Our Firstborn Is A Teenager

Our firstborn turned 13 yesterday. Look how he's grown. What a really, really great kid he is! We are so pleased with him!!!!!!!!

1995

2001

2003

2008

What did we do for his birthday? He requested to see Prince Caspian, eat steak, and have a three layered peanut butter and brownie and ice cream cake. He got a new guitar, a nice leather study Bible, and a notebook filled with letters of advice from our pastor, his grandparents, and other adults who love him.

Oh, how we do love him!

Memorial Day Weekend, Day Three

Today we saw our little burg's Memorial Day Parade.

Waiting for the parade to start.

Our Boys Two and Three on the baseball float.

The annual parade ends in the cemetary, and there is a memorial service. The opening prayer was "in Christ's name." The main speaker started with Proverbs 14:34: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." His message was that America will fail it it doesn't return to God. The Lord and His Scriptures were exalted today. For now, it's still safe to preach Jesus in our little town.

Walking back to the van.

Memorial Day Weekend, Day Two

Next stop: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

It's right smack inbetween Paul Brown Stadium and the Great American Ball Park.

Boy Two.

Boy Three.

Grocery shopping back home before the day is through.

Memorial Day Weekend, Day One

We took our second annual Memorial Day Weekend visit to the Creation Museum.

In front of the museum.

Jumping in the inflatables.

Newly opened petting zoo.

Painting a dinosaur.

Sharing ice cream.

The first room on the museum walk.

King David and my David

Boy Two And The Dinosaur.

Examining our souveneirs.

Boy One chose edible grubs and locusts.

It's amazing when we can find a room big enough for us! Way to go, Country Inns!

Suddenly our Tomtom says to drive across a river. Good thing there was a ferry.

Supper at Big Boy.

What to do for breakfast when hubby takes off work.

1. Send him out to pick up a new waffle maker.

2. Grind the wheat, beat the egg whites, etc.

3. Sip coffee on porch while waiting for hubby to return. Think how cool it is that you planted the lettuce and tomatoes only four feet from the front door this year.

4. Greet hubby thankfully when he arrives.

5. Wait eagerly for the beep telling you it's done.

6. Be sure to use real Ohio maple syrup from your friends' farm. Enjoy.

Mother's Day

I am definitely not the best mother in the world, but I sure am a thankful one.

I am thankful for the example and inspiration provided for me by two dear women: my mother and my mother-in-law. My mother is a shining example of submission and cheerfulness. My mother-in-law continually models for me unconditional hospitality and generosity. I have so far to go, but I am grateful for these women who help to guide me.

And how kind the Lord has been to me in my marriage! What a wonder that I get to live with these people:

My two quiet, gentle, easygoing engineer-type men.

My first boy and girl. Fun, mature, and sincere.

My two little firecrackers.

Here are two quotes which challenge me as a mom.

"Biblical motherhood means sacrifice, selfless love, and faithful dedication. It means we're there with our families--body, mind, and spirit." Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, p. 21

"You cannot enjoy the pleasures of a close, loving relationship with godly, well-behaved children, if you are not willing to make parenting them your top priority. You must view it as your FULL TIME JOB, all day, every day." Raising Godly Tomatoes, p. 4

These words help me see clearly where I need to improve, and a constant theme to my prayers is that I will learn to die to self. It's no sacrifice for me to homeschool and be here full time. None at all. But for me to really, really, really be here--with my whole heart and whole mind FOCUSED on this job alone--well, that's harder. I pray God will keep working on me.

Our annual Mother's Day lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse. It's been a great day.

An Oldie But A Goodie

We read The Destruction of Sennacherib by Byron this morning. What a great poem!

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,

That host with their banners at sunset were seen:

Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,

That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,

And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;

And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,

And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,

But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;

And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,

And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,

With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:

And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,

The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,

And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;

And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,

Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

It's always nice to know that if God wants you to be safe, the world's most powerful army can't touch you. You can read the full story in 2 Kings 18-19. What a great story!

Saturday Night nothing Special

I haven't posted in a week, and there's still nothing all that newsworthy going on around here. So in an effort to post something, here's a run down of our regular old Saturday night. We're kind of plain and boring, I guess--but we kind of like it. :)

6:45 p.m. Vitamin drops for the pregnant lady.

7:10 p.m. The clean plate club. Although I cook real meals all week long, one of the kids' favorite treats is TV dinners on Saturday nights. (Don't tell anybody, but it's my favorite too!)

7:11 p.m. Boy One, self-taught guitarist, provides the after dinner music.

7:15 p.m. Girl Two, Boy Two, and Boy Three play on the front porch.

7:30 p.m. Daddy and Girl One as tonight's game of Apples to Apples begins.