Piatt Castle

Piatt Castle: Mac-O-Chee

Sharree near one of the many beautiful fireplaces. The picture doesn't show the stenciled borders very well, but our guide said it took the painter 3 yrs. to complete all of the stenciling on the walls and ceilings.

Believe it or not we went on another field trip Thursday to Piatt Castle: Mac-o-Chee. The woodwork, stenciled borders, fireplaces, etc. were beautiful. We were supposed to go into the "haunted cellar" but the furnace broke and I assume they were working down there, so to my students' disappointment, we didn't get to go in the basement. Needless to say, we experienced how cold it could be in a castle without any heat, save a fireplace, and we didn't get to experience that either. It sure made you appreciate furnaces that supply heat for the cool and cold weather.

Happy Halloween!

Zeus wearing "kitty ears"

Camp Retreat

My roomies: Wendy & Sarah (we even stayed up late: 2-3 A.M.)

Christianna, Stephanie, & Sharree in the loft of their cabin (they stayed up until 4).

Evangeline, Kerri, & Lindsay in their "living room." They stayed up until 2, and even though you can't see it too well, Kerri has a Cheeto in her mouth. These girls ate an incredible amount of junk food: Cheetos, Pringles, cupcakes, candy, ...


This week-end our church met together at a local Bible Methodist Campground for a retreat. I believe this was our fourth retreat and I believe it was our best. The girls and I spent the night with friends in cabins and enjoyed lots of DELICIOUS food, fellowship, scapbooking, games, etc.

As I have stated in my introduction, we have a wonderful church family. They are our official "family" in Ohio since our immediate families live in Michigan and New York. Therefore, we enjoyed having the opportunity of spending time and fellowshipping with them this weekend.

Happy Birthday

Kerri and her choice of "birthday cake": chocolate-covered creampuffs.

Our baby is officially a teenager this week (Yah!, AHH!, sigh ...)! She is very creative, a tomboy, a dog and animal lover, and much more. We are thankful that God brought her into our lives 13 years ago!

FALL

My beautiful girls.

Our friend, Wendy, took some family pictures for us at our house yesterday. Thanks, Wendy!!

Beautiful fall colors.

Our little fall nook.

Friday I gave a challenge to our school students to think of something they were thankful for, everyday until Thanksgiving. I told them I would be asking them occasionally and they could ask me. I think I am going to pass out calendars so we can keep track and find something different to be thankful for each day.

Yesterday, I was thankful for Saturdays: sleeping in a bit, catching up on household chores, relaxing with my family or friends, etc. Today, I am thankful for fall, hence the fall pictures above. We had our first frost last night and the air is a bit chilly, but it truly seems like fall now. I love the colors-red, orange, yellow, rust-and am always looking for those "special" trees that are just spectacular. I have done this with my girls since they were little, so now they make sure they point out those "special" trees as well.

At any rate, HAPPY FALL to all my friends and family!!!!! :)

Marmon Valley Farms

Stephanie Burley & I resting in the hayloft (yes, we did climb up the ladder). :)

Sharree splitting wood with a wooden mallet & a "thingy-ma-jig."

The Pilgrim Christian School gang.

Kerri & a "pal"

Sharree trying out the rope bridge (sorry it's sideways-I forgot to turn it).

Pioneer girls?

Yes, we went on another field trip. And yes, we actually do school work :) ! But the fall is just a wonderful time of year to plan field trips. Marmon Valley Farms is a Christian, family-run farm with many activities available. We came for the pioneer days (which is my classroom theme this month) and we learned about cooking & tools pioneers used, and we made candles & candle holders. After our demonstrations, we had lunch-the highlight for many; especially since many of my students were asking when lunch was on the 50 min. trip to the farm. Afterwards the students played in a barn "playset", checked out many farm animals, crawled through a hay maze, and played in a hayloft. Of course it was another perfect day: blue skies, just-right temperatures (70s), and beautiful fall colors.

Zeus

September '08

"I love to play ball, soccer, football, & frizbee."

Crazy dog!!

Posin' pretty (treats help)

Chunky pup

Baby Zeus (2 mths.)

I was realizing today that some of you have never seen or been introduced to a member of our family: our dog, Zeus (also known as Zeus-poo, Zeusy butt, mamma's baby, buddy, beast, pus head {you can tell who calls him the last two}...). So, I thought I would share some photos of our "baby" and maybe you'll be able to realize why we enjoy having him as part of our famiy.

(sorry the photos are out of order- I forgot that things download backwards on blogger)