Happy New Year to All!

A Happy New Year!!

Before this year ends though, I want you to ask yourself this question!! Okay?

If this were my last year to live----how would I live it?

Merry Christmas!

Vegetable Orchestra

(Don't forget to turn off the music on the side!)

This video is fascinating (and slightly humorous- okay, let's just be honest- it's funny to see a grown man drumming a large squash in syncopated rhythm). You have to admire their ingenuity, though.

Do you think their mothers ever told them "not to play with their food" as kids? ;)

Lets Say Thanks!

A couple days ago my mom found this website to encourage and "say thanks" to the troops!

Birthdays!

Around this time (November/December) we are the busiest!! Besides the holidays, we also have four of ten birthdays in these months! We already had Joys, Stephens and mine! Now we wait until the twelth, for Naomi's!



Joy turned 5, and went to Chuck E. Cheese! She had a "Dora" cake! (In our house the cake is really important!)



I turned 15, and went horse back riding! I love horses! I had a "Piano" cake!



Stephen's birthday is today! He turned 8! He had a "Facing The Giants" cake!

God bless Joy and Stephen!! Along with all my other siblings!

Have a safe weekend!

Thanksgiving Reenactment: Plymouth Plantation '07

A couple weeks ago the Devine family hosted their annual Thanksgiving reenactment at their house. At their reenactment they have a lot of activities! Such as wood splitting, hayrides, ax throwing, quizzing, and more!(We dress up as Pilgrims and Indians, as well!)





A hay ride.



I guess Josiah had too much action!



Sara Devine



Me and Christian



Ravi



Mrs Piekarski and Mrs Devine



The three little Indians.



Lena and Virgie Dyckman with Joy.



Finding candy in the leaves.



Wood splitting

Christmas Canon

Would You Believe It? I'm A Holiday Food!!

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

~

This is What I Am! (Naomi)

You Are a Fruitcake

People pretend you're sweet and precious, but they know how weird you really are!

What Holiday Food Are You?

Museum of Science and Industry

Okay, now the museum!





One of the first things we saw was the "Idea Factory".



Here we are enjoying an exhibit.



Rock climbing.



The actual U-505 submarine!



A picture of us "in" the human heart.



A "machine" that the workers use here to show people the body, and how to take care of it, etc. Freaky!




An exhibit of "Robots Like Us". I think it's pretty neat, how people can make up all these neat ideas!



Different modes of transportation.



And afterwards. . . ice cream!



And as usual, this is how we looked coming home!

Having Fun with Orange Peels!

Duneland Harvest Festival

A couple weeks ago, my dad had a one week vacation! So we went to two major places, the Duneland Harvest Festival and The Museum of Science & Industry. Right now, I'm posting about the Duneland Harvest Festival.

Lets go!


The 'Duneland Harvest Festival' sign. (I know it's a little hard to see, but still!)


When we first got there, the first thing we saw was the stilts. Very hard!

Next was candle making.

Stephen, making Apple Cider!

Little hands, making clay bricks.

As you can already tell, there was a lot of 'hands on' thing to do there!

Someone had a little too much sugar!! (Notice the little guy in the back!)

Naomi and Joy making dolls (out of corn-cobs).

And then at the end, some 'folk' and 'country' singers.

What do you do to celebrate the fall season?

Joy and one of Her Many Knights!

Mom and Naomi

Meaningful Pictures

I love meaningful pictures!
These (below) are similar in meaning.

You Know You're A Big Family When...

You Know You're a Big Family When...
by Rebecca Prewett

Many people have asked exactly what constitutes a "big family". Some have defined it as any family with more than the socially acceptable number of children. Others have defined it as four or more children. Yet others have defined it in any number of ways. We have come to the conclusion that, almost no matter how you define "big family", we probably stand a good chance of meeting the criteria. How do we know? How can you know if you're a big family? Well, read on:

You know you're a big family when...
...people count the number of your children out loud when you're in public

...people ask, "Are they all yours?"

...you start counting your children when you're out in public

...you have at least three bunk beds set up in your home

...almost everyone you know has less children than you do

...people say, "Wow! How do you manage?"

...people ask you, out of the blue, if you are Mormon or Catholic.

...you buy your pots and pans in the restaurant supply store

...supposed "family size" food portions seem awfully small

...you complain, "Doesn't anyone make large dining tables anymore?"

...you outgrow your mini-van

....you've forgotten what it's like to be alone anywhere else but in the bathroom

...your children never run out of playmates among their siblings

...everything you buy is in bulk

...people ask, "Don't you get overwhelmed?"

...you and your husband can no longer hold each child's hand while crossing the street

...it takes a wonderfully long time to hug and kiss everybody

...one of your children looks wistfully at the newborn and asks you, "Can't you have another baby really soon? I hardly get to hold this one because everybody else is taking turns."

...you realize that few houses are designed with your family in mind

...people ask you if you've ever accidentally left any of your children behind

...life around your family never seems boring or dull

...your tent is the largest one in any campground

...you feel sorry for people with only two children

...you sometimes wonder what on earth mothers with only two children do with all their spare time

...whenever you set your dining table, it looks like it used to look when you were expecting lots of company

...you read a cookbook and joke, "They call these meals? Sounds like a little snack to me."
...your gratitude at the abundance of God's blessing moves you to tears unexpectedly

...you start thinking of yourself as "rich in children"

...you secretly think that life in your family might possibly be a much more joyous adventure than life in smaller families

...you are vastly amused at much modern parenting advice, realizing that it is unnecessary, impossible, impractical, or simply silly to try to apply it in a large family setting

...it seems as if you pack more stuff going on a short trip than some people pack when moving their entire household

...your husband sighs happily, "I've finally got my dream car"--and it's a used 15- passenger van.



You know you’re in a big family when you smile at the following: by Kaitlyn McDonnell

- A package, containing six fillets of meat, with a sticker that says ‘family pack’

- A cookbook titled "Meals for 2"

- A mother who is fully stressed out with her one child

- Books with titles such as, "Organization, Plain and Simple"

- Someone who asks, "Are they always this well behaved?"

- Pre-made pancakes, being sold in packages of 4

- A yard with a clean blanket of snow, and no boot prints

- A sweater with a price tag that reads, "$55.00"

- A mother who picks up her child instantly when he begins to cry

- A photographer who has a limit of 8 children per shot

- People who pity your mother

- Families that never go to the re-sale shops

- A room with white carpet

So, do you qualify as a big family?

Individual Pictures. . .

Naomi(9)



Josiah(1)



Joy(4)



Stephen(7)



Dad(Steve)



Janai(14)



Christian(1)



Joshua (2)



Mom(June)



Ravi (6)