Last night Gary needed to take our youngest to A and E as she didn’t seem to be using her left arm properly and kept waking up in pain. Because of a chest infection I had to stay at home, and spent a tearful few hours watching the clock move with the slowest tick tocks EVER. He had to wait a couple of hours and then saw a doctor, have her arm x-rayed and then come home. B2 is fine, and the doctors could not see any damage on the X-ray and all seems to be normal today. Gary didn’t get home until 1am and he had to get up at 4 30 am for work. Please would you pray for energy for him and that he doesn’t inadvertently fall asleep whilst operating a piece of heavy machinery! Thank you.
I was given something very special yesterday that completely made my day. I had been planning to use one of my photos and change it to black and white, frame it and hang it in our Little House as a memento of our best summer yet. A couple of days ago I had visited Marie-Claude’s China Blog Marie’s Pastiche. Almost daily there is treasure to be found here. Marie is not a home schooling mum (although in my humble opinion the title was made for her!) but she does lots and lots of extra educational activities with her two daughters. She and her family are spending the whole year experiencing China without so much as an airport in sight! It is a must follow blog! Anyway, she had posted this beautiful old-fashioned photo of her and her daughters all dressed up in olde worlde costumes. The photo was just gorgeous, not in colour but not in black and white either. I left a comment admiring it and thought no more about it.
Meanwhile, without me even having an inkling about it, Marie got busy creating me the following photo. I don’t know how you did it, Marie, but I’m ever so pleased you did! I LOVE it! Here it is, my very own olde worlde picture of our Little House on the Prairie summer:
Isn’t that just AMAZING? Gary and I are going to have it blown up, framed and hung in our living room. Thank you so much Marie, I absolutely love it!
This week we are all ill again! Yes, I’m beginning to think we might be a little run down and need a wee break, and with only one week left until we officially begin our summer holidays, a break is almost upon us! Even ill we managed one or two things.
This was the house at the beginning of the 10 weeks:
And this is it now. I’m using the same photo from last week because absolutely nothing has changed on the outside:
You might recognise this photo as the twin of Marie’s and you’d be right.
And the inside at the beginning:
And now, 9 weeks later:
Gary and T11 have been busy putting up shelves and hooks to store some of our goodies. As a reward for all the hard work the children have done all summer, we bought them a coffee pot and cup set as a surprise. These are proper camping ones, made of enamel and fully useable:
The girls had also asked for hooks by the door to hang their aprons up. We also hung some enamel lanterns procured from my living room. In addition T11 screwed in a large hook to hang the baskets the girls used for the laundry and collecting the vegetables from their kitchen garden:
We placed a battery operated set of fairy lights into the lanterns so that they could be safely used inside the house, negating the need for candles.
A4 has been tending her kitchen garden:
And picking her harvest:
And of course there has been an awful lot of playing:
As I was taking photos for this weeks post I noticed this hanging on one of the hooks by the stove:
I’m not sure it’s clear but it reads:
SPRING CLEANING DAY
Wash clothes
Sharpen pencil (!)
Clean upstairs
Clean downstairs
Collect dry clothes
Then they had proceeded to scribble it all out and had written EVERYTHING in great big hand writing. My children crack me up!
This is essentially my last post in relation to projects done. Next week we shall be having a wrap up Prairie Party in honour of making it through ten weeks of Prairie learning and to celebrate my newly five-year old’s birthday.
For all other posts: http://angelicscalliwags.com/the-little-house-on-the-prairie/
I’m linking up to some of these great parties.
Thank you for sharing all the photos, they are just adorable. It’s literally awesome how you’ve all managed to make this into a history/craft (and lots of other “subjects”) project that’s resulted in something so practical and beautiful and imaginative-play inspiring. I’m sure your children will have hundreds of hours of play in their Little House for years to come – not to mention the memories. (Love Marie’s photo!) I hope you’re all feeling better soon & Gary stays alert at work!
Thank Lucinda. We’re having a wrap up party next week, and then it’s all over. Quite sad really. Definitely the best summer yet!
Praying for your husband!
I love the photo Marie did for you. What a lovely memento of your summer.
Thank you!
The photo was fab wasn’t it!
The photo that Marie did is absolutely gorgeous. What a classic! I have been enjoying your weekly post of your Little House summer project. It’s such a fantastically memorable summer for the children, and so very educational as well! Good job, all of you! I hope that everyone is feeling better now, and that Gary is staying alert at work today. Plenty of coffee needed! 🙂
That would be a great plan if he drank coffee, but his mum gave him some as a baby and he spat it out, hating it ever since!
I love photo! What a great gift. Your explorations with this unit study are wonderful. They will remember this forever. What an awesome homeschool mom you are!! Praying you are all well and rested soon.
Blessings, Dawn
Thanks Dawn. I’m not a good patient (I’m a nurse – we’re all bad patients!) so I’m fairly certain my whole family is hoping I’ll be well soon!
Just beautiful the house and the picture sent to you. I have really enjoyed watching this process. Hope you all are feeling better soon
Thank you Anna Marie. Have you stopped blogging? I don’t seem to be able to see your blog anymore? Thanks for popping by!
Oh my friend… sending huge hugs and blessings from my side of the world. Praying for Gary and your B2 and you! Love the beautiful photograph and i agree… the perfect thing for a frame. What a lovely surprise gift! And yes… whoever wrote ‘sharpen pencil’ is my hero… nothing like equipment and stationery in fully functioning order! 😉 Blessings my friend!!
Giggling! Yes I suppose a sharpened pencil would be more useful than say, a blunt one, but I was curious as to how it had found it’s way onto a spring cleaning list!!
I think I MIGHT know how she did it, but if I tell you, you must promise not to use the awesome powers for evil………..
I’ll be praying for Gary to stay awake, poor guy. Of course with the time difference, he might be all done with work now……… So, would that be thanking God for what’s already happened? Either way, poor B2 to go through all that.
We know how she did it. One of her siblings swung her around in a hug. I didn’t include it because said sibling was very tearful and anxious she had hurt her baby sister that I felt the least said the better.
Gary’s now tucked up in bed, soundo!
Oh…my…goodness! My oldest daughter would love this. We are reading the Little House books right now and her imagination would go crazy with a set up like this. How neat! I’d love to have you link this to Titus 2 Tuesday this week on Cornerstone Confessions.. I hope to see you there.
Kathy
Absolutely, I will. Thank you very much for the kind comment and for inviting me!
It has been so much fun watching this project from week to week. You are so creative and such an inspiration. I can’t wait to get to this time period and use some of these ideas. The house has turned out amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment. And it’s my pleasure to share. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!
What an amazing process for the kiddos to play and work through. Thank you for sharing. The inside of the house looks so homey and inviting. Hope you feel better soon.
Thank you so much Keitha!
I was hoping the little house would end up warm, homely and inviting and that the children would want to play in there for years to come.
It has been so fun to watch this project unfold. What a great memory!
Thanks Carol. We’re actually quite sad it’s finishing.
Seeing the kids playing in their clothes with their little house is so great! A4 & B2 look absolutely adorable! The level of detail put into the house, and the entire experience is incredible. I hope everyone gets their well deserved break, and so glad to hear all is well with B2’s arm.
Thank you for your kind words Claire.
Thank you. We were a bit concerned because for a while it just hung limply and she refused to use it. I’m not sure what the doctor did but it all seems to be in perfect working order now!
You know I love everything about this. I’ve loved watching it unfold over the past couple of months – just amazing, and what a treasured memory for your children!
Thank you Mary. I’m so pleased you’ve enjoyed it because we’ve had a blast. We’re quite sorry it’s coming to an end!
I wish I could come play, too. What fun. I agree that the picture would get a special place in my house, too.
Isn’t it lovely? I was so chuffed!
I hope your daughter is alright. The photo is awesome.
Thanks Julie, she’s fine now!
What a great way to take a look into another life time. Costumes and the house are amazing #hobbies and handicrafts
Thanks Fiona!
This is so amazing! What a beautiful family project and labor of love:)
My girls have a treehouse that has provided hours of fun for them. I can see that this little house is going to do the same for your kiddos!
Great photos! Thanks for sharing them.
We are huge LHOP fans here too;)
Thank you Jenn! I smiled when I read the name of your blog!
I want to live in that house, ha ha! I have loved reading about your childrens’ summer adventures. I’m sure you have trouble dragging them in for the night…my kids would be begging to sleep out there!
I have had a few requests to sleep out there, but so far they’ve not gone through with it! I’m not sure there is enough room for the older girls to actually lie down.
love the old-time photo. That little house is AMAZING!!!
Thanks Jolanthe!
Just adorable! What fun!
Thanks for sharing on TGIF! I always enjoy seeing your posts =)
Thanks Beth!