Our Girls

This is Lilly after EVERY meal.


This is a happy Daryl Cinnamon after another successful "Hair Day". I am starting to get the hang of this Mom thing. I have designated Thursday as "Hair Day". During the day we wash and braid hair while watching a movie. It's fun and there are virtually no tears. LOVE IT!

Castle in the Clouds

click on the above picture to see the castle with the landscape








The children and I went to New Hampshire and visited this beautiful estate built high up on the side of the hill/mountain. I loved the architectural aspects of the home. The children did a fantastic job of walking through the museum-like estate home. The scenic view was the best part. It was so peaceful and absolutely beautiful!

Here is a little blurb from their website:
"Tom and Olive Plant’s mountaintop estate "Lucknow", was built in 1913-1914 high in the Ossipee Mountain Range with a breathtaking vista of Lake Winnipesaukee and the hills and mountains beyond. Known since the 1960s as the Castle in the Clouds, the house is an unusual example of Arts and Crafts architecture in New England, expressing that aesthetic movement’s philosophy of living in harmony with nature. Designed by the architectural firm of J. Williams Beal & Sons of Boston, the house not only exhibits skilled hand craftsmanship in every aspect of its interior and exterior, but also features a number of technological innovations of the early 20th Century."

Imagination and Inspiration

I love their imaginations! They decided to make a train out of their chairs. The passengers even had tickets and a conductor that used the hole punch to punch their tickets. They sat on the train and the train made several stops and the passengers got on and off and back on again. It was an amazing adventure all from our home office.

Corey is my early riser. If he is not awake by 6 a.m. he is sleeping in. Here he is sitting at the table all prepared for school after breakfast which can be seen at the bar in the background. I came to the realization that since our children wake up relatively early, I need to begin school work early and then we have the rest of the day to play, complete our chores, go on outings and do whatever else we plan or do not plan for the day. I love inspiration!

Give a shout, say CHEESE, I'm almost six and fun in a green tub.

Nicolas is 4-years old. He loves being a big brother and enjoys holding baby Luke whenever Mom needs a helper. He is energetic and quick on his feet. He loves to go outside early in the morning to give a shout. We try not to let him out too early as to awake sleeping neighbors. It will be nice when we live on our farm (Nicole's dream) and he can go outside as early as he wants and make as much noise as he wants without disturbing anyone.

Lilly is a riot. When the camera comes out she knows just what to do, "CHEESE!" She is a little tike on little legs as she motors around the house all day coming up with something interesting to occupy herself with. She is very observant of her older siblings and concerned about her younger brother Luke. She likes to give Luke hugs and lots of kisses (poor Luke). She's a pint size little sister a big sister too.

Daryl is growing up right before my very eyes. When did she become almost 6!?!? The question she is asked most is "How old are you?" followed by, "Are you in Kindergarten?". For a child that is homeschooled, this question is a bit tedious. We have rehearsed it numerous times and she is getting the hang of it. In the beginning we would just respond with "Yes" but then people would ask her additional questions, "What school do you go to?" and "Do you like your teacher?". So, we just say, "I'm homeschooled" or "I'm schooled at home" so that people stop asking her more questions that are a challenge to answer. What would you say if your mom was your teacher and someone asked, "Do you like your teacher?"


Spencer and Lilly play well together except for when Spencer teases her. When he teases her too much she will run away from him and then scream if he even thinks about coming near her. On this particular day, they were playing well together and Spencer came up with the idea of hiding under the green tub. Lilly was right there, ready to join in the fun.

Just before General Conference the Tooth Fairy comes for the FIRST time!

September 30 Daryl lost her first tooth! It had been wiggly for a couple of weeks and finally, Mom got a firm grip on it and... yanked it out! The tooth fairy was really busy and did not make it the first night but did visit her pillow the next night and left a shiny new quarter and a little note that read,"Congratulations, Daryl. Love the Tooth Fairy". She was delighted.

Spencer adores his daddy. When he wakes up in the morning, his first question is,"Mommy, where is Daddy?"


General Conference was so amazing. As usual we did not hear much of the talks even though we were sitting in front of the computer for all four sessions. Thankfully I was able to listen to conference again early in the week. We're trying to get the children in the habit of sitting and listening but when they are this age, it's a bit of a challenge. Oh well, we'll just push on through and hope for the best. Darrel thinks that in April we'll try going to the chapel again and seeing if they are any less wiggly in church clothes and sitting in the chapel. The conference packets helped a little. The boys were occupied for the first three talks as they flipped through the entire packet. Daryl was a little more diligent and meticulous with her work. I'm pretty sure Spencer had his torn completely apart before the end of the first session. Lilly wandered around the room most of the time and picked up a crayon every now and then to scribble a few notes.

This was taken mid August when we went to the lake not too far from our home. Lilly was having a grand time playing by the water and then... it was nap time. So she curled up in my lap and fell asleep. Well, I had to find a suitable napping spot for her and this is what I came up with.

Daryl has been asking me to teach her to sew. I have put it off numerous times and finally decided to teach her the basic straight stitch on the machine. I think she likes it!

Spencer is growing and growing. He is thinning and stretching everyday it seems. He is still happy and smiley and very much a rough and tough boy.

Lilly outside playing

Daryl outside playing. I love my girls!

Cute and Funny

Little Brother

Swim Trunk Heads

Daddy and Baby Luke