tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81150684832722132132011-11-04T19:19:50.150-03:00Life beyond the pavement's endMrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-31512135515393785362011-10-26T14:44:00.000-03:002011-10-26T14:44:15.320-03:00

Esther was baptized last Sunday night. A lot of my family came to the service, which was nice, and Esther wore the dress that I was baptized in, a million years ago. I like to think that she will be 'standing on my shoulders;' having the heritage of faith that I have, and growing beyond that. Surpass your mommy, Esther!

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-21698957813488005112011-10-05T09:58:00.003-03:002011-10-05T10:00:46.552-03:00

Esther Johanne... 7 pounds of pure Horsman.

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-42061321683663490102011-08-30T07:30:00.005-03:002011-08-30T07:54:57.809-03:00

Foremost in my mind, of course, is the fact that I have only 3 weeks to go until my due date. Some days, it can't come soon enough, as I struggle not to complain about my aching bones and sleeplessness. Other days, like today, I don't mind a bit. I slept through the night last night (a victory already), and I'm feelin' fiiine. It may be the triple chocolate brownie I just ate, though. There

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Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-42404840207288417362011-07-12T07:24:00.009-03:002011-07-12T07:54:20.468-03:00

Some people find that having less money than average is hard. They wish they could afford those jeans for their children. They buy all the pink sticker items at Superstore, even if they don't usually eat 12 cucumbers in a week. They drive 20 minutes across town to buy 20 cans of the tuna that is on sale at 4 for $3. That's a savings of at least 15%, you know. They feel the pinch.I've been

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-83536947351170244462011-06-30T17:18:00.004-03:002011-06-30T17:27:09.852-03:00

(Dictated by Kevin, a *long* time ago)<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in

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This is so much fun! I told Juliana (she's staying with us this week) that she could have a 'prize' if she did extra schoolwork. She did, and so we did a portrait studio, complete with Picnik edits.

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-75876689446355347892011-05-16T20:36:00.006-03:002011-05-17T11:27:17.803-03:00

Fabulous news! Kevin and I finished the deck on Saturday. He even made a gate with a latch, so that Katherine will have a nice safe spot to play in. I am so excited to have this, and proud of Kevin (though that may sound cliche). He tells me he's not sure what he's going to do to make the railing of the deck, and then he makes a gorgeous one. He tells me he doesn't know where to start on a

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I've been struggling to make Roman Blinds for our upstairs windows since we moved here. I think the main problem was that I started with a pattern from Martha Stewart online.I should have known. I'm not her type.The pattern introduced random parts with strange names like batten, without further explanation. In my defense, I really couldn't find anything else online. I started one blind, then

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Well, we're home from the hospital. It's been 11 days they've had Kevin locked up in there, but finally, he's home. Not recovered yet, not by a long shot, but getting there.Wednesday night, he told me not to come in to spend the day with him. "I'm going to see if I can talk my way out of here tomorrow. Wait till I call you before you come."It wasn't till about 12 that the phone rang. "Dinah;"

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-17102791053903405282011-04-08T21:33:00.010-03:002011-04-08T22:10:27.646-03:00

I like my house.I just wanted to say that.I like my little family, my smallish kitchen, the dark chocolate in the drawer, my purple t-shirts.I love that I don't have to go to work outside our home when so many women don't have a choice anymore.I think my babies are the nicest babies ever, our chickens fabulous (free eggs!), my property full of potential, and I never want to return my husband for

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We're seriously talking about building on to this little house. 'Expanding,' I like to call it.Here are a few pictures of us all.Katherine:Daddy:Baby:Mommy (4th month):

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Very excited about her new sled from Grampie; also very cold...That's a smile, behind the soother. She's all done outside; letting herself in! "Look what I can do, Mommy! I can make the door open, all by myself!"

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-66119770343652668992011-01-14T11:26:00.007-04:002011-01-14T12:21:56.828-04:00

In summer, living beyond the pavement's end is idyllic. We work on our property, making it more orderly. I go down to the garden in the early morning to check on the tomatoes and find myself staying too long, pulling out weeds as the sun comes up over the ridge.In winter, it's beautiful. The snow on the trees contrasts with the winter's extra blue in the sky, and I walk up to the neighbour's and

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-18497366616009427332011-01-01T13:50:00.002-04:002011-03-23T10:28:15.372-03:00

I am so happy to have been married this long! Living with Kevin has always been wonderful, but now there's a relaxed-ness about it that I am really enjoying. We're more comfortable with each other, I guess. That may bring up a mental image of a couple married so long they look the same, but that's not what I meant.It's something else; something outsiders might not see. We laugh more. It's easier

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-78232528238519326532011-01-01T10:33:00.004-04:002011-01-01T10:51:21.083-04:00

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-53705918552587675612010-12-31T16:28:00.004-04:002010-12-31T16:52:53.592-04:00

Today I was over at Small Notebook, and read this: "The quest to organize isn't an end to itself, but a means to accomplish other, bigger, better goals."With that in mind, I'm going to try and add a system or two to my life in 2011. I'm already enjoying the simplicity of minimum maintenance, and am so excited to think about all that I will be able to accomplish with a system for my closets, or

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Today, as I was baking, Katherine called me. I looked down at her, and smiled. She was trying to get toys into my dish-washing gloves. I grabbed my camera and took a picture. So cute.But what was that?? My baby carrier, draped over the back of the couch. I couldn't post *that* picture; everyone would see how messy things were.I glanced around the kitchen. Oh, my! How had this happened??The

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Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-80857342457813977302010-11-18T19:13:00.006-04:002010-11-26T22:02:31.942-04:00

My sister in law, Renee, wrote this comment on another blog recently:"The more I read post like this the more I want to give, to live a simpler life, I pray that I could give more and trusting that God will provide only what we need and trying to figure out what are my "wants" and my real "needs" there is a difference between them."I keep needing to figure that out, too. Living in this small

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-14320486882150937712010-11-17T10:00:00.006-04:002010-11-17T10:00:12.342-04:00

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward."I knew it before, but now I *know* it.It was a good year - praise God.

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-56888130865446340552010-10-04T17:04:00.008-03:002010-10-04T17:48:08.373-03:00

One of my new favorite things to think over is parenting, and one of my sisters recommended this sermon by Albert Martin. He brings out the Biblical fact that our parenting is to be patterned by God (that's the sermon title, actually; "Parenting Patterned by God"). In this particular part of his series, his focus is on how God relates to His children. He shows the atmosphere of warmth, love,

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Nursing is hard work! Lately I have been realizing why it has become common for mothers to stop at 6 months. Katherine eats so much, and mommy eats even more!Poor Kevin. He was so excited about the apple pie that I had made... and so disappointed to find it all gone after getting one piece. It's a trifle embarrassing for me, eating 2 servings of everything at supper, while he eats only one, but

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-55505399389513187262010-07-29T11:11:00.001-03:002010-07-29T11:16:22.123-03:00

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Seeing the pictures of Nelleke's sweet new baby online, I remember how nice it was to hold a baby that small. Josiah looks so precious - now that I've had one, I am so aware, with every new baby, what a huge blessing they are from God. What a great thing to give us! As my baby grows older, God's goodness to us remains obvious. There are lots of times when her behaviour reminds me of the facts of

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-40729828948385097452010-06-24T15:04:00.004-03:002010-06-24T15:12:18.735-03:00

Kevin signed his life away as I gleefully looked on.I have the nicest feeling that he doesn't regret one bit of it.I don't either.

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-23705705440282786132010-05-17T09:20:00.003-03:002010-07-29T11:24:00.319-03:00

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in;

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My sister told me that her baby only did one sign at a time. For instance, if he learned "more," he would stop doing the sign for "milk." And so I was not surprised when Katherine learned "please" and dropped "change." I still faithfully modeled the signs for her, but she stuck with "please."(I had a suspicion that she thought it meant "pick me up, Mommy," but that was okay.)And then, quite

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"Does watching TV cause ADHD? This new study that appeared in the April issue of Pediatrics suggests that it does."This hadn't occurred to me. I just didn't like TV, and thought Katherine shouldn't watch it. I had a vague idea - I had read something, somewhere - that children have a different perception of reality than grown-ups, and that watching TV could mess up their little minds. But I didn't

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-20530395682163250092010-03-30T09:00:00.004-03:002010-03-30T11:05:59.835-03:00

Here in Lewis Mountain, we have water so hard it would disown its mother. It also layers itself on the sink and taps, making cleaning them virtually impossible.Impossible, that is, without magic eraser. I recently discovered the Eraser's shining powers, and went to town on my sink, that very day.When Kevin came home, I told him about it."...and look how nice and shiny the sink is! Isn't it nice?"

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-1576699701957311292010-03-24T09:23:00.006-03:002010-03-24T10:15:20.454-03:00

Katherine has learned to say "change!"Her hand sign isn't exactly the same as mine, but it's close enough that we both know what she means. I am enormously excited about this success, and suddenly want to teach her everything: Please. Thank you. More. Milk. Mommy. Daddy. Apple Crisp. And all those other signs you hear about.The tricky part is, of course, that anything I teach her I must first

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-27489258513276589162010-03-17T16:06:00.004-03:002010-03-17T17:31:25.646-03:00

Last Saturday, Kevin recruited some strong men to move a piano into our house.And then suddenly, he's living in a documentary.The classical music begins.Kevin waits for his cue. Around bar 14, he begins."...and here, on your left, you will see the ruins of an ancient castle, once occupied by Sir Walter Carmange, of Shropshire....Moving on, now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to draw your

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-42883748470668508632010-03-11T19:19:00.001-04:002010-03-11T20:09:59.316-04:00

Parental Labeling.You've probably heard of it. In fact, you've probably done it, subconsciously. Or maybe even consciously."She's too easygoing." "He's too strict." "They're too organized." "They're all over the place." "She's too proud of him." "She's a mom, but acts as if she was still single." "She's so scared of germs, she washes the baby's hands after a diaper change." "Her kid will get more

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You press a button and your van door opens.You iron four shirts and you think that was a lot.Your baby shakes her head ‘no’ to tell you when she doesn’t need a change.You accidentally put extra sugar in your batch of cookies and have to double the recipe.Your husband says to leave the dishes because he wants to snuggle.You realize that God has been at work in

Mrs. Horsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17681068338565257716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8115068483272213213.post-59986326970664109002010-03-01T09:39:00.005-04:002010-03-01T09:52:21.508-04:00

I was talking to mom, and told her that we got Katherine a Jolly Jumper."She's too little." said mom. "I would never put a baby in one of those until they were at least 9 months."Says I: "But Sophia has one, and she's only a wee bit older."Mom paused for a moment, then recovered."But Sophia has such sturdy legs."

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Inspired by frugalandsimple's "window mistreatments," I made curtains yesterday.Kevin had been hinting that we needed a curtain for the window at the top of the stairs for quite a while. (Mostly by flying to the light switch and shutting it off every time I walked by wearing my pjs.)I don't really care for hand sewing, and don't have a sewing machine, so I put it off, waiting for a day when it

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