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!

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-May 2017

 May 2017

May was a huge month for photos and important events in the lives of our Lambs.

Ram's parents visited and it was the first time we saw them since we moved in August 2016. Ram's dad practiced his photography skills and took several pictures for us. My parents came over for pictures too.

Lamb 1 age 13

Lamb 2 age 11

Lamb 3 age 9

We went to the zoo one day when Ram had class. The zoo brings back lots of childhood memories for me.

Lamb 2 turned 11 during their visit. It felt like old times to open up presents and celebrate his birthday with them. Lamb 2 received a Lego volcano set. 

The entire visit, the Lambs took turns with a stomach bug. We sang to Lamb 2, cut the cake, and he got sick. We took turns staying home with the Lambs and going places with Ram's parents. I felt so bad that the Lambs were sick during their short visit, but I was glad that none of the adults got the bug. It also rained most of their visit and during their drive here and back. Between the rain and sickness it was a little depressing, but we were so glad we were able to visit with them and show them where we live now. They may never drive to visit us again after this time!

The Lambs had their first piano recital in IN in May. All of their grandparents were able to attend! 

After they performed, they went and sat in the audience for the rest of the recital. This was Lamb 3's first piano recital. He was so happy to join his brothers and perform! I loved watching my stair step boys during the rest of the recital. They did a good job listening to the rest of the students perform. 

The piano teacher had these Kit Kats as a cute snack for the reception.

On one of the days that everyone was healthy we went out to eat for ribs.  We were trying to figure out what to order and finally decided to order this huge platter and share it. There were no leftovers after the 7 of us finished eating lunch!

We went to the farmer's market on opening day for the season and a newspaper reporter was there as we were trying tea. We bought some tea and this photo was in the newspaper.

Lamb 1 was confirmed at our church at the beginning of  May. 

My sister was unable to attend, but Lamb 1's other godparents were able to attend. They also came to MN to his baptism. I never would have guessed that they would also be able to attend his confirmation. Another blessing that we moved back to the Midwest.

We hadn't seen Lamb 1's godparents for many years so we were excited to have a visit with them. Playing giant cards with godfather Latif was fun.

His godfather works at a brewery and brought Ram some special edition beer. You can't buy it in the store any more, but we were so glad to get some.

He brought root beer for the Lambs.

Godmother Ruth brought a kite and we took it to the park. She loved our park and gave me a new appreciation for our neighborhood. I took it for granted after growing up in Fort Wayne. 

Lamb 1 enjoyed playing ball with his godfather.

 

I was one of the winners of the photo pie contest so CPH sent me a shirt.  In the competition with my sister, I was the first one to get a t-shirt. She had to wait until the book was released to get her t-shirt.

I had already won the t-shirt, but the Lambs wanted to do the coloring contest. I was surprised that they wanted to do it, I didn't ask them to do it, they chose to do it. We put them on the refrigerator for months.

We attended a sheep festival at a local park/farm so I wore my Ewe hat and Ram wore his Ram shirt.

We took our rooster pictures to the farm for a visit. We had fun on the hayride.

I brought some of my bulbs from ID and planted them at my mom's house since we are renting now. I was pleased that they came up in May.

 

My sister visited for Mother's Day and it was the first time that we met my brother-in-law. They have been married for 5 years, but always lived far away from us and we were unable to go to their wedding in Hawaii. We went to a park and had fun playing basketball. They moved back to the Midwest in May so hopefully we will see them often!

They loved playing football at my mom's house. We had beautiful weather for their visit.

Even my mom played football!

We tried to take family pictures but it was sunny and they didn't turn out well. 

The selfies were hilarious even if they didn't turn out.

We helped my dad put the flowers we gave him for his birthday outside for the hummingbirds.

 

The Lambs think Uncle Eric is strong and fun!

Godmother Hannah was not able to attend Lamb 1's confirmation, but she did go to our church the Sunday that she visited so we could take pictures. Lamb 1 was an acolyte that day.

We lived in ID for 5 years and neither Ram or I were ever called for jury duty. 9 months after we moved to IN, Ram got jury duty. It was actually more complicated than I thought it would be to prove that he was no longer an ID resident, but he was successful to get out of this jury duty. It would have been too long of a commute!

Lamb 1 and 2 attended a blacksmith class. Unfortunately Lamb 1 got a minor burn and had to sit out with some ice for awhile. He was able to return and complete his project that day. The newspaper came and did a report and several weeks later they were in the newspaper and on a video at the newspaper website. They would love to do more blacksmithing, but it meets on Saturday mornings and we usually have confirmation class then. Lamb 3 was sad that he was not old enough to do blacksmithing. Maybe in a few years they can all go to the blacksmith shop more regularly.

I was amazed what they completed in just a couple of hours.  They were treated like adults and expected to be serious about their work.

On a different Sunday than Lamb 1's confirmation, Lamb 2 and 3 had their first communion. 

One of Lamb 3's godfathers was able to attend his first communion. He was not able to attend his baptism, so this is another blessing that he was able to attend this day.

We went to a Memorial Day parade. I love being back in my patriotic hometown for events like this! 

Lamb 3 got out his cars to play while we watched the Indy 500.