Lily got stuck upside-down. I had to take a picture before helping her down.


Ruby loves being outside.

We've been enjoying some nice weather for January lately during the daytime. Nighttime is quite cold, though. Our family is trying to conserve energy (selfishly to save money) by consolidating our unused space of the house. The back half of the house is drastically colder so we're just not using it for now. We closed off the vents to the homeschool room, back bathroom, and the two bedrooms in the back, and we put up some heavy quilts in the doorway leading to these rooms. Where does everyone sleep? There are still two bedrooms that have heat: the master bedroom and the baby's room. Paul and I sleep in our room and all the kids sleep in the baby's room. we moved the girls' bunkbed into the baby's room and three of the kids sleep in that, and Ruby still in her crib. Adam prefers being cold so he will sleep in his own cold room by his own choice. The kids can still play in their bedrooms. If they are cold, they can put on a jacket. They would rather be outside than play in their rooms any day. So, we'll find out when the electric bill comes if it has made any difference. Even if it doesn't reduce our bill, we will know that our family could live happily ever after in an itty bitty house if we needed to. Personally, I think the kids like being all together. We have a pioneer spirit. Bring on the one room cabin and put ten kids in the loft!