VW Thanksgiving

Amber's family and my family joined Mom & Dad at their church on Thursday morning for worship.  After church we headed to their house for a big lunch with ham, potatoes (cheesy & sweet), corn, beans and salads.  For dessert we ate an entire Oreo Dessert and pumpkin pie.  

After lunch, it was time to unload the 4-wheeler.  Previous to this day we'd received word (or warning) that Dad was wanting to move cows on this day.  With all the extra bodies around, he thought it might go smoother.  See, the plan is open the fence for the cows to take the road a quarter mile from one stock field to the next.  Problem is, the neighbors don't have fences anymore so the grandkids formed a fence in the neighbors field to deter the cows.  

First, you must unload the 4-wheeler.  

And then take the pick up to the new stock field.  Here you have 6 children in the back of the truck, ready with their whips.

Don't mess with this cow-moving crew!
I made them raise their right hand and repeat: "I promise to stand still.  I promise to zip my lips when told.  I promise to do my best.  I promise to get out of the way, if told."  After that brief lesson, they were released to the field to stand guard.  Dad has moved cows this way every year but this year has some new heifers who aren't used to the routine.  Fortunately for us, they just followed the old cows and went right to the new field.  My boys were actually hoping for some 40 mph chase through a field or a runaway cow or something more exciting.  Us adults were quite thankful the event was uneventful.

Back at the homeplace . . .

The girls enjoyed teetering.

Then it was time for many rounds of Spit.  

Ephraim and Garret were a team!

It was a blessed day with worship and family.  We enjoyed our day and are thankful for the time we could have together.

VZ Thanksgiving

On Sunday, the 19th, we had Thanksgiving with Seth's immediate family.  

We had a delicious lunch of turkey and all the vegetable dishes and salads to go with it.  I brought fresh, homemade rolls.  And there was plenty of pumpkin pie and oreo dessert for everyone.  Whew!  After a lunch like that, we needed to take a walk.  Through the timber.  Over the crick and through the woods.  And up a tree.

Paul seeing how high he can climb.  

An old trick of Grandpa Arlin's:  climb a tree and then bend it over.  Here it looks like Eliza's about to get slingshot through the air.

Seth climbing a tree and getting higher than Paul.  . . .

Paul climbing another tree and getting a boost from Janell.

Ephraim wanted to climb one and then bend it over so here he is with Seth and Grandpa.

Bending a tree.

Eliza found two walking partners.

And when the going gets tough and thorny, find an uncle to carry you on his shoulders.

We also had the 4-wheeler with us for some fun rides around the farm.

It was a nice day with dinner, outside time, indoor time playing cards and visiting and finished up the evening with leftovers.  A blessed day.

Pictures of the week, Nov 11 to Nov 17, 2012

Sunday,  November 11, 2012

Emmet and the girls sang "I'm in the Lord's Army" during both church services.  

November 11 is a day to remember those who have served our country.  A day to remember their sacrifice and their family's sacrifices.  

November 11 is also the day my Grandpa Ernie passed away in 1989.  

Monday, November 12, 2012

Normally I just work out of the home on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Since the November 11 holiday was a Sunday, that meant that Monday was a holiday for State employees.  I was home and the girls helped me make 10 Taco Soups, 8 for my Supper Swappers and a couple extra.  You can find the recipe here.  

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

One project I've started working on is hand embroidery.  I used a flour sack towel and an easy pattern to ease myself into it.  That didn't last long because soon I was relinquishing the hoop to the girls who were eager to try and actually doing quite well.  My Grandma did a lot of hand embroidery on towels and quilts and I wanted to pick up this hobby, too.  

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hard to see, but there was a deer just across the road from our picture window on this morning!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Our Civil War Exhibit experience, previously blogged about.  

Friday, November 16, 2012

After watching the Berenstain Bears musical, previously blogged about, we were scheduled for a one-hour job of packing shoeboxes into the large cardboard boxes.  Our church is a collection center for our larger county area.  All week, community churches bring their filled shoeboxes to us so we can pack them for shipment to the distribution center.  We did this last year and it was a joy for the children to feel useful and to be a part of this great project.  We brought in 50+ boxes on this day.  

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Making Oreo Dessert for a Thanksgiving gathering on Sunday.  Such an easy, yummy dessert to make.  It is an family favorite that goes back many years!

Homeschool Field Trips

We had a couple of field trips last week with our homeschool group.  The first was on Thursday, the 15th, to a Civil War Exhibit in Pella that focused on Marion County's Civil war involvement.  It was free and very informative.

They had a children's area with a simulated camp area set up.  And then Ephraim was picked to wear an army hat during a pretend march.  

An exhibit of what the women did during the war:  canned food, made blankets, prepared bandages and wrote letters.

A big mural of Andersonville Prison.

Many exhibit cases to check out.  

Some original, one-of-a-kind letters, only located here.  These letters were part of the effort to send messages among the generals.  Some were in code, too.

Guns and wooden bullets.

Info on the Battle of Shiloh.

I'd have to say that it was very interesting and I could have stayed there longer and read all the letters and posters, but we took  in what we could considering the ages of my kids and the subject matter being a bit more mature.  

The next day, Friday the 16th,  we had the opportunity to attend a free musical, The Berenstain Bears.

It was a cute, one-hour story about stranger danger, good eating habits and manners.  The children enjoyed it and it was free.  That's a win-win in my book!

Pictures of the week Nov 4 to November 10, 2012

Sunday, November 4, 2012

There's trouble in the coop, and no, it's not actually the cat that got locked in for the night.  The cats and chickens actually co-exist nicely and share their food with each other (cats eat chicken feed and chickens eat cat food).  Seems as though the chickens are molting, which means they are replacing their feathers.  While replacing feathers, their egg production has dropped to zero.  Boo.  Also, seems as though I have one, maybe two chickens who are getting pecked on again.  Ugh.  

Monday, November 5, 2012

Eden teaching Eliza "how to write like me."  We'd just finished supper and all of a sudden a writing lesson popped up.  It didn't last long for Eliza though.  No ambidexterity there.  

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The election.  It's over.  Not necessarily pleased with the outcome.  

God has allowed us to choose who to vote for.  

I believe that there may be some tough days coming for the middle class.  

Our values may be tested.  

There is so much out there that happens with our tax dollars that we don't even understand or we just bury our heads in the sand because we don't want to understand it.  

I shouldn't have to pay for someone else's abortion.  I shouldn't have to pay for someone else's medical insurance while ours continues to increase and cover less.  Dangerous drugs are being legalized.  The traditional, God-perfected family unit is being attacked.  

This is only the beginning.   

We need to be in prayer for our country and the world.  

Other bloggers can say it better than I.  Check out 

Focus on the Family's blog,

RC Sproul's blog,

Vision Forum's blog,

and an RCA pastor's blog.  

Lastly, I'll be watching the Family Leader for guidance in next 4 years. 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Emmet was able to take one round in the truck to pick up a load of beans by Knoxville for Pioneer.  According to Seth, he was a perfect passenger!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

We do occasionally play with our food.  Making faces with apple slices.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Seth was putting in an incredibly long day applying anhydrous to the fields so it was just the children and I for Friday night.  We put in a Little House on the Prairie episode, popped some popcorn on the stove and enjoyed the evening together.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

One more lost tooth.  Emmet came out of his room after bedtime to show me a loose tooth.  I said the usual "Keep wiggling it and it will come out soon."  To me, it didn't appear THAT loose.  It wasn't five minutes later and he came out with the tooth in his hand!  He now gets to pick out a special meal.  I'm sure it'll either be hamballs or chicken on the bone.  

Saturday projects

Saturday was a nice day outside and we took advantage of it.  Seth was super busy putting anhydrous on the fields so it was just me and the kids all day.  We had several projects to keep us busy!

First, because it was nice out, we decided to work with Christmas lights.  

Last year we purchased several strands of new lights after Christmas for pennies!  We had two strands of new rope lights.  I thought it would be neat to spell a word on a fence and place it in the yard.  So we  were trying to brainstorm a word for our fence.  Eden's idea of "Merry Christmas from the Van Zante's" was vetoed.  Ephraim's idea was "Joy."  That's perfect!  Joy it is.  The rope came with zip ties to keep the lights attached and the kids helped with that.  Here we are working on it.  At first, the "O" in joy looked more like a lumpy potato so I did some tweaking and made the "O" look like a heart.  We were thrilled with the finished product. 

I had volunteered to contribute cupcakes for Veteran's Day coffeetime at church.  I had children help with the frosting, too.

While outdoors, the girls re-discovered their bikes.  Eden hasn't enjoyed bike riding much but this day she really took off!

I didn't get a picture of Eliza but Eliza tried a few times on the bike we have that is the next size up and doesn't have training wheels.  Whew!  I'd forgotten how exhausting that can be to hold on to a bike and  keep up, all the while making sure they don't spill big time!

Standing outside by our finished product!  The "JOY" fence and some lights on the two trees on each side of it.  We did have them lit the first night but now we'll wait until after Thanksgiving to light them continually.  I like this location because we can see them from our picture window.  

Also on my Saturday "to-do" list was to make mailboxes for our church missionaries.  I totally stole this idea from my parents' church, but that's okay, right?  The idea is for the congregation to write letters to our missionaries, deposit them here and then the church mails all of them together.  I made the mailboxes from cereal boxes and printed some flags.  Kinda cute, I think.

Lastly, my idea for supper was to make pan-fried chicken.  I was hungry for it and I've had chicken thawing in the fridge just waiting to be used.  I found a recipe on this website.  Well, long story short, the chicken was delicious (my children inhaled it since they love "chicken on the bone") but it was A LOT of work.  I'd much rather lather my chicken in butter, cover with crunched cornflakes and bake.  With pan-fried chicken I could only fry a few pieces at a time and when you need to do as many as I needed to do (did you follow that?), it took forever.  I had to babysit the chicken on the stove, cooking in hot, dangerous oil while my hands were covered in buttermilk and flour and at the same time I was uber-paranoid about the children being around the stove.  Because I was busy with the chicken, I couldn't be tending to my side dishes or setting the table.  All was not lost, it was good.  It was a lesson learned.

And the children kept asking for more.  That's a win-win in my book.  Just not sure how soon we'll have this recipe again. 

Pictures of the week, October 28, 2012 to Nov 3, 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Packing our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, previously blogged about.  We had a great time compiling items, shopping for new items and then packing our boxes.  We've done a lot of talking about the purpose of this, how important it is, how blessed we are and what a blessing it is to share our wealth.  We included a sheet about us in each box along with a Christmas card picture from last year.  

Monday, October 29, 2012

I voted.  At home.  On my own time.  We'd long since turned off the ringer to our phone and just let the answering machine take all our calls first.  

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Trick-or-treating at Great-Grandma's assisted living facility, previously blogged about.  

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Trick-or-treating with Farmer Harold & Banker Twyla.  The best thing:  they didn't give out just chocolate but $2 bills, too.  

Thursday, November 1, 2012

While studying our astronomy book, there was an easy activity to do that used household items to illustrate the sizes of the planets.  Perfect.  We grabbed a large piece of posterboard to start with.  The soccer ball represented the sun.  We used a sprinkle for Mercury, a peppercorn for Venus, an M&M for Earth (a blue one & we turned it sideway so the M was an E).  Clever, I know.  Mars was a chocolate chip.  Then it was time for the astroid belt.  We laid down some glue and spread pepper on it.  The kids loved that part.  Jupiter & Saturn were chestnuts and Saturn had a twist-tie for the rings.  Uranus and Neptune were a stale Kix cereal piece and yes, we included Pluto at the end with a sprinkle.  Again, this was just an illustration of the sizes of the planets, nothing about their distance from each other.  Yet.  

Friday, November 2, 2012

We made Thankful Journals today.  And we have one page for each day of November.  A little scrapbook paper for the cover, some large lined paper inside, tie it together with some embroidery floss and two buttons and we were all set!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

I was able enjoy my co-worker's son's wedding in Ames on this night.  Here I am with my former boss Mary, a former co-worker Sherry and a co-worker Evonne.  The wedding was beautiful, the reception was great.  As an added bonus I was able to do some shopping on my way to Ames.  Too bad I didn't find the exact Christmas gifts I was looking for and the fabric lines at JoAnn's were toooooooo long :(