I had the oportunity to watch this video today of Johnny Weir addressing those who openly mocked him...I was really moved within my soul to hear this young man not only jest with these men back-in good spirit!- but to rise above them with nothing but goodness to say about his upbringing and giving the opportunity to others to be unique and the person they were meant to be. What a powerful message this sends to all who were lucky enough to view it. I am not too sure I would have had such grace...and I only dare hope that I can also serve as such an example in the face of opposition. Thanks for the inspiration Johnny!

hi, im Hannah and im almost 14.

um lets see i guess you could say im a pirate, hippie, earth worshiping, animal loving, tree hugger.

i love animals of all kinds, Ive kept raccoons, opossums, swirls, a crow and a python, along with more " normal" pets, dogs, cats, hamsters rabbits etc..

here r our st. bernards, we have four.

tanna is the momma of my dog kessa, who is the mom of Bella sky.

dozer is our newest dog.

my bff is my dog kessa a 1 1/2 year old 120 lb saint Bernard, we do everything together.

id like to be a vet when i grow up.

my other interests r swimming, reading, hiking, drawing manga style, and martial arts.

Gym Class

Just how do you conduct a gym class for free schooled kids?

Big Brother Justin stopped over for the morning with his new puppy, Lexi, and she conducted gym class for the morning. Lexi is a Lab mix and she is so full of energy:)

There is going to be a line up at lunch time--these guys have been at this for 2 hrs.!

There is always alot of excitement and high energy when Justin comes home to visit. He only lives about 35 minutes away, but it is always the same when he comes home...a frenzy:) I hope he feels loved:) Being the oldest is a challenge. I know we were so different when we were raising Justin and Jenna..much more structured and being a part of an organized christian religion also made a large impact on them. For our family-and I do realize that many would differ on this point--I really feel that was a negative . I will never forget Justin coming home from Jamaica-where he had spent nearly 2 mths. working on an orphanage- saying he had a good time-that the dicipline and the stuff he learned was positive, but that he felt like a hipocrite for agreeing with religious values he didn't share. That was a bittersweet moment for us..bitter because it caused us grief to know we had required he participate in this for graduation and we had caused him to be someone he was not...and sweet, because he was able stand alone and say " This is not for me!"--we had suceeded in instilling in Justin the ability to stand alone and stand up for what he believed in-even if it was different from the rest of his family at the time. Adults struggle with being different from their friends let alone their families..it is so much easier to just go along with the flow-and here was this young man saying he could respect the opinions of others and still speak up for his own opinion. That is what we wanted from homeschooling--the ability to be free-to be original and unique-and be happy about it. So often we disrespect ourselves by denying our true feelings. Justin helped us see that is what was happening in our family as well..it was the turning point in our family and I have to say that we have grown immeasurably closer--the respect we hold for eachothers thoughts and feelings is not a measure based on the size of the person..at our home EVERYONE'S opinion counts and we talk about our thoughts and feelings without fear that they will be discounted . I cannot tell you the difference this has made in our younger children-to know without doubt that they are equal with us-that they are valuable and their ideas are important. They often can provide just the right energy for whatever project we are working on.

I have to say thanks to Justin-he has been through the thick and the thin with us..growing up together and he had blazed a new trail that his sibs will be so much richer for. Thanks kiddo--we love you:)

hi my name is sam and

I am ten years old and I love doing model cars

this is my first model car that was plastic. I got this one from mom and dad. I was nine wen I started doing cars. my dad restores cars.

this is A 73 mach 1. my dad used to own A 73 mach 1.

Let it snow....

Some of us are so ready for Spring..so waking up to 5+ inches of snow was alittle shocking! Rick left to plow at about 3:30 am. The snow was litterally pouring out of the sky it seemed and right now at 10:30 am it shows no sign of letting up:)

When our family discussed making a blog, we had lots of really good ideas flowing and so it is with high hopes that we come together and share our lives and thoughts-our hopes and ideas..

At present time, Rick ( the papa bear) is restoring a 1967 Camaro. He is very artistic and very thorough in this process and he really enjoys the challenge. He will be blogging on this issue somewhat and offering pics of the process along the way:) His first car, a 1968 Eleanor clone Mustang Fastback from the movie "Gone In 60 Seconds" was sold to an awesome guy in Austalia..he came all the way here and stayed with our family at Christmas time, sharing his family's traditions and learning ours. He was the oldest in his family and completely used to rambunctous little people. It was a great experience and we felt good about him taking the car--quite amazing how attached we all were to Rick's 1st project!

The next car was another Mustang- a 1968 Coup that was in premium condition when we bought it-he picked it up the same afternoon that our daughter Francie was born. Super fun car with lots of documentation and history. It sold to a gentleman, Pat, in Belgium. Another great experience for our family..he even sent over a bunch of foreigncoins for Samuel (10) who is an avid coin collector.

This car was purchased from a family in the Detroit area and it has ignited a passion for camaro's in the car lovers of the family... It is has had a complete tear down as well and is in the process of getting primered to be painted.. everything new from the interior to the weather stripping..stay tuned for pics!

This has been a wonderful experience for our whole family- it has opened alot of doors to meet people from all over the world and we have really learned alot! Some of the kids are hoping to sell this car to someone from the States..we will see how it goes!

Well, that is Rick's passion--read on to learn more on the rest of the crew..

This is Ruth Ann's cutout...

Here is anne--lending a painting hand to little Francie's cutout:)

Ruth Ann deciding on her style of clothing:)


Seth is showing us all just how he'd like to look!

Ruth Ann getting traced..

Francie as a cutout!

Seth is afinger painting kind of guy..

A Day In The Life...

Three Fridays a month you will find us at our homeschool co-op, but our van is broke down so we are home bound. Just as well since more than half of us have a nasty headcold!
We decided to have an artistic morning here at Maple Acre Farm..we broke out the finger paints for Francie, and Ruth Ann started a pot of her now famous Potato soup, while Seth and Annie started on their cut outs- tracings of their shapes and then "dressed and decorated." Samuel researched his next model car on the net and the olders slept on...
By the time everyone had finished their chosen projects it was lunch time...and the soup was smellin' yum!! We all snuggled down in the den and filled our tummies...finishing off the feast with popsickles:)
I feel so good to know that our kids are living the life of freedom. They are free to choose their next projects..free to play when they feel like it and free to create out of their imaginations! If we were in school--or even traditionally homeschooling, that would not be an option. In a family our size I am sure you imagine the insuing chaos that accompanies 7 different kids with 7 different personalities working on 7 different projects!!Plus, two creative parents who are quite artistic in their own rights:) Amazingly enough though, it works. We really try to maintain a home where everyone has a voice..and everyone is respected-not just the parents. Ours kids are wonderful fountains of inspiration to ous and we learn so much from them. Not that it is quiet-or that nobody disagrees here..lol..far from that..but the bottom line is we all believe in one another. We try to be peaceful and incorporate whole life learning into every situation..