Holland

 “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,” Proverbs 15:30

My question today is…where has the time gone?  This is a picture taken just after the birth of our second child, Holland Rachel, born May 26th, 2002.  Today she turned 8!  I can’t believe it!  

Happy Birthday Holland…we love you so much words will never do justice to the feelings in our hearts.  We pray that you will grow up to be a woman of Godly character who first loves the Lord her God with all her heart!  That you will find JOY in all circumstances and happiness in knowing the Peace that passes all understanding.  That you will be a witness of the love of our Creator as well as being His hands and feet in everything you do.  We pray for strength, wisdom, and grace in raising you as it is a journey that the Lord has blessed us with and we give you entirely to Him!  Thank you Lord for blessing our family with Holland. 

Enjoy my walk down memory lane…

 

 

 

 

Grillin’ an’ Chillin’

“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”  Acts 2:46-47 

 

The weather was beautiful on Saturday!  A perfect day to be grilling with friends….thank you Eric and Natasha for your friendship and hospitality!  We missed Megan and the boys as they were out of town, but were glad that Greg could man the grill:)  Natasha and Eric were kind enough to have us in at the last minute even while her mom was in town!  It turned out to be a beautiful day and this was a great way to finish it off.

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Working Outdoors

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

The past week was a busy one.  Life doesn’t appear to be slowing up any time soon…but for now I thought I’d add a little glimpse into some of the busyness of our lives.  Sydney snapped this picture of one of our many blooming Irises.  We actually had so many that we transplanted them into the garden simply because we didn’t have anywhere else to put them!  Last Thursday the ground had finally dried up enough to get into the garden…which was desperately in need of attention.  So the kids and I ventured out first to our personal garden.  We hoed the majority of the dry areas and planted corn, beans, onions (bigger job than I expected), more tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, and a few extra peppers.  All of the kids helped in this venture, whether planting, weeding, mulching, or for some…digging in the mud:)  After we felt that we had accomplished enough for that day we headed on over to our “community” garden and had to replant some of the plants that we lost due to all of the rain we have been having.  We also were able to finally plant the sweet potatoes.  It seemed like a long day and we were glad to be done that is for sure.  I can honestly say that everyone “pulled their weight”.

Chick Days

Well it’s that time again…time for more chickens, that is.  It is not uncommon to find chickens at the Colvin household at some time in your visits here.  With the move happening in the colder weather we were unable to bring our chickens from the old house and unfortunately without our dogs around for protection, the majority of them mysteriously disappeared, except of course, for some mean roosters.  But for those of you who know our history with chickens, that has proven to be our fate…mean roosters!  So a month or so ago, Joe and I set the posts for a new chicken pen for our new house in an attempt to return fresh eggs to our breakfast table.  The chicks arrived yesterday much to our excitement!  We now have 15 variety hens and one lucky rooster.  Of course at this stage of the game they are all just chicks, but soon they will lose their soft downy appearance in exchange for some breed defining feathers.  Until then, they are getting excessive attention from all of the little people around here.    I absolutely love this picture as it shows the affection that only a four year old can show to a baby chick.  The kids are eager for me to “just feel how soft they are”, “don’t you want to hold one?”  I reassured them that I have in fact held many in my lifetime and would rather not risk getting pooped on,  but am happy to take joy in their joy!  I also informed my children that if they would get the chickens used to them, by holding them, that they would one day have very friendly chickens…rooster included.  So as you can see they are doing their best to love on the chickens during their free time.  For now they, along with their cousins, have named several of them as follows:  Henny (Holland’s), Penquin (Sydney’s), Owl (Nick’s), Bald Eagle (Charlie’s), Bullet (Jackson), Roosty (Benji), Oreo (Harrison), and Sunny (London).  They are working on the rest, but for now any suggestions are welcome!

Toothless

This post is simply for my family who likes to be aware of every scraped knee, newest adventure, latest accomplishment, and even lost teeth!  Holland FINALLY lost one of her nagging loose teeth this weekend while jumping on the trampoline.  Who needs the old tie your tooth to the door trick when you have a trampoline!

Garage Sales

“Do everything without complaining or arguing.”  Philippians2:14

With Spring comes garage sales…definitely one of our favorite things about spring!  The kids save up their money throughout the year and when garage sales start popping up in the paper we make a plan, leave the house early, and spend the day shopping!  On Friday we spent the day hunting down good deals and just having a great time together.  Amongst the usual games, cookware, and clothing items that we picked up along the way our best find was a new bike for Jackson.  Now, there is a reason why this bike is so important.  For the past couple of months Jackson has been riding a purple princess bike.  For any of you with boys you know that this was a very humbling act for him. 

One day the girls took it upon themselves to teach Jackson how to ride his bike without training wheels.  He picked it up very quickly (I think it took a max of 30 minutes) and was soon speeding up and down the driveway.  It wasn’t long before his tire was flat and quite frankly needing to be replaced.  The only way that he could continue riding a bike was to ride his sisters purple princess bike.  He was definitely hesitant at first.  Especially knowing that he’d be riding it out on the road (in his mind every passing car would notice) with his cousins (all of whom are boys).  Needless to say he really didn’t complain about this, but rather did what he had to do.  Joe and I were very proud of him for this.

It’s the combination of times like these that develop who we are and who we are to become.

A Special Evening

“Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.” Psalm 144:12

Last Thursday evening was a special evening for our friends and family. It was our annual Princess Pack Awards Night! The girls are involved in a group that was somewhat founded on the book Keepers at Home. We meet twice a month on Thursday evenings to study a character trait and learn a new skill or improve on an old one. The book is filled with various skills for girls and young women that include anything from hospitality and diligence to baking and animal care. My girls were awarded for Cooking, Knitting, Hospitality, and Bible Reading.

Cooking has become a favorite activity in our household and I have had to learn some patience of my own ,as well as time management, as teaching a 7 year old to cook a full dinner takes a bit more time than doing it myself! The girls prepared many of the meals in our household over the last several months. Thanks to Paula Dean’s cookbook for kids the girls were always prepared with their menu.

Throughout the winter we also learned how to knit! This was a lot of fun for all of us. I too learned and spent the majority of my knitting time working on a scarf. Sydney designed a headband and made one for each of the girls on her Battle of the Books team (they ended up winning second place!).

As far as Hospitality goes my girls have earned that award two years in a row. We have a Bible Study that meets once a week and the girls do a fabulous job of keeping all of the kids entertained for several hours in the basement with crafts and activities.

I was especially proud of them for their progress in daily Bible Reading. One of the many benefits of homeschooling is the extra time in the morning for important things like chores and daily devotions. Both girls have read significant amounts of scripture over the course of the past school year.

I also chose to award each of the girls a character badge. I awarded Sydney the badge of Compassion as she has been blessed with compassion for others and she displays it often. Holland was awarded the badge of Orderliness. Holland does an excellent job of keeping her things in order (an often time her siblings’) a lot of the time. Good work girls!

This evening was a special night enjoyed by all. It is always encouraging to join with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we journey together through this adventure of life.