Happenings...

Ok, I really don't like to update my blog without pictures, but our computers have been acting very irritable lately. Our laptop got a surge from lightning (we think), so it's out of commission. Paul, Caleb and Seth took it apart twice now to fix it and it was working temporarily, but now it has some other problem, and our desktop won't let me upload pictures to it....

So... I'll fill in a bit of what's been going on at our house anyhow.

The biggest news lately is that Paul's sister, Jenny, had a baby girl last week. She was a petite and early little thing, weighing in at 6lbs 11oz. Elise Raeanne. We saw her on Sunday and once again realized how humongous my babies are compared to her. There was only one other baby I've held that's been a bit smaller... That would be my other sister-in-law's! I would say that life is not quite fair in that area. I'm thinking that taking 3 pounds off my babies would make them MUCH easier to push out. Oh, and did I mention that Jenny had another 45 minute labor?? (Ok, to her credit, it was more like 52 minutes)... Love ya, Jenny, but share the wealth, will ya?

I am now officially 23 weeks along!! Yay! More than half-way. For me the last few months fly by much faster when I'm actually showing in the belly and not just in the hips and thighs :) We're planning for another homebirth this time and I've convinced the midwife to see me every 6 weeks instead of monthly. I went when I was about 21 weeks and was measuring around 25 weeks. My hopes for that petite, little girl are dwindling. I'm just praying that it's not going to be a 12 pounder. Y'ouch!!

We are busy around the house doing the summer harvest thing. We've started canning tomatoes, applesauce, and freezing zucchini. My latest endevour is in making cheese. I made a bit of Mozzerella last year, but this year, we have an abundance of goat's milk (from our 3 goats and 2 rented goats), and have recently tried our hand at cheddar, feta, queso blanco, queso fresco, mozzerella. Chevre is next. The cheddar needs to age in the cellar for 2 to 6 months, so it will be perfect this winter (when we're out of milk), and the mozzerella and feta freeze very well.

Caleb actually made pizza last week from scratch. Our kind of "scratch" is not the typical. I woke up in the morning and he was making mozzerella from the previous nights milking. Later that afternoon, he ground the wheat, mixed and rolled the dough and then made the pizza sauce from last year's canned tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and oregano. YUM!! I have pictures to make your mouth water, but, alas, the computer thing... Nothing melts quite as good as fresh mozzerella. It's the kind that stretches for 12 inches from your mouth to the piece you've just bitten. Mmmmm-mmmmmm!

That's all the time I have for updates now. Tune in next time and maybe (if we're lucky) we'll have PICTURES!!

1st Annual Larson Gathering

We had our first annual Larson Gathering on Saturday. It's not exactly a reunion because we do what we can to get together for birthdays and other events throughout the year, but because of busy schedules, someone (or family) usually ends up missing it. This was different because we actually planned it months in advance and made sure it was a date that everyone could make.

We spent the day at Centennial Beach in Naperville and then headed over to John and Carrie's for burgers on the grill and ice cream. It was a fun day!

The Whole Family

This is the whole group (with Grandpa Les taking the picture). Our family; John, Carrie and Jay; Dan, Jenny, Isaac and Levi; and Grandma Connie

Levi, Jay and Nathan

Beach Pictures

This picture cracks me up!!

Noah- drying off and warming up

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma Connie and Gracie

Nathan

Isaac and Levi burying their daddy

Paul and Les

John, Carrie and baby Jay

The Guys: Paul, Dan, Les and John

The Gals: Me, Carrie, Connie and Jenny

Ellie, Grace and Isaac

Mommy and Nathan

Grandpa Les and Levi

Les, John, Seth, Paul and Caleb

Levi and Nathan

Great America!

We went to Great America on Thursday. It was crowded and the lines were long (what's new?), but we had a blast. Lisa and her three older kids joined us. We had all gotten free tickets from Great America's reading program. Her kids ages all match my kids ages which is soooo nice!

Caleb and Noah riding the Whizzer

Lisa and Susanna

Noah's favorite ride... the tea cups.

Seth and Elijah

Noah and Elizabeth

Caleb and Susanna

I managed to go on the rides without a problem (even though every ride has a sign with a big "NO" sign through a pregnant woman. I did get a few looks at my belly and then at my face by the ride operator while entering or exiting the ride. (I DID ask my midwife about the safety factor and she Ok'd me) I came to terms with how pregnant I am and how long it's been since I was a teenager, that after a few hours of swirly, spinning rides, and a couple hours at the waterpark, I was ready to spend my time on the benches waiting for the kids and watching all the interesting people. I was also completely useless the next day! I think I could've slept the day away (if it weren't for the three kids that DIDN'T go with or stay up until midnight).

On the other hand, the kids had TONS of fun (so did I), and for the following days, they didn't stop talking about what rides they were going to go on NEXT year...

Jackhammer's game

Our Girlfriend group got together at the Joliet Jackhammer's game with our families. There were 6 families and it was bunches of fun! I don't think I watched a single batter hit a ball (although a foul ball every once in a while will wake you up). All 49 of us got in free because of the Jackhammer's Book Buddies reading program (yay for FREE)!

Back to school

We created a clay Desert Shadowbox this week, complete with camels, snakes, lizards and an oasis!

The Larson Family is getting back to their school routine. We are starting a month or so earlier so that we can take a month (or so) off after the baby is born. Last year, we started a combined curriculum for geography, science and history called My Father's World www.mfwbooks.com. This particular curriculum fits our family well because all the different ages are learning the same thing. It's sort of like teaching a "one-room schoolhouse". The older kids get a bit more detailed worksheets and the younger ones stick to the fun stuff like coloring sheets. We are working our way through the different continents (we just finished North America and starting on South America next week). As a group, we read and learn about the different cultures, landscapes, plants, animals and other interesting points of the larger countries on the continent. There are regional craft projects and recipes for food that we incorporate into our learning. We also read a book about a missionary from the same region. The kids especially enjoy getting their realistic passports "stamped" when they enter each country, and are becoming "world travelers" without leaving the living room. :)

Seth and Caleb are doing Rod and Staff (www.rodandstaffbooks.com) for English, which I was pleased with last year. It is put out by a Mennenite company and is very conservative. They are taught grammar and reading comprehension skills through Bible passages and stories with valuable lessons (yay!). For Math, they are working through Singapore Math (www.singaporemath.com) . I've tried several Math curriculums in the past and found that many of them have too much repeat work before they move on to the next lesson. Both Seth and Caleb catch on quickly and tire of problem after problem of the same thing. Singapore has solved the problem. As it's name suggests, it's based on the math program that is used in Singapore and was brought to American schools and homeschools by a couple that lived in Singapore. After arriving back in the states, they were dissapointed by the math programs and supplemented their daughter's schooling with the math program that she was already following. It moves a bit faster than most programs and the boys (and I) like it much better than the other ones we've tried.

All of the kids are excited to get back onto our schooling routine. Grace has been begging me to do school with her for a month now, so she'll be joining in with the rest of us. Both of the girls are doing well with their letters, so I'll be starting some basic reading skills with them. We'll see how far we get. Noah, on the other hand, has decided that he just "CAN'T" read. If asked to read something, he'll claim that he doesn't know how, but if it's his turn to read during devotions, he can sound out most of the words. Noah would not fit well in that public school "box", and, as his teacher, I don't mind him learning at his own rate. As I think through each of my children and their personalities, I realize there are different reasons for each one that makes me glad I am homeschooling them.