Fall 2009 By: Stella Age: 9

Hello all! Finally we have gotten pictures downloaded on the computer! Now here is what our fall has been like and pretty soon I'll have to put a post up: "WINTER 2009-2010" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
;)
Mom is teaching at the Co-Op. She is teaching a class that summarizes the books of the bible- Genesis through Joshua. This is a mural that the kids made:

This is the teacher:

I have been helping Mom in her class because I would have art during this time but the teacher is on vacation!

We went to Chucksters. I'm not sure if I ever did put a post up on this or if Mom did but anyway here are the pics. again if we did...


We have never gone mini-golfing before. Here is a picture of me taking a try at it..

Say: MINI GOLFING!




17 more holes to go keep chuggin'! ;)


Now here are some picture's of Taurus' b-day...

YUMMMM!! PIZZA!


Doughnuts for breakfast!

Say Cheese!

OH MY WORD! This is toooooo cute!

Our pretty bwack wab as Taurus would say!
By: Stella Age: 9

Destination Imagination By: Stella Age: 9

I have three favorite things that I like about Destination Imagination. (DI) First, I like DI because it teaches me how to work on a team. When I am in DI I walk in the room and it's like I'm a different person. I am a new person coming up with ideas and ways to solve a problem. Next, I like DI because it allows me to have practice compromising and working with different ideas than mine. In DI I have to help the team work on maybe seven or eight different ideas and then forming them to make a successful product. Finally, I like DI because it gives a wonderful learning experience that I can't get in any other classes. It is a class that I can actually be free to tell the team my thoughts about it and then also help compromise between two people! It certainly is not a class where I just sit at my seat! I love DI in these three ways. I can't see how anyone could possibly live without going into DI. It really brings out the best in me.

My Favorite Holidays By: Stella Age: 9

I have three favorite holidays. These holidays are Christmas, Valentine's Day, and, of course, my birthday. ;) My first favorite holiday is Christmas. I love Christmas because it is a joyful time of year when my family and I celebrate the night when Jesus was born. We also remember past Christmas's and gifts. My second favorite holiday is Valentine's Day. I like Valentine's Day because it represents love and is a great opportunity to show love too! My third favorite holiday is my birthday. I love my birthday because my family and I talk about when I was born and came into this loving family! ;) All these holidays are very special to me because they celebrate the ones who are most dear to me.


By: Stella P
Age 9
WA#4
Expository Paragraph
First Person

Soccer By: Stella Age: 9

We have had tons of fun with soccer this fall. We will be putting up pictures and game posts soon. Thanks Coach Scott, Coach Paula, and Coach Steve or Pater!!!!
Soccer
By: Stella Age: 9

My Favorite Co-Op Classes Written by: Stella Age: 9

My Favorite Co-Op Classes

I have three favorite Co-Op classes. These classes are Geography, French, and Destination Imagination (or DI). My first favorite class is Geography. I like Geography because I get to learn about my country, not to mention the fact that my cousin Lyd is in it! My second favorite class is French. I like French because it allows me to learn a new language. I think French is my favorite language! My third favorite class is Destination Imagination. I like DI because it teaches me fun new skills like how to work out problems in a group of up to seven kids. I love all of these Co-Op classes because they allow me to meet fun, new friends that may last a lifetime.

By Stella Piercey Age: 9
WA#2
Expository Paragraph

Animal Kingdom Pictures By: Stella Age: 9

Hello everybody! This is me, Stella! Mom did the pictures up there but I would like to tell you a little bit about our trip to animal Kingdom! We went to York Maine. We had Grandma and our other dogsitter come over to watch Cora, our puppy. I will put up a picture of HIM in a minute. Just if you don't want to watch then umm.... ah.... you can just cover your eyes and scroll down 'k? Hang in there folks.
Well we had them come over and we headed out for Animal Kingdom.
When we finally arrived there our friends who were supposed to be coming were not there. We waited for about half an hour and then Mater picked up her cellphone and called our friends. We found out that they were lost and we had to wait 50 minutes before they would arrive! We were kind of annoyed and so we hurried off to use the restrooms and bought a couple of snacks. We waited fifty minutes and got our tickets but it was wellllllll worth the wait as we walked in the gate to
ANIMAL KINGDOM!


This, GULP, is our puppysitter. Wellllll. No, he didn't get payed, so I guess he can afford to be a little umm... GOOFY?



This is Taurus' (Baby Boy's) favorite party. Yidia (Lydia) the elephant. He was very excited and on the trip home he said, "I YOVE YIDIA!" (I love Lydia). ;)

Here's one more photo of YIDIA the elephant painting....








Goats, Goats, GOATS!


I know, I know! I already have this pic. up but it is so cute! Look at Tert's face! Agree with me???!!!

Same with this one! LOL! ;)






I was amazed with this as I had never seen a real live toucan!



In butterfly kingdom a butterfly landed right on my back. It was cool. I got kind of freaked out at first though. WHEW!




Leo was especially proud of this picture as he did a report on the American Alligators.




I wanted a picture with this bird although, SORRY, I don't know what it was called! Any suggestions? If so then please comment....


This is me with the deer. We were amazed at how close we could come to see the deer. We weren't supposed to touch the antlers but well, it was sooooooo hard and so some tempted little fingers touched the soft fuzzy antlers. It was soooo neat!




Trying to feed the deer with Daddy...



A CAMEL!
We were excited about this one because Mater has actually been in Egypt and rode on one of these! NEAT!!!!



A zebra! NEAT!!!!!



Wow! This was neat! What? You don't see anything? Well then let me give you a hint. It's lazy, slow, ugly, and moss grows on it! BINGO! A SLOTH!


On the way out of our fun trip from animal kingdom we took these pictures! What a wonderful day!!!!







By: Stella
Age: 9

Our New Puppy, Cora, and 4th of July weekend

Our poky little puppy...

4th of July Cake made entirely by the kids...

Don't think I can top these posts...

Hi, this is Megan. Stella has more than made up for my lack of posts and pictures. I love her enthusiasm. If you read on, you'll see that we're having a great summer despite the almost daily dose of rain (the kids have even made it to 2 weeks of outdoor swimming lessons!). My latest project is organizing 3 years worth of digital photos into an album. I'll include a link to my album for anyone who is interested in taking a peek. I can't find my darned cable to my camera, so you'll have to wait a while for current pics. We'll be sure to document this long weekend with our new puppy...

Exciting News!!!!!! By: *Stella* Age: 9

Everyone, this is going to be a short post I'm afraid but I was writing to tell you that we are going to get... can you guess? A labrador retreiver puppy! PUPPY! It is going to be so much fun! We are so excited! We are planning to get it July 2! Yeah! We are so excited! We will have pictures up soon if we can find the cable for our camera!

Posted by: Greatly Excited: *Stella*
Age: 9

Part 1:Reptiles On the Move Workshop Part 2: Summer Reading Program Too! By: Stella (Sis) Age: 9

Well everyone, I haven't written in a while! I have so much to tell you but that is not the reason that I am here!
I am here to tell you about a reptiles on the move workshop. I know, you might remember: reptiles on the move, but I am not talking about that, we know that you have already heard about that! Ok, so sit back and relax, this might take a while to explain...
PS: You might have seen that this is a two part, I am going to try to blend these together as clearly as I can....

____________________________________________________________


All of the kids in Boscawen look forward to the Boscawen Public Library's Reading Program. It is full of fun, reading, and it really helps kids to not just sit in front of the computer or television on rainy days. It helps me with that too! We went to a Reptiles on the Move workshop recently! That is the theme for this year! As you might remember, last year was an Australian animal theme. You might remember that we went to a show before as I wrote about it but that was a little while ago....
Anyway, this is different. In this workshop our library got together 10 kids, (it was supposed to be 12 but Taurus (Baby Boy) and Tert (Pappoose) filled the spots easily!! ;)
We went there with our cousins, Aunt Krista's girls. When we got there the woman who was demonstrating there gave a description of some of the reptiles. She told what you would do if you took care of them and she gave all sorts of info. about important subjects. Then we did questions. Finally, we got to the point where she finally said, "Now, I will take out some of these animals!" All of the kids held their breath as she handed them reptiles of all kinds. We petted them and we were all excited. It was soo cool! Then she put them back. She gave some more information and then she showed us how to feed them! She let us feed them with worms and all sorts of stuff. She let us feed all of the animals to our delight. None of the kids wanted to stop. We held baby tortises, big ones, all sorts of them! We were so excited! We fed them lettuce! We had so much fun and were very disapointed when it reached four thirty and it was clean up time. We all helped pick up worms, lettuce scraps and all sorts of things.
Much thanks to the Reptiles on the Move Program! Thank you also Boscawen Public Library for this delightful program!
Part 2:

Now we get on to part two: The reading program!
We got a huge sheet with all sorts of things we have to do. We have to read thirty minutes in each square this year instead of fifteen! It is going to be fun! And yes,
we will get ice cream coupons! It is going to be so much fun! We love the summer reading program! It is very, very fun! We love to get involved in more reading! I will write future posts about this program but for now I should end!
Much thanks again to the Boscawen Public Library for setting this stuff up!
Much thanks again to the Reptiles on the Move for your educational program!

Posted by: *Stella* Age: 9

Father's Day Weekend and Summer Plans

This past weekend we celebrated Stephen's birthday and Father's Day. Unfortunately Stephen was the first to bring home one of those draining summer viruses that has taken its turn with each of us. We did manage to meet Mom at the pool for a swim with the kids, and Stella and I prepared a birthday feast for "Daddy." At the end of the day, Stella collapsed dramatically on her bed and said that, after all of the birthday festivities, she was too burned out for Father's Day. Our celebrations were very simple. We just enjoyed a simple lunch and afternoon at home as a family.

It's hard to believe that summer is upon us! We have been adjusting to a very different kind of schedule, filled with appointments, library programs, visits with extended family, leisurely walks on our trails, some local field trips with our library passes, swimming lessons with cousins, cleaning projects, and fun in the sun with friends. It's incredible to me that I'm already beginning to feel stirrings of longing for our fall routine. I can't help but get excited when I flip through curriculum catalogs and plan for the class I'll be teaching at the Co-Op. In the meantime, I'm trying to thoroughly enjoy this reprieve and opportunity to recharge and PLAY with my dear kids.

We are counting the days until we bring home a new "family member," a black lab puppy. This pet is Stephen's gift to us. He received an award for outstanding performance at work and a bonus check that he decided to spend on this dream of ours. We didn't expect to have a pet so soon, but here we are, making preparations and waiting out the final weeks until she is old enough to leave her litter. I'm going to be rather housebound during the month of July and plan to focus my attention on housebreaking the puppy and simultaneously potty training my 3 year old who needs one more nudge out of pullups. Bring on the Clorox wipes!

I guess I need to give up on my desire to recreate the past few months on this blog. Somewhere between DI and the conclusion of our school year, I just had to put on the blinders and focus on survival. I hope to be more faithful with posts and pictures this summer. A big thanks to those of you (Grandma and Kristine! :) who faithfully follow my ramblings...

Our School Year By: Stella Age: 9

Well, I have a writing assignment and I thought that I would write a little bit about our school year as we are wrapping up this week. Today is Monday, so we are doing school and we will finish Thursday. We are very excited!
We have had a wonderful year as we have done fun books, and all sorts of other subjects! We thank you so much Mater for being the best and greatest teacher in the whole world!
Just as a reminder for if you did not see the first post that Mater did, this is what the whole Alma Mater is about. That is what we call our school because that means that it is a school where the teachers know their students one by one.
Thanks also for coming and checking our blog during this delightful school year! We will keep you posted about future excitements!

THANKS AGAIN FOR BEING THE BEST TEACHER
OUR WONDERFUL MATER!
THANKS TO ALL TEACHERS WHO HAVE CHANGED
OUR LIVES!

Mother's Day 2009

Thank you, everyone!

You only have to read Stella's post on Mother's Day to see just how much love I received from my husband and precious children. Stephen gave me the most beautiful card, and the kids gave me their own sweet card, wishing me a "peaceful, relaxing" sort of day. I tried not to laugh when I read that part; there isn't anything PEACEFUL about life with four kids ages 9 and under. I love them with all of my heart and wouldn't have traded that special day for the world.

As a special bonus, Mom and Adam stopped by and took some pictures.

A Special Mother's Day By: Stella (Sis) Age: 9

Mater, (MOM) did not have time to write about Mother's Day so Mater (MOM) asked me to write about Mother's Day. Here goes...

Well, first of all, Saturday, the day before Mother's Day, Pater (DAD), Taurus (Baby Boy), Tert (Papoose), and I (Stella, Sis) went out Mother's Day shopping. We brought Leo (Buddy) to a b-day party for his friend. It was in Northfield and I had been out in Tilton with Mom on Sunday going shopping on our way to Evening Service and I had spotted a couple of neat things. Well, we went out and did our shopping and then we went to Burger King for supper. We were all stuffed and then we went and picked up Leo, (Buddy) from his b-day party and headed home.
Although it was the day before Mother's Day, we couldn't hide one of our presents for Mater (MOM), so we gave it to her. "FLOWERS!" "OH!" "MY FAVORITE KIND TOO!"

The next day I looked at my alarm clock. It said: 5:30... "OH NO!"I thought. "I am supposed to get up at 6:00 a.m.! I waited for a tedious fifteen minutes and then I couldn't wait any longer. I got up and grabbed the triple choc. muffin mix. I put in all of the ingredients, spooned it into the muffin tin and then woke Dad up to put them in the oven. He put them in the oven, and then since we were the only ones up I got our cards and signed ours to Mater, (MOM) and Pater (Dad) signed his. Then slowly
Tert, (Papoose), Taurus, (Baby Boy, Mama's Baby,) and finally,Leo, (Buddy) got out of bed. Mater, (MOM) was up but we made her stay in bed while we made the eggs for her breakfast in bed. I made Mater's (MOM'S) eggs and Pater, (Dad) made mine and Leo's (Buddy's). Then after that I put the present in a bag with some pink tissue paper in it. I got out Mater's (MOM'S) muffin out of the tray and I put a rose, and a pretty white flower on the tin. Then I made her coffee. I took the stuff in and the gift. We all eagerly watched her open it and then...


"OH!" "OH, SANDALS! THE ONES WE SAW IN THE STORE! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN ME TWO GIFTS, OH COME HERE! OHHHH! WHERE IS MY NAIL POLISH? I NEED MY FEET TO LOOK NICE SO THAT I CAN STARE AT THEM ALL DAY OHHHHHHHHHH!"

We had as much of a wonderful Mother's Day that Mom had hopefully!
"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS!"

Bear with me while I share a few more quotes...

My precious husband gave me the early Mother's Day gift of a quiet evening at home. I just got a call from Sis (Stella), saying that they're about to descend on me, and the baby is NOT happy. So I'll end this blissful evening by sharing some funnies from kids. I need to remind myself of how cute they are before I'm thrust into the tearful bedtime routine. :)

Rus (age 3): "Mom! Your bum is as big as DADDY's!!"

"I can't wear these sneakers!! They aren't my color."

"I smell RENEWAL cow poop." (meant manure)

"Mommy, may you change the baby? I don't like the stink of him."

Rus told me that the poop on his bedroom floor was "probably tomorrow's poop."

"Can you wipe his nose? It's driving me CWAZY!"

"Mom, the baby is disrupting the kids!"

"Mom, can I have another ROAST BEEF." It took me the longest time to figure out that he meant a FRISBEE!

"That was so good I could hardly feel my tummy."

Stephen was describing something slanted. Leo observed,"You mean it's kind of oblique?"

Leo announced when the 3 boys were playing, "No one can every disconnect our brothership!!"

Where Do I Begin?

It has been so long since I posted here. I scarcely know where to begin. This has been a challenging winter for us in a lot of ways. Our new home has proven to be, in Stephen's words, an "unqualified disaster." For a while we had a major item (like a furnace, plumbing,chimney, drywell) misfunctioning or breaking nearly every week. And that's not including the "smaller" items like our dryer, washing machine,and vacuum cleaner that decided to quit at the same time. Yet, as I look back, I see just as many blessings mingled in with these setbacks. Unique blessings that arrived just as we were about to lose heart. During this winter we have been humbled by the love and care of our extended family who have generously shared with us and friends who have cared enough to pray and support us through our season of disappointments.

Recently I've thought a lot about God's providence and the puzzling forms it takes. I wonder why He chose to place us in a home where our faith and finances would be stretched nearly to the breaking point. Why He keeps me guessing where money for small household things like sneakers will come from.

Last Sunday, Stephen and I were reflecting on how God provided in such a puzzling way for the Israelites' needs. Why a God who could have spread a lavish feast in the wilderness would choose to provide coriander cookies day after day after day... Why He'd give them water from a rock instead of making a bubbling spring appear.

I realize that most of our questions will never be answered in this life and rest in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows how to give GOOD gifts to His children, even when they come in a form we would not ourselves choose.

A Sleepover at E's House By: Stella (Sis) Age: 9

I sometimes pack my bag, grab my pillow and sleeping bag and head over to my cousin, (E's) house!
When I get there we get ready to go outside. Her backyard is very large and she has lots of scooters and things to ride on. We then take out some makeup and we giggle as we put blue, orange, pink, purple, green and many other colors of eyeshadow all over our faces. Then we head inside and get supper. We have dumplings with creamy soup all over them! We then head outside again with muffins. We like to play outside in the evening because it is really peaceful out. We then head inside and roll out our sleeping bags. We get some icecream and then settle down to watch a movie. When the movie is over we pull out some dolls and play with them while we brush each other's hair. After that we get out a game and start to play with it. We stay up playing till 10:00 p.m! We start to get sleepy so we brush our teeth, floss them and take our vitamins. After that we dive into our sleeping bags and try to sleep but soon fall into a deep sleep. These trips are very fun and I am very grateful for being invited to my wonderful friend's house!

By: Stella
Age: 9

DI Competiton 2 By: Stella (Sis) Age: 9

My DI team came in second place as I told you a couple posts ago, and I mentioned that we would be going to States. We had lots and lots of fun at the State competition, although we will not be moving on to Globals. We worked hard this year, and we celebrated with a pizza party! We also had cake and ice-cream that we won at the cake walk! Well, here's how it went...

We (only Dad and I went to the competition) got up at 5:45 in the morning because the States Competition was located in a Kingston Highschool, an hour away from here.
We got up and got dressed and left. We went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and got some bagels. When we got to Kingston we waited in the cafeteria. We met the rest of the team and then we got our banner for the banner parade. We walked in holding it and then we sat down. The opening ceremony began. Then we watched some challenges until lunchtime. We had lunch and then played outside afterwards. Then we got in our costumes for our challenge. We got ready and put our makeup on, and then we headed in to the challenge! We did our challenge in about 6 minutes, and then we talked to the appraisers and headed out. We went back and got changed again, and then we watched some more challenges until it was time for our Instant Challenge, which I can not tell you or anybody about, (including parents, siblings, friends etc.) till after May; however, I can tell you that we did really well in our Instant Challenge and got 100 points out of 150! We were really excited! Then we went back to the cafeteria, cleaned up, and then went to the closing ceremonies. We had tons of fun! One of the teammates had brought bubble gum, and we all tried to make bubbles not very sucessfully!!!!! In all we had a great time at States and have had lots of fun in Destination Imagination this year!

By: *Stella (Sis)
Age: 9

Couldn't resist a couple more...

There's so much cuteness packed into his 3 year old body...

Rus saw Mommy putting on her makeup and asked what I was doing.

Mommy, "Oh, I'm just trying to look like a princess. DO I look like a princess?"

"No, you look like a Mom."

"You're trying to potty train me, but it isn't doin' good, right?"
Rus exclaimed, "We're going downstairs?! That's incredible!! You're kidding!"

Every now and then Rus will still ask to nurse for old time's sake, and I distract him with a different/age-appropriate activity. The other day, I suggested everything I could think of to no avail (reading, singing, playing, etc.) The only thing that got his mind off wanting to nurse was when I suggested that we floss our teeth. Then he hopped up and said, "Oh sure! Let's go!!"

After our first outing to the park this spring, he said, "Mommy, let's not go back to that place. It's REALLY freaky!"
Mommy asked her little son, "Can you help me, honey?" He answered, "No, that's not my job, Mom. That's YOUR job."

"I want to make "FIRE, AIM PEE!"

"When I'm older, I'm going to call my Daddy STEPHEN."

And a couple from my biggest boy...

After reading about WW2, the older boys came up with their own makeshift gas masks. Buddy (Leo) explained, "Mom, this is our breathing apparatus!"

Buddy (Leo) asked about President Obama's postion on abortion. Then he asked, "Well, what about DIVORTION?"

Some Recent Quotes from the Kids...

Yes, we're still here. :) I have found Facebook to be a much more efficient way to stay in touch with friends than the blog; however, I do have a growing list of pictures and stories to post for those who have hung around and might read this now and then. Most of these quotes are from Rus (formerly known as Baby Boy) who is going through a hilarious stage. Some of these might be repeats, but hopefully they'll make you smile anyway.

Rus (my 3 year old): "Where IS the bathroom anyway?!"

Referring to the timer, "I don't like it when that thingy beeps."

"I like it when you are my friend."

"I like it when God makes it Christmas!"

"My cousin took my nose, but he will give it back soon."

"Stop SINGING, Sis! I'm trying to sleep!! I had a horrible day."

When I was holding him and his wiggly baby brother, "Mom, can you move him. He's stealing my YAP!"

You should hear Rus singing our patriotic song of the week, "Old Abe Lincoln was the firsteenth president."

Rus, with his impish expression asked, "Daddy, why do people find me so funny?"

"That movie has a HOBIBBLE monster!!"

After tasting his cheese, "Mmmm, not bad, Mom!"

"I'm glad that you're my favorite friend."

When I was trimming his nails, "you're not going to do my KNEES, are you?"

"Daddy gave you those [anniversary] roses because you WERE a princess, right?" (NOTE the PAST TENSE!)

Flipping through the dictionary, Rus said, "I'm reading God's Word. May the baby please be quiet?"

Leo (Buddy)observed during a history lesson: "Mixing religion and politics is like mixing honey and tomato juice, right Mom?"

DI Competiton By: Stella (SIS) Age: 9

As I wrote recently, I have been taking a class that is called Destination Imagination or DI. It has really been a great year for us! We have learned a lot and have had fun through the class! On Saturday we went to the competition! Each week we have been going to class and preparing a challenge that we will bring and present to the appraisers, and then they will score it and we will get points if they enjoy it! Our task this past year and up to present has been to create two machines and a skit that demonstrates them. We made two machines out of a tricycle and a wagon, and we put stuff on them such a rope to pull them and a grabber and net! We were also allowed to ride on one of them. We arrived at the competiton at 7:30 a.m. and stayed till... GUESS... 6:00 p.m.! It was fun though in all! We did our challenge at 11:40 p.m, and we had to do our skit in 8 minutes! It is all about Egypt and is based on the story of Pharoah and the Slaves; although it is not a Bible story! It was really fun! There is a proclamation in it about not providing hay for the slaves' bricks and lots more! We had fun, and the appraisers loved it! Our score was 85.98 and we were a little dissapointed, TILL THE AWARDS! Over the microphone they were annoucing the winners. Our challenge was called Operation Cooperation! They said 4th place, then 3rd place and we were REALLY excited when they annouced, "Second PLACE, Lighthouse Homeschool Co-Op!" We were in second place! That means that we get to move on to the states in less than three weeks! YAY! There are three levels- Regionals, States, and Globals! We are on States, and if we win that... in May we will go to Globals! Globals is in TN, and you stay there for a week. We would do our Challenge again! It is really fun! That is the highest level a team can reach!
THANKS TO MRS. LOMMEN AND MRS. NEWHOOK MY TEAM MANAGERS!
THANKS ALSO TEAM!

BY: STELLA (SIS)
AGE: 9

Reasons Why I Like to Read By: Stella (Sis) Age: 9

There are many reasons why I like to read. Although some people might find reading a bore, I find it really interesting. The three reasons why I like to read are, reading takes me to the place in the book, lets me use my imagination, and lets me know the author better.

One of the reasons why I like to read is that reading takes me to the setting of the story. When I read, it is like everything around me melts away! I am in the place---a castle or even in a desert sometimes! It is wonderful!

Another reason why I like to read is that it lets me use my imagination. This allows me to be the characters-a hero, or a just a poor, poor person! I can use my imagination a lot in reading.

Finally, I enjoy reading because it lets me know the author better. Whatever the author is thinking he/she incorporates into the story! And a good author makes my imagination run away with me...

There are lots of reasons why reading is wonderful! When you read you can be or do whatever you want!


By: Stella (SIS)
Age: 9