Brown Belt

Sidge got his brown belt in karate this evening. He has one more belt before black belt!!

More from Colombia

Life has been ...

....

busy here.  I am on a New Member Committee so last week I made 18 phone calls to introduce ourselves and interview potential new members to our cooperative. We had a graduation, a graduation rehearsal, and a dinner for Tusculum supporting the memory of Chuck Bowlin. It was just a lot!

While school is mostly done now, little Pomegranate is still finishing up at the Kotynskis. She will be done at the end of the month. Our olders are mostly completely done although all of them will do math throughout the summer. 

Here is a little update on all of the kiddos: 

Isaac: Isaac is now 17 and is working at Yoder's almost 30 hours a week! It's a great job for him, and he seems to really enjoy it. I think it's fantastic that he can practice in an area like customer service as I think his life will involve a lot of "schmoozing" -- especially if he goes into the Arts. He is also still taking piano, voice, and guitar. Theater is mostly finishing up for the summer. He will be attending a theatre camp at Liberty University this summer with Randy Belt's (John's co-director at the ER) daughter Rylee. I am super excited for him. Generally, Isaac has become a pretty easy kid to parent. We had some challenging growing pains when he was 14-15, but mostly, now, he is enjoyable. He also has a girl that he likes :)

Elijah "Sidge": Sidge is 16. He still takes Karate two days a week. I think he will probably get his black belt by the time he graduates high school. He is working on the farm, hunting, and also working for other people (Daniel S., Aunt Betsy, Gabe, Grampa) sometimes. He is now driving as well which really helps here -- even though they share a vehicle. Sidge will be taking full-time college classes this fall which will be a very big change for him. His classes will be on Mondays and Wednesdays so he will have time to work on the farm and get some outdoor, hunting time in. While he does enjoy playing his allotted time of games on his phone each day (30 minutes), he is otherwise listening to hunting or some political podcasts (he likes Charlie Kirk) or reading. He is soon to leave for Columbia on a mission trip which is super exciting!)

Abigail: Abigail will turn 14 in July. She is still very involved in ballet. She probably is my least "liking" of school, and while she is a very good writer, doesn't even enjoy that all that much. She is really gifted with photography and spends time editing those items. She is going to be attending an overnight youth camp in Florida (WITHOUT her brothers as they have theater and mission trip). Abigail LOVES her friends and her social group (including a certain young man :) and is very intentional about her relationships -- something I never saw with the boys. 

Hannah: Hannah is 11 and as spirited, spunky, silly, and sweet as ever. She is just a spit-fire and so full of life. She loves ballet, and Ms. LoriAnn asked her to help at the princess and beginner camps this summer. She is super smart and schoolwork comes very easy to her. (If it doesn't, she can easily get frustrated as it isn't "normal" for something to feel hard.) She is very good on the farm as well, and if Sidge can't help us, Hannah is the next one in line to step in. She is the best cook and seamstress in our house and remains incredibly creative (and a bit messy :)

 

Preparing for Columbia

I think there are at least a DOZEN kids in this hula-hoop to work on a team-building activity for their mission trip to Columbia. Sidge is going to Columbia at the end of May with a group from the church. We were actually surprised he would want to do this as he is quite an introvert and not really big on group-stuff. But he really wanted to do it! Isaac went to Mexico two years ago and now Sidge is going to make a trip. 

I have to admit, I often found team-building stuff kinda lame. But Sidge was saying before we go there that day "I'm not so sure about this trip." And after the meeting he told me he was feeling a little bit excited. Honestly, I didn't have to even go with him to the meeting as he drives, but I wanted to be a little bit of parental support for him on this journey. (Even though he finds me slightly embarrassing.)

So thankful for our amazing church and all they bring to our kids and community!

Tagging Ducks (Take 2)

Elijah is very interested in joining the TWRA after college. He has started volunteering with them. Today they tried for a second time to tag ducks, and they were successful. I love how passionate Sidge is about all things nature and wildlife. I am excited to see where his future takes him. 

By the way, big brother Isaac got his first job today! He is going to be working at Yoder's starting next week -- about 25 hours a week. This is just about 7 minutes from our house so it is truly a perfect starting location. It is an Amish Market. I'm so proud of him!

What the boys are up to

Sidge earned his purple belt last night in karate. He is now three belts away from black! His older cousin, Gabe, really looks out for him and is sort of mentoring him on this journey. He is pictured above in the back corner. his teacher, Ben, is in the front right corner. John went to watch Sidge test last night. Ben told JB he really has the potential to go far with this if he wants due to his strength and his size. 

We don't do many "sports" in our family in the traditional sense. I've really tried to let my kids interests' lead what we do. The girls LOVE ballet. And while not a traditional sport, I can tell you that I have learned how difficult is by guiding my girls through it. Truly I think it may be more difficult than many traditional ball sports. But I'm not trying to get into a debate. 

Sidge continues to move forward with karate. Breaking his arm last year set him back quite a bit, but I think he's returned to his previous interest in it now. Isaac quit karate and is not doing any athletics anymore. I think getting his black belt will be a major accomplishment and also help him in his future job endeavors with the TWRA. (More on that in a second.)

Both boys are now sophomores, and it is exciting to see what their futures may hold. Sidge is planning on doing something next year called "middle college." This is where he will get his associates degree while in high school. It requires a lot of diligence as you are basically a full-time college student in high school, but he graduates with two years of college completed. He then plans to go to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville as a commuter student (it's about an hour from us) to get his biology degree. From there, he hopes to enter the TWRA. Once you have your degree in Biology, it is a 5.5 month program and you are essentially a wildlife officer. 

Isaac is going to lighten up on his school load and really dive into music and theatre during his last two years. He only needs about 7 more classes to graduate once he finishes this school years. He will do those and take a few of them at Walter State so that they apply to his college degree program. He is currently hoping to attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia which is about four hours from us in the fall. But, he has to get the money together for that as we are not paying for college. So we will see how that goes! He is currently mentoring with five different musician/theatre people in preparation for what he wants to do with his future.

My Hunter

I understand not everyone is a fan of hunting. And I totally respect that. But for my nearly fifteen-year-old son, it is truly his PASSION. 

We have a few rules surrounding hunting. We won't hunt just for sport. If we hunt anything, it is because it is a predator or it is because it is going to be eaten.  

In the case of coyotes, they are "allowed" to be hunted at anytime and anywhere because they are so prolific in this area. John told Sidge he would allow him ONE coyote. He won't hunt another unless our farm needs them hunted because of predation issues. (We do not eat coyotes. Generally, you do not eat carnivores.)

Sidge actually went out for deer and got a coyote. It was the first time he had seen a coyote outside of a casual encounter wandering out of the woods. 

We were so excited for Sidge. This is so fun for him. He is getting so big and so strong and so buff and he moves in the woods with such incredible dexterity and quietness. 

I love that he has found something so much. I love that we have him on a farm where he can do this. I am not interested in hunting. And I know people often are not. But it is a great activity here on the farm -- and most of it results in food!

Sidge the hunter

December 3, 2024: First buck

Thanksgiving Day 2024: first doe

November 2024

How Hannah got her NICKname

When we knew he was becoming "Sidge"

I stumbled upon this video of Sidge being John's "Shoe Chef." This video demonstrated how Elijah started requesting that we call him "Sidge." He would simply tell us that was his name. That's what he wanted to be called. In this video, he does just that!

Karate grappling

The boys have been doing karate for around five years now I think. Ben Sparks does SUCH an amazing job with them.  They have learned SOOO much. They got to grapple each other the other day, and I got a video. Ben always has to watch very closely when the brothers are grappling because they can get carried away. So fun to watch all they've learned. 

Elijah's passions

Our 13-year-old Elijah "Sidge" is now 5'10". His passions include: 

• Woodworking: he takes a class with Grama every Wednesday, and his precision and perfection goes well with the craft. The bird feeder (above) is one of his first completed projects. 
• Fish and aquariums: he'd have 100 aquariums if we'd let him. We bought him a tank for Christmas and it truly filled him up in so many ways. 
• All things animals: he'd take dogs and animals any day of the week. He is actually going to "run" our turkey production this summer. 
• Birds: Loves him some birds. In fact, Ms. Blair came over the other day to bird with him. 
• Plants: He recently started his own herb garden. He loves planting and is working on seeing what plants he can bring from the outside in and help them regrow. 
• Being outside: He truly seems to be affected when it's raining and he can't go outside. 
• Marvel Movies / Star Wars movies: Enough said!

 

Thursday Throwback

I have been enjoying looking back at old videos and reflecting on my children. What an incredible gift to be able to watch them grow up on video. To remember all the incredible moments. There is so much I am unhappy about in the world right now -- and especially this social media age we live in. But my GOODNESS there are some great things about living in the century/ies we do!

Sidge following in John's footsteps

Man, this kid ... without any prodding or pushing from John, he seems to be the one who wants to do the types of things that John does. Animals, fish, plants ... it's all his choice. And all things he loves. 

There is no question we love BOTH of our boys and ALL of our children completely equally. But oh it's so different with all of them. The things they love and are passionate about are just DIFFERENT. 

God made them all UNIQUE. No amount of farming can make a farmer out of a kiddo who doesn't want to be farmer. 

And no amount of anything could keep the farmer out of Sidge.

Moving a car to TN from Portland: Day 1

It’s quite exciting! John and Abigail and Sidge are taking a cross-country trip together. John’s sister, Katie, and her husband, Eddie, and their new baby boy (Rusty) are moving to TN in just a few weeks. They have purchased a property that borders our farm at the top of the ridge, and we are so excited to have them join our community here. 

However, Eddie and Katie needed someone to drive one of their vehicles out here. After a lot of discussion, we decided that John would take the two birders. I would stay here with the two non-birders. (The car wasn’t big enough for all of us to go, and to be honest, staying home with my other two sounded very appealing.)

I am in awe of what an amazing day I’ve had here with just two kids — in particular Isaac and Hannah, who, for whatever reason, never fight with each other. 

I’ll be posting more pictures. Later, when they get back, I’ll have them help me label the photos. But these bird pictures were all taken by someone 13 or under!

Golden-Crowned Sparrow (Sidge)

Wood Duck (Abigail)

Stellar's Jay (Sidge)

Anna's Hummingbird (Abigail)

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee (Sidge)

California Scrub-Jay (Abigail)

Lotsa good news

So there has been A LOT going on in our house. 

Firstly, the night after our big ballet weekend, we came home and discovered our puppy Raven was in labor. The next morning, we had to go to our first week of homeschool co-op for the semester. Raven had a vet appt. to get an x-ray and see how many puppies she had inside of her. We obviously had to cancel that. We opted to leave Abigail home with Daddy, and while we were gone, Raven birthed this puppy pictured below. (Here is a video of her having this first puppy, that we are calling APRIL.)

Hours went by and there were no more puppies. We opted to take Raven to the vet. The vet did an x-ray and discovered there was one more pup hiding in there. They gave Raven some medicine and this little gal popped out. (And here is a video of that birth here.)

In addition to that news, our Elijah Luke "Sidge" turned 13 on the same day the puppies were born. This kid. I really need to devote a whole 'nother post to this amazingly compassionate, caring, truthful, diligent, intelligent young man. He is truly such a joy to be the Mama for!

A few days after that? Even MORE good news. Mr. Craig (aka "Erin's husband" or "Zach and Zoey's Daddy") returned "home" from his deployment to Quatar! It had been seven long months, and everyone is SOOO excited to have him back safely. This does mean, however, that there time on the farm is drawing to an end. In early March they will not their new base in California. Man, I can't even think about that. Here's a picture of Mr. Craig with the puppies. (He really likes them!)

Honestly, there is so much more to tell about our life lately, and it just doesn't seem like there is enough time to tell it. But I'll be back with more soon!