Spring and Summer Take Wing

Spring is gone, summer is flying by, so let me sum up with pictures and a few brief words.

This just might be a foul,
but at least that shot did
NOT go in!

The girls had a great time playing PTO basketball at Wheeler Elementary.


(I guess that was technically winter, but I hadn't mentioned it yet so it's going on this post.)


They had really good teams, great coaches (especially Ellie here to the left!), and super brothers cheering them on from the sidelines!

Sugared up on concession stand loot

It's lo-ong way up there!

As soon as the PTO season was over, Marian decided that wasn't enough basketball.  She seems to have been bitten by the bug.  So Dwayne found a rec league for her to play in, the Crossville Thunder, and we enjoyed an exciting season with them.

Later in the spring, Drew had his network television debut!  He appeared on the morning edition of the news show on the Chattanooga NBC station.  He and another boy , were interviewed about Lego camp (which he attended last summer).  Very exciting!

We made a kaleidoscope!

Soccer season started out with Ellie trying her hands at some goal keeping.  It was a tough job, but she did great and we enjoyed watching her.

Andrew, in the older age level, also ruled the field.

 Speaking of soccer, Reagan has turned into quite a soccer "hooligan" this year so I thought it only fitting that it be the theme of his FIFTH birthday

What a boy.  

We celebrated the end of the school year with a trip to Lake Winnie.  We had a beautiful day there!  (It really could have been a post all by itself.)

 And these beautiful girls finished their second year of ballet.

 Some friends had a Hawaiian theme party.  Ellie and her friend Sunshine provided some of the entertainment, doing the hukilau dance.  It was such a sweet performance!

And the summer birthdays!

Marian turned 14!

Cecil turned 78.

And Ellie turned 9!

And threading through and around all of this, work on the farm must go on...
growing, weeding, harvesting, preserving God's bountiful provision.

And it doesn't hurt if the farmers are this
good lookin'!

All these things along with the day-to-day must-do's of life, our spring and summer were very full, but we always want to take time to appreciate the beauty all around us, like this awesome (if somewhat eerie) foggy night earlier this summer.

1

A foggy night on the farm

On to fall!  ... and more work, play, and celebration!

Happy Easter!!

I love Easter.  I love the certainty of Hope, the Promise fulfilled, the Plan carried out. 

The crucifixion is over;

 the resurrection is REAL!!

   

I love the more temporal things of Easter, too... 

winter (at least around here)  is over...

dressing up for our Easter picture...

and, oh yes! Easter egg hunts-- the kind where the eggs are actually hard to find, which is how we choose to torture our kids every year.  

It's possible that Dwayne and I get more fun out of hiding the eggs and watching the kids find them than the kids get from the hunt and winning the candy, but as you can see, there are smiles all around.

Making Valentine's Day a Family Affair

Valentine's Day at our house is a special event for everyone.  This year, the boys surprised me with a new creative contribution,

LEGO VALENTINES!

 How cool is that?!?!

Marian did not want to design a menu this year, leaving that up to Ellie.  Instead, she opted to help with the table setting and meal prep.  

Our dinner included:

Wrap-me-in-your-arms turnovers

Caes-ar  (Seize Her) Heart Salad

Sweet Peas

Sugar Baby (aka, Sweet Tea)

 Mooo-ved by Love (aka, Milk)

And for dessert,
Chocolate Sweetie Pie (a favorite of MY sweetie pie)

We dined on our fine china (ooh-la-la!), and each of the kids had a valentine treat at their place.

It was a very memorable love-feast.

Winter Glimpses, Part 2, Christmas in Maine

Christmas in Maine,

 which ,of course, included lots and lots of snow!

Excited to try snowboarding
for his first time.

Make way!  Coming through!

Of course, sooner or later, a snowball fight had to break out...

...and Marian would have to come up with the biggest snowball!

The cuteness of the snowman surpassed only by the cuteness of the snowman-maker!

Plenty of fun to be had indoors, too.  Endless card games and epic rounds of Twister!

Ever-so-precious handmade gifts from Nana (her specialty

And last but certainly not least, the supremely important tradition of homemade, hand-churned ice cream!

Winter Glimpses, Part 1

Marian performed with Bryan College Youth Choir.

We greatly enjoyed visiting with dear friends: Lionel, Sue, Isabel, and Christopher

We welcomed a new addition to the family----  

 a Foosball table!!  (What else?)

 And Dwayne celebrated 

42 years of awesomeness! 

:)  

A specially designed, one-of-a-kind, cooperative effort from the kids!