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Well, let's try this out. I have
obviously rearranged the whole
website, trying to make some
improvements. I am kind of going
for more of a "blog" style, which I
hope will be more familiar to
navigate. I will use a new page
each time I update and add
pictures. All these updates and
all links in the site will be on the
home page, and only these
updated photo/blog pages will
need a password. The only thing
I am missing from a regular
"blogspot" is the ability to get
comments, which would be nice.
However, you lose a lot of
flexibility with blogspot that I have
here. So, we'll see how this goes.
Here is a pathetic picture of a boy
and his much beloved cat. The
cat is spoiled, but rightly so. She
is so sweet. If Canaan treats his
girlfriend even half as good as he
does his cat, she will be one
happy lady.
obviously rearranged the whole
website, trying to make some
improvements. I am kind of going
for more of a "blog" style, which I
hope will be more familiar to
navigate. I will use a new page
each time I update and add
pictures. All these updates and
all links in the site will be on the
home page, and only these
updated photo/blog pages will
need a password. The only thing
I am missing from a regular
"blogspot" is the ability to get
comments, which would be nice.
However, you lose a lot of
flexibility with blogspot that I have
here. So, we'll see how this goes.
Here is a pathetic picture of a boy
and his much beloved cat. The
cat is spoiled, but rightly so. She
is so sweet. If Canaan treats his
girlfriend even half as good as he
does his cat, she will be one
happy lady.
It's hard to see this very well, but it
is a chart Maggie made up all by
herself. I just found it on the
fridge one day and asked her
what it was. She has the days of
the week and she writes "Bible"
under each day as she reads her
Bible. She reads her Bible every
day. And nobody told her to do
that, she just did it all on her own.
She is such a sweet girl.
is a chart Maggie made up all by
herself. I just found it on the
fridge one day and asked her
what it was. She has the days of
the week and she writes "Bible"
under each day as she reads her
Bible. She reads her Bible every
day. And nobody told her to do
that, she just did it all on her own.
She is such a sweet girl.
Here is one morning's pickings of
strawberries. The strawberries
have now dwindled and are not
nearly so many, but for a while I
was getting this much on any
given morning. Joy loves them!
Now I just stop by the strawberry
patch after weeding the garden
and pick strawberries and eat
them all warm and juicy and sweet
and fresh.
strawberries. The strawberries
have now dwindled and are not
nearly so many, but for a while I
was getting this much on any
given morning. Joy loves them!
Now I just stop by the strawberry
patch after weeding the garden
and pick strawberries and eat
them all warm and juicy and sweet
and fresh.
I introduced Maggie and Silas to
the world of Calvin and Hobbes.
They enjoyed it, but I don't think
they appreciate the humor to the
extent that I do!
the world of Calvin and Hobbes.
They enjoyed it, but I don't think
they appreciate the humor to the
extent that I do!
Here are my three boys with fresh
little faux hawks. Great looks for
summer. Silas absolutely loves
his and they look so cute...
ahem... I mean manly.
little faux hawks. Great looks for
summer. Silas absolutely loves
his and they look so cute...
ahem... I mean manly.
I painted the dining room and
kitchen one week when Art was
in Florida. I rearranged and
cleaned out and painted the
china cabinet too. I like it. The
trim still needs a fresh coat, but
I'm a little painted out right now.
kitchen one week when Art was
in Florida. I rearranged and
cleaned out and painted the
china cabinet too. I like it. The
trim still needs a fresh coat, but
I'm a little painted out right now.
I like the color, and it's the
same in the kitchen. I'm
planning to paint the kitchen
cabinets, which are a sort of
wood finish now, but I think
black would look better. All in
due time.
same in the kitchen. I'm
planning to paint the kitchen
cabinets, which are a sort of
wood finish now, but I think
black would look better. All in
due time.
The dining room has a giraffe
motif. It kind of evolved over
time. We had several nice
pieces of artwork from the kids
that just happened to be of
giraffes, which I think are
beautiful. We had giraffes
made in all different mediums.
Since I painted, I have several
that I need to put back up. The
only piece I have back on the
wall right now is Hannah's
paper cutting of giraffes. But I
was finally able to add the
wooden giraffe below. Canaan
carved it for me a few years
ago, but he never completed it
by putting the spots on it. I kept
reminding him to, but it just kept
getting forgotten. I think it
turned out great. And the
picture doesn't show it, but on
the front of the giraffe's chest is
a heart shaped spot. (The little
giraffes are carvings I got on
one of our trips to Haiti.)
Canaan also made me a
drawing of a giraffe with pastels
for Mother's Day a couple years
ago. I love all the pieces of
artwork I get from my kids, but
for some reason the things
Canaan makes for me hold a
special place. It is because it
doesn't come easily to him, and
he doesn't really enjoy it, but he
does it anyway -- for me. It
makes me think how God
maybe looks at us. Of course
He wants us to use our gifts
and talents for Him, but I
wonder if He might also find it
precious when we do things
that we aren't that gifted at and
maybe aren't our favorite things
to do, but we do them anyway
because we love Him.
motif. It kind of evolved over
time. We had several nice
pieces of artwork from the kids
that just happened to be of
giraffes, which I think are
beautiful. We had giraffes
made in all different mediums.
Since I painted, I have several
that I need to put back up. The
only piece I have back on the
wall right now is Hannah's
paper cutting of giraffes. But I
was finally able to add the
wooden giraffe below. Canaan
carved it for me a few years
ago, but he never completed it
by putting the spots on it. I kept
reminding him to, but it just kept
getting forgotten. I think it
turned out great. And the
picture doesn't show it, but on
the front of the giraffe's chest is
a heart shaped spot. (The little
giraffes are carvings I got on
one of our trips to Haiti.)
Canaan also made me a
drawing of a giraffe with pastels
for Mother's Day a couple years
ago. I love all the pieces of
artwork I get from my kids, but
for some reason the things
Canaan makes for me hold a
special place. It is because it
doesn't come easily to him, and
he doesn't really enjoy it, but he
does it anyway -- for me. It
makes me think how God
maybe looks at us. Of course
He wants us to use our gifts
and talents for Him, but I
wonder if He might also find it
precious when we do things
that we aren't that gifted at and
maybe aren't our favorite things
to do, but we do them anyway
because we love Him.
That's one handsome soccer
player there!
player there!
We get a couple nests in our
yard each spring. This one
was a little bit odd. I showed
photos on our last update of
an elaborate nest that a bird
built in the play fridge in the
kids' playhouse out back. It
turns out that it was built by a
little wren. We counted four
little beaks when they first
hatched. Then something
seemed odd, but it was really
dark in there and hard to
see. Over the coming days,
it seemed like one was bigger
than the others. And it was!
We researched and found
that cowbirds often lay eggs
in other birds' nests and the
other bird mother will take
care of the cowbird baby.
Unfortunately, though, the
cowbird baby will often kick
the other baby birds out of
the nest to die. Sometimes
nature isn't so nice, is it?
Well, you can see in the top
photo how tiny these wren
babies were next to my
fingers. In the second
picture you can see the
cowbird baby in the back of
the nest, and yes, he did
push two of the babies out of
the nest. I found them one
morning and one was dead,
but the other I put back in the
nest. Hannah and I tried to
decide what would be best to
do, and we finally decided to
take the cowbird out of the
wren's nest so that the wren
babies might have a chance.
We named him Bully and put
him in an empty nest I had.
We placed the nest in a
hutch on our back deck,
about 20 feet away from the
wren's nest. I fed him and
made sure he was doing fine.
The next morning he still
seemed very healthy while
the baby wrens seemed to be
doing very poorly. Then we
discovered that the mother
wren was feeding the baby
cowbird in the new nest and
not her own babies in her
own nest! Astonishing! The
two baby wrens were too
weak to save and they died,
but Bully was fine and flew
away a few days later. We
still see him sometimes.
That's nature for you.
yard each spring. This one
was a little bit odd. I showed
photos on our last update of
an elaborate nest that a bird
built in the play fridge in the
kids' playhouse out back. It
turns out that it was built by a
little wren. We counted four
little beaks when they first
hatched. Then something
seemed odd, but it was really
dark in there and hard to
see. Over the coming days,
it seemed like one was bigger
than the others. And it was!
We researched and found
that cowbirds often lay eggs
in other birds' nests and the
other bird mother will take
care of the cowbird baby.
Unfortunately, though, the
cowbird baby will often kick
the other baby birds out of
the nest to die. Sometimes
nature isn't so nice, is it?
Well, you can see in the top
photo how tiny these wren
babies were next to my
fingers. In the second
picture you can see the
cowbird baby in the back of
the nest, and yes, he did
push two of the babies out of
the nest. I found them one
morning and one was dead,
but the other I put back in the
nest. Hannah and I tried to
decide what would be best to
do, and we finally decided to
take the cowbird out of the
wren's nest so that the wren
babies might have a chance.
We named him Bully and put
him in an empty nest I had.
We placed the nest in a
hutch on our back deck,
about 20 feet away from the
wren's nest. I fed him and
made sure he was doing fine.
The next morning he still
seemed very healthy while
the baby wrens seemed to be
doing very poorly. Then we
discovered that the mother
wren was feeding the baby
cowbird in the new nest and
not her own babies in her
own nest! Astonishing! The
two baby wrens were too
weak to save and they died,
but Bully was fine and flew
away a few days later. We
still see him sometimes.
That's nature for you.
Water balloon fight!!
Hannah was asked to make
one of her "snowflakes"
(paper cuttings) for an
adoption fundraiser. She
was happy to design and
make a beautiful
masterpiece. It is full of
African birds and animals,
and Adinkra symbols. It is
just beautiful. If you are
interested in bidding, let me
know, and I'll tell you when
the fundraiser auction is
being held. But I may just
have to bid on it myself!
one of her "snowflakes"
(paper cuttings) for an
adoption fundraiser. She
was happy to design and
make a beautiful
masterpiece. It is full of
African birds and animals,
and Adinkra symbols. It is
just beautiful. If you are
interested in bidding, let me
know, and I'll tell you when
the fundraiser auction is
being held. But I may just
have to bid on it myself!
More strawberry picking
with my boys.
with my boys.
Each of my kids has a
different approach to taking
out teeth. Eden and Isaac
would take out their
permanent teeth if I'd let
them. But Maggie is a tad bit
dramatic. She had a very
loose tooth for several
weeks, and I was starting to
be afraid it would fall out in
her sleep so I said it really
needed to come out soon.
So Hannah told her to take it
out and get it over with.
Maggie likes to take her teeth
out herself. But she's afraid.
So we sat on the back deck
while she psyched herself up,
and the other kids cheered
her on and she cried and
carried on for about an
HOUR before she finally just
pulled that little tooth out.
The funny part was that while
she was bluthering away,
Silas asked me if any of his
teeth were loose. I felt one
that was kind of loose, and
he asked me if I would take it
out. So I just reached in
there and snapped it out in
two seconds. He didn't cry or
yell or anything. He just
calmly took the tooth and
showed it to Maggie.
different approach to taking
out teeth. Eden and Isaac
would take out their
permanent teeth if I'd let
them. But Maggie is a tad bit
dramatic. She had a very
loose tooth for several
weeks, and I was starting to
be afraid it would fall out in
her sleep so I said it really
needed to come out soon.
So Hannah told her to take it
out and get it over with.
Maggie likes to take her teeth
out herself. But she's afraid.
So we sat on the back deck
while she psyched herself up,
and the other kids cheered
her on and she cried and
carried on for about an
HOUR before she finally just
pulled that little tooth out.
The funny part was that while
she was bluthering away,
Silas asked me if any of his
teeth were loose. I felt one
that was kind of loose, and
he asked me if I would take it
out. So I just reached in
there and snapped it out in
two seconds. He didn't cry or
yell or anything. He just
calmly took the tooth and
showed it to Maggie.
Gorgeous flowers sent from
my sister to encourage me.
And it did! What a touching
surprise. And such lovely
flowers.
my sister to encourage me.
And it did! What a touching
surprise. And such lovely
flowers.
GROSS ALERT ! ! Look at
your own risk!!
The evolution of my case of
pink eye. After a week without
Art, on Friday evening what I
thought was merely a little eye
allergy started to feel like
more than that. As I woke
every couple of hours with my
eyelids crusted shut, I
suspected pink eye or some
sort of eye infection since Joy
had had something similar
earlier that week, but eye
drops had cleared it up in two
days. Not me! The next day I
was miserable and wanted to
scratch my eyes out. I went to
the clinic for some drops.
Around my eyes was simply
raw and swollen. Then day
three and my pink eye turned
to red eye. A little bit
alarming!
Off to the eye doctor this time
who confirmed that all my
frantic eye rubbing had burst
some blood vessels making
me look like something out of
a horror movie. The good
news is the pink eye is on the
mend and the broken blood
vessels will clear up on their
own and are harmless, like a
bruise. The bad news is, he
thinks it may take a couple of
weeks to clear up! So, I'll be
staying close to home so as
not to frighten anybody.
Now, to get that out of your
mind, here are some shots of
my beautiful girls in the spring
sunshine:
your own risk!!
The evolution of my case of
pink eye. After a week without
Art, on Friday evening what I
thought was merely a little eye
allergy started to feel like
more than that. As I woke
every couple of hours with my
eyelids crusted shut, I
suspected pink eye or some
sort of eye infection since Joy
had had something similar
earlier that week, but eye
drops had cleared it up in two
days. Not me! The next day I
was miserable and wanted to
scratch my eyes out. I went to
the clinic for some drops.
Around my eyes was simply
raw and swollen. Then day
three and my pink eye turned
to red eye. A little bit
alarming!
Off to the eye doctor this time
who confirmed that all my
frantic eye rubbing had burst
some blood vessels making
me look like something out of
a horror movie. The good
news is the pink eye is on the
mend and the broken blood
vessels will clear up on their
own and are harmless, like a
bruise. The bad news is, he
thinks it may take a couple of
weeks to clear up! So, I'll be
staying close to home so as
not to frighten anybody.
Now, to get that out of your
mind, here are some shots of
my beautiful girls in the spring
sunshine:
It has been almost five years since we moved from Florida to North Carolina and I am still as
enamored with the change of seasons as I was when we first moved here. It is almost summer
time and today we put up the pool in our back yard. I weeded the garden and ate fresh
raspberries off the canes. I breathed in one of my favorite smells, the smell of fresh cut grass.
And to think that just four months ago this same yard was gray and still and quiet. The miracle
never ceases to amaze me.
Soccer season is over, and Canaan's team of girls ended with a bang as Maggie scored three
goals to bring them from behind and win the game. They only lost one game all season. The
boys' team won all their games. It was a very positive experience for everyone and we will
definitely be doing it again.
Joy is continuing to adjust to us and us to her. Some days are better than others. She was
recently evaluated for delays and her motor skills were assessed to be on target, but cognitively
and mentally, she tested at about an 18 month level, which was not unexpected. The doctor
could not make any prognosis of what her future development will be. Only time will tell. This
Friday will be her third birthday! So come back for pictures of her party!
enamored with the change of seasons as I was when we first moved here. It is almost summer
time and today we put up the pool in our back yard. I weeded the garden and ate fresh
raspberries off the canes. I breathed in one of my favorite smells, the smell of fresh cut grass.
And to think that just four months ago this same yard was gray and still and quiet. The miracle
never ceases to amaze me.
Soccer season is over, and Canaan's team of girls ended with a bang as Maggie scored three
goals to bring them from behind and win the game. They only lost one game all season. The
boys' team won all their games. It was a very positive experience for everyone and we will
definitely be doing it again.
Joy is continuing to adjust to us and us to her. Some days are better than others. She was
recently evaluated for delays and her motor skills were assessed to be on target, but cognitively
and mentally, she tested at about an 18 month level, which was not unexpected. The doctor
could not make any prognosis of what her future development will be. Only time will tell. This
Friday will be her third birthday! So come back for pictures of her party!