THEIR tree.

A couple of weeks ago, Shaunna, a friend of mine posted pictures of their Christmas tree.

Lots of people are doing so these days, but this one was different than most I see.

It was unlike my usual Christmas Tree even.

Her tree was decorated by her children!

And I am pretty sure it was ONLY her children.

After I got over the initial shock of that wonderful yet awry tree, I was so impressed. 

Soon, it came time for us to put up our Christmas tree!

We live in a part of the world with a Christmas tree farms every couple of miles, but they close at dusk when daddy is still at work so we ended up at the hardware store for a Christmas tree this year! Not so romantic, but it's a tree and the kids were happy.

Next, it was time for decorating it.

I had thought about their tree several times, but it wasn't until the night we decorated ours that I decided. 

This year, the Morris family tree would be decorated by the children by golly!

Oh sure, my kids usually "help" me decorate the tree, but you see, I'm usually the tree master.

When we opened up the boxes of ornaments this year, I helped get them out, but I did not direct, order or re-position a single ornament.

Believe me, it was hard to restrain myself as the ornaments  starting to gather together in clusters(of the same kind even!!!), some barely hanging on, while others met the floor! 

 I stood my ground, sat back and watched as they worked their magic.

And it was magical by the way. 

I found so much pleasure watching as my bunch of happy children {sans the tree boss} were enjoying the decorating. 

They truly enjoyed themselves. 
I just love the look on Justin's face as he sat and admired his work while the others finished up. 

And when their work was done, not only was I content,
they were too. 

Luckily those feelings lingered because the next morning when I heard the crash and I saw it prostrate on the ground thanks to certain little fella (whom I'm pretty sure didn't mean to knock it all the way down,) I picked up the tree, and they chipped in and decorated it, again.

I've finally learned. 

Christmas is for the children, after all.

zoom!

When their tasks and school are done it's free time!!! 

One of their favorite ways to spend their free time on nice days...

The ZIP LINE that Patrick built!

Weeee!!!!!

LEAVES

 LOTS

 AND LOTS

AND LOTS

OF LEAVES!!!!

blessings

cracked

 

Unlike a certain day last week,

this morning I checked my email then quickly turned off the computer.

 

And I kept it off!!!

 

 

ALL

 

 

DAY

 

LONG!

 

 

 2 unattended curious boys - 2 dozen eggs = a very messy lesson.






 

 



dog gone lucky

This weekend we visited my dad and mum out in the country. On Sunday when we came home from church, there was a dog on their property just hanging out that wouldn't leave. It has been around my dad's house hanging out in the yard off and on for weeks. He was a dirty dog but he was still beautiful! He was so excited to be around and was amazing with the kids, even Devon whom was pulling his hair. We tried to run him off but it was no use!

We checked all of the lost dog sites and left info with animal control and the sheriff. We spoke with the neighbors who validated our opinion that he had no owner because they were chasing him off of their properties for weeks also.

 I had a really good feeling we should bring him home and to my surprise, Patrick was on board with very little persuasion!  My mum and dad helped encourage our choice since they were certain he was homeless. We had just decided the day before to start looking for a good dog that is good with kids and chickens so it was perfect timing!

I couldn't help but think of how it was meant to be.

We borrowed a kennel from my dad and took him home. He traveled perfectly. The next day, just to make sure, I took him to get scanned to see if he had a chip since he had no tags.  I just couldn't get over his amazing temperament, obedience and manners. I just had to make sure he didn't have an owner who was missing him before we got too attached. They swiped the scanner over his back and to our dismay, he did! Pet finder told us that he was a 2.5 year old golden retriever named Walter. Why hadn't I thought of doing that BEFORE coming home!?!?

I called the number to inform the owner that her dog was now hundreds of miles away from home, instead of 3 miles! She initially thought we were the pound because he had been brought there before. She was a understandably shocked but told us about how he lives with no fence.  I apologized, told her that we really thought he was homeless, and told her that I would let her know when we would bring him back. She was very understanding considering the situation!

We were more than disappointed and I regretted having taken someone's pure bred  dog. Now I would have to return him! My kids were crushed and so was I.

I was trying to look on the bright side and use the experience to realize that we really wanted a Golden Retriever just like Walter, but I still really had a bit of hope that they may be willing to sell him. I researched how much he might cost and I started to search for another dog to ease the disappointment. Then, when I called back to make arrangements to drive him home in a few weeks, to my surprise, she said that we could buy him from her for what they got him for! I just couldn't believe it!

We are beyond thrilled! He is our first dog so I am researching how best to feed him and what shots are required. Do we fix him or not?  I am trying to figure out how cold it should be before he has to sleep inside so he doesn't freeze. Should we build a dog house, have him sleep it the house or have him sleep in the shed? And then there are the deliberation about if we should rename him or not.
He sits, lays, comes when called, just looks at the chickens while we train him, is house trained and rarely barks. He's a keeper for sure.

We are so glad we found him...and even happier we get to keep him, but I think we will just use Craig's list to find a pet next time!

What matters most.

This message always helps put things into perspective.

http://youtu.be/l70e1TfN34w

I was going to use the time my kids were outside playing to do some research, but on second thought, I think I'll go outside and be with the kids.....

My kids....only cleaner than usual.

Us

...because some people choose not to use Facebook where I already had this posted. ;)

An evaluation from my employers....

Here are the replies of the 3 that can talk...straight out of their mouthes.

Un-cut and honest.....

Which is good.

Mostly.




Justin(8) = J

Anna (6) = A

Dallin (4) = D

 


1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
D- Do your pile
A- I love you
J- I love you

2. What makes Mommy happy?
D- If I do my pile
A- When we do our jobs
J- Hugs

3. What makes Mommy sad?
D- If I don't do my pile (Anyone see a trend here?)
A- When we don't do our jobs and when we play outside when we are not done with our jobs
J- When I hit her

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
D- Says funny jokes to me
A- I don't remember but Devon makes me laugh too much
J- Says funny things and does weird stuff

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
D- Her mom didn't like her going outside when it wasn't freetime
A- You had little people. You were just like you right now but you looked different
J- Cute

6. How old is Mommy?
D- 42 no 44
A- Like 20 or 30. oh yeah. 23. You are 23 right?
J- 34?

7. How tall is Mommy?
D- This tall (spreads out his hands 2 feet wide)
A- Like 20 feet
J- 100 inches

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
D- Play closet time with Devon
A- Cook and be on the puter
J- Hug me

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
D- Go to Trader Joes
A- She bes on the puter
J- Spends time with dad

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
D- Working for food
A- I know what you are famous of. You are famous of cooking. You cook good eggs.
J- Because people like her

11. What is Mommy really good at?
D- Cleaning
A- Drawing pictures like dogs and cats. I don't know how. All I draw is a line and a head.
J- Art drawings

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
D- Doing bathroom cleaning
A- Jumping
J- Umm....Putting the goat back in the pen. Well, I can't think of 1 thing. Oh yea, you are not good at keeping your room clean like you have us do.

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
D- Sweep stuff into piles in the corner
A- You cook for your job. It's your job to cook for us. It's a really hard job.
J- Feed us, keep us entertained.

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
D- Eggs
A- Quiche. Eggs.
J- Fritatta.

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
D- She follows the 10 commandments.
A- By cooking good
J- She loves me

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
D- A Wonderpet. The one that saves baby alligators.
A- A Vegi-tale because they are like Jesus. The blueberry.
J- Strawberry Shortcake.

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
D- Clean outside
A- Spend time cooking and playing. Visit.
J- Cuddle time.

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
D- We both have blood.
A- The same DNA
J- We are related. Same haircolor. Brown.
 
19. How are you and Mommy different?
D- I small and you bigger mom.
A- We were born from a different mom.
J- You have blue. I have brown.

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
D-Cause Heavenly Father loves me and she be kind to me.
A- She cares about my like if there was a car coming you would tell me to stop.
J- You hug me and kiss me and give me food and let me live in your house.

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
D- Trader Joe's mom, Trader Joe's
A- Oooh..Trader Joe's, Costco and Meetings. Oh, and you love to go to homeschool co-op with us. And you love going to church.
J- Mongolian Grill.

cheep fun

 Last weekend, 7 of the chicks hatched and we have been having fun ever since. 

There is a LOT of cheeping going on around here!

 It is an amazing experience to watch new life begin...and end also as one chick that tried to hatch did not make it.
Shortly after the first pipping began, I quickly realized that hatching chicks is recipe for OBSESSION! 

For 2 days straight, all I could think about was CHICKS! 

I was constantly in and out of the room, eyes peeled and watching the progress.

 

I wanted to see one hatch so bad but always just missed it. 

Then at about 10:30 on Saturday night, I decided I was going to watch a chick hatch that had been pipping for a while. By midnight, I just knew that it would hatch at any moment. At least I thought it would!? 

When 3am came around that little chick finally hatched. 

And I was 1 tired mamma when at 8 am I had no choice but to get up....

Plus, I had more chick watching to do!

My kids, especially Justin are LOVING them and have each picked their own out. Luckily they are all so different.

 Justin is holding 'my' chick...the one I stayed up WAY too late for! ;)

 

 Already, in 1 week they went from only fluff to fluff and feathers on their wings.

It's pretty cool to watch them develop. 

The kids are so excited to share the excitement. The chicks even got to Skype with my mom tonight. 
 

This is all great cheep fun for sure!

FLASHBACK!

With a cool job for Patrick and lots of wonder of where the wind would blow us ,God would lead us, on July 21st, 2011 we officially began our journey to an unknown destination.

It was just about the craziest thing we have ever done!

Wait, I take that back.

It WAS the craziest thing we have ever done!

I still have a hard time believing I lived in a travel trailer with 4 young kids for 2 months,

but I have pictures to prove that I did!

Patrick loosing that telecomuting job 2 weeks after leaving Vegas while we were in Medford getting a new transmission in our car was NOT part of our plan, but looking back, it was meant to be.

Getting several interviews and finding a perfect job within 4 days was God's way of helping us find a place to settle down.

It was a MIRACLE and a huge blessing!

We didn't know where we should live, but He did!

It would have been a LOT easier if we would have had a bigger trailer but it's tooo late for that!

Oh, the contrast!

Fitting the basic necessities for a family of 6 into our little tuna can was no easy task, but it was actually pretty fun! 

Like a puzzle even!

I had to find a lot of solutions to lots of challenges that came as a result of living in such a small space, BUT I did get to sit on my bed while cooking dinner!

 Sleeping quarters were tight, but since the kids were all small, they fit just right!!

Each had a sleeping bag they tucked away in a basket each morning.

Each person got their own basket.

Patrick and I got to sleep with baby in even closer quarters.

It was more than crowded, but it was cozy being squished like sardines. 

At least I still had nice sheets!

Figuring out how to organize laundry for 6 people in a 12*7 living space was a challenge!

There were 7 outfits, 1-2 things to wear to church and 2 swimsuits each.

One pile of laundry out of place made a huge disturbance!

BUT I did learn the joys of having a laundry facility I could walk to and wash ALL of our clothes at once!

We also had to do the unspeakable.

EAT. 

3 times a day.......at least!

We did eat out 1 or 2 times a week for sanity, but we managed to still cook a lot of good food!

Talk about a puzzle!?!?

Then there were dishes!!!

Believe me, I had to get all sorts of CREATIVE!

Doing dishes outside when things got really bad was more enjoyable anyways!

 

There were more than a few challenges to deal with, but we also had a lot of fun!

We grew closer as a family.

(For obvious reasons.)

and THE KIDS WERE HAPPIER THAN EVER!

 Mostly. ;)

Within a stone's throw there were kids to play with!!!

 We made dear, lifelong friends and had fun with those that we knew for a spell.

 

On one particular day, the kids all gathered for a game of catch. I did have one ball, but they found something even better to throw: SHOES!

Devon didn't need balls either...he just improvised!

We never, ever stopped learning!

One of the MAJOR lessons I learned and I am still trying to exacute after years of having WAY TOO MUCH JUNK:

Less stuff makes life a lot simpler!

I did miss a few things I left on that moving trailer in Vegas (like my bed) but for the most part, I could barely remember what was on there!

It made it a whole lot easier to get rid of some things.

 

Beautiful practically rain-free summer weather here made life more bearable.
We just spent a LOT of time outside!

We still ate delicious, healthyish meals

And I tried my best to keep a smile on my face....

most of the time at least!

{I may or may not relate to the following picture when thinking about how I felt at the time....}

On September 20th, we moved out of our itsy bitsy teeny weeny trailer after nearly

2

very  long  months!

Anna's 5th birthday party....

It was the adventure of a lifetime but I was more than ready to have a little
S P A C E ! ! !



The cool rental "cabin" in the city AND right on the edge of the forest we lived in for 9 months.

Thankfully, we now have plenty of space!

And I'm not as picky as I used to be about what my house is like or how small my kitchen is.

 

Phew!