Skiing Trip

We had a great opportunity to spend two days skiing on Dollar Mountain in Sun Valley, Idaho this weekend. This is our first and only ski adventure this year -- but it was well worth the wait. With periwinkle skies, little wind, no crowds, 3 inches of new powder, and temperatures in the 20's by mid-afternoon -- the skiing was near perfect!

The kids love skiing. Isabelle and Josiah have been blessed with Joe's warm blood and seem to never grow cold! Isaac is a bit more like me and so I have periodic company in the lodge. Yes-- the lodge. After 17 years of skiing to please my husband, on our 18th anniversary I asked him if I could officially "retire" from skiing. When you have the combined fears of heights AND falling, skiing is an experience in controlled terror. :) Thus, I hang out in the lodge where I gratefully spread out on a table and lavish in a few uninterrupted hours of pure sitting solitude (this doesn't happen very often, trust me). I bring my computer to write, paper and pen, my Bible study, and dominoes and UNO for when the kids join me. I have hot chocolate waiting should they want it and always keep the camera ready for the perfect shot.

Sun Valley has got to be one of the most pristine and beautiful places in the U.S. It's actually very civilized and calm (which always appeals to me). The quiet reflection it encourages amongst the Sawtooth mountains is breathtaking. We are so very blessed to be able to have had two very different and yet fun vacations away in such a short amount of time. The list of spring chores is growing in our heads, but for this weekend . . . we put it aside for sleeping in, playing games as a family, skiing, eating delicious food, walking the town of Ketchum, and enjoying a slower pace.

A Little Girl Turns Seven

Traditions are the spice of life and in our family birthdays are a well-anticipated event by all of our children. We decided early on in our parenting journey that birthdays were the ideal time to focus on, praise, bless, and delight in our individual children. We love for them to feel special and unique; and we relish in the opportunity to pour ourselves into them on their special day. Yesterday Isabelle turned seven years old! She had been counting down the days for over a month and finally the big day arrived. We begin each birthday with a gathering of everyone but the birthday child. Then we all wake her up together by singing "Happy Birthday". We typically open gifts from the family at that time and then share together homemade whole wheat buttermilk pancakes shaped into the birthday number (I was happy this time -- 7's are easy compared to 8's!)

This year Isabelle's birthday was all about horses! We had a "little ones" party with her friends from our Aspire co-op complete with wranglin' cowboys (a.k.a. her brothers), an equestrian training camp, basic horse care, horse-themed games, and a horse field trip to the gracious neighbor's barn where two momma horses and a colt eagerly awaited the carrots we were bringing them.

Isabelle and her friends each "wrangled" and named a stick horse to keep and used it to ride 'em cowboy through our homemade (thanks to Daddy and the brothers) equestrian track.

Josiah ("Lightning Bill") and Isaac ("Bronco Harris") enjoyed leading the children through their various events complete with accent and praise as they roped the horses, played "Horse, Horse, Mule", and tried to pin the tale on the Horsey.

Isabelle used her large stuffed horse to teach her little friends all about brushing the horse, feeding and watering it, as well as using the hoof pick to clean out their hooves.

Later in the evening we had family (and friends who have become family) over for homemade birthday cake (Isabelle added all the ingredients herself as well as managed the mixer, scraped the bowl, and decorated her cake!) and ice cream. Isabelle also performed her Book 1 Suzuki violin graduation recital for the whole crowd. She played beautifully! We are so proud of her accomplishments.

Sweet friends and family shared in Isabelle's special day! It was a lovely time to celebrate the beautiful gift from God given to us seven years ago. Happy Birthday sweet "pumpkin pie".

Spring Chicks

It's that time of year again! Joe and Isabelle brought home their yearly box o' chicks today. This is always a fun event in our home. We currently have about 20 laying hens who are doing a fairly good job in spite of the cold; however only 8 or so of them are laying. Each year we bring in a new brood and slowly say goodbye to those who are 2 years old and over.
Joe and the kids spent the day in the barn building new feeding bins in preparation for having more poultry. We will also be raising our own poultry chickens for butchering in the late spring as well as trying our hand at turkeys come June. It's intriguing for us to raise some of our own food. I know, I know .... it's easy enough to go down to the local grocery store; but there's something about DOING IT YOURSELF that keeps Joe and I trying new things. Returning to an agrarian lifestyle (while still somewhat in the suburbs) is very rewarding. Hard work is good for the soul (not to mention the wasteline and the pocketbook)!

Filling the Love Pot

Isabelle has always had a sweet habit of letting me know when she needs affection. She tells me in a squeaky little voice, "I need my love pot filled, can we snuggle?" Having her love pot filled equates to sitting down, holding her belly button to belly button ("so the love can flow through just like it did when I was in your tummy"), and rocking, snuggling, scratching her back, smoothing her hair, and just generally getting that wonderful feeling of being a mommy giving love in a way she can receive it.
I'm not sure where she came up with the words "love pot", but they have stuck and are used on a frequent basis. Having grown up in a home where physical affection was not a strength, I am now understanding better through my own journey of motherhood, just how valuable taking this time is. Our children need our tender touch as well as the one that guides and disciplines. They need our tender words in addition to those which are sometimes stern or principled. They need looks of admiration and praise in addition to that curving of the eyebrow denoting an unhappy Mommy.
When I am taking the time (sometimes several times a day) to fill Isabelle's "love pot", I wonder how much (or little) I have done this with my sons who perhaps weren't so verbal about their needs for affection. Even as our children grow, they need physical touch that tells them: "I love you. I am here for you. I think you're wonderful. Everything is going to turn out fine." How easy it is to do everything BUT that! Our daily tasks can overshadow such simple and precious needs. Learn from my little girl as I am doing. Don't neglect the love pots of your children this day.

Spontaneous Vacation

With less than 2 weeks notice, Joe was able to secure a temporary replacement for himself at work and called me one morning with the magical words, "Do we have anything planned the week of my birthday?" Smile. And so it goes ... when Daddy gets an idea, we embark!
We've just returned home from nearly a week in Orlando, Florida where we had a lovely time just being US while celebrating Joe's 41st birthday. Although we are not big Disney fans, we have found Orlando to be a great place to have a family vacation! We all enjoy riding the occasional rides, seeing the shows, eating delicious (and sometimes not-so-nutritious) food, and most of all -- basking in the 80 degree sunshine!
I cannot tell you just how blessed I feel and praiseworthy to God for the perfectly delightful holiday He gave us on a moment's notice! The weather was perfect, our attitudes were great, the traveling was easy, and the relaxation just what the Dr. ordered :) We laughed a LOT . . . which sometimes we forget, is the best of medicine! Each day we enjoyed not only wandering through one of the Disney World parks (Epcot is our favorite), but also playing in one of the pools at our hotel. We stayed up late and woke up late. It was perfectly delightful!


Our favorite part of Disney's Magic Kingdom is simply the fun and attraction of Main Street -- with swinging music, delicious smells, and excitement in the air (not to mention a great fireworks show every night!)


Daddy -- the swimming hero to all of his children!


This was undoubtedly Isabelle's favorite part of everyday in Florida!


We took one day out to leave the Orlando area and travel an hour east to visit the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. In this picture, we are walking toward the "Rocket Garden" where full-size replicas of U.S. space rockets are on display. This visit was especially meaningful because Isaac is currently studying Astronomy in-depth for his science.


The kids are imagining life as astronauts heading to the moon here in a model of an Apollo module.


Back at Disney World -- although we don't take in too many of the Disney rides, we do enjoy walking around and seeing many of the attractions. The Swiss Family Robinson tree house is a fun thing to climb up and walk through -- especially considering that Swiss Family Robinson is one of our all-time favorite family movies!


An American alligator on the waterbank along the side of the highway. We saw dozens of these on our way to and from Cape Canaveral. Kind of makes you think twice about changing a tire, huh?


Joe and Isaac in rare quiet moment together. They were our "court jesters" for the duration of the trip! :) We're home now -- with our minds and hearts filled with happy memories and new, revived energy to face the daily tasks at home (where it is currently 40 degrees colder than where I stood yesterday!).

First Grade Scientific Genius

Isabelle has been creating her own "slides" to examine under the microscope like her Daddy does everyday. It has been precious to watch her diligently and carefully cut, color, and study the results of her efforts. This is what I call first grade scientific genius.

An Hour in My Day

I was emptying the dishwasher when:
-- Isabelle opened an early birthday card with money in it, so I sat to explain to her who had sent it. We then headed straight upstairs to grab a picture for her to color and some thank you words for Isabelle to write out. While I was finding a suitable picture:
-- Isabelle began working on her "science" project she's had fun with -- creating "slides" and looking through them in her microscope. I stopped to take a few pictures for my blog to post on her creative genius when:
-- Josiah came up with his finished Debate constructive arguments for me to look over. We read them aloud and then I asked him to prepare a short speech to go with his teaching segment he will be giving at our next Speech/Debate club meeting. Back to the coloring page, I handed it to Isabelle and then:
-- Did some group emailing of the two groups I hold leadership positions in to inform them of our week's plans. While still at the computer:
-- Isabelle bursts into tears because her coloring paper is not ending up as she would like it to look. I took a few lap moments to share with her understanding and to also encourage her to put her full effort into things so that she can feel good about the end result. I gave her the option of her creating her own picture. She smiled and went on to create a beautiful picture of a robin to send to Grandma Barbara in Baltimore. As she was doing her lettering on her picture:
-- Isaac comes to have me listen to him recite his "big memory" which he will recite tomorrow. This is Exodus 33:3-23. He said it beautifully while pacing back and forth. I praised his efforts and instructed him to go work on his 20 (more like 35 before it's all said and done) weekly memory verses which he will be reciting from memory also tomorrow. As I finish giving him instruction:
-- Josiah is prepared for me to listen to his teaching speech. Isabelle and I take seats on the couch and listen to his 5 minute presentation of how to construct an affirmative argument in Lincoln Douglas debate. He did a great job! Now back to that dishwasher:
-- Isabelle comes down with her finished thank you picture with everything lovely except the word "birthday" was spelled "barthday" so I sent her up to correct it. Meanwhile, the dishes are unloaded and the oven is preheating for the peanut butter cookie dough which I plan to put into the oven for our movie night treat tonight as a family. I head downstairs when I hear, "I'm ready to recite Mom" and turn around to take my place at the table and ask the verses. Isaac does beautifully. Isabelle stumbles into hearing and quickly asks if she had better head to her room to practice hers as well when:
-- Josiah is ready for me to accompany him as he plays through his Festival song he will be playing for a music competition in March. As I play with him, I think the same thing I think nearly every day -- "Thank you God that I had piano lessons and am able to do this with my children!!" Isabelle is awaiting my attention as the music ends. I give her instructions, praise Josiah, and head to the guest room to put on clean sheets . . .
-- Meanwhile, the oven has been preheated for over an hour. It's a good thing I didn't put those cookies in!! Smile.
Today is Saturday. This is just an ordinary hour. It takes nurturing, discipling, listening, directing, facilitating, and loving. It takes time -- precious, necessary, uninterrupted time. It is a privilege. I am the luckiest Mom in the world.

A New Smile for Isaac

Isaac got his braces off yesterday! Doesn't he look handsome? He's growing into a fine young man.

Another "Quilt" Completed!

Isabelle finished her horse blanket "quilt" yesterday. She did a fine job working a little each day and proudly gave it to her big fluffy stuffed horse (Blackfoot) this morning to wear under his saddle. Isabelle did virtually all of the stitching herself and is getting to be quite proficient with a tiny needle! Good job sweetie!

A Father's Love for a Son

This is incredible. I've sat and watched and cried with every member of my family. You'll want to scroll down and turn down my blog's music before playing the video. Enjoy, be changed, hug your kids, and then sit and ponder the love of your Heavenly Father which far outweighs the sacrifice this incredible Dad made for his son.