Category Archives: aleia

Derby Day Salon

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Bettina Colonna Essert

Homeschoolers do not have the performance options that traditionally schooled children do. We don’t have recorder concerts or magic nights or school plays, unless we are members of a great cooperative. We homeschoolers have to be creative in order to … Continue reading →

Posted in aleia, children, Elizabeth, family, festivals, health and well-being, homeschool, Mark, Martina, Randall, Travis | Leave a comment

Christmas Treasures

Posted on December 25, 2009 by Bettina Colonna Essert

Christmas Treasures are the same things that are treasured all year long. A few of them go on great adventures during the holiday season… like Prancer, Martina’s reindeer who made the sleigh team for the second year in a row. … Continue reading →

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Old MacDonald

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Bettina Colonna Essert

When Martina was about 3 she had some funny rituals which all centered around her … ah … bathroom activities. Going potty was obviously a pleasant activity for her, one during which her typical verbalizations included things like, “Mommy? I … Continue reading →

Posted in aleia, children, Elizabeth, family, Mark, Martina, parenting, personal, Randall, travel, Travis | Leave a comment

The Best Birthday Ever

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Bettina Colonna Essert

Yesterday was my 45th birthday. Honestly I almost forgot about it and had planned to meet my friend, T, for sushi until Mark informed me that my family required my presence on that particular evening. I rescheduled the sushi date … Continue reading →

Posted in aleia, children, Elizabeth, family, festivals, food, health and well-being, Mark, Martina, parenting, personal, Randall, Travis | Leave a comment

Sibling Worship

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Bettina Colonna Essert

Martina, 7, is so lucky, so blessed, to have 4 older siblings to learn from, to pester, to worship. Each of her older sibs brings something fantastic and unique to the life-experience mix for their youngest sister. Travis, 17, is … Continue reading →

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Chicken Processing at MTBar

Posted on August 23, 2008 by Bettina Colonna Essert

*If this is going to upset you please don’t read it and please don’t look at the pictures, some of them are graphic.*All of our home processing is done in accordance with North Carolina State Law. Today we processed our … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, aleia, chickens, children, Mark, Martina, rural life, Travis | Leave a comment

Midsummer

Posted on June 23, 2008 by Bettina Colonna Essert

The girls and I had fun yesterday. We took care of the animals and went for a swim. I asked if they wanted to celebrate by making wreaths for our heads and cooking round food. Both Aleia and Martina thought … Continue reading →

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