rather than going in different directions.

Spending a lot of "quantity" time as well as "quality" time (rather than giving them over to others for the "quantity" and hoping the "quality" is good enough).

Homeschooling simplifies our approach to parenting and creates a common, and stable environment for all of us to live out our lives in faith, love, discipline, and educational pursuits.

I write this to remind myself... the importance of my choice... to walk this road. It is never easy to do things that are counterculture, but it sure helps to remember the "why" as you walk the journey...

Shoshone Falls

After an evening spent in Sun Valley we headed South to Twin Falls. It is set high up on the ridge of a valley that is cut deep by the Snake River.

A View of the Snake River from Twin Falls.
An amazing golf course is set there in the valley over looking the river...

We enjoyed a fun evening visiting the Shoshone Falls. It is beautiful, and the construction of the dam was very careful to preserve the beauty of this once magnificent waterfall on the Snake River.

Shoshone Falls

After a long week, the children and I packed up the next day and headed back home sweet home...

Can I tell you how nervous this makes me???

We had a great week exploring the State of Idaho and learning about the rich history and heritage of the Wild West!

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon National Monument was another stop made on our way from Idaho Falls to Sun Valley.

Standing in front of the Spatter Cones

Endless Sea of Black Rock

We spent the afternoon hiking and exploring caves...and were amazed by the lava flows and black rock that covered the surface of the landscape. It was truly amazing and beautiful.

The Devil's Orchard

Thomas and Sarah exploring a section of the North Crater Flow

Life in the midst of Lava

Thomas, our mountain climber

Cave Explorers, Indian Tunnel

A joy filled day... exploring God's creation...