January 2017 ~ week 1

 Hello from a country that has been long unheard from -- I have decided to try out posting on my blog again...we shall see how it goes.

We started the new year with a whole week of school break ahead of us.  Abigail and I got out one of our favorite movie snacks (while we watched some Pride and Prejudice) -- chips and cream cheese!

Mindy enjoyed one of the new Christmas toys...just in case you wondered, this is how much of a sixteen-pound cat will fit inside a Barbie tent.  I'm pretty sure she thought she was completely hidden. :)

We have enjoyed lots of cat snuggles during our days off.  The cats love it when we stay home and make our laps available!

 This weekend has been great fun -- we've had a winter wonderland!

 Abigail discovered that you never turn your back to someone who is sledding down a hill.  David hollered warnings and tried to swerve, but to no avail!  Fortunately, it was all laughter and no tears.  There was a layer of ice under the snow, so David had to help Abigail get on her feet again!

 I filled the birdfeeders just before the snowstorm hit -- the beautiful birds have made good use of it and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

Our house looks so pretty with snow on it!

When the weather forecast started buzzing earlier in the week with rumors of snow on the way, I decided to leave the outside Christmas lights up a little longer than normal.  It paid off -- oh, so pretty!

 All three cats know how to ride out a snowstorm -- find places of warmth and patches of sun!

After we took the kids sledding and enjoyed the novelty of a snowy day, we came back inside and hunkered down...and I finished a knitting project.  It has been a while since I made a hat, and this one has quite a few messed-up modified spots, but it's close enough to make me happy!

After we put away our Christmas decorations, we rearranged our living room furniture, so now I have a nice, organized area by my chair that keeps my knitting accessible and also makes it easy to pull up my spinning wheel.  I have high hopes for creative productivity in 2017!

 Today found us with church services canceled as our whole area is still snowed/iced in and the better part of wisdom when this happens is to stay home and avoid the unnecessary risk.  Our southern winter equipment (the sun!) has started its work, but needs another day and some higher temperatures to make it safe to get on the roads again.  This "bonus day" at home has been full of wonderful family time and extra rest...and Bruce's Chicago-style deep-dish pizza!

Back to school ~ 2014-2015

Our first day of school

David - 12 years old, seventh grade
61" tall, 85 lbs, size 10 1/2 shoe

Abigail - 10 years old, fifth grade
54" tall, 57 lbs, size 3 shoe

Our first field trip -- to Zoo Atlanta with Karen & her kids

Feeding the parakeets in the aviary is definitely a highlight of the zoo!

Our second field trip -- to the High Museum of Art

The kids' first time seeing a real Monet!

School is off to a great start!

Our summer in a nutshell ~ 2014

Our summer flew by in a flurry of busyness, but we also managed to fit in some time to enjoy being with each other and our friends.  I am finding yet more obstacles to good blogging...as the kids get older, I am doing more participating with them in activities and less watching, which means fewer pictures.  I have also graduated to a smartphone now, so it's so much easier to just snap a picture and upload it to facebook in a few seconds.  I am trying to find a good balance!

Here are just a few highlights of our summer...

We finished school and the kids were promoted to fifth and seventh grades! (gulp)

We had a wonderful week at summer camp

Abigail was chosen to participate in the silly game show!

 We played at the lake

We led our church's Backyard Bible Club

We had an absolutely wonderful time together on our end-of-school-year family outing; this year we went to Six Flags.

We celebrated the end of summer break by enjoying a day with friends at a local aquatic center...

...and Abigail overcame a major fear to conquer a waterslide all by herself (and loved it)!

Ah, summer break...you were fleeting, but wonderful while you lasted!

Our week ~ end of March

Life has been (as I'm sure you can guess) trucking along at top-speed.

A few highlights from our week...

A freak snowstorm that lasted about ten or fifteen minutes,

and the sun was brightly shining the whole time!

We had our first "subject finished for the school year" celebration, complete with throwing away of used-up textbooks (spelling is done for this year)!

Today after church, we got to go hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform a special concert designed to educate kids about the instruments in an orchestra.  It was an excellent concert and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The best part of all was that we won our four tickets in a local drawing, so we got to go for free!  Beyond providing for our needs, the Lord gives us good gifts of things that are not even needs but merely wishes...we are humbled and thankful!

Our weeks ~ October 21, October 28, & November 4

Our weeks have been full of many things...

Beautiful autumn colors (this is in our backyard)

 Abigail's second round of Botox on her left leg (see her faithful nurse?)

 Adorable cats who entertain us by playing in catnip, jumping windows in pursuit of insects, watching the printer in fascination, and (best of all!) snuggling

 A working weekend retreat in the lovely north Georgia mountains

 The magic of the first frost of the season

 The slow-paced fun of our latest science experiment (aka snail terrarium)

as we study animal classification

 Tree climbing (David is in the tree on the left)

 Schoolwork, schoolwork, and more schoolwork

 A 'mission of mercy' trip to cheer up my parents since my dad is down for the count with a foot infection and my mom is busy being his nurse:

With Grandpa during his daily IV treatment

 David and Grandpa hanging out at the pool

My first batch of 'real' soap (lye based soap with goat's milk & orange scent)

 The kids making pretty glycerin soaps with Grandma

 A fun picture from their yard, just because I like it!

Cousin/nephew/niece-love (and uncles and aunts, too)

 Back in Georgia again, to our chilly (but pretty!) fall weather...

from about October through March, if I am wearing pants,

you can be pretty sure that these are hiding underneath. :)

Football!  David wore his Broncos hat to cheer for Peyton Manning.

 The conclusion of our fall soccer season

Even a little bit of sewing & embroidery got squeezed into the schedule

 That's those three weeks in a nutshell! :)