What did the chicken say...

... when it laid the egg on top? We don't know, but we think it was the equivalent of a 10 pound baby. I thought for sure it would be a triple or at least a double yolk, but no... just one yolk, which Isaiah scrambled and had for breakfast the next morning.

Perhaps this was her first egg of the summer? The chickens are laying more now- five eggs today (five/day is the average we are hoping for with seven 2yo chickens).

Now, if I could just get some success in the garden...

Maple Sugaring

Our big experiment this spring was a success! The kids and I bought four taps from our local hardware store (the one with the life size plastic horse in the window and an old cat meandering the aisles (I love it)), then tapped four of our maple trees. We learned that an eletric drill is much better than a hand drill for this job. (not enough arm strength here) Sap started flowing immediately. After collecting for a day, I started it boiling on the electric grill to avoid having to tend a fire all day long. This worked slowly, we never got a good boil going and the cost was rising steadily. Propane ain't cheap. Our first quart was a disaster. I watched for the telltale rising of the sap like a hawk, but unfortunately kept stirring it down at the same time. The result was burned marshmallow gunk . I threw away the whole jar and resolved to LEAVE IT ALONE next time!

The second attempt was a success and the kids begged for it as soon as they got up and saw the jar on the counter. I made crepes and they rolled and dipped them in little bowls of syrup. This stuff is too precious to waste!

After that, we changed to fire. The boys LOVED tending the fire with me and we all enjoyed being outside watching it boil. We got two more quarts this way at no cost (thanks to the stacks of dried wood we have), but four full days of effort. It was way more time intensive, but more satisfactory too. Next year we plan to double our efforts. If so we'll have almost a full years supply for our family if I'm stingy with it. So now you know why real maple syrup costs about $60 a gallon in the store!

Next time I'll nab a picture of the chickens who stared at us the entire time from their fenced in yard right next to the burn site. I guess they were hard up for entertainment after a long winter all cooped up. :)




Here's the finishing operations (filter, boil and can) and boys tending the fire.

Birthday girl

OK, so it was a month ago... but I just uploaded pictures today and here are some worthy of sharing. Ella had her golden birthday on March 7th. She wore a special flower to church and helped me decorate her cake.



The most exciting part came a week later when my sister and niece came ALL THE WAY from South Dakota to take a train with us into the American Girl Store in downtown Chicago. It was my first time on the train as well and I was thrilled with how smoothly it all went. Now that we realize this is at our backdoor, the options are limitless! (Kids under 12 ride free on weekends. Woo hoo!)

TV Star

A friend of Isaiah's called a month ago to invite him to spend an afternoon making a commercial for Mark Neuman, who is running for governor this fall. Sounded like a great opportunity. So, here are the results. He's wearing a blue sweater with tan stripes on one sleeve. And, no he doesn't go to a charter school, we're still homeschooling. They just needed some kids who were free on a Friday afternoon. :)

Good job Isaiah!

Good bye to a brave soul

One of the bravest men I've ever met died in an African village yesterday. He'll have no grave stone or obituary, just the memories of those who knew him. No one knows his exact age, he was born before it was considered important to keep track of those things. We guessed his age in his 70s when we knew him. At that time, he would think nothing of climbing 70 foot palm trees to collect coconuts or enter a cluttered, dark building to come out with his machete and a dead poisonous snake. I never saw fear on his face. We called him "Vieux Karr" Vieux means old in French and we might say Old Man Karr in English, but the term conveys more respect than that. It's more like "Papa Karr". He had no children who survived to care for him in his old age, so was cared for by the church he attended. He was well loved there as one of the few elderly people in what is a very young church. They are mourning him today and preparing his funeral. Good bye Vieux Karr. I look forward to meeting you again one day.

Clowning

Isaiah discovered clowning last weekend. I think he's found his calling.

The Golden Nugget

I call the subtitle of this post "The Golden Nugget" because of where we are in the child raising journey. When we moved to Wisconsin and I started a blog we had four children under 10. We were done moving and had every intention of settling in for the long haul- seeing our children go to high school and even college here, adding on to our home and improving on it as we are able. At that time (all of 2 1/2 years ago), high school years seemed very far away indeed. It struck me the other day though that the "Golden Nugget" is really half way gone. In another 2 1/2 years, my oldest starts high school. Gasp! And Gasp again! This truly takes my breath away. I have 2 1/2 years with him so close to me, with all of us waking to read and talk before breakfast and the beginning of our school day together. (Oldest plans to attend high school so he will no longer be in our home school at that time). After the shock, I am thanking God for the reality that has stared me in the face. Because now, today, I am so much more thankful than ever for the closeness that we share and loving that I am seeing this now and not on the eve of his leaving. They are growing up --so-o-o- fast. We are watching videos as we (attempt) to transfer them onto DVD that are bringing the reality of how fast they change home to me too. Hug your babies, your toddlers, elementary school and middle school students! They are so precious.