Our Bird Neighbors

We have had some amazing opportunities for nature study this year. Our focus this year is birds and God has provided some "up close and personal" views of our bird neighbors. Alek noticed a nest in the holly bush next to our porch while he was playing baseball in the yard. I went and checked it out and found three, beautiful blue eggs. We were careful to observe that area over the next couple weeks. The mommy bird was pretty skittish and flew off every time we were in the yard. When she flew off, we would check the progress of the eggs. It wasn't long before there were three, tiny, naked little birds in the nest. We watched them as they grew and we often saw the daddy bird bringing food for his family. If we were in the front yard, he would fly behind the bushes and walk under the porch to the back of the holly bush and up to the nest. One day I walked over to check on the babies and I scared them so badly that they jumped out of the nest. I felt awful! They were pretty grown up by then and crowding each other out of the nest, but I'm not sure they were quite ready to leave. Andrew and our friend Donna and I tried to catch them and put them back in. We actually managed to put a couple of them back, but they jumped right back out. Of course, the mommy and daddy were squalling and flying all over. We eventually left the parents to take care of their babies. They never did come back to the nest. Hopefully all three of them are living happy little birdie lives.

Ahoy, Mateys

Noah's 5th birthday party was a success! The kids all received pirate names when they came in the door, along with a headscarf, eyepatch and earring. Noah's pirate name was Barnacle Breath Gus. I was Sharkbait Jade Sparrow. I was so busy running around that I don't think I ever saw Andrew's or Alek's. We had a great day playing, going on a treasure hunt, opening presents and eating cake.

Speaking of cake, I actually made one that looked good! For those of you that don't know, cake and I just don't get along. Every time I try to make a decorated cake it ends up looking completely awful, and every time I swear I will never make one again. But this time I was pretty happy with it. What do you think?

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I wish our family could have been there for the fun, but we enjoyed talking to everyone as they called to wish Noah a happy birthday.

The Adventure Begins

Here I go, diving into the world of the weblog. I've thought about doing it for a while, and now that we've stepped into the 21st century and got DSL, it's a little more feasible. I'm hoping this will be a good way to help friends and family feel connected to what's going on in our family.

The title of my blog comes from Psalm 144. David prayed "Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace; Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce, And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; Let our cattle bear without mishap and without loss, Let there be no outcry in our streets! How blessed are the people who are so situated; How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!"

We have been very richly blessed, especially with our three amazing boys. Our purpose and prayer for them is that they would be as plants grown up in their youth, producing fruit for the Lord at a young age. This is a huge part of why we homeschool and we're seeing the desired results already.

I hope this blog is a blessing to all who visit and I can't wait to see where it goes!