Halloween

We as a family don't really do much for Halloween. No trick or treating or anything like that. We do usually get pumpkins and decorate them, but we have never carved one. Aunt Laurie found the girls parts, kinda like Mr. Potato Head, to decorate the pumpkins with. It will do four pumpkins and the girls think they are great. I have thought about carving pumpkins with them, but after this morning I'm glad we haven't tried. Marissa and Madalyn were watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". In the beginning where Lynus is picking out a pumpkin, Madalyn says "Oh no, they are going to kill it!" Marissa responded with, "Yea they are really mean and they kill it Madalyn!" I guess it will be another year or so before we tackle that project!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

Talent

I thought I would share a picture of my mother-in-law's talent. She just finished this blanket for Madalyn. She is in the middle of Marissa's blanket too. Marissa got to pick out her own yarn and is SUPER excited about it. Isn't it beautiful? She also made this one for Doug and myself...its even oversized so it fits awesome on our bed. I love it!

"When I get bigger..."

Marissa recently watched the Disney movie Pinocchio. This morning she came out with her Raggedy Ann doll, which she has never played with that I can remember.

Mommy: "You brought out your Raggedy Ann doll! I love her."
Marissa: "Yup, I found her. When I get bigger, I'm going to take her to the show with me."
Mommy: "To the show?"
Marissa: "Yea and put strings on her and then she can talk!"

Kids and their perception on things...

Seeing as the girls are growing up on a dairy farm, they are getting far greater of an education than the average child today. They see stuff everyday that most adults don't get to see. However, since they are only 4 and 2, the perceptive that they get from these things isn't necessarily clear. Remember how I posted a couple days ago about the monsters? This is how they process stuff all the time. Its been about a year now, but shortly after we first started working on the farm, we lost a heifer calf. She died on the weekend and therefore we had to wait till Monday for the truck to come and get her. So we just kept her in the stall. Every morning when we got to the barn, Marissa made it her job to go wake up all the calves. Well I told her to stay out of that stall back when the heifer wasn't feeling well, so Marissa just carried it out even after she had died that she was sleeping. Soo, Monday rolled around Dad dragged her out of the barn before we got there one morning. Marissa found her and started asking questions...

Marissa: "Mommy, why is the heifer outside?"
Me: "She is dead honey."
Marissa: "What's dead?"
Me: "Kinda like sleeping only she isn't going to wake up."
Marissa: "Oh, ok! Are all the rest of the heifers going to dead?"
Me: "No, just that one."
Marissa: "Why did she die?"

*At this point I didn't know where else to go. I didn't want to tell a 3 year old that she got sick and died because then anytime I tell her she is sick she is going to flip out on me! So I explained that sometimes things like this happen and we don't really know why...which was true, her death was unexplainable.*

Marissa: "What are we going to do with her?"

*Again not knowing how to word this properly for a 3 year old, I explained that she went to Heaven. Dad came over shortly after the guy showed up to take the calf and Marissa proceeds to explain things to him*

Marissa: "Grandpa, did you see the dead heifer?"
Dad: "Yup, but she is gone now."
Marissa: "God took her?"
Dad: "No, the man with the truck did."
Marissa: "God has a truck???"

Now that she is older, she has seen quite a few pass and I don't have to do any explaining anymore. She knows they die and the truck comes for them. She has watched them load the cows and everything. Madalyn of course follows in her sister's footsteps and doesn't ask many questions regarding the matter. She is however, still a little messed up on the phrase "dead". Doug will be laying on the couch sleeping and Madalyn will say, "Yup Daddy is dead." Or the two of them will be playing doctor with their stuffies and next thing you know the animal is dead. The phrase is there, the concept, however is not! LOL

Along with deaths, the kids see quite a few births. The first time the girls saw a calf being born, they had quite different outlooks on the matter. Marissa was so sure we should call the vet because the calf had blood on her. Madalyn deemed the calf as poopy and decided we should go home. Sunday mornings I help out with Junior Church at our church. Just about every Sunday I ask the kids how their week was and if they did anything neat. So this particular Sunday I asked Marissa if she did anything neat. I wasn't prepared for her response. Mind you we have a class full of 3 and 4 year olds...

Marissa: "Yes I did and I learned somethin new too!"
Me: "What did you learn?"
Marissa: "Well I learned where calves come from. They come from their mom's butts! And they..."
Me: "Ok! Thats great Marissa...Grace how was your week?"

HAHA...Thankfully the rest of the class wasn't really paying much attention to her and we didn't have a bunch of explaining to do to the parents. I need to be careful what I ask!

Teaching...

Marissa is a typical big sister and is always correcting Madalyn on how to say things. Most of the time she is right and Madalyn is wrong. However, sometimes its the other way around. Here are a couple conversations that the girls have had over the last week or so.

Marissa: "Can I talk to Grandma Geiger?"
Me: "Not right now, this isn't Grandma Geiger I'm talking to."
Madalyn: "I wanna talk a Geiger!"
Marissa: "Madalyn, her name isn't Geiger, its GRANDMA GEIGER!"
Madalyn: "Oh, ok."
*Pauses*
Madalyn: "I wanna talk a Geiger Grandma!"

(Older picture of Marissa)

The girls were watching Dumbo and as the circus animals were all being shown, the girls were saying which animal they were.

Madalyn: "It's a camel!"
Marissa: "No Madalyn, it is a canamel."
Madalyn: "A camanel?"
Marissa: "No, a canamel."
Madalyn: "Oh, a canamel, right."

Kids are quick...I don't care what anyone says!

The kids new favorite movie at this moment is The Secret of NIMH 2. I picked it up for $3 at Walmart on Monday and it was a hit. This morning Madalyn started the movie and next thing I know the two of them are singing all the words to the theme song. I couldn't believe it! They havn't even had it a week. Enjoy! Oh, don't forget to pause the radio down towards the end of the blog before you start playing the video.

God from a 4 year olds perspective...

Marissa and Madalyn wanted to watch Veggie Tales "Where is God When I'm Scared" yesterday while they were having quiet time. They have both seen it before but its been a long time. In case you haven't seen it, I'll give you a quick overview so you can see where Marissa is coming from. One of the smaller veggies watches a "scary" movie and then is scared to sleep at night. Bob and Larry show up and teach him that "God is bigger than the Boogie Man". An easy, simple concept right? HAHA Well Marissa was talking about it later with Madalyn and she informed her that "God is the biggest monster of them all". She has the whole concept kinda right I guess. She told Madalyn that God is super big, he lives way up high in the sky and when the monsters come to get us at night time God comes and kills them. LOL I tried explaining to her that God isn't a monster, he is just bigger than the monsters, if there even were any, and he protects us. I thought she got it but then last night she drew a picture of God with really long legs and really long arms and said "look, its God the monster!" I don't even know where this whole monster philosophy came from. Both her and Madalyn are always talking about the monsters...at least now they are not worried about them because God is a bigger monster! Kids...

Blessings

The Lord truly has blessed us. We haven't always chose His path or followed His plan, but throughout everything, He was still guiding our lives and watching out for what was best for us. In 2005 we gave birth to our first daughter. She was perfect in every way and although she wasn't our easiest baby, she wasn't much trouble either. Doug graduated from Morrisville shortly after that and we searched out a career and a place to live. Grandma Benedict had passed away a couple months before and her house was open so after some prayer, we moved back to Doug's hometown. Moving back to his hometown, meant we moved back to his home church also. Very quickly we found ourselves missing the church from Ithaca. We were lacking friendship. Although we loved the preaching and the church family was very warm and inviting, there was really no one our age. Marissa was the only kid and there wasn't any signs of another one joining her. Then the Lord heard our prayers and this little girl came along...
Her parents started coming to our church and Marissa was no longer the only kid. Since then, we have had so many other young people join our church. We have so many young couples and individuals now that its hard for us all to get together and meet in a home because no one has a house that big! There are also plenty of kids, roughly 17 kids with at least one more on the way and a couple others that are trying to join them. Its just such a blessing. Knowing where and how Doug and I started out on our journey together and knowing the path we chose... Yet today here we are He hasn't left our sides once. There are two kids especially at church that our girls have taken to and that is Grace (in the pictures) and Sarah. Grace is almost smack dab in the middle of the girls and Sarah is the same age as Marissa. We had Grace here to play on Friday and it was so much fun watching the girls play. They had a blast and it made me remember that we need to make a habit of doing it more often.
One more blessing...
Before we even got pregnant Doug and I decided that when we got married and started a family, I was going to be a stay at home mom and we were going to home school our kids. Again I felt alone as I felt like I was the only one. Since then 3 other homeschooling families have started coming on a fairly regular basis and I even found out that there was a homeschooling group. There is also at least one couple that is trying to get pregnant that is planning on homeschooling. I still have one more year before I have to worry about it, but it is nice to have stuff kind of put into place before then. There is also a handful of women that are homemakers who I can call and visit when I feel my sanity is at risk! God is good...

One thing I have learned over the past 5 years of my life is that no matter how small or big our "needs" as a family are, the Lord is always there to answer. Maybe not in the way we planned or desired, but He always responds. Whether it be a money issue, a personal need, or a business need, we have never been left standing alone. Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Ok, enough rambling...Madalyn wants some chocolate milk. The day has begun! Hope you all have a great day and beginning of the week.

School is right around the corner

I'm one of those weird Mommy's that didn't want to send their child to Preschool. I'm not in any hurry for her to grow up, and I think she could use some more maturity before spending that much time without me and instead with a bunch of worldly children. That being said I have no plans of sending her or Madalyn to school anyhow. I'm not entirely impressed with the school system around us and seeing as Doug and I were both home schooled, it doesn't concern us one bit. Even though we aren't really doing any "school work" right now, there are days where the girls are just itching to do something special and they love making projects. So I came up with the idea to work on the letters of the alphabet and their sounds with the girls. We make a project that corresponds with the letter we are working on. We started out with "A" for "Alligator".

This one is Marissa's
And this one is Madalyn's

Then we moved onto B. We had just gotten a bunch of arts and crafts supplies so the girls were anxious to use some of the stuff. So instead of an animal, we just made a regular old B and I let the girls decorate that.
This one is Marissa's
And this one is Madalyn's

Next we tackled "C" for "Caterpillar". As a kid we made these egg carton caterpillars and then I made them with the kids I used to babysit before going to college. So naturally I had to make them with my kids too! They are so much fun! This was one project that Madalyn had conquered and Marissa struggled with. Madalyn loves to make a mess no matter what she is doing. So she was like scooping the paint on the egg carton. Marissa was trying so hard to be careful and precise. They both did a great job though!

Madalyn's work area
Marissa's work area
Madalyn's Caterpillar
Marissa's Caterpillar
Madalyn's Caterpillar
Marissa's Caterpillar

After "C", we moved onto "D" for "Donkey". The girls had fun coloring them and then gluing them together. Madalyn needed help from me, but Marissa made her's all by herself and even used some of her own common sense when putting it together!
Sticking on the "D"
Coloring
Marissa's Donkey

Madalyn's Donkey

Everyone is growing up...

It's funny how fast life passes by. It didn't dawn on me when I got married or when I had my first baby, or my second for that matter. But when my baby brother got married this past August I stopped and thought, how is that possible? Due to the distance and time frame, I really didn't get the chance to know Cristale too well before hand. I could tell Caleb was happy and I couldn't be happier for him. Now Cristale and I talk on an almost everyday basis and I'm so thankful to be blessed with another sister. I can't wait to grow closer and get to know her better as the years go on.

Now this next July, my twin brother is getting married. Jonathan and Liz have been talking fairly serious for a while now and when Jonathan came up for visits he usually brought Liz with him. I have gotten to know her pretty good and again am so happy that I'm getting another sister! Its hard to picture my twin brother getting married. I think I'm going to have a harder time with him getting married than I did Caleb. It has nothing to do with who is he marrying or the fact that he is getting married, but there is just something about the bond we have that makes it...hard...that's not really the word I was looking for, but that will have to work for now. I'm very excited for the wedding though and can't wait till July. Liz asked me to be her Matron of Honor and I feel so honored to stand in that place for her. Congrats guys!
Oh and this is the dress I get to wear...yes that is the color too! It's my favorite color to boot! (And no that is NOT me wearing it!)

P.S. Watch out Chelsea...Your next!

Hello Strangers!

It's been a long time! I'm really sorry! I was so determined to stay on top of this blogging thing, but this summer has been absolutely crazy. I did not grow up on a farm, but this summer I raked hay, chopped hay, and hauled loads for the guys. We were and still down a partner on the farm and we are lacking the funds to hire someone to take his place. So I was their extra hand along with doing the heifer chores, taking care of the house, laundry, dishes, being a mom, and a wife. The amazing part is I only got sick once! LOL Things have slowed down a bit now as we are waiting for the corn to mature so we can put that in.
The girls are doing great. Marissa is really getting mature and to hear some of the stuff she says you really have to be careful not to laugh. She tries so hard to copy the things she hears and sees us do, but it comes out all mixed up. She has a ton of energy and loves to be on the run. Her favorite thing right now is the leaves. She would sleep out there in them I think if I let her. Madalyn has really started talking. I mean she has always been a chatter box, but now she is speaking alot more clearly and of course trying to copy some of the stuff Marissa says. She is doing super well potty training. She wears underwear all the time now except when she is sleeping. Her sister doesn't even have that mastered yet so I'm not expecting too much out of Madalyn yet. They are both VERY hard sleepers as was their Daddy and he struggled for a long time. We are just being patient at this point in time and waiting for them to be ready. Marissa is still very much into animals and playing make believe with them. Madalyn's big thing right now is shoes, shoes and more shoes! Oh and throw some hats in there too. I think we are in for some trouble with that one!
Doug is hanging in there. He has most all of our wood cut and split and we have double what we had in last year. We are close to being done. He has been messing with our boiler settings and it has been running alot smoother this year so far. We are going to try hiring someone once a week so we can have a day off. Working 7 days a week, farmer or not, is not for us.
Mom and Dad came down on Thursday and I got a little camera crazy. The leaves are all falling and of course are full of color and the girls were just so cute out there I couldn't help myself! Enjoy...warning there is a ton!

P.S. There are a couple more posts coming!

Marissa hard at work..

...Madalyn looking on.

Beautiful!

Madalyn is NOT a fan!

"It's Raining leaves!"

Did I mention Madalyn was not a fan?

Chloe even enjoyed the outdoors!

Where is Marissa?

Case

Chloe

She is out of here

Back to do some raking of her own

In her exact words..."Mom I'm too little"

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa came for a visit too! ;)

Sister love!

Ok, That's enough!

Still hanging on to that thumb

No time Mom, gotta run!

Speed raker

This is how far away she started to run and jump in her pile of leaves!

Almost there!

And she is down!

Leaf angels

Notice Madalyn is NOT joining in the fun

Such a good helper

Some love for Grandma Geiger

Grandma Geiger and Marissa jumping together

Grandpa Geiger helped with wood and then couldn't move!

Playing make believe