Ilex. Is. 16 !

How did that happen?

{ Is it only me? }

Wasn't it only yesterday she was little?

And she's stepping out in style.

Heart Breaker Eyes

5 year old Leif was given the task of pounding flat a bunch of staples so this board could be re-hung in a fixing project. He was so happy to be given a real job and so cute in the knowledge that he was being a helper to Uncle Ben. (Well, this child would be cute doing anything, right? Those heart breaker eyes!)

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

~Benjamin Franklin~

Domestic Divas

Ilex and her best friend Adalaine are house/dog sitting for Ben and Shannon this week. When they came over here yesterday, (decked out in two of Shan's many darling aprons), to borrow an ingredient for a salad they were making, I decided that a photo shoot was definitely in order! I think they are having a blast being "on their own" keeping house in the little "cottage".

Domestic Divas

Well, not too serious after all.

Back to back

They faced each other...

Time Warp Birthday

Casey turns 40!

a truly psychedelic party is held in his honor

It's intriguing how costumes, in this case a "Seventies" theme,

will loosen people up in just the right?! way.

Even Drake got into the swing of things (literally) when he got

that 'magic' Afro wig on that came to the party on Ben

but made the rounds to most of the guys!

Aged Hippies

And Lola knows that Cheerios are definitely a vintage thing.

Family Reunion-Northern Edition

Another annual reunion this time on hubbie's side. Six siblings and their children and Grandchildren makes for a very large group. We always have great fun together talking, eating, playing and just catching up.

Lola was being her photogenic sweet self so she gets a collage all to herself.

California Dreamin

Being with my Mom and Dad in California while my Dad recovers from open heart surgery has kept me away from this blog for a while.

My brother and his wife and and their daughter, who is home from college, live on a lovely piece of property with my parents.

The sun shone absolutely every day I was there!

We enjoyed meals together every evening. They love good food and are all great cooks.

The beautiful garden was in full bloom! Roses in every color, clematis, lavender, {blackberries for the above cobbler} lilies and other things too numerous to mention.

And the good news is that Dad is getting stronger every day! Miss you all!

Mother's Day

Nothing like getting my posts out of order----

But I forgot to share these Photos that we managed to take during the hubbub of Mother's Day. The girls and I seldom get to pose together. (With so many adorable children around.)

We had to step out in the rain (to get that natural light you know!) and found a dryish spot under the trees.

Armed Forces Day

The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated on May 20, 1950, just a month before the Korean War started [and four months before I was born]. The new holiday was established the previous year.

I thought this would be a good day to share this photo of my amazing Dad who fought in WWII.
We all love him so much and are praying for a resolution to his health problems this year. He has shared so much of his wisdom and insights over the years and continues to be a wise and caring Dad, Grandpa and Great Grandpa to our whole clan.

Love you, Dad!

Visiting Family

A trip to visit my parents, and my brother and his wife in California, where they live
on a shared piece of property, was a wonderful sun break in the middle of a cold,
wet Spring. Our week managed to sandwich right between my Dad's 86th birthday
and Mother's Day, missing each by a day or so. I have plenty of photos to share
but to start with here are some family shots.

When We All Get Together

Now that the fairy dust is settling
I'll update my blog with a few shots of our week with my parents
{who came a long way to be with us}
and some of our 4 generation family fun.

{ Although I probably should be dusting that fairy dust. }

Softball

This far corner of our yard has been the greatest spot for informal, impromptu,
silly family softball games over the years. The more the family grows the better it gets.
Saturday evening was the start of our season! :) Everyone gets in the game.

Inlaws and Outlaws

Our brother in law, Al's, birthday turns into a family gathering and bash.
I'll bet you can even tell what the theme was!
His family put on a fabulous ho-down and feast for us all.

Birthday Girls

3 Daughters!

~~

3 March Birthdays!

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3 Goofy Outtakes!

Live

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.

~ Emily Dickinson ~

Happy Birthday Shannon!

The Happy Parents

Tea And Conversation

One remedy for the winter doldrums
~~~

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."

--C.S. Lewis

In an age when everyone is constantly busy and short of time, what could be more enjoyable than taking time to indulge in what was once part of everyday life, but has now become a luxury -- afternoon tea.

~LESLEY MACKLEY, The Book of Afternoon Tea~

"Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence,
and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things."

~Okakura Kakuzo, The Book of Tea~


"If a man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty."
--Japanese proverb, from The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo

Quoting C.S.Lewis

Our daughter over at Mt. Hope Academy, has been talking about books and has listed all the books read and needing to be read by her and her family. Her lists are massive, ambitious and wonderful. They put my reading list to shame so I won't list what I've read, but I'm going to quote here from the C.S. Lewis biography, 'Jack -A Life of C.S. Lewis' by George Sayer, which I recently finished. In it C.S Lewis is quoted as saying in one of his books~(and he can say it better than anyone!)

Literature enlarges our being by admitting us to experiences not our own. They may be beautiful, terrible, awe-inspiring, exhilarating, pathetic, or merely piquant. Literature gives the entree to them all. Those of us who have been true readers all out life seldom realize the enormous extension of our being that we owe to authors. We realize it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. My own eyes are not enough for me. Very gladly would I learn what faces things present to a mouse or bee.

In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in a Greek poem, I see with a thousand eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself: and am never more myself than when I do.

And I had to find a picture to go with this post since a picture is worth--well, you know. And who better a picture of than Ilex, one of our family's great readers.

Blessings

Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God.

~Ray Stannard Baker (David Grayson)

With Greatgrandparents in Town

to appreciate the activity, playing in the back yard is way more fun. Tree climbing, teeter-totter, slides and swings. They all have more charm with a fresh audience.