more easter catch up

we were thrilled that jill (robin's niece and makenna's mom) and her family could join us for lunch, as well as robin's mom and dad. his nephew sean (jill's brother) and his family joined us for the Easter egg hunt. it's kind of sad when more than half your kids get too old to hunt for eggs, but at the same time, a joy to see them take the lead in ensuring the fun for the littles.

st patricks day

and yes, i know it's more than a month over due, better late than never.



this year we made more of an effort to go over the history of st. patrick and explain why he is worth a holiday (it's not just because march can be a dreary month and there's nothing else to celebrate. heh heh)

we also read the book 3 in 1, explaining the trinity using the analogy of an apple. we talked about how st. patrick used the shamrock to explain the same thing. so we did a shamrock "craft" montessori style.


and of course we had to make a green snack (the years of green eggs and ham are gone, as the kids now think they're gross and won't touch them). this year we did our classic christmas cookie, the spritz, and tinted it green with green sprinkles.

prom 2009

karis and t.j. carr
(his mom was maid of honor in our wedding)
(the prom was held at the hotel/resort where i worked to put myself through college)


the computer is working so slow, so a collage is going to have to do for now.
they went with kara hammill and austin vanblargen
they are all in our youth group at church
karis and kara are school friends too

spring

a favorite poem for one of my favorite flowers

"Daffodils" (1804)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

got hope?

(impatient me, brought some forsythia in to force it to bloom early. isn't it lovely?)

as a graduate of lancaster bible college, i had the privilege of learning the school song by heart by the end of my time there. it has come in handy the past few years, and especially this past year when i lost the hope of having more children due to an unexpected hysterectomy last summer at the age of 41, i lost the hope of educating my children after 10+ years of homeschooling when we enrolled them in public school and i wondered if we would ever see our hope of returning back to our roots and our parents come to fruition (we had been praying about it for over 3 years).

so i sang this song often, and reminded myself (and anyone around to listen, usually the dogs or pete) that my hope is in the Lord. simply in Him. not in how often i get to be a mom, or where my kids primarily get their education, or even where my husband has a job.
the song? here are the lyrics:

my hope is in the Lord
who gave Himself for me
and paid the price of all my sin at calvary

refrain: for me, He died
for me, He lives
and everlasting life and light
He freely gives.

no merit of my own
His anger to suppress,
my only hope is found in Jesus' righteousness

refrain again

and now for me He stands
before my Father's throne
He shows His wounded hands and names me as His own.

refrain once more

His grace has planned it all
tis mine but to believe
and recognize His work of love and Christ receive.

refrain final time.

got hope?

in a neighborhood near you....

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot
And like a root out of parched ground;

isaiah 53:2

(great passage, read the rest here)