Days gone by...

The Shraders are wrapping up a unit on Pioneers in our little one-room schoolhouse (OK, technically we have more than one-room....but we do most of our schoolwork in one!). For my Little House on the Prairie heart (and daughter who follows closely closely in those footsteps!), it has been a wonderfully fun way to kick off our school year! I think the boys have enjoyed it almost as much as the girls.

We started with a candle-making project that made us all smile. It was so much fun to see the candle come together from a block of wax that melted clear to a beautiful blue, vanilla smelling wonder! All at the hands of my crew!

Mason breaking the block of wax into manageable bits.

Pouring the candle.

From there we traveled to the grocery store -- in our van, much to Claire's dismay we do not own a covered wagon. Once at the store, the kids had to purchase groceries for our week that contained NO additives or preservatives. Needless to say, we came home with a lot of fresh produce!



They did however, make fresh peanut butter by grinding peanuts at our grocery store and picked up some fresh jams to try with that. It wasn't until we began fixing lunch that we realized if we wanted to try those delicacies, we would need to bake some bread! So that was our next project. I must say the fresh-baked bread was a hit with the whole household and it has been requested that we repeat that assignment....again....and again!

Benjamin was the master dough kneader!

Finally, we wrapped up our study with a field trip to the Pioneer Museum right here in Phoenix. It was hot....and of course the structure of the museum was a Pioneer Town, and there was lots of walking involved. But that just added to the reality of the difficulty of life for pioneers. Afterward, we had a lovely picnic lunch of homemade bread, peanut butter and jam! Yummy!!

Claire agrees with me that we are thankful NOT to have to wash our clothes using this wringer.

A cute deposit at the bank (as you can see from Cate's goldfish, everyone did not adhere to our preservative-free eating all week!)

Pioneer Spidey?

You can take the kids to the frontier....but water play will still be their favorite activity!

Oh, how happy are we to live in 2009 and a world with much better wheelchairs!

We have learned so much and I think we will all hate to see this unit come to an end. Hopefully, we have learned much about being resourceful and finding the blessing in living simply -- a lesson I pray won't be forgotten too soon!

My favorite part of the museum -- the little white church.

Pioneer Shraders!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Wade!!

To celebrate my wonderful Wade turning 40....

These, my sweet husband, are just some of the things I love about you...

1. I'll start with the easy ones first...your eyelashes! (So thankful you passed those on to all four of our kiddos!)

2. Your dimples -- I love to see you smile!

3. The fact that you remember all the little details of our dates...even those that were 21 years ago!!

4. The way you plan our Disney trips to ensure everybody gets to do everything on their favorites list and then throw in surprises that we don't even know exist!

5. That you are my biggest fan -- from the days when I was job-hunting and you could write cover letters to make anyone give me an interview, to the belief in my Mommy-skills when we brought three tiny babies home at once and then eight years later added one more, to the support you give me in this home schooling adventure.

6. The drive and determination with which you do everything you do -- from your days of studying at MSU to Medical School, to being the best Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, I know!!

7. Your love for all things maroon -- and your unwavering loyalty to Mississippi State even though we've moved all around the country!

8. The Papa Bear you become when protecting Benjamin, Mason, Claire and Cate!

9. That people matter to you -- and you remember names of everyone you meet.

10. The fun we have together whether we are exploring the countryside of England or riding Splash Mountain!

11. That when I make Peanut Butter Milkshakes you act like I am a culinary genius.

12. The way you never meet a dog that doesn't love you -- even when owners say they are "fierce"!

13. That you treat my baby brother like he is YOUR baby brother.

14. That you believe all the woes in the world are solved when I rub your head.

15. That you seek God's face when making decisions for our family.

16. That you still remember all the plays from your years playing high school football...

17. And still hate that I never saw you play in person.

18. That you know I prefer a new book to flowers any day...and that is what you have always brought me when you bring a surprise!

19. That you recognize every song on the radio -- and know who sang it and usually when it came out!

20. The way you can call the penalty in every football game you watch before the commentators even realize a flag has been thrown.

21. The way you care for your patients and see your children in every child you treat.

22. That because your calling as a pedi orthopedic surgeon requires so many hours away from us...you refuse to participate in any hobbies that would require not being with us!

23. That I can't tell who is having more fun when you and the kids get off rides at Disneyland!

24. When you travel for work, you always spend some of the trip investigating whether this would be an accessible place for us to visit!

25. That you told me when the triplets were babies that you would be happy eating cereal for supper every night....because you didn't want to add any stress to my day.

26. That I know if I needed it, you would still be OK eating that! :)

27. Your fuzzy hair.

28. That you find information about all your kids' interests -- from comic books to American Girl dolls -- you know it all!

29. Your laugh -- especially when you are laughing out loud with some silly movie!

30. That no matter how many times you watch "Christmas Vacation" you laugh that laugh we love!

31. You are the smartest person I know.

32. That your heart was as affected by our mission trip to Mexico as mine...

33. And you have already scheduled our return next year!

34. Even though you weren't thrilled with the decision to purchase Pluto...you love him as much as anyone else in the family -- and he loves you the MOST!

35. That you do not take your cell phone or pager with us on vacations!!

36. That no matter how many times you have seen "The Fugitive", it still makes you have nightmares every time!

37. Your fear of snakes...

38. That you are FINALLY 40...and I'm not alone in this club!

39. That you are the best Daddy in the world!

40. And an absolute blessing as a husband!!

Happy Birthday, my wonderful Wade!

I love you so!

Carol

Back to School

I promised my Benjamin in the hospital that we would not start school until after Labor Day. And I kept my promise. But man, I think we were all past ready! (Especially Baby Cate who kept telling me we HAD to start home school 'cause she needs to learn her numbers so she can call her Grammie on the phone!)

So yesterday was the day...and with two days under our belt...can I just say that...I need a nap.

But, I should also probably say that I love it. Love it. And the kids do, too! What a blessing to be together -- through the good, the bad and the math!!

A definite lack of hipness...

I blog. I Facebook. I have a laptop. Sometimes, I even carry said laptop around -- well, technically before today I had only carried it from my kitchen desk to the kitchen table to the cuddle chair with my baby Cate (yea, the Facebook addiction gets that bad!)...but I had carried it around.

Today though. Well, today, I actually put it in a bag and carried it across town. I used it in my meetings (really, I know, I don't have meetings. But alas, today I did. Weird, right?), and then packed it back up to take to lunch -- I was after all going to be eating all alone, in a little cafe with WiFi...I thought it would be soooo hip to blog from there. Like. I. am. hip.

Computer unpacked. Salad delivered. I am all a tither.

And nothing. The laptop was dead and in my eagerness to be...um...did I say it?...hip...I didn't even consider bringing the power cord.

So alas. I feel the need to confess my utter lack of hipness, my friends. And if only I were blogging about my utter lack of hips....then I would have a blessing indeed!! If only...