Snakes and Chickens and Birds, Oh My! (Summer Fun 2013)

Summertime flew by faster than usual and we managed to fill it to the brim!  How do you cram a whole summer into one blog post?  I'm not sure but I guess I'll have to try.

We were delighted this spring when a mommy robin decided to build her nest on our front porch.  Going in and out of the front door or talking on the porch didn't seem to bother her at all as she sat patiently on her nest.

While she was out getting worms for her babies, 

we quickly snapped this shot of her first hatched baby.

In just two short weeks, these are what her two babies looked like.

What a display of our Creator's handiwork!

Then one day the nest was empty.

Summer started off with snakes as the cold spring weather kept the snakes hidden until summer was about to begin.  Usually they swarm in the spring and the children were waiting anxiously for the snake wrangling to begin.  No, I do NOT like snakes but I must admit that watching the children handle them so much does make them a tad bit less creepy.  Just a tad.

Once snakes became old hat we dove into the Summer Reading Club, catching up with the library mascot and scouring the library bookshelves for decent books we haven't already read.

I enjoyed watching Tom play on the church softball team, a game he hadn't played in about two decades.  He also managed to fence in our vacant lots, acquire a few rental properties and work on them with the boys, and maintain the cars in between practicing law and teaching business law courses with three different online schools!  (That last one requires a LOT of Diet Pepsi!)

 

Of course there was time for tree climbing,

entertaining little ones in unconventional ways,

and berry picking in our own backyard!

The neighborhood children were at our place a lot this summer for everything from hair braiding to water gun fights to washing cars to sprinkler fun.

Little Mama picked a lot of lettuce for our salads from her little garden,

and Biggest Brother learned how to use the electric saw. 

Every Fourth of July the children look forward to handing out Gospel tracts at the parade then watching the parade and fireworks.  This year they handed out Are You a Good Person? (among other tracts) and were able to see the truth of Proverbs 20:6 as many people eagerly took the tracts and loudly proclaimed, "Yes I am!"

Something else exciting happened this summer--Tom was able to get Miss Daisy running again!  It seemed she needed more than just an alternator and it took a lot of investigative work to figure out why her clutch failed.  Tom eventually discovered the problem and she didn't need a new clutch--just a small part that took many, many, many, attempts to replace.

Here she is at Culver's on her first post-repair drive to celebrate Tom's softball game and the fact that she was running again.

We just had to dance about that!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Superchick and Chick-a-Mercedes were sold for parts so Tom could focus on the more productive vehicles.  

A moment of silence please.

A family from our church who sells us farm fresh eggs invited us over to see their chickens and how they raise them.  The children got to hold them, feed them and learn about them, too!

Lil' Chunkers loves the movie Chicken Run 

but wasn't so sure about real chickens!

Love how the round tummy accentuates the Spidey eyes!

Biggest Brother taught Little Big Brother how to use the push mower,

we made our own jam for the first time,

SissyMom made a wonderful trifle for my birthday,

Nana and Papa came to babysit,

and Grandma Connie came for a brief but fun visit.

  

We were happy to have her at our Shabbat table again!

Now it's time to gear up for another homeschool year and fall time weather changes.  And while I'm knee deep in curriculum, notebooks, check lists, portfolios and clothing to give away or put in storage for a younger child, it's nice to look forward to the cooler weather that will, Lord willing, bring trips to the local orchards, holiday evangelism opportunities, and Daddy-ventures!