Family update and I'm coming back!

After not posting on here for a couple of years, I have plans to try to get back to my blog in the next few weeks. I'm not sure I am quitting Facebook completely, but I do want to cut back there and one way to do that is to go back to blogging. I have lots of work to do to get my blog up to date and very little free time to work on it. Plan on checking back in February to see if I made any progress!

The Lambs will turn 17, 15, and 13 in the next few months. I have a junior and freshman at our Lutheran high school and still homeschooling a 7th grader. Lamb 1 tried football for the first time last year. Lamb 2 loves JROTC. 

Ram is fully employed as a mental health counselor and more than half way to his license. We are looking forward to full license both for being done with school and the pay increase. His schedule is completely full at work and he is booked out several weeks. It is nice to know that clients trust him after a year. 

I am kept busy chauffeuring the Lambs; homeschooling Lamb 3; helping Lamb 2 with homework; managing the household and household schedule; volunteering at Redeemer Classical School library; and trying to fit in a little time for myself.

Ewe's parents are doing well. Dad will turn 81 in February. We did not get to celebrate his 80th due to Covid. They now have a home health aide about 3 hours a day to help dad shower and mom with housework. We still have lots of small tasks to help them remain in their home and check up on them frequently. Everyone is still talking about celebrating their 50th anniversary together in August 2019.

Ram's parents are also doing well. It was disappointing that we could not be together for Thanksgiving or any visits in 2020. We were so glad they were able to take a 50th anniversary trip to New Zealand shortly before Covid.

Ewe's sister and brother-in-law live in the St. Louis area and recently purchased a beautiful house. They both enjoy their jobs. Hannah authored a month of Portals of Prayer last year. 

Please leave a comment so I know who found me again after my absence here!

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

March update

March meant that we finished some activities. The Lambs had been getting ready for piano contest and that was the middle of March. I let them have the next week off of piano lessons after that. Our family had been attending a Bible study at church together on the Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, the Small Catechism, and the book of Mark. That also finished in March so we were done with the weekly homework to prepare for class. The Lambs sang in Sunday School choir on Palm Sunday so we are done practicing that hymn at home. They will sing one more hymn this school year.
Lamb 1 picked his freshman classes for next year. Going to high school is getting more real for all of us now. I am very excited about his opportunities in high school.
I attended a seminar on infertility by a local pro-life doctor that was really good. It didn't really apply to me, but I am glad there are resources for women that need it. I especially appreciated the encouragement for couples to try some basic lab tests; take medicine if required; have surgery if necessary; and if still not pregnant consider adopting.
Ram's parents visited for Ram's spring break and I tried to do spring cleaning and decluttering before they arrived. I didn't get done everything I wanted to get done before they came, but every little bit helps. I especially enjoy getting everything to give away delivered to the proper place and finally getting it out of my house.
We did some car maintenance-oil changes for both cars; had the brakes on one car looked at and found out they were fine; and car washes for both cars after winter. Wouldn't you know that as soon as we had the car washes it snowed the next day and we followed a salt truck?
We put an offer on a house that we really liked but was priced above what it was worth and above our budget. They countered with still too expensive so we are taking a break from house buying right now. If nothing else comes up for sale that we are interested in and this is still on the market in a month, then we may try again. Our realtor thought our offer was completely reasonable and their list price was ridiculous. Since we are renting and not in a hurry, the whole deal became humorous. I think the seller was a fool to not take our offer. I also think God has an even better house planned for us since so far this deal has not worked out.
Vision therapy homework for Lamb 2 has taken some planning and thinking in how we can do it in our rental house. Their computer software didn't play nice with Macs so Ram had to figure out how to get it to run in our all Apple household. Lamb 2 is doing great on his therapy so I will be interested in what the Dr. says at his 8 week checkup. We are also going to have Lamb 3 evaluated and we may have two Lambs doing vision therapy.
My parents have taken turns being sick this winter so we haven't seen them real often. We will all be glad for summer and hopefully all be more healthy.
The Lambs keep practicing piano, memorizing the catechism with the goal of May confirmation for Lamb 2 and 3, and plugging away at homeschool subjects. Ram keeps writing papers for me to proofread, studying for his classes, and setting up interviews in the community for his papers. He is getting excited about starting internships this summer. I attempt to be chef, maid, delegator, chauffeur, teacher, and generally just to keep everyone happy and hopefully they gain some knowledge each day too.

14

He is learning what "adult" birthdays are like. Almost all his presents were books from both his grandparents. There was no huge Lego set to put together this year. He was content to use his day off of school reading, playing iPad, and playing basketball with his brothers. (Homeschooling means no school on birthdays in our family.) He was happy that we didn't have anywhere to go today. The local grandparents even came over to our house. It was a little bittersweet for me today that it was the last homeschool birthday for him. Maybe he will end up with a snow day next year? He was born during a snowstorm, so we can hope, but that was in MN.

Lamb 2 made a really nice card

Grandma sent candles that light the same color as the candle. They were pretty neat.

Birthday Meal Requests:
Breakfast: French toast
Lunch: Sloppy Joes
Snack: fudge
Supper: Pizza (but we went out for pizza yesterday so we will have pizza another day this week, we just had leftovers tonight.)
Cake: Vanilla with homemade dairy free frosting that is the best frosting I have ever made!

I was a little exhausted after cooking all this plus making some other food for our family this week and doing all those dishes. I will sleep well tonight! Ram teased me that I didn't even have to teach school today, but honestly I don't know when we would have fit school in! Tomorrow will be back to regular schedule.

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-December 2017 Part 2

This year's church Christmas pageant was the first year that Lamb 1 was not in the program. He began by being baby Jesus when we lived in MN; was a darling shepherd in MN; took on different roles usually memorizing quite a few lines in ID; and was Simeon last year here in Fort Wayne. This year he helped backstage and we were glad to have him to help the little kids. He had to be at practices early and stay later than the other Lambs as he had to get directions from the director and they didn't want to waste practice time on that. 

Lamb 2 was a prophet and he had a couple of lines from the book of Isaiah to memorize.

Photo Credit: Steve Blakey
I just love this picture. We have been talking to the Lambs as they get older we would like them to take on a leadership role. This picture is from when the shepherds were out in the field right before the angels came. Lamb 2 was assigned to be partners with this boy as they processed in and out. This boy took that role seriously and really looked to Lamb 2 for directions of what to do. Lamb 2 gladly helped him as you can see from this picture. I also love that our church includes all children in the Christmas pageant no matter what their ability level is -they find a part that is perfect for them.

Lamb 2 was Joseph and he didn't have any lines to recite, but he did a great job. I was so glad I got this picture right before they left stage.

Both Lamb 1 and 2 sang in the boys small group choir during the pageant too.

Third Week of January 2018

Last week was a fun, but busy week. On Sunday we went to church and Sunday School and I streamed the Seminary Epiphany service instead of going to it. That is always a beautiful service.
On Monday our church hosted a one day conference. The Lambs helped acolyte at 2 church services that day. There were sessions for adults during the day and supper and fellowship in the evening. I helped serve soup during lunch and nachos with cheese during our taco supper. We didn't know very many of the visiting attendees this year, but had a good time with our friends from church. Many schools in the area were canceled for MLK Jr. Day so the Lambs had friends to play with during the sessions. It's great to take a day with church friends.
On Tuesday the Lambs had their first piano lessons after Christmas break. Then we planned to go out to the Seminary and see if any friends were attending Symposium this year. But when we went to start the car, it wouldn't start. Ram had a doctor's appointment, his annual physical, so he called AAA and then took the minivan to the doctor. While he was gone they came and jumped the car and I let it run 25 minutes. Ram wasn't home so I turned it off to gather up my stuff and the Lambs to go to the car place. 5 minutes later it wouldn't start again.
On Wednesday a tow truck came and picked up the car. There was no charge thanks to AAA combining it with the call the day before. It was a long day of chauffeuring for me due to one car. When I picked up Ram after his class, we went over to the Seminary for a reception. Last year there were more children at this reception, this year our Lambs were the only ones. They behaved partly because there was food for them. Ram and I visited with one of my college friends and a few other people we knew. It was a nice end to a crazy day.
On Thursday we picked up the car from the shop with a new battery now. We went to a couple of library book sales and had a couple of good finds. On Thursday night our boys acolyted at our church weekly midweek service. I don't often attend that service and it was nice.
On Friday I woke up with a headache, I think sinus trouble from the weather. I was pretty worthless all day. I watched some of the March for Life coverage from D.C. online. I really want to go some year. Ram had an eye doctor appointment. He needs a slight change in prescription.
On Saturday the Lambs had confirmation class and then the church youth group went ice skating. The Lambs were not too excited about ice skating but after about an hour both Lamb 1 and 3 were pretty good at it. Lamb 2 declared that he liked roller skating better than ice skating. It was low 30s and I wonder if he would have liked it better if it was a little warmer. Maybe we'll try to go again as a family before the end of the season. Ram and Lamb 1 went to darts at church. When they got home I went over to my mom's. I am keeping some of our food in her chest freezer. I reorganized her freezer and brought some meat home for us. I had a nice visit with my parents after the freezer project.
Yesterday we went to church and Sunday School. CLHS had an open house so we went for a little bit. Lamb 1 has been accepted so we didn't have too many questions. Lamb 2 and 3 were glad for the chance to practice shooting rifles. We went to an open house for a possible house. It was nice, but not perfect for us, so we are still waiting and looking. We stopped by Barnes and Noble for a treat from the cafe while it was educator discount day. Then the Lambs were anxious to get home to watch football so we came home.
In the middle of all those activities last week, we got some homeschooling done too. This week I hope to be back to full homeschool schedule and Ram is back to full time schooling. I am glad to get back to a routine and hope for no more excitement like car problems this week!

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.

January Family Update

Lamb 1 was sick on Sunday so I took Lamb 2 and 3 to church by myself while Ram stayed home with Lamb 1 and watched our church service online. It is so different that Ram now stays home from church with sick Lambs after many years of me staying home with sick Lambs while he was the pastor.

Sunday afternoon we took our Christmas tree down and put it in storage. Monday the weather wasn't too good and my mom and our family all had chiropractor appointments so we gave her a ride, had our adjustments, and took her home.

Ram, Lamb 1, and Lamb 3 were sick at the beginning of the week. It wasn't too bad, it was mostly a frog in their throat, but not sore throats or fevers. We took lots of vitamins and ran humidifiers in the Lambs rooms. We're not completely over it, but much better. I spent more time with the Lambs going through stuff in their room and getting more stuff ready for give away. We got back to our routine of practicing piano, the Lambs did their piano theory, and we got back to a little homeschool. I did some school planning, especially planning what I want Lamb 1 to do with me this last semester before high school.

On Thursday Ram and I finally had our anniversary date. Fort Wayne has a local restaurant deal so for one price we got appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert. It was really good food. We had been given some money for Christmas for us to go out on a date and with this deal we didn't even spend all that money. The Lambs were glad to go over to my parents while we went out, it had been a while since my mom was healthy enough to watch them. I was so glad everyone was healthy and Ram and I made it out on a date before his school vacation ended.

On Friday there was ice and a couple of inches of snow so most schools in the area canceled. Lamb 2 had a vision therapy evaluation so we braved the roads in the early afternoon and by then it wasn't too bad. This was the first exam so he has an appointment for a longer exam in a few weeks. It is looking like he will need to do more VT. I'm excited for him to have a chance to work with a different doctor/therapists when he is a couple of years older. I don't regret him doing VT in ID in 2014, it just wasn't enough. His eyes are still having a lot of trouble focusing on the page to read. In ID, VT was very close to our house, here VT will be a little drive. But if he can benefit from this then we are willing to drive.

Today I will go to church and Ladies Aid while the Lambs stay home one last Saturday to hopefully get a little more healthy, but also because we will be back to full routine next week.

Next week Ram returns to class, piano lessons begin again, there is a conference at the Seminary so many friends will be in town, and we will try to get back to our full homeschool schedule. For Ram to have a month off of school for Christmas was wonderful, but it went all too quickly.

My plan is to finish the year in review posts and then attempt to blog 2-3 times a week with at least one of those being a weekly family update.

Year in Review-October 2017

We attended several Reformation services in honor of the 500th anniversary. October 1 was a service at St. Paul's, Fort Wayne. Afterwards they served a nice German meal. It was a nice time to visit with friends from several area churches.

These photos should have been posted in September, but the Lambs received their summer reading prizes from CPH. Lamb 2 won a big prize in the program, the Illuminated Catechism, which I already posted a photo. Here was his kids prize.

Lamb 1's prize.

Lamb 3's prize. It is so nice of CPH to do this for the kids! I saved the Sunday School Bible Discovery Guides from the Lambs, but it was nice to get it all in one volume here.

We began the admission process for Lamb 1 to go to high school. I will post more about this later, it was a little more complicated because he has been homeschooled, but it was not impossible.

The last cross country meet was in October. The other 8th grade moms were a little teary  after a few years together on this team. This was our first year so I was relieved that chauffeuring was done for a few months. I really hope that Lamb 1 continues cross country in high school, but it will be his choice and there are many high school activities to choose from. This was a great group of 8th graders. I look forward to cross country with Lamb 2 on this team again next year.

We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather for all the cross country meets this year.

Our church took part in one day of 40 days of Life by standing outside Planned Parenthood and praying for pregnant mothers. It was one of the first colder days and many of us were really bundled up that day. After a very mild fall no one was really ready to wear hats and gloves that day. The Lambs are "tough" boys and kept most of their winter gear in the car for most of the time we were there. It was a sad reason to be together, but a time to fellowship and pray together. Another reason I am glad that we homeschool and take our boys to times like this. Some kids came after school, but we were there at the beginning of the afternoon.

I don't have any pictures to show, but I took the Lambs to the Reformation service on October 31 at Concordia Theological Seminary. We arrived really early and waited so that we would have a seat. Unfortunately Ram had class and a Catholic college was not going to allow him to attend a Reformation service as an excuse to miss class. The service was beautiful and wonderful to sing Lutheran hymns with a packed chapel of Lutherans, hear the beautiful choirs, and hear Rev. Harrison preach again. Afterwards I took the Lambs out for ice cream. It was strange for them to not go trick-or-treating or a Halloween party, but Reformation 500 trumped Halloween! Lamb 1 was especially glad that he was able to attend instead of just watching it online. I think we gave the Lambs memories of Reformation this year that they will tell their grandchildren about. I am so glad that the Lambs are old enough where we could arrive early and they could participate for the whole service. It got to be a really long evening, but not impossible for them.