I Caught Them....

...being creative;
which I think is so cute.
Not much happening here.  We still do not know about a possible job move, so for today, we are grateful for the home the the LORD has provided for us.  Besides the earlier fire that threatened our area, there has been horrible flooding in our state.  It has damaged so many towns.  We have been safe, and thankful for this.

We have started school ... first year of home educating TEN children.  With out the LORD's help, I have no idea how it is possible.  

We have found that Clive has very serious stuttering problems, and I have had to accept that he is really more than 80 percent non-verbal at this time.  I guess I wasn't really looking at the whole picture with Clive. Didn't we know, you may be wondering?  I kept telling myself that he would learn English, and things would get better; or that we would start school and he would "see" the letters and improve.    I just didn't understand that he CAN'T speak.  He uses a little sign language, and any other ways he can, to "speak" to us.  We just didn't realize how much we "fill in the blank" for him because it is so hard for him to say even a word.  Now I am trying to teach him 1st grade with Aiden, and I am finding that I need help to know how to best help him.  He is great with paper work - especially math.  We will meet with a speech therapist in the next few weeks and pray for guidance.  Have any of you helped a child that was non-verbal...any advice?
We arent' adopting right now ... I say that because many have wondered and asked...
And may be that is why I haven't blogged much these days.  
We want to, if the LORD wills it, in the future.  For now, we are shepherding the precious ones He has given us. 

Crazy Hair Fun For Soccer Camp

Look What We Got To Do

We were asked to helped on Shearing Day at our local Alpaca/Llama friends ranch.  

It was such a cool experience for the children to get to help.

I was a "noodler" for the day.  I would roll the fresh shorn coat/fiber from the animal into a roll and package it up with any good neck fiber.  

And I got to tell you, while it was an awesome fun day, I WILL wear knee pads if I ever noodle for the day again.  

Babysitting...

 I thought you might like to see our week of feeding the nearby Alpacas.  

 This is NOT an Alpaca though, did you know that?  This is a Llama - ears that look like a banana is the clue, and they are less friendly. 

 Each day we loaded the wagons with hay to feed the hungry little animals.  

 The Alpacas were so happy to see those wagons full of goodness!

 Hello hungry baby Alpaca...you are so adorable.

 Opps, this one was not very patient and he got his food on his head.

 Garett gets the animals fresh water!

 NOT an Alpaca, and I know that you were not fooled.  This is a beautiful Mohair goat.

 Remember what this one is?

 Is that hair beautiful or what?

 These dogs fiercely protect their flock, but are ridiculously loving with the children.

 Karlie's 1st introduction to Alpacas was a cheek kiss...to cute!

I was so happy that I could take Jace and Karlie to see these sweet animals while they were here.
I feel so blessed by the LORD that my family has had this opportunity to care for these precious animals!  
Know what Alpacas do when they are hungry and letting another Alpaca know that she is not to intrude?  Spit...
yep, pretty yucky.
I was petting a little Alpaca as it was eating when it "sneezed" -
in my face (mouthing open as I was telling it was a pretty little love it was).  Yea...
YUCK,
I'm still not sure if it really sneezed or if it "spit" at me;
probably the later...LOL
Lesson learned - Keep my mouth shut! 

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for our newest daughter, Noelani.  I will share more later.
But for now, here are some cute pictures from our “Turtle Encounter”.  

 Wasn’t he (or she???) brave?  The turtle, not my children - LOL.

 Being a smart home school momma, I jumped on this educational moment for my children.

 Wasn’t it sweet of this he/she turtle to indulge us?  And, yes, I must look up how to tell if “it” was a he or a she.  

 This turtle was really not afraid of us, and I think was hoping we would share some food, which we didn’t have...
Still, it was fun to explore this little beauty.  And then we put it back by it’s water home.

 Noelani was very afraid to hold the turtle, but she did touch it.  I was proud of her for being so brave.  Both she and Clive are experiencing so many new things each day.

See ya’ll soon to tell you about the “exciting” for Noelani.