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| Every Tuesday we head across the mountains to Mrs. L's oasis. Her garden is a litle piece of heaven and her music room is full of light and warmth! Most of all, her spunk and lively personality awakes all the musical potential in my daughter :). I am very grateful for her mentorship of my Marci! |
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| I just love the perspective of this shot :). |
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| The morning began with sunshine and an early trip to Binghamton (7am is early for this homeschooling mom!). I zipped back home to gather the rest of the crew who had the luxury of sleeping in. We made it back for the 11am concert --- the best part for me was getting to entertain little Chase and visit with my friends. Oh, the music was pretty good too! |
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| Then we headed to The Discovery Center for lunch and a few hours of play. The classic big bubble exhibit ... still a favorite of all ages! |
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| When she had to journal about today, her favorite part was talking on the phones! I love this face! |
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| These boys wouldn't want you to know it, but they are having fun! The ambulance ride ... I hope they survive :). |
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| Group shot! |
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| Ragen honored me by putting her girls in outfits that E & M used to wear!!! I love these girls <3 |
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| Oreos! Titus and his buddy were running non-stop, so I didn't snap any other photos of them. They did sit still long enough to eat a few cookies, I see. |
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| Just so you all know, Mrs. Ely STARTED the snowball fight. I was just being a good friend and joining in on the fun. |
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| I love my friends. I so needed to laugh this day. The snowball fight did the trick! :) |
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| I love this chair :) It was a Terrific Tuesday ... and I'm very, very grateful for all my friends who honored me with their presence at Marci's concert today, who played with me afterwards, and most of all ... who made me laugh! Love you ladies!! |
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| Now Jared was one of my best shovelers, so he deserved some fun on the skis! |
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| We have the making of this snow angel in sports mode, if you'd like to see more of the action. The simplest of snow fun! |
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| The girls kept the "jump" built up -- here's Titus catching some air! |
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| She looks so serious, but she was a speedy little daredevil and enjoyed every moment! |
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| This picture is so March. The sap lines are out, maple trees tapped and pouring their nutrients into blue barrels. We're checking the lines and the levels daily. We have mud again! And, look at those shadows! The hope of spring is just around the corner now that it's March ... with mud and shadows. |
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| Now you see the reality of this poor mother of teenagers must endure. Really. Do I deserve THIS for merely documenting the daily and ordinary? |
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| The pirate dinghy. We're reading about William Penn ... Hostages on the Nighthawk. This toy from Grandpa Verlin & Grandma Jane complements our state history lessons perfectly! |
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| And the birthday boy keeps sneaking away to Playmobil-land! |
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| Titus had an awesome birthday a couple weeks ago. One, Daddy was home. Two, we had fifty-degree weather for skiing! It was slushy and slow, but a lot of fun. That evening we stopped in at Rob's to pick out his free birthday cake. Then we came home for "omelets by Daddy!" (Did I mention I love it when other people are requested to cook for meals?!?) Here we have Marci perfecting the arrangement of the candles. |
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| This is "take two" for blowing out the candles due to the photographer having some issues. (Card full -- wonder how THAT happened?!?) So, Titus obliged us by blowing again! :) |
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| Homemade crayons! And, look what delight! This amuses me because I know it may not seem like much, but it took time to create those special crayons. And, I love to see how each sibling gives. Such a joy when they love each other! |
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| I had to leave this goofball grin in. What a little man has to endure with four older siblings -- this is how he entertains us. |
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| Cool rocket cup from the Maynards! |
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| Legos! Before bedtime Legos were EVERYWHERE in their bedroom -- and mostly assembled, I might add. I had to put an end to the completion of each set because I was just plain tired. |
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| This was the gift Daddy found. I think it was because it was with selfish intent, but I would never accuse anyone of THAT. Let it be known that the dart gun wars have been intense ... by those of ALL ages! ;) |
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| We have a deck full of snow. A bountiful supply. If you're gonna have snow, you might as well have enough to have LOTS of fun :). We do! |
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| The roof is iced thick - a picturesque place from this perspective. It's all about perspective. |
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| Just enough color. Winter is often so bland, but here the beauty of the red shines brightly. A bright contrast. |
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| My view from my "top of the mountain" spot. Thanks to the power lines, we can see the beauty of the rolling hills. Eyes to see the white fluff of blowing snow, the gentle curves of the landscape and the brightness of a clearing from the trees. |
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| Our fence along the garden. This fence makes me trek further up the hill than I'd like during the summer months, but it's good. It deters the deer from entering our garden from this side (I think). It used to keep horses inside. Fences hem in. Being hemmed in is something for which I'm grateful. I just plain like this picture :). |
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| Emily was so excited to show me this series of shots. I love my Emily because she sees with different eyes than I do. I'm grateful for her perspective; all of these shots are hers. It was the morning after a fresh snow and the sun was out. I encouraged her to take the camera and go for a hike. I love our place through her lens. And, I love love that little face grinning in the bottom reflected back from the mirror just inside the door. Cool how you can still see the snow-covered branches as well :). |
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| Looking up. That's it. If I remember to look up, I'm grateful when I look down & all around. I love the crisp blue of sky and the various tints of white in clouds, gutter and shimmery icicles. When I look up I'm reminded of Him who holds all things in His hand -- particularly my surroundings. He knows the exact place where I live. He placed me here at this time. He wants me to seek Him. I choose gratefulness. |
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| The Judge insists, "No tasting of the icing!" She, being the cook, was allowed multiple licks. Hmmmm. Emily somehow has had the last few birthday meals fall on Tuesday - her day to cook. This makes me very happy! She made spaghetti and a raspberry cake. The cake is superb and moist, if not a little floppy. But, that's okay. At least it won't sit on the counter for a couple weeks like the store-bought ones do! :) |
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| Pretty flowers with the March birthstone: aquamarine. It was a tradition in my family to have our ears pierced at age 15 and Marci agreed to have hers pierced. I think the earrings from Aunt Nano at Christmas were an impetus. I love earrings for their feminity and I'm glad Marci is maturing into a beautiful young lady -- with or without the earrings! Her daddy told me to remind her of the verses in I Peter that speak about true beauty -- that of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God's sight. (I Peter 3:3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ) |
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| Talking to her cute little cousins!! Such fun conversations :) |
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| Mrs. Reitz - her piano teacher!! Lately, I've been overcome with sentimentality and have decided I'm going to make it a point to capture all of the things for which I'm grateful. This dear lady is one wonderful mentor for Marci! I'm very grateful because she is irreplacable! |
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| More fun mommy memories. Sometimes it's the daily or weekly things we overlook. I'm grateful for the weekly trip out for lessons. Next week I'm going to document the violin lessons! |
