Bugs!

 Recently, Samuel has become fascinated by bugs.

       He found a Cicada the other day, still in his old, dirty skin. Cicadas live under the ground for up to seventeen years, sucking the juice from roots for food. They then shed their old skin (usually on a tree) and live as an adult Cicada for a short time. 

           Right now we have a male Cow Killer (or a Dasymutilla occidentalis, if you like
fancy-smancy names) in the house.  

People call these "Cow Killer Ants" for the females painful sting, or "Red Velvet Ants" for their red fur.

 Actually, they're wasps, not ants. 

                                                                                                                     
                ------------------------------------------------------------

                                        
                                             Here's a video of the Cicada, climbing up a tree.

                         

                                                                                                                              ~Sarah~

A Haircut

Last week, Momma cut Anna's hair!!!  It had gotten very long, and Anna decided that she wanted to send her hair to Locks of Love. I didn't take a picture right before she cut it, but here's one that shows how long it was:

Snip!

Tada!

                                                                   Doesn't she look nice?

Strawberry Jam

       This morning, Momma ran to the produce market and bought three flats of strawberries. She wants to have enough jam to last till the end of the year, and since strawberries are in season now, this is the perfect time to make some!

With good helpers, we finished all three flats this morning!

The fruit of our labor. :)

 Sarah                                                    

Happy Birthday Jacob!

"Baby" Jacob turned five today! 

Jacob with sticker chicken pox

What We Love About Jacob:

1. his willingness to share
2. the tight hugs he gives us
3. how he keeps us laughing
4. his cheerfulness
5. and how he wants to marry all of us :)

We love you buddy!

        From your family

Happy Mother's Day!

                                    My Mother is an incredible woman.
      She loves the Lord, she loves Daddy, and she loves us. She chooses to spend her time cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, teaching school, giving medicine, answering questions, washing clothes, scheduling doctor appointments, disciplining, listening, planning, etc, etc, etc.  I could probably go on, but I'll stop there. :)

                    
       In the middle of all that Momma is still patient with us, even when we're unlovely.

                              She also happens to be one of my best friends!

                                      We love you Momma!!!

Swimming

A few days ago, we got to go swimming for the first time! The water was a bit on the cool side, but we had a blast.

Grape juice Popsicle!

by the way, PLEASE  pray for the people suffering from tornado damage in Alabama. And, if you feel led, please donate.

A Rose

Our Surprise

Well, the special surprise is here.  On Friday, we welcomed a new member to our family!



Introducing...

                                                                          
                                                         Nana!!!

 

Doesn't Jacob look so huge sitting on her lap?

       Of course she's not really a new family member, but we've never had her live at our house before. Nana has been in an assisted living facility for several years, but Daddy and Momma felt like it was right to have her here with us instead.

cleaning out her room

 Just about everyone pitched in, carrying things to the moving truck, guarding the side door (so people who were supposed to stay in didn't come out), and packing boxes.

Samuel "helping"

               

He did help some :)

      Everyone stayed up late on Friday night unpacking the U-haul truck and organizing her things. Momma and I are still working on her clothes, which she has in abundance!!

         Nana is such a blessing, and we all love her very much. She's especially popular with Jacob right now, who is following her around almost constantly.


   Goodbye until later!
                           Sarah
                                                                                
                                                                                ~***~
    Since I said we had a surprise, I considered saying as an April fool's joke that we were going to get another baby.  After thinking about it a bit though, I decided that it might not be such a good idea. :)

  
       

         

Happy Birthday Lydia

                                                         Today is Lydia's sixth birthday!
                                      

                                                                
                                                                   We love her lots.

       Lydia is very tenderhearted, with a bright and sunny personality. She inspires people we don't even know with the differences that God has made her with. By overcoming the next challenge (learning talk without a lower jaw, using the bathroom with no hands etc.) she can bring glory to His name though her patience and diligence. She wasn't a mess up. Lydia was made just perfect. :)

Looking at one of her presents

Playing with her new stroller

The cake

The Clean Toy Room

Much better!