Monday, November 23, 2015

Homestead Happenings - Oct 2015

 October was a whirlwind. Rina went on her first homeschool field trip at 5 months old. We were able to go to Fort Henrietta Park in Echo, OR. We are standing in front of the first Umatilla County jail.



 My friend, Leanne, took this pic of Rina and I in front of the jail. My sister and I used to joke about being in "baby jail" when we were nursing. I now find that nursing forces me to take a moments of much needed downtime all throughout the day. I've learned to embrace it. It is so fleeting.
We were also able to visit the "Chinese House" where Chinese railroad workers once stayed. It was so interesting. Lots of local artifacts donated or dug up from privies and other historical sites were stored in this museum.
We had the great privilege of dedicating Rina back to the Lord. What a blessing to have such a supportive family and church to help Rina on her spiritual journey. Pastor Paul Parker presided.
Stacie sang "That's your Mother's Prayer" to Rina for me, since I knew I would be too emotional to get through the song. She did a great job!
Decon Tom Burton prayed for us.
Playing with Papa when we got home.
Josiah and Hailey
First family photo (finally!), Rina 5 mos, Josiah 12, Hailey 8
Rina is blessed with supportive family and friends who are committed to help her on her spiritual journey as she grows.
Awww, the life of a homeschooled kid when Daddy has the day off.
Josiah is officially a Boy Scout now and loving it. He's already learning so much. I think we found his niche!
Josiah took this picture of Rina sleeping, I thought it was rather good. Love the natural lighting in this photo. Those sweet eyelashes stand out beautifully.
Josiah is old enough to pack Rina around in the front pack! She loves it whenever she gets to hang with her big bro .

We continued our tradition of trick or treating the elderly at a local assisted living center. We remembered this couple and their cute little dog that can do tricks from last year. Our friend, Mindy, made this "Tangled" costume for her daughter and then passed it on to Hailey. She loved wearing it!
Friends from church and our homeschool co-op joined us at home for the elderly. We all love trick or treating for a purpose, to bring joy to the residents. They just light up around these kids and of course seeing the babies always makes their day.
Of course we had to stop by Grandma Kricket's house to trick or treat her. Mom got a kick out of Rina's onesie which reads, "I'm so cute it's scary".

Whew, if feels good to be making some headway on all our projects. We finally got rid of the nasty yellow carpet in the living room. Yes, I'm doing the happy dance! We still have to get rid of it in the homeschool room and the bedrooms, but at least the living area is done and not a moment too soon as Rina is starting to roll and scoot all over the place. I've been learning how to spray paint furniture and make a distressed look, and I've been having fun brightening up the place with some pops of color. If I can make a place look cute and homey to me, then I can live and be content anywhere.  Yep, even in a 1975 double wide trailer. I'm hoping to do a post soon showing you all the legal fun I've been having with spray paint.

God Bless,
Jackie

5 comments:

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

What a fun month and busy month you've had. Rina is just so cute and glad Josiah is a good big brother to her! I know you're glad to get the old carpet out...long time to have it in there. We've been here 26 years as of next month and I can't wait to get the carpet out! Not sure what I want to replace it with but something much better! One of these years! Glad you had a good time at the assisted living home with your homeschool buddies. I stopped in to see a few people where my mom used to live in the nursing home near hallowe'en...had to go through the hall of horrors that my mom liked....it was bittersweet. Hugs my dear.

Nikki said...

Always LOVE to see what you are all up to. Your little one is growing so fast. She is looking more and more like her older sister. I just had to mention if that is an Ergo she should not face out. There are a number of carriers that you can do that with but not with an Ergo. Just don't want anything to happen and me not to have spoken up so as not to be annoying. I am a baby wearing mama and just want her to be safe. :)

Camille said...

Your little Rina is a doll!! What a blessing you have such great homeschool opportunities nearby. The museum looks wonderful. May the Lord give you and Michael much wisdom and grace and strength as you raise up your three lovely children for His glory. So wonderful to see that you were able to dedicate your Rina to our loving Heavenly Father...He is faithful. He will be with you each step of the journey. With love, Camille

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

Actually, Nikki. On closer inspection, she isn't in the Ergo. She is in the front pack "Snuggly". I will change that on this post so I don't scare anyone else :)

aimee said...

Loved seeing the historic places--I will always, always have an interest in places like that! Your kids are all SO adorable and I think it's great for babies to be dedicated to God (I have always regretted that we didn't do that with our youngest).
I was happy to get rid of our wall to wall blue carpet as well. We ended up with laminate flooring in most places, but that might be too hard on little Rina's knees (can't believe how fast she's growing up). We do love it though and it's easy to clean.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
God bless,
Aimee
PS: Congrats to Josiah--I was a Girl Scout when I was a kid:)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails