She's a Reader!

Olivia displays a voracious appetite for books!

(Reading them.  Not eating them.)

We lifted our "no witches" ban temporarily, so she could read The Wizard of Oz.  This was mine as a kid.

Her favorite reading spot is outside, at the picnic table.

Does this remind you of anyone, Mom?

All Aboard the Potty Train!

We have begun (again) the process again in earnest!  Brienna is doing great so far!

***Brienna, age 2.5***

Visit from Grandpa & Grandma

My parents came to visit a couple weeks ago.  We enjoyed going for walks in the neighborhood, reading lots of books, playing dominoes, and just visiting together!

Ellia helped Grandma by taking her mushrooms from her pizza.

They even took the girls bowling, which they LOVED!

And they brought this Betty Lukens flannelgraph set for the girls to play with!  This has been on my secret wish list for a couple of years, and we are ALL enjoying it!  Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!

I know many of you prayed for my dad when he suffered a heart attack on their way back home.  THANK YOU!  We are grateful that it appeared to be a relatively minor one, and that he is doing well.

Gifts of Grace

I'm counting to one thousand gifts.  

Like many things, I forget easily, don't see them as the gifts they are.

More often now, I see them and give thanks for them... but don't write them down.

I need to write them down!

#70.  the anticipation of company!

#71.  thirteen bags of yard waste, lined up in a row

#72.  an organized garage

#73.  productive Saturdays

#74.  grace for each moment ("Day by Day")

#75.  extra work hours

#75.  snuggle/giggle time with the 5-year-old

#76.  a hot shower after a long day

Daddy's Little Buddy

Brienna was snuggling Nate on the couch last week.

I couldn't resist snapping a few photos!

She still has that adorable button nose!

Spring Celebration, 2012

As I've mentioned before, we do Spring baskets and egg hunts... not for Easter, but to celebrate Spring!

 **3 goody baskets for 3 little women**

**Ellia examines her Spring basket** 

**Brienna "examines" hers, too.** 

**scouring the yard for those eggs** 

**good find, girly!**

Well, Hello There, Spring!

We've had some unseasonably warm weather these last couple of weeks, and we're lovin' it!

Perfect, in fact, for an outdoor tea party!

Sunglasses from Grandma

 Hoping it's not just a teaser and that it's here to stay!

Imagination and Play

Sometimes, 

{more often than I care to admit}, 

I turn the corner to check on my peeps...

...and I have absolutely no idea what they're doing.

They have incredibly lively imaginations, for which I am thankful!

And boundless energy, for which I should be thankful!

They adore their mother, 

and I know that it might not always be this way, 

but even so... it is not yet a habit, and I don't always delight in the mess of their play.

But I try to remember.  

Remember to stop whatever (unimportant) task I'm doing,

And say with great interest, "What's going on, girls?"

Their answers are always exciting and imaginative.  

Usually elaborate playacting scenes of rescue and mommies and fairies and heroes and doing the good and noble thing.

And can you zip my gown?  And may we use our blankets for capes?  And what can we use for a sword, Mama? 

And I laugh at their fun, and I play along.  

Take a little snapshot with my memory's camera.

And, once in awhile, 

{less often than I care to admit},

with my actual camera.

Book Review: Johann Sebastian Bach

"The aim and final reason of all music should be none else but the glory of God and refreshing the soul. Where this is not observed there will be no music, but only a devilish hubbub." -J.S. Bach

Rick Marschall's short biography of the great composer, J.S. Bach, gives a broad--albeit sometimes dry--overview of his life and musical career.  I was less interested in the former as I was the latter, though I do appreciate the importance of a thorough understanding.

Bach possessed an unmatched gift for composition:  able to compose entire arrangements without hearing one note.  During his lifetime, Bach composed somewhere in the ballpark of 2,000 different pieces of music. Around 1,200 are in existence today.  

As a Christian, however, I most enjoyed Marschall's explanation of Bach's Christian worldview and his singular driving passion:  the glory of God.  Bach recognized God's rightful central place in his life and in the church, and he endeavored to write, perform, and live everything for His glory.  Bach ended every composition with the letters SDG, which stand for Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory). 


Much of the musical information is heavy, though Marschall wisely includes an appendix of musical terms in the back of the book.  I believe that even those with little or no musical knowledge would come away with a profound appreciation for Bach's gift, and especially his dedication to use that gift for God's glory alone.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Booksneeze.com as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Random. Totally random.

On Christmas Eve morning, on my way home from work, I saw a Fisher Price dollhouse sitting dejectedly on someone's curb.

Naturally, I snagged it right up!  Merry Christmas, kids!

(Don't worry--I cleaned it up before letting the girls play with it!)

 It has provided hours of imaginative play for my little dolls!

BONUS:  I discovered a battery compartment, and the thing actually works!

The fireplace roars and lights up... the telephone and doorbell ring... the fridge light comes on... and when you open the back bedroom window, the birds chirp!

 Dollhouse = BIG hit.

Totally unrelated:

Ellia asked me to do "fancy hair" for her the other day.

(I do not really know any "fancy hair."  Up until this point, she considered braids to be "fancy.")

But this is what she got.  For approximately four minutes.  Then it proceeded to slip right out.  

Brienna, on the other hand, has something which we call BAD HAIR.

(neither staged nor exaggerated in the slightest)