{Just enjoying the sunshine & a little basketball...}

These pictures were taken Sunday afternoon as the kids were enjoying the sun and watching basketball...

 These ones of Eli made me smile...

 It was near the end on a close game...

 Yes, they pulled it off and won!

 They are growing up fast, right before my eyes...

{This Mama's Daybook}

For this day

March 27, 2018

Outside my window... Spring seems to be making it's way to our part of the world! The red bud trees in the backyard are just starting to show signs of tiny pink buds. Potatoes are in the ground in the garden and I am loving chilly mornings waking up snug under the covers while I can hear the birds sing outside through the open window. This morning it is damp outside, how I would love to hear the sound of rain on the windows!

I am thinking about... Colossians 3:12-17

 "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,  kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Lately, I have found myself sometime looking at things around me and seeing what is "wrong" or what is "discouraging" instead of seeing What God is doing in it all. I think as the body, we can fall into this trap easily, yet God has called us to forgive one another, He has called us to walk with one another with Christ as the focus, not ourselves, giving thanks in everything. Humbling words for my heart today...

I am thankful for... grace and forgiveness in a world that is messy.

One of my favorite things... kids laughing as they play together! Sunday our Pastor's children spent the afternoon playing and baking cookies with Lenna.

I am creating... Spring candles and beginning to work on schedules for the summer... seems hard to believe that 3 months of the year have already passed!

I am listening too... the wind and Andrew Peterson, The Burning Edge of Dawn.

On my bookshelf...Unimaginable: What Our World Would be Like without Christianity by Jeremiah J. Johnston

In the kitchen... runzas with cheese! Yummy, takes me back to trips to Lincoln, Nebraska when I was in graduate school! This week also brings a crock pot meal tonight after swim practice tonight and Thursday!

From the learning rooms... Lenna's worm farm for Botany is finally smelling better and it is actually fun to check on the worms and the compost! The first round of worms arrived mostly dead- Yuck! They sent a new batch and they arrived healthy and seem to be thriving in her compost bin. Our family is large enough that we created enough kitchen waste to compost that we need to enlarge the size of her farm soon! Clara is excited that her math has a lot of clock work in it this week, something she loves! Nate and Eli are moving along in History and I have ordered their next classes for the fall. All the kids start an online writing class this week that I am looking forward to doing with them.

Moments from the last week... 

What is ahead... Easter!

{My favorite room at the Capitol}

Our last stop in the Capitol before we headed out was the library. The Library opened in 1900. The library stacks are made of steel and support a glass floor on the 2nd level.

I have always loved it on my visits and it is a new favorite of my kids as well!

I think it is because it is beautiful with iron stairs, the glass floor on the 2nd level of bookshelves and the painting on the wall & ceiling...

I also love it because it is "kiddo friendly." My kids pulled books of the shelves and found a chair o sit down and read for a bit. Clara & Nate found a few children's books in the Notable book section and took turns reading to Wesley.

The kids learned that there are 383 glass panels in the floor that are 1 inch thick!

This is the oldest book the library has. It is Law Tracts by Sir Francis Bloom and was copyright dated in 1741. 

Sunflowers are my avorite! I love the big brass sunflowers in the railings too!

After stopping in the library we headed to visit friends before leaving town. The kids played while Katherine and I caught up. I wish I would have taken the time to get a picture of them all together as it had been a few years since we had seen them! Finally it was time to head out as we had a long drive, but I was a great way to close an awesome day!

{Paging at the Capitol}

Eli & Abigayl were scheduled to page at the Capitol for our Senator on Monday. When we arrived Monday morning, several pages were sick and so they ask if Lenna would like to page as well, so she said yes! I love the Capitol building, the architecture and art is beautiful!

The pages being oriented on their day in the Senate chambers...

Wesley, Clara, Nate and I toured some of the capitol, there they are in the Senate.

The Sargent of arms let them sit in the President of the Senate's Chair...

We also stopped by the Governor's Office and the kids got their picture with him and our Senator.

Miss Jennifer came to meet us with her daughter. She took Nate, Clara & Wesley up in the Capitol dome While I hung out with H. Lenna, Abigayl & Eli also got to go up in the dome on a pages tour.

This is looking up into the doom, on the tour, you go above the glass seen in these pictures and to the top outdoor platform.

Here is Clara, Wesley & Nate at the top!

They climbed all 296 stairs! Below in the platform where the chandelier you can see in the doom is raised and lowered from when it needs work.

These pictures were taken by Abigayl & Lenna on their tour...

They went outside on the platform and could look out over the city...

Heading down from the top...

As for Clara, Wesley and H- they decided the best way to look at the doom was looking up while flat on the floor...

I took the 3 younger kids after lunch to another Historical site a few blocks away while Eli, Abigayl & Lenna finished their day as pages.

It was a great day to learn about Government and our State history!

{Tumble in the Jungle}

Clara had a gymnastics meet the weekend that Shawn and the kids were coming home from Hungary.

The girls wore sunglasses and top hats to honor a gentleman who owned and equipment company and set up for meets we have gone too for years. He passed away unexpectedly this fall. We have missed him at meets this season. He always had a smile and wore a hat, all the girls knew who he was and that he took care of the equipment.

Shawn and the kids coming back from Hungary had gotten delayed by weather and landed about 30 minutes before the meet began. What Clara didn't know was that they decided to drive from the airport to try and make it to part of her meet!

Coach P giving her some last minute pep talk before her floor routine.

Vault was up next...

They arrived at the meet as Clara was warming up for bars... can you see her in the back, she is just realizing that they walked in! We missed her face when she saw them, it was priceless!

warm up...

and ready to go for the judge...

Last up, beam routine.

She has been working really hard to improve her beam routine. The handstand on the beam is hard for her to get balanced on one arm, but it has really improved this season. She has also had to change her dismount a bit, but she had a great day!

She and her team mates had a great meet! She placed 2nd all around.

Her level 3 team took 1st place.

All together after the meet, she was so happy for see her siblings and daddy!

2 regular season meets left and districts and then this season will be in the books!