bella-isms

Mommy: "Bella, you need to turn your shirt around, it is on backyards."

Bella: "It's ok, people want to see the decoration when I go."

sick baby

Read has RSV and a double ear infection.  I thought he was just having a hard time with this round of teething, he is cutting 3 teeth.  Yesterday, his fever jumped, his cough worsened and his nose gunk turned yellow.  I took him in this morning and hopefully with lots of prayers, medicine, saline, a humidifier working overtime and rest he will re-coop quickly.  However, we are quarantined to the house for 10 days.  We would appreciate any prayers we can get.

wordless wednesday

Stone Soup Recipe

Heat some water in a pot.
Add some stones you've scrubbed a lot.
Sprinkle pepper, salt and herbs.
Let it boil undisturbed.
Drop in carrots, onions too.
Let the soup heat through and through.
Stir in milk to make it sweet.
Add potatoes for a treat.
Toss in meat cubes.  Let it stew.
Let it bubble, let it brew.
Taste the soup and when it's done,
Share stone soup with everyone.
~Stone Soup by Marilyn Sapienza

Richards Family Five Simplified Soup:
Boil water, add a clean stone.
Add 2 bay leaves and a whole chicken.
When chicken is cooked through, remove skin and debone.  Toss bay leaves.
Add 1 pkg of frozen mixed veggies.  Cook until tender.
Add 4 pkgs of Ramen noodles and seasoning packets.  Cook until noodles are tender.
Serve.

croquet badge

Bella got a croquet set for Christmas and this past weekend the weather was so gorgeous we decided to spend some time teaching Daddy how to play.   The girls have to play three games and be able to explain the rules in order to earn their badge.  They have played 2 games and they must have done a good job teaching Daddy how to play b/c he beat us all.

love for the birds

I found this project on pinterest and it actually inspired me to begin our bird unit.  It is using a bird suet which I found for $2 at Wal-mart.  We stuffed it with yarn and hung it on our "bird tree" outside the classroom window.
We also bought a bird feeder and wild bird seed to hang from the porch of our shed.
I am hoping the birds appreciate all of this work and find it soon, so we can start journaling the birds in our backyard.

for the birds

We have found great literature on birds as we have been working on our badge for keepers.  The most informative book has been Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest . Our project has expanded and we have added some of our own projects.  We made bird feeders out of some pine cones that Paw-Paw and Mimi picked for us on their last trip north.  We spread peanut butter on them and then rolled them in bird seed.  Then, we tied a piece of yarn and hung them from one of our trees in the backyard.  We are hoping the birds can smell the peanut butter.

prayers needed

We found out today Xai Xai, Mozambique was hit by a tropical storm.  Mission of Mercy has posted the details on their website and I have seen our friends, Mel and Diane on facebook today.  Our two special children, Elsa and Leo are in Xai Xai along with hundreds of other children.  We are praying they are safe, but it will be awhile before we get any word.  Please join us in prayer for this community, Elsa and Leo.  If the roof of the metal church was lifted I cannot imagine the damage to the lean-to homes that are all over this area.

fun with family

Happy Birthday Brady!
We recently drove to San Angelo for my nephew's 2nd birthday.  My brother was able to get us a house to stay in and it was a holiday weekend, so we tried to make it into a weekend getaway.  Problem with 3 young children is their isn't very relaxing 3 day weekend get-aways.
R2 hated the car drive and wasn't to keen on sleeping in his pack-n-play.  Other than that the kids had a blast and we had great birthday food.

Keepers Badges

The girls have been working really hard lately to get earn their badges for keepers.  I told them when they earned ten I would order the badges for their sashes.  I figured it would take them till the end of the school year to do so.  Since the first of December they have earned:

• abc (letter and sounds)
• setting the table (5x, including linens & silverware) 
• reading the book of Daniel (NIV)
• stamping (3 cards)
• card making (3 cards)
• puzzles (20, 50 and 100 pieces)
• cookie baking (3 different kinds from scratch)
• Jesus loves Me (learning all 3 verses)

We are presently working on our badges for birds, croquet, and cooking.