Getting ready for the new year

  We had an amazing Christmas this year.  We celebrated early with my sister's family, though my sister was not able to be here, who drove from KY.  We had my niece, who I haven't seen since she was about 5 years old, drive down from NY with her boyfriend. And my dad came from VA (my mom was not able to make it).  It was a fun filled night!!!  I really wish I had taken more pictures.  

  Christmas morning started on the later side..around 9 AM or so.  The girls used to spend the night sleeping around the tree, but times are changing. Flannery said she was too old, her back was hurting! Moira, well, she's in her own place with her own tree. Bella and Liam came home late from visiting family.  So this year it was Saoirse, Merida (she lasted half the night), and the boys.  

   Everyone agrees that it just didn't feel like the Christmas season this year.  None of us can put our fingers on it.  I will say that this was one of the most calm Christmases we've had.  Usually I am beyond ready to jump back into our 'normal' after all the celebrating.  That is not the case this year.

   We've had a slew of kiddos being sick, or spending some time in the ER. No worries, all is fine.  Thankfully, nothing serious for anyone.  Last year at this time we were eating horribly! We changed up our diet back in April, so I guess I am a bit surprised by how often they have come down with stuff. Though this year the illnesses have been minor compared to last years. But still...can we have an illness free winter? 

   Going back to the fact that I don't feel like I need to jump back into 'normal'. Part of that is that I am usually waiting for the new year to start fresh. This year has most certainly been different.  I purposely did not wait until a certain time, or date, to start things.  And instead of just trying to start all fresh for January, I've been slowly, little by little, making changes.  Though the diet change was instant, we didn't wait until a certain time.  We will be making some smaller changes starting this week.  I've been getting in shape slowly over the past year and a half.  I've added in a new program just a few weeks ago.  Schooling, again, been making small changes through the year. Tweaking things to make them work for us.

   I plan on writing more about those small changes coming up. For now, I leave with a few pictures that I have of the past few days.

I will have to look for pictures that others took.  This is the only group shot I have. 

We had an amazing tablescape, along with snowflakes hanging from the ceiling.  Moira put it all together.  Trees, animals, and lights in the middle of the table.

A fun puzzle my friend gave us.  It was a QRC code that you scanned and could win money. We won a whopping 25 cents!!  Ha!

Kids waiting to open presents!!  We had Moira and Adam over for Christmas Eve, and exchanged gifts with them.

We start with stockings.

Flannery and Saoirse waiting their turn to open a gift. 

Minecraft is still all the rage!

My gifts, already broken in :-)  A half gallon water bottle and a mini trampoline.

Jed wanted a picture with his stocking goodies.

My camera is finally fixed!

 It took a while, but I finally got my camera fixed!  Now I have to get used to using it!  Someone in one of the homeschool groups I follow on FB asked what others do for outside time for their kids.  She asked for pictures, if we had any. So I came here to this space to dig some up.  And as I did so I realized that a lot of the things I was recommending, we no longer had!  Oh my mommy heart!  My kids keep growing up!  We may not have some of the things that I recommended, but we have other things.  I went outside to just take a look around.

Our new back porch. We finished this this past summer.  We hung up some Bistro lights that unfortunately one of the dogs chewed through the cord.  Sigh.  Until we get a gate to put at the top of the stairs we won't be getting new ones, or putting furniture out there.  I was hoping to utilize this space during the cooler months to sit out there to eat, or do school. 

A new fort is being made!  We already have one, but the boys LOVE building forts.  I'm all for it.  What ever it takes for them to not be glued to the computers!  This is an old ladder for a bunk bed.  

They nailed a bunch of planks of wood between the limbs for seating.  I am waiting for the railings to be put up! I do not trust a certain child to be up there and be safe.  

They tried using the tire swing this summer, but we had some of the Asian hornets hanging out there for the sap that was running from the tree.  We had to get rid of them first.  Thankfully they are not quick to sting, but their sting is BAD when they do so.  

You can't see them in the picture, but Aubrey strung up some battery operated lights to decorate this space. 

Any walk around our property is not complete without an entourage of cats and chickens!  Here are a few of our brown tabbies. In the background you can just make out one of our newer cats, he's black and white.  We got two cats from a group that gives away free feral barn cats. They explained to us that the cats will never be really human friendly as they have been feral their whole lives. Well, they don't know the determination that Saoirse has for taming cats!  It didn't take her long, a week maybe, for them to be coming up to her. We had them live inside for about 2 months.  Then we slowly integrated them to the outside crew of cats.  And now, no one would know the difference. They both come running up to us like the other cats when we come outside. They curl up with the other cats. They will crawl up on your lap to get attention like our other cats. So much for being feral!

The old fort. Still being used. You can make out, in the foreground, what looks like a black rod with red caps. This is the end of the zip line. The beginning of the zip line is up by the fort where you see the ladder up front, and an orange strap from the tree.  They get up on the plank at the top of the ladder, hook themselves up, and zip to the end.  This is not just a park zipline. They have to wear a helmet, and have a harness to be able to ride this thing!  

 

I was trying to get a picture that shows how long the line is, but you really can't tell from the pictures. 

We have very silly chickens. The boys always ask me why the chickens come running up to me. In the above picture I was trying to take a picture of our cats, and I feel my toes being pecked!  They come running for two reasons...1. I don't chase them, like the boys do.  And 2. I bring them treats!  They will eat out of my hand, and will apparently try to eat my toes as well!

One of the chickies.  Even though we secured the barn, we still had predators knock off too many of our chickens. I think we bought about 45 chicks last year. We now only have like 26 chickens left. Thankfully after a few more adjustments we haven't lost any recently.  We will bring up our numbers with new chicks come spring.

Can't resist taking a picture of our road.  The pictures never do it justice. I love the long shadows in the fall/winter.  The streaks of light seem all the brighter.  Today and the next couple of days are supposed to be very mild temp wise...I think around 70 degrees.  We have family coming for a Christmas gathering, so we will be out there cleaning things up.  It is VERY evident we have lots of kids, and lots of animals! Ha!  It's too bad that we can't train chickens to use one area to do their business in!  Because let me tell you, it's a mine field out there!!