My Current Favorite Quotes

Here are some of my current favorite quotes:

"Our England is a garden,
and such gardens are not made
By singing "O how beautiful"
and sitting in the shade."
-Rudyard Kipling

"Religion is what a sinful people try to do for a Holy God, and the Gospel is the Good News of what a Holy God has already done for a sinful people" -Roy Gustafson

"Who knows better than He how to guide our mind and pen for His design?" -John Bunyan

"Famous remarks are very seldom quoted correctly." -Simon Strunsky

"No matter what teachers of dancing may assert, the most expedient and certainly best way to learn to dance is to stand up and try it; no one can ever learn by sitting quietly by and looking on." -George Wilson 1884

"To be a King and to wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasant to them that wear it." -Queen Elizabeth I

"The ae half of the warld thinks the tither daft." -Sir Walter Scott

"My love she's but a lassie yet,
My love she's but a lassie yet,
We'll let her stand a year or twa
She'll no be half sae saucy yet."
-Robert Burnes

Now guess who said the last one- "We could all enjoy being in an ill-humor over weeding the garden, were there not so many reproving metaphors to be found in the business, staring us blankly in the face."

Hope you enjoyed them! I am afraid I could be the lassie discussed in the second-to-last quote! :) -Rachel

CEO, Chickens, and an Essay

I am now a CEO. Of sorts. By this afternoon, I, Rachel, will be the...mother of quite a nest of baby chicks. I bought them. Leah will take care of them. Come October we will sell the eggs to our landscape customers, and we will split the difference. Sound good? I hope so! Leah had the enthusiasm and likes chickens, and I had the money and a nice picture of some earnings in my head, so between the two of us, we will have a little business. I wonder how it will work out? My part sounds almost too easy, but she is out there with Sarah who already takes care of our family chickens so it'll be fine. There has been an awful lot of talk around and what the measure of a good book or movie is. Funny enough, I had to write a paper on the book side of it for our literature-based unit study a couple of weeks ago. Here it is as I wrote it:
In 1868 John Ruskin said, "Life being very short, and the quiet hours of it few, we ought to waste none of them in reading valueless books." I believe that one of the main questions you should ask yourself when reading a book, is whether or not there is anything to be taken from it, and applied in your own life. Some books are, for obvious reasons, wrong to erad, containing things that are contrary to God's principles. Stay far from such books, for, though they may be entertaining now, it is not worth the poisoning of your mind to gain a few hours of selfish enjoyment. There are others books, not harmful in any way, but presenting life in very unrealistic scenarios. When evaluating this sort of book, it is more of a question of "better" or "best". The best sort of book one can read, is a work that inspires us to higher thoughts, to purer ideals, and ever points our imaginations to Christ's standards. C.S. Lewis sums up well the measure of a worthwhile book, (fiction particularly) when he said, "No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally, (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty...the only imaginative works we ought to grow out of are those which it would have been better not to have read at all." But the ultimate measure of our standards as Christians can be found in Philippians 4- "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things."

So, what do you think? I know this is a subject that many people disagree on, and I do think that various people have varying convictions about it, but these are my thoughts! -Rachel

The Pure In Heart Award

Hello! This is Rachel! Miss Jo March awarded us with the "Pure In Heart" Award, given to girls whose blogs are pure, lovely, and godly. Thanks Jo! :)

Here are the rules: We must post about the award, give it to five girls that deserve it, and then answer the questions below:





We Award:
Abigail,
Shaina,
Leanna,
The Wilson Girls,
and Anna-Beth!

1. Apples, oranges, or bananas? Apples! (Granny Smith preferably! Really sour ones!)

2. How many siblings do you have? 7! Daniel (19), Sarah (15), Leah (12), Anna (10), Benjamin (8), Abigail (5), and Grace (3)

3. How old are you? 17 and 3/4 ma'am! :)

4. Do you live on Prairie, woodland, swamp, city, or other? Can I pick three? Woodland, swamp, and other! :)

5. Scissors or glue? Glue! I love peeling it off my fingers! :)

6. Describe your dream house: Huge 1800's era country house surrounded by emerald fields and hills, not too fancy, but definitely well-to-do. Lots of cottage gardens around... wrap around porch, towers with windowseats in them, a secret passage, a rambling attic, big old trees, a brook, and an orchard!

7. Is your room clean? Yes! I try to keep it looking a bit like a Victorian Lady's sitting room with flowers and all! :)

8. If you could be a movie character for a day who would you be? Emma Woodhouse when she is proposed to by Mr. Knightley, and discovers she was all wrong about Harriet! :)

9. Italy, Greece, France, Spain, or England? Don't torture me with such a choice! England first, then France!

10. What denomination are you? Un-denominational, our church is based off of the Bible, and not connected to any particular church "group", but I'd say our family is closest to Baptist out of all the ones I am familiar with. (Except we can dance! :)

11. Do you sleep with a stuffed toy? No way no how! I strongly despise random things in my bed! It really irritates me if something drops from my nightstand into my bed at night or anything like that! :)

12. Gum, Chocolate, or Jelly Beans? Blast! I'd have to say gum though!

13. What is your favorite book? I cannot choose. It would be like asking who my favorite sibling is! Books are a huge part of me, and I can't pick a favorite! It would blow my mind to have to! :D

14. Favorite icecream flavor? Smithfield Icecream Parlor's Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream

15. If you had to pick one type of food to eat for two weeks, what would it be? Mexican

16. What is your favorite Olympic sport? Summer: Swimming, Winter: Figure-skating!!!

17. If you woke up and discovered you were Miley Cyrus for the day what would you do? As Jo said so truly, "Wear some decent clothes for once", also, I'd sing some songs that poor little girls could benefit from- Uncle David, ready for "My Redeemer Lives"? :)

18. Describe yourself in three words: Quaint, Creative, Merry-hearted (Is that about right?)

19. What chore do you positively hate? Well, I very strongly dislike washing baseboards in a carpeted room!

20. If Elmo came into your room with a gun, what would you do? I'd tickle him, and then call the police. Also, I'd threaten to flush his precious gold-fish if he didn't put down the gun! :)

That was fun! Thanks Jo! -Rachel

The Town Bedlamites

I feel as if I want to write something clever but can't....ever feel that way? Or at least, I want to write something that will make people leave comments on our lonesome little blog but...can't. :)
Anyway, I guess I'll write about a bit of a funny incident while gardening yet again today. First off, you must realize that we are the talk of the town. Around here we, (Much to our embarassment and chagrin) are recognized as "Those big house people". Yep. And especially since the Walkers are living with us, we have become a local curiosity. Really. People slow down as they pass our driveway, probably counting the children and wondering what on earth we are. I think it is so funny. We constantly repeat the classic penguin line from a movie I can't exactly recommend: "Smile and wave boys! Just smile and wave". (Which we do) But one can scarcely blame them! I mean, my inquiring mind can see how juicy a story it would be to know what on earth was going on in a big house with 21 people. Is it an orphanage? A daycare? Are they from some strange religion? (No! To all of these questions!) I wonder if they'd be disappointed to see what we really are?Anyway! If it isn't the hunt club after us, it's the feedstore man who about went into cardiac arrest when Mama informed him very politely that we fix an average of 60 plates of food a day. So, we were all down weeding the corn patch which is very near the road, when a whole troop of elderly bicyclists rode by. One man said, "Whatcha planting?" I smiled, "Actually, we are weeding our corn!"
Another man called out, "Make sure you plant lots of asparagus!"
At the tail end of the posse I heard a couple discussing us: "What are they picking?" one lady asked her companion. The man, evidently thinking himself an expert gardener answered her in a patronizing tone, "They aren't picking! They're planting!"
I laughed to myself. His companion was closer to the truth. We were only picking weeds. I went closer to house-end of the garden and told Mama the story. We laughed together about it. I was only joking, but perhaps it was a bit close to the truth when I pretended to be the town-gossip and said, "Oh! You gotta come by that big house! They're all close to the road today! We can get a good look at those Bedlamites and count `em!" :) I hope not. We really are only a "normal" family in our circles, although sadly, in our culture you could box us up and sell tickets to watch our "strange" way of life. Hee-hee. I don't know why, but I find I get a funny thrill from knowing I'm normal, but letting people wonder all about me...:) :) :) -Rachel

In Which We Are Wanted In All 13 Colonies for Desertion

Hello! First off, I want to say that Sarah posted our 200th post yesterday! Happy Birthday-ish-sort-of-thingy! :)
Okay. It all began with the reading of a description in a book- a real description from the Revolutionary War about a deserter from the army. It ran something along the lines of "Is prone to say `I'll swear! I'll swear' and spits between his words." and other very random things like that. So today, while on our hands and knees grubbing carpet weeds out of the rows of corn, we incriminated eachother. I mean, what are we to do after singing songs and chatting generally for an hour? So I casually suggested this strange means of entertainment. I began by telling my cohorts about the above-mentioned description. Then I said, "So while we weed, why don't we describe each other?"
Perhaps because it was a good idea, (or more likely because of lack of something better to discuss :) the others agreed to the hare-brained proposition. I (Rachel) led off describing my dear and cheeky sister Sarah- "Wanted, or Missing: A young woman of middle height and stature- blonde hair, golden eyes. Dents nose when bested. (inside joke) When speaking of her witticisms and other's reactions to them is prone to say: "They were cracking up laughing".
Matthew took his turn with me next: "Wanted or Missing: Young lady of brown hair. Uses old English phrases like "Blast!" and "Heavens to Betsy!" and sometimes breaks into fits of craziness or witticisms."
Christopher and Leah did it to each other in turn, and Sarah did it to Matthew. By the end of the time, we had all become deserters of the Continental Army of America, and were wanted in all 13 colonies! ;) Anyway, that might sound a bit odd to you, but it certainly lent a novelty to our tedious row-vacuuming, and if it was "strange saying what" I "imagined" as Leah said, it was something out of the ordinary, and temporarily entertaining! :) Anyway, do we sound like inventive cousins, or do we sound like young lunatics? You decide! ;) -Rachel

An Order Was Made!!! :)

Finally!!! I'm so excited because yesterday, Mom told me to pull up "our tea set website" and we were gonna go ahead and order my tea set!!!! Hooray!! So, I know that I already posted about this subject, but here is what my dinner set/tea set will include:

Eight 10 1/2" dinner plates

Eight 7" salad/dessert plates

Eight 8 1/2" soup plates

Eight tea cups with matching saucers

Sugar and creamer set

9" Vegetable bowl

14" platter

36 oz. Tea pot

Salt and Pepper shakers!!! :)

This will be a great thing to put in my hopechest!!!

So anyways, today we had church, which was good, and did a lot of volleyball afterwards! But the conditions weren't great. Picture this: about 15 people on one team, all trampling/running into each other, while the ball is being blown around by some pretty strong winds! And the wind couldn't make up it's mind! One minute it was blowing toward us, the next, parrelell to us, and it made for a very confusing and fumbly volleyball game! But, it was still lots of fun. :)

Oh, some more exciting news:

Our whole family is going to the ball!!! EXCITING!! We just found out last night! So I guess we'll see a few of ya'll there. So, that's about it for right now!

Toodles!

-Sarah

In Which I Wax Poetic On History! ;)

I know I've posted before about my great fascination and love of history! But recently, while reading 1776 by David McCullough, it has been fanned into a nice flame again! :) Matthew and I were discussing the subject of history/our country and I realized over again, how incredibly important it is to know your history. If we didn't have godly lawyers and leaders in our government, politicians could say whatever they wanted and no one could tell them that it was unconstitutional. We don't have many godly men up there, but there are some, like Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli who is not content to stand by and watch our founding documents be picked apart or laid by the wayside to be forgotten.
I think that is the scary part about things: we are in danger of forgetting the true happenings. If we don't learn the facts the way that they really happened, then any person can come along, rewrite our history books, and we'll just stand by nodding our heads senselessly. I mean, I have been fairly recently listening to Diana Waring's "What In The World's Going On Here" and many history c.d.s by Doug Philips. It is so intriguing how so many godly men have had their name smeared over the years until we hold them rather in dread than respect. Take John Smith. He has been represented as rather an ill-tempered old fogey, but when you look at his whole life, it is amazing! I'd rather listen to that c.d. over again than watch National Treasure in some ways! :) I mean, he trained himself for war in the forest, was tricked on a ship and mugged, chased down those men, then, was hired onto a ship, but (for some reason, I can't remember why) he either jumped, or was thrown into the sea, and "luckily" ;) a ship captained by the only seacaptain he knew came to his rescue. This ship happened to be going to fight the Turks, so Smith went along. He became a hero, and was feared by so many from that country for he had defeated several of their great warriors in hand-to-hand combat. He became rich......and the story just goes on. And now in this day, they would have us believe that he was so different!
It is amazing, and scary in some ways!
More than the dry facts of history themselves, what is the most amazing for me is finding all the Providences of God in the stories. The book 1776 is not written from a Christian World-view, but is solid on facts. So I began listening when the man wrote "Luckily" or "Fortunately" because I realized that was where something inexplicable was going on. Inexplicable if you are not a Christian, that is. Take General Washington's army directly after The Battle Of Brooklyn: (a.k.a. "The Battle of Long Island") They had had a humiliating defeat, with great losses. Britain had rousted them well. That battle seemed to spell defeat to Americans or the "rabble in arms". :)
To make matters worse, when they returned to the fort, a Nor'easter had just come in, and many men spent the night in the trenches waist-deep in water. Most had not slept for several days. But the Nor'easter was a providence- it kept the British ships from being able to come in between Long Island and New York as planned. General Washington and his council decided that a retreat would be the most prudent action, but they didn't want to make a big stir, so Washington sent a message to one of his generals to gather up any sort of boat they could find. Then he sent messages around the camp for all the soldiers to gather up their belongings. Many were puzzled. None knew where they were headed. General Washington had a daring plan: remove an entire army of 9,000 men, not to mention horses, guns, ammunition, etc. across the mile-wide water full of difficult currents overnight, without any noise. The men were cautioned to stay silent, not even coughing. Cartwheels were muffled with rags.
To a well-trained army, a secret night-removal is considered nearly impossible, and certainly must be for a group of such "rabble in arms" with nearly no training. One group of soldiers stayed back to make a show of activity and stirring of the campfires to make the British think that all was still well. Keep in mind, the British were camped 600 yards from the fort.
There just "happened" to be a whole regiment of Delaware soldiers who were really sailors and fishermen. The wind just "happened" change as they began so that they could go more easily. They manned the flotilla of little boats through the difficult waters, with the water sometimes only inches below the sides of the boats due to the great load they carried . One Del. soldier recalled making the crossing 11 times! But morning was approaching, and a great number of the soldiers had yet to cross the river. Washington knew that once it was daylight, they were through. The British ships would fire upon them, and the results would be disastrous. To complicate matters further, the regiment of soldiers staying behind left the fort due to misunderstood orders. They made it back to the fort and their previous positions without the British knowing. And then, perhaps the most providential happening of the night occured as the sun came up: a thick blanket of fog settled over Long Island the the water, providing a safe way to get all the rest of the army, including that last regiment across to New York, which was fog free. Right after the last boats crossed, the fog lifted, and our American soldiers could see the British redcoats standing, confounded, at the waters edge. Washington, with God's providence, had taken, with no noise whatsoever, (except towards the end an accidental firing of a cannon :( ) his army of 9,000 troops to the temporary safety of New York.
Isn't that gloriously grand? And it is so shameful that the author of the book said it was "by a stroke of luck" (or something equally insipid) that the fog blanket rolled in. There was no luck about that!
Anyway, I know I can go for hours talking about the Lord's hand in history, but my main point is just to encourage us all to study out history for ourselves. Remember God's providences. Tell the stories the real way they happened to your children. And, if at some times you feel overwhelmed by the greatness of our calling as Christians, (and as the decided minority in these days) just remember that victorious "Rabble in arms" that defeated the greatest empire in the world in the late 1700's!!! And ultimately, we must never forget, we are on the winning side! With knowledge like that, I think we can all take a chance at being courageous and winning this war here on earth!
Psalm 89:1 "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations!"
Amen? -Rachel

A Work Day Synopsis

'ello! How are all personages on this sunny, and warm day?;) I just thought I'd do a post on a regular work/lawn day and how it goes.(Since that's what we've been busy with recently. And why I don't have a ton of time to post.:)

9:00 We get ready for work, make a lunch to bring, and start loading equipment in the trailer

9:30 Are usually ready to leave unless a repair or paperwork type stuff need to be finished

10:30 We're on the road and almost at our first destination

The day is spent doing lawns which include:

Mowing

Weed-whacking

Edging

Blowing

Policing beds for weeds and trash

And, when needed, spraying weeds

The work crew usually consists of 3 people on Thursdays and Fridays(the lawn days). The crew right now switches out between these people:

Dad

Daniel

Matthew

Sarah

Leah (still in training)

So the reason why I've been going a lot these past weeks is because we just got a new walk-behind mower and we all are still learning about it, so Dad hasn't wanted Leah to start using it yet. She hasn't had any experience with a walk-behind, just a push-mower. Dad and Daniel go to work every work day, and on maintenance days they take one other person, unless it's a mulch or pruning or renovation type job.(When they take more than 1)

We usually have stops to make throughout the day like going to deposit checks in the bank,(ours is still an hour away:) stops for gas, diesel, drinks,etc. and picking up mower parts at shops, go to the discount bread store and even sometimes to bid a job. On occasions when we didn't pack lunch our favorite places to go are Wawa, Chick-fil-a, or Sub-Way. Yumm! Have any of ya'll gotten lunch at Wawa before? They have a really cool set up with computer screens that you customize your sub/sandwich at and order there. So anyway this is what my receipt usually looks like:

Ciabatta Shorti

Italian Meats

Provolone Cheese

***T-O-A-S-T***

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Onions

Little bit of Mayo

Yellow Mustard

Little bit of Vinegar

Little bit of Oil

Hot Peppers

Sweet Peppers

Roasted Peppers

Oregano

Pepper

So there ya go! The Ciabatta Melts there are really good!:)

Anyhow, we usually do around 10 lawns in a day and get home around 7:00 or so. We come home to a great dinner and have a nice evening! Well, I think that's about it! I hope this was something of a different sort to vary our posts!:)

-Sarah

Several Random Things

Bonjour! You know, I wonder, if in other countries there is a greeting that is considered all "American". Probably boring old "Hello." or, if they've been reading this blog: "Hey guys!" Another thing- when I type "Hey guys!" I inevitably first say "Hey gusy". Who is Gusy? It sounds like the name of a goose to me. Aw! Now I want a goose named Gussy. Two "S"s because it looks tidier! (Now that that is out of the way...)
Do any of you all go by different names than your own? Whenever I write anything, or like on my Amazon wishlist, I go by Josie Inpen. (My Girls' Gazette pen name, remember, is Josephine Ava Inkpen) Then, whenever I do anything with herbs, I am Auld Mary. (The name of a Scottish "yarb-woman" in a Little House book) So I order all my seeds and catalogs and things of that sort by that name. It amuses me to do so, but it sort of creeps Sarah out! :)
Just to let you know now, this wasn't intended to be a post of just one topic. It is a catch-all-thoughts-I've-been-thinking sort of post. So here's another-
I never want to write something that people sit down in a boring class and disect for symbolizm. It really irritates me to do that. Although, I would like to write something that had no hidden meaning, but that someone dissected and listen to what they thought they found! :) Anyway, I've gotta skitter upstairs to get into gardening clothes, and then ho-hum out we go! :) -Rachel

Dishes For My Hopechest!

Good grief! I wish I could think of a different way to begin a post than "Hey Guys!" But, that seems impossible. I'll try though....hmmmmm....

G'day Mates! (uh-uh.)

Salutations! (whatever.)

Anyway, this is Rachel, and I was just getting on here to write about how much I love thrift stores! The Lord blessed us extravagantly at the thrift-stores yesterday! At Salvation Army, Wednesdays are half-price day! Yay! We escaped from school-work to go to The Beach and shop! :) Anyway, among alot of clothes, I got a set of dishes for my hopechest! They are so sweet and pretty and just fit my vision for my future home so well! I want to decorate simply and with old-fashioned taste- lots of sunlight, flowers, and cool, calm colors... sort of the Tasha Tudor, New-England, country-Victorian feel. You know? Anyway, for only 30 dollars I got 7 bowls, 7 dessert plates, 7 dinner plates, a large platter, and a cream pitcher. Here are a couple of pictures!

These are a couple of the dishes! Aren't they sweet?

This is detail of the pattern on a plate! I just love them!

Now the only things I must gather to make it perfect are a blue and a green tablecloth! :) I can just imagine eating dinner with my family and washing up the dishes afterwards and thinking back to the day when I, as a 17 year old young lady had packed them away with so many glad hopes....!!! It is a very cozy thought! :) -Rachel

Crawdads and Excuses

"You get a line,

I'll get a pole honey!

You get line,

I'll get a pole babe!

You get a line, I'll get a pole

And we'll go fishing in the crawdad hole

Honey, baby mine!"

This morning, ignoring the fact that it is raining, Anna, Leah, and Benjamin crept out of the house, careful not to be followed by everyone and their brother, and went crawdad fishing. Basically, the old gentleman at the feed store, a Mr. Udell Butler told Mama that those tall stacks of mud along the side of ditches are crawdad towers. They dig down in the earth and stop once they find water. I had always assumed that you would catch a crawdad in a creek. But Mr. Butler told us that you take a string, tie a piece of raw meat onto the end, and drop it down the hole. When you feel a tug, you yank the string back up, and in theory, you should have a crawdad. Unfortunately, those wee beasties simply eat the meat and drop off halfway like some natural claw-machine. (those ones that you pay out the nose to use at the grocery store and then it drops the ugly teddy bear right when it gets close to the hole! ;) Nontheless, after unlucky fishing yesterday, the kids went out again this morning and still didn't catch a thing. But Daniel is as excited as any Tom Sawyer to go out and try his luck. He says he is determined to catch one. And when Daniel is determined to do something, it generally works. Too bad he can't debate the crawdad out of his hole, or something equally logic-minded, for then he'd be sure to win! :)

The other day when Matthew was on a walk with me, and we had the two little girls, I was picking a glorious bouquet of swamp honeysuckle and ferns. I LOVE flowers! I fill my hands with them at any chance I get! I cannot thrive very well away from them. And I don't like the hothouse ones. I like the wild ones. Anyway, these ones smelled particularly good. Shame on me. A bit later, Matthew quite politely informed me that I had pollen all over my nose. Blast! I spend half my life with pollen on my nose, because where there are flowers, I must be, and where there are scented flowers, there's my nose, and where there is my nose, there ends up being pollen. Ho-hum. So I wrote this poem as an excuse.

"My Excuse"

By me!

"I have pollen on my nose

From the smelling of a rose

And the sniffing of the honeysuckle bloom.

And a yellow sort of dust

That is transferred on there just

`Cause I stopped to smell the rich perfume.

I was happy as a bee

Buzzing round the apple tree,

And I paused to take a sniff from every bud,

And I really couldn't care

That the branches pulled my hair--

That my toes were sinking quickly in the mud.

Yes, I'm brushed with powdered gold

In a fashion quaintly bold

From the smelling of the flowers in the lane.

And I know I am the type

That forgets her nose to wipe

So my dear, you must remind me o'er again!"

What do you think? -Rachel

Dinner Out As A Family

Hello Ladies and Gents! How are you all this morning? We are well. Last night we went out as a family to dinner at Pizza-Hut! I can't tell you the last time we did something like that! Actually, I think it was about 10 months ago when we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, but even then we had Grandma June with us! It is rather amusing to see our family out to eat! We have been well-trained by Dad to be clever with our money. So during the trip to Cracker Barrel, once we were seated, we all waited to hear the ever faithful "Waters all around!" from Dad. Then, when handed our menus, we dutifully ignored them (or we looked at the pictures of dessert! ;) while Dad and Mama discussed the best way to feed 11 people. I think we ended up by ordering a basketful of biscuits, two side-orders of hash browns, and some ham biscuits. That was divided up between the howling masses. ;) Then Grandma June ordered her meal: a huge breakfast platter. It was so very funny to see her, (who barely eats enough to keep a bird alive) delving into this massive plate of food while the rest of us stared longingly at the empty basket of biscuits. (Cracker Barrel, we found out the hard way that day, doesn't refill your basket. Cheap skates! :) Anyway, last night was different. We went to Pizza Hut, and Dad bought us 4 medium pizzas that were five dollars apiece, and each of us got a trip to the salad bar. (He also bought Pepsi) It made me laugh to see the younger ones who barely knew what to do in a restaurant. They blushed like peonies when the waitress talked to them, kept staring at various things, and Gracie, (who is temporarily, slightly deaf due to fluid in her ears) popped the little button things on the soda-cup lids and crowed loudly and delightedly each time, or else threw a balled up napkin into Sarah's lap and squealed far too loudly. (That only happened once! :) She is usually nicely behaved! :)
I am proud of Dad and the way he has trained us to be thrifty! We hardly ever go out to eat, and last night was all the more special because of it! Thanks Dad! :) -Rachel

Disclaimer

Hey guys! You might have seen that I had done a post about a quiz I had made this afternoon. I got the quiz website from another girl, and the whole time I made the quiz, and while several family members did it, everything was fine. But this evening when Mama and Dad went on to take the quiz, something very inappropriate popped up. So that's why we deleted the quiz page, and I apologize if any of you got the same thing. I would NEVER have put the link on here if I had had any knowledge of anything of the sort popping up. Sorry! -Rachel

A Busy Weekend

Right now I'm sitting at the computer, after feeding the kids(goat ones;) and am really tired!! We've had a busy 2 days: Saturday, we were stacking bricks and wood for alot of the day and then went to Uncle David's percussion ensemble which we didn't get home til 11:30 from. Then we hosted church yesterday, played speed volleyball, and then started getting everything prepared for the party we hosted for all the students that performed in the recital. Everyone came around 5:30 and we had a great time! We taught them speed volleyball, we had a huge bonfire and sang some. Then around 9:30 most people left and the T.'s stayed to clean up and play more volleyball and Ninja. Suffice it to say, we have been on our feet and have been staying up late for 3 days. (I also worked Thursday and Friday in our business)
Enough of the logistics.......
Have any of you guys(and gals) ever done Einstein's Riddle? It is great fun!! You can look it up online and try to figure it out!;) Matthew and I got it done in probably 8-10 minutes, Rachel and Mom each took about 15 or 20.
So I know this short, but I had one last question. Do you want Rachel and I to do a post about our bedroom furniture make-over? Please leave a comment and the majority rules!:)
-Sarah

A New Award

Hey guys! Miss Jo March just awarded us with the:

For having such a "clean and fresh, right-up-to-date and everything" blog. Thanks Jo! The rules are that we must list five random things about us, (we'll do 6 so there are three for each of us)

and then award five other bloggers.

Random things:

(Rachel first)

1. I suppose I am an efficient person because I fill all my spare cracks with doing things, and manage to get alot done in them!

2. Legolas super irritates me (from the L.O.T.R. movies and books) because he is always right!!!

3. If I could meet anyone from a book, and be sure that they wanted to meet me, it would probably be The Scarlet Pimpernel, or Lady Jocelyn Leigh. Or Aslan.

(About Sarah)

4. I would LOVE to act in a play or show, but have never even been in a Christmas play!!

5. If there was one thing I could change about myself, I'd be taller.

6. If I had to pick a sport to play I'd try fencing or lacrosse!;)

And now we award the "Stylish Blogger Award" to:

1. The Butler Girls because we like your header! :)
2. Hannah Ozee for nice graphics
3. Oldest Of Many becaues you always manage to put on a background we can't view
4. Abigail because your blog description amuses me
5. Merriette because your header makes me wish I was in it! :)

Thanks Jo! -Rachel and Sarah

A Title Tale

Greetings to all our fair followers! (Or if you'd rather, "dashing followers" pick and choose! ;) How are you all doing today? We are well. I just got finished cleaning carpets on my hands and knees with a scrubby brush. Can you imagine the songs I hummed while doing it???
("It's a Hard-Knock Life" [Annie] and "Sing Sweet Nightingale" [Cinderella]) Interesting proceedings hmmm? Anyway, that was extremely dull to read, I have no doubt. The Walker's mobile home is safely stowed away upon the footings poured for it. I hear that in 2-3 weeks they'll be able to move in! (At least, that is what is expected)
I realized that Sarah and I never did do a post about our bedroom furniture! :) Oops! If you care about it, tell us. If you don't, just know that it looks pretty, and we are enjoying sleeping on a real beds now! (Leah just said we did do a post about it. Did we? Gracious! I hope we didn't! If we did, just lock me away in a lunatic farm till I get over it! :) Okay. So. Last night, Daniel and I had a funny conversation that got me thinking: What if someone made a story entirely of the titles of famous books, partnered with a few other words, and some little ones like "A, and, the, etc."
Let me try for a moment and let's see if it works!
"The Scarlet Pimpernel, at The Sign of The Beaver, Kidnapped David Copperfield, and had Great Expectations to take him to Treasure Island. So Tom Sawyer and Pollyanna dived 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea To Kill A Mockingbird, but instead killed Moby Dick.
White Fang, The Last Of The Mohicans, sent a letter saying "As You Like It! Much Ado About Nothing!" to Emma who posessed great Sense and Sensibility, though she was sometimes blinded by Pride and Prejudice. Emma lived in Cranford during times of War And Peace, with her husband Ivanhoe. The Wives and Daughters named Elsie Dinsmore and Lorna Doone, along with The Lady Of The Lake, went Around The World In Eighty Days.
Dr. Doolittle, (a Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court) after much Persuasion wrote The Federalist Papers for Peter Pan. By the time it came to Middlemarch in The Secret Garden, The Count of Monte Cristo had sent out The Three Musketeers from his Bleak House.
Crime and Punishment followed. The Brothers Karamazov burned The Pickwick Papers, and wrote The Anti-Federalist Papers. It's only Common Sense that The Wind in The Willows whispered, "The Red Badge of Courage" to Oliver Twist. And that, Silas Marner, is The Tale of Two Cities of the Wuthering Heights."

So. Whadya think? That was so much fun! I just sat there thinking up names of books, and then when that was used up, I peeked into the back of a Bantam Classic book and chose out of the list of classics! Yay! That tickled me pink! :) -Rachel

Home-grown Talent Show.... :{

So, what is the newest amusement for us around here? What would you say to a talent (or rather, untalent) show? Yep. That is what we girls have been doing in some of our spare moments. It is really not as grand as it sounds- at all. We gather up the Walker girls and ourselves, and head out to the front lawn where everyone does whatever they can think to do.
Really! It is so much fun! I'll give you a peek into one of these shows...
Abby and Bethany stand up and blush, then argue about the words to the "Matchmaker" song. Finally, Bethany begins singing, but Abby stops her, and they start over. Stop again. Start again. Finally, I herd them off the stage and put on the next act: Anna and Emily singing some song. They forget the words and shrink back to their seats. Sarah and I give a despairing smile to the others as we realize that we'll have to carry the show. I get up there and recite "The Highwayman" in a fashion that would make Anne Shirley proud. Sarah and I sing "By the Light of The Moon" ala Fred and Ethel Mertz.
Then Gracie and Bekah get up there. Grace giggles while Bekah runs around singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" at the top of her lungs. Literally, just those five words. She can't remember the rest. We shoo them off by politely clapping, and then I get back up in front of everyone and sing opera. :) Or at least, my version. It is composed of mostly imitating the lady in Anne of Green Gables, and finished with a warbling "O Promise Me" song, sung purposely to make the little girls crack up. At last we begin to try to be serious. Abby and Bethany take turns jump-roping for us. Then they do a "Virginia Reel" while either Sarah or I sing "The Maid That Sold Her Barley" for accompaniment. Leah may go shyly up and perform a little song, and Anna or Emily will try singing "Come Thou Fount", but get embarassed halfway and go sit down.
Sarah and I are at it again with "Carolina in the Morning" (with a dance) or "The Old Kent Road". Then, our girls sing "Be Thou My Vision" in three part harmony. The only people left to clap by this point are Bekah and Grace who have been yelling the whole way through.
I send Leah to bring the other girls back. We are finally all seated, and Sarah and I finish our little show with "Angel of Music" from "The Phantom of The Opera".
By the end we aren't sure if we have any talent, but we have had fun and have spent a profitable 1/2 hour spending time with each other! -Rachel

Our Secret Weapons! Shhhhh....THE FAMILY!!!!

Hello! In devotion the other morning, Dad read us something that was really interesting to me: it was a devotion about how the choices you make now, will affect your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I had never exactly thought very much about that subject, but it really is fascinating. Consider one couple highlighted in the book "Generational Legacy" by Dan LeLaCheur: "Max Jukes, a known atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from this union there were 310 who died as paupers- 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendents cost the state one and a quarter million dollars."
I was shocked, a saddened by the awful consequences of just one couple who lived their lives without God. Only He can save us, and the opposite, for those of us who honor and obey the Lord's commands is true! That's the great news! Here is a well-known couple who are highlighted in "A Full Quiver" by Rick and Jan Hess: "As just one example of the clout God can give to a fruitful couple, we offer the legacy left by Jonathan and Sarah Edwards...
The Edwards family produced:
13 college presidents
65 proffesors,
100 lawyers and a dean of law school,
30 judges,
66 physicians and a dean of a medical school,
80 holders of public office
three United States senators,
mayors of three large cities,
governors of three large states,
a vice president of The United States, and
A controllor of the United States Treasury."

Isn't that great? I loved hearing about the victorious family! Then, Aunt Christy read us this passage in Deuteronomy 30- "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgements, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if you turn your hearts away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendents may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

I find it a thrilling prospect to look forward to someday when I have children, and to know that if we surrender our family to the Lord, and love Him wholeheartedly, He can do marvelous things through us! Who knows but I may have a grandson who is a vice-president? ;) But really! I am so blessed by reading both lists, and being able to see what my choices today can either support, or help prevent! Here is another interesting thing, on the subject of limiting family size:
(From "A Full Quiver")
"Let's say you're planning a dinner party for the most significant people of all time. Your invitation list can span history, but you can only send invitations to persons who were first, second, or third born in their families. Here's a partial list of some historical `biggies' who wouldn't be coming to dinner:
George Washington
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dietrich Bonhoffer
Oswald Chambers
Jonathon Edwards
Augustine
Corrie ten Boom
Ulrich Zwingli (who's he?)
Charles Finney
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ludwig van Beethoven
John and Charles Wesley"

Crazy, huh? I think of the verse: "Where there is no vision, the people perish". For pity's sake! Who would pass up the chance to bring up mighty men and women for the Lord, just because they were afraid that the expense and trouble would be too much? Gracious! That is a very near-sighted person, and I'm afraid they aren't able to see much past the end of their own nose! I consider all the above examples extremely exciting proof of how God blesses those who honor His commandments! -Rachel

From the Boutique Of Mdmslle. Le Fonzwique ;)

Hey guys! Sarah and I are desperate for pictures to put on here, (since Dad doesn't wish us to put pictures of ourselves on) so we decided to do a Civil War fashion post. So if you are a boy reading this that will wish to complain, it probably won't interest you so don't read further! ;) Now, with the Foster's upcoming ball (that we probably are going to) Sarah and I have been thinking about what we are going to wear. I have decided I'll follow the "KISS" rules which are: "Keep it Simple and Sensible". So I'll just wear my Civil War skirt, a white blouse, and a black belt or sash. I will certainly not be as much of a belle as this:

But I'll pass fine, and I think I'll be more comfortable than she! Think about how uncomfortable those dresses are! Think about it- A young woman like myself should have a waist measurement that matched my age! 17 inches? Maybe I could get away with 18? I give a loud resounding laugh to that one! The look was achieved by a corset that squeezed you till you could scarcely breathe. Now, I've never tried one, but Heavens! Could one really do a good Virginia Reel without keeling over? I think not.

But of course, to accentuate you tiny waist, a lady must wear a hoop under her skirts. Thankfully, I have one. Hoops are tons of fun to dance in. That is...if you don't step on it and rip the hem out of your skirt! Make sure you wear plenty of petticoats, even with a hoop, as it is "The Fashion" to have a full, puffy skirt. (I don't wear one. Shame on me! We just wear pants beneath our skirts in lieu of bloomers.) Then we come to shoes. I would be sure to break my ankle if I tried wearing one of these:

And then, you must have gloves. I think I'll ask Miss Thompson of Thompson Hall if I can borrow a pair of hers! The hairstyle is the last thing! I haven't decided how I'll do mine! I have experimented many different ways of doing various people's hair:

Here is one of my models after I did her hair in a Recamier Coiffure.

That is not strictly a Civil War style, but still pretty. Civil War styles were very sleek and flat. The young ladies wore their hair in buns at the base of their head, and the older ladies with their buns higher up. Well, I hope you enjoyed this post! I have to go do chores! -Rach

"O The Iniquities Of The Tongue!" :)

I thought that now, on the brink of World War IV, I should post about something that I learned very early on in this blogging-venture: "It is Excessively Easy To Be Misunderstood In Writing".
Yes. I was one of the prime instigators in that memorable World War III, better known as the Battle of Blue and Gray. ;) I only meant to have a fun debate. It turned...slightly sour. I had never really considered how much facial expressions assist people understanding eachother correctly. I mean, I have witnessed over and over again how sometimes I'll leave a comment on a blog, and it will be misunderstood because people can't see my mischievous sparkle in my eyes, or that I'm smiling. So I have learned to be really careful with what I put online, and how I phrase things. If you are being funnily sarcastic and saying, "I love broccoli", and I couldn't see your expression, I very well might believe you. Now, that is a weak example, and but you get my point? I think of the verse in the Bible: "Where many words are present, sin is not absent".
This wasn't supposed to be a preachy post, but an explanation, and, if you were caught in World War III, I didn't mean anything that might have offended you! So lets all be friends and happy and get along like bumps on a log! ;) Just kidding! Have a nice evening! -Rachel

Geezers and Intoxication! (don't worry about us! We'll explain all!)

Hello! Wow! At this moment, I am extremely tired. We danced after church for a very long time, and had such fun! But it was in the heat of the day, (though not very hot heat ;) and I hardly drank anything the whole time, and I danced myself silly! :) How has everyone else's week been? This is not going to be a long post at all, but I think we've all had enough of the dance-partner-post! I am afraid I have unintentionally offended some people! I hope not, and I do apologize if anyone thought I was pointing fingers! I must tell you that when it falls my lot to "be a man" in a dance, then I am quite a mixture of the Whirligig and the Spunky Jovial! There is a lovely sunset outside, and the house is quiet, for most of the kids are in bed already (only 7:30) because of our full day. Oh! I know what I wanted this post to include! (I came on here with an intention, and forgot it! :P) Okay, here is a poem I wrote last year around this time:

"Spring Intoxication"

By, (Who else?) Me ;)

The sunshine beckoned winsomely,

The soft breeze drew me near-

The fleecy clouds across the sky

Betokened Spring was here.

The jonquils, blowing golden horns

Proclaimed the coming joys,

Of lazy, barefoot, springtime days

For little girls and boys.

My own heart echoed back the song

Of every budding tree,

Of every jeweled dew-drop note

The robins sang to me.

I'd half a mind to dash outside

And do- I'm not sure what,

But certainly I could not stay inside

With windows shut!

And so I ran out to the porch

And in a way, I danced-

Not in the normal way, you see,

But as the sunbeams glance.

My heart fair burst with sudden life

And hearkened to each song,

And so I penned this poem down

And joined the brimming throng.

Okay. And then, here are the rather droll words to a song that Shirley Temple and a man tap-dance to in "The Little Princess". It is rather a favorite ditty with us girls when we are in high spirits! (Now, if only we got the dancing down!)

"Last week down the alley came a toff,

Nice old geezer with an awful cough,

Sees my missus, takes his topper off

In a very gentlemanly way.

Chorus:

"What cheer! All the neighbors cry,

Who ya' gonna' meet Bill?

Have ya' bought the street Bill?

Laughed, oh! I thought I should have died,

Knocked `em in the old Kent road!"

Every evening at the stroke of five,

Me and the missus takes a little drive,

You'd say, `wonderful they're still alive'

If you saw that little donkey go!

When we go that blessed donkey stops

He won't move, so out I quickly lops,

Pals start whacking him and down he drops,

Someone said he wasn't made to go!

(chorus)"

So anyway, it is a nonsense song, and this is a pointless post, and so, between the two, I hope to give you amusement, and I had better get off here before I type something absolutely ridiculous and brainless! -Rachel

A Dissection of Dance Partners

Hello! Yesterday I was out with Daniel and Matthew doing lawns. We actually got 12 done, and didn't get home till 9:30, but that was okay! :) It was nice being back out there again. Now, this is a strange sort of subject to post about, but I was thinking about all the square or Civil War dances I have been to, whether impromtu, or scheduled, and of the different sort of partners one can have. Here is a list ala Rachel of the bad sort, and then the good sort.

Bad Sort of Partners To Dance With:

The Whirligig: These young men swing you and spin you as if they were intent on patenting you as some sort of armless doll. Dancing with one of these, you are in danger of breaking an ankle, or getting a compound fracture! :)

The Etymologist: These are the young men who hold your hand by the extreme tips of your fingers and barely move you throughout the dance. Instead, they stay very far away as if you were a strange species of tarantula that they didn't want to get too close to.

The Buzzard: These are the pale sort of young men who stand along a wall, and wait to see what sort of girl is left without a partner. They wait until the dance is beginning, then go pick a partner from the left-overs, and dance indifferently, then proceed to disappear immediately after the music stops. A very shady, backslidden young person.

The Officious Dancer: This is a young man who thinks he can dance, has too much confidence in his own grace, and asks you to dance with promising gallantry. Then, he proceeds to push you around like a vacuum cleaner and step on your skirt, or he forgets which hand is left, and which is right.

The Patronizer: This sort of partner is abominable. He is vain about how he can dance, and makes an elaborate bow when beginning the dance. But when he asks you for a dance, his manner is full of patronization and pity for the fact that you haven't been asked yet. Then, he proceeds to watch you dance with a sort of indulgent smile. Ew!!!

Now, for the good sort of dancers:

The Gallant: These young men go around rescuing obscure girls from the embarassment of having to sit out a dance, due to not knowing many people there. These gallants care little for whether they know the young lady or not, and make sure that every one of them has a good time.

The Accomplished: These are the partners who come up to you, ask you in a cordial way for a dance, lead you to the circle, and proceed to carry on a comfortable stream of conversation while leading you through a very intricate series of steps, with all ease. A priceless find.

The Correct: These young men do everything according to dance-ettiquette. They ask you in a manner quite polite, they dance with you in a manner quite correct, and they return you after the dance with all due gratefulness for standing up with them. If these young men do lack a bit of spunk, they are good and dancing and that is why we have next:

The Spunky Jovial: These young men are acceptable dancers. What they lack in correctness, they make up for in the spirit in which they dance. You cannot dance with a "Spunky Jovial" without laughing. This sort of partner, if he does miss a step, merely laughs at himself, and continues on, little bothered. This sort is also usually good at sashaying in time to the music, which is priceless indeed!

There you have it! What do you think? Daniel is the Spunky Jovial, and Matthew is either the Gallant or the Correct, with a bit of spunk.

I'm Still Here!:)

Up to this point Rachel's cat has eaten a baby mouse, killed the other one, and then lo and behold, one of the little kids found the supposedly eaten baby mouse in Anna's room!! And alive, at that! So I just got back from dropper-feeding the mouseling.
Now, an explanation on my tardiness of posting: Our whole family has been particularly busy these past few weeks, and I've been helping feed the baby goats every 3 or so hours, milking Daisy twice a day, feeding baby mice, watching kids, working in the business, etc. So in my free time I do have, I have been reading Great Expectations, and just relaxing, not really blogging. Suffice it to say, that Rachel makes time for blogging in her free time and I don't.
Daisy the goat, has given her owners great anguish by her inconsiderate actions. She doesn't stand still for 2 minutes at a time, and has spilt a whole bowl of milk too many times. We have sought advice from a very good source(Maddie W.:) and changed some things accordingly, and yet, she is still the most ornery old goat that I ever did see! And her off-spring aren't much more refined. This morning finally, Lizzy took to sucking down milk, but Chip hasn't "quite got the idear" of this method yet.
So, poor us, ;) ..............
Well, I was going to post some really cool words that I found while browsing through Matthew's iPod dictionary, but he is gone, and I don't remember most of them, so that shall have to wait.
We watched P&P last night with mom, my aunt, Daniel, and Matthew, and I think everybody liked it! Aunt Christy was surprised at Wickham and Lydia, and Mom was shocked that Lizzy refused Mr. Darcy's proposal. It was fun to watch their faces at the different parts!:)
I hope this post is droll enough, but I don't really have a lot to post about and am home watching the kids with Aunt Christy while Mom is shopping, Daniel, Matthew, and Rachel are working, and Dad is digging footings for the W.'s mobile home!
-Sarah
Oh! Here's a fun Regency dance that we came across!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwF16IvY984

In Which I am Thrown Into Disgrace

I feel like a murderer. My evil-minded cat, has eaten one of Anna's baby mice and came back for another! Anna has nursed these wee things back to health, has faithfully fed them every few hours with a dropper...in short, has been a mother to them. And my cat has ended it all for one of them, and perhaps the other too. Somehow, I have a strange feeling that my beast's behavior reflects upon me! ;) So, to clear myself, I have humbly made a lament for Anna. Here it is!

"A Lament For Anna's..mouseling"

"Your protege- a little mouse

Was not safe- even in your house.

A dark, designing beast (my cat)

Has killed your pet and that is that.

I blushed, I sighed, I dropped a tear

When first I did this story hear-

It cuts my heart like sharpest knife

To think my cat just took a life!

I did not do it, (this I know)

But I am sorry even so.

I do not know psychology ;)

So please take my apology.

And I will give a freezing shoulder

To my cat- least she grow bolder."

-Your humble sister: Rachel H.

I have not seen Anna yet this morning since the discovery was made, so I fly away to her to lay this appeasement at her feet and hope she doesn't hold any hard feeling towards me, the owner of the one who did a most horrid deed. -Rachel

Springtime at Our Country Estate! (And a short discourse on freckles)

Hello! For those of you who live nearish us, isn't the weather glorious? The past few days have been hot and humid, but this morning, it seems as if all Heaven broke loose and beauty was showered down upon us! :) There is a rougish breeze that wrecks havoc in your hair but makes you smile just the same, the woods and field over the way is painted in wonderous shades of green, the air is laden with the smells of sweet-grass and jessamine, and the countryside in general has a "Kentish" appearance, complete with blossoming trees. I am once again revelling in flowers to my hearts content (I only feel half-alive without flowers somewhere about) and wearing them nearly everyday. Dad always laughs at me because I always end up wearing pollen all over my nose, from smelling all the blossoms I pick! :) The mimosa grove is carpeted with white violets, and I am just glad to be alive today! I hope to take a very long walk with Matthew today, if he consents! I wish I had a camera that could do the beauty justice, but I don't so you shall have to be content with a word picture! :) Now, least I bore you to death with my raptures... ;)
Sarah will on here soon, posting about her misadventures with the goats. I am about to go out and help Mama plant our garden. I feel like being out o' doors today, and so I must fly! No time to be stooping over a keyboard on the computer! :) I will go outside, hang up a great big basketfull of laundry, and then go barefoot. By the end of the day I'll probably be enveloped in the fresh outside smell, the roses will be bright in my cheeks, and I'll be freckled as a leopard. I only get freckles on my nose, and they blotch. :( Maybe I should try lemon juice? ;) I'm not worried about it though. Who can care about freckles when there is a world of God's brilliant creation to rejoice with? Woe is my complexion, but happy am I! :)
-Rachel

Riverly Manor and a half-dozen other titles

Hey guys! I thought that I'd show you guys two things today: first, how many books I've started writing, and the ones that I've finished. Then, I'll show you my story line for the mystery that plagues my life out! The problem I have found is this: it is a good story, and a good mystery- not even I can figure it out. And that is the problem! :)

Books I have begun writing:

"Buttercup Promise"
"Tidbits"
"The McBride Story"
"Miss Pemberthy"
"The Treasure of Riverly Manor"
"Forgetmenots"
"Ruby's Journey West"
and several more

Books I have finished:
A Mother For The Seasonings
"The Ella and Cornelia Story"
"The Harrison Happenings"
Bramblewood Hedge series (The Twinkletoes' Harvest, Mr. Mocker's Picnic, etc.)

Now, here is the storyline for "The Treasure of Riverly Manor"
Lindsey Riverly is 15 years old during the Great Depression. She has lived with her widower-father, and her younger brother Thomas in a small yellow house ever since she can remember. But when her grandfather dies and leaves the independent family estate of Riverly Manor to Lindsey's father, the family has to move. Lindsey finds it difficult to adjust to her new position of Mistress at Riverly Manor, and all the lesson her Great Aunt Henrietta insists on giving her. But despite the fact that there is a Riverly Family fortune, the family is struggling financially. The reason? The fortune is hidden, including the map of a hidden oil field. It begins looking as if Mr. Riverly will have to sell the manor. Lindsey and Tom find a secret passage in the house, and go down it. When they emerge, they are quite lost, and do not even know if they are still on the Manor's 2,000 acre grounds. They find a cabin and an old black man who was the best friend of their grandfather, without any legs. He tells them clues to the treasure and they make their way home. But a strange man, Drew Baxter is pressing their father to let him buy Riverly manor. Lindsey distrusts the man deeply, and begs her father to wait a month, and help them find the treasure. He agrees, and the threesome begin working together to follow to clues. The guest, Mr. Drew Baxter is residing in a cottage on the grounds, and when Lindsey goes there to clean it up a bit, she finds a letter with a mysterious message in it. Then Tom disappears, and Lindsey finds him chloroformed in the attic, and the paper with the clues missing. Tom recovers, but can't remember what had happened to him. Lindsey suspects Drew Baxter, (who is an agent for a German war mastermind posing as a oil-hungry man posing as a buyer for Riverly Manor) and finds a file of correspondence that proves he is acting falsely. But Mr. Baxter has disappeared. The Riverly family goes on a chase that crosses three states, and ends back at the Manor, where it is a race to see who finds the treasure first......and I haven't decided who finds it! :)

Sound interesting? Do you think I should finish it? Well, I gotta go! -Rachel

Various and Sundries

Hey everybody! The picture right here has nothing to do with anything, only the fact that the lassie is doing something I wish I was doing, and looks prettier than I ever hope to be while doing it! :) This morning we are going to be planting our potatoes, and maybe onions. I love cutting the potatoes into chunks with eyes. I'm not sure why....Tomorrow we'll be planting peas. This afternoon we have choir, (and I hope volleyball after! :) and then this evening, we have a slight dilemma. It's Generation Joshua night, and the laundry fairies are down from NY. They are coming to dinner, and we may have to miss them! I would willingly stay home, but Dad is not sure if he wants us to stay at home since it is part of our school....it seems a shame to skip seeing people from NY!!! Last night I had to drive in the dark with Dad. We went to Dairy Queen, and Dad got icecream. I would have, but I had already had chocolate chip cookies here. Blast! I didn't do the drive-thru so well. It seemed really strange to talk to some little plastic box...oh well. At least I managed to stay on the road and avoid all the other cars.
(This is a very disconnected post by the way. That being said....) Sarah is now reading "Great Expectations" and I am reading "The Last of The Mohicans". I had stopped reading it, because of all the terribly bloody indian massacres and because half of it was written in French! ;) But it is a classic, and I do want to know whatever happens to those girls! Also, it is really interesting to me particularly, because the story takes place right where Uncle Lon and Aunt Heather live. All the places sound pretty familiar to me, and it is almost as fun as when I read "To Have And To Hold" that takes place right in our area and the area surrounding it. There is something so inspiring about imagining what our land looked like and felt like 250 years ago!
Anna found a nest of baby mice when moving around hay in her goatpen. She killed the mama and then cried about it after. The dad mouse went away, so she has kept the babies alive for two days now, feeding Daisy's milk out of a dropper. I'm telling you what, it is crazy what sorts of fragile animals are actually living in our home! We have two tanks of tadpoles that are in their second week of captivity! (They debuted in Daniel's music video) Well, I have to go make breakfast! See you guys later! -Rachel

A Peek Into WalkHeffitopia! ;)

Hello! I thought that I, Rachel, would give you guys an update on how things are going in a house of 21! The truth is, things are going alot more smoothly than I ever hoped! This is such great blessing and an answer to prayer for us! I guess we are entering into our third week now. This week we'll be getting 40 chicks, and planting our garden. We'll have lots of help, and lots of little hands to squeeze the chicks and lots of feet to step on our rows. ;) Gracie and Abby still have not learned all the way, and neither have some of the youngest Walkers! :) Hope we don't have any casualties! The girls separated the goat kids from the Mama today. Sad to hear them crying out so pitifully!
Today we had a family meeting- the main thing the Mamas decided we need to focus on for this week (especially middle and younger children) is "Please, see the need, meet the need, without being asked." As the oldest daughter in our family, I naturally do this, and so do Sarah, Matthew, and Leah. It was cute to see the reaction of Jeremiah (6) who totally missed the point of the phrase and said excitedly, "Yeah! Like when I didn't ask and I went into the chicken coop!" (as if that was what we were all aiming to do! :)
We have had alot of fun having the Walkers here! So far, in two weeks we have fixed 721 plates of food, and spent 300 and some hours together! :) There are always enough people around to do a dance, take a walk, or play volleyball. Last night, we did all three actually! Matthew and I did an impromptu waltz in the dining room, (always teach your cousin to dance! :) then Sarah with Matthew, and Daniel and I went on a walk down our pitch-black road. We were full of hijinks and abundantly merry spirits, so Daniel and I spent our walk throwing things into the bushes along the road and scaring Sarah! :) When we got home, Uncle David suggested, (Walker blood, that!) that we set up lights and play volley ball. So we took a ladder and a work light, balanced it carefully, and played a silent game of volleyball in the half-light. I provided comic relief! It was so funny how many times I played a "Lady Tippings" as we say, and touched the ball with just the extreme tips of my fingers!
Well, I'm almost off to check the mailbox, (dreadfully deserted these days! :[ )
Here is the verse we posted on our wall this morning, that says perfectly what we must focus on during these weeks: 1 Peter 4:8-11 "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for `love will cover a multitude of sins.' Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
The part that got me was about speaking as if you were speaking the oracles of God. I am a girl who likes to talk. Believe me. I love words in any way, shape, or form. I have been thinking lately, of the percentage of my speech, what amount of it is speaking as if I was speaking the oracles of God? Not enough, I'm sure. Oh goody! A challenge! This week will be full of them, I have a hunch, because I am also re-reading "So Much More" by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, which is a very eye-opening book.
What is it that some man said? "A ship at harbor is safe. But that is not what a ship is made for."
So be it. Whoever said being a Christian is dull? Obviously, they haven't tried it! :) -Rachel

""The Lassie Who Can Blush"

Hey guys! This is Rachel! I was in a mood to write a poem today, and this one fell together very quickly, so I thought I'd put it on here and see what you all thought of it! This poem is written from a wise young man's point of view! :)

"The Lassie Who Can Blush"

By Rachel H.

I would give many a dollar,

I would give a golden thrush,

If you showed me really, truly,

A young lass who still can blush.

There are many "happy" women

Who have laid their values bare,

Who parade in shameful clothing

That low men might think them fair.

But the kind of girl I notice,

Isn't one who's in a rush,

Not a girl who's bold and brassy,

But a lassie who can blush.

A blush is colored innocence,

The rose of modesty,

The proof of wholesome maidenhood

Through endless history.

And oft I smile to myself

As I catch a tell-tale flush,

"There's still a precious group of them-

Those lassies who can blush!"

I would give many a dollar,

I would give a golden thrush,

Just to see old-fashioned sweetness

Of a lass who still can blush.

Death Defying!

Hallelujah!
Praise His Name forever!!!!!!
Shout from the mountain tops!!!
The Lord Jesus is Raised from the dead!!!
Amen! The best "Happily Ever After" anyone could ever imagine!

She and Me and Us

Hello! We will have more exciting things to post about as the weekend comes along, but this morning, I thought I'd list 6 things about Sarah and I that are just interesting bits of trivia. Who knows what difference they'd make to anyone (probably none) but you can just get to know us a bit better.

About Rachel:
I love red hair. If I could order some kids from a catalog when I'm married, they would be a pair of red-headed twins: a boy and a girl.
I have begun about a dozen books, and only finished 3, much to Sarah's irritation. :)
I am constantly fiddling with things for no good reason.
When I am hot, I am inclined to be grumpy.
I do not like most breakfast foods, so I eat leftovers for breakfast most of the time.
I always twist my ankles for some reason.

About Sarah:
She does not like wearing fancy church dresses, because she likes to be able to play after church
She does not like popcorn. (usually)
She wants a Great Dane puppy
If she was a cartoon character, she'd be Curious George.
She can wear yellow, and carry it off pretty well! :)
She doesn't like math, but is very good at it.

About both of us together:
We are one-time recording artists. Really. That is not a joke. As 6&8 year olds, along with Daniel, we each were paid 560 dollars to sing 40 songs for the Sing, Spell, Read, and Write company with a lady at our old church. It was alot of fun, but we were so short that we had to stand on brief cases to reach the microphone. Thus our group name: The Briefcase Singers. We are seriously thinking about making an album: The Briefcase Singers Remix ;)
We are old-fashioned people and our opinions are rather the same as those you'd find in the 1800's. :) (We pride ourselves on being a sort of aficionado of that time period.)
Neither of us like the idea of working in the garden, but find it not too bad once we get started.
We both were scared to death at the idea of downhill skiing, and found it thrilling!
We're both certified electricians, plumbers, framers, and AC technicians! (Well, not really certified, but we've had a LOT of experience building this house:)

Forever Victorious

Hello to all our readers! I trust you all have a wonderful April Fool's Day? I did, and except for believing a post on Abigail's blog, I was not duped. Today is the 3rd or 4th of a glorious string of days. The sky is a perfect blue, the breeze beckons for me to come outdoors and trod barefoot upon the emerald grass. Myriads of flowers speckle the grass, lifting up their lovely faces to be admired and plucked to grace a windowsill or table. The fresh baby green greets me from every corner, and I think, "Who am I that the Lord grants me so many blessings?"
I think back 2,000 or so years to this same day, "Good Friday" and marvel. I wish I could think of something clever or insightful to say about this very special day. But the thought that persists in my mind, is how great the love of Christ is. He took my sin, and the sin of each one of us upon His shoulders, and bore it unto death. And as He hung upon the cross, (As Aunt Christy pointed out) He was thinking of each of us by name. He was not just dying "for all mankind" but for every person by name. For Sarah, for me, for Daniel, Matthew, Abigail, Hannah, Merriette, Shaina, Elliott, Oliver....everyone each by name.
And His love did not stop at the cross, but continues on through each day. Why does God care to see that my yard is full of flowers that I so delight in? Because He loves me. Why did He give us the gift of laughter? Because He loves me and delights in hearing my joy aloud. I don't know about you all, but His love is the one that I want to encompass me. I want to be wrapped in His love as much as I can. It is like drinking from a fountain after you have been running a marathon and knowing that it will never run dry. I am a stupid sheep sometimes. I jump over fences, knock down all my fellow sheep, and get my wool stuck in the briars. Then I stand there bleating. And still my Shephard, with such marvelous tenderness in His eyes, and a knowing smile playing about His mouth, lifts me in His powerful arms, and restores me. I am so undeserving of Jesus's love. And He knows it. That is why He paid the price. He loves me even after all I do to offend His principles. That thought, though over-used sometimes, cannot really be fully fathomed by our sheltered minds. But I know that the one way I can try to show Him that I am abundantly grateful for what He has done, is to walk in the way He shows me. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Who shall seperate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril, or sword?...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35, 37-39
I don't know about you all, but I am jubliant and awestuck at the blessing of being on the side that always has, and always will win! -Rachel

The History Behind This Madness

Hey guys! On a day when everyone will be doing false blog posts to trick others, I thought that I'd (Rachel) would give you some history of how this day started:
Think back to 1547. Medieval times are coming to a close. Science is being explored once more. The reformation is about to begin or in process or somewhere in there! :) Think of a young man named Samuel Shropwing. He was an apprentice in a cooperage, and a very cocky sort of lad indeed. After being reprimanded by his master one too many times to stop playing so many pranks, Samuel had an idea. What if he began observing one particular day of the year to play as many pranks as he could? The idea stuck. A slightly sacrilegious person, Samuel chose the first day of April, which happened to be during the church's Holy Week. On that day, he played many, many pranks on friends, and perfect strangers. One stranger, the Duke of Havershim, Edward Witherspoon, was driving by in a carriage when young Samuel Shropwing suddenly let down a clothesline full of flapping white clothes directly in front of the horses' noses. They spooked, nearly tipping the carriage over. When the driver finally calmed the horses down, he demanded that Samuel be brought to him at his country manor: Havershim Downs, that evening.
Samuel's cheekiness never failed him, and he swaggered into the drawing room in perfect good-humor. The Duke questioned Samuel as to why he had played such a trick. Samuel told him quite honestly the whole story from the beginning. The Duke was so tickled by the idea, and thought Samuel so very clever for thinking of it, that the evening ended in a jovial came of cards by the fire. Now, the Duke of Havershim was a favorite with the present King of England, and, being still quite a cheeky boy at heart, he told the King about Samuel Shropwing and his day of pranks. This tickled the King's fancy, and April Fool's day was observed in the Royal Courts for three years until it was finally proclaimed an official holiday in 1550.





There you have it! A perfectly false history of this day, made up jovially for you by me, Rachel. Happy April Fools! Hope I got you! :) :) :) :)