Spring is here and with it has come the new lambs. Babies and mom's are all doing well. They run and jump in the sunshine (when we are lucky enough to have it). It sure is fun to watch. Mandy's ewe, Alexus, gave birth on her due date, March 23rd to baby girl "Blossom." She weighed in at 6 pounds.

The day before her due date, Paul's ewe Hannah gave birth to twin girls "Hera" and "Athena." They were born on April 2nd and weighed 3.5 pounds and 3 pounds respectively.

We Will Miss Them

We are honoring two of our dear pets. They both passed away in December 2010.

Passing away December 17th was Boomer. He had not been with us very long, only since September. However, we sure found him a charming ram. He will be missed. Hopefully in the spring when the lambs are born we'll have at least a couple little reminders of Boomer.

Passing away December 27th was Maddie. Maddie found us a number of years ago. We were lucky to have her! The cancer got to be too much and now we will miss her greatly. She had become a steady and dedicated member of the family, loved by us all.

New Life

Praise the Lord. On July 18th, Paul and Mandy were baptized!

For various reason it took a while to get the kids Baptized. First was the time spent with each child after their profession of faith. Then came the search for a baptistery to borrow since we don’t have our own church building or a baptistery. Plan B was the nearby river! At least the baptistery water was a little heated :)

Regardless of the details, we rejoice in the Lord touching the hearts of these kids!!

The other reminder of new life at our house is the new eggs. Here are the first two eggs from the first chicken to start laying. I think two are laying now and we have 7 eggs total for the week.

Lambs

The lambs are here! Mandy's first year in 4-H - she has projects in sewing and in sheep. Here are her two lambs.

chickens

We officially now have chickens. We got them this afternoon. Maybe it was the whole Easter egg thing. Maybe it was some other mental lapse, but here we go.

Blessings

It has been awhile since the last blog entry - too much going on I guess. Today was another one of those crazy days, packed full of the fun and not-so-fun tasks. Most of the day was spent "stressed" trying to get the check-list checked off. In fact the whole month has been that way.

Then something wonderful and unexpected happened. Truthfully, what was unexpected was that I slowed down enough to not only notice "it" but also cherish "it."

What is "it" you say? Well, I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. Pure kindness maybe. Love maybe. "It" wasn't a miracle or tremendously out of the ordinary. However, in the wake of being tired (read exhausted) and on edge, it was pure joy to my heart.

Most of the time my kids do get along together pretty well. Then there are those days when they seem to ceaselessly fight with each other. Today had some of both. But tonight, Paul was digging around in his room and found an old toy - a view master projector. He pops out of his room and immediately wants to know if we have any batteries. Yes, we did. Next thing I know, he is turning off all the lights and has this projector working as a spot light in the family room. "Mandy" he calls. "Dance" he begs.

Now you have to understand that Mandy spends many moments each day making up ballet dances to whatever music is playing. This is true for the music from the stereo or even my banging out a song at the piano. If there is music, her feet want to move.

Seeing my two kids enjoying and encouraging each other made this tired Mom really happy. For a few minutes, the check-list disappeared and the stresses of life vanished. This is what “it” is all about – being blessings to each other.

May we all remember to be blessings to each other!

Merry Christmas

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!


This year has been busier than usual; at least we are hoping next year is calm in comparison :)


Here was the schedule: Getting the Christmas tree, a dear church member passed away, the school auction event, the church potluck, the piano recital, Cliff did the service for a distance cousin/friend of the family's Mom who passed away, a week of extra ballet rehearsals, the black belt ceremony, and the Nutcracker ballet.



Here are just a few pictures.

Getting the tree:

Ballet practice:

The black belting ceremony:


The Nutcracker - Mandy danced in the party scene, Waltz of the Flowers and the Chinese dance. Here is the Chinese costume.

In all the hectic schedule, we try to remember the reason for Christmas: Luke 2:11 says:“… born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Rejoice! Because born in a stable in Bethlehem was the guarantor of you life! It is within His loving hands that your life rests. It is within His loving hands the covenant relationship with God is sustained and upheld as He continually makes intercession for you! Even now, Jesus is there making intercession for you: and by that intercession, God’s faithfulness endures to all generations. Be joyful this Christmas; His faithfulness endures to all generations.

Merry Christmas to you!!