Creekside Cottage

Over the course of my years of home educating my children, I have read some wonderful books.  Books that helped me greatly to be freed from educational methods that wereburdensome to both myself and my children.

Karen Andreola's book "A Charlotte Mason Companion" and Clay and Sally Clarkson's book "Educating The Whole Hearted Child." are two key books that saved me in the early years when I had a child who couldn't stand fill in the blanks, and a child struggling with phonics.  We all cried daily.

Those books showed me a better way.  A gentle way of educating my children, that got to the heart of real learning - not just rote memorization or learning something until the test is over.

I have found another resource that is, I believe invaluable for home educating families.  Actually, I should say that the resource found me in the form of a blogging friend Sherry, from Large Family Mothering.I no longer remember how I met Sherry, but when I read her blog it w…

Well, half of my family leave today for an amazing trip to Senegal.  They will be there for the field conference, and get to visit the village that Tim grew up in, staying overnight with one of the families.

We hope the girls capture the big picture of God being at work in the world.  All of history is HIS-tory.  

I'm excited for them - thrilled that the girls can take this trip with Tim.  He has not been back to Senegal since he was 12.  I am going to miss them though and I am feeling emotional this morning.  The rest of us will be holding down the fort here...their are lots of fun things planned for the younger set, including a trip on a train to the capitol.  

We took Rachel, Sarah and Kyle out to lunch yesterday for something special to do with Daddy before his trip.



They will have access to the internet for the first week, at least, and I hope to hear from them and to get some photos.  I will share them as I am able.

Thanks for your prayers!

The week is going well.

We got Tim's shoes.

All the host/hostess gifts are purchased.

I am asking you to pray for a new thing.  No sickness.  They start their anti malarial medication tonight, I believe, and we've found out that since they will only be in the country for 2 weeks they do not need any other shots.  This is good, and we trust that they will not pick anything up while in country.  Our request is that they will not get sick now before they go or take anything with them.  We have managed to not get a stomach bug for over a year, and are so thankful.  We had a little boy at church on Sunday who got sick and had to go home because of it - his only lasted a day, but my friend Becky got sick on Monday and is now on Day 3. I feel bad for her!  Please pray!

Also if one of them becomes sick right now, it would not be good.  We are a little over 48 hours until they leave, and I have to be in our store while they are gone.  So please pray that none of us get this dreadful bug. A…

Elections were peaceful in Senegal, West Africa yesterday and that is an answer to prayer!  That also means that the trip is on full steam ahead. 

With a regular work week here for everyone, it is going to get crazy.  Tim still needs shoes, the girls are set, I think.  We need to get some host/hostess gifts for the families that will house them in the village where Tim grew up.

Tim is the little blond boy!
Have I told you how this trip came about?

Tim's Mom and step dad were going to make one more trip to Senegal - remember she is 90 and he is 88.  We were concerned about them traveling to and from Senegal alone, there have been some issues of lost items and wrong buses etc in the past.  I mentioned to Tim that since my parents love to have the girls travel with them, maybe his mom would too, and they could be such a great help to them.  I KNEW my girls would be totally up for such an adventure.

Tim's Mom and Stepdad on their last visit to the village where she served for 23 years
W…

Some of the spring bulbs are up and blooming and some are getting close to blooming.  The one thing that was growing profusely was weeds.  These weeds did not die off this past winter, due to the mild weather.


I started the process on Tuesday and on Wednesday I was in the store.  The kids finished weeding the front beds.  At least most of it is big, flowery weeds that are easy to pull.  I was going to do around the lilac tree outside the kitchen door and around the deck today - but it is raining...so that will have to wait. 



The pressure is on for Tim.  He has a list in his mind of things he wants to accomplish around her before they leave on Friday.  I told him that whatever gets done is great and everything else can wait.


Lindsay's pile of weeds....I'd like to put some 12x12 pavers in this area and make it a sitting area out front.  




Sarah's Muck brand garden clogs found at a yard sale for $3.00!


Kyle gets a hand climbing down from the mower - which is actually a lawn tractor…

I got my new glasses last Saturday.  It all started about a year ago when I realized that I could see better to read without my glasses.  My eye doctor had been warning me for years that this was coming, so I wasn't shocked.  I gave him a call to schedule our yearly appointments and much to my disappointment they no longer took our insurance.  This is a real bummer because the whole family likes him - he's great with the kids, his office people are wonderful.  Sadness all around on our part.

I decide that I will wait until our friend from church who is an eye doctor opens his new place and then go see him.  In the mean time I stop wearing my glasses and I get very used to that.  The office opens and I start to say "I need to call and schedule my eye exam."  This goes on for months.  Then we buy our business.  Then I say it some more.  Sigh....

Finally I make the appointment and go in.  This is the result.

Glasses once more, with a progressive lens.  They were relativel…

Vee is having a party today!  We are choosing 4 photos that we have taken and that we would like to see made into Note Cards.

 Echinacea in the garden
This is a favorite photo of mine.

After the Tea Party!
I like this one too - maybe not a great photo but I like anyway, as it was taken after one of my Mom's Teas.  Good memories.  Orchids at Longwood
From last year's Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens. Sunrise
The sky that day was stunning and my photo didn't quite capture it, but it is still beautiful!
So there you have it!  My four Note Card Photos!  Are you playing along today?  If you'd like to join in you can click the link on my sidebar or click on Vee's name above to get to her blog!
Can't wait to see the other ladies photos!  
Thanks for stopping by!

I think I am the world's worst blogger.  At least I should say that I fail big time at getting good photos for my blog.  Those garden photos I posted were horrible.  Sigh...


See this time though it is not my fault, really.  Lindsay got her hair cut yesterday.  It looks adorable on her - it was nearly all one length and was long.  They cut about 5 inches off the back then did long layers and framed her face as well.  


However, she does not enjoy her picture being taken - at all. So she starts to laugh, and wiggles etc...thus the blurry top photo.


Here is the back of her hair.  Image 5 more inches!


Ready to head into Fab Fashion for the day!  Wouldn't you buy a handbag, scarf, or jewelry from her? 

I had a sweet friend check on me since my last post was Friday.  She new from her own week previous that sometimes life gets in the way of blogging, but I appreciated her checking.

Saturday we attended the funeral of our dear friends baby.  Brigette was 18 weeks along but after the baby was…

Now I know you are all going to be disappointed.  After all when you saw the title of my post I am just certain that you thought you would see photos of me, well, juggling.

Sorry about that.

The juggling I have in mind is the kind that is keeping tabs on many schedules, and the millions of things to be done.  Thankfully Tim is on second shift for 5 weeks and he is home during the day.

Let me give you a peek into what my week has been like.

For months now I have been trying to get our online store up and running.  It has taken much longer than I imagined it would.  Finally this week the last pieces are in place.  However it was not so on Tuesday when I was in the store.  I had to make a call to UPS and email the account manager and kind of light a fire!  "I really WANT to get this done!"  Getting the account there taken care of is important so that you can buy lots of cute handbags and jewelry from us!

Another headache I was working on was the ordering of one of our best selling h…

These photos were taken a few days ago at dusk...Tim had used his day off to till the garden with my Dad's 40 year old rototiller!  That thing still works just fine!


Lindsay joined him when she got home from the store.  Right now she has been outside for nearly 4 hours planting, with the kids help, corn, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, onions...



The two raised beds have strawberries!  We had 8 raised beds last year but decided to give ourselves more growing space by just leaving the strawberry beds.

We learn many lessons in the garden every year.


Many practical and real life lessons to be learned through gardening.  A big one?  The value God places on growing, and weeding, and watering and harvesting.  


I am looking forward to this years process...

Do you garden?  What do you grow?

I have been pondering a bit again and this time it is about life and the way our culture responds to it.

I saw an article about a couple who was suing their doctor because their child should never have been born with Down's Syndrome. You can read about it here.  It breaks my heart to hear, too, that what some call the Down's 'cure' is actually abortion.  This family's daughter's live was not considered to be of value simply because of her Down's.

Why does it need to be cured?  Having met this sweet family and getting to know them at church, weknow that Down's is just different, it's not bad - it actually makes them special!  The link is to an update on Katie, the daughter they adopted from Bulgaria.  She is doing amazingly well, in the three months since they brought her home. 


Also a dear friend of mine has lost her baby at 18 weeks.  Today she must go in a be induced and deliver the baby.  I am heartbroken for them.  This would have been their 6th ch…

Every year, on the second Sunday in March, Pennsylvania celebrates the receiving of the Charter for the land that was given to William Penn.  We celebrate it by having all the State museums open for free.


We chose to go to a wonderful local living history museum called Landis Valley Museum.

They interpret history from 1740 - 1940.


I love living history museums...it amazes me that people who lived without our modern conveniences lived such lovely lives.

I am particularly fond of the way they cooked and provided meals for their families and others.


That fireplace behind her has a nice fire and they were cooking a ham to make a pot pie...



Hence the pie crusts waiting...


Emily and Rachel were looking at a display of old revolvers.


This is a trumpet vine...how old must it be?


Herbs on the kitchen window sill


I also liked the textile building...they were showing flax and hemp.



This is a photo I took for Debbie - you would have loved this room!

This loom is from the 1500's...



This one is from the 180…