Monday, January 27, 2014

History + Art = WOW!

Let me just start by saying, art is certainly not my strong point!  We have recently taken a look at Rembrandt, a great portrait painter, so were inspired to bring a bit of this creativity to our history lessons.  We had fun following some online instructions (here) in our attempt to capture the visage of our first President.  Judge kindly...
Marian's
Ellie's

Mine!
Andrew's
And then, in "meeting" John James Audubon and in watching the Tufted Titmice out our window, we were inspired again.
Ellie's
Andrew's

Marian's
The kids were much more pleased with their bird sketches, but I'm proud of them all.
And we're all proud of Reagan's, below.  He titles this one, "Swirlies".

Friday, January 3, 2014

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2014!!
We love to welcome in the new year with a big party at our house and invite as many friends as can come-- lots of food, fellowship, games, and fun!!

This year made our 7th annual New Year's Eve party--- at least that's our best guess.  We've never bothered to keep count, but we know we've been doing this since Ellie was a baby, probably longer.  So just to be safe, we decided to use Ellie's age to help us keep track from now on.
This year was the best party of all, of course.  The kids made a huge poster so we could have a picture wall.  Didn't they do a great job?  I actually remembered to take everyone's picture at some point during the night, as well as some candid shots.  I wish I'd remembered the camera after the games started around the table, but I was too focused on winning to think about pictures!

We were delighted to meet a new family that recently moved to this area, as well as spending time with dear, "old" friends.  Everyone had a great time, ate plenty, and ushered in the new year with lots of laughter! 

Here's a bit of the fun, but I'll only share a few since I'm not sure that everyone would want to be posted.



May God bless all of us richly in 2014 as we choose His ways 
and serve Him with gladness.