Cleaning is good, but sometimes you unearth undesirable things...

Every spring when the weather starts turning warm, the trees leaf out, and the birds start singing; I feel the urge to clean start coming on. Makes me want to turn everthing upside down and give it a thorough cleaning. Under the back deck is no exception.

Over the winter, a ton of leaves collect under our back deck. I hauled the stuff out from under there and proceeded to sweep and hose down the concrete. I'm not sure where all the stuff comes from, but at one point it looked like we were gearing up for a yard sale! Anyway, that's beside the point.  I got it looking all nice and tidy, put stuff in its proper place, and checked that one off my list.

The next day, Marci was doing something in the basement and spotted this little thing crawling between the sliding glass doors.

A little copperhead.  Isn't he adorable?

Just kidding. 

My fear was that, left unattended, this little poisonous thing would make his way into the house.

Abe and Conni got after it; knocked him onto the concrete.

Abe grabbed a handy golf club, (one of those things under the back deck) and bludgeoned it to death.

Battle waged, war won, mighty hunter's victory dance.

Some people might say that the moral of this story is that you just don't spring clean.  Too dangerous.  Too iffy.  I disagree. Go for it, all you spring cleaners.  Just be prepared for anything - even snakes!

Fire jumping....

It was wood cutting time again.

Tim did the cutting.  He also cut down another tree.  The kids did the picking up.  We had a rental tractor here, so we used it to haul all the branches over to our fire ring.

Lots of little branches, twigs to clean up.  They are a pain to mow over in the summer!

Abe dumping a load on our fire ring.  I think it got a bit oversized...

Mar figuring out how to drive the tractor.  After a few perplexed looks, she did it!

Connis is pooped.  No, she has not been working as long as she'd like you to think she has!

The cozy little fire ring is now a serious bonfire!  Oops!

Conni saw the fire get out of the ring, hollered at us, and we came running.  Our nice new sod was on fire!

Abe trying to stomp it back.

Trying to wet the sod down around the ring.

Once everything was ok, of course Abe had to do something like this.  Scared me to death at first.  Yes, I am well aware of the "what if's".  Put these words together and this is what happens!

male + youth + energy + challenge

You can see by his face how hot it was!

Glad he got that out of his system after only 4 or 5 jumps!

Next time, we won't build the pile so high or big!

 

Tim's 45th birthday

To celebrate Tim's birthday, I decided to spoil him with something I know pleases him every time - a nice dinner.  Tablecloth, china, flowers, wine, and courses - the works!  I chose one of his favorites: Chicken Madeira.  It is a lightly breaded and browned chicken breast with a delicious wine reduction sauce.  First course was the soup: Creamy Butternut Squash Soup.  I served Parmesan bread sticks with it. Next was a salad with his favorite homemade vinaigrette, followed by the main course: the Chicken Madeira and Roasted Asparagus drizzled with a butter and balsamic sauce. Last course was dessert.  I tried a new recipe: Spiced Pumpkin Mousse.  Yum!

 

Here is the table that Conni set.  The goblets are old - passed down to me from my grandmother.

 

And the very first flowers out of my yard: Snowdrops.

Parmesan Bread sticks rising.

The finished product tucked in a towel and ready to serve.

 

Abe pouring some bubbly.  It was so good - the part that he didn't fizz on the table. Notice the wet spot right beside him...

Marcis's dinner plate.

Spiced Pumpkin Mousse.  Crumbled gingersnaps in the bottom and a whole one on the top for garnish.

 

After dinner and the dishes (I ran the dishwasher 4 times that day) we went into the living room to open presents.  On Tim's wish list were the following: black and brown belts, cuff links, and a small farm.  Try working with that one!  He didn't make it very easy for us this year. 

 

 

Got the cuff links.

Cutting up.

John Grisham has excellent timing.  Every year, his new book comes out right before Tim's birthday.  My mom has gotten Tim the latest book every birthday for about 10 years!  Thanks Mom!

About the small farm.  This has been a life-long dream of ours.  It is still in the "some day" plan.  This year, this is the best I could do.

Enjoying his farm.  Straight out of the attic. 

 

Happy 45th to you, Tim!  We love you!

Miscellaneous happenings....

After one failed attempt, here I go with round 2 :)

A couple weeks ago we had friends over for dinner..... Louis DeLaura is Abe's basketball coach, and he and his wife Claire, and their 6 kids have been a wonderful example and encouragement to our family in the 2 years since we have known them. This is our 3rd season with this homeschool basketball team, and we have been so blessed in having these families in our lives.

This is Coach and Niki - she was home on winter break from USC. So glad we could have them in our home before she went back to California! Thanks for sharing the evening with us!

         Abe and Tre....

Last weekend we had friends down from northern VA.... Thanks so much for coming Nathan and Monica- we had a great time with you guys :)

Nate imitating.... certain people :)

 He had us in stitches... :)

Abe and Frank being entertained :)

Angi and Monica singing....

Frank and Heather Williams also came over for the weekend. We had such good times :)

More singing...... there was a lot of that :) We all enjoyed listening to them :)

Singing in the kitchen with a CD trying to learn a new song....

Back at the piano.....

It was a great weekend. Thank you guys for coming!

Done!!!!

It's done. I finally completed my quilt.
I used a dark brown wool yarn that I spun to tie it off. I guess I did kind of take the easy way out by tying it off, but I love how it turned out. It's queen size, so I could put it on my bed, but I'm still deciding exactly what I want to do with it.

Now that that is finished, THIS is what I'm concentrating on. Music :) One of our favorite activities!

Looking back on 2010 and forward to 2011

Like a lot of people, at the end of a year, I like to look back on that year and reflect on it: what all we did, what happened, what we learned, how my kids have changed and grown, and where we are with each other and the Lord.

Looking back on 2010 brings some mixed emotions for me. In a lot of ways, this has been the hardest, most stressful year of our lives. We have gone through a lot. And yet, in other ways, it has been such an eye-opening and blessed year for us! I have learned so much. I have been brought low, humbled, shamed in my lack of faith. I have had many opportunities to grow in that area and am doing so in leaps and bounds! God has amazed me with His gentleness, faithfulness, and provision. He has opened doors that I never even knew were there. He has brought people into my life that I never would have dreamed of. He has steadily and patiently shown me how to trust in Him. He has led me, comforted me, and blessed me so much. When times were the blackest and I was battling extreme discouragement, He was there. Things I couldn't see at the time, I look back on now and know He was providing for me and my family. People would come into my life and I would think, "Oh no. Not now Lord. I don't have it in me. I'm not capable of befriending anyone new right now. It's all I can do to maintain existing friendships."

Yet these people were in my life for some reason! Over and over again, they have shown me unconditional love and have been there for me even when I didn't realize I needed them. In my ignorance and arrogance, I thought I had to be the one to reach out to them and befriend them. I wanted to let my light shine for my Lord; to encourage them. Instead, they have done that for ME! How little I knew that I would need them far more than they needed me!

There have been several friends that I have had for years that have become more than friends over the last year. They are more like sisters to me. They too have been there for me - unconditionally.

As I've lost some relationships with friends or family that I've had for decades, these different friends I've mentioned have helped me through. They have repeatedly pointed me to Christ and encouraged me to trust Him and rest in Him.

This year's trials and grief have brought about another good thing: we have spent way more time together as a family. It has brought us closer and deepened our love and appreciation for each other. I have loved seeing my children draw closer to each other; loved watching them talk together, cry together, have fun together, and in general just enjoy each other on a whole different level. I wouldn't trade that for anything. The relationships they have together are priceless and will help them through some tough days. There is nothing like family!

As I look forward to 2011, I wonder what is in store for us. It's probably a good thing I can't see it. I know we are not completely through this trial we are going through. There will be more heartache, more disappointment and hurt. But Jesus Christ is there! He will never leave us or forsake us. He will not give us more than we can bear. I know I can count on Him to show us the way as we go on from here. He loves and cares for us so much! He will provide for our needs - sometimes even before we know what those needs are! He will give Tim the wisdom and strength to make the decisions necessary for our family. I can rest in that.

I write this to let those who know us, know how we are doing; where we are. For those of you who don't really know us, my prayer is that our love for the Lord and our commitment to serve Him will shine forth and encourage you in your walk with Him. I know we all have our trials. Some may be the same as ours, some may be different. Either way, our Heavenly Father is there for us. He wants a relationship with us; wants us to trust Him and lean on Him for our strength. He will never fail us!

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful, peaceful, Christ-filled New Year!