Dad

Just a week ago our family celebrated Dad's birthday. A cause for much celebration to be sure!

Our dad is half a hundred (plus)! And certainly filled with more wisdom than I know of! Though I have discovered much understanding from him, and he continues to share his insight so that we may (eventually) learn.

We bought him a new pair of boots. I don't know when the last time he had cowboy boots was, but he has been wanting a pair of boots, so we are very glad to have been able to find a pair that he likes.

Our dad reads to us from God's precious Word daily. And instructs us and reminds us of the commands in the Word at every opportunity.

Dad is gentle and loving to all of us. He is (though imperfect) a beautiful picture of who our Father in heaven is- caring, forgiving, love.

Dad takes the time to do what we like. He tries to be interested in what we are interested in, and ignores his hobbies so that he can give us his time.

He is such a joy and always seeks to give of himself before anyone else. I know he had a good father's day, and birthday. I pray that the next are even better.

This is a CUTE picture, isn't it?

Jack likes to stir Dad's cup of coffee each morning. Dad willingly cleans up his splashed coffee from the table and allows Jack to merrily stir, stir, stir.

I have yet to meet a Dad like him, and doubt anyone could be a better father.

We love you so much Dad!

The desert wild and creatures therein

I was going to title this post, "the desert wild and creations therein", only my mom (and maybe some of you?) would argue that most of these critters came after "the Fall".  ;-] You discern...

We'll begin with what is probably the most tame (though to some, most terrifying) of the list:

A garden snake. Dead and therefore perfect for a photo shoot ;-] We've found quite a few of these, as well as some red racers and rattle snakes.

Next we have what we were told is probably a desert crab spider.

I actually think he/she looks kind of nice.

A pest-exterminator friend told us this was a solpugid. Strange looking.

Below in one of two centipede's we've found inside the house. The dollar bill is meant to show the length.

I tried to convince mom they were harmless after she asked if they were poisonous (the answer was yes) by saying, "But only one person has ever died from a bite." Ooops. Wrong words. "But that was a small child so they were extra vulnerable." Made things worse. At that point, I stuck my perverbial foot in my mouth and walked away. (I hope you all don't start worrying about centipedes now, the incident happened on some island where they probably grew to be a lot bigger than the American version...)

Don't know what this is, haven't even looked it up, just liked the yellow color.

And last but certainly not least on the danger factor is...

A scorpion. In the bedroom. But he was almost dead and looked very lonely, so I'm sure we won't be seeing any more.

(His belly had white spots...neat)

Thus concludes today's post. Now are you glad that YOU don't live in the desert (or maybe you do)? SquiRe, Momo and I are the only ones who think finding all these creatures is interesting!
Next time we post about animals (should be not too far away) they'll be much more lovable. Don't worry.

Sam

"I Am a Debtor" by Robert Murray M'Cheyne

When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o'er life's finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know-
Not till then- how much I owe.

When I hear the wicked call
On the rocks and hills to fall,
When I see them start and shrink
On the fiery deluge brink,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know-
Not till then- how much I owe.

When I stand before the throne,
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know-
Not till then- how much I owe.

When the praise of heaven I hear,
Loud as thunders to the ear,
Loud as many waters' noise,
Sweet as harp's melodious voice,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know-
Not till then- how much I owe.

Even on earth, as through a glass
Darkly, let thy glory pass,
Make forgiveness feel so sweet,
Make thy Spirit's help so meet,
Even on earth, Lord, make me know
Something of how much I owe.

Chosen not for good in me.
Wakened up from wrath to flee,
Hidden in the Savior's side,
By the Spirit sanctified,
Teach me, Lord, on earth to show,
By my love, how much I owe.

Oft I walk beneath the cloud,
Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud;
But, when fear is at the height,
Jesus comes, and all is light:
Blessed Jesus! bid me show
Doubting saints how much I owe.

When in flowery paths I tread,
Oft by sin I'm captive led;
Oft I fall, but still arise;
The Spirit comes- the tempter flies;
Blessed Spirit! bid me show
Weary sinners all I owe.

Oft the nights of sorrow reign-
Weeping, sickness, sighing, pain,
But a night Thine anger burns-
Morning comes, and joy returns:
God of comforts! bid me show
To thy poor, how much I owe.

The Birthday of One Who is Two

   It has been said many a time that the younger one is the better memory one has. Can I say that Jack is proof that that is both 100% correct and 100% false? In my opinion the fact that he doesn't even remember what happened in his life the previous year, last week, or yesterday makes said statement pretty much void. However, he has the BEST memory in the sense that his memory is filled with only the good, the happy memories of a "Mommy!" and "Daaad!" with never ending supplies of love, and zero memories of any hurts or sadness. He remembers only blessings, which, in my opinion, pionts to the fact that he has the best memory of all!
    I'm aware that all of what I just wrote has just about 0% logic in it.
    That's because my brain works with just about 0% logic in it.  .... =3
    My little illogcal rant was probably a result of the lessons on thankfulness/gratitude my mom has been sharing with me recently. I guess I'll just share with you what she shared with me today:    =)

There are blessings in your life and mine that "no eye has seen, nor ear heard" (v. 9)—blessings that only show themselves by not showing up. Today, try listing as many of these things to be grateful for as you can think of. For example, think of the miles you’ve driven without getting a flat tire. Think of the big tree out front that’s never dropped a damaging limb on your house. Think of a destructive sin or habit the Lord has kept you from being tempted by. Perhaps you’re hobbled by a medical problem or two, but think of a dozen you’ve never experienced.

Look at all the benefits on your growing list of gratitude inducers, and by backing them into reverse like this, you’ll find your blessings multiplying at an amazing rate.

Gratitude can (and should) lead us to intercession. A good prayer starter is to ask God to remind you of those who do suffer from some of the things He’s spared you from. Lift these people up to Him today.      [Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Choosing Gratitude]

   In all things. At all times. Limitless reasons to be thankful.
  
   Without further ado, many, maybe too many pictures. =)

Jack holding the bat and ball he bought for his birthday gifts.

   In the mail each year my siblings and I recieve a card with five dollars placed in it from our great-grandparents. The five dollar bill is the upgrade from the stick of gum that used to come in the cards.

He enjoyed ripping off the paper!

The rest of his presents were surprises!

I don't know if you can see clearly from the picture, but he likes gifts.

Three cheesey "Cheese!"es from the youngest siblings.

"However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts” -John Calvin

    After the food and presents, we went outside to talk, play frisbee, and climb trees.

She caught it!

Their faces tell how much fun they're having!

I like this funny picture of SquiRe, Cousin, and Goldilocks racing to catch the frisbee.

Ready! Set! Throw! YAY!

     I put the below pictures together because 1) four pictures of SquiRe in a row seemed a bit too much and 2) it is fun to see him play with himself.

I LAUGH out loud everytime I see SquiRe's face (one on left) in this pic.

    I don't want to bore you with pictures, and this post seems to be growing in length exponentially -okay, maybe not quite that much but it's growing!- so I'll end it ASAP. Only one two more pictures.

This is Mr.Toddler-Not-Baby-Any-More playing with his birthday toys.

I have to share this picture because it was so cute how he reacted when he saw his gift. Picture a *squeel* and two flapping hands.

Time is short, sooner than later we won't remember the ways we spent the birthdays, but the ways we spent the time in between as it says in 1 Corinthians 3:11-13. (I've been raised in a familyy of Jesus Jukers, I can't help it.) 

I'm so thankful for the life that God blessed our family by giving us sweet little Jack. I hope you enjoyed being able to share our joy of Jack whilst reading this post.

Hob-ah-nah-dah!! (Translation given because this is written to make my mom and dad smile, and I don't doubt most of you, Readers, will not get this joke:Have a Nice Day!)

~Momo

P.S. Though I requested and even uploaded a picture of my invisble eldest sister, the pictures were not permitted to be seen in the end. I shall have a photo of her for you soon! I shall!

Mother's Day

Our Mother's Day has been going very well. Not only is today a special day for Mom, but it is also Jack's birthday. Our mom has given us so many gifts, but her wisdom and love are two of her greatest gifts to us. She is just about the most humble and hard-working woman I've ever met. All of her children agree: we are blessed to be able to call her mom!

Today, we woke early and began to make an "unusual" Mother's Day breakfast.

Scones! Our mom likes scone a lot, however the breakfast we traditionally give her has always been croissants with fresh fruit. This year we decided to branch out.

We made three different kinds of scones. The above and very blurry picture taken by yours truly are the blueberry scones and delicious lemon curd.

We also made some cranberry almond scone. (Those were my favorite.)

And the sweetest of them all (Jack called them "cookies!") chocolate-pecan with a wonderful maple glaze.

Immediately after eating, we gave mom her gifts. (And Jack received his.)

She got these wind chimes.

Dad picked them out, and they sound and look just splendid! Mom really liked them.

We also gave Mom the movie Return to Cranford. We watched her movie this afternoon.

For lunch we made pesto from our basil plant and then made pesto turkey sandwiches on croissants of course. Mom also really likes blackberries, so we made her a blackberry-mascarpone tart.

We are now getting ready to leave for church this evening. A perfect way to end the day!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Mother's day.

~Momo

As You Wish

Hello All!
      Isn't it nice to be settling in? Why, yes! Rather!
      We as a family have gone through - or at least it feels to me- quite a few changes this year! Going through a season of changes and uncertainty I'm usually faced with a decision: trust in God's providence, put on faith and a good attitude, or worry, become anxious and irritable. It takes a good deal of work and constant focus to see the time of waiting as a blessing and it can only be done by the grace of Jesus! Though I haven't stayed on the path of trust and a joyful heart as much as I should have, God has taught me some things through this.
     Praise the Lord for family! Amen? God has placed me in the most incredible family, I am so abundantly blessed through them. I have two amazing, godly parents who work so hard to follow God's commands and teach His principles to us. I don't know of any other parents here on earth who love as my parents do. I don't say any of this to brag, but I am so thankful to God for my strong Christian siblings and parents that I'm brought to tears, and I'm not sure if I can help but give thanks! Every Christian has an amazing family. The Lord has adopted us into the church family, God is our Father and Christ our Brother!

     Praise the Lord He is faithful!, a Rock ever stable and safe. When everything changes: He stays there! Always the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow!

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He doth richly repay;

Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,

But is blessed if we trust and obey.

     

   One of those "changes" (and this was just a minor one) was a diet change. We've been baking an awful lot of gluten free things! SquiRe is allergic to gluten and I've a few less "issues" if I stay away from gluten, but I'm not allergic. =) I usually try to eat with less gluten, but recently we've been making a lot more gluten free products because Sam was on a stricter diet.

This is DELICIOUS gluten free bread.

It is so great to cook yummy things for appreciative cuties!

Goldilocks helped me with triple-decker fractions yesterday. Jack graded her work!

Jack said she did great for a Kindergartner doing advanced mathematics!

    One change (again, a very minor change) is that since we have moved, we have seen much wildlife. We have many good pictures of creatures in our front yard. I will gladly put a post together for you, if you so wish. Aka comment!
     Jack is going to turn 2!! Aahh! I can't believe it. Can you believe it? I made him his birthday present, but gave it to him early. It is a frog beanie I knit. He will be having his birthday party soon, so if you wish to see a post on that... comment and say "If I don't have you married by tea time I'll eat my own bonnet beanie!*" or just tell us you'd like to see a post about Jack's 2nd birthday. =) Whichever.

Here is the top of froggy-Jack's hat.

Isn't HE ADORABLE!!!! *clears thought* Sorry.

Taken just today, this picture is of Goldilocks and I washing dishes and playing "Cinderella".

Goldilocks and I have played "Cinderella" every single day for the last week and a half!
And because we love to share quotes with you here on BBB....
Goldilocks: "Cinderella-Momo? When is the ball?"
Me: "It is tomorrow! Won't that be fun, Cinderella-Goldilocks?"
Goldilocks: "Oh yeah! Cinderella-Momo, will we take the magic carriage or the suburban?"
Me: "Probably, the suburban."
    Guess what, Cinderella-Blog-Reader? We -the Books, Ballet and Basketball family- will  be going to a ball tomorrow. A homeschool vintage ball. Goldi and I are so looking forward to it! I think it would make a pretty good post for BBB! But, not what I want to read, I will only post as you wish. Would like like to see pictures from a ball this Saturday? ...You know what to do!
     I hope you all have a marvelous Cinco De Mayo!
HIS and Yours,
Momo

P.S. This is going to sound rather familiar but comment if you'd like to see proof of existence (pictures) of our eldest sister.

*quote from Sense & Sensibility (but really, has anyone reading our blog NOT seen that?)