Looks like Tab set up a schoolhouse for me circa 1810. My kids rock.

I just added a bunch of posts… scroll down a while to catch them all… if you are interested.

Talk about fantastic.

Last year I spent Mother’s Day at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World.  It was so much fun!  But, despite being 1300 miles north this year, we had just as fabulous a day today.  ♥

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t believe it has taken me thirty years to get back to this GEM of a living museum just 45 minutes from my house. 
I am thanking God that a friend’s blog reminded me it was here.

We had the most wonderful day!

My mother-in-law gave us a family pass for Christmas.  Today was our first venture out there.  It was amazing. 

Mercantile.

Insurance office.

Games children played.

Marie was the first to give the stilts a try.  She rocked.  The boys quickly latched onto it as well.

But it was Daddy who rocked the field.

We cooked in a few buildings.

and enjoyed the grounds, and the churches.

Big brothers and sisters looked after Johanna. 

We operated printing presses.

And Marie participated in the Virginia Wheel dance party.  (Video to follow soon!)

Tab (a/k/a Laura) got her groove on the stilts.

And they visited an early 1800’s school house.  Now… if school was still conducted this way, we might embrace the system.    Books included a reader, a speller, and a BIBLE. 

We picnicked and then forgot our camera in a few stops. 

The kids tried out their tinsmithing skills.

OH – and we remembered Mom for one picture!

This place is amazing.  I can not wait to go back in a few weeks.

The docents recommended steering clear of the place for the next few weeks as school trips make the place “zoo-like.”  They encouraged week day visits in July and August to avoid crowds.  If the weather cooperates we plan to attend the War of 1812 Reenactment days, Civil War reenactment days, and Laura Ingalls Wilder days at the least. 

It was AMAZING.  Now Marie wants some period clothing, too… 

My name was drawn for a Nurses’ Week prize last night!  I was even there when it was drawn.  I got to pick out whatever I wanted from a slew of fun goodies.  I was honing in on a bag when I saw this cute cupcake mix.  It even came with a cute spatula and pretty apron.  My girls and I are going to have some fun this week. 

 

 

Tabitha did the last page of her second Kindergarten workbook today. When she realized there were no more pages to do she looked at me and said, “Does this mean I am in grade one, now?”
I confirmed she was no longer a kindergartener. She has been delighted all day.

Tabitha did the last page of her second Kindergarten workbook today. When she realized there were no more pages to do she looked at me and said, “Does this mean I am in grade one, now?”
I confirmed she was no longer a kindergartener. She has been delighted all day.

There was nothing for lunch.
No left-overs.
No bread.
Very little milk – I couldn’t even suggest cereal.
We’d had eggs for breakfast.
But I had croissant-style pastry and cheap hot dogs.
And sometimes I even horrify myself.

You aren’t surprised to hear that the kids LOVED them, are you?

And so do six-years-old, presumably.
This six-year-old hopes to reap pumpkins in four or five months.

And her mom stands on the promise, Isaiah 55:11 that God’s Word will not return void as we bathe Tabitha in the Truth.

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”  He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”