Indian Echo Caverns

We decided to take a tour of Indian Echo Caverns today. We had planned to take a day trip to the beach with our oldest and youngest daughters but the weather wasn't cooperating so we needed to find an indoor activity. We  pass by this cavern often during the week and it has been on our bucket list since we moved (4 years ago!) It was an interesting tour and the guide was friendly and fun (even with her goofy scripted jokes).  On the down side, you were quickly pushed through the rooms of the cavern in order for the other groups to go through the area.  I do wish we would have had a little more time to slow down and look at all of the amazing formations.  I would suggest if at all possible to go another day rather than a Saturday, I am sure it is not as busy during the week. Also, go to the Visit Hershey Harrisburg website to request a travel guide. The guide has a coupon for Indian Echo and many other local activities/restaurants.

Read here about the history of the cave and how it was founded. Also, read here for additional information about William Wilson the Pennsylvania Hermit.

Here are a few pictures of the Cave

Indian Eco Caverns is a limestone cave. The temperature inside the cavern is 52 degrees year round. Take a jacket/sweatshirt along in the summer or take off your coat to warm up in the winter! 

If you are interested in getting a few shots while you are there, hang in the back of the crowd.

Watch your head while walking through the caverns... well, I didn't have any trouble at all for a short girl : )

Some of the formations start to resemble familiar objects such as this one that is known as an "Ear of Indian Corn"

Always look up! 

Love, Love, Love these ladies! 

Just a little silliness...

well...

actually a lot of silliness! 

Encouraging Gifts, Talents, Passions and Abilities

I have memories of our now 13-year-old daughter as a toddler trying to plant every seed she could find or come across in our yard. She could  barely talk and was digging holes planting seeds.  She seemed to have a spot (or two)  cleared out in the flowerbed waiting and watching for something to spring up. I had no idea at the time this interest would continue to grow and the Lord would develop in her a deep passion for self-sustaining farming and homesteading. I am thankful we allowed those holes to be dug. Two moves later it really doesn't matter one bit that it wasn't a perfectly maintained flowerbed however it does matter that her passion was nurtured and encouraged. 

I recall having the kids pull weeds as a disciplinary activity when they were younger. It always seemed to work for Logan; you would clearly see his misery with each and every second that passed.  (There were great Biblical lessons to tie into our talks after the activity was complete) I attempted this activity once and only once for Maddy. I sent her out to weed the beds and she enjoyed every single second and even asked to stay longer when her time was up. It gave me insight into her unique passion, not to mention the understanding that this wasn't a successful technique for discipline. 

Now at 13 years old she is constantly learning and sharing her passion with others. I wasn't thrilled when we decided to rent a plot of land at the community garden three years ago. I thought I was sacrificing time I didn't have but little did I know how The Lord would use the dirt, weeds and harvest to teach us some valuable lessons.  Maddy's interest exploded and her passion was shared with many others and us over the past few years. We added an additional plot of land each year and now have 3 plots, a 30x90 area now.  I am thankful  the Lord gave her (and all of our children) passions beyond our own interests as parents.  We continue to learn many things through our children's gifts/talents/passions and we have the privilege of encouraging, affirming and praying they will use everything to advance the gospel.  

1st big harvest in the garden (last week)  

It brings me so much joy to listen to the sweet conversations between these two at the garden. I have overheard them talking as they pull weeds sharing their dreams with one another. 

We enlisted Billy's help this week picking beans and peas! We picked over 8 pounds of beans!  Many hours are spent in the garden weeding since we don't use chemicals on the plants. Madelyn saves many of her seeds and almost everything is organic, heirloom and Non-GMO. 

This tough time of the season is when you can look around at the other plots and see who has given up because of the weeds or lack of time.

This is the second harvest. Can you imagine how much all this organic produce would be at the grocery store?!

The work continues after harvesting. We spent several hours' together washing, drying, snapping, shelling, blanching, freezing, cutting and storing the produce. So many great conversations were had and Madelyn works diligently with so much joy and contentment. Also, I am thankful that our work helps tremendously with our grocery budget and they enjoy sharing the harvest with others.

Little by little our picky eater is attempting to try new food as she helps in the garden. 

Stay tuned our harvesting season has just begun! 

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10 

In the comments below please share some of your childrens' gifts, talents, passions and abilities and how you are encouraging them to use them to serve others.

Birthday Girl

We celebrated Olivia's 8th Birthday this weekend. This year was a "family birthday celebration" Although this girl would like to have a party every year we stick to our plan so our birthday celebrations don't get out of hand from year to year. We focused on making her feel special and building her up with the talents, passions and gifts God has placed in her. Olivia adds so much fun to our family with her witty sense of humor and animated facial expressions. She is quick to catch onto jokes and even makes up her own that are quite funny. She is independent and always eager to make any situation fun even if when she thinks rules are made for breaking (you can pray for us on that one!) She is curious, persistent and loves to learn. She is social and loves to be around people all the time. She likes to dress up, go shopping and she likes to get dirty...

She enjoys hiking, exploring and challenge

This is Olivia's determined face as she is watching the big boys at the skate park. She didn't care one bit that she was the youngest or the only girl at the park. That didn't matter to her. 

She is not afraid to take risks

She loves animals and dreams of one day having her own farm with a lot of animals. Even though she has some of the same interest as her siblings she always makes her own place.

She will not miss a 4-H event and especially meetings that are for serving others.

This girl is a faithful prayer warrior! She storms the gates of heaven faithfully praying for sweet Tori and others. This year through Tori's circumstance Olivia started to pray deep, sweet, innocent and heart wrenching prayers for Tori. Her heart is tender and teachable and I continue to pray she will have a pliable heart that seeks the Lord. 

Olivia was persistent this year that she needed to get baptized and she was NOT going to wait any longer. She was excited and eager to make her faith public.

Olivia was persistent that a store bought cake was not going to work this year and she wanted a safari cake with homemade marshmallow fondant.  I must say, this cake was made in record time as we had a very full weekend and there was no choice but to get this done and the cupcakes for her classroom. 

So what the heck do you do when you run ALL day long with activities only to discover that you forgot to buy candles?!  Hey,  it worked and no one had to go to the store!

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
   my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14

Spring fever ~ "My brain hurts"

It only took one nice spring day and I have Spring fever... Bad! It has been a very long winter and we hit the books extra hard during those bitter cold snowy days. Madelyn and Logan plowed through school many days that most kids were out for snow and holidays. I told them after Farm Show that it would pay off come Springtime and it did this past week! We spent more days out of the house this week than we did in sitting around the table with books, worksheets and tests. It was a fun filled week and Logan said "my brain hurts because I have learned so much this week!"

Monday, we had perfect weather for hiking at Hawk Mountain. Olivia was out of school for her Easter Break so out the door we went! The kids spent a lot of time with the scientists that were doing the bird count at the peak of the Mountain. The kids took turns looking through the scientists' telescopes while talking about the different birds. We had the opportunity to see a bald eagle as well as many other birds.

We are forming our bucket list of hiking trails after this trip! Unplugging from all devices without the pressure of constantly pushing back the distractions to spend time together exploring is priceless. 

Incredible breathtaking views 

Physical activity, nice weather, beautiful scenery and holding my camera makes for a glorious day!

On Tuesday we took a field trip to Fort Hunter Mansion. We all learned so much about the 19th century and living next to the Susquehanna River during this time period. Madelyn and Logan both had a good time however Logan really enjoys history so this was right up his alley.

Thursday was a very full day taking a road trip to the rural country side of Swoope, Virginia to visit Polyface Farm. We participated in the Lunatic tour and we all agree the drive was worth it!  My sister met us at the farm to join us for the tour.  You can check out her farm website at here or find her on FB.
Madelyn has followed Joel Salatin, the owner of Polyface, for a couple years and just recently listened to a webinar that he participated in. Even though Joel was not in town we had a great time talking to his son Daniel. Daniel talked with Madelyn for a few minutes about meat rabbits and encouraged her passion and dreams of having a self sustaining farm which just added fuel to the fire with this little entrepreneur.

If you are nearby Swoope, VA (or even 3-1/2 hours away like us) you must stop by Polyface Farms for a tour. There is way too much information to put into a single blog post but here are a few pictures from our time in VA.

We had a great week and stay tuned as we have more adventures on the calendar! Madelyn and Logan will have end of the year testing and evaluations in April. I am one excited mama to see the end in sight for this school year. I don't like to rush their little lives and the time we have, however I am ready for a break from lesson planning, grading, organizing and all that comes with homeschooling. 

Nice Little Gig

I was scrolling through Facebook and noticed three of my kiddos on an advertisement for Playworld Systems playground equipment! So much time had passed since they did the shoot that it slipped my mind.  Last fall our kids were invited to participate in a photo and video shoot for their spring catalog.  Don't you just love (insert sarcasm) how Facebook recalls the last person's google search and then places it on the feed? Billy had checked the Playworld System website earlier that day and sure enough the next time I was on Facebook the ads showed on my feed. Pretty crazy and I don't like it. It seems like such and intrusion but in this case it was a nice little surprise to see my kids on the corner of the screen. The kids had a blast doing this gig.  They were pampered and well taken care of during the shoot, not to mention they earned their own spending money by playing on a playground. Not a bad gig for a couple of afternoons in the fall.

Click on a few links to check them out! Maddy is in a blue shirt with a braided pony tail, Logan has a yellow shirt and white shorts and Olivia is wearing a pink shirt and blue shorts.

Unity Collection

Unity Slide Climber

Unity Teeter Tunnel

Hands on learning at Blue Mountain Farm

Madelyn and her Nana teamed up this year for the fleece auction at the PA Farm Show and purchased several bags of raw wool. Nana decided that she would have the wool processed at a Mill rather than doing it herself as she did the year before. Processing your own fiber is not an easy task! The decision about where to have it processed was a no-brainer though. Friends of ours opened a Fiber Mill on their property, Blue Mountain Farms and Fiber Mill so that is where the bags of wool went. Madelyn was invited to help during the processing of her fiber.  She was so excited she had a difficult time falling asleep the night before going to the Mill. Ashley and Angie Shaw walked her through the process from start to finish while teaching each step of the way. Madelyn learned so much in only a few short hours and she had a sweet smile on her face all day long as she glanced over at the BIG bags of wool in our living room. I repeat, BIG bags of wool in our living room.

Cleaning, picking, carding and roving fiber by hand is a long and difficult endeavour.  Blue Mountain is equipped with fantastic equipment that helps each step of the way. However, there is still a lot of work involved and safety is always a priority. This is not a place to be if you were not being careful and taking precautions. As you can see here, Angie was teaching Madelyn where she was allowed to place her hands on the machine. It is important to pay attention and exercise caution during each stage of the process.

This is the smile that she had ALL day long! The fun doesn't end here though, she spent the next few days spinning during a recent snowstorm. She already has a project in mind for the fiber.  She will be knitting a cardigan for the Make it with wool competition and the 4-H Fashion Revue.

Angie and her Nana have been teaching Madelyn different knitting techniques that she will need to know for completing her project. Stay tuned, I will post pictures of her progress!



I wanted to include a fantastic news story that was recently published by PennLive about Blue Mountain Fiber Mill here.  

Here are a few pictures I took at a recent open house at the Fiber Mill.

Here, are a few of the friendly faces you will see at Blue Mountain Farm and Fiber Mill.

Such a sweet, hard working family

They also have a store on site at the farm.  How cool is it to go to the Knitters Dream Yarn Shop and see the animals on one side of the store and the Fiber Mill on the other!?

If you are local make sure you stop by the Knitters Dream Store for all that you could possibly need or want for your fiber projects. If you can't make it to the store, check out their website!

Oh and just the other day we dropped Madelyn off and we all had the opportunity to watch a little goat being born! How cool is that?!

Waiting and watching.....

Yay! Bubba is here!

Picture taken by Madi Shaw, how stinking adorable!