Spring is in full swing around here

We have quite the list of things happening around here. Yesterday it was the planting of the outside garden.

Earlier this year Greg put together a little greenhouse to get our feet wet in the greenhouse adventure. So far we are loving it and I don’t see that changing.

We put our starts out here and they grew beautifully. Inside we have tomatoes, watermelon and a red pepper.

Those starts have now entered the big boy garden.

The trellises will be holding the beans and peas.

Our corn patch.

And since taking these pictures we have also added rows of carrots, radishes, cabbage and pumpkins. Please excuse the pictures. I decided to capture and record these days as quickly as possible I would just use the iPad for pictures. Things move fast around here 🙂 Stay tuned!

May 12

I saw it on Pinterest…

Milestones

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Oliver hit a new milestone today. Two wheels! And already he is trying his hand at tricks.

Mar 27

Spring Party 2014

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Don’t you just love a last minute party? And a last minute party with friends that are all about last minute too is even better. We quickly planned out this party with a focus on simple but fun. I even set up decorations! (something I tend to avoid)

We made our springy snacks. Deviled eggs, rainbow fruit kabobs, and cupcakes.

And set up our springy games. We had pin the tail on the bunny and pin the stinger on the bee. We ended with the safest bee around…no stinger! Zeke ended up closest and actually hit the wall. The kids were absolutely thrilled with this game. Our next game was outside for a butterfly hunt.

We had fabulous spring weather that helped make this party a huge success.

After the games the big girls painted flower masks out in the sun and the younger kids played outside looking for beetles, spiders and worms. We had a craft planned for them (just in case) but we were not about to drag them inside for it. We just saved it for another day and the moms were able to enjoy a peaceful (read quiet) latte with chocolate cupcake while the kids played in the sun.

Mar 20

St. Patty’s Day

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I’m not usually one to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but this year was different. This year I discovered the person behind the day and then I was on board. Not with all the leprechauns and gold at the end of the rainbow but with remembering those from long ago and how God worked in their lives and spread His word to the world.

Born in Great Britain Patrick did not become a true follower of Christ until his later teenage years. At 16 he was captured by Irish pirates and taken back to Ireland. For 6 years he was a slave and it was during those years he remember the teachings of his parents and found Christ. He was able to escape and made his way back to his family. Despite being taken as a slave he wanted to share his faith with the Irish and he headed back there as a missionary. He is known for using the three leafed clover to aid in explaining the Trinity. For 30 years he spread lived there and Gospel. He started 300 churches and around baptized 120,000 people! Amazing work of God in Patrick’s life and a show of how thirsty the Irish were for the Truth.

To celebrate this holiday we made a quick trip to a friends house for dessert. Nothing big (or even planned really) but fun all the same!

Feb 17

Getting Dressed

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Feb 04

The Newest Addition…..

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Declaimer First: I, Greg T., don’t often enter a entry into the family blog but since Merriann is still recovering from the hard work of Labor. I thought I would try my best. Since many people in which this blog was created for are looking for baby pictures, I am “maning” up. So please enjoy the “non” professional pictures. Merriann will return soon to give you what you have all come to expect.

We have a new addition to our family….

Charlotte Hadassah Thames

She was born on Jan. 31, 2014 @ 6:01 am. She was 6lb 15 oz and 20 inches long.

This was a first “relative” home birth experience. The reason I say relative is because it was at some friends of ours home. And not ours. We wanted to have a home birth but the distance from our house and the hospital had our midwife’s a little concerned when playing the what if games. So when relating this concern to our friends they said, “Use our house!” It was such a blessing. God has a amazing way of working things out.

These are our Midwives, Dr. Kim, and Dr. Tamar. They are both naturopathic doctors and midwifes. They are awesome. I must say they brought more to the table than I originally thought. They were informative, to the point, funny, and just good people. A-plus

And since we had the birth of Charlotte at a friends house and the stomach flu hit our house (that is a whole other story) there were a few days between the kids meeting their little sister.

Zoe and Oliver were so excited to meet her. Zeke was a little less sure about the whole thing. But he wants to play with her now and I am not sure he gets why he has to be so gentle with her.

Our Newest Family Picture, and look Merriann I even smiled for you!

Dec 19

Christmas Cookies 2013

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As some of you know I (Greg) am learning the fine art of motion video. Yes it is true, and with that said I have been doing some small projects to better learn the craft. Well, today Merriann, the kids and some of our friends came over to make Christmas cookies. So I saw a chance to do a little video and get some practice. So here is a little short video. I hope you enjoy.

Nov 02

Homeschool Trip 2013: Part 4

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Today you get to read about us driving! Because really, in a road trip there’s a lot of driving. And after miles and miles you start to snap pictures and must share them with all.

Most of our driving through the Midwest and now leaving Texas and driving west has looked like this.

So, when you see a “mountain” in the distance it justifies taking a picture!

Then you realize it was just a fleeting moment and you have this again.

And, when there are a hundred billboards on BOTH sides of the road all for the same place…you find that pretty interesting too.

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Our first real stop on this leg of the journey was Albuquerque, New Mexico. The houses were different…

The rocks were different…

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And we made a pit-stop at the Petroglyph National Monument

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It started to pour as soon as we made it inside so, unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the actual mountain side. I know we are from the northwest and all but we were on vacation. Hiking in the rain didn’t sound quite so appealing. The kids completed their folder to earn themselves a Junior Ranger badge and we started on our way again. We were able see a little wild life though!