A little late for Mother's Day, but still just as enjoyable.

Riding lawnmower- $$$$

Getting the lawn cut in 15 minutes versus one and a half hours with the push mower?
Priceless.

Before and After

In November we were able to put in the bottom part of the media cabinet (minus the feet, which we have picked out, but not purchased yet).

The primer that Brian used had a strong, strange scent that has taken over 6 months to get less stinky.
It has been in the back bedroom off gassing since Thanksgiving.

For some reason the lower cabinet lost its stink fairly quickly, but the top part didn't. But now that Doug is back from his time in Africa with the Army, we asked him to help move this huge piece into the house.
Another friend was kind enough to offer his help, too.

We celebrated the new cabinet's arrival with a taco dinner and a movie- Tangled. Although we have seen it a few times (and Hope, about 3000 times...), Doug hadn't watched it yet. Looking forward to putting the handles on the upper doors and doing those finishing touches.

Girl with Flowering Tree Part 2

Girl with Flowering Tree

Spring Snowfall

And two days ago it was in the 80's. Gotta love Colorado weather.

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mothers in our lives, we are thankful for you and the influence you've had on us.

Hoping it's o.k. with Jon and Christy to post this. It makes me smile :).

Around the House

Jacob and Brian worked on his "Space Needle" puzzle on Sunday afternoon.

Celebrating Brian's birthday with spaghetti and an apple pie made by Abby.

Hope dressed the dog to celebrate (found this on the camera- had no idea she did this!)

Up at 3am for the royal wedding. Loved every minute.

Has Dad mentioned that we are probably related to Prince William? Going back a looong ways (in the 1500's I believe) we share a common ancestor on his mother's side. So, of course we had to watch cousin Will get hitched!

My vision has been so blurry today. But when I went outside I realized that I am going through another visual transition. Once again, certain things have more dimension and color saturation than they did before. Again, I find myself tearing up at the beauty of God's creation- beauty that keeps unfolding as the months go by.

Testing Day

Jacob did well, so next fall, it's on to high school (9th grade). We are planning to skip 8th grade, since in math and science he's doing 9th grade work already. It's always a big relief when evaluations are over! One more month of school before summer break...
*Sign on door says "No test anxiety past this point*

Just In Case You Missed This...

Field Trip

Still feels a little strange only homeschooling three kiddos. But we're doing our best to adapt.
Note: This time, the field trip ended in an actual field.

New Curtains

"And you know one can dream so much better in a room where there are pretty things."-
Anne of Green Gables

Getting Ready for Easter

This book, published in 1978, has pictures from the movie Jesus of Nazareth (Lew Grade/Franco Zeffirelli film). The pictures are accompanied by the appropriate text from the Bible.

I enjoyed this book as a child, and now my children do as well.

And the Resurrection Eggs are an important part of our Easter Celebration, too.

Dear Blue Silk Dress,

Three (or four) years ago, I know you got excited when I cut you out and sewed those first seams. You thought you were getting close to being finished. However, it took some time to locate a zipper of the right length (over 20 inches) and color (light blue). Then, the zipper had to be sewn in by hand. In time, you were forgotten, languishing on a pile of unfinished projects.

Hope rose within you when you were rescued from that pile and brought into the closet in anticipation of hemming. But, alas, that day was still so far off.

So now, blue silk dress, you can breathe a sigh of relief, for you are finally hemmed, washed, ironed and ready for Easter morning. (Thankfully, you still fit even though I am ten pounds heavier than when you were first fitted. ) Your day is here at last!

Easter Egg Hunt at Church

Hope waited in line for her group's turn at finding eggs.

Jacob helped hide eggs and checked to make sure the eggs were filled before the younger kids came.

A rush of third and fourth graders!

And some bigger kids came to watch the fun.

Jammies Finished

Hope's desire to sew didn't last very long.

Who knew that the cutting and prepping to sew could take so long?

But the mom finished it all and now Hope is ready for those hot summer nights.

New For The Booth

To be put in the shop tomorrow.

Or perhaps not. We'll see.

Strange Creatures On The Lawn

Looks like an alien invasion in the back yard...

Hannah's Newest Creations

At the shop where Hannah sells her wares, there are many women who are selling homemade jewelry.

So Hannah is making boxes that you can use for jewelry for a lovely gift presentation.

Next up: small gift cards to match the boxes.