A pictorial tribute to motherhood

Awesome FHE lesson/activity about pioneers

A treasure hunt! We're going to have fun tonight! (And talk about what jobs we have to do in our family.)

Instructions: Cut out or copy all the Pioneer Fact cards. Hide #2 by the kitchen sink; #3 in a toy box or closet; #4 on the stairs or front steps; #5 in the oven; #6 in the freezer; #7 on the kitchen or dining-room table; #8 in the bathtub or shower stall; #9 by the piano, record player, or radio; and the treasure itself (a small prize or treat) in a pantry or cupboard. If a clue doesn’t fit your home, change it or leave it out. Give fact card # 1 to treasure hunters to begin search.

Pioneer Fact #1
Pioneers used to drink from streams. They didn’t have running water like we do. Where do we get our drinks?


Pioneer Fact #2
Pioneers made up games to play as they traveled. Because they left most of their toys behind, they had to make their own toys from things that they found. Where do we keep our toys?


Pioneer Fact #3
As the pioneers traveled, they came to many mountains and hills. Climbing them was hard work! What do we have to climb every day?


Pioneer Fact #4
The pioneers traveled in all kinds of weather. Sometimes it was very hot! Where in our house can we turn on something to make it very, very hot?


Pioneer Fact #5
Pioneers also encountered cold so bitter that it cost many of them their lives. Where is it freezing cold in our house?


Pioneer Fact #6
Pioneers didn’t have homes to eat in. They cooked over open fires and ate their meals outside. Where do we eat our meals?


Pioneer Fact #7
Pioneers didn’t have bathtubs. They took their baths in rivers and streams. Where do we take baths?


Pioneer Fact #8
After a long day’s travel, the pioneers pulled their wagons into a circle, then built campfires. Often they sang and danced around these fires. Where do we sing and dance?


Pioneer Fact #9
The pioneers seldom had enough to eat. They were often hungry and had to ration food. We are lucky to have so much to eat. The treasure will be found where our food is stored.

For all you mothers

Anna's ballet recital

Anna's ballet recital

Anna's ballet recital

Our goings on

The tower of the playset is functioning, with slide and ladder, but the roof has yet to be added. (To start the ladder, we had to build a couple retaining walls, on the side and back of the structure, and bring up the level of the dirt. That was quite a task. Everything since then has gone a lot quicker.

Mike primed the walls in the basement bathroom that we gutted and have been re-doing. It will be nice to someday have a working toilet down there again, and eventually a shower.

All of our flower seeds have germinated and we are going to have a beautiful garden in another month! Of course, the environment was also perfect for weeds, which went to seed last summer, leaving us plenty of work there. The maple tree also planted plenty of babies for us, and pulling out those seedlings is a never-ending struggle.

Pictures

Easter egg hunt at grandma and grandpa's
Jonathan asleep on the stairs
Tree climbing in the backyard
OUR NEW LIGHT FIXTURE! :)

Snowmageddon, Part II

Some numbers to accompany the pictures:
Total inches measured in the middle of our front yard: 27.5
Inches of snow on the SIDE of Josh's car (yes, sticking straight out): 11 (I had to see that one to believe it!) Yes, we've got some wet snow here!
This snow ranks #4 apparently because DCA only got 17.8". Dulles airport, which is right next-door here, got 32.4"... a little more along the lines of what we're experiencing!
It has only snowed more than 12" 13 times since 1870... We've experienced two of those!
The worst snow on record was 28" in 1922.
So, church has been canceled and the public schools have canceled for Monday and Tuesday already. We're supposed to get more snow on Tuesday and Wednesday also, then again on Valentine's day...
Josh and Mike (Josh's brother who is living with us right now) are out clearing off the cars. By shoveling last night, this morning, and several times during the day, we've managed to keep a path to the street open, but didn't even touch the cars.

The shadows cast by the porch light make some great pictures to see the fun that was had today. I'll catch some of those and post them... after I finish feeding Ryan. Got to love the typing one-handed trick! What impresses me is that with all the tromping around, you still can't see the ground anywhere except where I tunneled down to make a cave!

And to think we left Michigan, thinking we were leaving this kind of weather behind!

Snowmageddon