Savannah... a day in the life of.

I got my hair cut! Mom cut it for me because she was tired of seeing it in my face all the time. Not only that, it's been so hot here, Mom thinks it's better for my to stay cool. And I agree!
This butterfly landed on me one Sunday after church. I was able to hold it for a long time!
It even crawled on my shirt. I didn't like that it was so close to my face, but I kept a close eye on it until I put it on the rosebush in the back yard.
Mom just likes this picture.

Busy...

And that's been my life in a nutshell. Andrew and I are having the craft room put in within the next two months, a room that I am THRILLED to finally be getting, and as I was cleaning the room out the other day, I found a newspaper article that I've been saving for informational purposes. As you can see... I put it to good use, publishing a book over the weekend.

I have diligently been working on a couple others - one that I'm doing reasearch for - I want to be able to give a little history with the next book, but I hope to have it finished by the end of this month.

I am working on a book about my experiences in the Ukraine - that book is taking some time, and won't be finished until the end of the year at the earliest.

My hope is to have my books in a couple different local bookstores - my copy will be at my house on Monday, and I plan on taking it around to the stores to see what I can do to see my name on the bookshelves. I knew there was a reason I loved books so much!!! As my sister, Brittany, said, "It's nice to see you putting that English degree to good use!" Personally, I find that it's more about putting my journalism skills learned during yearbook (both high school and college) to good use.

Anyway - enjoy the preview!

I published a book!!

portfolio: fac...

By linda rené stahr

Book Preview

Just click on either the title of the book, or book preview to see what it's all about! It was fun to put together, and even more fun to share the news with others! I've got at least four other books in the works - two that will most likely remain private, the others will be put on the market as soon as I have finished them.

The next book will be out by the end of the month - it's another portfolio, only it contains nature shots. I've got to input the text, and then I'll be ready to send it out to be published!

Family Photo

this is the only family photo that we have of all four of us... we'll get another one another time. This was taken in October - Savannah was 4 at the time, and Margaret was 8 months old. Andrew and I were still older than we feel and younger than we ought to be.

At the Park in Provo

This is Savannah - at the top of the rock wall... she wasn't sure if she really wanted to be there, but I convinced her that she could not only make it to the top, she could also make it down without falling. Mostly by telling her that I would take her picture if she made it to the top.
On the swings... her mood changed as rapidly as her swing did... forward for a good mood, back for a bad mood. This is the good mood... I told her I wasn't taking her picture if she was in a bad mood.
Posing at the top of a climb thing! She's gotten so big, and so independent! Sometimes I find it hard to believe that Andrew and I are the parents of a 5 year old, but then I realize that school is going to be starting and although growing up is sometimes hard, it's definitely worth it.

Walking in Dad's shoes

Dad left his boots out when he left for work... Margaret decided that she wanted to be like dad and put them on.
Apparently, having your arm in the air helps with balance when you're desperately trying to get Dad's boots on...








And taking a little break. Actually, I think Margaret was just trying to plan her next move.
So... with a little help from Mom, the boots went on. And doesn't she just look pleased with herself???

Peanut, Peanut Butter... And Jam!

I love peanut butter. Can I just tell you how yummy it is? Or can you tell by the completely satisfied look on my face how much I love it? I love to take the sandwich apart and eat each piece of the sandwich individually... first the jam, then the peanut butter, and finally... the bread.
Eating so much peanut butter makes me really tired though. In fact, sometimes I fall asleep while eating.

A dancer in the house...

Here's another of Savannah. She loves to play dress up and she loves to dance. This seemed to be a perfect combination - the outfit she's wearing now is actually a skirt that she has with her dress up stuff... she came to me at the door when I came in after feeding the animals and said, "How do I look!?"

After having her put on an undershirt so that her underwear wasn't so obvious, I told her it was a cute outfit and asked if she wanted me to take her picture; then, we had a little chat about modesty. She agreed that it wasn't a very modest dress (in fact, she told me that it was probably something that she could wear after she got married and just for her husband.) I think little pitchers must have bigger ears and better hearing than this little one is letting on...

Savannah Smiles...

Since there haven't been too many photos of Savannah lately, I thought I'd spend some time with her in front of the camera tonight... this is the result.


In this photo, she thought it was funny that Margaret was tickling her foot.

I caught her thinking while lying on the floor...


Sometimes I wonder what goes through her head, but then she opens her mouth and says something and I quit wondering. For example... this morning, we were visiting with a friend who had surgery, and my friend asked Savannah where she got her smarts... I just said, "It's in your genes." Not completely understanding me, she told my friend, "It's running down my jeans."

And here... She found a new way to wear a dress up skirt. It made a cute (though slightly immodest) halter top that I don't find a problem unless she is in high school and wants to wear it to the Prom. After all... she is only 5, and not thinking about boys yet... (I hope!)

Life in Spring...

So it's been a while. Life has been exciting!

We are now officially outnumbered 2:1 by animals here on Stahr Ranch.

We have two bovines (not the same two we had last time I updated - Hank Jr. ended up with pneumonia and died... more from the mercy shot to the head because he hadn't stood up or really eaten for several days...) Ferdinand the Bull is our brown and white calf, he's somewhere around 4 months old; and our other little guy who doesn't really have a name because he's a cow and destined for slaughter but might be called something like "Beef" or "Sir Loin" or something like that is 1 week old. And yes, it's amazing how big our first guy is in comparison to our other little guy.

Other additions include the two pigs, Ham and Bacon who are also destined to live up to their names. They're currently working on cultivating our pasture (said, "past-e-ure" according to Savannah). We've had many the pig rodeo here when they were a little smaller. And, for the record, pigs are loud when they're caught.

We have two barn cats, Tom and Jerry; and Charlie - the dog. Charlie loves to chase the cats, and as of today, caught his first bird like a real bird dog should. Oh the milestones that the animals have reached...

In case you're wondering where my counting as 2:1 went, we are currently boarding a horse for the next house up the street. We don't worry about feeding her, her owners take care of her, but she's here, and so she's been counted.

The kids love the animals - some more than others... Margaret would much rather see the kittens than the dog, but she's learning. Savannah loves to spend time in the barn with the kittens as well - they're not as fond of her as she is of them, but at least she's learning something about taking care of animals!

Work is going well for Andrew and for Linda - lots of new experiences for both of us.

Savannah starts school in the fall, we've decided to home school her, and I am definitely looking forward to the experience. I'm probably crazy, but I can't wait to learn along with her!

And now, I'm off to get the kids to bed. I'll post pictures later.

In case you're wondering about the pictures that used to be here (or the blogs that were here and now are not) if I couldn't get the pictures to pull up, I deleted the blog. No sense in trying to imagine some rather ordinary pictures. Some of those pictures will be reposted, just in a different format.

Make it a great day!
Linda

Christmas Pajamas

These are the pajamas that the girls got for Christmas...
I can't believe how fast they're both growing!!!

Making Apple Cider

This was taken back in September, so Margaret has changed some since then, but here she is - sorting apples so that we can make Apple cider. She seemed to really enjoy sitting in with the apples and I think there were a few that she "sampled" (read: slobbered on...) for the most part though, I think the apples were just tossed into the basket - or taken out if she thought the basket was too full.

It's a new year!

And with that new year comes lots of new changes... well... not really LOTS, but some.

For instance. Andrew and I are now ranchers. According to my brother, you can't be a farmer if you don't have milk cows, yet you have animals from the bovine family. So... we're ranchers. We have two bovines. They're not cows, since they won't ever grow up to give milk, and they're not bulls, since they won't ever grow up to be that either... but technically, they're baby bulls, so... we just call them Hank and Ferdinand.

Hank Jr. is the older of the two, he's a solid brown color, and he likes to follow us around. He loves food and has no idea that in a year and a half, he will BE the food.

Ferdinand the Bull, or Ferdy for short, is a little taller than Hank, and is learning to like food. He had a few rough days when we first got him, and we were a little worried that he wouldn't survive, but he holds his own and, like Hank, follows me around whenever I am out in the pasture. He's like a big dog that could do some serious damage if he kicked you in the wrong spot. His one really distinguishing feature is that he has a heart shaped patch of white on his forehead. He also has a few white stripes in his tan hide, but that heart shape... He also has no idea that he too will be the food.

Other news? Margaret has a tooth, and is working on her second, she's learning to walk around the furniture, and loves to hold on to our hands. She has discovered blowing kisses (that one the other day), waves at Andrew on the phone when I say, "say hi to daddy!", waves with her entire body when she's excited that someone's waving at her, and she loves to clap. She's gotten really good at raspberries, and has been known to wait for her mouth to be full of food before spitting some really good ones. She's a fun little kid, and I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be 1 year old on the first yet.

Savannah is 5 and testing her boundaries. Some days it's a good thing, other days it's a real test of patience. She loves Head Start and the learning that she gets there; and I love the break that I get when she's there. She loves Margaret and sometimes it's difficult to get her to leave Margaret alone, but I have my suspicions that Margaret will be able to fend for herself really well when she gets a bit older.

And the biggest news of the new year... On New Years Eve, we signed papers leasing our home in Oregon to potential buyers. After 8 months, we finally had a miracle. The new leasers move in on February 1, and we're hoping that they'll be able to purchase the house soon.

Aside from that, we love our home, we love each other, and we're looking forward to an exciting new year!

I'll post pictures when I can find the cable for my camera that charges the battery. Sorry...
Linda

Meet the newest five year old in our family!

Savannah turned 5 yesterday! This is her new birthday outfit from Grandpa Stahr. The quote for the day? "Mom, it's a bummer being sick on my birthday."

Savannah had a fever and a nasty cough for her birthday. Her birthday dinner consisted of 2 teaspoons full of yogurt and half a dill pickle chip. We've decided to postpone the birthday dinner until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. On the menu? Grilled cheese sandwiches with ham and tomatoes, broccoli, corn, and pickles. Oh, and we're drinking milk.

If it looks like Savannah's hair is shorter, she had a hair cut just after Halloween. It was looking really stringy, and now she can brush it all by herself! She's growing out her bangs, going to pre-school, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for her to grow up, but as far as I know, I can't stop time, so I may as well enjoy the things that she can do as she gets older! 

Have you seen my sheep???

Meet Little Bo Peep. She has been looking for her 10 sheep all over. If anyone has seen them, please let her know. 

I'm watching you...

I'm not sure if this little mouth is ready for apples quite this size yet, but there's no harm in trying. Especially when you try the small end first.

In the meantime, this little one wants to be a photographer like Mom. She ran to get her "digital" camera and was proudly showing dad the pictures that she took of Margaret in the apples. Even more incentive for me to be careful that I'm a good example for Savannah and Margaret...

In the next picture, she's following my lead and snapping photos as fast as she can! 

Apple?

This is the "I've been caught" look... we put her in these apples to keep her in one spot while we worked in the barn for a few minutes... And she became our official taste tester.
"Here. You try this one."
"but before you do, let me slobber all over it for you." 

Meet... Charlie

Charlie is our new puppy. He's a German Shorthair, and is destined to become the best hunting dog the world has ever known! But of course, we're biased. He's a good dog... Savannah loves him, and Margaret is still trying to figure out what we're doing with another little thing around. She's not really fond of him yet, but she loves to watch him to see what he'll do next! 

Margaret's first sippy cup...

Mom bought me this cup when she went to the store last... I LOVE IT! I love that I can have new flavors, and that I can get a drink any time I want to... Plus, it's fun to chew on.
Sometimes I get juice on my chin...
But I go right back to getting a drink! 

I can eat my own Cheerios!

did you say that I can eat these Cheerios??? They sure are fun to eat when you put them at my level!

Margaret has learned to pull herself up onto things, and the buckets are at just the right height for her to use them as a table. This keeps her out of trouble when I'm in the kitchen trying to cook or do dishes...
And in they go, one after the other!
Can you tell I love this new found freedom???