Japanese Garden

Here in the Japanese Garden we stopped to look at the fish swimming in the pond,

and then found a nice waterfall.

We crossed the little stream on these stepping stones. Yes, this made me nervous.

A Year ago Today...

...we moved up to Spokane! And what a year it has been! We've come to love this city, because it has somewhat of a small-town feel to it, with all the benefits of living in a big city. We're starting to run into our new friends in grocery stores and at parks--something I thought would never happen.

One of the benefits of living in a largely populated area is that I'm able to attend MOPS! We went for the first time this morning, and everybody loved it. Look what Caleb did in his class. I had no idea he could write his name! He told me that his teacher helped him with the "B" because he ran out of room.

I realize these pictures have nothing to do with our move up to Spokane, but I couldn't resist taking them while the girls were helping me make brownies just a few minutes ago.


We call this "sneak-a-bite." Want some?

God's Goodness to Me

Last month I attended a home school co-op meeting at church. There I sat in a room with very talented moms who offered to teach painting, pottery, knitting, cake decorating, music, sign language, Spanish, P.E., etc. I left the meeting feeling very discouraged, because I couldn't think of anything to contribute to this group. I don't do any one thing exceptionally well. I'm a teacher, but these moms needed extracurricular activities for their children. Phil told me not to be discouraged, but to pray about it, because I am who God made me to be.

Within the next couple of weeks, something just kind of fell into my lap. A couple of friends approached me. One asked for advice on how to teach her 4 year old daughter to read, and another needed ideas and activities for her preschool-aged children. The answer was so obvious!

This Friday I'm hosting my first preschool co-op right here in my home. So far we have 16 children! One of the moms taught preschool before she had kids and she's very excited to contribute. I have no idea how big we'll get, but I'm so excited to start this! I'm also very thankful for the opportunity to share our beautiful yard and play structure with other moms and their children.

Sunday in the Park

We spent the afternoon with friends at a beautiful park near Phil's school.

Weee! Caleb decided to slide down the ridge between two slides.

Here's my sure-footed girl, once again.

It looks like Lily's not so sure!

Jared encouraged his siblings to make sand angels.


We also fed the ducks in the pond.


Isn't this a gorgeous garden? We saw this as we drove out of the park. Phil and I decided that we're going to have to go back and walk around with the kids before the weather turns. It took our breath away! If you look closely, you can see a couple getting their wedding photos taken. As we drove away, Jared said, "I want to be wed here."

Bowl and Pitcher Hike

This morning we drove out to Bowl and Pitcher State Park. It's just a couple of miles from our house. We had to cross this swinging bridge to begin our hike through the woods.


Once we were over the bridge, we sat down and drew the bridge in our journals.


Off we go into the woods. For some reason, all but Lily wanted to veer off the path and explore. They definitely take after their daddy!

Lily and I took our time while the others went on ahead.


A few tired hikers waiting for lunch.

We enjoyed snacking on the yummy maple cookies we made after dinner last night.


Phil taught the kids to find a tree and stand by it if they got lost. Here's Gracie standing by her tree and praying. Not a bad idea!

The kids played in this "cave" after lunch. It was a nice, cool spot to rest.


Gracie did so well on the hike. She was very sure-footed!

Spin Art

We tried our hand at spin art this morning by using a salad spinner.

The kids chose their colors...


...and then spun away! Sorry I didn't use the flash on my camera.

Didn't they do a good job?

Lily's Alphabet Tutorial

I walked by the fridge yesterday and found Lily singing and organizing our ABC magnets. She was able to search for and put in the correct order letters A through E. I love this girl!

Guess I won't be planting any bulbs this fall...

...or, "How I Almost Died in WalMart Today!"

That was the other title over which I was vacillating.

Here's what happened...I was looking at bulbs in WalMart this morning, and all of the sudden, my neck started to itch. I rubbed it, and continued to look at the bulbs. Then my neck started to feel prickly, so I rubbed it some more. Then I started wheezing. My thought at that point was, "hmm--this is the sensation I get when I eat too many dried apricots. AHHH! this is the sensation I get when I eat too many dried apricots! I'm having anaphylactic shock!"

At this point, I could hardly breathe, because my throat was closing up. I went to the health and beauty aid section and found a mirror. I literally watched my neck turn from red to PURPLE! I zipped up my fleece so no one could see my neck, quickly paid for the items in my cart, and ran to wash my hands and neck. I don't know if it was from touching the daffodil, hyacinth or tulip bulbs. It took about 10 minutes of being outside in the fresh air before I started to breathe well again. I know...could this get any more dramatic? Probably not. And why did I stop to pay for my items? I have no idea. People do strange things when they're dying.

So I'm not going to plant bulbs this fall.

Home from New York!

We're so glad to have Phil home! The kids and I arrived at the airport about 15 minutes before his plane landed, so I took them out to the rental car area and we were able to watch his plane come in and "park," as Jared calls it. We hurried over to the baggage claim and were there just in time to see him come down the ramp. Phil took this picture of the kids holding up their "Welcome Home Daddy" signs as he walked down the ramp.


Phil met his dad in New York at the family cottage on Keuka Lake so they could work on the floor.



Nice rental car!



They were able to spend their evenings down by the lake after working hard all day.


Time to go home!

The Floor

Here are a few pictures of the floor. Doesn't it look beautiful? Phil said this is called acid etching.

Busy Bees

Phil is in-flight now and heading home! We'll pick him up from the airport in about 4 hours. We've busy little bees around here. Here are a few of the projects the kids have been working on this past week. (On a side note, I have to mention that Lily is singing to me as I'm typing this: "He's got the little, bitty babies in His hands....He's got the whole world in His hands. He's got the rain and the apple juice in His hands...").


I found these cute little plaster of paris figurines at WalMart for only 44 cents apiece. They're lined up in birth order. Yes, those are teeth marks on the kitty's head (that would be Gracie's).




Jared and Caleb worked very on these during the girls' nap time.

Bye bye, Miss Emily

We've had a wonderful visit with Emily! She's so good with the kids; they love it when "Miss Emily, the Pretty Girl" comes to visit.

We've kept her so busy--I'm not sure this has been much of a vacation for her.

On Friday, we went to the children's museum, the wagon slide and Sonic for lunch. On Saturday, we drove out to an apple orchard to pick apples and to have a picnic. On Sunday we went to church, made a pizza for dinner and an apple pie for dessert. We'll take her to the airport after lunch, so we're just spending our morning snuggling on the couch, reading books.