recent happenings...

so many things have been happening all at once during the month of may. it has sometimes been hard to coordinate them all. here are a few of the more important events...

our church was planning a baptism service and B wanted to be baptized. she picked up a packet that had all the information, a Bible study to complete and a form to fill out to help you verbalize your testimony. B was very serious about doing everything required exactly right. this lead her to be a little stressed and nervous. it did not help matters that we were very busy with so many other activities. as the date approached, i suggested that maybe we should just wait until the next time. but for B, this was just not an option. she reminded me of the story found in acts 8 about the ethiopian who believed when philip explained the scriptures to him. they came across a pool of water in the desert and he said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" like the ethiopian, she wanted to be baptized right now! and why not? here is water!

we couldn't have the cake reception for her like we did when her brothers were baptized, our weekend was just too packed with events. but she said, "you know, it's not about cake!" thank you, dear B, for reminding me to focus on the important things.

B shared her testimony about her sunday school teacher (miss paula)
teaching the kids about salvation when she was 5.
later that day she prayed to ask Jesus into her heart.

she was baptized by john, the children's pastor at our church, who has such a heart for the kids.
God has used him in a such a wonderful way in our family, especially evident in the spiritual growth spurt we have seen in B. she has learned so much through the children's ministry and has a real hunger for the Word. God has given her such a loving, compassionate, and generous heart. we have seen her give sacrificially to missions and serve the women's ministry by helping care for the younger children during Bible study. i am praising God for her sweet faith in action.

3 John 1:4

I have not greater joy than to hear that my children are
walking in Truth


This month was also important to C as he reached a milestone, graduating from 8th grade. my boy is ready for high school! (not sure about his mother!) this past year has been a time of tremendous growth, yes, physically, but also in maturity. i have watched him take on a man's work, side by side with his dad. he has taken responsibility for his studies, working independently through the algebra text book ahead of the class. i have also seen him overcome some pitfalls. (i will have to stop before i get into trouble...he is not too happy about being the subject of my blog. ) but i will say, i am so proud of this young man. it is a joy to see God working in his life.

C receives his certificate of 8th grade graduation

Philippians 1:6

...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

i must have turned my back one day, because when i looked again,

my boy had become a young man.

he has passed me up in height and is gaining on his dad!

clownin' around! :o)

everyday gift: celebrating achievements, growth, and God's grace

jack-in-the-pulpit

we have a nice patch of jack-in-the-pulpits

in our woods along our path.

a jack-in-the-pulpit pushing up from its winter resting place

some flowers have deep purple markings inside. these are the seed making flowers. the pale green flowers only produce pollen which the insects carry to the other flowers. in the fall a spike of scarlet seeds will form. i have seen this before, not knowing what it was. i will be looking for them come october.

everyday gift: another wildflower for my nature almanac :o)

happy mother's day!

everyday gift: a mother's love

spring soccer

april and may bring a craziness to our schedule as our three soccer players gear up for the spring season. although it can be a strain, i do love the excitement of cheering my kids on from the sidelines. we have mostly good weather so being outdoors is very welcome after a long winter. here are a few shots from this weekend. (i forgot the camera at S's game, so i'll have to catch him next time. too, bad! it was a great game... he scored a hat trick!!! not bad for a defender, huh?! **correction** S read this and mentioned that although he is usually a defender, he was a midfielder for this game. just to set the record straight)

C in action during a weekend soccer game

he is serious during a game!

B nearly scores a goal!

everyday gift: a lawn chair, popcorn, lemonade, partly sunny skies, and an action-packed soccer game

road not taken

a basket of homespun yarn

wool, compliments of jubilee, shetland ewe

i found a beautiful book at the library called: a fine fleece: knitting with handspun yarns by lisa lloyd. it is filled with beautiful patterns and insights into knitting with these special yarns. one pattern in particular caught my eye, a lacy scarf which the author called "road not taken". it calls for a fine yarn, but all of my yarns are thick and woolly. so rather than try to spin up a new skein, i decided to use a single strand already on the bobbin instead of a plied yarn. i was not sure how my experiment would turn out since plying a yarn causes a counter twist which balances the yarn. you can see in the picture how the yarn has a little kink to it.

but it was worth a try. i found the pattern to be very forgiving of that extra kink, the variations in yarn thickness, and my mistakes. i loved spinning jubilee's oatmeal colored wool and found it just as nice to knit. i am so thrilled with the outcome!

the author's comments on the pattern inspired me, "...I realized that the zig-zag pattern represents the different directions and roads that we can take with knitting and spinning. I am always thinking of alternate versions of garments and wonder just how many different roads could be explored. small projects such as this scarf allow unlimited possibilities. So many choices, so many roads to take."

and yes, i had to go out and buy the book! if you know me, that does not surprise you!

the finished product

everyday gift: learning new stitches