the buddy club goes to the Easter Program/Party

this is the buddy club (minus Bobby)

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"mom, we are called the buddy club because we are all buddies with Joel!"

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this is Joel with his mother, Mrs. Sims. she is the kindergarten teacher of the buddy club
(and a few others) and happens to be Joel's mom.
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today was the FBC Academy's Easter Program/Party.
of course the buddy club was in full force.
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they searched for Easter eggs
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the had a blast at the party
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sawyer & joel...aka buddies
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they ate ice cream sundaes
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they sang in the program
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complete with sign language
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those sweet darlings did a great job with their program.

watching them interact and enjoy each other warms the soul.

thanks buddy club and others for sharing your Easter celebration with me.

weekend update

my post on what to eat will have to wait. i have a terrible virus. so for today, this was my weekend....

Kels Owen Larsen

::my sweet friend, Jami Larsen had her 2nd son Saturday.....what is more amazing than that little guy. i hear he is already an awesome nurser. welcome Kels!

::a trip to the fair with my peeps Friday evening filled with rides, carnival food, animal exhibits, and the rodeo!

::a second adults only trip to the fair on Saturday with my brother and his fab wife....also filled with food, fun, and more rodeo.

::an impromptu (the best kind, right?) visit with carolyn, my mother in law extraordinaire....touring all that is coming up in her yard....welcome spring.

::the best sunday ever. a trip to Vinton, Louisiana to Kevin's grandmother's house. oh do i love that little cajun lady! my peeps trimmed her hedges and we toured her yard looking for signs of spring....roses, azaleas, flowering almond, and wisteria all in bloom...gorgeous! carolyn & i made a yummy lunch (cajun tomato gravy with smoked sausage & rice, butter beans, spring peas, and asparagus) it was a perfect day when maw maw vincent's sister juanita came by for a visit....conversations of recipes and chicken farming...i was in heaven!

i love weekends with purpose. may this week be just as glorious. to start the week off, here is one more photo of that perfect baby boy. this time with aunt lolly and uncle robert looking on!

this moment

this moment

a friday ritual.....one photo, no words. a moment from the week that precious is to me.

10 right now

1. live web cam of Molly & Max....barn owls
2. rocking on the front porch just watching the wind blow
3. West Wing
4. life science with my peeps
5. spring garden
6. Saratoga Lights
7. exploring Charlotte Mason homeschooling
8. baking chocolate chip cookies
9. cooking with cameron
10. burt's bees lip gloss

perfectly lovely

once again there is a perfectly lovely giveaway at LisaLeornard.com.

she is giving away
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a new, classic hardcover copy of sense & sensibility (light blue with pink flowers)
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the BBC pride and prejudice (yes, the 6-hour-colin-firth one)
AND
*a family crest necklace.
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we love Lisa!

on days with no school

Sawyer,"mom, i love days with no school. you can skate and have a wonderful time with your mom."

Mom,"me too!"

yet another mark in the pros column for home schooling

sweet land of liberty

this morning troop 186 were invited to the Hardin County Republican Convention to serve as color guard, lead the convention in the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as the National Anthem. Jordan's responsiblity was the Texas Pledge. I love to see those boys in uniform.

in memory of patsy :: this moment....studious

{this moment}

remembering patsy

this moment

its the simple things.....over at soulemama there is a friday ritual. one photo, no words. a moment from this week. a simple moment to love, cherish, savor. she challenged us to do the same.

{this moment}

*for a blog tour of other moments visit soulemama and those that commented.

book love

(what a terrible display of homemaking skills)

my night side table is overflowing with stacks of books. what's new, right? i am in that place where i get too overwhelmed and can't decide what to read.

so naturally i went to the library this week. what other rational decision is there? i picked up a few goodies. i am very much enjoying the small paperback on Charlotte Mason homeschooling ideals. she believed in a whole learning approach centered around good books and hands on learning activities. doesn't that sound like life? doesn't that sound like the way to teach our children to be life long learners?

this is the view from the table in the living room. as you can see it ridiculous as well.

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i have been plannig/working on the spring garden. Carrots Love Tomatoes is the companion planting bible.

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Pets in a Jar is a great little resource for earth science. sawyer, cameron and i are making an ant farm in a jar. last year we did tadpoles from this book. we love it!

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Freedom:A History of Us is a fabulous history lesson for us all....without it sounding like a textbook.

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The Last Waltz is this month's book club selection. since i am starting it tonight (last minute), i have no review yet.

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SkippyJon Jones is sawyer's favorite character. i can still see his 2 year old self giggling and giggling the first time we read him. this installment doesn't disappoint. delightfully funny!

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Smoky the Cowhorse is a newberry winner. we happen to be starting it tonight as well for our read aloud. i cannot wait to dive in to this one.

that is our book love for now. what is yours?

in memory of patsy :: Relief Society President

for years, 9 in fact, my mother was the Silsbee Ward Relief Society president. she not only loved that calling, it loved her. thinking back, i realize how she bloomed when called to service. service had been in her soul. tirelessly she served the sisters. i saw her worry, weep, love, celebrate, mourn, and care for the sisters.

as a 12 year old beehive, i had Elaine Boddie as an advisor. her mother had left this earth. when she spoke of Genvieve Cryer and her service, i noticed something. her eyes sparkled and her chin raised a bit higher...she was proud of her mother. i realized i was proud of my mother as well. the fact that she lived the principle of "Charity Never Faileth" was brought to my consciousness. countless cakes were baked, gallons of soup simmered, many many home visits, homemaking days planned, lessons given, and prayer. and always she felt a person had to and she did always do what was right. she was unfailing in that principle.

i am thankful for numerous examples of how to be a woman, wife, and mother. no one is greater than the legacy she left of those 9 years of service.

to do

to do to do there is always something to do here @ the bonin farm. we are now the proud owners of 6 baby chicks and 2 baby ducks....stinking cute ducklings...to go along with the menagerie. we did give 2 puppies to our friends, the Dulaney family, this weekend.
there is always a to do or want to do list going through my mind. right now this is the.....

to do list

• feed and water all the animals
• finish planting my garden....including 2 fig trees, 1 satsuma tree, and 1 japanese maple tree
• mend my fave leopard pillow
• bake a loaf of bread
• bake cookies and cheese crackers for lunches
• pick up the garlic chives my good friend is dividing and generously sharing with me
• read my scriptures
• plan FHE
• find out who is currently on the Texas Board of Education so i can vote them out...really? take Thomas Jefferson out of the textbooks. another reason to home school.
• make laundry soap
• make liquid soap
• learn to knit
• write letters
• work on celestial university
• read a book about beekeeping and then talk kevin into bees
• while i am talking kevin into things maybe a pig or 2
• can jalapeno peppers
• read to sawyer
• read to cameron
• read to jordan
• go on a date with kevin
• giggle with laura

not too big of a list.

what is on your list?

today was.....

a great day! i love spring break. i love having time to spend with my peeps. i love watching them grow and be curious, to mature and yet remain playful children. i love that their father works shift work is with us many weekdays......such a blessing. i love the everyday rhythm of our life her on the bonin farm. i love our dreaming of one day having a true farm to call our own. mostly today i loved..........

**going to the feed store and stopping to check out the ducks on the way to the vegetable plants....picked up corn, tomatoes, broccoli, strawberries, and japenese eggplants.

**watching jordan & cameron work hard building the foundation for bro. putnam's new deck

**reading my cheese cookbook while my chooks free ranged for a while and visiting with cameron about....well life.

**giggling with kevin while sawyer informed us on many topics.

**smiling while kevin said we are absolutely not getting any ducks all the while knowing deep down he will be the proud owner of at least 2 before monday...silly kevin.

**having a conversation with my dad a couple of days prior to his first 10 k.....the excitement in his voice was contagious.


:::: just have to add a terrific telephone conversation and later a hilarious im chat with sweet sandy mitchell....that woman is certifiable! my face still hurts from laughing!

what a fab giveaway

my favorite jewelry is Lisa Leonard. her stuff is beautiful and sentimental. she writes an awesome blog as well. i am always reminded of the beauty around us when i read her. today on her blog she have a fab giveaway. go visit her and give her your most sage advice. my best advice is to be grateful in all things.

today i am grateful for:

**spring break with my 3 peeps

**home baked bread

**new friends....especially ones from Australia

**bluebirds busily building nests

10 right now

::watching Alice in Wonderland in 3D with my peeps....boy has 3D come a long way

::a quiet corner with a good book

::this maybe layered with something eggplant

::in love with these

::spring break

::spring cleaning

::celestial university

::veggie pizza

::expanding the herb garden....thank you my sweet Carolyn (mother-in-law) for the transplants of dill & mint!

what are you digging right now?

in memory of patsy::the clothesline

i have a clothesline in my back yard. every single time i hang some wash out on the clothesline, i think of my mother and her mother before her. as a child, many times i had to rehang the clothes i had just hung...not too terribly neatly. my mother would always remind me that as a teenager she had to do the same thing. my grandmother was quite particular about her housework, especially laundry. the shirts must face the same direction and be hung together. the pants in a certain fashion, also together. the sheets, and so on. there hasn't been a time when i do my own wash that i do not think of those women. the pride they took in taking care of a family and home. i feel close to them at that clothesline made from the poles of my mother's line. her example in my thoughts and becoming part of me. understanding that this service was the purest form of love. the kind of love that our Savior taught. that gratitude for her...for that love has no end.

puppy love

we are all so in love with these little guys. walking over to the kennel, you are greeted with the cutest faces and wagging tails all in a row. sawyer is a fantastic master. he and cameron feed and water them throughout the day as well as get plenty of playtime in. there is nothing like the rambunctious affection of a puppy. they will be sorely missed when they find new homes.

10 right now

:: golf lessons from a cutie kindergartener

::dinner @ the Bonin farm with the Fosters and a viewing of Food Inc.

::skinny cow ice cream sammies

::trips to the temple

::Teddy Roosevelt

::a week of fun and relaxation with my peeps

::taking photographs

::feeding my girls and gathering their eggs

::in my kitchen with my sweetie

::smooching

when i grow up.....

this little guy has been a golfer since birth. he could barely walk when he hit his first golf ball at the country club. he has been his father's constant companion ever since. in fact, he gave me an unsolicited golf lesson this morning. golf is a true love of his life. so, when "dress up as what you want to be when you grow up day" at kindergarten came along, it was a no brainer. my cute little golfer trotted off to school in some of his gear with a bright smile across his face. what could be better?

in memory of Patsy :: lover of cookbooks

a portion of our collection

one thing my mother passed on to me was the love of a cookbook. every holiday, we gifted each other a nifty new cookbook. her obsession with recipes began in her teens. when in high school she would spends hours pouring through magazines and cookbooks in the library.

she marked each recipe once tested with good, ok, or even Jay loved it!

she filled countless spirals with recipes to try. and try she did. my father has said that he never knew what he would come home to for dinner. mother was fearless, much like Julia Child. she tried with confidence and smile on her face. that was her heaven on earth....her kitchen and her recipes. that is now where i find a great deal of my own solace. cooking and feeding our family is the most personal and loving gift we can give. we show love, compassion, gratitude with each spoonful. my heart is filled with gratitude for having shared this family tradition with my sweet Patsy.

In Memoriam

on this day 63 years ago my beautiful mother was born in rural mississippi. she was the a bright light in the family from the start. just her entering a room made everyone smile. she always had this thick gorgeous hair and a electric smile. she had many talents like cooking, sewing, intellectual pursuits, but one of her greatest gifts was the gift of conversation. her uncle, tate, would say she was vaccinated by the Victrola needle. he and everyone else in mississippi loved her conversations. when we would visit they would say "Patsy come here and let me hear you talk!". she just ate that up. i did too. i loved to hear my mother tell me of the times passed. everyday of her life she would share an old tale with me. i feel as if i went to brookhaven high school and travel up those stairs. that i too hung clothes on the line for my grandmother. that i was next to her as she worked the switchboard as an operator. what a gift she had. what a gift she was.

Charity Never Faileth was her motto and she lived by it. she baked countless cakes for birthdays, deaths, births, and just because she thought of you. how many chickens she fried. how many telephone conversations to let another know that she cared. what an example of Christ's love she was to me.

to honor that auburn haired, gentile, southern lady, i am going to do a series of "in memory of patsy" this month. may i do her justice.

i love and miss you dear mother.