Spring into Summer

Back in the Swing

This winter seemed especially long.....not sure why. Maybe it actually was. The arrival of warmer weather was almost exhilarating. Mornings were especially enticing with all of the promise of our homesteading plans. More chickens, another summer garden (bigger this time), football spring training, and a new baby to grow. Bouncing out of bed early was easier, tackling a plethora of chores from weeding the rose bush at the entrance to washing down the porch for outdoor entertaining.

Once again, our baby chick order from McMurray Hatchery arrived at the post office, and Christian (Pearce) went with Curtis to pick them up. This time we ordered five Bantams with the larger Buff Orpingtons to try 'em out. They are smaller birds with pretty feathery feet. They're supposed to be good layers, though the eggs are smaller. Unfortunately, only two of the five survived, and that was after having to reorder replacements for both breeds, as the weather was still just too cold for them to make if safely here. We nursed the weak baby chicks with a dropper full of vitamin water, and kept them under the heat lamps in the kitchen until they either made it, or died. It was a tense few days in the hearts of the children as they picked out favorites rooting them on to strength and health. I'm just really curious: Was traditional farm life this dramatic???

Once the new chickens were safe in the brooder in the barn and adapting well to their new home, and springtime was off and running, so were the boys. The little ones were back on the rope swing, (here Cyrus is for the first time trying it out)...

...and the big boys were out fishing again!

Of course, Chon wouldn't miss out on these golden opportunities, over as often as the boys had free weekends.

Beginning a Year of Big Birthdays

This year, Madison turned 16, Maggie turned 13, and I turn 40! Goodness gracious! I wanted to make these especially memorable for the girls, but funds this year are super tight. Having not yet sold any property, and bonuses having been non-existant in a down turned economy, I wasn't exactly sure how we were gonna swing it.

I told the Lord exactly what I wanted to do for each one, and opporunities began to open up to celebrate in style! It really was a great spring!

Curtis set the age at thirteen for the girls to be allowed to pierce their ears. Maggie was counting the days! We surprised her with a full day of events on her actual birth date, Saturday March 27, with a visit to the Piercing Pagoda at the mall, then on to meet several of her best friends in downtown Grapevine for a tea/luncheon, then on to walking the vintage shops, before heading to the lake to meet the boys and have a cookout. It was a big day, and I think it filled that girl's cup!

Each one of our kids carry quite a load of responsibility, and most of the time, they do it well. But, Madison and Maggie, over the last year especially, have shouldered a heavier load than normal, holding down the fort for me to run Curtis Wade to a new level of meetings, trainings, and classes. They have done it so well. The days have gone on without a hitch, and the younger ones have felt cared for and tended to without my presence every hour of the day. Maggie has kept up the bread baking every three days. Madison has had dinner on the table (usually three courses with fresh tea), and they both have had the house straight, the boys bathed, and the animals fed by the time Curtis arrived home.

I wanted to celebrate that. I wanted to celebrate them!

The Willow Cottage Tea Room
Grapevine, TX

Football

Curtis, in the meantime, focused on training in the gym with Daddy Curtis, and starting back the season at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter for the Texas Home Educators Sports Association (THESA). He received quite an honor when the board asked him to serve as the representative for the football team. Eight board members along with their leaders voted him to take fill the spot, if he was so inclined. And was he! The annual banquet was in April, and he wanted a full suit for the event. That is absolutely the first time ever I can remember him choosing dress clothes over jeans!! I had a blast shopping with him, but he and Curtis found the best deal in Plano.

Here he is at the banquet with good buddy, Zach Orr, one of the coach's sons. Zach has been a part of THESA for several years now, playing in different sports. His first love is baseball, but football comes in a close second, where Curtis and he met.

Madison's Birthday

The biggest and best surprise was Uncle Scott flying in from California for her 16th birthday!
He and Daddy (Papa) met us at the lake at Rick and Dot's place for her cookout party....now a favorite place to celebrate any family event!

But the night before the lake party, Maggie and I got Shalah (one of Madison's very best friends) with her mom, Jenny (one of my very best friends), and Sarah and Sarah (two of our entire family's very best friends), and headed to Canton's First Monday Trade Days in the piny woods of east Texas for an all girls party in a beautiful cabin in the back woods. The girls had never been to Canton, although we'd talked about it a thousand times.
We had a blast! Everybody brought something to cook in the fully equipped kitchen, so no fast food, just fantastic homemade meals, and popcorn and a movie to cap the night off.
Sarah was bold enough to take the boat out on the 2 acre lake behind the house, so the girls went with her, while the other Sarah worked feverishly to finish up her own homemade from scratch chocolate dream cake. The conversation was easy and enjoyable, the food was great, the relaxation so complete that nobody wanted to leave the next day for the Trade Days. We could have spent an entire weekend right there in that house! Sooooo, maybe that'll be the plan sometime soon again!

We got back from Canton Sunday afternoon, freshened up a bit, and headed to the lake.

Mr. and Mrs. Parvin also came, and Christine, our neighbor, now a good friend of Madison's.
Rick and Dot had a surprise of their own, too. They had traded in their older motor home for a newer, larger one to more readily accommodate all of the kiddos for game nights!
It's beautiful!






So, with the bulk of our spring activity behind us, and a hot summer ahead, it is now time to buckle down again, get some more school work accomplished, and wait for the cooler, more pleasant days of fall to bring about a new wave of Parnell activity. I've found in our homeschooling experience that summer has been one of the best times of year to focus. The weather is too hot for everybody to want to stay outside, friends are on vacation, or visiting grandparents, and life typically slows down to a nice crawl, allowing uninterrupted time for studies for all ages around here.

And, I will finally reach the halfway point in this pregnancy, with a sonogram scheduled next week! YEAH!! We will find out just who this baby is!! We all heard the heartbeat for the first time on April 20. Donna, my midwife came out to dinner with us to catch up on all the news around here and with her, and conducted my first prenatal. She's more than my midwife, she's a lifelong friend and confidant. What a wonderful evening we all shared. Though I've never taken it for granted, the sound of that heartbeat was amazingly overwhelming, indicating all was truly well with this one. And it has been further confirmed with constant movement, each and everyday now for almost a month. Sometimes I just linger lying down feeling this life within, in awe of the wonder of God's creation, contemplating the impact on this world that this new one will have.
Back to the front porch for cold crispy pickles and ice cream, and back to harvesting the garden.
The roses even appreciated the extra attention this year!

Speaking of the garden....
These were the pics taken in March getting the plot ready. It was still pretty cold!

The oldest with the youngest...

Seed planting...

And the satisfaction of bringing it to the table! Potatoes for our first time ever, lettuce that actually grew to more than a nub of greenery, peas in the pods (a family event shelling them), and once again a bumper crop of squash!
Our tomatoes and onions are coming in soon, and the corn seems to be promising.
Though it has been fun for the education and witness to the miracle of it all, I cannot honestly say it is the most economical way to feed a family. After the compost, the organic fertilizer, and the increased watering, grocery stores are a much less expensive way to put homemade mashed potatoes on the table. But, nothing compares to the journey of learning to grow something right out of the earth!

I hope you've enjoyed this update, and as always, we all welcome your prayers and any updates of your own! We have faced unusually hard times this year financially, but what I have considered tight doesn't compare to stories I've heard others have had to face. Our prayers are with you, and in all of this, remember the power of your words!
God has truly vested in us creative power to bring about life or death.
Choose life and speak blessing over your family!
Circumstances do not rule, but the truth of His Word does, if we choose to believe it, speak it, and ultimately by His grace, live it!
Praise the Lord!!