The Bluegrass Shack

Two years ago we purchased our violins on line from The Bluegrass Shack.  I did my research and thought they had a good price for beginner violins and as the children grow they will exchange them for the needed size or better quality giving you credit for the entire purchase price toward the new instrument (if the instrument has not been abused).

Two years have gone by and though we took them out occasionally, we are just now really beginning to learn.  Jonas was difficult till he was almost 2, and then Johanna was the worst baby I’ve had, so to keep it short, I have not had extra time to devote to instruments.

Two years is a lot of growing time, and we needed those instruments exchanged for larger.  We could probably do it through the mail but Chad encouraged me to go just to make sure what we got in return was a reasonable exchange.

We had such a good experience that I wanted to share it with you in case you are in need of bluegrass instruments.  (The trade in program is for the violins, I’m not sure how they handle other used instruments.)

We got a later start than I planned, but I figured one hour was plenty of time and had even warned Jesse that he might not even have that long to look around (that was why he chose to take the 3 hour trip with me to Southern, IL).

We ended up being there for 2 hours!  We could have stayed longer but it was already an hour past closing and they had somewhere they needed to go.

Here were my expectations…  You take in the violins, tell them what you need, choose a couple books, get any accessories you are in need of, pay and off you go!

Here is what really happened…

Chris chose a couple instruments in the size and price range we were looking at, tuned them, played them for us so we could hear the sound, told us about them, told the prose and cons (for example, one instrument was better quality but she knew the case was worn) and why she would choose one over another.  This was done for 3 instruments.

I asked about song books and instructional books.  She showed me her preferred books and then took an instrument and showed me what would be learned and why she thought it was good for beginners.

She also gave me some pointers for questions I had.  She patiently listened to the children’s chatter and had a box of toys for the children that had a little too much energy from their 3 hour trip.

Chris and her husband run their small shop selling new and used instruments, repairing instruments, and giving lessons.  They live in a small apartment that is part of their building.

She obviously loves what she does and wants to help others enjoy their music as well. 

So, if you are in need of a bluegrass instrument, I highly recommend The Bluegrass Shack.  Whether you do business online or in person, they will do their best for you. 

Random happenings

by Javan

Every Tuesday Renae Baer has been coming to help out and she recently came back from Japan and brought back some dried fish with her they were just dried out and seasoned they even still had eyes as you can see they don't look the most appetizing, me Jesse and Dad were the only ones to try them I was hesitant at first though.

I brought them to church and got some people to eat them  most just chickened out though.

We have Beavers down in our creek they made a dam just upstream from us but its not on our property.

We have been working on organizing the barn it looks much better but there is more to do.

Yesterday we spent a lot of time on instruments our goal is that by Christmas we will all be able to play Silent Night on our instruments.

We are enjoying the Christmas pictures we have been getting and looking forward to getting more.

Somethin’ freaky’s going on!

This morning when I came out of my room I realized that some of my furniture in the Parlor had been rearranged since I went to bed.  I slept in, so I figured one of the children must have been fooling around.

Tonight when we were in the parlor together I asked them and they all said they didn’t know anything about it.  I thought maybe Chad did it just to play with me but when I asked him he said he didn’t know anything either!

Here is what I suspect…

One of our boys has always been difficult when over tired.  He would wake up during the night but not fully and cry and cry and we would have to wake him up completely to settle him down so he would go back to sleep.  He also went through a time when he would wander in to our room and back out again, when I would hear him I would know right off who it was and wake Chad to take him potty.  He would be so tired he would get up to go potty but not really know what he needed to do.  He never knew what was going on!

We had 2 or 3 late nights this week and so my boy (that asks permission to go to bed) was definitely over tired!  I suspect that he has moved in to a new stage and is becoming a sleep walker.  I’ve heard and read things about sleep walkers and I’m not too sure I like the idea of having one in my home! 

Let me tell you, it sure gives you a freaky feeling when furniture is moved in your home while you are sleeping and nobody knows anything about it!

Nigh NIiight!

Thanksgiving 2010 Day 1

Thanksgiving Day we had our Plattner family gathering at Fairview Haven (nursing home) in Fairbury, IL.  Chad’s Grandma passed away in early 2010 but we still have some Great Aunts in Fairbury, so we went to spend the day with them.

Luanne Endress played a couple songs on the accordian and Jodi Lau played the piano for us.

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Here is Uncle John (Dad Plattner’s brother) with his oldest Granddaughter Abby.

Someone (I think Aunt Marlene) brought some crafts for the children.  It kept them quietly entertained for awhile.

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He fought the wall and the wall won!

Wednesday afternoon Javan came downstairs crying and holding his head.  My first question was “are you o.k.?”  Then “is there blood?”  And then “let me see it,” expecting a little bump.  What I saw was a HUGE goose egg.  NOT what I was expecting.

It probably seems cruel to be taking a picture of him while he still has tears in his eyes, but I was going to do an experiment and wanted a picture for the sake of documenting before and after. 

I read in a book about natural home remedies how someone takes a slice of onion, pounds it a bit to soften it and tapes it to the injured area.  She said it brings down the swelling and removes the bruising. 

I figured it was worth a try, what did we have to lose?  Here is a picture of Javan with the onion on his head, I bandaged it so the onion wouldn’t fall out and hopefully help with the smell. 

He laid on the couch for several hours reading a book.  When he was running around again we took the bandage off.  The swelling had gone down considerably with a slight bruise.

I don’t know how long it usually takes a goose egg to go down or how much of a bruise it usually leaves so I don’t know if it helped or not.  If you have any experience with goose eggs or bruising I’m interested in what you have to teach me. 

This picture was two days later.  I forgot to take a close up picture in the busyness of our Thanksgiving festivities.

SO… I’m sure you are wondering how the goose egg came to be anyway.  Here’s the story…

We have a hallway by the children’s rooms and Javan found that he can hop down it with his feet together in 6 hops.  He wanted to see if he could make it in 5 hops and thought if he took a running start he would have a better chance.  He started in his room running and after a hop or two landed wrong, lost his balance and consequently hit the corner of a wall with his head; the wall refused to move thus the goose egg!

Duggars at K-Mart?

This evening as Chad was coming out of K-Mart, Jonas was watching behind him (looking into K-Mart), Chad kept calling him and finally picked him up to carry him.  Jonas continued to look back and said “Dad, the Duggars are in there!”

Apparently a lady had just walked in with a skirt on and a similar hair style to Michelle Duggar.  A couple of the boys said they thought the same thing but knew it wasn’t her.

It was just so cute that our 3 1/2 year old little guy was the one that said it and remembered the right name!

Savoury meat

Genesis 27:3-4
(3)  Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
(4)  And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

After prayer, Chad began our meal by asking the children what food Isaac really loved.  Then reminded them that we have the privilege this evening of having savoury meat such as Isaac loved.

If you would like to try some savoury meat such as we had tonight follow the steps below.

First have a friend that loves to hunt, allow him to hunt on your land in trade for a deer.  You need several children to help process the meat.  Take the steaks and an overzealous helper, have him prick the steak several times on each side (this overzealous helper will make good and sure every square centimeter is covered with holes).

Next mix 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, and 3/4 cup Veri Veri Teriyaki marinade (Soy Vay).  Pour over the meat and let marinade for a day or so. 

Grill, serve, and be prepared to handle the fighting over the last piece!

I was going to take a picture but they consumed it too quickly!

Enjoy!!!

Ouch

Warning:  This may be a little too much for someone that gets queasy easy.  You’ve been warned!

 

Sunday evening we had some friends (the Tim Kaiser family) over after supper for a couple hours of fellowship.  Some of the children were outside playing kick the can. 

Jared came in and said he needed help with a cut on his foot.  I did the same thing any wise mother would do ~ I called Daddy to the seen!  :)  Actually many mother’s probably handle first aid better than I do, but I’ve called Chad home from work more than once to handle a bloody situation!

Chad determined it would need stitches and quickly said goodbye and headed off to Hopedale Medical Center.

The cut was in a very odd place, right between two of his toes and not much underneath his toe.  We don’t think it was a cut from stepping on something because of how the cut is.  We aren’t for sure what happened but this is what we think may have been the cause.

Jared was barefooted and someone (with shoes) accidentally stepped on his foot on the patio.  We think that possibly it stretched the skin so much it split, could have been a small split in the skin already that caused it to split easier.  This is all guess work but what we do know is he has 7 stitches and a very sore foot.

It is healing quite nicely and we are caused to remember how fearfully and wonderfully we are made.  That our bodies are designed to heal and usually quite quickly.  Thank You Lord!

Nightmares

I have never been one to enjoy being home alone over night, and even though the children were with me, I still had an uncomfortable feeling when Chad was gone over night recently.  I don’t fear really, it’s just this uneasy feeling I get.  I struggle with thinking about all the “what ifs” that could happen and what would I do.  This time was no different, so it is no surprise the dream I had that night.  It is the panic I went through that I would like to share, it shows where my priorities lie!  :)

I dreamed that in the middle of the night some thieves came into my bedroom.  When I woke up and realized that they were there to rob me I told them I would go downstairs and get them something to eat.  When I got down there, they had already cleaned out most of the downstairs.  It was then that I panicked and began to search their vehicles and to beg

“PLEASE, let me keep their school books!!!  You can have everything else, but I HAVE to have their school books!”

Now surely that should win a “You might be a homeschooler if…” contest, right?  :)

Sweet Dreams!

A look at my heart

Twelve years ago our first blessing arrived and we enjoyed him thoroughly, always looking forward to each new milestone and looking forward to the arrival of each new blessing in the form of a soft little bundle.

Over the course of time, I have learned to better enjoy each moment as it comes, recognizing how quickly our little ones were becoming big ones!

My two little ones now have their Mommy wrapped around their little finger!  I don’t know if it is a special affection God has put in my heart preparing me that they may be my last little ones, or if it is just that I am recognizing how quickly time is passing and we won’t always have little ones around, but they just bring so much delight to me!

I have no insight into the future, whether we will have any more children or not.  We left that in God’s control years ago.  I would love to have more, but God has a plan for our lives and I trust Him completely with our future.  Our goal is to teach them God’s word and pray that He will bring them each to a saving faith and that they will humbly follow His guidance and bring Him glory all their days.

So for now I am enjoying each moment I have to spend with each blessing God has given and yes, still looking forward to each new milestone.  

The Sweetest of dreams!  I bet it was about anything that has a hitch!!!

You wouldn’t know we were home from church with a bad cough that day.

13 Years with my wonderful husband!

On Tuesday Chad and I celebrated our 13th anniversary.  In the afternoon a lady arrived to drop off 13 red roses, one for each year of our marriage.  :)  If you know my husband at all, you know that it is truly an act of love. :)

Last night we had a friend come stay with the children and we went on a date.  We first ran a few errands and then went out to eat.  After that we stopped at Penny’s to pick up the pictures we had taken on our last date.

From there we headed to a bowling alley to try our hand at bowling.  I had not bowled in many years!  My first ball happened to be a strike and I thought maybe we were going to be in for a pretty good evening, things went well for awhile and we commented that I was, after all, my father’s daughter; but alas, the borrowed ball would get very oily and then so did my fingers, I didn’t have a towel or any rosin.  After awhile the ball was actually slipping out of my fingers, and not going where I wanted it to at all.  I did get a 120 on my first game but closer to an 80 on my second game.  Oh!  And I had the opportunity to provide some humor to anyone that happened to observe me when my foot stopped sliding abruptly but the rest of me kept moving and fell across the line onto my hands and knees!  That didn’t help my score any as I was a little apprehensive about following through with my throw after that!  Thankfully no one knew me or I probably wouldn’t have lived that one down for a long time! 

Mmmm - Pickles

We opened our first jars of pickles tonight! Sliced for hamburgers and spears on the side. They were DELICIOUS - my children are all for doing them again!

I got the recipe out of The Practical Produce Cookbook by Ray and Elsie Hoover and family (How to Plant, Pick, Prepare and Preserve Produce). I highly recommend this cookbook if you have a garden or enjoy purchasing fresh produce. There are recipes for just about everything. They give a page or two of information on each vegetable or fruit and also include canning or freezing instructions and recipes. It is one of my favorite summertime cookbooks! If you are interested in a basic dill pickle recipe let me know and I will get it to you.

Looking forward to 6 bushels of peaches on Thursday and some odds and ends leftovers from friends gardens as they finish up their canning. We didn't plant much garden this year as we have been VERY busy, so I am taking leftovers and planning to visit the farmers market as time allows.

Happy Canning! :)

Down on the farm!

I was giving my sister in law a hard time about blogging their family life more so I decided to practice what I preach and try to upload some pictures that have been taken recently.

I haven’t been taking near as many pictures as my GOOD camera is not functioning up to standard.  It’s o.k. if I don’t go to full zoom but if I zoom in all the way it gives me an error and I have to restart it.  Also, it’s very temperamental, sometimes it won’t even focus!!!  It takes away a lot of the fun of photography when you can’t push your camera to it’s limits and get the best pictures possible for your skill level!  Anyway, I am thankful to still be able to record family memories.

Chad has diligently been working on our mini-farm this summer.  We are trying to get the fencing put in so we can fill our barn with animals!  The children have been helping, some more diligently than others.  I’m not sure what all they’ve done, but I do know Chad cut down a dead tree before putting up some fencing where the tree was likely to take it out when it decided to fall on its own; the children helped move it to the wood shed.

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Some friends gave us some cucumbers so yesterday we worked together and pickled them.  It’s a first for us so I hope we like them!

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Snacking

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Tonight is Jared and Jubilee’s birthday party with the Plattners and tomorrow is the annual Threshers Reunion and Jubilee’s birthday; so more pictures to post soon!

P.S. This is being posted a day late because I couldn’t remember my log in for live writer, usually I don’t have to log in.  Anyway, today is Jubilee’s birthday, and she’s a very happy little girl because she got just what she wanted, but I’m gonna keep you in suspense till next time… ;)

Date Night With Daddy

Jolene ~ Last night we had lots of fun.  Daddy took Jubilee and I on a date. 

First we went to the Farmer’s Market.  Then, we went to the shoe store to look for a needle to sew a boot but they sewed it for us. 

We went to a Mexican place to eat and then we took a ride on the paddle wheel boat.  (Jubilee says “four person can seat”).

LauraLee ~ Jolene wants me to tell this story.

It was pretty breezy and they rode up close to the fountain, then the breeze stopped and the spray came directly down and Jolene started yelling “let’s get out of here!”  They got pretty wet!  Several hours later Chad’s jeans were still wet.

Jolene ~ Then we ran errands and we went home.

It was really fun!!!  Thank you Daddy, we love you!

A Picnic with some Friends

Saturday evening we had a group of friends in for a picnic.  7 families, 72 people including babies. 

Lots of people, lots of food, lots of fellowship, lots of fun!

I think the girls mostly played babies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ladies and older girls visiting.

A friendly game of football.

Miscellaneous…

My camera gave out early in the evening so I had to switch cameras so it wasn’t as fun taking pictures as usual, so I didn’t take very many!  I have been having some problems lately with it not focusing properly and it finally gave up completely.  Hopefully Chad can fix it!

We are HOPING to have company again Saturday evening (Hint Hint - Steiners!)  Other than that I think we are going to slow down for awhile.  I am working diligently at getting lesson plans made and a schedule planned so we can start school in a couple weeks.

Have a great week!

Plattner Family Reunion

On Saturday we attended the Plattner Family Reunion in Morton; this is Dad Plattners Great Uncles on down.  The only two surviving of 8 or 10 children (I can’t remember which) were in attendance and they talked for over an hour about a variety of things from their lives; it was very interesting.

It is always interesting to visit with the extended family though I wish I could remember more from year to year. 

Uncle Ed and Uncle Pete

 

Here are just a few of the pictures of the group.

Evening with the Knapps

We met some good friends at a park in Normal this evening for some food and fellowship.  It’s always a great time of fun and encouragement, but as always the time passes to quickly.

They brought a really fun game I’ve never heard of before.  It’s a version of Dutch Blitz you play in the yard (or a very large room).  There are large laminated cards and the children run them out to the center.  Only one card is allowed to be carried at a time, but the team mates can both be going at the same time, one after the other.  It was a lot of fun!

 

 

 

Javan, Jared, and Seth wrestling a bit.

Then a few Tugs of War…

They enjoyed watching skateboarders and bikers on the ramps for awhile.  I didn’t get to watch because I was feeding Johanna, but Lexi took some pictures for me.  Thanks Lexi! :)

The boys got tired of having their pictures taken…

So they started acting like they were texting whenever the camera pointed their way!

Joshua wrestling with Jonas ~ Can you tell who is used to wrestling?

 

I still didn’t get a picture of all the little 3 year olds together!  Joshua and Caleb are twins and only a week or two younger than Jonas.

Here is a picture of them sitting with their Dad.

I never got a picture of everyone together.  Our friends names are Matt and Dana and their children are Lexi, Seth, Megan, Micah, Joshua, and Caleb.

I am so thankful for good friends.  There is something about being able to be real, honest, and open with each other!  The biggest blessing is that our bond is founded in Jesus Christ and that is where our fellowship is centered, it doesn’t get any better than that!

Mom ~ Did you notice we were using my new blanket!  Thanks!  I really like it, it is quite useful!  Love You!

 

O.K.!  Time for some quiet time with my Lord and then to bed.  A BIG day tomorrow.  Family reunion at noon in Morton and company in the evening.  7 families (including us) 72 people (including babies).  Will try to take lots of pictures and hope to get around to blogging it before sooo much time is past that I never get it blogged!  Time will tell.  Good night! 

P.S. I was having trouble uploading my blog on Friday night so I had to edit some pictures and hopefully it will upload now ~ Monday AM!