Sleeping Like a Baby

Did we expect anything else?

No, but we're thankful that Faith Mattaya does sleep well ... and let's us sleep well!!

"The LORD hath done great things for us;
whereof we are glad."

Psalm 126:3

Fun & Educational Resources

For those of you who are homeschoolers - well, perhaps some of the rest of you may be interested also ... Homeschool Freebie of the Day offers a download each day Monday to Friday. Sign-up for their weekly reminder and then pick and choose which resources you can use.

There is some cool stuff here ... enjoy!

This week they are offering five e-books to download at no charge, one each day:
Monday, Feb 23rd:FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (PDF ebook)

A HUGE collection of eyewitness stories and amazing
personal accounts about the "Underground Railroad" by which
many slaves in pre-Civil War years escaped from their
owners in the south and made their way to freedom.
This is riveting, real-life "living history"!


Tuesday, Feb 24th:ROCKETS & FLYING MACHINES! (PDF ebook)

Straight from NASA, here are some great flying contraptions
you can make at home - and learn the principles of flight
while you're at it!


Wednesday, Feb 25th:SLIMY EXPERIMENTS! (PDF ebook)

How to make your own slimy, fun "science toys" such as
Guck, Goop & Oobleck. Great fun...
and great chemistry lessons too!


Thursday, Feb 26th:
INCREDIBLE BUBBLES! (PDF ebook)

Learn how to make the BEST bubble-making solution ever...
and then learn how to Make Giant Man-Eating Bubbles,
Make Bubble Paintings, Questions & Answers on Bubbles & more


Friday, Feb 27th:
MOUTH EXPERIMENTS! (PDF ebook)

Ewww! Science experiments in your own mouth?
Yep! Pick up some biology and chemistry savvy with such fun
activities as: Making a Tongue Map; Rock Breath;
Stuffy Smellers; Hot and Cold Tastes; Disappearing Gum;
Fireworks in Your Mouth... and much more!

You can get all of these on their respective days at

www.HomeschoolFreebieOfTheDay.com

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Finally, This week's subscriber exclusive link:

PENNY EXPERIMENTS! (PDF ebook)

So, what can you learn with a simple penny?
All sorts of interesting chemistry and physics concepts!
In this neat activity booklet, you'll discover all sorts of
fun and educational "penny" experiments, including:
Penny Splash - Penny Droppers -Penny Plated Nails
Floating Penny Boats - Green Pennies - Penny in the Well
Penny Haloes - Super Clean Pennies -
The Problem of the Counterfeit Penny - Penny Powered Cars
The Disappearing Penny - Old Pennies VS. New Pennies
The Penny Flopover Experiment - The Penny Spinout Experiment
Shining Pennies - Rocket Powered Pennies
Penny Mushroom Piles... and more!

Macro Moments

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."
Rev. 4:11







Click on each photo to marvel at the wonders of God's creation in even greater detail.

A Surprise Visitor!

Yesterday a deer friend stopped by our yard - in the corral about 200 feet from the house. We were so suprised that just watched him and took some pictures. Although he only stayed a little while, we enjoyed the visit.

We thought you might want to see his picture.

You Are Special

This was the craft idea our boys worked on to celebrate love, a gift from God. I wish the boys could make one of these for each of you ...

You Are Special ... to us & to God!

Grandma's Gift

Our little Faith in a cute little outfit from Grandma Wiebe... Thank you, Grandma!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from te Father of lights..." James 1:17

We were thrilled to discover that Faith's second name, Mattaya, which means "gift of God" has the same meaning as Grandma's name. It was only after we named her and told Grandma her name that we found out from Grandma herself that their names have the same meaning ... both "Olga" (Grandma's name) and "Mattaya" mean "gift of God". How special is that?

God is good all the time. Unintentional orchestration, evidence of His hand at work in our lives!

Weather Report

Our weather meter told us we were getting Freezing Rain.
What would you say?
The last two days have been above freezing temperatures
with lots of rain, only the first day was freezing rain.

Here are the bigger pictures of our "Mystery Photo". Our front deck is covered by about 8'x16' of this lattice. For one day this was all decorated with a
"lacy fringe". Most of the icicles where about 2" long.



Yes, you're seeing this right! He is on the highway wearing skates!!! The highway past our farm is not very used, especially when there is a 1/4 inch of ice on everything.

The spruce and pine trees where very weighed down, here you can see why.

The other trees faired a lot better, but also had a layer of ice.

One of the guys said our clothes line looked like an "upside-down bar graph".

Thanks to those that tried guessing our "mystery photo". You were all very close.

4-week supply of Activia yogurt (Canadians only)

For those of you who live in Canada, you can
go here to sign up to receive a coupon for a 14-day supply of Activia probiotic yogurt - at no cost to you. After you try the yogurt for two weeks and take another survey, you'll receive a coupon for a second two-week supply of Activia - their way of saying "thank you" for completing the survey.

Thanks to Crystal @ MoneySavingMom.com for the info on this offer.

Mystery Photo

Any guesses? Who can figure out what it is that Corbyn has photographed in this picture?

I'm Learning to Walk, Part 2

The second little tidbit of information that I'm learning about walking is that, contrary to what I've always thought, taking regular, shorter 10-20 minutes walks at a moderate pace is actually better for your health than longer endurance. Hard to believe? I know, but I've read about this in more than one place.

Amazingly, I find it easier to get myself motivated to get out to do a couple shorter walks than one 30-45 minute walk.

Yesterday my dear hubby measured the distance of my regular walk - the length of our driveway & back is almost exactly 1/2 mile. So, if I go out two times a day for two trips to the road & back I'm putting on 2 miles. Whoohoo!

And getting fresh air to boot ... and often spending time with Ken ... benefits galore.

I'm Learning to Walk, Part 1

Ok, so I'm not learning to walk right from the start, but I am learning about a fitness way to walk known as Nordic walking.

What's that? Basically, you go for your regular walk, but carry a walking stick in each hand - and get your arm swing technique in sync with your step.

Unwittingly, I started Nordic walking last Fall when I started going out to the pasture - through the bush, up & down the trails and over tree roots - with our youngest three boys. Being pregnant I wanted walking sticks for stability. I just used walking sticks that our older boys had fashioned out of sticks they'd found in our bush.

Somehow, during the winter I googled "walking" and discovered "Nordic walking", an exercise that is well known in some countries. For an excellent website to check it out further go here.

Apparently, Nordic walking increases the cardiovascular workout one gets. It makes sense because your arms are working as well. Another benefit - and there are others - is that this method is easier on the joints of your back, knees and feet.

A Milestone

They grow up so-o-o fast ...

Last week Carsyn celebrated his sixteenth birthday, reaching a time-honored milestone.

He marked it by writing the test and getting his learner's permit - so, we now have four drivers in our household.

Way to go, Carsyn!

Easy Clean Stove-top

Thanks to my mother-in-law for a kitchen cleaning tip resulting in an "easy clean stove-top". Here's how:



Clean your stove-top well then coat with car wax - I used "Turtle Wax".

This is a wonderful way to make your stove-top easy to clean.

Since getting my stove I've been frustrated with the difficulty in cleaning it - any drip would bake on if not whisked off before the current operation was even completed ... and then it would need to be scoured off. Now I can swipe the stove top clean with a quick wipe after each use without having to get out the scouring pads, baking soda, etc.every time I want to clean my stove-top.

Thanks Mom!

I always appreciate finding a "better way" ... so I'm passing it on.

"Our Little Bundle of Faith"

A loving "title" given by a loving brother ...