Homeschool Convention 2014, Cousins, and a Heat Wave

On Friday we attended the annual Harrisburg Homeschool Convention.  As always, everyone had a very fun day.  Between listening to a wonderful storyteller tell stories from American history, picking out next year's science curriculum, and seeing all of the various vendor's stands, there was something for everyone to enjoy.  Douglas found a violin stand and tried out a few of the violins. He and another young man played various hymns for quite awhile.

Mother's Day found us headed to New Jersey to visit one of Keith's brothers.  His mother was also there, and two of his other brothers with their families, so it was a very pleasant afternoon.  I didn't take many pictures, but always love photos of these two little girls together.

We have been experiencing a nice little heat wave the last couple of days.  We know what to do about that!  :)

Music Party

Last Sunday our three children who take piano lessons took part in a music party.  They each played their three favorite songs.  It was so fun to have a beginner...

I sat beside Annika so she would feel less nervous.

An intermediate beginner...

The nerves beginning to attack!

And a more advanced student...

They all played very well.  Songs played by our children ranged from Three Black Bears (Annika) to O What A Beautiful Morning (Casper) to Moonlight Sonata (Douglas).  We are so blessed to be surrounded by so much beautiful music!

Watching Her Wake Up

There is nothing quite so sweet as a sleeping child.  Unless, of course, you happen to catch the first few moments that a child is waking up.  Generally speaking the girls are up and going as early as anyone around here, but one morning recently Annika slept later than usual.  I quietly went in with my camera and was able to watch as she slowly woke up.

As she stretched...

And opened her eyes...

 And sat up...

And started getting chatty...

And finally started getting giggly.

I am thanking God for every precious minute with this darling little daughter of mine.  She truly makes the ordinary moments miraculous!

A Heartfelt Thanks

I wrote a super special thank you post over on the Superkids Charity blog today.  Head on over to see what arrived on my doorstep yesterday!  :)

Sunday in Spring

Yesterday was a beautiful day!  We drove down to Keith's home area and went to a couple of his favorite childhood haunts.  While Keith and the boys did more serious hiking, the girls played and I took pictures.  That's how we keep everyone happy!

Eventually the girls and I headed down to a different trail to meet the boys.  I was a bit disconcerted when I realized that wading the creek was the only way we would make it to the trail, but we were not to be deterred.  So wade we did!  And it was worth it.  The trail was beautiful and the girls had so much fun striking silly poses and running ahead then back again.

When we met Keith and the boys wouldn't you know they were on the other side of the creek we had waded!  Fortunately they are all better at crossing on stones and logs than I am.

It was a really good day.  But I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't tell you that it was also a really hard day for me.  Doing things like this as a family only highlights my physical limitations. This type of activity has always been something we all enjoy.  I could never keep up with my energetic husband and sons, but I could certainly do a lot better than I can now!  Between my tremors and bad joints hiking just isn't the best activity for me.  I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but it is just one more grief in this physical journey.

Isn't life like that?  A beautiful family day, touched by sadness.  Things that were once taken for granted no longer possible.  Learning new ways to enjoy life is not easy.  So we once more come back to the word acceptance.  I can assure you that I don't make myself or anyone else happier when I don't accept it and move on.

Happy Birthday, Annika!

I'm going to apologize right here and now for the length of this post and the number of pictures you are about to see.  I'm covering birthday and birthday party all in one post here, folks!

Annika's 7th birthday was on Sunday.  At 7 you count the days and hours until your birthday!  You may even have difficulty going to sleep the night before because you are soooo excited! And then suddenly it's morning and the big day has arrived!

First we waited until everyone was out of bed...

Then we opened gifts!

We ate birthday cake for breakfast...

And we sneaked in a little time to play with a gift before going to church.

Today we had a cupcake decorating party.  We baked the cupcakes ahead of time and had the frosting and decorating stuff available.  Then we let all of the girls decorate to their heart's content.  I loved seeing the colorful combinations they came up with!

Then, of course, we had to try some of them out!

After the cupcake decorating they tried out Annika's new paints, then spent some time playing.  It was sure a fun, low stress party!

Happy birthday, sweet Annika!

Washington D.C. Visit

We've talked about visiting Washington D.C. when the cherry trees are blooming for quite some time.  We carefully followed the progress of the the blossoms and decided that last weekend was the perfect time to go.  We were correct.  It was perfect!  The weather was gorgeous, the trees were in full bloom, and the company could not have been improved upon.

We were able to attend a performance of St. John's Passion in the National Cathedral.  It was beautiful and masterfully performed (even if the chairs were a bit hard to sit on for 2 solid hours).

Poor Casper is recovering from poison ivy on his face and isn't too thrilled about pictures!

We are already planning to go again soon. We certainly were not able to take in everything we wanted to.