Today's photos

Here I am after church.

And here's my brother. But I think we forgot to take individual photos of anybody else.

So here are my girls.

And here are me and the boys.

And here are all of us.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Good Friday music

Here is how we typically start our school day. The words of this one are good for today. O, The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!



Here is a song we did last Sunday for our congregation. Unfortunately, it got cut in the middle. (And the sound quality is horrible.) You can see the beginning on the first video and the end in the second. The middle, where Boy One sings, didn't tape. :(

It has great words!

Your blood has washed away my sin. Jesus, thank You!
The Father's wrath--completely satisfied. Jesus, thank You!
Once Your enemy--now seated at your table. Jesus, thank You!

Recital

Here's a new surprise for the grandparents. Video! The sound is jumpy and is out of time with the picture, but . . . here it is anyway--yesterday's recital. Enjoy!

It Must Be Spring

Ah, Spring. Time for all the things spring brings.

TIME FOR FUN . . .

Daddy has a birthday.

We visit my cousins!

Daddy invents a new toy.

We put our expensive kite on permanent display.


TIME FOR THE ANNUAL SHAVING OF THE WINTER BEARD . . .

Step one.

Step two.

Step three.

Step four.


A TIME FOR GETTING USED TO THE NEWLY SHAVED FACE . . .

Step one - Help! I don't know this man!

Step two - OK, I know him, and he frightens me.

Step three - Weird, but I'll have to accept it.


A TIME FOR PLANTS TO GROW

The first daffodils are about to open.

I sink 18" tubes into the soil. I'm moving the mint up here, and these are their little "jails."

My dear husband planted 150 linear feet of potatoes.


A TIME FOR DOING CHORES . . .

Watering with beauty.

Roasting coffee beans with concentration.

Taking out the trash with good humor.

Putting in the new bag with cheer.


A TIME FOR BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO PLAY . . .

Smiling siblings swinging.

Perching on the porch.

Brothers in bandanas.

Exciting Giveaway!

UPDATE: The winner is Walter! Thank you for participating, everyone.

A contest! A contest! Vision Forum is giving one of my blog readers the opportunity to receive one of their five brand new conference albums for FREE. Wow! The picture above shows you the whole collection of all five albums; the winner will get one of the five--whichever one he or she chooses.

All you have to do is CLICK HERE to read about their five new albums (follow any links you want from there to read more details about a particular album) and then leave me a comment telling which one you would like to win. Your name will then be entered in my drawing, which will take place at 10:00 p.m. EST this Friday, February 27th. It's that easy!

If you want to get your name in the hat twice, leave me an additional sentence (after you tell me which one you'd like to win) about WHY you want that one. You must start this extra sentence with the words "I would like this album because . . ." So that's two chances--pretty easy!

And finally, to get your name in the hat THREE times, post about my contest on your own blog. (Be sure to tell me if you did this, so I'll know.)

That's it! Have fun, and thanks for entering!

Catching Up

Our February so far . . .

A kiss through the window.

The brand new bathing suit. All ready to go to Grandpa's beach!

Hmmm. Not sure what's going on here.

Sisters in the snow.

Standing with sister.

Standing with brother.

Standing with Daddy. Now this is more like it!

Sisters at homeschool Valentine party.

Brothers at the party too.

David in front of my new sewing closet.

David and girls in our new bathroom.

Beautiful, fun, and delicious. Thank you, Grandma J!

Training to be stunt men, I think.

Sour candy.

Green beans.

Mutual admiration.

Would you care for some breakfast?

Boy Four's Big Month

Whew! It's been a busy month for me and my body.

I learned to sit

and play rolly ball.

I learned to crawl

and eat.

I learned to stand my own self up,

and sometimes I even let go.

And I've also reached a few mental milestones, some good and some not so much.

For instance, I've learned to covet

and terrorize like King Kong.

I've observed how it must feel to not get your way,

and I've yearned for freedom.

I've witnessed the thrill of the game

and the agony of defeat.

But most of all, I've started working on spelling. And the way to spell LOVE is m-y- f-a-m-i-l-y!