Another highlight of our trip was  a visit to southern Belgium, to the towns of Namur and Dinant.  After a quick visit to the war museum in Brussels, we headed south to the Ardennes of Belgium, the french speaking part of the country.

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The first day, we went on a rail bike ride outside Dinant.  The rail bikes run on an old railroad track.  The bikes are actually little wagons/flatbed carts powered to two people using peddle power.  There is room for two passengers in the middle. 

We had a hard but beautiful ride "up" for 45 minutes.  Boy, I thought I was out of shape til I found up that we were indeed going up.  That struggle and sweat was all worth it when we got to go back downhill for the 20 minute ride back.  Did you ever notice how sweet the easy stuff is after you have worked so hard?  I mean, that 20 minutes ride would not have been so wonderful had we not worked so hard to peddle uphill.  It was amazing.  The boys learned a good lesson about the rewards of hard work. 

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 While in the Ardennes, we were able to spend time exploring and learning about the Citadel Namur.  This was an amazing fortress with over 2000 years of history.   All these places were always built way atop a hill.  This particular one is built where two major rivers merge so it was at a  very strategic point.

We toured the outside parts of the citadel, with it's mighty walls......

And holes from canon balls

On this part of the tour, we took a tram ride with Gramma.

We also toured the underground tunnel network.  It is one of the largest in all of Europe.  After people starting using canon balls in wars & battles, the walls of the above ground fortress proved to be less than adequate.  So, they started building tunnels and underground forts/hideouts.  These tunnels were amazing.  They had spanish influence from when the Spanish occupied them.  They had German parts, French parts, Roman parts and of course, Belgiun parts.  

Walking through some of the oldest parts of the tunnel system.

An officers bunker during World War II

Firing hole for guns.

One more highlight from this leg of our trip was the boys High Ropes Adventure outside Dinant.  I actually think this was one of their highlights from the entire trip. 

Gearing up for the adventure (I would like to mention, we were visiting our best friends who have moved to Belgium.  The 2 boys you don't recognize as mine belong to them.  They also have two little girls you may see in several pictures.)

The boys on the practice section.

Then, it was time to move on to the course.  Starting with a bridge that the walked up from ground level, they moved on to bridges of different types.  The bridges also got progressively higher. 

The second  bridge had a wood 2x6 to walk on and was about the half the height of some REALLY big trees. 

The next was higher and simply had a cable to walk on.

 Then, before I knew it, they were calling to me from WAY up high.  This bridge had some 2x4's and some cables sectioned about a yard apart.  For the record, my camera was zoomed in as far as it would go when I took this picture was taken.  They were WAY up there!!!

Here is one zoomed all the way out to normal. See my children, those little dots in the sky? 

After 2 1/2 hours of amazing adventure, it was time to end with a zip line that was VERY high. 

Here they are waiting there turn for the zip line down.  See how high they were?   You can get a feeling for it by looking at the road and valley in the distance.  Yikes! 

AtTheCross coming down!

What an amazing adventure they had.  These couple days were an awesome part of our trip and we will never forget them. 

I would love to record every minute of every day from our trip to Europe.  The whole trip was amazing.  However,  I have chosen to just spend the next several days highlighting some of our favorite parts (though they will be hard to choose!!).

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A couple days after arriving in Belgium, we drove up to  Netherlands for a couple days.  There were  saw old windmills still speckling the landscape....

There were canals EVERYWHERE! 

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Interesting Fact:  Did you know, when you drive along the highway, the cows and sheep you see along the road are not fenced in?  They are held in by canals.  The canals separate the different pastures, also.  You don't see fences/barbed wire/woven wire etc.  The water in this very lowland has to go somewhere and these little canals help with that, as well as keeping livestock where it belongs.  It makes for beautiful countyside without fences!

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Interesting Fact:  Home owners used to be taxed by how much frontage they had to canals.  Therefore, they built homes that had little frontage but went WAY back, instead.  This made for some neat looking homes. 

Interesting Fact:  Because the homes are so skinny and stairs are so steep, people can't get furniture in when they move.  Therefore, there are crane type hooks on top of every building that are used to hoist the furniture up on the outside of the building.  The furniture is then brought in through the window. 

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We went on a canal boat ride-tour with Gramma.  It was wonderful.  We all really enjoyed it!! 

There are bikes EVERYWHERE!  There are bike taxi's, bike riders, bike racks, ferries and even bike parking lots!!!

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We were able to go to the shore and swim in the North Sea.  What a special treat for the boys!!!   That afternoon was loads of fun. 

Lastly, the cute little streets!!!  They were so quaint--cobblestoned, narrow, filled with character!  You'll see lots more of these in my Germany pictures.

Wow!! I can't believe how time has passed so quickly. We flew through spring and most of summer already.  Now, here we are in August, looking at the start of school yet again.  Unbelievable.

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Summer was busy but awesome for us.  The boys were on two swim teams so we were at the pool each morning and each evening.  We would also play in the pool in the afternoon if  the weather was nice.  We never seem to get tired of the water.

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In mid July, we went with my mom on a once in a lifetime vacation to Europe.  We went to Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.   What an amazing time we had.  I'll post some pictures over the next week.  It was amazing.  I told my mom I felt like I was a princess in a fairytale.  I was truly an awesome experience.  They were 19 days, I pray, we never forget.

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Now, as we close in on mid August, we are engrossed with the Olympics, especially gymnastice, swimming and diving.   In the in between times, I try to wrap up my school year planning.  It is going to ba a good year, busy, but good.  

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It feels good to be back in the homeschoolblogger community again.  I pray to catch up with each one of you in the next week or so. 

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God Bless!   

It is so nice to have spring here again.  I could wait to get the clothes out on the line again.  It has been so wet and cold, I haven't hung my clothes up except once since before Thanksgiving.  Aahhh, the wonders of spring!

Crazy Hair Night.at AWANA and boy did TheBean have fun.  Our neighbor put in blue hair coloring and tons of gel to make his hair stand on ends.  He was definately in the running for a prize.  What fun!!!

It's so hard to believe that only 4 weeks ago, we were buried in 12 1/2 inches of snow and outside shoveling.  Today, it was so beautiful outside.  I love it when beautiful days fall on the weekends. 

First, The boys had a wonderful time out shooting hoops after church.  Then, we went out for a nature walk at a nearby nature center. 

It was so glorious to be outside in the sunshine getting some exercise.

We saw wildflowers, deer, and cool things in nature.  The boys skipped rocks in the creek  for a long time, had splashing contests and got quite wet.  We only hiked about 3 miles because we were constantly stopping to observe the marvels of God's awesome creation (and skip some more rock, of course).

What a perfect afternoon.

Another beautiful spring day.  We could hardly wait to finish school and get outside.  Today, the boys took up some old landscaping timbers.  They were 3 deep and very rotted.  They have been here since we bought the house and I was so glad to see them go.  They were so large, the boys had to pull out the saws and saw through one layer at a time, one section at a time, until we could move them.  Then, they continued to saw until there were small enough pieces to throw away. 

 I am so proud of their hard work.  They really kept at it, even when their little arms were very tired. Way to go boys!!! 

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The Bean stopped a  bit before the others and decided it was a great day to sit in the sun and read books.  He LOVES Magic School Bus books. 

The cat found a wonderful sunny spot, also. 

This is the day that the Lord has made. 

 Let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

It seems so easy to rejoice in the spring.  Even with all the flooding and rain we are having, there are exciting signs of spring, new life, new birth everywhere around us this time of year. 

Things are awakening after having been comfortably sleeping under a blanket of snow for several months.  They are springing to life everywhere.  As we were driving yesterday, AtTheCross said, "Mom, look how green everything is now!"  We both were so warmed and excited by the sight of new growth and the green.  It is with those feelings that rejoicing just seems to flow so easily. 

We even felt it very necessary to have a few flower blooms present in the garden to remind us of new life, spring and Jesus' resurrection.  So, AtTheCross planted me a few purple pansies to get growing season going a bit. 

I got the porch furniture all set for the many, many upcoming days we will spend outside on the front porch.  We love to be outside (almost as much as we love snow) and around here, spring is the time to do it, before it gets too hot.  Now, the porch is all ready.  I enjoyed it today as the boys rode bikes and played basketball. 

Now, we need to head out back and get that all ready.  We will be cleaning the furniture for the back patio, getting flower pots ready for planting and putting out candles and things this week.  We are also going to begin planting our garden.  This week, lettuce, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower will all go in the ground.  How exciting!  Spring has arrived in the midwest and we are all very happy to see it here, once again.  God is good!

What a wonderful day.  After cranking out some school this morning, we were off for an afternoon at the zoo.   It was perfect weather for the zoo....not too hot, not too cool.  The animals all seemed to like it also, as they were quite active.   Today's favorite was a baby orangutan who was in a very playful mood. 

Here is an adorable picture of an orangutan.  This wasn't the one we say but is just as cute  :-)

We also really enjoyed the monkeys and the prairie dogs.  We could watched them for hours! 

Here is a cute picture.  Again, these aren't the ones we saw, but just as fun and cute! 

Spring is in the air and we are all excited.  Winter is fun, we LOVE the snow, but spring is so exciting once it gets here.  We spent hours, the other day, cleaning out the garden areas getting ready for planting.  In the next week, or so, we'll get the lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage going.  Nummy!  Can't wait. 

HE HAS RISEN!!

HAPPY EASTER

Tomorrow, we are having:

Bunny Salads--Pears for the body, cottage cheese scoop for the tail, strawberries for the ears, red hot     nose, on a lettuce bed for grass.  

Relish/Vegi Tray--Pckles, Black Olives, Carrots, Tomatoes, Celery, Snow Peas and Raw Green Beans

Asparagus with Balsamic Butter--just mix Balsamic Vinegar with some melted butter and pour over cooked asparagus.  Nummy

Mashed Red Potatoes--made with the skins still on

Vegetable & Tofu Shishkabob--onions, red & orange bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini cubes, cherry tomatoes, pineapple chunks, and tofu cubes

Whole Grain Dinner Rolls

Homemade Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Angelfood Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream on Top

Should be nummy! 

Inspired by photos other people placed on their blogs of flooding, I decided to post a few as well.  It is totally amazing the amount of water that is floating through middle United States right now. 

The boys and I have been out trucking around the area checking out water levels.  I must admit, I have NEVER seen anything like this before.  It was astonishing. 

See the baseball fencing in the upper right of the picture?  Wow!

Anyone have a boat? 

One of my favorite pictures! 

See how high the water level is here?  Well.......

on the other side of this flood gate wall, it is bone dry.  Amazing.  See the boys on top?  This was a huge wall! 

Another day, another birthday.  March is a busy month for us.  Today, St. Patricks Day, we celebrate my oldests birthday.  It is unbelievable how quickly they grow up.  Seems only yesterday we were decorating that first nursery......driving to the hospital..... sending out birth announcements......  

It is so exciting to watch them grow and develop into their own persons.   It is so, though, to say goodbye to the stage they are leaving.   Aaaahhhhh, just the memories now. 

Happy Birthday My Sweet AtTheCross

Today is my baby's birthday. 

If you would like to wish him a happy birthday, you can visit his blog here, TheBean  They grow up so fast, don't they.  Remember to always treasure every minute because soon, those moments will be far and few between.  Ah, if they could only stay small forever.....

Between this latest snow storm, swimming and getting ready to celebrate TheBeans birthday, things have been a bit busy.  Being short on time, I threw some ingredients in the crockpot for dinner, let them simmer all afternoon on high (about 5 hours) and NUMMY.....a high point scoring dinner for the family. 

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Here is basically what I did:

Layer In A Crock Pot

2 Med. Orgainc Sweet Potatoes, sliced

2 Organic Carrots, sliced

1 Orgainc Red Pepper, sliced

2 Orgainc  Zucchinis, sliced

1 Small Organic Broccoli Head, chopped

1 Bag Frozed Organic Mixed Vegi's (with peas, corn, beans and lima's)

Cover this all with:

1 tsp each:  Organic Basil, Dry Mustard and Thyme

2 tsp Organic Chili Powder

16 oz Organic Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup Organic Nama Shoya (Unpasteurized Soy Sauce)  

2-3 Cups of Water

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We had this with some warm homemade sliced Kamut Bread and a side salad.  So easy, and so nummy.  I'll make this again in the near future.  Great meal for a cold snowy night and a busy afternoon.

If you try it, let me know what you think. 

Well, we were blessed with the Lord's beautiful bounty of snow.  This time we got about 12 1/2 inches!!!  The boys have never seen a snow this big and had so much fun in it. 

AtTheCross and HisCross were out in it for about 5 1/2 hours straight!!!  It even snowed 4 additional inches on them while they were playing.  What fun.  We had some extra children here, whose school was closed.  They didn't have appropriate attire for spending long periods of time outside so, when they went in, TheBean went in also.  I then spent my time going between the glorious outside and doing two dryer loads of soaking wet clothes inside.  Once the clothes were dry, those inside went out for a second run in the snow til past dark! 

I LOVE SNOW!!!

Here are a few photos of our day. 

 A Lone Cardinal Seeking Refuge from the Storm

 Heading Off To Make A Snow Fort

Who Knew Walking Could Be So Difficult

Hmmm.....Where Should We Build Our Fort?

How About Right Here?

Lookin' Good.....Those Walls are Getting High

Adding Another Room To The Fortress

Best Friends

And, The Snow Is Still Coming Down

WOW!!!

It seems that in every corner of my house, you will find some kind of knitting and crochet stuff.  One of these days I am going to get one centralized location for it all....

Gotta love those candles.....We burn all but the decorative ones.  Many times,  we have dip candles the boys have made hanging on these pegs, as well as others around the house.

A cozy little corner for the boys Bible stuff....

The ladder to HisCross' Kingdom!

Pioneer boxes the boys made, complete with leather hinges

Ironing and Sewing Corner  

A day in the life......

It is sleeting, freezing rain, and icing outside today.  A great day to be inside.  It is quite dangerous to be on the roads around here today so we will just stay put. 

It's a great day to curl up with pillows.....

And quilts.....

To do your school work.

For Mama, Its a great day for a cup of hot tea....

And to catch up on some much needed laundry.  This is my high class laundry shoot..

Here's the question of the day....Where do those matching socks go?  Honest, I think my washing machine must eat them 

Another glimpse into the corners of our home today......

At one time in my life I avidly collected bears.  I have never been able to part with most of them. 

Bear Central

I LOVE candles!  We have candles burning much of the day, during meals and almost always at night.  We have plain simple ones and some fancier ones.  Some of the large fancy ones, I burned about an inch hole in the middle and not place votives inside them to save the beauty of the original.  Interesting, I know.

Candles Waiting For Nightfall (Or PowerOutages)

We drink raw cows milk in our house most of the time.  I make keifer from it and we drink that as well, mostly in smoothies.  The milk comes from the farmer in big wonderful gallon glass jars.  We are supposed to return them weekly.  Guess I got a little behind.  Yikes!

Time To Bring Those Raw Milk Jars Back

TheBean and I are doing an art curriculum I have used with the other two boys in the past.  We are having so much fun.  This week he did a study of primary colors.  There is always an art project after you have learned the new concept.

TheBean Made A Primary Color Quilt

We don't use white sugar in this house.  I actually don't even own any.  Our sweetener of choice is honey.  We do use some stevia and on very rare occasions rapadura or raw, organic brown sugar.  But our favorite is definately honey.

Our Beloved Honey Pot

One of our favorite times of day is as the day draws to a close.  The boys all curl up in their beds and I sit on some big comfy pillows and read to the boys.  We so look forward to that last little bit of time together before they drift off to sleep. 

Where Mama Sits For Our Nightly Reading of Terrestria

From the corners of our home today................

Down to earth, home cooked meals served here.  Hours change daily so check with the management before making plans.

In the kitchen

I love old antiques, especially from my grandparents homes.  I don't think they had any clue how much of my house they would furnish.

In A Corner  :-)

No Goldilocks and the 3 bears living here.  Just 3 little munchkins whom I happen to adore everything about.

Three Little Towels All Hung in a Row

Sometimes these old feet get a bit worn out and feel like my old shoes.  However, there is truly nothing more comfortable that old broken in shoes.  They are the best.  Try getting me to put on new ones....go ahead, try me.....

These Shoes Have Seen A Lot of Wear

We like to soak our grains and beans before cooking them to help break them down.  It takes some preplanning since soaking and cooking is about 18-24 hours but you eventually get the hang of it-- or just eat something else while you're waiting for your beans to be ready.  We've done that a few times more than I want to admit. 

Beans Soaking For Spicey Maple Black Beans Tomorrow

We eat a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables.  I love to organic garden to all my scraps go straight out to the compost pile.  Nothing transforms garden soil like good homemade compost.  Add this for a couple years and your soil will be like black gold

Compost Bucket Full Yet Again

Animals in this house will always be animals but quickly become members of the family, as well.  Our 14 year old cat is such a sweetie and will cuddle with you at any time.  He follows me around at night, right beside the dogs.  Too funny.

Our Constant Companion, Old Man Frack