Instrument Holders

Drew crafted the beautiful violin holders pictured above.  They not only decorate the wall nicely, but serve the living room practically, reducing the cases all over the places mess :-).  I only hope the winter heat won't dry them out too badly.

Drew modified this holder from his sister to include the banjo.

All of the instruments have been played more since hanging them up!

Chloe - 17 Months Today!

Chloe delights her Papa, myself and all her siblings.  Jacob recently said "I just love having a baby around.  They add so much joy!  Even when Chloe knocks down my tower it is fun 'cause she's so cute."  I cannot believe all she understands.  I cannot believe she is now just one month shy of a year and a half!!

Friends Visit

Drew enjoyed his class reunion so much we were both thrilled to have Greg, Maribeth and their children here last friday for a visit!  Their twins held a special place in my heart as I thought of Chloe's twin.  As I watched Rex and Clementine I couldn't help thinking of the what if's.  I retreated to the kitchen to cry when who should come up for a hug, Mary Elisabeth, crying and saying "Mommy, doesn't it make you miss Seth to see the twins?"  We had a good hug and cry time.  Their visit zoomed by entirely too quickly.  I sure hope they visit again!

Battle of the Bulge Continues

I gained 5 pounds on our trip to Kentucky and am suffering.  UGH!

I have been motivated by a few different things to get back on the fronts of the battle line!  

I was inspired by an article in the paper which quoted a local food store owner saying people don't connect what they eat with how they feel.  If you eat the wrong thing, you feel like garbage.  (not a direct quote).  Then I was inspired by my sister Terry who is cutting out white sugar in her diet.  Then Saturday Drew's sister was like the icing on the cake (no pun intended :-)) to start fighting again.  She had read "Mindless Eating".  She reminded me of my own words to her some time ago. . . There is such a peace in being in control of what you are eating.  There is freedom in knowing you can have a piece of cake because you have been making wise and careful choices during the day.

Here are a few of the pieces of wisdom from the book she read. . .  

Use small plates, antique dealers will tell you dinner plates used 100+ years ago were the size of our salad plates.  You obviously take less food if you have a smaller plate.  

I forget the % but your plate should have LOTS of vegetables on it.

If you eat 100-200 extra calories per day over the course of a year you will gain about 10 pounds, conversely, if you eat 100-200 calories less per day you will loose that weight over a years time without feeling deprived.

For me the overeating continues to be a spiritual battle.  I eat to escape.  I overindulge - gluttony.  I know the Lord will give me victory as I call out to Him for help!  Here I go again!!!!!  I am SO thankful God is patient, longsuffering, gentle, merciful.  What a SAVIOR.

Like salvation, this  isn't a one time I trusted and now I am home free. It is a continual trusting, calling out, falling and getting up to call out for more grace, more mercy, memorizing scripture, meditating on scripture, engaging my mind and emotions on things that please the Lord.

Mat Time or Nap Time?

Abram has been getting up at the crack of dawn.  Yesterday Drew pointed out the dark circles under his eyes.  I am not sure the cause of these early morning rousings but today the poor boy gave out during "Mat Time", well as you can see he had strayed from his mat.  He asked me if he could get off his mat to get his blanket and the next thing I knew he was snoozing.  I should have just left him but of course I envisioned the pee pee accident on the floor and woke him up moving him to his bed.  Actually it was the putting on of the diaper that aroused the sleeper.  So now I think I will skip the nap and do an early to bed.

Mary Turns 12!

Uncle Ron and Aunt Kari hosted a Birthday Celebration for Mary Elisabeth on Saturday.

Anna made Mary a lovely Birthday sign.

Cousins are such awesome friends!

Baruch gets a little Grandma love.

Abram and Aunt Kari ham it up

Abram and Chloe takin' a ride.

The little boys were whooped after a fun filled day!

Thanks for the lovely time Uncle Ron and Aunt Kari!!

Reminiscing. . . Just 12 years ago on a Sunday Drew and I were sitting in church when I felt this slight trickle.  Hmmmm?  Could it be my water broke?  No certainly not, then we stood to sing and the baby's (who we were just sure would be a boy) head corked the passage and the trickle sensation was gone.  Yes my water was trickling.  I am so thankful I didn't experience a gush:-o!  My real labor pains didn't start for 17 hours but that is another story :-)  Now I am amazed at how fast 12 years has gone.  Mary Elisabeth is growing into a young lady.  She exhibits self control, wisdom and many godly fruits.  What a blessing she has been these past 12 years!  I thank God for her and pray that she would love the Lord with EVERYTHING she has as she continues to grow.

Chloe Update

Chloe grows and changes faster than I can blink!  Over the past month her speech blasted off.  Here are all of the words (and even two sentences!) from her ever expanding vocabulary (In the order she has said them):

Dada

Mama

Jay Jah (Jacob) - Jacob worked long and hard to get her to say this one.

Ouch - Mary was trying to get her to say a word (which escapes me at the moment.  Mary repeated the word to her over and over and over and over again.  Then Mary hurt her own finger and said "ouch".  Chloe repeated "ouch" with no hesitation :-)

Tickleeee, tickleeee, tickleeee (tickle)

Daddy Home!

un shoe (on shoe) - She says this all day long as she puts on and takes off any and every shoe she finds around the house, dragging shoes to who knows where.  I have lost two pairs of Baruch's shoes and it is convenient to blame the shoe hound :-)  It is really very adorable to watch her point and say "un shoe", then work on putting on whatever shoe she has found.  

Kittleeeee, kittleeee, kittleee (kitty) not to be mistaken for tickleee, although VERY similar sounding the cat being present we are all sure she said kitty :-)

Wanna ride (when Baruch was giving Abram a horsey ride and everytime any of us gets down to give horsey rides, or laundry basket rides)

Paper Airplane Show

Paper Airplane fever began with Mary and soon everyone was building a vast variety of planes. After two days of creating and building someone had the idea of a balcony show. It lasted a good ten minutes with Abi down below retrieving the planes, Mary pulling them up and Jacob sending them off for another flight! The small planes actually flew the furthest but I couldn't capture them in flight. 

Peter's Visit

Time is flying, I meant to get this posted right after Peter's visit!

We had a great time catching up with Peter while he was here. He only stayed one night so we made the most of our time with him. Mary E. especially enjoyed listening to Papa and Mr. C. banter a bit and tease each other. Funny how they each had slightly different takes on college memories. Like the time they sang a duet. Drew reminisced how they got off key. "One of us got off key" Peter countered. "Oh yes, I mean you got off key" Drew responded. And so the stories went.

Grandma Time!

Drew's Dad and Mom visited Saturday Oct. 3rd.

Abram ATE up his Grandma time!

A Family Violin Lesson

Friday the 2nd of October found us at our first group violin lesson.  The lesson went way better than I could have hoped for.  Chloe sat on my lap and all the kids sat around in a circle.  Mr. Y sat in a glider rocker.  First he got out a fiddle and explained the parts of the instrument and that the fiddle and violin are the same instrument.  He engaged the children with questions and waited patiently for answers.  I waited anxiously (as we home schooling mothers tend to do).  Abigail got out her violin and he had all the children hold out their left arms so he could measure them up to her violin.  He determined Mary and Jacob were ready for full sized and Abi and Baruch could use the 1/2 size.  He then introduced the children to all the stringed instruments, showing them the differences/similarities.  Then he passed out some "junk bows" he had acquired.  I thought he might pass up little Abram sitting there bolt upright with his bright keen eyes but he handed him a bow as well.  Then he instructed me on how to instruct them for this weeks practice time.  They have practiced so often a string broke on the violin

The Kentucky Family Reunion

Our vacation to Kentucky was wonderful (once we got there :-)).  I REALLY enjoyed the sister/sister-in-law time!  I stayed up too late talking to different sisters each night.  The accommodations were the nicest we've stayed in over the years.  Although I missed being on a lake the Passmore Place did have a nice pool and great deck area out back.  We arrived Monday.  We ended up spending a night at a hotel on the way as Abigail threw up and we actually debated as to whether we should go at all at the risk of infecting everyone else.  We finally decided to go and I am SO glad we did.  Tuesday we toured Mammoth Passage and Mammoth Cave National Park.  Wednesday Drew, Jacob, Terry, Eldon, Chip, Matt and Melvin toured the Corvette Manufacturing Plant and a museum.  Thursday I don't remember what we did.  Probably because it was our night to cook (each sibling took a night as usual -we fixed mushroom swiss burgers, tossed greens, potato salad, grapes and honeydew melon.)  Some time in the early afternoon one of the kids came running in the house yelling that there was a real cowboy outside.  Sure enough a neighbor was out in the back yard with one of the horses we had admired all week.  He offered to take anyone for a rid and each child accommodated him. He and his wife joined us later for super and we learned a bit of the history of Passmore Place.   Friday we took another tour at Mammoth Cave NP.  We toured the Niagra cave.  The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins.  Somewhere in there we had some organized chaos in the way of relay races and such.  My favorite part of the organized chaos was the water balloon fight.  I joined in with the kids and so did Rita.  Rita kept pelting me and the balloons just rolled off.  Little did she know I was ripping mine open and squirting her!  Saturday the kids put on a talent show.  Before I knew it home fever set in and we were rolling into town. . . to our newly painted floor and the task of unpacking.  

What a HUGE blessing - being with family - what a nice break in the routine!

Success is . . .

"Success is the sum of small efforts --

repeated day in and day out."

-Robert Collier