New Do's

Susannah and I enjoyed a "date" together today. We both were excited to get hair cuts. :-D

Before...

Susannah's first salon hair cut...

After...

She looks so adorable! She was so eager to have her hair cut short. In fact, she had picked out a cut that was much shorter than this one, but Daddy directed her to this as a compromise.  Now it won't get in her face and be so much easier to comb. Good news for a girl who is always on the go!! ;-)

Babiest One

A few pics of our sweet baby Honoree' Faith. She's growing so much, ten months already!

My Very Valentines

I'm officially letting the powers at be know that Valentine's Day should never land on a Monday ever again. Mondays just aren't a good day for sweetness around here. We all seemed to be so "off" that I declared a Do-Over and we celebrated on Tuesday. That was a great recovery to an otherwise disappointing start to our week.

Valentine's Breakfast for my Sweeties...

(German pancake dusted with cinnamon sugar and fresh honeydew melon)

Handmade bags for collecting valentines...

Filling the bags...

Everyone picked Daddy's bag, made by Bettsy, as the favorite. Extra love to our CPA-in-Training!!

"Beloved, let us love one another..." 1 John 4:7



Benjamin Turns Nine!

Benjamin let us know during the countdown to his birthday (which lasted the entire month of January ;-) ), that he has been looking forward to being Nine years old as long as he can remember.

So, his sisters put some extra effort into making this birthday special...

(not so much effort into their spelling ;-) )

Scarf made with love by big sister, Bettsy...

Benjy wanted to build Boonesboro, the settlement established by Daniel Boone in the Kentucky territory. We decided to have some fun and use pretzels to build our town...

We didn't get a full village built. The pretzels and icing just didn't stick together the way I envisioned in my mind. We did have fun, though, and enjoyed munching our way through the creativity. :-)

We love you, Benjamin, and pray this year brings many blessings and growth in the Lord. May He continue to strengthen and build you into a young man who seeks and serves Him wholeheartedly!

"He has shown you, oh  man, what is good and what the Lord requires of thee; to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

Movie List

Remember Movie Day at school? Teacher would wheel in the big projector with the filmstrip wheels.  After several tries at getting it to run correctly, the lights would go off. The warm glow of light bulb and hum of the of the projector would fill the room.  On the screen would flash the begining frames of squiggly looking "hairs" followed by numbers counting down to begin the film. (unless they were backwards or upside down, which led to Teacher going to get Help. ;) ) Everyone would join in the countdown and then Movie Bliss began.

Those were the days when we didn't see a movie outside of a theatre. Or possibly, you were one of "those" families with a cable movie channel. Those were the days when you  hadn't seen the same movie several times, because there was no Rewind Button.  Those were the days when you looked forward to the Special Holiday Movie Presentation for a whole month just to see Charlie Brown and his friends.

A Movie Day was a Big Deal in those days. :)

We like to use movies to enhance our learning at our house, too. We've found our membership to Netlflix to be a wonderful tool to find a great selection of films. I spent some time when putting together our lesson plans to include titles to supplement our American History studies. We have enjoyed nature programs and other science centered movies to help us discover more about God's world.  We've gleaned amazing information regarding our health and nutrition. We've also made great memories watching fun family films.

Here's a growing (from the past several years!) list of movies we've viewed from Netflix that we have rated as 3 to 5 stars. (3=Liked It, 4=Really Liked It, 5=Loved It)  I'll keep adding to the List and make a page or side bar tool for easy reference.  If you have a recommendation for us, please leave a comment. Thanks!

History:
****     A History of the Constitution
****     18th Century Turning Points
***       Liberty's Kids
***       Keeping The Promise (Based on the book, Sign of the Beaver)
*****   Longitude (A&E)
****     Keys To Good Government: Wallbuilders
****     America's Godly Heritage: Wallbuilders
****     Gospel of Liberty
****     Inside American Power: Airforce One
***       Seven Wonders of the Industrial World (series)
*****   Amazing Grace (Hymn stories)
***       The War That Made America (PBS - French & Indian War)
***       Colonial House (PBS)
****     The Story of Amy Carmichael
***       The Scottish Covenanters
***       Cromwell (1970)
***       Galileo's Battle for the Heavens
****     The Untold Story of the Mayflower
*****   The Living Legacy of Jimmy Gentry
***       Patrick (2004)
***       Mary of Scotland (1936)
*****   Torchlighters: William Tyndale (animated)
*****   God's Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale
****     Amazing Grace: History and Theology of Calvinism
****     Luther (2003)
****     Here I Stand: Martin Luther (2002)
***       Martin! God Loves You (1997, animated)
***       The Agony and The Ecstasy (1965, Michaelangelo & Cistene Chapel)
***       Christopher Columbus (1949)
***       The Amish: A People of Presentation
***       History's Mysteries: The Inquisition (adults only at our house)
***       Medieval Warfare: The Wars of the Roses
****     John Wycliff (1984)
****     David MacCauley: Cathedral
****     David MacCauley: Castle
****     Fat Man & Little Boy (grown ups only at our house)
****     Horatio's Drive: America's First Roadtrip
***       The Natural History of the Chicken
****     Extreme Engineering
****      Deep Sea Detectives: Pearl Harbor
*****   Gods and Generals
****     J. Pierpont Morgan: The Emporer of Wall Street
****     Frontline: The Maddox Affair
****     Princess Kaiulani (heavy on the teen romance)
*****   Ken Burns' Civil War (series)
****     America's Castles (series)
***       They Came for Good: A History of the Jews in the United States
****     Underground Railroad
***       American Experience: Kit Carson
***       American Experience: The Orphan Trains
****     Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) (brief bedroom scene inappropriate for young children)
*****   The Conspirator (fantastic movie for the high school and up crowd)
Science:
*****  Wonders of God's Creation: Disc 6
*****  Creatures That Defy Evolution: Disc 1 & 2
****    Grand Canyon: Hidden Secrets: IMAX
***      Ancient Discoveries: Disc 1 & 2
***      Guide to Extreme Weather
***      Ecosystems & Environment: Water & Weather
****    Dragons or Dinosaurs
*****  March of the Penguins
****    Survivor Man (series)
*****  Absolute Zero: Nova
*****  Extreme Engineering
****    How It's Made
****    World's Toughest Fixes


Health:
****    Food Matters
***      Frontline: Sick Around the World
*****  King Corn
****    Deconstructing Supper

Family Viewing:
***      The Widow's Might
*****  Pull Up a Chair With Nathan George Clark
***      Captains Courageous (1937)
*****  Pamela's Prayer
*****  Faith Like Potatoes
***      Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
*****  Inherit the Land: Agrarian Journey
*****  Time Changer
*****  A Journey Home
*****  The Touch of the Master's Hand (only 18 minutes!)
*****  Spellbound
****    Sheffey
*****  In the Arms of Angels (another 18 minute film)
****    Stephen's Test of Faith
***      Pit Pony (series)
****    18 Kids & Counting (Duggar Family, series)
***      Country Music Holiday
***      The Bells of St. Mary's
*****  Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (A FAVORITE!)
***      Letters To God
***      Tucker: The Man and His Dream
****    Out of the Wild: Alaskan Experiment
****    Lord, Save Us From Your Followers
****    Gene Autry (series)
****    The Great Robot Race
***      Dirty Jobs (most episodes)
*****  Jeremiah: The Bible
***      The Amazing Panda Adventure
****    Annie
****    Heidi (1993)
***      Misty
***      The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry
***      The Adventures of Ociee Nash
***      Praying With Lior
***      Dick Van Dyke Show (series)
*****  Wives & Daughters
****    On Any Sunday
***      Second Chances
****    Battle Hymn
****    The Trial of Old Drum
****    The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
***      The Cosby Show: Season 1
****    The Encounter
****    Table for 12 (series)

Children's:
****   The Storykeepers
****   The Velveteen Rabbit (2007)
***     Tugger: The Jeep Who Wanted to Fly
*****  Linnae in Monet's Garden
****    Bolt
****    Blue's Clues
***      Toy Story 3
****    Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey
****    Leap Frog (variuos titles)
***      Oliver! (1968)
***      Davy Crockett 50th Anniversary double Feature (1954)


Date Night:
****   Sweet Land
***** A Vow to Cherish
****   Pure Country
***     The River Within
***     Man on Wire
***     Julie & Julia
***     Mad City
***** I.O.U.S.A
***** Saints & Soldiers
***     The Wager
***     Maxed Out
***     As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me
****   The Concientious Objector
***     The King of Kong
***     The Dish
*****  Lovely, Still
***      Young Victoria
*****  The Lightkeepers
*****  The Golden Boys (PG)
****    Magnificent Seven
****    Black Fox
****    Marriage Retreat
****    Time Travel Through the Bible
*****  Penny Serenade


Holiday:
*****  The Easter Storykeepers
***      The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus
***      The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
***      A Christmas Memory

A Second...No, Wait...Third Career??

Most know that our family enjoys the benefits and challenges of owning a commercial and residential painting company. Some of you know that last year we started up a (not really going) small pump repair business. Well, the Lord has now opened an unexpected door for us during these quiet winter months.

David started working part time on a project for a local CPA firm. Through that opportunity, we've chosen to revive David's education and experience in accounting. Starting late this month, or early next (depending on when the curriculum arrives), David will begin studying, once again, to sit for the CPA Exam this year. It's been many, (ummm....close to 12), years since he's worked on anything relating to the exam, so it's going to be a challenging year, for sure. Not only will he need to get in approximately 540 hours of study to prep for the exam, he will be working part time for the firm to gain the rest of the hours he needs to meet the CPA qualifications as well. 

In the meantime, he'll be working hard to keep our painting company afloat, which is our bread and butter as far as income goes.

We look forward to this opportunity. We foresee some great possibilities for our family that owning both the painting business and an accounting firm will provide. We look forward to seeing all that the Lord holds in store for us as we move forward bit by bit. I am excited to see the children observe their amazing Daddy as he gives his all, once again, to follow the Lord when the task appears daunting.

It's going to be a crazy ride!! Please keep us in your prayers as we all work hard to support David, adjust our schedules, and trust the Lord each step of the way.

Thank you for joining us in prayer over this!!

The Fam Goes To Town

Big shopping day today!

Wholesale Club:
Produce
Sour cream
Cottage cheese
Cream cheese
Butter
Eggs
Breakfast sandwiches (need a cheat day sometimes, right?)
Chips
Salsa
Honey
Shirts for Hubby
Socks for Wifey

Subway:
Lunch :-)

Stuff-Mart:
Hygiene products
Canned goods
Cat food
Diapers
Storage bags
Socks & underclothes for kids
Preschool game and Play-doh...FUN!
Bday gift for someone turning 9 very soon ;-)
Bananas for snacks

Pet-Mart:
Gerbil ball :-P

Food-Mart:
Yogurt
Paper products
Fresh produce
Frozen fruit
Baby snacks
Gum for Mommy to share :D

Office-Mart:
Printer Ink

Papa & Grandma's House:
Tea
Snuggles
Lots of love  <3 <3

Home again, home again...Jiggety-Jig.

So thankful for stocked shelves and a full fridge. :D

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19