Here's something new for the kiddos!

Go to http://www.vocalpoint.com/mottsfortots

 

 

for a free sample while supplies last!

A Beautiful Spring Day

Here's some fun we had today

Ummm....I'm not too sure guys......

Ok, that's better!

 

Reading Plan for 2011

Here are my reading selections for 2011 (some are children's - I'm working through what I missed when I was a kid):

Fiction:

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Avonlea

Anne of the Island

Anne of Windy Poplars

Sense and Sensibility

Emma

Mansfield Park

Northanger Abbey

Persuasion

Lady Susan

The Magician's Nephew

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Horse and His Boy

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Silver Chair

The Last Battle

The Forty-Two Tales (Edgar Allen Poe)

Robinson Crusoe

Jane Eyre

Wuthering Heights

Black Beauty

Gone Away Lake

Return to Gone Away Lake

The Secret Garden

By the Shores of Silver Lake

Winnie-the-Pooh

The Hobbit

Johnny Tremain

The Borrowers

The Railway Children

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Non-fiction:

The Bible (I'm not trying to get through it all, just reading each day)

Desiring God

My Life for Your's

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God

Spiritual Mothering

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

The Holiness of God

The Power of a Praying Wife

Shepherding a Child's Heart

The Age of Opportunity

The Book of Virtues

The Valley of Vision

Total Truth

Twelve Extraordinary Women

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World

Beautiful Girlhood

For the Children's Sake

For the Family's Sake

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

Open Heart, Open Home

Disciplines of a Godly Woman

Family Practice

A Charlotte Mason Companion

Home Education (Charlotte Mason)

A Philosophy of Education (Charlotte Mason)

I'll be updating my side bar as I complete a book, let's see how far I actually get......8-)

A New Year

I am excited to be in a new year. Shortly after my previous post, our lives took an unexpected turn last year - during which time I did not post to this blog. A number of factors were involved in not writing at the time and now looking back I'm glad for the absence of posts. It's nice to look back on our time in Iowa through the pictures and writings that are here and remember the happiness and joy of the children, how wonderful it was to have our first home, to see our garden, etc. without any of the negative time documented. 8-)

Now, here we are in a new year with hopeful expectations for the time ahead of us. 2010 closed with great provision from the Lord and the blessing of hope renewed, I look forward to the year ahead!

Latin For Children FREEBIE!!!

For all of you homeschoolers out there - go here to enter a free giveaway of the ENTIRE Latin For Children Level A Bundle!!!!! It's worth over $100!!!

Corn and green bean growth in only 1 week:

Garden Update

Here's the growth so far:

It's very windy in Iowa:

Tomato plants:

Cucumbers:

Watermelon:

I want this (click image to see whole pic):

You can find it at here at Pottery Barn Kids

It's insanely expensive. However, thanks to Ana at KnockOff Wood - hopefully Dave will be able to build us one. Someday. Click here to see the plans for the Cubby Media Wall from Ana's site.

The kiddos

Little Will

I need to get some even newer photos of the Willster, but for now these will have to do.

Summer Garden 2010

This summer is my first real gardening attempt since we've moved to Iowa. I tried last summer and did get some tomatoes, but due to the pregnancy - I really didn't get a chance to do what I wanted to last year. Sorry it needs to be weeded again...but anyway - Here's this year's crop list:



1. Tomatoes - 14 plants

2. Sugar Snap Peas - 40 plants (they're planted along this fence, hopefully this picture will look entirely different in about 6-8 weeks!)



3. Bush Green Beans - (all in the square foot garden - see below)

4. Strawberries - 11 plants (but only 3 look like they're going to make it....)

5. Watermelon - 6 plants

6. Corn - (all in square foot garden - see below)

7. Carrots - (but I'm not really holding much hope for these guys....they're also in the sq. ft garden but I don't think we made it deep enough for the carrots....)

8. Cucumbers - 6 plants

Later this month I'll be planting 3 different varieties of pumpkins for the kiddos in the fall - and for decorating! We'll also plant broccoli later in the summer for the fall harvest as well.

We're also experimenting with the square foot garden this summer. Here's our first square for the sq. ft. garden:

This square is holding:
Tomatoes - 2 plants
Carrots - 12 plants
Bush Green beans - 81 plants (yes that's not a typo!)
Corn - 12 plants

Right now our corn and the first crop of green beans we planted have all sprouted and are doing well. I planted a second harvest of green beans about 2 1/2 weeks later than the first batch, so hopefully those will be sprouting soon too!

Here are links to some other sq. ft gardens - let's hope we are just as successful!
Tim's Square Ft. Garden
Steve's Garden
My Sq. Ft. Garden

And you'll definitely want to go here: Garden Girl for all the how-to's and video you'll ever need if you'd like to sq. ft. garden along with the Block's!

I've also planted these in the front yard (but no pics yet):

1. Shasta Daisies

2. Zinnias

3. Marigolds

In the backyard we've dug a sunflower garden for the kids, with 3 different types/colors of sunflowers. Back row - 8 ft high, middle row 6 ft high, front row 4 ft high. Right now it's a pile of dirt: