A boy and his cat

This boy loves his cat.

While the cat may not look too happy (and most likely is not too happy), he regularly places himself close to Mr. K so we are not too quick to rescue him.

This cat has always been good with Mr. K, they are great buddies (if one can ever really be said to be buddies with a cat).

Using the dutch oven

We finally got around to using my new dutch oven (my treat from the gem show) this week end.  Rob made plans for breakfast AND lunch using the dutch oven; everyone was excited to get to try this out.

For breakfast Rob did the cooking in our fireplace.  Kids trickled out to watch him make the casserole.  Miss E made chocolate chip scones that fit our lent diet restrictions.  Mmmm....that was one great meal!

 

For lunch Mr. M set up a fire in the back yard and Rob cooked over it using the tripod we got to go with the dutch oven.  Yum, brats and onions!

Snow in Tucson?

Yes, this desert continues to amaze us. I had taken the little ones to a friend's house this morning, and Miss J was having a knitting lesson there. We looked out the window to see what we thought was rain. It looked like it was really coming down, but it didn't sound like rain. We. Realized it was switching over to snow!

The kids went out to play in it a bit. Mr K came in with snowflakes on his head.

he was not upset about the snow, but that I made him come in.

The older kids were making little snowballs, it was really starting to stick.

Isn't this back yard great?  I love how she has it set up.  She even has chickens and a rabbit off to the right as well as a play set for her kids.  I love how they are using this space.

On the drive home I realized that it was starting to stick in the median too.

The house looked so pretty as we drove up. It looked like a desert winter wonderland.

 

Kids bundled up and headed out to play.

 

 

When they came back in we had tea and "caramel" corn (made with honey, no sugar) and watched The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

What a fun day.  Now the snow has mostly melted here, and we are enjoying the view of the snow capped mountains out our window.

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Valentines Day- whats the celebration about?

When we think of Valentine's day we think of hearts, chocolates, love, red, pink, roses etc.  Recently we've really started looking into what all of these "holidays" are about.  We want our celebrations to be honoring to God, and don't just want to mindlessly go with the flow.  I was THRILLED when I spotted this book at Voice of the Martyrs.  It is the story of Valentinus, his love for Christ and his fellow man, bravery, and love of the gospel.  This is what we are reading today.  This is what we will talk about today.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

Of course we will enjoy some yummy treats as well.  The kids were pleased to find that, despite some diet changes, I had some fun treats planned.  They helped me make some treats for daddy yesterday, as well as get some prep work out of the way for our lunch.

Mmmm....Strawberry cream cheese and cow patties

He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" Luke 10;27

*If you thought that religious persecution and martyrdum were things of the past I'd urge you to take a look at Voice of the Martyrs.  Christians all over the world are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and killed  for their faith.  We need to be praying for our brothers and sisters and supporting them as we can.

Lent; preparing our hearts for Easter

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him shall not parish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Over the years I've found that Easter sneaks up on me.  We're just coming out of the winter holidays, hit some birthdays around here, and are starting to transition to spring/summer clothes.  I nearly forget that Easter is coming up.  This makes me sad because it should be the most important holiday we (as a family/Christians) celebrate.

Some of our favorite Easter books as well as a new Lamplighter to read!

We love him because he first loved us.  1 John 4:19

This year is different; I thought ahead.  We will be working on our hearts, preparing to celebrate the death and Resurrection of our Savior through the entire lent season.  I picked up a family devotional that we will use.  I think we will also read through Amon's Adventure again.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life though Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

During our daily readings I'll let little ones color ornaments to hang on the Easter tree that Miss E and Mr. M made.

I would not be surprised if Miss E were to get in on the action and come up with more ideas.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23

As we work on our hearts and minds we will also be working on our bodies as well.  Check out this post to read about what we are doing.

Gem show

When my sweet husband gave me some very sparkly earrings at Christmas he also told me about the local gem show that he wanted to take me to (and that he would have cash for me to spend!).  It sounded like a fun date, and then we both decided that is would be fun to take Miss J.  She likes sparkly things and her birthday was just a couple of weeks before the gem show.  We knew she would love going as a great post birthday treat.

On our way in

Miss J saved up the Christmas and birthday money that she received so she could do some shopping.  Her eyes were wide as she soaked in all of the sights and realized how many gems were really there.  We loved seeing what she liked best (she has great taste, but a bit to sophisticated for her age).

so pretty, and so big!

Her first purchase was actually a canopy.  She was so excited when she saw them and right away she mentioned that she would be able to share with Miss E and Miss C as well.

right after her first purchase

Next she spotted some tiara earrings that she really liked and decided that those would be a good idea.

lunch out with Mommy and Daddy is a big deal

Near the end she spotted a booth with some small earrings and found that she could afford a sweet pair of blue stones.

 

Sleeping under her new canopy

Next she spotted some cute bracelets, and wanted to purchase one.  We had to remind her that she had already spent nearly all of her money.  She had a dollar left, they were being offered at five dollars each.  The woman at the booth must have thought that Miss J was awfully sweet and cute, because she picked one out for Miss J and let her have it for the dollar!

Showing off her new earrings

Meanwhile I had not spotted a thing that really tickled my fancy.  Jewlery is so pretty and I love the pieces my husband has blessed me with; but I guess I'm just too practical.  I turned to Rob and asked if he would please take me to the army surplus store so that I could get a dutch oven.  My husband's whole face lit up.  He was thrilled to grant my request, and the whole family is looking forward to enjoying my gift.