Spontaneous Ferry Ride and Fossil Dig

Last weekend Brian had an idea... a simple drive to the oldest town in NC and a ferry ride!! A fun, quickly planned outing for us;)

So we packed snacks, reading material for the drive (we love reading in the car) and the camera:) LOL!

On the ferry was great! Hanging out together and watching the water... and we saw some dolphins;) Too cool!

Once across the river, we headed into fossil territory... aka Aurora and the phosphate mines. Through extensive excavating of the land, many unique sea creature remains have been found and donated to a museum in Aurora.

The museum was mostly bones with some descriptions and a movie describing the local mines where a lot of the fossils were found. The kids though they were all about the "big dig" outside!!! A lot sized dirt pile from the Aurora mines:)

Yes! Mom and Dad got into the hunt as well!! We couldn't let them have all the fun:)

And we all found some cool finds:)

This find ended up being a type of lemon shark tooth!

Nate found shark teeth too but was sure proud of the feather he found;) LOL!

More shark teeth! We all found plenty!

After the kids had spent an hour or so in the dirt pile (and we promised them we'd come back!!), we loaded back up in the van to head home. We got to the port early and it was cool to watch the ferry come in loaded with vehicles.

We're not really good at spur-of-the-moment trips, so this was a little different for us! But we pulled it off and had a GREAT time!

Gotta love summer road trips...even when you don't go too far!

The Blessing of Seeing the Fruit

This week we did a Spring tradition for us....

STRAWBERRY Picking;)

Chris in 2008 - eating from my picked bucket:)

We've done it every year:) Every year....

 I've done it preggo and  with a 12 month old. And then the following year with a 24 month old, 6 month old and preggo with another one (LOL!!). The next year it was an almost 3 yr old, 18 month old and 5 month old (that was just crazy!!)....

and on and on....

There were some years and times I thought I was crazy... no, I knew I was crazy! The pictures were adorable but often it was
LESS than fun. Remember.. pictures are only 1/50 of a second or less... they don't always capture the whole story;)

And the mess... I just came to expect it:) But the kids were messy! I just smiled and remembered that the hose at home was easy to hook up and everything was washable:)

This year was different.... WAY different!!

We'd had a long afternoon running errands and meeting up with people. The kids were tired, thirsty and tired!! And really, the idea of strawberry picking was quickly becoming "a bad idea". But the kids begged to go (mixed in with Nate's fussing b/c he was tired).

I lowered my expectations to... lets get a few strawberries, some "strawberry pickn pics" and be on our way... quick, easy, no quota:)

I was quickly surprised at the kids' abilities. They knew what to do, what NOT to do, they went down the rows looking for the ripest berries like pros, no complaining...

IT. WAS. AWESOME!!

We picked and picked;) No quota but we came home with plenty for the weekend:)

And if only the berries and great attitudes were the measure of a great time than is was a successful trip, but I heard from the back of the van, "This has been a great day!"

I could concur:)  I was thrilled about something else too.

I was seeing the fruit of those many crazy years of dragging little ones down the strawberry rows so we could "stock the freezer". In my head I knew that the years were "training years"  but often my heart was distracted by the behavior or trying to make some "quota" or accomplish some temporary goals.

You know... those years were hard! I didn't always have the right attitude. I didn't always have a good game plan trying to go in between naps and meals. But I still tried year after year... doing something that was supposed  be fun... wondering if it ever would be "fun"!

I was exciting to see the fruit of those training trips!!! I look forward to more strawberry patch trips this season... and  maybe get to stock the freezer???

But it definitely challenges me to keep training...

I'm not  out of those "training years" yet! Motherhood can be challenging but I wonder how many more things we will soon be able to enjoy more as a family if I remain faithful to train my precious crew!!

For those who care there are also more pics of our picking this year... including Anna's biggest berry, Nate looking grown and  a furry member of the family who also likes strawberries:)

Using Halloween to Serve Others

While most of our "Halloween" festivities included churches Fall Festivals, we did join our local home school group in a Reverse Trick-or-Treat at a local Rehabilitation Center/Home.


When the families planned for the year, one mother suggested that the kids serve our local rehab center by dressing up the kiddos and letting them hand out candy to the residents. I have to admit I was a little skeptical of MY kids being comfortable enough around the much older residents and my 2 yr old giving other candy from his basket...

especially since he definitely does not share his stash with his siblings:/

I gave the kids some "pep talks" about showing love to the residents and how excited they might be to having a younger child speak to them and show them kindness. About how some residents might be "sick" and not respond or act sleepy and that they just needed to be sweet and patient. And I sang them a bit of the Audio Adrenaline song "Hands and Feet" to remind them that they are showing love by a simple act of service.

And then we were off:)

At first they were a little hesitant about approaching residents.... but then they were all over the place handing out their treats:)

As a bystander watching my kids be generous and kind was precious. Memories of Chris running from room to room trying to find another resident to give candy to or Nate digging through his bag of lollipops to pick out a certain color for each resident... just too sweet.

The SKUNK was a hit, by the way; everyone had to "meet" the skunk;)

And when some EMS/transport guys came walking through the hall, you know the kids had to bless them with candy as well;)

>

It was a great experience for everyone.... and yes, some kids did "sneak" some candy (Nate was definitely the 1st!!!) but after how "generous" they all were, I think they deserved a little treat:)

And I look forward to more ways to get my kids serving others through our home schooling group and individually!!

Since I've not shared our official we are dressed up for Halloween... I'll share it now:/  I'm not a big Halloween celebrator but we certaintly had fun this year at various church festivities, this service event, pumpkin carving at home and making pumpkin cookies with friends:)

 My two little cowgirls, a pirate and a skunk;)

Making Time for Friends... party, parks and strawberry picking

One of the biggest struggles and challenges I have gone through since living in a small, somewhat older town and home schooling my kids is loneliness. There have been YEARS that I have prayed for friends with young children who wanted a friendship to encourage, support and spend time together.

I have been blessed to see God answer those prayers through new families move into our area, new friendships made with people over unique circumstances, our home schooling group and a sweet young librarian who created little reading programs at our library where I connected with other young families.

Last week we were surrounded by friends on different days for different occasions.... and I saw just how blessed we were! And I was reminded of the effort that needs to be made to make these friends and hold onto their friendships.

On Tuesday we had our sweet neighbors over to celebrate Nate's birthday! It was a very small "party". Just one family over to play and have snacks. The snack theme was "Nate's Favorites" and his "cake" for this gathering was a Honey Bun since he wasn't eating his cupcakes :(

This family totally loved on us. Bringing us very thoughtful gifts, even helium balloons that we had NOT been able to purchase for the party and safe snacks!! We are so grateful to them for their willingness to celebrate Nate's birthday on a day that is dear to them as well!! They are such an inspiration!

And playtime on the Gator.... also Nate's favorite thing:) He's become quite the driver!

On Wednesday we met up with some friends who had recently moved away. It was fun seeing the kids happily playing again and being able to catch up with them while catching the little ones! Another family that will soon be "neighbors" was also there... I really look forward to being closer to them, they are a precious family.

Friday morning we set out to pick strawberries. Being reminded to make the effort to connect with others we invited some friends to meet up with us, we were very glad to have others join us... both at the patch and a little down time at a picnic area;)

we were amazed at the beautiful berries in Nate's bucket... how did he get such nice ones??

From Momma's container, of course;)

Angela's Titus covered in berries

And then we headed to the park for snack, playing and bubbles!

Thankful for our friends, both new and old:) And thankful for the reminder to make an effort to spend time with them:)

We did do school last week, too!! I'm sure after the post about being outside in the morning and now all these adventures you might be wondering;) LOL!! Our Weekly Wrap Up post is in the works:)

SOOC : The Chickens & Clowns at the Parade;)

This week we attended the community Christmas Parade. It was very different for us though because for at least the last 4 years we have been on a float or in a vehicle representing our church. But this year nothing was planned and so we got to watch the whole parade... kind of sad, but kind of nice to be able to enjoy it!

This was Nate's first parade and he was excited about the candy:)

About half way through my older kids started looking for places to "hide"...

from this coming down the road.

My kids are "scared" of clowns so they hid in the new deli in town with the deli's owner, peeking out with them;)

I'm not afraid of clowns.. but I have to say that these were a little creepy looking, or is it just me/us?

A parade in our town is never complete without a tractor or two:)

And my crazy kids... covering their ears from all the marching bands and rescue vehicles sounding their sirens;)

Anna covering her ears and notice Chris covering his in the background... LOL!!

For as small as our town is the parade is always really nice and well attended. I love that soo many of my neighbors and I get to see each other and catch up a bit, too!!