Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Joel is five
Joel turned five on Wednesday. I know because those were the first words out of his mouth that day. Before I was even out of bed, he came to me and said, "I'm five today, Mom." Not that I would ever even consider being unprepared for my little Joel's birthday. Of course I had all of his presents bought and wrapped and his favorite birthday dinner planned. Or maybe we just ate tacos and I had Elizabeth quickly wrap presents while Grace and I cleared the dishes so that Joel could open his gifts after dinner. Thankfully, five year old boys don't seem to care all that much.
Joel's favorite present by far was a brand new pair of cowboy boots. As soon as he tried them on, he said, "I've gotta go get on my mustache!" Then he did some cool cowboy poses in front of the full length mirror. "Space Cowboy," may have been a better description, as he practiced the quick draw of his new Star Wars gun given to him by his godmother, Peggy.
Last night, Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jane came to dinner to help us celebrate Joel's birthday a second time. Joel requested "meatballs and noodles and sauce" for the menu. Grace worked all afternoon to make homemade meatballs and sauce, homemade Italian sourdough bread, green salad with all the fixings and from scratch whoppie pies (another of Joel's requests). What a loving big sister Joel has.
Tonight we'll head over to Macduff headquarters, where we'll celebrate all the February birthdays in the family. Joel will celebrate his birthday again with all twelve of his cousins, his aunts and uncles and his paternal grandparents.
Many years ago, Matt and I made the deliberate decision to situate ourselves smack dab in the middle of lots of family and grow our roots deep. While we might have chased a higher paying, higher profile job in Matt's profession, our heart's desire was for our children to be raised in the midst of a loving extended family. Obviously, the Lord's hand of blessing has allowed us to do just that--not everyone has the ability to make such a choice. But by His grace, we have, and we thank Him for it.
As a side note--I was reflecting on our little Joel this past week. I miscarried before I conceived him. I remember crying out to the Lord, "Give me another son to raise to your glory." The Lord answered that prayer, in a little boy named Joel, whose Mommy and Daddy pray continually that he will become a man after God's own heart.
Joel's favorite present by far was a brand new pair of cowboy boots. As soon as he tried them on, he said, "I've gotta go get on my mustache!" Then he did some cool cowboy poses in front of the full length mirror. "Space Cowboy," may have been a better description, as he practiced the quick draw of his new Star Wars gun given to him by his godmother, Peggy.
Last night, Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jane came to dinner to help us celebrate Joel's birthday a second time. Joel requested "meatballs and noodles and sauce" for the menu. Grace worked all afternoon to make homemade meatballs and sauce, homemade Italian sourdough bread, green salad with all the fixings and from scratch whoppie pies (another of Joel's requests). What a loving big sister Joel has.
Tonight we'll head over to Macduff headquarters, where we'll celebrate all the February birthdays in the family. Joel will celebrate his birthday again with all twelve of his cousins, his aunts and uncles and his paternal grandparents.Many years ago, Matt and I made the deliberate decision to situate ourselves smack dab in the middle of lots of family and grow our roots deep. While we might have chased a higher paying, higher profile job in Matt's profession, our heart's desire was for our children to be raised in the midst of a loving extended family. Obviously, the Lord's hand of blessing has allowed us to do just that--not everyone has the ability to make such a choice. But by His grace, we have, and we thank Him for it.
As a side note--I was reflecting on our little Joel this past week. I miscarried before I conceived him. I remember crying out to the Lord, "Give me another son to raise to your glory." The Lord answered that prayer, in a little boy named Joel, whose Mommy and Daddy pray continually that he will become a man after God's own heart.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
An ordinary conversation at the Macduff Dinner Table
(by Grace)
We had the following conversation at our dinner table when Joel wanted to eat just his fruit and not his green beans:
Dad: "Those look like some awfully good green beans on your plate Joel,do you want to eat them?"
Joel:"No."
Dad (referring to some dried pinto beans in a jar on the table):"Well, do you want to eat a pinto bean?"
Joel:"No."
Dad:"How about a pea?"
Lydia:"Ya know that peas are really a bean."
Joel:"Naw aw."
Lydia:"They are too!I'm serious."
Joel:"You always say 'serious' and I always say 'whelp'(Joel's word for well)."
Then Joel continued on with the previous conversation and said:"Whelp,I just want to eat my fruit."
We had the following conversation at our dinner table when Joel wanted to eat just his fruit and not his green beans:
Dad: "Those look like some awfully good green beans on your plate Joel,do you want to eat them?"
Joel:"No."
Dad (referring to some dried pinto beans in a jar on the table):"Well, do you want to eat a pinto bean?"
Joel:"No."
Dad:"How about a pea?"
Lydia:"Ya know that peas are really a bean."
Joel:"Naw aw."
Lydia:"They are too!I'm serious."
Joel:"You always say 'serious' and I always say 'whelp'(Joel's word for well)."
Then Joel continued on with the previous conversation and said:"Whelp,I just want to eat my fruit."
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sneak Peek
Dr. Voddie Baucham will be the keynote speaker at our annual state homeschool conference this spring. Matt's parents will be attending with us again this year. I have extra informational pamphlets about the conference for anyone who is interested. (Anna L.--when I talked to Stacey a few months ago, she said she hoped to invite you and your family. If she hasn't done so, I am. If you'd like more details, e-mail me.)
The following video is a 5 minute sermon of Dr. Baucham's on the Sovereignty of God and the centrality of Christ.
The following video is a 5 minute sermon of Dr. Baucham's on the Sovereignty of God and the centrality of Christ.
VBaucham from D6 Conference on Vimeo.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Lydia is Seven
Lydia turned seven on Tuesday. The three weeks prior to her birthday, I heard something like this every day: "Only 19 days until my birthday," "Only 8 days until my birthday." By the time the actual date arrived, even the little ones knew what day it was.
We celebrated on Sunday with Grandpa Tom, Grandma Jane, Auntie Em and Raphaella. Grace made a loaf of sourdough french bread again, which we dipped in balsamic vinegar and garlic olive oil. I dare say the bread out shown the Emeril's ham I made. Grace also made a lovely from scratch devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. Needless to say, she wore herself out.
Grandma and Grandpa gave Lydia a purple dress, which is Lydia's favorite color. (Lydia in the Bible was a seller of purple cloth.) Auntie Em had the bright idea of giving Lydia peanut butter, birdseed and pine cones so that Lydia could make bird treats. This turned out to be a great project in which all of the littles could participate. They were so tickled to hang their finished masterpieces in the trees outside.
Tuesday night, Grace made Cowboy Calzones for dinner, as that was Lydia's request for her birthday dinner. Daddy entertained all the kids with the stories he told of his adventures with the Boy Scouts.
For the most part, Lydia opened her presents unassisted. Jude really really really wanted it to be his birthday too, so Lydia let him open her last present. Daddy also lit the candles on the birthday cake again so that Jude could have his turn blowing them out. Poor kid, he has seven more months to go before his own birthday. Life is hard for little boys.
We celebrated on Sunday with Grandpa Tom, Grandma Jane, Auntie Em and Raphaella. Grace made a loaf of sourdough french bread again, which we dipped in balsamic vinegar and garlic olive oil. I dare say the bread out shown the Emeril's ham I made. Grace also made a lovely from scratch devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. Needless to say, she wore herself out.
Grandma and Grandpa gave Lydia a purple dress, which is Lydia's favorite color. (Lydia in the Bible was a seller of purple cloth.) Auntie Em had the bright idea of giving Lydia peanut butter, birdseed and pine cones so that Lydia could make bird treats. This turned out to be a great project in which all of the littles could participate. They were so tickled to hang their finished masterpieces in the trees outside.Tuesday night, Grace made Cowboy Calzones for dinner, as that was Lydia's request for her birthday dinner. Daddy entertained all the kids with the stories he told of his adventures with the Boy Scouts.
For the most part, Lydia opened her presents unassisted. Jude really really really wanted it to be his birthday too, so Lydia let him open her last present. Daddy also lit the candles on the birthday cake again so that Jude could have his turn blowing them out. Poor kid, he has seven more months to go before his own birthday. Life is hard for little boys.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
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