Top Reads of 2014

It's that time again.  I evaluate what I've read this year.  My goal was to read 10,000 pages this year--a goal I just fell short of in 2013, and to read more non-fiction than biographies and fiction.  So...

I finished 41 books in 2014.
     * 7 Fiction
     * 19 Non-fiction
     * 15 Biographies

I read a total of.....10,601 pages.  Goal Accomplished.

Top Reads of 2014:

1. The Blessed and Boundless God by George Swinnock
2. Jesus on Every Page by David Murray
3. Gulag--A History by Anne Applebaum
4. Broken Minds by Steve & Robyn Bloem
5. The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom
6. Martyn Lloyd Jones: The First Forty Years: Iain Murray
7. Into Their Hands at any Cost by Harvey Yoder
8. The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson
9. The Secret Lives of Saints by Daphne Braham
10. Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung

Looks like such a tiny, simple list as I briefly glance at it.  Many hours were spent in these 10 books.  These 10 books made an impact on me in 2014.  I hope you have the chance to read a few.

My reading challenge for 2015:
     *12,000 pages
     *All 3 books of William Gurnall's Christian in Complete Armour
     *Iain Murray's Martyn Lloyd Jones: The Fight of Faith
     * William Perkins Volume 1

King of the Mountain

Found my daughter loudly singing, "I'm king of the Mountain, I'm king of the mountain!" Cute, but unfortunately, that mountain is my laundry pile and worse yet, that's only half of the laundry I have to tackle today.

 

2014 Christmas Tree

When our Christmas tree gets set up early in December it looks like a pretty generic Christmas tree.  It has some lights, a star and a few ornaments.  By mid December the tree has officially become customized--Gordon style.  This year we have a massive snowman perched in the bottom, a star flag wedged in the middle, 2 oversized giant Christmas balls hanging in the tree, and the latest addition is a few Little People who seem to be nesting.  This is what I love about our little tradition.  The tree is not a show piece in my house.  Rather it's a family tree.  

 

Working For the Prize

 

Oh Seth, you saw a lego tractor set in the store that you completely fell in love with...and your mom was a total sucker and bought it.  However, instead of giving it to you right away, she got a piece of paper and drew 10 boxes on it.  She said you had to earn this tractor set.  Every time you went in the barn and did a full morning's work, another box got crossed off.  Now, because you go to school part time and you're not allowed to help on Sunday mornings, it took about a month until you were able to cross off that last box.  But you were diligent and you never lost sight of the prize.  You never got discouraged.  Son, enjoy your lego.  You totally deserve it!

 

 

Fun With Courtney

Courtney is 3.  She told me she wanted to write her name.  So we both sat down at the table, each with their own paper in front of them.  Truthfully, I wasn't expecting too much.  I showed her how to write a C and then she proceeded to write her own C on her own paper.  We proceeded this way and the end product looked like this:

 

Yeah.  I was really impressed too!

 

 

Later Courtney and I went to the grocery store to get a few things.  In true fashion she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of our shopping trip.  (She doesn't really have to go...she usually just wants to see the bathroom).  So of course we see these pictures on the bathroom door.

 

"Mommy, this bathroom is for girls with clothes, and this bathroom is for the naked girls."

Working Together

Apparently supper was very very disgusting according to 2 boys.  Beans, potatoes and some sort of meat.  They both asked me if I would feed them.  Being busy, I told them to feed each other.  So they did.  Both scooped a pile of food into the other's mouth and then they both choked and gagged it down--tears running down their face, their feet stomping on their chairs to promote manliness and bravery in order swallow the 'disgusting' food.  Hilarious to watch.  The pictures just don't do it justice.

Death to Chocolate

 We awoke this morning to a Reeces Pieces graveyard.  17 chocolate bars met their demise.










However, the culprit must have gotten tired of them as 2 survived.





 
 
 
 

Upon interogation, one child claimed they were very good.

 

As parents we deliberated on her punishment.  Making her wear a pig snout for the day and calling her Oink seemed the most deserving and appropriate.  But we resorted to more traditional methods, spoke to her and required her to clean up after herself.



36 Hours

On Saturday afternoon, September 6, the kids were doing this:

And a lot of this.

36 hours later...on September 8 we got THIS!

..and we got it ALL day!

Lincoln's Take on School

For the past couple of mornings this massive, orange, cylindrical tube swallows up my kids and doesn't spit them out until suppertime. I have attempted to sneak aboard, but the gaping mouth snapped shut right in front of me.  This morning I attempted to bite the tail as it once again swallowed the little masters--but to no avail as a bellow as black smoke rushed into my face, disorienting me, as the tube shot off down the road.

Perhaps even more disconcerting is the fact that the big master stands and allows this all to happen.  When I nibble at the children, I get a whack.  But when this, this THING eats her children she is smiling and waves and happily holds me by my collar to prevent me from investigating this new enemy.  Then she happily makes her way back down the driveway with the smallest ones--not a concern at all that her other young have been eaten.  This is indeed, a strange species.

 At suppertime I realized that the cylindrical tube returns to vomit out the children.  I imagine they did not digest well.  That ought to settle that.  You do not eat something that has made you sick.  But again, this morning the 'tube' ate the children.  I am extremely confused.

Now You See It....Now You Don't!

 At 3:00 this afternoon, I made 2 large pizzas for supper.  I tried a wholegrain crust and loaded them with pizza sauce, ham, pepperoni and salami.  Just before grating the mozzarella cheese, one of the kids called for me and I went running to the office.












When I got back a few minutes later, the pizzas were gone.  All I found was a bit of pizza sauce smeared on the floor and a husky dog licking his chops.  He got a loud holler and a huge boot.


















We're still not on speaking terms.

Pictures

Courtney is happily planted in front of her best friend.

On a trip to the Devonian Botanical Garden, these 2 got tired and decided to rest up a bit.

It was 8:00 pm (bedtime) and these boys wanted to go swimming.  I told them to give me 3 reasons why I should let them swim.  Well...they scratched their heads...

But they DID come up with 3 reasons and I let them go swimming...in fact, I even joined them!

I don't like dressing my kids in the same clothes but for the first time I bought matching outfits.  The girls were ecstatic to receive matching dresses.

It's August and that means PLENTY of gardening!  The girls are a wonderful help and we have the best conversations while picking beans.

Eric got a pellet gun for his birthday from his grandpa.  I tell you, his grandpa knows EXACTLY what an 11 year old likes!

Courtney got kitties again. That is one happy 3 year old. One morning I couldn't find her.  She wasn't in her bed, she wasn't planted in front of the T.V.  Nope, she crossed the driveway (when there were big trucks driving back and forth since we were catching chickens) and went to go see her kittens.

And with that, I think I'm sort of caught up.  I really need to post some of the interesting conversations I'm having with the kids lately.

Meet 'Mita'

I'm icing cupcakes and feeling pretty good about myself since I made the icing myself instead of buying a pot of the pre-made stuff.  Seth nonchalantly grabs a stool and comes to see what I'm doing.

SETH: My mom (meaning his wife) will make cupcakes that look like a heart.

MOM: Well, that will be nice.I'm sure they will taste very good.

SETH: Yeah, they'll be better than yours.

MOM: Well, O.K.

SETH: And my mom will make mushroom soup that isn't yucky like yours.

MOM: Hmm, well good for her.

SETH: And she'll even put macaroni in it for me.  You don't.

MOM: So what's her name?

SETH: Well...her name will me MITA

MOM: Mita???

SETH: Yup, Mita, and she'll make taco salad a lot.  Not your yucky caesar salad.

MOM: Well I'm going to give her all my recipes.

SETH: She will burn them.

MOM: What if she makes you chili?

SETH: Then I'll yell at her a lot.

MOM: I hope you consider a lot of time for marriage counselling.

Breakfast

If you ever stop in for breakfast, I would encourage you to politely decline Seth's offer to make you a little something to eat.  As pictured below, he considers bologna on a toasted blueberry eggo a well rounded meal.  I'm going to be kind and say his taste buds are still maturing.  

 

When Someone Gives Us Sidewalk Chalk...

Open Season for Chemical Warfare

 I planted 5 rows of potatoes.  I'm happy to report that they're all coming up. 

But as the potatoes pop up, so do these undesirable, disgusting, icky things.  I loathe potato bugs.  They are so...so...so REVOLTING!

 

So I pulled out my trusty weapon of mass destruction.  With glee I mixed a new batch of poison and loaded it into my empty Windex bottle.  Yes...765 mL of certain DEATH for potato bugs. 

 

I trotted off to my garden and carefully peered at that first plant.  Ewwww, yucky orange bugs!  I set my nozzle to STREAM and squirted the life out of that pest.  I may have hollered, "DIE!  Yes, DIE!!!"  And so ever so meticulously I paraded up and down my potato rows, rescuing my potatoes by the squirt of my finger.  DIE DIE DIE!!!  Task complete, I hung my weapon by my side and proceeded to pick weeds.  But I was ready.  For every orange bug I met that was still on it's feet after my onslaught got their very own point blank volley of poison.  Take THAT! shquirt shquirt  No one stays alive.

 

With one last look over my shoulder I growled, "I'll be back."

We BURN It!

Sometimes my kids get really frustrated with their school work.  A test they've been nervous about comes back sporting a less then ideal grade, despite the fact that they've tried their hardest.  This is incredibly discouraging and they have a tendency to get down on themselves about it.

This happened to my son with his French test.  I don't think French is super important.  I think he should do his best, but I'm not horribly alarmed if he's not getting straight A's.  It's not a core subject (and...he's an Albertan :-0 )  Besides, he started French a full year and a half later than the rest of his class.  There's NO WAY he's going to see high marks at this point.  His class is speaking and writing full sentences.  he's working on 'Bonjour.'  Nevertheless, he expects top marks from himself anyways.

Shame covering his features, he showed me his French test.  I looked at it.  I tried to encourage him by appealing to his sense of reason.  Then, noticing I was getting nowhere, I walked to the drawer, grabbed a lighter and instructed him to follow me.  French test in hand, we headed to the fire pit.  I gave him his test and I gave him the lighter. 

"Burn it," I told him.

A look of sheer joy, relief and surprise came across his face. 

"OK!"  And so he burned it.  The problem was solved.  His mom was happy with him.  The evidence was gone and forgotten.  And a boy returned to the house with a bounce in his step once again.

**NOTE**
This is NOT, I repeat, NOT a good way to deal with all your problems.  The Edmonton Fire Department does not want to start putting out fires because this blog told you to become an arsonist.

But Mom...we NEED a Rocket Launcher!

I have been wondering where the middle piece of my vacuum cleaner had gone.  And what do you know...this morning Paul wandered into the kitchen toting the missing vacuum cleaner on his shoulder.  You see, it has a neat little mechanism where one side contracts into the other side making it smaller.  It also makes a nice clicking sound when it is contracted or elongated.  When I asked for it back he vehemently protested, "But Mom...we NEED a Rocker Launcher!"

 

 



A Beauty of a Day!

It was SUCH a beautiful day!  We were all outside the better part of the day.  Check it out.

 

Paul is infatuated with Dan's motorcycle.

 

Eric helped me for most of the day cleaning out the pool and starting the long process of adding and treating the water.

Eric is also impressed with Dan's bike (I think it must be a guy thing).

 Dan and Courtney hauling some dirt for my planters with the tractor.

 

Seth hanging out on his own tractor.

 Courtney on her scooter--with her grandpa boots on of course.

 Paul's shooting hoops (he's QUITE good!).  Dan joined him a little later.

 Not being able to resist, Dan took his motorcycle for a little ride.

Farm Boys and Libraries

Every now and then I like to take my 5 year old farm boy away from his chickens and try to refine his rougher edges by taking him to the public library and exposing him to some good literature. 

 

But I've learned that you can't take the farm out of the boy or even hide it.  This is the book he found in the library and chose to take home.

 

  So much for cultivating a love for the classics.

Kites--One of Spring's Delights

Grandpa bought the kids a shark kite.  What a hit!  And they got it on a day when the wind was just perfect for flying kites.  It kept these hooligans busy for quite some time too!