The Wonder of Winter

The day is Yours, the night also is Yours.
You have prepared the light and the sun.
You have set all the borders of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.
~~Psalm 74: 16-17


Photo by my Sarah

Snow Fun

Sharing Our Awesome Vacation

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Images of a Spring Morning

Lookin' Ahead to Summer

A new bright and breezy dress--perfect for summer. Love the ruffled neckline! It's in the shop.

I just love how this fabric stands out against the green grass. Our grass just recently "greened" up. We have even mowed the lawn. "Yep," summer's coming!

It's That Time of Year Again!

It's time for frogs!! My boys are delighted! The weather has been gorgeous and unseasonably warm. Perfect weather for frogs. They have also been working on a snake and fish collection.

Ahhh...taking a little break. Catching frogs is hard work.

This fellow jumped right up on Josh's foot. (That's a Kodak moment at our house.) At last count they had 28 frogs and 1 toad. They let the 6 garter snakes go after much encouragement to do so. But I let them add 6 fish to our goldfish aquarium. I'm not sure what kind they are but they are coexisting peaceably with the goldfish.

Adopting an Egg

Tim took the boys on a walk the other night and Josh came home with this egg. He has the biggest heart and is trying his best to keep it warm by heating up a rice bag at frequent intervals. He has named the egg "Eggbert".

It was cold and desserted when they found it. He keeps asking me if I think it's still alive. I don't know anything about eggs-but I think that we would need an incubator to be succesful with this project. I don't know what we'd do with it if it did hatch. I'm sure the cats would think a baby duck or goose would be quite a treat. I also have the rotten goose egg from "Charlotte's Web" in the back of my mind. Hopefully, we won't experience that.

Snow!

Josh and Isaac standing on their snow "mountain"

When you really love snow AND you really love basketball...

The boys and I went out to shovel early this evening. We were trying to make a space to get the van out so we could drive down and pick up Tim. We got around 9" today and there is to be more tonight and the wind is predicted to pick up. All the schools in the area have already been cancelled for tomorrow. Looks like we'll be having our Awana Grand Prix race next week. Which is great because we procrastinated and Josh's car is not ready.

Winter Comfort

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.
-Jane Austen

I hear so many people complaining about the cold weather and wishing for warmth or travel to warmer places. I happen to like winter. It is such a cozy time of year. Winter makes me think of so many warm and comforting things:

candles burning, soup cooking in the crockpot, hot tea, reading books in the evening, snuggling up with a blanket on your lap, snowflakes drifting down, the smell of homemade bread baking, the feel of a warm scarf next to your neck, family gathered together in the living room for the evening, snow glistening in the sun on a frigid morning, birds searching for food, thanking God for a warm house.

~~Photo by my Sarah

Winter Sun

This morning was one of those gorgeous winter mornings when the sun shines and the snow looks glittery. The temperatures are still below normal. This picture is of our backyard and aimed towards the creek that runs beside our property. For some reason, the cats always make a path in the same spot. In the summer, the grass is worn away where they walk. If you look closely, you can see a Blue Jay in the bush.

God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. ~Job 37:6

Here is a close-up of the Blue Jay. Isaac and I watched two of them steal Jeb's dog food while we did his math this morning. The outside cats were also watching -but they weren't fast enough.

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ~Matthew 6:26

Fall... Before It's Too Late!

We have been traveling so much on the weekends that we almost didn't get in our annual walk through the woods. We finally went on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful, crisp day. There were still a few leaves left on the trees for us to enjoy :)

Faith

“Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason—a life of knowing Him and who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.”

Oswald Chambers~ My Utmost for His Highest

Autumn

“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8

Photos by my talented 15 yo daughter.

Camping?..... Who Me?

I have never been one to rough it in the great outdoors. I guess getting older and discovering how fast kids really do grow up has changed my perspective. We visited a state park that is very near to us one Sunday evening. It was early spring and it is a nice place to walk around. We happened to see this thing: This is a yurt. It is a dome shaped structure on a wooden platform.
It had 2 bunkbeds, a fridge, microwave and A/C! My kind of camping. We reserved it over a month ago on a weekend that my sister and her family could come too. It turned out to be a fun time! Campfires, s'mores, hotdogs, fishing, swimming, early morning devotions on a picnic table! Everything was great except for the mosquitoes! On the second night they were so bad that we ladies and the younger boys went in our yurt and played "Name the animal that starts with each letter of the alphabet" Such a fun little thing to do that we never have time for (for some reason) at home.
My little guy had the best time riding his bike around. He probably put about 50 miles on it!
My proud fisherman!
My sister and I sat and watched the guys fish. She was trying to teach me to crochet. I thought I was doing really well. I was adding my second row when she realized that I was knitting on a crochet hook! I guess crocheting isn't my thing. I better stick to sewing.
Camping was a good experience. We will have to try it again.

An Early Father's Day

We have our two older girls leaving on a mission trip early next Sunday(Father's Day) so the blessings decided to celebrate Father's Day this Sunday! They packed a picnic lunch and we headed off to Maumee Bay State Park. Of course, everyone was hungry so we ended up eating in the van on the way there. The day was perfect! We brought home sand, sunburns and great memories! Happy Father's Day!
Trying on antlers in the nature center.
Chasing seagulls.
Someone had to get buried!
Captive prisoner.
Attack!
Having fun on the waterslide!

Playing on the beach.

Mother's Day '09

I appreciate the little surprises in life~like violets and Peanut M&M's!

My blessings took me on a picnic for Mother's Day this year! The weather was gorgeous,the food was great and the company was the best! We were near an historic town and visited some quaint shops. We enjoyed walking on a path along the river.



Thanks for the great day!