Just In Case You Wondered....

WE'RE ALIVE!!!!!

I know it has been far too long since we've done a blog post! But I do have good reasons, if you'd like to hear some excuses:

#1. A market-garden leaves pinched time for blogging
#2. Blogger has been acting up--I had a post all set with pictures and everything, but it posted it funny and I had to take it off. It wouldn't work no matter what! :P
#3. Nasty little voles are eating our potatoes
#4. It's been rather hot--very counter-productive to inspiration. :D

So that's my sorry little apology. Let's be friends now, okay? ;) Wow! So I realized that it's been a long time since we've posted about ourselves. So you all must be wondering, "What on earth have they been up to? Rachel never even posted the second part of her farm blog posts, and no hair tutorials have come up." Or else you've ceased wondering about us and have taken us off your sidebar. Please put us back. We're sorry. ;)
*ANY*way. I first off wanted to share the very exciting news with you that we have launched the website for Taste and See Family Farm! It all feels so official and tidy now! Thanks Matthew and Uncle David! :) Go check it out! It's really cool! :) *Exciting!*
I won't go into details right now, but as far as our day-to-day life goes, we've been rather "Nose to the grindstone" on account of the garden popping and having deadlines for co-ops and farmers markets and everything else! :) Extremely busy--I'd appreciate your prayers for Mama, because as tired as we are at the end of the day, she's ten times more so since she's eight months pregnant! We are trying to spare her the heaviest work, but she's still working harder than most women at this point in their pregnancies! Baby will have a good work ethic from the start, I guess! :D I talked about our schedule a little bit in the Large Family Logistics post awhile back...

But enough about the garden. At nearly 10 p.m. we've all payed our dues for the day! Benji and I were harvesting a huge laundry basket full of potatoes for the market today and were dismayed to find we had to throw out 30 of the hugest ones because voles had gotten to them. I think it's time for an outside cat--what say you? :P

On a lighter note, Gracie said something really funny the other day:
I was in the other room and heard her calling me.

*Grace*: "Raaachel!"
*Me*: "Yeah?"
*Grace*: "Guess who I'm gonna marry--him!" *points to a picture of Michael W. Smith on a flier*
*Me*: "Why would you want to marry him?"
*Grace, with a charming smile*: "Because he's handsome and he doesn't smell like tuna-fish."

Randomness is hilarious. Especially when it comes from a 4 year-old. :D
Also, my graduation is set for July 16th and I am informed I have to give a speech.
Me....and a speech...
Me...in front of 200+ people.....
*dies of embarassment* So could ya'll pray for peace of mind for me? I think I'll faint. I'm planning on it. And Abigail promises she'll drag me over the the rain barrel and dunk me in to revive me, and then I can go on and read my speech anyway. What a good friend. ;)
So.....hope this caught you guys up on everything going on! Have a great night! :) <3 ~Rachel

P.S. Blogger is still acting up and won't let me upload pictures! Or let me off of italic after I've pushed it... >:[ Anybody have any advice on this? :/

Large Family Logistics- Our Version, not Vision Forum's ;)

I know that a long time ago I promised to do another Taste & See Family Farm post all about our planting. And I plan to....eventually. But the thing we farmers soon realize is that the plants very soon begin to grow, and once they begin to grow, so do the weeds, and once they *both* are growing there is no time to talk about planting. ;) But Uncle David and Matthew have been working on a website, so when that's launched I'll give ya'll a heads up and you can hop over to see it! :) Also, we've been selling produce (not much, but a start) at our True Value Hardware and the local Feed and Seed. Yesterday we sold 150 pounds of sugar snap peas to a wholesaler! She sells to 50 or 60 chefs! The Lord is really blessing our harvest- the 150 pounds only represents one and a half pickings of our pea patch! :)
But how do you work every day, all day in the garden in 98 degree weather and still keep a household of 11 running full steam ahead? Witness the birth of "The Plan" ;)

Credit to Mama and Dad.

Introducing Part 1 of The Plan: we will begin getting up by 6:30 every morning and getting out to the garden by 7:30 or 8:00, having all the animal chores accomplished and breakfast eaten and devotions had by then. Those of us who are out in the garden will work until noon, then take a break in the heat of the day to have a little free-time and indoor projects. Then we'll get back out to it by 3:30 or 4:00, and work until dinner. That doesn't leave much time for housekeeping, does it?
This is where part two comes in: Meet "The House Manager".

Umm...not her. I was picturing something more glamorous. ;)

That's better. :)

Her job description includes making all meals for the day and breakfast for the next, doing all chores, running, hanging and folding laundry, keeping house in other ways, and doing school with Gracie and Abby. We four oldest girls will switch off day to day. Sounds good, huh? :) My first day on this duty is tomorrow.
So I don't even know if that topic interests anyone, but you *did* say that you liked hearing about large family things and...well...there are plenty of logistics when you've suddenly turned farmer! -Rachel

Goateo and Crueliet- an operatic farm-drama. :P

These are the Villains in this Drama:

Meet Daisy....


(Notice the dastardly-looking lack of ears? :P LaManchas are all so....sly looking as adults. :P

Next is Chocolate Chip (So glad we didn't name him Mr. Darcy- the vagabond!)


And the innocent [ ;) ] Miss Elizabeth Bennet (Lizzie)



It all began on a warm, beautiful, ideal early-May day in our corner of Virginia...

We spent the morning working in the garden planting more flowers for cutting. Then we got in the car, went to choir, and, in the odd hour between choir and Matthew's baseball game, we decided to go strawberry picking.



Buy two baskets, get the third free.
We finished picking 15 baskets in about 40 minutes. :)

Then off to the ball-game, and home to make dinner.

*Cue dramatic music*

♫"Woe are we- we gurgle our throats
Over our evil, dastardly goats...."♫

Um. Never mind the singing part. Skip ahead.

As we drove up the drive a astonishing and angering sight met our eyes. Every swinging one of those blasted goats were out and gallivanting around the garden. Ahem.

There was a chase through my newly planted flower bed as Leah rode Chip...

A dash through the peas after Daisy...(yes, I fit through the trellis without ruining any peas myself. :P)

And finally we caught them. Oh the fiendish animals!
♫"If I ate meat like a Blackamoor, We'd have a barbeque, But since I don't, I'll sigh some more Until those goats are through!"♫

Ahem. Proceed.

The worst of it was not over. Those measly, pitiful, awful animals chomped down on our baby blackberry bushes and nibbled our eight prized, adored baby blueberry bushes to nubbins. And they were even getting berries!



Oh the Horror! :[

Mama and I were quite put out, and the girls scurried to capture the goats, tie them up so they couldn't repeat the offense, and creep around till our wrathful state subsided a little. *Sigh*
So that's the little drama of the day. We are hoping that the blueberry bushes will miraculously grow back, and that we won't have to construct a veritable Guantanamo Bay to keep them inside and away from our garden. Because right now...it's pretty much Stalag 13 :P


But on the bright side...
*thinking hard*.....

Um.....

Hold on a second.....

Ah!

On the bright side, it gave me....something to blog about? :P -Rachel

Large Family Challenge of the Day :P

The challenge for Sarah and I today was to figure out how to distribute 9 young children between the two of us at Dairy Queen without attracting undue attention.

All nine were thirteen and under.

The majority were 7 and under.

To be precise, we had a 13 year old, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and two 4 year olds. :D

They were all from either our immediate family, or the Walkers.

They all needed a watchful eye. ;) The answer?

"Um....Sarah....you take four, I'll take five."

Sorry to disappoint you, D.Q., but we *aren't* the Duggars. ;)

We divvied `em up and trooped into Dairy Queen and actually got everyone seated, and waiting fairly quietly for their ice-cream with very little incident beyond Benj jumping up to catch a stink bug, Bekah pointing and yelling at a lady in the parking lot, a rather earnest game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors", and a short rodeo of chair-rearranging. :P

Of course, taking the 7, 6, and 4 year old gals to the bathroom was an adventure. They were fascinated by the motion-sensor-paper-towel-dispenser thingy. Abby let 5 feet of it run before she found out how to rip it off! :P

But over all it was a lot of fun, and a success. We didn't leave anyone behind....or did we? ;)

And you know what game Sarah and I got everyone to play on the way home? "Silent Mouse". We are rather clever, aren't we? ;)

You Might Be A Homeschooler If.....

You might be a homeschooler if:

During family devotion you depart from the main topic to get a dictionary and determine the difference between "effect" and "affect", and debate the point for 1/2 an hour. :)

When you watch cable t.v. at your grandparents' house, you blush every five minutes, and finally stick to the food channel where the worst thing in the recipe is wine! :)

You know your multiplication super well from doubling recipes, but your division...not so much. Who ever heard of making half a recipe of something? :P

Someone asks you what grade you are in, and you proceed to give them a lengthy answer comprised of "well, technically", "but didn't finish my physical science" "so really" "But by April", "While we were building our house", etc. Or worse yet, if you are a little kid and say, "I don't know." or "We don't do school."!!! :]

You go out to the mailbox and periodically find it is a holiday you hadn't seen coming, and the post office took a break for the day. (i.e. "Presidents' Day", "George Washington's b-day", etc.)

You perfect your handwriting (or not) in the places most inconducive to such an occupation, like reclining on the couch, sitting on the trampoline, around a baby in your lap, or while mixing up a batch of cookies! ;)

You are out in public on a weekday, and begin to wonder why all the adults are looking at you askance, as if either you must be sick, or playing hookie. :D

You finally are in highschool, and comfort yourself that no truant officers can nab you, even if they wanted to, because you are allowed to drop out of highschool if it pleased you to do so! :D

Homeschooling is great! Thanks Dad and Mama! :) -Rachel

p.s. I want that shirt up there! :D

Meet The Duggars! ;)

It amuses me to realize that the "world" has such a narrow conception (and often misconception) of the "large family" thing. You are either "normal" (meaning one or two kids) or you must be famous. I'm telling you. We are graduating from the "are you a daycare?" questions, and now, especially since the Walkers moved in, we are getting: "Are you the Duggar family?" :) Yep. That's what they are asking! Yesterday a vacuum salesman came to the door and was talking to Mama while the kids played outside. "We could do a demonstration for you!" he offered. Mama smiled. "See all the vacuumers I have out there?" she asked, sweeping her arm in the general direction of the kids. The man popped the question now. "Yeah. Actually, my partner wondered if you were that family from TLC." (the Duggars) Mama had to disappoint the man and tell him that he was not meeting a famous person at all! :) We have gotten this one time before: at Busch Gardens on the bus coming back to the parking lot. But this time it was Uncle Lon, Aunt Heather, and the NY cousins in addition to us oldest cousins here. The group of people sitting near us were watching us for awhile, and then one of them spoke up: "Are you the Duggar family?" (or something like that.) Hee-hee. I mean, really? Must every family with more than the trendy amount of kids, who have a big house, whose girls wear skirts and have longish hair, and who drive a big old van be the Duggar family? We love watching their show, we'd love to meet them, and we greatly enjoyed their book, but it cracks me up that people assume such things! I am sure there are families with more kids out there, and I am sure we all have one thing in common with the Duggar family: we must sometimes wonder: "Do we belong where we live, or should we really be in a zoo with a plaque telling all the whys and wherefores thereof?" :) But like I have said before, I get a secret satsifaction out of keeping people guessing. There aren't many people who have been twice mistaken for a famous family! ;) -Rachel

The Town Bedlamites

I feel as if I want to write something clever but can't....ever feel that way? Or at least, I want to write something that will make people leave comments on our lonesome little blog but...can't. :)
Anyway, I guess I'll write about a bit of a funny incident while gardening yet again today. First off, you must realize that we are the talk of the town. Around here we, (Much to our embarassment and chagrin) are recognized as "Those big house people". Yep. And especially since the Walkers are living with us, we have become a local curiosity. Really. People slow down as they pass our driveway, probably counting the children and wondering what on earth we are. I think it is so funny. We constantly repeat the classic penguin line from a movie I can't exactly recommend: "Smile and wave boys! Just smile and wave". (Which we do) But one can scarcely blame them! I mean, my inquiring mind can see how juicy a story it would be to know what on earth was going on in a big house with 21 people. Is it an orphanage? A daycare? Are they from some strange religion? (No! To all of these questions!) I wonder if they'd be disappointed to see what we really are?Anyway! If it isn't the hunt club after us, it's the feedstore man who about went into cardiac arrest when Mama informed him very politely that we fix an average of 60 plates of food a day. So, we were all down weeding the corn patch which is very near the road, when a whole troop of elderly bicyclists rode by. One man said, "Whatcha planting?" I smiled, "Actually, we are weeding our corn!"
Another man called out, "Make sure you plant lots of asparagus!"
At the tail end of the posse I heard a couple discussing us: "What are they picking?" one lady asked her companion. The man, evidently thinking himself an expert gardener answered her in a patronizing tone, "They aren't picking! They're planting!"
I laughed to myself. His companion was closer to the truth. We were only picking weeds. I went closer to house-end of the garden and told Mama the story. We laughed together about it. I was only joking, but perhaps it was a bit close to the truth when I pretended to be the town-gossip and said, "Oh! You gotta come by that big house! They're all close to the road today! We can get a good look at those Bedlamites and count `em!" :) I hope not. We really are only a "normal" family in our circles, although sadly, in our culture you could box us up and sell tickets to watch our "strange" way of life. Hee-hee. I don't know why, but I find I get a funny thrill from knowing I'm normal, but letting people wonder all about me...:) :) :) -Rachel