Calvin's Birthday Post

 Calvin started off his day with a cinnamon roll, a slice of bacon and a strawberry.  His birthday fell on a Sunday.

Fast forward to his birthday dinner:  Mexican Shepherd's Pie and a fruit-filled jello salad.

Excited!

This was such a great card.  He loved it.  On the inside it said, "...and remember, never trust a dog to watch your birthday cake!"

Gumballs from Cecily.

A neat sucker from Amelia.

King Arthur from Aunt Leslie.

A cookskin cap from Dad and Mom.

His first airsoft BB gun from Mom and Dad.

The funny looking package turns out to be a play (wooden) Kentucky long rifle.

"Happy Birthday to you..."

He walked around and passed them out to everyone.

Cecily and I made his cupcakes together.

Now the taste test.

Naturally, it gets a thumbs up.

When each of the boys has a birthday, Peter reads Proverbs 3 out loud.

A jolly, good celebration.  May the Lord bless my boy, this, his eighth year!

Ice Skating 2013

A lot of my posts have an annual update.  :)  If you've read my blog for a while then you've seen our pictures from past ice skating trips.  We try to go at least once a year, as there is a homeschooling day at the rink once a week during the winter.  I'm hoping in future years to possibly go more like once a month.  It would be nice for the kids to actually develop some skill at it, which is pretty near impossible to do when going only once a year.

Amelia got right out on the ice this year.  It helped that this older girl decided to stay by her side and helped her.  I think this girl was about 10 years old and she was so sweet.  This picture of them holding hands only happened about half way through the skating time.  In the beginning Millie just went around the rink holding onto the wall.  After the first hour she really started to feel confident and would turn in circles holding onto this girl's hands and skating on her own without holding onto anything or anyone.  Yeah, Amelia!  A great start for her.  I think she's got it down now.

Samuel works a little on his technique now that he doesn't have to worry about just staying off of his seat!

Go Millie!

I couldn't convince Cecily or Calvin to try the ice.  They both put on skates and confidently went out to the rink, only to decide there was NO way they could try it.  :(  I hadn't paid to get skates myself, as I needed to stay with Bronwyn.  Elijah was at home napping while Dad was working, but Bronwyn had come along.  What ended up happening, is that Will's skates bothered him and he got frustrated and wanted a break.  I tried on his skates and since they fit me, he stayed with Bronwyn and I went out on the ice long enough to help Cecily and Calvin get a start.  Funny, but that was all they needed.  Little girls came to help Cecily right away and she started having a great time, although she mostly stayed on the wall.  At least she got comfortable with it. 

I think I say this every year, but Ben RACES the entire two hours.  You see he has taken off his sweatshirt now because he gets so hot.  He might go around the rink about 3 times in a sixty second period!  Not really, but close.  He sleeps like a rock the night after and his legs are killing him the next day.  He doesn't do most things part way.  I just try to make sure he's careful of the other skaters!!

Calvin got the hang of it too.  For my most cautious child, I was pleased that he finally got pretty steady and enjoyed it.

Takes some concentration, but he's got it!  Will was bummed out most of the afternoon, so I didn't end up getting a picture of him this year.  We may go again this coming week.  Maybe he'll do better this time. 

Bronwyn-The First Five Months

 1 Day Old

 1 Month Old

 2 Months Old - First Smile on Camera

 2 Months

 3 Months Old

 4 Months Old

 5 Months Old

Just a few months...and look how big now!

Evening Reading

Take a Walk With Me

 We had a single 60 degree day a few weeks back that happened to land on Peter's day off.  We took the time to drive over to Cheat Lake and enjoy a walk on the trail there and let Sam get some fishing out of his system. 

 This day came after a long stretch of very wintery weather and it was soul-nourishing to breathe the warm air and feel the wind on our faces.

 We were crossing the bridge on the way back to the car.  Sam, Will and Ben had stayed on the bridge and fished while Peter, myself and the younger children walked along the lake's edge further on.

 Ice from the lake had all blown into coves like this one and onto the edges of the water.

 Below, blowing leaves and wind-filled sweatshirt.

 Remnants of the cold that seemed distant with such a warm day as it was.

 Happy sunlight!

 My favorite.  :-)

 Baby in front carrier.

And last, Elijah in Cecily's sweater.

Will's Birthday Post

William is now 12.  And happy about it, certainly.  Peter took a picture of William's breakfast scones.  Yum.

I thawed some bacon to serve with the scones and we all had a bowl of homemade yogurt.

AND...his birthday dinner...Chicken Brown Rice Casserole with squash and store-bought bread.

Amelia made a mosaic birthday cake to decorate.  :-)

"What is it, Calvin?" (I believe it was  a match box car)

Amelia got William some Tic Tacs.

This facial expression is "mental math."  He's adding up the coins that are in the bottom of the bag, given to him by Cecily.

Extreme Dot to Dot is right up William's alley.  You can also see on the table, the puzzle he got of the city of New Orleans.  He's pretty excited about anything he can "solve."

Peter bought Will a red velvet cupcake.

And we all had ice cream sundaes. 

It's been a great year for Will.  He is truly best friends with Samuel.  Will's life took on a new dimension when Samuel went to Oregon for a couple of weeks this past summer.  Suddenly William was the oldest child and he saw himself differently and interacted with his other siblings differently when Sam was missing.  Since that time, I'd say he's turned a corner in his level of maturity and now with turning 12, he's really becoming a young man and wanting to be one (a good deal of the time, anyhow).  The next few years will bring a lot of change for him.  We look forward to what is ahead!