beth and bryce...

and will and ella are in town!!!!
so we all met at jenny and daniel's house last night to play...
it was so neat bc all them knew eachother from college..and brought pictures...it was so fun to see them all pre-marriage to eachother
what a BEAUTIFUL gaggle of friends =)
esme was the only girl but started everyone pushing the dead-batteried car around =)
i was proud of my little tike =)

hanging out with dear friends

food

we have eaten oranges oranges oranges lately.....
the kids love them =)
and i've started adding rosemary to our morning shakes...not sure what it does for you that is good but i am sure something =)
it really tastes nice! and i just wanted to trim up the plants....
and this is the tofu, chocolate icing for a cake i just made!
just tofu and melted chocolate....blended up..i forgot the final picture but it really wasn't that bad =)

lyrics

so, i am not asleep...
just thinking...
about this storm, about the stories of people protecting their children...
we sacrifice for those we love and there is nothing quite so beautiful in all the world
and we know this in our deepest of hearts, no matter who we are...
that this display of love is the finest...
bc it isn't words that can be taken away
bc it isn't an act that makes you look good
sacrifice means sacrifice...you end up with less at the end of it...
and giving a life to protect someone you love is utterly beautiful and as such, worth every tear
and that was Christ's sacrifice for the world.
His love so beautiful. His desire to glorify God so complete.
and yet i weep! 
bc WHY does it have to be so!
the saddest and most beautiful...a tear and a smile...




Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
Ponder nothing earthly minded, For with blessing is His hand,


Christ our God to earth descendeth, Our full homage to demand.


King of Kings, Yet born of Mary, As of old earth He stood,


Lord of Lords, In human vesture, In the body and the blood;


He will give to all the faithful. His own self for heavenly food.






Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads it's vanguard on the way,


As Light of light descendeth from the realms of endless day,


That the powers of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away.






At His feet the six-winged seraph, Cherubim, With sleeples eye,


Veil their faces to His presence as with ceaseless voice they cry:


Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Lord Most High!

josh is about to ...

do some pull ups with a little extra weight from ezzie =)
and them josh reading to them...i peeked in and the book dropped to say hello...
i wish i;'d caught them all enrapped with daddy =)

today was lovely
the kids were amazing..
i was zoned out here and there...just trying to get a lot done...
in the morning we repotted dozens of plants..organized...watered...priced stuff at the garden center...
then came home for lunch
and cleaned out play area (sawdust, tools, nails, bits of wood EVERYWHERE) jack and esme mopped!!! and swept and carried wood...i just had to smile through all the dust and dirt =) jack kept saying "i love to clean mama!" whilst humming his violin tunes...so sweet
we then washed up, ate lunch and whisked off to violin practice...
they both fell fast asleep in the car...i let esme sleep and gently pulled jack out when it was time...
he clings to me when he is still asleep like a little monkey and it so reminds me of when he was a little baby...
esme woke up in time and she and i had quite a concert (jack and vivian are practicing for the recital)
we came home, snacked and then fed animals, watered the big garden, planted seeds, shoveled dirt and moved hay....all the while they are right beside me...singing and chatting ..and sometimes fighting over a tool =)
we made burritos and had chips and salsa for dinner, they swam in a deep bath and then we snuggled and read and they were soon asleep...

on days like this i feel a mixture of feeling like all we did was work and how i didn't really spend time nurturing them...reading, crafts, stuff like that...but then i think of how much fun they had..even when i was spacey and thinking in my head about stuff and not very focused...i would snap out of it and they were just playing and happy...
i read something my friend naomi wrote about engaging her kids...really asking them questions...and i so want to do that more...we chat a lot the kids and i ...but it is very me led...you know? 
anywho....
i need to shower and snuggle down too...
i am such a blessed mamma =)

josh is about...

blue jar vases

i cut out some wire for the tops of the jars...
to make "rose bowl" vases...
i wanted to make them dome topped ...but o well...
this will do =)

little bird

i twisted some wire to make a little bird....
and then decided to cover it with paper mache...
and stick him in the dehydrator...
not sure what i think of him...
he needs some paint..and the ability to stand up...
=)

great quote

"seize the moment.  remember all those women on the titanic who waved off the dessert cart"
ha!
erma bombeck said that...
my mum used to love reading her stuff...and i just stumbled upon her in this magazine beckie let me borrow...called maryjane..
so many great recipes and crafty ideas...

off to read some more!
no armadillo today...alas...
but we did plant more sunflowers, watermelons and zinnias!

our heron ...isnt that wonderful?

the garden

i can never quite remember or believe that greens just don't do so well in the spring...the fall, ahhhhh
but spring,,,just not so well....
here we have a bed of squashy things, a bed of greens and parsley, bed of peppers and then a bed of collards and one of flowers that attract butterflies =)

next photo are carrots, potatoes, turnips and garlic and onions

the 3rd photo is the bee attractor bed
and then the fourth is my experient
the soil down here is AWFUL
i have not seen anything quite like it...more like cement than actual soil...
mike (beckie's husband) hauled in some muuuch better soil from a compost pile of theirs for the beds..
but the back half of the garden was just like a parking lot...
so i thought if we covered it with rotten hay, it would not only help to hold moisture in (they are not on a well!) but would help the sun and rain to not seal and bake the ground so much...

josh plowed it with the tractor...a bit...it just wouldn't budge more than about 4 inches...
and then we hauled in rotten hay...and are in the process of covering it!

in the rain today, the kids and i planted, okra, corn, cantalopes, some more beans and crazy long gourds =)
it was sooo lovely and the earth smelled wonderful with the wet rain on it

farmhouse clips...

cans of beans..painted and with herbies in them =)
found this old horse in the woods on beckie's property...filled it with succulents...
the kids playing while beckie swings!
they love her so much...it is just so sweet...
and then the armadillo trap!!!
yayayayay!!!!

there is an armadillo or maybe a horde of them plowing up my garden at night...
stephen (a super fellow who works at the farmhouse) brought one his brother made and is tested and true..
the kids and i rigged chicken wire from his hole to the cage tonight...so we'll see
let's hope tomorrow's post is all about

alonia, the annoying armadillo! =)

greens and glasses=)

both the kids have been wearing their "reading" glasses (no lense plastic things =))
i picked a bunch of turnip greens today....very wormy holey but that's ok...i just washed them really good and cut them up and popped them in the fridge...they'll be delicious =)
and tonight~!
it rained and the sun peeped out for just a moment afterwards before going below the horizon,,,and turned everything sooo green!
i just sat on the couch and stared out the window...just beautiful.

jack's creative little brain...

this is jack and his weed eater!
he put all the parts together and asked me to tape it for him....
gas can (old soap bottle), cord (pipe cleaner and rubber band), with a stick and cardboard disk...and then 2 strings =)

and then this morning here was our conversation:
jack: mama, doesn't this bag look like fire fighter pants?
me: um, sure baby
jack: so let me try it on and we'll see
me: sweetheart, is there still fish food in there?
jack: yes (with intonation to say "of course, but what does that have to do with firepants??")
me: well, ok, how do you want to do it?

and voila~! he is decked out in firepants...
so funny, bc they were actully the perfect length and did look something like firepants!

i just love his ideas...he is so creative and fun =)
o and he has weedeated the yard and farmhouse about 3 times already...with all the sound effects =)

baby birdies =)

tom made this and another box for the kids...and i popped the top open today to see the babies!!!
aren' they sweet! bluebirds!

very random..trying to catch up =)

here is an easter craft we did =)
a cardboard hill....3 crosses....Jesus, the inside is the tomb and then a big cardboard rock and a guard...not all pictured =)
o and then we had a cardboard mary and angel too =)
i read the easter passage from their Bible (the Jesus Storybook Bible...if you are a parent and don't have this and want a Bible, it is WONDERFUL>.....every passage points to Jesus...old and new testament..)

BLUE JARS!!!! i love these things... a friend of kelley's sent these to me for free!!! i want to make wire tops for vases...

and if you are homeschooling or thinking of it or just want to supplement...these books are AWESOME!!!!
the story of the world series...this is volume 1 and the activity book...from ancients to rome i think...full of history and stories and great ideas of what to do with kids...i LOVE it!!!!

and avacados =) i have about 12 of these pits in water...2 toothpicks, slim side up, pit about half way under water and i change water every other day...it will take about 4 weeks for them to sprout...but excited about having avacado trees~! =)