young author's day

sam really missed his sis this week, since she was at school for thursday and friday. so when she returned home late in the afternoon, he wanted to give her a lot of hugs. it was sweet. he is so cuddly, and she is sooo not! hahaha. so it takes a bit of control on her part to allow him to express himself, but she did a good job. Once she realized he was hugging because he loved her, and not just tackling because he wanted to be a nuisance - she allowed him to hug for a while. When he didn't let go, she got a little agitated and was quite done with shared personal space... hahahaha. she is so funny. and usually very diplomatic about it as well.

the ribbon julia is holding up in this picture represents her participation in Young Author's day at school. everyone in school wrote a book, and the JK's were no exception! haha. they did a sweet little story together about a gingerbread man. :) she is VERY PROUD of her ribbon and her book. fun idea... :)
My very helpful four year old. Julia LOVES cleaning. she prefers it to play. which baffles me. a lot.

Sunday.

Sunday was the only family day we will have until next week, so we tried to savor the moments as much as possible. We spent time crafting, art-working, playing, reading, listening to Piper preach, eating, walking (sort of... it was a lot colder outside than the sun was making me believe), doing laundry, dishes and resting!!
I love having dave home, we have so much fun together. we never get tired of each other, it's awesome.
Due to our rebellious nature(s) we do not usually celebrate Valentines day... ON valentines day. So this past week dave came home with flowers, massage oil, new Christian worship Cd's (from our book store that is going out of business... everything is 50% off!!!), wine and a bath bomb... he got the kids to help him buy it all and give it to me... they had a lot of fun, Sam and Julia love giving gifts to people. sooooo THANK YOU FAMILY!! it was such a nice surprize!!
Remains of our artsy day.... chain maille, pastels, wooden beads and more...
MY SWEET MERCY!! :) i had to take pigtail pictures... so... here they are! look my 5 month old has PIGTAILS!! hahaha. crazy lots of hair.


Time to go have breakfast with the kids... if they are up yet.... we'll see.

su

today.

Julia came home from dance and did some practicing for us. Sam was supposed to be the audience with me, however, he is an aspiring Ballet star himself, so here they are doing the spring recital piece "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay". :)
how fun!
Mercy LOVES THIS TOY from nana and grandpa!! She loves grabbing the toys and shaking them until they come off. She especially likes the mirror, what baby wouldn't? :) it makes her laugh out loud! haha.
cuddles with my boy!! :)
"Lay down with Sersy?" says he.

The Amazing Drill-o-matic!! Mix your muffins and drill holes all in one tool!

Sam likes to cook with Julia in the play kitchen. They have a restaurant in the artCave you know. But tonight i found him doing something else with the battery operated mixer... and i thought it was very cute. so it is worth a blog.

there it is. Sam drilling the wall, the table, the garbage can, everything in sight!! hahahaha.

take care folks!

SOOOO COOOOL!!

Hey all you locals,

the Inn of the Good Shepherd is having a fundraising event that sounds SUPER AWESOME!!

Triva Night - Thursday May 28 at the Dante Club. Sponsored by the Certified General Accountants Association, this night will have lots of trivia, fun, prizes and an auction. $25 entry fee per person. Teams of 6 - put together your own team or we can put you into one! Proceeds will go towards the Good Shepherd's Lodge. Mark the night in your calendar - more details to come.

(The Good Shepherd's Lodge is a transitional housing program)

looks like a lot of fun!! (for a VERY good cause!)

THE VALENTINES PREPARATIONS

very minimal decore so far... i'm sure Julia will want to help me with some more ideas once she is home from school today! :)
Julia says, "here mom, i've got a really nice smile for you, take a picture of it k?"

Here she is, decked out in her most valentinesish clothing ... pinkypinkpink. i love the sweater, it came from a friend at church... it has three different buttons down the front and i love the loose knit that it has... so sweet.
another Valentine. isn't she sweet. : )

So today we will decorate and clean and prepare for tomorrows' pancake bruch with friends. i can't wait! i love breakfast food dinner dates with friends!!!

take care all. have a happy love day!! and take time to listen to the story of St. Valentine. i did for the first time this year (with julia) and it was really interesting! Yippee for a day that celebrates marriage and love!

above ZERO.

We have not felt air that is above zero degrees for a long, long time. So when the day broke a lovely 7 degrees and the skies were brilliant blue - WE DASHED QUICKLY OUT OF THE HOUSE.
I bundled the three kidlets. (but not nearly as bundled as the -24 degree days, or the -10 degree days...)
I warmed up the van. (but it didn't need the windows scraped or the defrost on or the usual 10-15 minutes of warming so i can see out of all the windows)
I drove to the park. (where instead of ski tracks and piles of snow as high as the cars, i could now see a parking lot FULL of cars due to the excitement of the temperature and the color of the sky!!)
I got Sam and Mercy into the stroller. (which i can use, because the pathways are mostly snow and ice free)
I let Sam walk for most of the trip. (Since the snow is mostly off the path he can actually WALK down it now!! haha)

So. that is our park story for the day.

P.S. Did i mention that Storynory.com is a really fun website with stories of all sorts? Julia has been listening to the for a few days now, while coloring through page after page of her coloring books. (which she doesn't usually do) It is a really nice quiet activity that is enjoyable for everyone (that means i really enjoy listening to the stories too!! haha).

GOODBYE!!

TOMATO BREAD

Due to Popular Demand (sort of):

Yummy Tomato Bread
(recipe from Mama Naus)

2.5 cups of Tomato Juice (i use whatever tomato sauce i have in the cupboard. once it was a sauce with mushrooms in it which was delightful!! )
2 Tbsp Butter
7 Cups flour
1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Heat tomato juice and butter to 120 degrees F. or until finger can be inserted for 10 seconds. Add sugar, salt, and 3 cups of flour and mix. Gradually add more flour until stiff and knead for 8-10 minutes. Cover and let rise to double. Put in pans and let rise again. bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

ENJOY! it works every time. i like to call it the "no fail bread".

mmm.

BIG KID post.

Here is happy miss J working on Valentine Cards for her class at school. We listened to the StoryNory of Valentines day ( storynory is a website with free audio stories for kids, there is an educational part where they do special occasions such as the history of Valentines day..etc) along with many other stories since Julia LOVES sitting and coloring while listening to tale after tale. (i love it too, i just love listening to stories... ) I am very proud of Miss J... she received an award at school (along with her entire JK class) for displaying the characteristic of the month. Each month they study a characteristic and hear about it in Chapel - last month was 'orderliness'. Julia caught on very quickly, because at home she started moving all our boots and jackets to the back boot room from the front entry way. (that is where i prefer them, it looks more orderly!!haha) And she started making her bed, sam's bed and laying out their PJ's for the next day... and she has always been orderly in other ways, it is just part of her personality to some degree. Anyway, i didn't hear about her antics at school for a while (since she gets carpooled most of the time) but one day Mrs. A told me what was going on: apparently after chapel one day Julia asked Mrs A to stay out of the classroom and then proceeded to organize her classmates to put all their jackets and boots away (they usually need mrs A reminding them a few times, or so Mrs A tells me) then Julia's friend thought they should put out their lunches too, and so when they allowed their teacher back into the room, they had tidied and prepared themselves for the next event of the day. to Mrs. A's shock and amazement. :) Since the first incident, they have repeated this surprize (of which i am not surprized, once Julia gets something that other's like into her head she does it over and over again for them).
So for the first time (in the schools' short history) they awarded the JK's with the character award!!!! Isn't that the coolest thing ever???? I am so excited . And of course, i heard nothing of it until a couple days later from Oma, hahaha, but that is okay. Julia can't remember EVERY exciting thing that happens at school!! I LOVE THIS SCHOOL all that they teach and stand for . it is a delightful atmosphere of family . You walk the halls and students of all ages are hanging out together and greeting each other... there isn't a feeling of segregation of ages and genders, just a family like feeling. i love it.
If you are thinking about them: TCA wants about 25 more students for next year to keep things running smoothly. :) pray with us!



Sam turns a saw and a Uke into a cello.

:)

what a kid! hahaha he is hilarious!

LIFE

As i write the wind outside is shrieking around the house and twirling snow so thickly through the air that it is hard to see down the road..... wooooow here comes snow storm number 65 of winter 08-09... wow. HERE ARE some super cute Mercy photos to warm you on just such an evening as THIS!! :) Always smiling and blowing bubbles through her sweet little lips.... heeehee... man she is adorable.


We have rented a cello, and i am taking lessons for a little while. (as the budget allows.. you know how it is. :) haha) Dave is a natural at it!! I love the sound, so rich and glorious. We have had a lot of fun playing together. Dave on cello, su piano, sam ukeleli, Julia tamborine, and mercy as the audience!! then you get sam singing ("Bingle Da!! Bingle Da!!" - all he sings... it is his version of "Jingle bells") and Julia dancing and singing (usually some praise song to Jesus that she makes up as she goes, it is beautiful!!)

All that to say.... our home is filled with music these days and I ABSOLUTELY love it!! :)

Praise God for beautiful music that we can make and hear and praise Him with.