Joshua

Today, this handsome young man turns 15 years old.

He is a kind and gentle person, and his siblings LOVE him!

He likes to have fun and has a great sense of humor!

He also likes to read...LOVES history.....and is a very thoughtful person!

Joshua,you are a wonderful blessing to our family!

May you continue to grow in the Lord and become more like Him with each passing year!

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

KidsCamp 2nd Edition

Last year, we got together with some dear family friends to do a week long Kid's Camp. It was so much fun that we did it again this year. Our schedule consisted of crocheting lessons for the girls in the morning- which we continue on a monthly basis as "Knit and Natter" during the year....and then swimming lessons in the evening. The boys were taken to the beach by Joshua (my 2nd oldest son). We had the privilege of starting each day w/ devotions together and a bit of singing. The afternoons were spent practicing the crocheting and just playing.
Emily made a video for us to remember the fun. You can have a look too, if you like. By the way, the water was freezing - though I'm told the Pacific Ocean stays about the same temperature all year. For what it's worth, no matter WHEN we go to the beach, we ALWAYS get wet! It can be in the middle of the winter, and still, we get wet. As a mother of 10 I don't know why I have the notion each time that maybe this time we won't. So, my 'word to the wise'....When you go to the beach, PLAN on getting wet! Can you believe I even had to type that? You may 'be dumber now' that you've read this post.
Ah, well, enjoy the slide show!

Summer Home Some R Not

I can't believe how quickly summer is passing by. We are finished w/ the fair - the fate of the five lambs?....3 lambs made it to the Junior Livestock Auction, 1 to the local food bank, and 1 will end up in our freezer....lamb curry, here we come!
Our family's vacation was to take place right after the fair, flexibility reigned. The fires burning in California kept us from plan A, so, we did some day trips for the first part of the week.....

Here is our wonderful find (well, Sarah's wonderful find!), a place called Silver Star Mountain...

....turns out it is 16 miles due east of us, and takes an HOUR to get to by car....and FS roads -not certain if that is Fire Service Roads or Forest Service Roads - but I am certain that the word "road' is used quite loosely. It was BEAUTIFUL! We could see four different mountainson the hike; Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St,. Helens, and Mt. Adams! I must refer you to my daughter's blog to see more lovely pictures! (She also has pictures of our beach day). It's so nice to live in a place from which the mountains and the ocean are both w/in a couple hours drive! Hooray for the Northwest USA! God has made some GLORIOUS scenery to be appreciated in these here parts!

I hope you see His glory in your day!

Ballerina Birthday

"Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."

1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV)

Yesterday the twins turned 7 years old. They wanted to have a ballerina birthday party.....and since I LOVE the analogy that can be made between beautiful, strong, graceful and poised ballerina and a Godly woman, we granted their wish.

The pictures are numerous, the beautiful little ladies had a lovely time, and hopefully gained a physical picture of what a women's spirit should look like by the grace of God.

 

Happy Birthday! Megan Joy and Madeline Hope!

We pray that you will become the woman spoken of in 1 Peter 3!

Emily Anne

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that

needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth."

~2 Tim. 2:15

Whereas

Emily Anne

 

Has not only mastered a body of knowledge pursuant to a secondary education, but has also demonstrated Godly wisdom and personal maturity based upon faith in Jesus Christ, we are pleased to announce her graduation from high school.





Brown Sugar Ice Cream w/ a Kick - Father's Day 2012

For Father's Day, we made our first batch of homemade ice cream for 2012. I browsed the internet and settled on a brown sugar ice cream and added the last three ingredients - the "kick" part. My favorite molasses cookie recipe has cayenne pepper in it, and we LOVE that recipe,so I thought I'd see how ice cream handled the fire! We liked it.

Brown Sugar Ice Cream w/ a Kick

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole milk or 2%  - I used 2%

• 2.5 cup brown sugar

• 6 cups heavy cream

• 2 Tablespoons vanilla

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• .5 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 Tablespoon Ginger

Instructions:

1. Pour everything into the bowl and whisk by hand, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Pour it into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions. You can harden it in the freezer or eat it right away. If you freeze it the peppery-ness will intensify.

NOTE: The pepper doesn't really add flavor so much as an after sensation - kind of like when you eat a handful of cinnamon Altoids (chewing them up) and then breath in deeply...(yes, I've done that!)

Hey...Good Lookin, What...cha got Cooking?"....

This morning, Madeline did not get up in time to accompany the older kiddos to the track to run, so she decided to make breakfast for them......Ah, such a delicious breakfast. She chose an old Bisquick recipe for Ginger Pancakes and Lemon Sauce and they were a big hit!

She was a chef extraordinaire! Charming, diligent, and  perservering - cooking for 8 of her siblings!

(Her left eye is on the mend from an encounter w/ the slide...I thought the slide had won, but daddy pointed out that the slide was still laying out there;  Maddie walked away, so I guess she won!)

Silly Songs.....

As we were getting ready for our day, my son, James, was in the kitchen singing this song......Now I want you to know that we LOVE our grandmas! AND that my parents were the ones who introduced us to this song.....It  makes us chuckle, but we in NO WAY would consider anything close to this activity!

**********BEWARE**********

It is a catchy tune!

First Annual Girls Weekend

This last weekend we - my 6 beautiful daughters and myself, went to the nearby seaside town of Gearhart, OR. We did a lot of walking, some girl movie watching, and some Bible study and character study, and just had a lovely time together. Here are some pictures of our weekend.....



Make it Monday

Grace wanted a "Liesl" dress for her Father/Daughter Tea ....(the tea was only one afternoon of the 3 day event!)...so, I gave it a go.  I am not a seamstress....I am afraid of slippery kinds of fabric....I am afraid of sheer kinds of fabric....I do not like to do gathers.....All of these phobias had to be addressed in this garment.

The dress came out just fine. Not professional, but it definately had the desired affect. It is a very fun twirly dress. And I will also so that the directions on the pattern were great! The errors are ALL operator errors NOT a problem with the directions!


And here she is at the beautiful Callaway Gardens (where the Father/Daughter weekend took place), wearing the dress AND a lovely capelet she made herself!

HisStrings Quartet - 2nd Edition

Our oldest four children have played as a string quartet for many years now...but, you know, time moves on, and their lives are changing. Benjamin, the violist is going school full time. He does still live at home,  but time to practice is hard to come by. His sisters who comprise the other 75% of the quartet would rather still be playing together...it just doesn't happen.

Sooooooooooo, Rachel - the cellist and youngest member of the older quartet - has enlisted the 3 people just younger than her to begin playing together...the 2nd Edition! They consist of 2 violins and 2 cellos.

They are working on the songs "Rejoice the Lord is King" and "Wait on the Lord". Hopefully, they will soon be able to go to local nursing homes and play there - when they've learned some music!  I must say, it is LOVELY to hear a quartet practicing again in the house! What a blessing to be with these wonderful people every day!

Perhaps I will post a recording of their first song...when they've practiced a bit more!

Hope you have a blessed day!

Happy Pi Day!

photo

Just a quick reminder. We like to eat pi whenever possible!!! Especially on 3.14! So, be mathematically correct, and eat pi today! We are planning on 3 pies - apple, sweet potato, and peanut butter. What kind of pie will you eat?

Make it Monday

 

Well, I haven't been so productive getting things completed in a timely manner...but, finally I have a new item finished for today.

This capelet was made for a 7 year old birthday girl. Madeline is modelling it for me.

photo credit

This pattern is called the "Off to Bath Capelet" and is a quick fun project. My daughter Grace (12 years old) has made one already and is working on another! My older daughters are thinking to make the pattern larger because it is so charming...and my girls wear things like this :) (shouldn't be too difficult of a modification)

Spelling Bee

Today we had a Spelling Bee....

...not an official bee...just a 'change of pace' kind of spelling test.

The older chldren did a great job! Grace and James learned all of their words and the definitions.

The younger three have the same words and definitions this week (words from their Archaeology unit study)

The younger three had a pretty respectable showing....but were definately out spelled by their older siblings!

Megan's pink on pink outfit is NOT authorized attire!...but she sure likes pink!

Here the youngers quiz the older two...neither of whom ever missed a word!

Their spelling/vocabulary list?

Here you go:

Asiatic

baulk

dowry

drachma

dynasty

mastabas

Nubia

pharoah

amphitheater

bathhouse

inscription

Anatolia

Even with this look, James did just fine!



This Morning We Woke Up To............................

It doesn't actually snow that often where we live....but we have been watching these tulips pop up and weren't imagining that they would get a coat of snow before they bloomed...

I must say that the snow is so very peaceful...it is so quiet with it's sound insulating affect. It is very wet and melting, but still a pretty sight!