Happy 3 to Miss Verity-Grace!!

What? You're getting tired from all these birthday posts?? Tell me about it!! It's one party after another over here, and we're SO grateful!! :D

Verity-Grace, the Cutie Face turns 3 officially tomorrow. We celebrated tonite by roasting hot dogs and marshmallows at the backyard campfire. She picked the Ginormous sized marshmallows for extra ooey-gooey fun. 

Ruth caught a "big one"!!

Verity's birthday is the last of the four girlies'. She was so excited to finally have her turn at opening presents.

A new bike

We praise the Lord for you, our sweet girl. As your name speaks to the truth and grace that the Lord offers, may you always be a light for Him!

"Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." 2 John 1:3

Beach Day

Spring just wouldn't be spring without a trek to the beach.  We're so grateful to be close enough for a day trip to enjoy the ocean.

Honoree' loved her first time playing in the sand. She did the bum-scoot all over. (and I fussed over having a blanket for her to sit on...phooey!)

Oh Susannah....Happy Birthday!!

Our Tarzanna....I mean, Susannah (heehee!) turned 5 this month. Five is one of those "big ages", you know? She's as busy and daring as ever. Yet, I still enjoy her love of snuggles and need for extra love when her antics catch up with her. We shared her birthday dinner of hot dogs, chips and orange soda with Grandma and Papa while helping them move to their new house. Susannah was excited that they could join us, as it made the celebration extra sweet.

Bear handmade with love from her sister, Ruth.

We love you our precious, wild girl! You truly bring joy into our lives. We pray these words would be true in your life...

"But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation".  Psalm 13:5

Alpaca Shearing

We were invited to join our friends for the spring shearing of their alpacas.  It was a chilly morning, but everyone was hard at work when we got there. They had quite a reservation list for the "barber".

We were amazed at the team work involved.  It was quite a production, but our boys were happy to jump right in.

Elizabeth, the animal lover, took a little more time observing from a distance. Once she got a feel for the whole process, she found her favorite place to help.

I tell ya', I still feel cold just looking at these newly shaven critters.  Brrrrrr!

We had a lot of fun being there. Not sure we have any shearing in our own future, though Susannah does have a longing for her own little lamb to add to our "farm". For now, we'll be happy to visit and join in with others. ;-)

Celebrating Easter

Our Easter celebration was pretty quiet this year. We attended our first Good Friday service with our new church family. That was a blessing, especially as we ended up with several feeling sick later in the weekend, so we stayed home Easter Sunday to rest.

We didn't miss our traditional Family Foot Washing on Maunday Thursday, though. That is always a special time for us. This year, Joshua volunteered to wash feet, as Jesus did so long ago. We're grateful for the example He gives us to love and serve one another in humilty.

Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet !"

Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."  John 13:8



The Butterfly Place

To celebrate our four girlies' birthdays this spring, we took a trip to The Butterfly Place in Massachusettes.

While we were expecting a larger facility, we did enjoy the varying species of butterflies in the garden.

Walking into the garden, we hit a wall of heat and humidity. It was an adjustment for us and the camera, but it felt good to stroll through the tropics for a bit. :-)

We bought a colorful chart listing the species of butterflies found in the garden for $1 at our arrival. That was great fun and a helpful tool in making our visit more meaningful.  The highlight of the trip was having a butterfly land on you. I laughed a few times watching the children hold perfectly still waiting and hoping to blend in with the scenery enough to be mistaken as a butterfly perch. ;-)

Along with the plants and butterflies, there were a couple odd breeds of birds that caught our attention near the very smally coy pond.  We had to stretch a bit to see the fish and find the birds.

Once we left the garden, we strolled along a few exhibits set up to show the various stages of the butterfly life cycle. I was glad I had done a butterfly unit with the girls over the last couple of months in our school time. It made everything we saw more meaningful and kept their attention.

Overall, I don't think we'd return to The Butterfly Place again.  While we did enjoy seeing the garden and it was a neat feeling to have all of the lovely insects floating around us, I was expecting a bit more for the time and money we spent. The garden was quite small. Even though the facility wasn't particularly busy, we still felt we were "in the way" no matter where we stood on the path. The building itself needs quite a bit of updating as do some of the exhibits and the media room. I'm hopeful that the money we did spend (even with the homeschool discount) will go towards the needed upgrades to help make the building and all that it holds as lovely as the website promotes. I will say the staff were extremely friendly, welcoming, and helpful. The little gift shop was enjoyable and we found a couple treasures to remember our visit.

The girls had a lovely day, however, and greatly enjoyed our visit. (even though Ruth is being grumpy for the camera) For that reason, alone, I call our trip successful.