THEY HATCHED!!!!

Unbelievable!!! Four of the five eggs hatched! You are looking at tiny little Carolina Wrens born this morning! It is absolutely AMAZING! Their tiny little mouths are wide open, eyes closed, waiting for food. They have just a few feathers on their head. Erica said they look like they have mohawks! We are waiting for the fifth egg to hatch. It looked like it had a slight crack in it as if it may be trying to hatch. We will wait and see. My camera didn't focus directly on the birds but more on the nest. Look closely at the detail of how this nest was made. I had a conversation with a friend this week about homes. She is working hard to make her house a "home." She never had one when she was growing up so making a house a "home" for her and her family is somewhat difficult. I thought of her when I was looking at this picture and this nest. The detail that this male and female wren put into this nest is amazing. Every piece of pollen, every leave, every hair, feather, everything put into this nest was put in a place for purpose. It made me think of my own life right now. Am I doing that? Am I using everything God has given me with purpose? Does my family feel "home" when they are? Do they feel safe? Loved? I don't know. I just thought about that from this picture. Imagine; all this from a bird ........ I'll keep taking pictures as they get bigger and hope I get one as they fly away!

FIVE .....ALMOST

Jack had his party today with friends before break. We had a sport's party at the park. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun. Time really is flying by .............. I just know I'm going to blink and he is going to be graduating .... and then there is the thought; no more first teeth, no more booties and tiny shoes, no more sippy cups and no more diapers. The thought of "no more" is disheartening this week. I wish we had just had one more .... Jack said last week he wants a baby sister. I kept Sydney one morning this week, who is two weeks old. I sat and held her almost the whole time. I mean, how do you really put down a two week old ..... it was like heaven again. I mentioned this to Scott and he said, "Send her back!" And I thought it really isn't toooo late! Oh well .... blessed beyond measure. I really can't complain, can I? Until Jack's real birthday next week, I am going to enjoy every day this week with my four year old!!!

I THINK I CAN!!!

"I think I can ..... I think I can ..... Mom, stop making me laugh!!!!! "


I know I can do it but you won't stop making me laugh!! I spent the morning at Jack's school. This is him playing on the playground and climbing the tower. Jack is such a sweet boy and such a joy to have home with me. His new thing is to say the alphabet backwards and word searches. He actually is doing full word searches!!! I thought to myself today, "this is crazy!!!! He should not be doing word searches at this age!" But then Scott reminded me how he loved to do them and for hours when he was young. Like father, like son .... I can only hope!!! He turns five years old next week and tomorrow is his party with his friends. It sure has gone by fast .................

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!!

I've been talking lately about seasons, parents and everyone getting older....this past weekend, we celebrated two birthdays. This picture is of good, good friends .. second parents to us, Don and Carol. We had a big blow-out bash for him. He turned 80 this weekend! What a privilege it was to celebrate this blessed event with him. Friends and family from all over the US came to see him and boy, was it a surprise! The picture is his face when he realized all three of his beautiful children had flown in from California, Texas and Idaho to be with him. Of course, the tears flowed for everyone from this point on. It was interesting to sit back and watch the interactions of everyone that knew him. Don is well respected and a Godly man whom everyone deeply loves. You could see that through the relationships he has developed and had over the years. It was truly a blessing to see and I hope to experience this very thing with Scott in the future which seems so far off but will be here before we know it. Carol adores Don. Don adores Carol. They have a marriage which we would desire to model. A relationship centered in Christ first, and then one another. AND TO TOP IT OFF, Scott and Don share the same birthdays! Both born the same day .. so we had our own little party for Scott and of course, it involved Carrabbas for those who know him. And yes, he did not deviate from the same meal!!! It was a wonderful weekend! Happy Birthday to TWO VERY SPECIAL MEN IN MY LIFE!!!!!

HOMERUN!!!!!!

We had our first homerun in the family this past weekend. You could just see it on his face this weekend when Spencer got up to bat. He was READY. And you knew it would go far when you heard the "whack" of the bat hitting the ball. It sailed .... and sailed....and sailed right over second base and rolled into the outfield. And he ran and he RAN and HE RAN so fast knocking in two other runners!! The smile .... the smile on his face when he crossed home plate ... the self-esteem deposited in him with one solid hit.... we pray for him as his heart is growing and changing to be confident and proud, yet humble in spirit. That is a fine balance to teach when mom and dad are jumping up and down on the bleachers screaming his name!!! The life lessons of it all .......... AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

ANOTHER New Addition???

This is a nest. It is a Carolina Wren's bird nest. This is no ordinary nest. It started over a month ago when Erica decided she really wanted to ride one of our "big" bikes. So, we let her. She did this for a few days parking it in the courtyard area at the front door. Within a few days, Scott noticed "alot" of stuff on the bike. You see, there is a baby seat attached to the bike. And the cushion part of the seat had folded over neatly to make this hidden area in the seat. A Carolina Wren and her mate has taken over this carrier seat on the bike and built a nest. We watched for several days and weeks as this nest grew and grew. And one day, there were two eggs in it! Over a period of three more days, she left a total of five eggs. I find that amazing. What is more amazing is Erica just finished studying birds, habitats and their environments in science. I told her, "How amazing and kind of God that He would place a thing such as this for you to witness first hand and to make a bird's life real to you." Think about it ... when will we ever leave a bike with a carrier out front and a bird choose to build a nest and lay her eggs? Chance? Some say so .... I think it is pretty cool. And we can't wait to see these little eggs hatch. Even funnier, Spencer picked up the eggs and looked at them one afternoon and then came to tell us. We all scolded him and said, "you can't touch the eggs!! The momma won't come back!" Now all this came out BEFORE I realized what I had said .... so I told him, "Spencer, you better go pray and ask God to take care of the nest and that your scent won't bother the momma bird and that she'll come back and take care of her eggs!" Wouldn't you know it ... he went straight to his room and prayed for those eggs and that momma bird. The next morning, he came running in the house and said, "MomMMM!!! The momma bird came back! She is in her nest and she is sitting on the eggs!" Sure enough, she was ... and we said, "Isn't God good?" Isn't He? Praise God for taking the time to answer even the prayers for the birds of this family!!!!!! We'll keep you posted as they hatch ... it really is so cool :)

A long week .... last week ..... we finished putting a new treehouse swingset together for the kids. You know when they tell you the price and it is double the cost of one at Lowes and Sams? The reason for the additional cost is THE TIME IT TAKES TO PUT THE STUPID THING TOGETHER!!!! We opted for the one at Sam's since it was predrilled and stained. Oh, that would save us some time. Kids have waited two years for one to play on ... let's do it this year for their birthdays. We aren't going to Minnesota, you're (Scott) in school, this is is good. We can do this. Are you SURE you don't want to move in town somewhere else? Are you SURE you like this house and are content? These are all the things we discussed. And we are good and going for it. Okay. Six days later and HOURS and HOURS later, we finally finished it Friday night. Except for the one 3" hex head bolt that had to fit into the hex head nut bolt screw that they: a. shorted us b. disappeared in a pocket of one of the boys or c. we put a bolt in the wrong place!!!! EITHER WAY, we got a replacement and put it in and WE ARE DONE!!!!! So if you are in the area, please, please, PLEASE stop by and see this project and let your kids play on it. And it will be played on UNTIL IT FALLS APART!!!!

A NEW ADDITION!!!

I never tire of looking at a newborn baby, do you? Well, this new addition isn't ours ... I am even disappointed that she isn't! Meet Sydney Ashton Carter born March 7, 2006 at 6:34pm. She weighed 8 lbs and 14 oz. She is healthy, absolutely beautiful and looks just like Tom's baby pictures! Mom and Dad are tired but are doing great! They are expected to go home March 9th and enjoy this new season of life! Keep praying for them as they make this transition into parenthood! The FUN HAS JUST BEGUN!!!!!

Olympics .. Not Just for the Elite!

The school had their annual Olympics this past week. I spent two days there cheering Erica and Spencer on. Erica ran her heart out in three events. This was the end of the obstacle course. She placed eighth in obstacle and third in long jump out of all the girls in her grade! She is a really great jumper! A hidden gift ... we stand in amazement at how quickly she is growing and changing on us. Pre-teens are not very far off. We look forward to the years with excitement and anticipation. Is it true the first born always needs counseling???!!!! God can only guide us through these coming years with grace and stamina! If we come out on the other side all in one piece, we will give credit where credit is due!!! Oh Lord --- don't leave us now! Isn't she just so beautiful????

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

I forgot how much I love baseball ... particularly when it involves little boys in T-ball. Especially when I get to cheer for my own .... this year, the boys get to play on the same team. This is Spencer's second year and Jackson's first year. I do believe my heart burst when they both got up to bat! It was one of those proud moments and you know what I am talking about ... your heart swells and you are cheering them on and they look at you with "the grin." The one that says, "I'm going to kill it and you are going to cheer and scream for me!" Spencer arrives at first base and always looks back and we give eachother the silent double thumbs up and smiles. Jackson arrives at first base and he looks over and gives me the head on shoulder smile and I'm smiling back. I never thought sports would be a big deal. I wondered if we would even do them in our family. Sports are a gift when participated in the right perspective. Only the talents that these little guys have are from God. It isn't from their own abilities. It isn't from me or Scott for sure! But it is part of who and how God created them. Each of them unique and each of them special. I thank God for baseball! I think He even gave us this so we could laugh and cheer them on. And when you think about it, how often we forget He is laughing at us and cheering us on, too! Don't you think?