Lots of Helpers

June 2016 Pictures of Our Little People

August 7, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

My computer finally seems to be fixed. We had to send it back in to be worked on again in late June, and when we got it back and set up again, we ran into the same problem as before. I had to install updates one at a time, because it wasn’t handling more than that. Suddenly, the same problem appeared that we had before, with the computer demanding the product key for Windows 8. We uninstalled the update I had just installed, but nothing changed. I contacted the company—again. However, a day or so later, after a couple more restarts, the demand for that key disappeared! The computer is working perfectly again. What a relief. So, maybe I’ll get back to more regular posting…or maybe not. No promises. Anyway, here are pictures for Grandma of the two littlest during June.

Little Miss asked for some yogurt in her bowl. Then, she stepped in it! What a terrible catastrophe!

Little Miss and Mr. Imagination reading stories together.

Mr. Imagination was pretending to be a gorilla.

Little Miss took ashes out of the coal range, and then tried to clean up her mess!

She’s all girl! She likes pretty dresses.

Looking at pictures with big sister.

Playing at Dead Boring (homeschool group).

Esther’s boss gave the little ones a toy lawn mower. Little Miss claims it for her own.

Helping Esther make snickerdoodles.

History 15—Part 1

August 6, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Esther and I have started our own book club. We have quite a few books on ancient history, especially on parts of history that aren’t in most mainstream history books. We’ve both been wanting to read them but haven’t been getting around to it. So, last week, we started our own book club. So far, the two of us are the only members, but if you want to join you’re welcome—although I have no idea how we could include more people! We started with Unwrapping the Pharoahs, by John Ashton and David Down. Our goal is that every day Esther will spend 15 minutes (that’s where the “15” in the name of our book club comes from) reading the book and taking notes on what she finds interesting, and then I’ll read the same chapters she got through, take notes, and we’ll compare. We’ve managed to do it a few days, and gotten through seven chapters of this fascinating book!

Chapter 1 talks about the beginning of Egyptian history. Menes, the first king of the first dynasty, is identified by Josephus as being Mizraim, the grandson of Noah. Interestingly, the early kings of Egypt were buried with boats—was this in case of another Flood? Chapter 2 mentions that the earliest Egyptian burial practices were similar to those in Ur, in Mesopotamia, at the same time. Guess what! Civilization spread from Mesopotamia to Egypt!

Chapter 3 talks about some of the early pyramids. There is evidence that they were built by men excited about their work, rather than by slaves. Chapter 4 shows the three pyramids built by Seneferu. The first, Meidum, seems to have partially collapsed at some point. Whether this was during the building or some time after is unknown. His second one was the Bent Pyramid, which was started at a 52° angle. About halfway up, they switched to a 43° angle. No one knows why, but I found it very interesting that there are inscriptions indicating that possibly the lower half was built in only two years! He also built the Red Pyramid, which was at a 43° angle. Did he maybe keep going till he had a perfect pyramid?

In chapter 5, Abraham’s visit to Egypt during a famine is mentioned. Josephus tells that Abraham brought science and astronomy to Egypt from Mesopotamia. Is he the source of the incredible mathematical accuracy in the Great Pyramid? The Great Pyramid was built precisely aligned to the cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west), precisely level, and exactly square.

Chapter 6 discusses Kafre, the son of Khufu, who built the Great Pyramid. Khafre’s pyramid was steeper than his father’s, with a completely different layout. Another thing mentioned in this chapter was the methods used by “archeologists” in the 1700s and early 1800s. They were basically treasure hunters, using gunpowder to blow up anything they thought was in their way. Chapter 7 tells about the end of the 4th Dynasty, when the economy was apparently not so good anymore. Shepseskaf built a mastaba instead of a pyramid. The earliest pharoahs had built mastabas; these were more like the temples in Mesopotamia. They were several layers, one on top of another, each layer smaller so it went up in steps.

It’s a Bull!

July 28, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

The calf has arrived! As I said in yesterday’s post, our cow was looking very close to calving last evening. Mr. Handyman checked on her at 6:00 this morning, and nothing was happening, but I went out a few minutes before 8:00, to find her laying down. As I feared, she couldn’t get up. She has a history of milk fever, which is a sudden crash in calcium levels in the blood, so I knew what the problem was. Normally, this happens a day or two after calving, but this cow has gone down while she was in labor before. So, I called the vet as soon as they opened at 8:00, and he came out within half an hour. He gave her calcium intravenously, as well as a drench, and a few minutes later she was on her feet. We kept a very close eye on her all morning (one of the boys had trouble focusing on school—he’s still not done!), and at 1:00 the exciting news was shouted around the house that “something” could be seen. By about 1:45, we were excited to have witnessed the birth of a beautiful little bull calf. Both mother and baby seem to be doing well, although we need to continue giving her extra calcium for a few days as her body adjusts to producing milk again. We’ve named the baby Speckles.

Proud mama!

I got this picture from the house of the children watching the birth while eating lunch!

The calf’s father was a White Galloway bull belonging to a neighbor of ours. He looked a lot like this one.

Now, for the winners of my giveaway! Dianne was the only one who guessed the right day; she will receive a code for a free Kindle copy of Sweet on You, the first Meddlin’ Madeleine book, by Chautona Havig. Only Dianne and Dannielle guessed that the calf would be a bull, so Dannielle will get Ante Up!, the fourth Aggie’s Inheritance book, also by Chautona Havig. I’ll send you both your codes as soon as I have them. Enjoy!

One, Two, Three!

July 27, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Little Miss is starting to talk quite a lot. She obviously hears a lot of counting, because she frequently says, “One, two, three!” Or, “Two, three, four, ten!” I went to the freezer at lunch time today to get something, and she came over, asking, “Want two-three-four!” She knows the blackberries are in that freezer, and she wanted some. I gave her a few. This afternoon, I was sitting at the computer doing something, and she started counting and then racing to the bedroom, then counting again and racing back. I was able to capture some of her game in a short video.

How Daily Plans Can Change Suddenly (and giveaway news)

July 27, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

First, before I show you how my evening changed suddenly and crazily a couple days ago, I’ll just say first that we still don’t have a calf. If you want to enter my giveaway by making a guess about the date of birth and gender of the calf, go here. If you’ve already entered and want to change your guess, please do. She is looking a lot closer, though—this is how she looked a couple of hours ago (it’s the 27th of July, here, by the way). I’m planning to check on her before I go to bed and again when I first get up in the morning.

Now, back to Monday evening. I had finally gotten started sorting boy’s shirts! The last time I really worked on sorting children’s clothing was just before Little Miss was born, a year and a half ago. It was needing done! So, I had piles of shirts laying around the living room, as you can see here.

Then, Gayle arrived home from work, at about 4:45, with some chickens that a friend who is moving to Australia gave us. Included were three roosters, and she warned him that if they were put together there would be a cockfight. So, I decided that we should probably butcher them right away, and started water heating for the scalding. My boys asked if we could do a few roosters of our own that were ready, and the next thing I knew we were going to do a few old hens and a turkey, too! At that hour of the night, when I hadn’t even started cooking dinner yet! Yes, that’s the kind of craziness that happens here. Strike while the iron’s hot, though. Everyone worked with a will, and an hour and a half later I had this in the kitchen:

I hurriedly threw together some food for dinner, and got started washing and packaging birds while it cooked. By 8:00, I had this:

Yum! I’m so thankful for children who help so well, and for good, clean, fresh meat. Esther was happy that she could change her birthday menu from steaks to roast turkey.

What Day Will it Happen? Contest!

July 17, 2016 by NZ Filbruns 9 Comments

We are eagerly anticipating fresh milk again soon. We’ve been drinking frozen milk since I dried off the cow about the first of June, but it isn’t the same. The cow has started to bag up now, though, so we’re getting excited about having a new calf on the place again–and did I mention, fresh milk? And cream? And butter? We ran out of the frozen butter today and have to use butter from the shop now.

Anyway, I’m having a contest! I have a free copy of each of Chautona Havig’s two most recent books, Sweet on You and Ante Up!, so they will be the prizes for this contest. To enter, please comment on this post or on my Facebook page (with the link for this post) with the day you think the calf will arrive and whether it will be a heifer calf or a bull calf. The cow is due on July 23, and these pictures show how she looks today. (No, it’s not twins; we saw the calf when we had the vet do a scan to confirm the pregnancy in November, and it was definitely just one calf–this cow simply gets huge!) I’ll give one of the books to the person who guesses closest to the right date (or draw from all the right guesses), and the other book to someone who guesses the right gender. The contest closes when the calf is born–sometime in the next two weeks! The book you get will be a Kindle book, but you do not have to have a Kindle to read it. If you have a tablet or a smart phone you can easily get a free app to read Kindle books, or you can read them on your computer. So, make a guess and you may get to read a book by my favorite author!

Acrobatic Baby

July 2, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I spent some time sewing today. The sewing machine is on a table in the little boys’ room. I was sitting at it this afternoon, sewing, when Little Miss came in. She started climbing up to the top bunk, saying something like, “Daddy, daddy, dee dee dee, crash!” over and over. The “crash” was the clearest word, and the one she emphasized. Then, she swung herself down by one hand to reach the bottom bunk. I was able to get a video clip of the last time she did it. Enjoy!

Book Review: Ante Up!

June 25, 2016 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

If I’m totally honest, the primary reason I signed up to be on Chautona Havig’s launch team last year was so that I could read about Aggie. Of course, I love her other books, too, but Aggie is my favorite character. My introduction to Mrs. Havig’s books was the first Aggie’s Inheritance book, Ready or Not, in which Aggie, freshly graduated from college at age 22, suddenly inherits her sister’s 8 children. I loved the book so much that my daughter gave me an Amazon gift card to get me to buy the other two books in that trilogy! That was over a year ago, and I’ve been waiting impatiently since then for more about Aggie. It’s finally here! Ante Up! publishes this week, on the 26th of June, but it is available for preorder already. If you do purchase the book, any time between now and July 7, you can ask for the bonus that Chautona wrote. It is a devotional with a chapter for each chapter of the book, exploring the song that was used for the title of that chapter. I’ve read the devotional, Tune My Heart, already and it is very good. One thing that especially spoke to me was a sentence in Chapter 15: “Mrs. Keary said that she believed those things that interrupt our great plans were sent by God to keep us from becoming selfish.”

In some ways, Ante Up! is my favorite of the series. Aggie has now been married for nearly four years, and she has been mothering her sister’s eight orphaned children for nearly five years. Her second pregnancy is nearing its end, and she has the perfect birth plan mapped out. However, God throws a few monkey wrenches into her plans, as He does to all of us at times. How will Aggie respond? Will she continue to lean on the Lord and trust Him for grace? Or will she snap and show her all-too-human side? As one thing after another goes wrong for her, the challenges to her faith grow harder and harder to handle. Christmas is coming and she doesn’t have anything ready.

Meanwhile, the children have their own challenges to face, besides helping Luke to take care of the house and the little children. Vannie and Laird are faced with young people of the opposite sex being attracted to them (I loved the advice Laird got from older men—it was right on). Tavish is suffering physically from a somewhat foolish action, and Ellie desperately wants to try science experiments. Ian and Ronnie egg each other on as they act like typical little boys, and neither Luke nor Aggie has time or energy to deal with them properly. As the home spirals into chaos, what will bring back the order that Aggie thrives on?

I loved the humor that was woven into the story. My favorite scene involved stitch witchery and a worried little girl (Mommy wouldn’t have used that!). I also loved the roll-baking scene. Poor Ellie wanted to crawl into a hole at the end (“My career as a scientist is over before it even began.”) If you enjoy reading about large families or mothers, you will enjoy this book. If you enjoy watching God work to refine His people, you will enjoy this story. You will be challenged to check out your relationships with others, especially your husband, and your faith in God. Once again, Chautona Havig has crafted a great story that makes you think.

To get your own copy of this wonderful, encouraging book, the Kindle version is available here, and the print version here.

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. If you read this, Chautona Havig, thank you very much for allowing me to be on your launch team!

WARNING: Not a story for children or men; there are a lot of details about pregnancy and labor.

June 2016 Pictures

June 23, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I happened to have my camera in my pocket the other day when I was in the garden and discovered this beauty!

Preparing lunch the night before for our trip to town. It takes a lot of sandwiches to feed this crew! Making them assembly-line fashion helps.

What do you do with a big pile of coasters from the dump? Build castles!

Sunday afternoon fun. The little boys were trying to play the organ.

Mr. Diligence was playing with a bean bag.

Whale!

June 21, 2016 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

We were driving to Kaikoura for church Sunday morning when suddenly one of the boys exclaimed, “There’s a whale!” Sure enough, just a few hundred meters offshore was a whale, apparently feeding on the surface in the middle of a small pod of dolphins! There was a fishing boat close by; apparently there was a large school of fish there. Of course, we stopped to watch–you don’t see a whale very often. What a special experience!