Double digits!

I have no clue who most of the characters on this set are, but he was very excited about his big birthday gift.

No more number shirts!

Birthday breakfast was monkey bread.

My sister made a nice card for her youngest nephew.

More birthday meals to make and more birthday news to share, but here is the beginning  for our April 2 boy.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

February and March pictures

The Lambs did well at their first piano contest in IN. It was pretty intense with sight-reading, performance including a memorized piece, theory test, and ear training test. We were all glad when it was over after several months getting ready for it. Lamb 1 was in a more advanced level so he received a blue medal. Some of the Lambs also earned blue ribbons for their theory test.

One day art class was canceled because of weather. The Lambs got up at normal time and got to work on their own art with colored pencils. I slept in and this was at my place at the table when I woke up. Is it bad that my son writes "Keep it Mama" on art work he gives to me?

I have been cleaning out boxes and trying to declutter and for some reason this kit that was a present while we lived in MN was never opened. I thought it would be dried out and worthless, but Lamb 2 and 3 enjoyed creating some sculptures with it.

One week we had a lot of banana splits until the toppings were all gone, just because I was hungry for them.

My sister came to visit and we celebrated my dad's 78th birthday together. We had a nice weekend with my sister and BIL.

Lamb 2 and 3 had homework for their art class to create their own family crest. We pulled out some family history from both sides of the family and talked about it a lot. They did a sample on paper. Then at class they made their own paint and painted some plaster. Our art teacher is awesome!

Lamb 2's.

Lamb 3's.

I let the Lambs borrow my phone to take their own pictures at the Botanical Conservatory. I will spare posting the pictures of plants and flowers here, but I did like this selfie that Lamb 2 and 3 took.

I think I am caught up on posting pictures now so we can get ready for Easter and Lamb 3's birthday pictures!

Spring Break 2018

Ram's parents visited during Ram's spring break so we let the Lambs also take spring break. I'll try to briefly say what we did while they visited.

They arrived on a Saturday and we went out to eat for sushi. The Lambs had piano contest that morning before they arrived and everyone was tired so we called it an early night.
Sunday we all went to church and then ate at Blaze pizza.
Monday we did some shopping including looking at iPads for Lamb 1-that is a requirement for his high school next year. We took Lamb 2 and 3 swimming. We ate lunch at a chain restaurant and supper at a wonderful local fish restaurant.
Tuesday we did some house shopping with our realtor, but none of the houses that we looked at were right for us. We ate a small lunch at a chain restaurant, mainly to feed the Lambs after house shopping. We went to the art museum since the Lambs had never been there and there was also an exhibit of high school artwork. That evening we took the Lambs to my parents and just the adults went out for a nice prime rib dinner. After that we went to another restaurant for drinks and dessert so we had more time to talk without the Lambs. I really enjoyed our adult night out.
Wednesday we made Paleo pancakes with coconut milk whipped cream and lingonberries. I took Lamb 2 to vision therapy. Ram and his dad did a few handyman tasks that I have wanted to do for a long time and was afraid if we didn't set a day for that, they wouldn't get done for several more months. I was very excited to get all that done. I had planned on cooking supper, but we went out again, this time to BJs Brewhouse.
Thursday we went to the Botanical Conservatory to take some family pictures since the weather didn't cooperate to take them outside. Then we went to see Black Panther, Lamb 2 wanted to see it the most and we had heard good reviews. The movie was so loud and I haven't been to the movies for a long time. I couldn't really tell you very much about the movie because it was so loud. Lamb 2 and 3 loved it though. Then we ate supper at a steak restaurant.

As you can see, they spoil us when they come to town, and Ram and I both had a spring break from cooking too. Their visit went too fast and it was time for them to head to visit some other relatives in MI. ID is just too far from IN and we have to fit a lot into seeing them one week a year. They left on Friday so it was nice to have a couple more days of spring break before Ram had to return to classes. We were all pretty worn out after all those fun days! Ram doesn't have another school break until Thanksgiving so we made the most of this break.

February family update

We are plugging away at daily routines: 
*Homeschooling with extra work for Lamb 1 to prepare him for high school and Lamb 2 and 3 concentrating on learning to read and spell.
*Our whole family is attending a weekly Bible study on Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the book of Mark, and the Small Catechism. We do the readings together to prepare for weekly quizzes.
*Lamb 2 and 3 are working on memorizing the meanings for the 6 chief parts of the catechism with the goal of confirmation in May.
*All 3 Lambs are practicing for a piano contest in March.
Update on my dad:
He became so weak at the beginning of February that he fell a few times. The paramedics recommended he go to the hospital and get checked out. The hospital was overcrowded and he waited several hours to get a room. He did have the flu and was much better after a few days in the hospital. We thought maybe he would go to a place for rehab, but not counting the hours he was in the hospital hallway that he wasn't officially a patient, he wasn't in the hospital long enough for insurance to pay for rehab. He went directly home and has been doing great since he has been home. We even took him to a high school basketball game last Friday. It is not easy as your parents get older and prayers are appreciated.
Vision Therapy Again:
Lamb 2 competed a long evaluation with a doctor here. We don't regret doing vision therapy in Idaho because it was helpful for several areas for him, but it wasn't enough. He is beginning vision therapy here at the end of the month. This doctor does things differently than our ID doctor and we are hoping these different ways of doing things are going to be helpful for Lamb 2. This doctor does 1 time a week therapy with 20 minutes of daily homework. Lamb 2 will get bifocals. He has 20/20 vision and can see fine in the distance. He doesn't truly need glasses for close up work, but the hope is that this will ease the stress on his eyes as they try to focus to see near work. We are expecting at least a year of therapy here. One nice thing is you pay one price and it covers everything (therapy, doctor exams, computer software for homework, etc.) no matter how long therapy takes. This is different than Idaho and is much better to know exactly how much it costs. Lamb 2 was very excited to go pick out his glasses and is impatiently waiting for them to come in.
After Lamb 2 begins, then we would like this doctor to also evaluate Lamb 3. For a long time he had no motivation to learn to read. Now he does and reading is very difficult for him. I am curious if he also has a vision difficulty and would also benefit from Vision Therapy.
Library volunteer:
A classical school started at our church this year. Our boys are too old as they began with lower grades and are working their way up, but Lamb 2 and 3 take art class there. I volunteered to help with the school library. It has been so much fun to get the books ready for the school children. Most are donated or library discards. The headmaster and his wife are choosing quality literature for the school. It is so fun to see what she finds on the 20 cent library discard shelves.
Lilla Rose:
I just signed up to be a Lilla Rose consultant. I'll blog more about this as I learn more, but if you don't currently have a consultant, contact me for more info if you are interested. I have been wearing Lilla Rose hair clips for about 10 years and I figured it was about time that I had a business card to hand to people when I get a compliment!
Dentist:
Our whole family went at once for dental cleanings and checkups. We all did well except one Lamb needs a tiny filling. Lamb 2 needs an orthodontist consultation because his teeth are so close together plus there is a problem with his canines. After dental checkups we are all extra good about brushing AND flossing AND using mouthwash for awhile...
Cooking:
While Ram is in school I have had to do more cooking than while he was a pastor. I was getting tired of the same old recipes and often 1 or 2 Lambs don't like what I make. I did a little research in my cookbooks and on the Internet to get some new recipes to try. Last night I made beef stew and it went fast even though only one Lamb had more than one helping. Today I made beef vegetable soup and we'll see how that goes tomorrow. I have some more recipes to try this week. The Lambs were shocked that I cooked something new two days in a row!

Year in Review-December 2017 Part 3

I spent a lot of December planning the last Advent supper at church. I made supper for 75 people and served it on December 22. Several church families had family home for the holidays and it was a fun evening. We collected peanut butter and jelly for the Seminary food bank and here is some of what was collected. After supper that evening we decorated the church for Christmas and had Christmas cookies and goodies while we decorated. I served the wassail tea that our church in ID served at the Ladies tea every year and everyone loved it. I think it will be a new tradition to serve that while decorating at our church now. I love that our church waits until the end of Advent to decorate the church and it is all ready for Christmas Eve.

One day my parents babysat the boys so they could decorate Christmas cookies with my mom. Our boys had been sick with colds so the date got changed several times until everyone was healthy to do it. Ram and I ran errands while they were at my mom's. It was so nice to be able to go without them. When we got back to my mom's our Lambs monkeys were in my mom's tree in her front yard. I know it is just a few more years until we can leave them alone, but I love days like this when I get a little break, because a homeschooling mom doesn't get many breaks like this.

We ordered our own hats for our local March for Life. It was a major pain to order them,  we could not get the website to work. We finally called the Synod and they were so helpful to place our order for us. Shipping was outrageous because they expect churches to make a big order, not just order 5 hats. After all that we were really excited when they came in the mail and we had to take several selfies. I don't know if we will ever make it to the Washington D.C. March for Life, but we will proudly wear these at our local March for Life.

I really liked how this one turned out. 

Lamb 3 needs to work on his selfies a little bit.

I told you Lamb 2 loves selfies!

On December 23, the day after I served the dinner at church, Ram went to get our tree out of storage. While he did that I quickly swept and did a little cleaning to get ready for the tree. The whole family helped and we decorated the tree quickly. We chose a slightly different spot than last year and I love our tree in this house with high ceilings. I am so glad I purchased it at a church auction last year.

All of the Lambs were acolytes for the first time together on Christmas Eve. 💗💗💗
I think I am done buying Christmas outfits sweaters or dress shirts for them because they will be acolytes for the next several years.

My parents ended up coming to church with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day even though that was not planned, because my mom did not want to drive in the snow. It ended up being really nice to worship together. Ram assisted with the service so I was glad to have my parents to sit with me. Lamb 2 just can't help himself with selfies when he is given a camera!

Christmas Eve

I bought a skirt for $2.64 including tax at Christopher and Banks after all my coupons. I couldn't believe it really worked. Unfortunately they had very few skirts for sale in the whole store. I found a basic grey skirt in my size that I love. Another unexpected blessing for me while Ram is in school!

I don't have any photos to post here, but a few days after Christmas we went over to a friend's house to decorate gingerbread cookies. The mom was so organized and a fun time was had by all. Lamb 1 took pictures, mostly of the babies at the party, instead of decorating cookies. Lamb 2 and 3 decorated a cookie, ate the toppings, and then decorated it again. They did this with about 3 cookies each.

After the gingerbread party we went to eat lunch at Chik-Fil-A. The Lambs got a gift card as present from a church member. I thought that was a great present for preteens. Lamb 1 and 3 were happy to order whatever they wanted and still had $ left on their $10 gift card. Lamb 2 ordered everything he wanted and needed us to pay a couple more dollars. That's the way it usually goes-Lamb 1 saves his money, Lamb 2 spends whatever money he has, and Lamb 3 spends some of his money. They were glad to order what they wanted instead of being limited like we usually do when the whole family goes-(water or lemonade, no dessert).

Chik-Fil-A was really crowded-what was I thinking to go to lunch during Christmas vacation? So the Lambs wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but I made them pose for a picture outside. 

Grandma spoils our boys so much that we don't buy them very much for Christmas, just small stocking treats for the 12 days of Christmas. I thought this Lego chemist was pretty cool so I ordered it. The company made a mistake in advertising this set, so after it arrived I got an e-mail that they would refund my money. So they ended up getting this set for free.

And that completes our 2017 Review. Happy New Year!

Year in Review-November 2017

While celebrating Reformation 500, we didn't carve pumpkins until November.  Sorry for the poor picture quality. Lamb 2 and 3 each carved a jack-o-lantern, Lamb 1 thinks he is too old to carve pumpkins.

Our church celebrated their 125th anniversary. I made cake toppers and chocolate favors. This is the dessert table with my decorations and other dessert too.

Chocolate Bible favors. Idea was here. The anniversary was really a fun day with both friends that are members and some visitors that day too.

Photo Credit: CLHS Facebook Page
Lamb 1 attended Concordia Day. He wants to be in JROTC now.

Lamb 1 won a t-shirt at Concordia Day. It was perfect for him since he wants to do cross country next year.

I met my mug swap partner. Everyone that sees the necklace she made compliments it.

Only Lutheran homeschooled boys would practice a hymn for Sunday School choir during a play date.

Everyone on Facebook was doing a black and white photo post. I didn't do 7 days of posts, but I did post a photo of our mailbox at our rental house. A delivery man complimented it a few days before I took the photo.

Our public library had an author visit, Laura Numeroff. I was at the end of the line, but she stayed past library closing time and signed everyone's books that were in line. The Lambs came and listened to her talk before signing, but Ram took them home while I waited in line to get my book signed. 

I sold more books to Hyde Brothers. This one surprised me and was worth about $100.

This is the book that got me started on buying books at the library book sale. I thought it would be valuable with the prints inside. It was worth about $25.

I read this biography of Tasha Tudor before I sold it to Hyde Brothers. It is more recent but was still worth about $20. All these books I sold were 20 cents each at the library book sale.

Lamb 1 needed a new coat. I really didn't have time to shop for one and was unsure what size to buy him or where in Fort Wayne to shop for one. A friend messaged me and asked me if we could use a coat that they found when cleaning out their closet. It was Lamb 1's size AND his favorite team is the Seahawks and it was their colors. I am just amazed at when God provides for us, not only just what we need, when we need it, but also when it is absolutely perfect for us! I couldn't have gone to the store and found a more perfect coat for him. Another example of a blessing while Ram is a student!

 

My sister came for Thanksgiving and we remembered to take a picture in our Harvest Raise t-shirts. It didn't turn out the greatest so we'll have to try again next time she visits. I was noticing how much my sister and I look alike in this picture. I have never noticed that before, we used to be so different that I wondered if we were really sisters!

I wanted to buy Lamb 2 a dressy coat for church. When I measured him he needed a men's size M! The sleeves are a little long, but the coat is not that big on him. He loves to dress up for church and was happy to get this coat. I used several coupons to buy it and I think it will fit him for a couple of years.

The pastor asked a question in Bible class about what was on our pulpit. I sit in the front row almost every Sunday and I was drawing a blank when he asked the question. Ram went upstairs and took a picture for me to jog my memory. (John 14:6)

We went to Christmas in the Park which used to be called the Christ Child Festival. The Lambs were a little old for it so we didn't stay long. I just wanted to know what they did. I had grand plans to take a family photo for Christmas, but there was too much in the background that disqualified this photo without a lot of photo editing.