Merry Christmas!

Here are some of the things we've been doing over the past few days.  We got a couple of inches of snow, which isn't quite as much as we'd have liked, but is apparently enough to carry a sled down our steep backyard, with a nice little shove. :) Annesley celebrated her sixth birthday, and unfortunately has been sick since that day, but she seems to be improving, so we're thankful.

Merry Christmas to you all!  Enjoy your day with family and friends, celebrating God's blessings to us, and our Hope in Jesus Christ!

Still here!

This is by far the longest time I've gone between blog posts!  It's okay, though, and I am enjoying the approach of laying 'secondary' things down for a while when life gets too busy and more important things are pressing.  Instead of giving you an exhaustive list of what's happened at our home since November (which would probably be too tedious for anyone, anyway!),  I'll just hit a few high points and share some photos.

Keely's Challenge group competed in a small science fair. Keely worked on her project from the beginning of December until mid-January. She did a great job and we were so excited when she won second place!

We have a slew of birthdays around here during December and January. Annes is now five, Joe is seven, Sam is three, and my little Elijah is one. Sniff. After Christmas, Kevin and I decided to change the girls' room assignments. We have done this several times, to allow different girls to get to know particular siblings better. We also try to consider the dynamics that exist between particular pairs of sisters. Sometimes we try to avoid pairing a struggling older sibling with an impressionable younger one, sometimes we take the potential conflict head-on to help facilitate growth in a rocky relationship. This latest pairing is Row and Lily, and though we have had some bumps, these two are having a blast together. I'd say having a blast together about 67% of the time, bumps the other 33%. :)

To those who say I have to always have a baby in the house, I admit it. It's true. This is our new baby, Bella. She's been equal parts fun and work, but the kids might tilt that ratio toward the fun! She's a sweet doggie, and the kids were delighted and shocked when we presented her as a late Christmas present!

We had some extensive sickness here lately, and now that we are all better, I recognize that the illnesses were a blessing in the sense that I am just happy to be able to carry on with normal life and homeschooling, instead of struggling with the stress and weight of it all. Hope you are all well, and are keeping your eyes on our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

We made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to the pumpkin patch last Friday, then went to the local cider mill for our annual cider doughnut and cup of cider. This year we had it chilled instead of hot, because it was such a warm day. 

I think the fall color peaked about two weeks ago, but there are still some colors to enjoy, and a growing pile of leaves to play in in our backyard.

We marveled at the variety of colors, shapes, and sizes of the pumpkins and gourds. Aren't you thankful the Lord made such beauty for us to enjoy?  He could have placed us in a grey utilitarian world, without the capacity to appreciate or create beauty.  But that's not who He is. 

Eli's fine baby hair was really blowing in the wind, which looked hilarious. 

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

Stanley Horowitz

Fun in KY and IN

We had a great time at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, and then more fun at our denomination's international conference in Indiana. The kids made friends from all over, and we made a few, too! The teaching by Joel Beeke was fantastic. I will be linking up to one of his talks in particular sometime soon.

We really enjoyed the Creation Museum, and I would definitely say it is worth the expense, if you are ever able to go.  It was a wonderful experience to be in a museum that was so top-notch and that so clearly exalts God and his word and plan in history.

Lovin' on Eli.

Sam was enthralled with this animatronic dinosaur.  He didn't want to leave it!

There was a gorgeous garden on the museum grounds.

Lily was in more pictures than anyone else because she tends to hang out with me more....or maybe she just wants to be close to Eli....?!

So, this statue of John Wesley was right outside our dorm.  Our conference was at Indiana Weslyan University.  Beautiful campus!  Annesley's name is connected with Mr. Wesley, actually.  Anyone know how? 

This little chapel was so picturesque. 

So, we are home, and most of the laundry is done, and after a restful Lord's Day tomorrow, it will be back to school and the routine again.  It actually felt good to go to the grocery store today and get home to do some baking and cooking.  I think my family appreciated it, too!  We have several projects we would like to tackle around our rental house, but they may have to wait til it cools off a bit...in the meantime, we'll be gearing up for our Classical Conversations year, which is beginning soon.  Have a wonderful week, and thanks for stopping by!