Mother's Day

This year, Mother's Day fell on the same day we were having Ephraim's party.  

Seth had given me some flowers.  

 And we took a picture of me with the children (Eliza had already changed out of her church clothes).

My mom gave me a nice card that read:

I hope you know

what a special daughter 

you've always been 

and what a loving mother you've become. 

 Although life isn't always easy,

 and every generation has its own challenges, 

you've managed to find your way 

both for yourself and your family.  

It makes me so unbelievably proud 

to see you as a mother . . . . 

and to share with you 

my incredible feelings as a grandparent.  

Always remember how special you are--

and how very much you're loved.  

Happy Mother's Day!

11th Birthday Party

Ephraim turned 11 on May 15.  He is growing up on us.  We had a simple party with family on Sunday afternoon, the 11th.  On Saturday we had baked his cake, half chocolate and half white.  We saved the frosting for Sunday afternoon.  Ephraim had his design all planned out and he did a lot of the frosting himself, too.  It is a Peterbilt semi with a VZ longhorn design on the side.  

Happy 11th birthday!  (His "I Love Mom" sticker is from Mother's Day at church).  

A picture with his cousins Garret & Alyssa.  

A family picture.  

"Happy Birthday to you!"

Card-opening time!  

A little show-and-tell time outside:  the calf, chickens and kitties.  

His party on Sunday was an enjoyable time spent celebrating all that Ephraim means to our family.  

On his actual birthday, Emmet had a ball game in the evening.  It was a cool, windy, rainy evening but we celebrated by first going to Titan Machinery so Ephraim could spend his birthday cash and then after the game we went to Culver's with Grandpa & Grandma.  

Ephraim had taken his chair to the car already and was hiding out in the van since it was drizzling rain. Ephraim came back for a few minutes to watch the game and we took this photo.  

A picture of Ephraim with the tractor he bought with his birthday money and in his cowboy boots from Seth and I.  Boy, they really make him look older!

And a picture with Flare, his calf.  

He spends a lot of time taking care of Flare.  He enjoys all things Case IH and has an uncanny knack for memorizing tractor facts and tire varieties.  He enjoys animal science, is studying for Bible Quiz, likes watching Mythbusters, helping his father with the cattle, mowing lawn and riding his bike.  We are so grateful to God for the blessing that Ephraim has been in our lives for the past 11 years!

Proverbs 6:20-23

20. My son, obey your father's commands, and don't neglect your mother's teaching.
21. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck.
22. Wherever you walk, their counsel can lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up in the morning, they will advise you.
23. For these commands and this teaching are a lamp to light the way ahead of you. The correction of discipline is the way of life.

Jury Trial

In January 2013 our home was burglarized.  Fast forward to May 2014, seventeen (yes, seventeen) months later, we faced the defendant in a courtroom.  The defendant, rather than plead guilty, decided to take his chances with a jury trial.  I guess he didn't think the evidence was convincing enough.  Even the County Attorney (representing the state and us) thought the case was largely circumstantial and wasn't sure they would be able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  We went into the three day jury trial hopeful, yet reserved.  

I was to testify on Tuesday, the 6th at 1:00.  I was the first of multiple witnesses to testify.  My job was fairly simple:  answer the questions honestly (not a problem there) and identify the pictures that were taken the evening of the burglary.  It took about an hour and went smoothly.  I made sure to look at the jury while I was talking. I was familiar with the judge presiding over the case and the court reporter is a friend of mine.  When I was done, I left for home.  Sure, it would have been nice to listen the subsequent testimony but I didn't have the time for that.  

Seth testified on Wednesday morning and it took about an hour.  His testimony focused on our firearms and the ammunition.  I wasn't able to be there to listen to him.  Technically, since we were both witnesses, we couldn't listen to each other's testimony.  

The testimony of deputies and officers and a DCI agent lasted until Thursday noon.  The jury began deliberations and I was there (with the children) to wait for a verdict.  And wait.  And wait.  And wait.  And wait.  I was starting to get nervous into the 4th hour.  The children were getting restless.  We'd played our games, taken a walk or two to the van, chewed our $.10 gum from the machine and toured the floors of the courthouse.  We weren't far from the jury room when the court attendant indicated just after 4pm that a verdict had been reached.  Finally.  

We entered the courtroom, along with the judge, court reporter, attorneys, the defendant and two guests of the defendant.  The jury came in and delivered the verdict to the judge.  Then the court attendant read the verdicts:  Guilty of Burglary, Guilty of Possession of a Firearm as a Felon.  The judge set bond for the defendant at $15,000 cash only.  That was a relief.  Sentencing is set for the end of July.  That will be when we can address the defendant . . . ask him what happened to our missing items, tell him how this has affected our lives and offer forgiveness.  

Our sincere thanks to all who have been praying for us through this ordeal!

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

March & April Misc

Here are some miscellaneous photos from our March & April.

We made up some blessing bags.  They are bags that include various personal care items, maybe a granola bar and a Bible.  We will keep them in the van and give them to a homeless person if we see one.  

Everyone was able to assemble one.  

The completed Blessing Bags.  Nothing fancy and it all fit in a quart-sized zippered bag, but hopefully a blessing to the recipient.  

**Update--I was able to give one out just this past weekend.  And earlier, we'd seen someone to give it to, but when Emmet and I went back to deliver it, he was gone.  This second scenario was in our neighborhood, too.  

March brings with it mud.  Also known as:  Fun for boys.  

Ephraim with his mud-splattered face.

"Mommy, what's this black circle on my skirt?"

Me coaching the boys how to change a flat tire.  I ended up changing it, but it was a good lesson for them to learn from.  

A science lesson.  How long is a anteater's tongue?  Long!

This was a fun project.  To go along with our Underground Railroad studies, we found some info online about all the quilt patterns and then made it with construction paper in colors of their own choosing.  

Their finished projects.  

Playing the bean bag toss game that Ephraim made in Cadets.  

Sympathy cards made for hurting friends.  Our prayers go out to the friends and classmates who have lost one of their parents.

The landscape is changing in our area.  A feed mill is being constructed in our line of sight and we had the chance to drive by the other day.  Seth said that once they started pouring concrete, they worked day and night.  They could pour an inch an hour.

Eliza pulling a practical joke on everyone.  She'd found an empty bird nest and then took one of our blue chicken eggs and tried to make it look like a robin had laid this humongous egg!  Silly girl!

What we're reading . . .

 . . . . lots of good books have been checked out by us lately.  I won't bother you with all the titles, but we'll just review some topics.  

Books on coins, rhinos, horses and some Reading Rainbow DVDs.  

More books on coins, a DVD series on Sitting Bull, Thomas Jefferson and another Reading Rainbow.  The book Keep the Lights Burning, Abby  was a good one based on a true story about a girl keeping the lighthouse lights burning during a storm in the absence of her father.  

We've enjoyed several of the Dear America movies.  We've also checked out from our local group games for math, geography and science.  Eden likes the Eloise easy reader books.    

All the children have enjoyed the Draw Write Now art books.  We've also learned from the Civil War activity book and a math book using decks of cards.  

A couple geography books, another Reading Rainbow DVD, a DVD on pioneers and a fun book Meanwhile Back at the Ranch.

Some of the children's selections from the library:  history, girly books, cowboy books and animal books.  

Another geography game from our HSAP, the Billy and Blaze books we've finished, several geography books, Language Arts books, animal books, cowboy and pioneer books.  

More animal books, a Civil War book about a cow that followed a certain regiment, a DVD on Annie Oakley and a book about her.  

Together we finished reading Because of Winn-Dixie.  I finished reading Mission Possible about a missionary to Papua New Guinea who helped them translate a Bible into their language.  It was a very good book about those waiting for a Bible in their own language and what a long process that is.  

May field trips

With our homeschool trip, we had the opportunity to go on two field trips in May.  First, we went to the local cemetery.  We were told interesting facts about several people who lived in the area decades ago.  It was really interesting.  First, we heard about a Revolutionary War soldier buried here.  

We learned about an inventor and an educator.  

We learned about a wagon wheel maker who had a large family and lived out of their covered wagon for a period of time.  

We learned about a black man who owned one of the coal mines by Buxton. 

All in all, it was a very interesting field trip and many thanks to the local Historical Museum for sponsoring the trip.  

We also were able to attend a YMCA fun day and it was free thanks to a generous donation.  We enjoyed the gym and play area for an hour and then enjoyed the pool for an hour.  

Emmet enjoyed playing dodgeball (in the yellow/green shirt).  Ephraim enjoyed climbing the high rock wall.  

And the girls found a rock wall that was more their size!  Again, it was a great afternoon of fun activities and friends.  We are so thankful to our HSAP for coordinating education and fun trips for us every month of the year.  

Tulip Time 2014

We don't always go to Tulip Time.  If the weather is fair, we'll go.  If not, we're staying home and I'm fine with that.  This year, the weather was near perfect for an outing on Friday, so we went.  Click here for our past Tulip Time adventures.  Click here for 2012's outing.  We missed 2013 because it was winter that week of May.  Remember, snow and frigid temperatures?  

Anyway, here we are in Pella for Tulip Time 2014.  We enjoyed a little trip around the square and found a nice bunch of tulips for an obligatory photo so we can see how much the children have changed over time.  

Eden found some pink ones and wanted a picture.

Which led to a search of some purple tulips so Eliza could have her picture taken. 

We bought two funnel cakes as a special treat and settled in for the afternoon parade.  We saw many family members in the parade!

The children enjoyed the bands, but especially enjoyed the few bands where we had family marching.

We've done some studying of the Pony Express and the Wild West so the children were delighted to see Wyatt Earp and his brothers along with a stagecoach.

We took the shuttle to and from Tulip Time.  

All in all, it was a great parade (although my children would say there wasn't enough candy) but we enjoyed our time walking around, visiting with friends and family and watching the parade.