The Arendse Adventures

Simple Woman's Daybook

2012-01-09T06:01:00.000-08:00

Woman's Daybook for 1/9/2012

FOR TODAY January 9, 2012...

Outside my window... rainy, just beginning to get light.

I am thinking... what projects I want to tackle around the house next.

I am thankful... for a more organized home.

From the learning rooms... pottery studio in the house not such a good idea.

In the kitchen... crock pot of beans cooking for various meals.

I am wearing... violet long sleeve tee, trouser jeans, knit sweater and cozy socks.

I am creating... scrapbook pages in Sarah's album, family album, and Kathryn's album.

I am going... to piano and library today.

I am wondering... about how to remodel our kitchen.

I am reading... skimming through College Without Compromise and The Five Points of Calvinism, One Year to an Organized Life and Large Family Logistics.

I am hoping... to have a full, productive week of lessons and sewing for two baby showers.

I am looking forward to... updating the kitchen.

I am hearing... Elsie Dinsmore from Sarah and Kathryn's room.

Around the house... sewing, lots of books (love it) but need to find more places for them.

I am pondering... how to fit a sewing space in a closet.

One of my favorite things... my children surrounding me while I read.

A few plans for the rest of the week: lessons, lessons, piano practice and more lessons!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Christmas Time

2012-01-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas Party with our Mid Cities OPC Family

Finally, I was able to snap a photo of our four children together and then one with dad.

The girls served on the decorating team and helped Mrs. Chitty and I decorate all the tables.

Christmas Wreaths for a Sticky Craft. Oh, so much fun!

Winter Piano Recital: Kathryn played Twinkle A

Hope and Sarah played their first duet together: What Child Is This. Between Christmas parties, recitals and church, the girls were able to play their duet several times. Hope also played a beautiful arrangement of Away In a Manger.

So much excitement!

The children put the tree together and decorated it. So nice to have older children who are so helpful!

Christmas Dinner with the Chittys

Christmas Eve with the WHOLE family

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Caroling Tonight

2011-12-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday: A Day Late!

2011-11-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

Birthday Present from my Girls!

Sarah designed this beautiful table runner and Hope stitched it all together. What a team! Thank You Girls!

David Reaches Double Digits

2011-11-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

David Is Ten! He and Lorimer are enjoying their favorite "farmers breakfast" together which includes hash brown potatoes, fried eggs, bacon and pancakes. Without question, this is a man's breakfast although the girls did enjoy the ensemble of flavors. The birthday menu for the remainder of the day consisted of Cesar Salad, Potjiekos (a favorite South African stew) and Carmel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheese cake.

Celebrating Daivd's 10th birthday brings him yet another year closer to manhood. It is our hope that God will continue to grow him in godliness and that his maturing, godly boyhood would carry him through to a mature godly young manhood ultimately developing him into the man of God that he is called to be. Together Lorimer and I are working through a list of books we want to read with David. A few books we have read together over the years include Created to Work and Boyhood and Beyond by Bob Schultz, Little Boy Down the Road by Doug Philips, Boys and Girls Playing by J.C. Ryle, and With the Children on Sunday. David loves read-alouds and is always eager to discuss the material at hand. Recently we started Thoughts For Young Men by J.C. Ryle and are enjoying the discussion it provokes. Daivd's tender and teachable heart heap blessings on our family. Everyday we see God's goodness through our son and cannot help but to give thanks to God for his beautiful blessings.

At David's request, we played family games most of the day with the addition of Pit,a new game the children have anticipated getting and ended the day with dessert over a family movie. We had hoped to watch The Runner From Ravenshead but it did not come in time. Instead we watched Lord of the Rings, a favorite around here.

Lorimer teaching David Gun safety as he tries out his new Airsoft Handgun.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-11-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

The Simple Woman's Daybook for November 7, 2011

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...Cloudy, yet warm.

I am thinking...Our David boy is 10!

I am thankful...Family time at home together.

From the learning rooms...(if this applies) Piano lessons, reading, and Knitting.

In the kitchen...Nourishing Tradition's Chicken soup for Lorimer and Hope who are sick today.

I am wearing...Green T-shirt and comfy jeans.

I am creating...A hat and more skirts.

I am going...To the store and to piano lessons.

I am wondering...When my Azure order will get here.

I am reading...Rereading, Don't Waste Your life by John Piper

I am hoping...We get lots more rain so the burn ban is lifted.

I am looking forward to...Camping with my family.

I am hearing...Rain, pitter-pattering and coughing.

Around the house...Finishing up laundry and thawing meat to prepare for some freezer cooking.

I am pondering...Christmas is around the corner, oh my!

One of my favorite things...Autumn and Thanksgiving with my dear family and friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Daily lessons, preparing for a weekend camping trip at Tyler State Park, and reorganizing the kitchen.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Reformation Celebration

Auntie Jessica, Hannah and Emma help Kathryn pin the 95 Theses on the door.

Uncle Matt, as Mr. Pipes, teaching the children about Martin Luther.

Just in Time for Baby Emily

2011-11-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Auntie Heather, Thank You for my hand-knit fox!

It was so amazing to see Heather deliver her tiny baby. Boy was my adrenaline flowing. It all happened so fast. Emily, 7lbs 9 oz was born in just 2.5 hours. Wow Heather! You did it well. You did not leave very much for Eric and I to do but it was such a delight to be there with you and to pray for you and baby. God was so good to see you and Emily through this pregnancy safely.

The Boys

Fishing...Fun when you catch fish!

Eric and Lizzie caught this one. David and Jonathan attempted to take out the hook to throw him back.

Worms, hooks, fish, dirt...Patricia didn't seem to mind at all. Fall days are spent best outside. It was such a beautiful day.

Baking 5 Loaves of Bread...They turned out beautiful and were served warm with butter. Yum!

A Birthday Cake For Emily

Two Peas in a Pod

Kathryn & Jonathan age 4 and 5

You can always find Sarah either holding little Emily, sitting by her or entertaining the little girls.

Lizzie, Kathryn & Abigail

David was anxious to hold Emily but not quite sure how. All around it was an active and busy time but a joy and a blessing to be with friends again.

A Special Girl at Thirteen

2011-11-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Sewing is one of Hope's favorite things to do with her hands. On her birthday, October 14th, She made the jumper dress that she is wearing with a Marie Madeline pattern using her new sewing machine. Thanks Papa Jim and Grandma Gee for contributing to her much loved birthday gift!

Though Hope is considered by most a young teenager, we consider her a young adult who is able to do almost as much as her mother and in some instances more. For many years, together we have worked on learning the necissary skills a young lady will need to manage her own home one day. She has mastered many of these skills and still working on others. Her baking is always delicious, cooking is as easy as pie, sewing (getting better everyday), knitting and crochet (still working on this), cleaning, scrapbooking, drawing, babysitting, laundry, mowing, camping, grocery shopping and planning (still working on this), keeping and caring for many pets including breeding gerbils (littler due any day), self-learning, reading (lots of reading), and most importantly she has learned to hide God's Word in her heart and depend upon Jesus for her every need. Growing more Christ-like each year Hope takes pleasure in serving others and is especially helpful here at home daily blessing each one of us. Thirteen years we have journeyed through life with Hope and look forward to the remaining days we have with her at home before she marries (Lord willing). We love you Hope and are proud of the young lady you have become. God bless you dear daughter!

Sewing, sewing and more sewing is what we three girls did the week of Hope's birthday. Quilting (very first quilt almost complete), quilted bibs for miss Emily Tully, and Gracie Ruffle Skirts for Kathryn, Elizabeth and Abigail Tully. While visiting the Tully's the following week, Hope also made three Emerson skirts for Lizzie, Abigail and tiny Emily. Emily's skirt was the tiniest skirt she has made yet. Auntie Heather Please post a picture of the girls in their skirts! We did not get pictures of these.

Four Arendse Girls

Three Gracie Ruffle Skirts

2011-08-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

Simple Woman's Daybook: August 1, 2011

FOR TODAY

August 1, 2011...

Outside my window... an extremely hot day approaching.
I am thinking... lots of laundry to fold and lessons to do.
I am thankful... that our house in Ohio is in contract.
From the learning rooms... covering math, science, phonics this month and reading aloud, Sergeant York and the Great War.

From the kitchen... raspberry spinach salad with homemade dressing.
I am wearing... black capris and brown shirt
I am creating... still working on my quilt.
I am going... to finish organizing educational room today.
I am reading... The Raw Truth and Restoring Your Digestive Health by Jordan Rubin.
I am hoping....to finish planning for Keepers at Home this week.

I am hearing... children waking, late start for the month of August.
Around the house... always organizing and reorganizing.
One of my favorite things... morning quiet time and reading time before the children wake.
A few plans for the rest of the week: lessons, cleaning, BBQ here with friends and a Texas Rangers Game.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

David wanted to jump so badly off the cliff into the Lake and tried to muster up the courage for 15 minutes while we watched from the boat in agony. He wouldn't jump yet he wouldn't give up. Lorimer was up for the challenge, who came along side David, giving him the encouragement he needed. David jumped first, 20 feet into the water safely and Lorimer followed. My poor heart was pounding hard! Boys!

Hosted by The Simple Woman's Daybook

Elsie's Move to California

2011-07-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Painted Dessert in Arizona

This was our goal for the first day, to make it to Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Amazing to see the result of the great flood recorded in the Bible in Genesis 7.

Sweet Elsie thinks she is a lap dog! Climbing up on Hope's lap gave her the opportunity to see outside and that made her feel better.

Elsie's new home to keep watch.

A Gift for Grandma Gee Gee so she will have company when Papa Jim is away. Happy 70th birthday Grandma Gee Gee. We love you!

The children trained Elsie for Grandma. Sit, stay, leave it, down, touch, and go to bed. Here is a video and baby pictures of Elsie. Hope trained her for a full year and practiced with her at Papa Jim's house all week so that she would wait at the door before being invited in as not to knock anyone down the steps. She's been doing a great job listening. Elsie aims to please all those that surround her. By the end of the week Elsie waited in anticipation for Grandma at the edge of the hallway for her to return each time she left the room. Already Elsie loves Grandma and Papa Jim. We knew she would be a perfect fit! Though I know it was a painful sacrifice for the children and she is deeply missed by all of us we also know how much she will bless Grandma G and Papa Jim and how much she will be loved and cared for.

Kamila liked Elsie. Elsie was very patient with her.

First Stop: In & Out for Dinner! The best hamburgers, fries, and shakes....lots of gluten though!

Elsie Girl

Saying good-bye is never easy...So hard!

A Family Portrait

David felt it best to sleep in Elsie's favorite spot with her the last night, under the dinning room table.

2011-06-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

The Simple Woman's Daybook for
June 27, 2011

Outside my window...Elsie racing from tree to tree after the teasing squirrels.

I am thinking...about which books I will send home with my cousin Mark.
I am thankful for... children who love the Lord.
From the learning rooms... older children reading theology books appointed by mom.
From the kitchen... hot ham and cheese sandwiches and fresh veggies for lunch.
I am wearing... shorts and T-shirt, for now.
I am creating... birthday cards.
I am going... to take boys to train with Loirmer at the indoor soccer fields later.
I am reading...The Ten Commandments by Thomas Watson
I am hoping... to find a yoga class to attend this summer.
I am hearing... Buckeye scratching at the door and Hebrews being read in the background.
Around the house... laundry and packing.
One of my favorite things... early morning times with Lorimer.
A few plans for the rest of the week: taking Mark half way home, somewhere around Oklahoma City and packing.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

2011-06-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

Monday, June 20, 2011
The Simple Woman's Daybook for June 20, 2011

FOR TODAY
June 20, 2011 ...

Outside my window... sprinklers spraying all about.
I am thinking... taking my girls to church camp today.
I am thankful for... our Pastor and his sermon yesterday.
From the learning rooms... alphabet book with Kathryn and reading time for David.
From the kitchen... hmmm, good question?
I am wearing... black capris and a royal Brewer Bear polo.
I am creating... baby bibs with some embroidery and a throw size quilt.
I am going... to take Kathryn and cousin to grandma's house, girls to camp, and David to a friend's house.
I am reading...Loving God with all Your Mind by Elisabeth George and Your Family God's Way by Wayne A. Mack
I am hoping... to get the house clean and in order today.
I am hearing... shhh....quiet, kids are sleeping until 9am today.
Around the house... laundry and food preparation calling my name.
One of my favorite things... being at home with my children and the blessing of an amazing husband.
A few plans for the rest of the week: moving logs with the boys, more yard work, and our weekly visit with our friends, the Garlows.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Kathryn's First Piano Recital

2011-06-13T12:31:00.000-07:00

Kathryn Playing Her Pre-Twinkle

Mrs. Huff, the children's piano instructor and friend, awarded Kathryn with her First Recital ribbon.

Kathryn played exceptionally well and completed her Pre-Twinkle without mistakes. Eagerly she bowed and hopped up on her seat with a big smile to play her piece. As we anticipated her song we wondered if she would play bravely giving it her all or if she would call out for Mama. When she began playing we smiled and thanked God for the precious little girl that he gave us. I am working on editing the recital cd to get her piece uploaded to share with you all.

Kathryn's Four!

2011-06-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

Starting Her Birthday With Dress-Up

After opening presents, talking with Grammy, eating and drinking delicious root beer floats, and packing up the car, we headed off to bed to rest up for our early trip to Cookville, TN to visit our dear Figura friends.

Kathryn is talking to Grammy just after she opened her present, baby Emma.

At the Zoo

Nathanael and Kathryn Standing on a Rock Just Being Cute

The Whole Arendse and Figura Clan...Except Ellie?

The Littles

Ellie 6, Josiah 7, Nathanael 3, Kathryn 4

Sarah and Emma (both 11)

DAVID 9

HOPE 12

Ellie tried to carry "little" Kathryn around (She's two years older you know).

Home Again and Straight to Graduation

Then...more sewing while we wait for cousin Mark to come.

Wordless Wednesday: Kitchen Helpers

2011-06-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

Eleven Year Old Sarah

2011-06-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

March 14, 2011

Sarah was enjoying a chicken fried steak dinner with great grandparents at the famous, Babes until the dreaded birthday song began. They are known for making one wear their crazy chicken hat while the whole restaurant sings Happy Birthday. Being one of our favorite places to eat, we were not surprised at Sarah's choice for dinner. Sarah blushed as she endured the seemingly never ending happy birthday greetings. This was also the night that Kathryn learned the Hokey Pokey from the dancing servers. We almost talked her into getting up and dancing along. Maybe next time she'll join the line of lively Hokey Pokey dancers if her big sis' and big brother join in the fun.

Papa Jim and Grandma Gee Gee celebrated Sarah's birthday with us this spring. We were blessed by their presence for more than a week before we had to say good-bye. Expectantly, we look forward to our next visit with them. Our turn to pay a visit to California!

The skirts the girls and I are wearing are the Street Fair Skirts we made.

2011-05-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Simple Woman's Daybook: May 16, 2011

FOR TODAY

May 16, 2011...

Outside my window... bright sun shinning with glee, cool breezes swirling around the bushes and tress, clear, blue skies staring back at me.

I am thinking... about our upcoming trip to TN to visit dear friends.

I am thankful... for God who carries all of our burdens.

From the learning rooms... practicing writing triple extensions and including them in our daily writing.

From the kitchen... Clanking of dishes being washed.

I am wearing... sky blue skirt bordered with sailboats and a matching cardigan.

I am creating... a Gracie Ruffle Skirt for a friend.

I am going... to pick-up an Azure order for a friend and I.

I am reading... "Loving God with all your Mind," by Elizabeth George.

I am hoping... that our house in Ohio will sell soon.

I am hearing... hula hooping, running water, and the vacuum.

Around the house... cleaning up!

One of my favorite things... Weekly IEW writing classes.

A few plans for the rest of the week: some lessons, sewing more Gracie Ruffle Skirts, and packing for TN.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Hosted by The Simple Woman's Daybook

Learning to Sew: Part Three

2011-05-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

Sewing six aprons for the keepers girls last winter gave us lots of practice sewing on the machine and the much needed confidence for me. Thanks to a patient teacher we are sewing more and more. Several weeks ago I started what was to be our second sewing project, a Gracie Skirt, for Kathryn's birthday. Today I finally got back to my project with a little bit of help. Thanks girls. Hope did the majority of the sewing and figuring out the pattern, while Sarah helped me cut out fabric for two more skirts. Sarah and I plan to each complete a skirt on our own. We are using the leftover fabric from the girls' Street Fair skirts that they recently made so that all the girls have coordinating skirts for church. Hope also made a Street Fair skirt just for mom. I'll try to remember to post a pictures of us girls in our skirts together.

Sewing together was the highlight of our day. Of course we had a cup of tea or two while we sewed to rhythm of the loud clashes of thunder and bright strikes of lightning.

A bit of elastic is all this pretty little Gracie Skirt needs, except for maybe a pretty little girl to wear it.

Two more Gracie Skirts planned for Kathryn.

Birthday Greetings To Friends

2011-04-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

A Day at Cabelas

2011-04-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

Pretty in Pink: Spending one last day with Great Grandma Gee Gee and Papa Jim at Cabelas was a delight. From feeding the rainbow trout, exploring the African, Mountain, and Texas habitats, to shooting at the range, the day was full of activity. A big thanks to Uncle Jim who thought to bring us all along on this adventure. The children are looking forward to bringing Lorimer back to experience another fun filled day.

Feeding the Fish: Thanks Uncle Jim for supplying us with an endless amount of quarters for fish food. The children were occupied for a long time with watching the schools of fish fight for a bite of food.

Why so scared David?

Amazing! The Elephant and the girls...

The whole group looking on through the African Safari.

Lesson on Fish Food

The Feeding...

And last but not the least, Papa Jim; if you read the sign it says, Best Seller.

Wordless Wednesday: Science Class

2011-04-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday: First Snow Day of the Year

2011-02-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Grammy!

2011-01-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

Birthday Surprise!

Secretly, Hope was sewing this purse for Grammy on New Years Eve. She used a pattern from her favorite sewing website, the Marie Madeline Studio.

Girls Day Out

How tall is Hope? Mom is 5'8"

Inspiring Cake decorators created this delicious spice cake for the birthday celebration.

Using fondant icing for the first time provided much entertainment for the girls and a terrific, tasty treat for the rest of us. Underneath the fondant was our favorite icing which is butter cream cheese frosting. You'll have to ask Hope for her version of the recipe.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

Marie-Madeline Street Fair Skirt

What's a Pre-Schooler to Do?

2010-12-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Logic puzzles are fun and educational. Kathryn sharpens her logic skills through these Playful Patterns by discovery toys. David usually takes a few minutes to do some of the more difficult pattern cards with Kathryn. She enjoys her time to work with her big brother.

Here are some puzzles she completed on her own today while the rest of us were working on grammar and writing, The Institute For Excellence In Writing.

Beginning Suzuki Piano with our dear piano instructor, Mrs. Paulette Huff. Kathryn is learning Twinkle A, first, fourth and fifth finger and doing a superb job!

Baking waffles with her big sister Hope is so much fun to do. Monday mornings while David, Sarah and I are writing, Kahtryn delights in her one on one time with Hope.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO

Time for practicing letters and sounds in her ABC Scrapbook that we are making together. Kathryn knows her letters and sounds up to F and is excited about the possibility of learning to read. Soon she will be reading Alpah-Phonics. I love watching her flip through chapter books giving a detailed account of the story that we have been reading aloud. Currently we are reading aloud Gettysburg by MacKinlay Kantor and Lincoln A Photobiography by Russell Freedman.

Birthday Boy

2010-11-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Ninth Birthday David!

Cheesecake Factory

Family Time

We love our boys!

We started the day off worshiping with our church family, fellowship meal and rest. We ended the day with a walk, cheesecake factory and a trip to Barnes & Noble. Yesterday, while the girl's shopped, Lorimer took David to Academy to buy fishing accessories. Everybody knows, David LOVES fishing. Happily, David displayed all his new fishing gadgets for the girls to see. I've never seen a boy so excited about fishing bate and hook removers.

Wordless Wednesday: Posing Puppies

2010-11-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

A Real Texan?

2010-10-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

Finally after life in TEXAS for three years, I have cowgirl boots!

Thanks to my gracious, loving husband and my extraordinary children for an incredible birthday. I especially LOVED the birthday song they sang to me delivered with a breakfast, blueberry crumb cake first thing in the morning. It is great not having to wait all day for birthday cake. Surprisingly, the children also made a chocolate mint torte, Grandma G's amazing ice cream cake, that is awaiting us in the freezer. I give them an A+++!

Here is the new birthday song that we have adopted from our dear, dear friends, the Figuras. Last spring Emma Figura and miss Kathryn shared a birthday, in TEXAS, together and were blessed with this sweet birthday song. Uncle Door Knob (Uncle Matt) and miss Hannah were gracious enough to sing it over Skype for us so that we could remember the tune, hard to achieve around here. Singing this song together each birthday truly is a blessing. I would sing it to you but, my voice, well....never mind...

"Birthday Greetings"

Birthday greetings we bring you,

Birthday greetings today,

May the Father in heaven,

Bless and keep you always.

-Jeanelle

Wordless Wednesday: Our Front Yard

2010-10-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

Learning to Sew: Part Two

2010-10-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

Apron complete just in time for Hope's birthday!

Only 7 more to make...

Here is what the side and back look like. If we were to purchase this apron from the Long Ladies, whom we greatly admire, we would spend $36 plus shipping for each fabulous apron. We are so thankful that they have shared their lovely patterns with us.

I finally learned to gather on my sewing machine to make this adorable ruffle. I am teaching the girls to do all the new things that I have learned and continue to learn on the machine with the help of our dear friend Margaret. Do share with me, what sewing projects are you all working on?

Three Cheers For Autumn!

2010-10-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

We Love Autumn!

The weather has been pleasant and cool in the mornings and warm in the afternoons. It is beginning to feel like fall for the first time in three years. We all miss Ohio's brilliant colored trees during this time of the year. The children decided they would like to celebrate this year and baked, decorated and planted flowers for the special occasion. It was done before I knew it. Thanks kiddos for pitching in to make our home especially cozy this fall season.

Birthday Girl

2010-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

A Day of Sewing and More

It is hard to believe our little girl is 12!

Public Speaking Class: Speech on her birthday?

Yes, Hope's day to present her speech fell on her 12th birthday. She did great telling about the things that make her smile. Afterwards we made a trip to Barnes & Noble, down town Fort Worth, to grab a treat. There happened to be a live band playing just across the street that provided much entertainment. We had fun standing on the corner dancing around for a little while before heading home.

Desired Birthday Present: Pioneer Woman Cooks

Hope adores thepioneerwomnan.com website and reads it everyday. She was thrilled to get Ree's cookbook in which Ree not only shares scrumptious recipes but shares her life on her ranch with her four home schooled children, dogs, cattle, horses and more. Hope appreciates her use of photography in designing her cook book and how she incorporates photos of food, animals, and family into the captivating book. She also loves Ree's humor in describing her food.

Lorimer woke Hope up at 6:30 to sing to her happy birthday and to give her the book. Sarah snatched it before Hope woke up to bake this divine Prune cake. Don't let the name fool you. It is the best spice cake we have ever tasted! And the carmel icing is to die for.

Always Baking: Photography by Kathryn

Kathryn enthusiastically snaps pictures of the family whenever she can get her hands on the camera. She is three but thinks and even tells people that she is almost five.

Apple Treat Anyone?

Crazy About Her Pets

After five days in the hospital with a ruptured appendix Hope is now up and about. The whole family took a stroll down to the first floor to visit Starbucks. Hope ordered a specialty, strawberry smoothie recommended by one of her favorite doctors. It was good to see a smile on her face! Today we give praise and thanks to our God for protecting our dear daughter and for providing the medical care that she needed.

Look how Hope has changed in just a little more than one year.

Learning to Sew: Part One

2010-09-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

First Step: Pick out the pattern and fabric, pin it and cut it out. I bought this apron pattern and fabric last year from Mariemadelinestudio.com so I was ready to go. Thank you to our dear friend, Margaret, who has taken so much time to teach the girls and I hand sewing (quilting) and now machine sewing.

Second Step: Sew the two darts on the bib front. It sounds so simple but is was difficult for me to visualize until Margaret showed me exactly how to do it. This is the bib with lining, darts and neck strap completed. Lord willing, we will have the apron finished on Friday.

Here are some of the fabrics I choose last year for the girls. This one is going to be for Hopes birthday. Together the girls and I are going to make seven aprons for all the girls' birthdays in our Keepers at Home Club. Hopefully will have help from some of the dear mothers in our group. Together, the girls and I are well balanced. Sarah and I pay close attention to detail and accuracy in planning, pinning and cutting and Hope is great on the sewing machine and has good vision. Sarah and I will get the much needed practice and experience that we need to have confidence working on the machine by the time we are done with all the aprons.

Sneak Peek

2010-09-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

A look at what we will be doing this month for Keepers at Home: The girls will be making a tea cloth using the snowflake and hem stitch.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

Sewing With the Girls

2010-08-12T05:48:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite websites, Marie-Madeline Studio, is having a give away this week. They are giving away an apron made from your choice of fabrics. The girls and I have been following the Long Ladies' blog for quite some time. This godly family is an amazing example of what it could be like to own a flourishing family business. We love seeing their designs and the occasional directions for sewing projects included on their blog. They motivate us to sew and to try lots of projects we might never have given a chance. Seeing their vibrant colored, fun patterned fabrics is enough to keep us coming back for more but the fact that their patterns are sweet and modest , yet super fashionable is what we like best. We have bought many of their patterns to try like the flair skirt and and various style purses. This week we are going to try Pillowcase Pizazz found on their blog. Go now and enter in the give away! Who doesn't need a new ,beautiful apron to brighten up themselves and their kitchen?

The Long Ladies may be our motivation to want to learn to sew, but Miss Margret has been our hands on instructor for the past year. The girls and I have been learning to hand sew by taking lessons with our dear friend, who lives just down the street. She has an online store, PapooseQuilts.com where she sells her beautiful handmade quilts. We have learned the basics of sewing by sewing various quilt blocks and are working on finishing our first quilts. Thanks Margret for your patience with the girls and I. We look forward to getting started again with our quilts this fall!

Daily Lessons

2010-08-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

My Family
Summer break is over and we are back to daily lessons. We had a long break visiting with our best friends, taking a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, a trip to Ohio and Indiana, stamping, scrapbooking, swimming, visiting different friends' farms, horseback riding and even boating. The kids had lots of FUN this summer! The only thing missing from a great summer was time with our family in California. We miss them terribly and wish it was possible to visit with them more often. We are praying that God would provide a way for my mom and dad to move to Texas. It would be a wonderful blessing, Lord willing, to have them near.

It has been a long time since I have posted anything on the children's education so I am going to make up for it now. Here is a look of all that we have been studying, what curriculum we are using and more.

Here is what the children are studying and the curriculum that we have used in the past and are using now. I will update this post as we add to the materials that we use for educational purposes.

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The Children's Education

Bible

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV)

Bible Journal: Hope, Sarah and David keep a journal with the Bible reference of what they read that day, a praise and prayer request, their weekly catechism, their memory verses, and a thought provoked by their reading and meditation.

The Child's Story Bible: Currently all of us take turns reading this to Kathryn each morning.

The Children's Illustrated Bible

The Victor Journey Through the Bible

Bible Memory

The Children's Westminster Shorter Catechism: We are working through this for a second time and this time the children are able to understand the study pages provided for each question. Here are some of the questions the kids memorize and study.

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Training Hearts Teaching Minds: This book is great to teach younger children, age 2-8, simply the meaning of each 107 catechisms. There is one explanation each day to explain the weekly catechism that is being memorized. Although we like the explanations, we memorized the original questions and answers from the Shorter Catechism above.

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Various Devotionals: To name a handful of cherished books used; Created to Work, Boyhood and Beyond, With the Children on Sundays, Boys and Girls Playing, The Family (formerly, Home-Making), For Instruction in Righteousness, The Brother-Offended Check list and the Put On Chart by Pam Forster, and Beautiful Girlhood.

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Veritas Press Bible Curriculum: currently we are working on our second time through this series, starting it over for the two younger children, David and Kathryn. We love the Bible cards with dates, summaries and illustrations great for use of memorizing the events, ordering the cards by date, and giving oral narrations or writing summaries from the content on the card.

Math

Hope and Sarah are taking a DVD course this year called Systematic Mathematics and are working at the same level. They are currently working on a unit called Labeled Quantities which gives them lots of opportunity to refine their multiplication and division skills. This math teacher will take them all the way through Algebra two. The girls should finish this program mid ninth grade. We are considering taking some of the upper level math courses at the high school level, from Video Text. This 3D, DVD course looks like it would be great for the visual learner. It makes even me want to take algebra and geometry again. Maybe I will do it with them for fun! Anyone want to join us?

David is working in a math book called Practical Arithmetics, level one (3rd-4th grade) which will give him a solid foundation before beginning Systematic Mathematics in 6th grade. David's favorite lessons are history and math lessons.

Language

Sarah and Hope are studying Rod and Staff English 7 this year. For the first two years we used Susan Wise Bauer's First Language Lessons which we loved. We then used Shurley Grammar for grades third, fourth and fifth. Last year, Susan Wise Bauer came out with a continuation of her grammar program for first and second graders called First Language Lessons. We used this to teach each of the children first and second grade grammar. The girls just finished the new, First Language Lessons 4. The reason we switched grammar curriculum was so that the children would learn classical diagramming. Classical diagramming teaches the children how to break apart a sentence and then put it back together again. It helps them to write quality sentences and it helps them to recognize when they have written a poor sentence. Susan Wise Baurer says an awkward sentence will probably be difficult or impossible to diagram. Classical diagramming is a key foundation that many grammar programs are lacking. I am excited that by the time David is ready for 5th grade, book 5 will be published.

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David is working through Language Lessons 3 this year.

Science

Apologia: We have completed, Exploring Creation with Astronomy, and Exploring Creation with Botany. Sarah and David will be studying Exploring Creation with Zoology I this year. Although Hope is looking forward to this too, and will read it, she is starting 7th grade science, Exploring Creation with General Science.

Updates coming!

Literature

Art/Music

Latin

Logic

The Institute For Excellence in Writing

Writing with Ease

Spelling Power

Read Alouds

Soccer

Drama

Upcoming Fall Activities

Kathryn: First Lessons

WAKING UP IN BRECKENRIDGE, COLORADO

2010-08-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Breathtaking! Finally we made it after 14 hours plus in the car!
The children are already exploring the Blue River.

Climbing the backyard yard mountain...way to go Kathryn! She made it to the top with mommy, Sarah or David right behind her. We were concerned about her rolling down the mountain as well as possible black bears.

Ahh...The inseparable Sisters!

Kathryn's Best Friend. David watched out for Kathryn all week to make sure she was safe. Here they are half way up the mountain in what David calls a dried up creek. He enjoyed exploring the mountain EVERY DAY, that is until we saw the bear our last evening in Breckenridge.

My favorite part of our trip was waking up to the beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains each morning. How can you not Give God praise at the sight of his magnificent creation?

Family Fun

The giant slides were so much fun, except for the part where Lorimer fell off. The kids did great and had no trouble with controlling their speed! Lorimer saw himself to the first aid station to get doctored up. Ouch!

Lake Dillon...David's doing what he loves....Fishing!

Cold water! The kids didn't mind. They said not to worry, their legs were numb and they couldn't feel a thing.

In front of the house the morning after we saw a very large black bear.

This is wear we saw the bear walking along the road the night before. It wouldn't have been so scary if Sarah had not locked the door. Lorimer, Hope and I were out on the deck. When we tried to go in to get Sarah and David to see the bear we realized we were locked out with the bear. Sarah had trouble opening the door and we had no idea where the bear went. Finally, after opening the door I rushed in to announce there was a bear outside and the garage door was open. Shaking, I volunteered to go shut it while Lorimer watched out for the bear from the deck. After safely making my way back upstairs and out to the deck we heard the bear across the way knocking over trash cans and glass bottles. David did not sleep well that night and Lorimer and I did not sleep with the sliding glass door open again.

Stick Em Up Texas!

2010-07-23T08:24:00.001-07:00

Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards Desperate desperados lurk just outside the Stockyards Station. We locals forgot to warn the visitors of the possible danger, "It ain't safe to ride the train!"

That didn't stop Matthias, he went right up to the outlaws and said, "Stick Em Up!" The kids collected play money and bullets and enjoyed the exciting shoot out. Those guns were smoking!

The boys couldn't believe their eyes. A Fun surprise for them! Patricia is not so sure about these bandits.

Awaiting the Train Ride

We had a wonderful day of entertainment with friends, fun, and food of course.

Tea TimeThe girls enjoyed being together again. The girls got their fancy, hand fans at the Texas Civil War Museum. I don't have pictures of this but the guys took the kids to the museum where they participated in a Civil War scavenger hunt. Our neighbor Johnny has a secret door in his house that leads to a huge collection of artifacts from the Civil War ERA. Lorimer took the boys over earlier in the week to admire his enormous collection. A few months ago Johnny gave David a real Civil War riffle. Johnny works at the museum and was happy to see all of our children. Our children adore him and his lovely wife.

Miss Patricia Tully

Miss Sarah Arendse

Family Worship

Miss Hope Arendse and Miss Abigail Tully

I think Abigail looks more like Auntie Jeanelle than her mama. See the eyes? Though you can see by the look on Abigail's face that she is not in her mama's arms.

Auntie Jeanelle Reads a Story to the "Little Girls"

Two Peas in a Pod!

The girls loved having a "little" playmate.

Would someone please have tea with me?

Anyone?

Jonathan? Tea for you?

These two are quite a pair. If you knew their personalities?

Serious play....they are ready for battle!

Jonathan Joins in the Fun...Where is Matthias?

Wordless Wednesday: Fishing With Dad

2010-07-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

Summer Time Fun!

2010-06-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

Homemade Ice CreamFavorite double baggie recipe!

Soccer One Camp

Horse Camp
Only David....ha ha ha! Proud of his find.

Riding Arena
Still riding into the night....

And having the time of their life....ah, to be young again!

Skinny (so pretty)

Hayride to the fishing pond

They say he's a natural....
Such a fun day at the Tripple Cross Ranch!

Ask Kathryn about the horses. She will tell you all their names and how beautiful they are.

Big horse for a little girl

Family

Candice enjoying her big brother after a long night.

The littlest girls (Kathryn 3 and Maddie 5)

Out with the family

Ethan Michael and David both 8

The favorite babysitter! Sarah was a huge blessing to her Aunt Candice during her two week stay in Texas. Especially when it came to feeding, and diaper changing. She loves her little Wyatt!

Who's feeding Wyatt? Not Aunt Candice?

Kathryn holding Aunt Leoni and Uncle Jeff's dog Pickles.

Alayna 6 and Megan 7

Hope and MaKenzie 9, enjoying a fun summer day.....

Uncle Alistaire's Graduation Party

Who gets to feed Wyatt this time?

Not Aunt Candice!

The Arendse kids sharing a meal with the Hannah kids.

They are all good eaters. We did not have an ounce of food left after dinner. Great job kiddos!

Graduation

Congrats Alistaire!

The proud parents...Katherine and Leon Arendse

ONLY 4 MORE YEARS!

Hope 11 and Jordyn 13

The First Two Grand kids...my how they've changed!

Who's feeding Wyatt?

Not Aunt Candice!

Father's Day Stamp

2010-06-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Time For Camping!

These are the cards the girls made for Lorimer forseeing the upcoming birthday camping trip. Friday we will spend the weekend camping for Lorimer's birthday in Waco.The tackle box came complete with weights, hooks, and yes, worms. All edible of course! The boxes are now empty. There must have been a lot of fishing going on. Anyone want to go fishing for treats?

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband and amazing father: The girls made these for Lorimer with their friend/piano instructor/stamp instructor Paulette. Thanks Paulette for making this an amazing day for the girls.

First Graduation: Brewer High School Class of 2010

2010-06-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Ceremony Begins! Sarah joined Lorimer and I to witness Lorimer's first graduation as Principal of Brewer High School. This was a special night. The 2010 grads were the first to complete 4 full years at the new High School building. The lively, night progressed nicely including over two hundred excited graduates and five inspirational speeches. Lorimer's words of encouragement were titled, "You Are Special." Lorimer, you are special and an amazing husband, father and Principal. Congratulations on a job well done!Sarah enjoyed dinner out with mom and dad. She chose Italian, her favorite. I am thankful that we have opportunities to spend time individually with each of our children. It is a special time for them, receiving all of mom and dad's attention. Thanks Sarah for keeping mommy company for five hours! It was a lot of fun.
Lorimer's Administrative Team

Blessed By Friends

2010-05-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

A Year Gone By: Happy Reunion of Friends

Happy Birthday Emma & Kathryn!

This was the evening we celebrated both Emma's and Kathryn's birthday. Emma turned 10 on May 22nd and Kathryn turned 3 on May 23rd. Hope, Hannah, and Sarah made Emma a garden hat and a birthday cake. Hope and Sarah also made Emma a quilted hand bag which we forgot to take a picture of. For Kathryn Hope made a skirt and Hannah and Sarah made her a matching apron. Jess and I had fun shopping for our girls earlier that day.

Notice Nathanael's Fingers...Poor guy!
At the Farm, Nathanael fed his fingers, not the carrots, to Sugar, the mammoth donkey. Hope says, "She is so sweet!" David was the first of many to capture a rooster. The children enjoyed letting the calves suck on their fingers like baby bottles, feeding and petting the horses, (did I mention chasing the chickens?) and playing in the humongous tractor tire sandbox. The best part was the eight gallons of fresh raw milk and fresh farm eggs that we brought home. After leaving the farm we drove a few miles to Burgundy Beef where we pre-ordered 12 grass fed burgers with fresh whole wheat buns. Yum! With everyone's belly completely satisfied, we headed home to enjoy a glass of deliciously creamy milk, that we were all thirsty for, with a bit of dark chocolate. Thanks Matt for the chocolate! Oh, and for the many Figura Espresso Delights. Thank you too for getting our machine back in order.

THE GIRLS

THE YOUNG LADIES
GATHERING AROUND THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

THE BAKERS & DECORATERS
The young ladies did all the planning, baking, and deocorating for the party. The mom's did all the shopping and the guys did all the grilling. Thanks Lorimer for the grilled chicken and the tasty apple chicken sausage that all the children loved, even Hope.

Peek-A-Boo!
Thanks Hannah for the beautiful music you performed for us out of the Jane Austin's World piano book and for teaching new songs to the girls. I can't wait to purchase the book for the girls. I LOVED listening to the music, espcially the piece, Emma. Sarah plays as much as she can remember for me.

Another Chicken Capture...Or is it a Rooster?

Emma, the Dissapearer!
Thanks Emma, for making your visit so much fun for the girls. Where's Emma? We love you Emmaline!

The Littles
Matching Feet

Where are those two little munchikins?
Makes perfect sense, swatting flies under the table?

Auntie Jessica Gets a New Hair Style
Compliments by, The Littles

The Boys
Lots of laughter this week! It was so good for all of us to laugh.

David 8, Josiah 6, Nathanael 2 & Caleb 12

The First Catch of the Day

Boys will be boys! All the boys had so much fun together...David misses you Figura boys!

Tractor Truck Tire Sandbox

Kids just love digging their feet into the cold sand. Can you blame them? Our turn to visit next! Hopey thinks October, for her birthday? Let's not wait another full year!

Three? Could It Be?

2010-05-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kathryn!Hope, Hannah, and Sarah made this beautiful, gluten free cake for Emma and Kathryn's birthday. Great team work girls!
Ellie and Katie anticipate CAKE! Nathanael and Kathryn observing roosters together. Kathryn is 6 months older than Nathanael. The Figura kids are so little....or the Arendse kids are so big....Maybe it's a little of both.

A Walk to the Park

2010-03-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

Field Trip
Oops! I forgot the camera so I will not have any pictures of our fun time at the Chisholm Park today. Kathyrn is finally big enough to play on all the playground equipment. She had a blast! We also fed the geese at the edge of the pond and sat on a bench together enjoying a crisp apple and a few animal crackers. I would have loved to capture some of those fun moments. Next time! I really need to be better about bringing my camera along.

Jog/Walk
Recently, the children and I and Lorimer have started a walk/run routine three days a week. We have just been waiting for it to warm up a bit to get started. This was the week. It has been wonderfully sunny and pleasant with magnificent gentle breezes throughout the week. Ah! I've missed the sun. Dallas has broken the record for the coldest February of all times. It felt like we were back in Ohio.

Strength Training
We are going to be walk/running Monday, Wednesday and Friday and doing strength training Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday we began by taking some time between lessons to stretch and for me to teach each of the children individually to do proper crunches. This wouldn't have been too difficult if I hadn't started them on the ball. Why am I the only one with a sore belly? We also did some push-ups, balancing on the ball. This was great fun for the children and fun to watch.

First Attempt
Wednesday we started our first attempt at a walk/run program. I thought two minutes of running/jogging would be a good start and then 90 seconds to walk. Apparently that was too much to start with for the children. I began to feel light headed about two blocks from home making it apparent that it was a bit too much for me as well. After 30 minutes of jogging and walking we figured out that we needed to run less and walk more. We made it back home falling to the floor to begin stretching, the best part of the run. We learned something that day. Mom is too eager to get everyone, including herself, back into shape. I am excited to work up to a three mile run after having a severe iron deficiency for so many years. I have not been able to run 3 miles since before Kathryn was born. Every time I tried, I cramped up, and became extremely faint which forced me to stop trying all together. I am feeling so much better and so energised when I exercise now. I have been hesitant to try and run again fearing failure but after this week I am excited. And now I have y'all to help keep me accountable! That is the real purpose for this post.

The Right Motivation
We jog/walked 4 miles today. The park was the motivation. This was the kids' idea and they were ready for the trek. They all did great jog/walking the whole way to the park, 2 miles and the whole way back, 2 more miles. Three of us jogged on the way back taking turns pushing Kathryn in her stroller. Thirty seconds to a minute for the children and a minute and half to three minutes for mom. Then 90 seconds to walk. I had to run forward and then back to make sure the children did not get too far behind. David and Elsie, our black lab puppy, did pretty well at keeping up with me the entire time. During the week we will take an hour to jog/walk together. Some days, days that Lorimer makes it home before dark, I will wait and go with him. Those will be the challenging days for me! Friday will be the only day we can afford to take two or three hours to walk, but it will be good to have even one long jog/walk helping to build up our endurance. I am praying by this winter we will have a treadmill to keep moving throughout the colder months. I am pleading my case with Lorimer! What are y'all doing to spring back into shape?

Precious Moments

2010-02-25T20:02:00.000-08:00

Kathryn lying in bed crying says, "Mommy, I'm possed to obey the Lord!"

Mommy: Yes. The Bible says, "Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." And when you obey your parents, you are obeying the Lord.

But I spilled the fish food, and I played with David's Cd, and I pulled off all the toilet paper, and I got out of bed, again!"

I gave her a big hug and told her about how our savior forgives us of ALL our sins if we believe in him and put our trust in Jesus. And I told her of his great love for her. Precious moments! It is such a privilege to be home leading our little ones to Christ!

Boys Bring Me Laughter

2010-02-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Here is how a conversation went with my eight year old son:

David: I wish there was such thing as a day passer.
Mom: Really? Why?
David: Because I can't wait till Saturday comes.
Mom: Why what is Saturday?
David: My first soccer game!
Mom: So if you had a day passer you would'nt have to wait for Saturday?
David: Yeah, that would be the life!

One day he will wish the days to slow down.

Then, just after I had given him instructions to go and clean his room, he said, "Oh, and I wish I could invent a button that would clean up toys." And off he went snapping his fingers at his toys. Boys are funny and David makes me laugh every day!

On a more serious note, David just finished reading the first chapter of his Bible in the book of Genesis. Recently his reading has improved so much that I encouraged him to keep trying and he did it! In previous months he has been listening to the Bible on Cd while he follows along in is Bible. He is excited to start chapter two tomorrow . Each day he comes to me with one truth that he picked out from his Bible reading to live out that day. Blessings all around!

--Jeanelle

SNOW DAY

2010-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

Wow! 6-12 inches of snow in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Fun Fun Fun!!! Enjoying a humongous snow cone....

Agave and molasses flavored snow cones...

Winter Treat....and pure delight!

Growing Up Elsie

2010-02-04T05:23:00.000-08:00

Elsie is already taller than her brother Buckeye. She is growing so fast and is quickly becoming the dominate one in the two, dog pack. Buckeye loves Elsie and their favorite game is keep away. We gave them a couple of squeaky toys to play with and just like toddlers each of them want the toy that the other one has. So around they go chasing each other after the sought after, favorite green toy that squeaks. Elsie has been a lot of fun for Buckeye and they entertain each other. She is a cuddle bug and has an incredibly sweet disposition. The children, especially Hope, have been diligent in training her. Recently they have been working on meal time. Elsie is highly motivated by food. So we took the "Dog Whisperer's" advice in training Elsie to be calm just before meal time. She has to sit without barking for her food and make eye contact with the person feeding her. When she sits quietly and makes eye contact then the food is placed in front of her. It has worked great. Now when it is time to eat she runs into the laundry room and sits and waits patiently. It also helps us to remember that she needs to eat twice a day. Buckeye is a once a day eater and is not motivated by food. Some days he even skips a meal?? Elsie says she can't wait to meet her grandparents and is looking forward to visitors!

Updating Our Home: Why Did We Wait?

2010-02-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

Reading Area in Master Bedroom
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440 W. Pleasantview Dr. in Hurst, Texas For Sale! All the children helped paint but Sarah was especially productive in her painting. She helped Aunt Leoni and I paint all the trim, doors, doorways, and closets. She did an amazing job! Thank you Sarah. You are a good little painter.

All the children helped paint the new dinning room. Rolling is so much fun!

Dinning Room: Thanks Aunt Mellissa for giving us a jump start in painting the old school room and helping with the transformation of the official dinning room. It looks so much bigger.

The other side of the Dinning Room: Notice the new light fixture. No more brass. The stars are especially for Lorimer. He's been wanting to decorate with Texas stars since we moved in two years ago. I found these on clearance at Lowes. Great buy! Lorimer loves the Texas Star wall.

Living Room: We rearranged the sofas putting the sofa table behind the sofa (where it should have been) decorated with candles and vases that we had around the house. Everyone has loved Lorimers custom made mantle, entertainment center, and updates to the bookshelves. Remember the scallops?

Breakfast Area: Over the last two years we have gotten lots of compliments on the color of this room. So the blue stayed with a few touch ups here and there. We made the table round and and added decorative pillows to the bench. My favorite decorative tip is to decorate in threes. For example a vase, a candle and fruit bowl.

The Master Bathroom: This space is warm and inviting now especially when the large shower behind the door is spotted. This was my favorite transformation in the house. Lorimer also put in a white, marbled tile floor. It looks amazing! Thanks to Dad for rescuing us and helping with the bathroom on the last day. Lorimer spent many weeks working on the bathroom late at night "after work." Thank you Honey!

Master Bedroom: Some rearranging of the furniture, a new reading area, and some splashes of color completed the master bedroom. The reading area is my favorite. I can enjoy it at the end of the day or as a retreat in the afternoon. I added a picture above.

The Guest Bathroom: This room got a fresh coat of paint by Uncle Jeff, touch ups by Sarah and trim painted by Aunt Leoni. I found a fun shower curtain at Kohls the finish off the look. The seaside arrangement on the counter reminds Lorimer and I of home (California and South Africa). Sandy wet hair, sea shells, dolphins jumping in the distance, cool breezes, beach volleyball....I could go on and on. Thanks Leoni for adding a little touch of home!

By now most of our friends and family know that we have been looking to move to Fort Worth, Texas to be closer to Lorimer's job in White Settlement. We have been searching for land since this summer. We recently stumbled upon a house in foreclosure (the Lord lead us there) with 5 acres that would be perfect for us in so many ways including being just 7 miles from Lorimer's High School. We have been praying about it for a couple of months and doing lots of decluttering around the house. Most recently we have done many fun things to our current home in Hurst to update it and get it ready for the market. It officially hit the market Saturday morning with an open house and two showings over the weekend. Leoni, my wonderful sister-in-law, helped us with much of the work at the house and did a wonderful job decorating for us. She has been such a blessing making the whole process go smoothly. Thank you to all who helped us and a BIG thank you to Hope and Sarah who helped babysit their little sis on alternating days. Thank you David for doing yard work and odd jobs every day. It was a lot of work but the end result paid off with lots of interested buyers looking in and liking what they saw. Above are some pictures of our new and improved home. Why did we wait so long to make it pretty? We hope not to make that mistake in our next home. It was worth every penny!

Hand Quilting

2010-01-20T05:23:00.000-08:00

Since the fall, the girls and I have been taking a quilting class with a retired teacher from Brewer High School. We have loved learning this lost skill. Margaret Cook, our quilting instructor is so patient and we all adore her and appreciate her willingness to teach us to sew and hand quilt. Here are my first two completed quilt blocks. One is the Nine Patch and the other is the Ohio Star. It takes us about a month to complete a block. The Ohio Star

Hope's Nine Patch

Sarah's Nine Patch

Hopes Drunkard's Path

Sarah's Drunkard's Path

Margaret Cook and Sarah are working on a block the girls entered into a national contest. It is the School Block Challenge in Kentucky. Winners will be announced next month, February 20, 2010.

Hope is working on her contest block. The following day we sent the blocks off to Kentucky.

The Girls' Completed Blocks

Friends In Georgia

2010-01-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

At last I got to see and cuddle Abigail. I wanted to bring her home until the next visit. I'm not sure why the Tully family did not agree to this?? Abigail is just too sweet to resist! She is a smiley baby who rarely ever makes a peep. I have to say it was hard getting all the cuddling in that I wanted. My girls were enjoying her just as much as I. Kathryn LOVES Abigail....

Moms' day out....planning our family albums together....and adding to each other's album each Christmas....Heather, I printed out pictures for your page....It's a start

One of the kids snapped this shot.... Love this angle

Kathryn adoring Abigail....common theme of the week

Cutie Pie Friends....out to play

Kathryn also adores her Auntie Heather....

Eric is such a good sport....and so much fun....I love to see him playing with all the kiddos....all ten

Girlhood....What else can I say? Fond memories....and sad good-byes

Favorite activity of the week....Cuddling Abigail

Boyhood....Knights....Kings.... soldiers....cowboys....You name it....They imagined it

Introducing Elsie

2010-01-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

Miss ElsieLorimer's Surprise

The Children are so excited to have a sister for Buckeye. Buckeye on the other hand is not so sure about Miss Elsie. He has been watching her from a distance.

Elsie's First Training Session

Hope loves animals, especially dogs and horses. Hope has been doing a lot of reading about teaching dogs agility. The last couple of months Hope researched about what breed of dog would be a good candidate for agility training. She had no idea that Lorimer was considering getting her and her sisters and brother a dog. The Labrador Retriever, black or chocolate was on the children's top 5 List of favorite dogs that would be good at agility. Lorimer called home a few evenings ago with news of a black Lab puppy that needed a new home. We are all fond of this breed (My Favorite). When we moved to Texas two years ago, we gave our dog Sandy, a yellow Lab to our good friends, the Garretts. We were not able to bring her because at the time we had not purchased a home. On the way to Texas, the big move, we received a call letting us know that our offer on the home that we had hoped for was going to be accepted after all. We would have a yard for Sandy. We had already been on the road for a day and a half. As much as we wanted to we could not turn back. The children cried and begged us to turn back to get our pets that we left behind, but there was no turning back. We had a four car caravan, a semi truck and a moving truck. As a result, our first Christmas here in Texas, Lorimer gave the children Buckeye as their one and only Christmas present. They were thrilled! Again they are thrilled to have a new puppy, especially a Lab. We are thankful that we have been able visit Sandy in Ohio twice since we have moved. She is doing great with her new family and they love her very much.

Christmas In Ohio

2010-01-15T12:44:00.000-08:00

December 19th we arrived in Columbus and to our delight, IT WAS SNOWING! Next day the children spent the day outside with Mr. Snowman. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Greyling for inviting us to stay with them the entire week of our stay in Ohio. The children enjoyed talking with Mr. Greyling and playing with his dog Magic. Mostly Buckeye enjoyed Magic, his new friend. Hope also adored Mrs. Greyling's parakeet. The Children had been praying for months that they would see snow during our visit to Columbus. God is good! It delights him to give us these pleasures. His creation shows us how much he cares for his children.

Kathryn 2 and Maddie 5
See the resemblance?

Candice with new Wyatt Woodward

Proud Mama

Stella (Star in Latin)

Baby Wyatt (3 months)

Or was Aunt Candice the Star?

Hello to Sandy! We have missed her. Thanks to the Garretts and their children for giving her a loving home.

See, Lorimer does love her. He would never admit it.

Distant Cousins

Dad and Al

The Girls with M Girl

Mom and long time Friend, Mona Admiring Wyatt

The Twin Sisters Together at Last

Sweet!

Noah 3 and Katie 2

M Girl and Buckeye

Nate Garrett and David

So good to see our friends.

More Cherished Friends

Joelle 11, Sarah 9, Hope 11, Dana 13

Rebbecca G. and Kathryn enjoy their visit. They were both infants when we moved to Texas. Oh, how they've grown. Sad face!

All the Kiddos--Christmas Dinner

Great job Candice. Everything was so delicious! Thanks for making our Christmas Holiday special. The kids are still talking about the trip. It was hard saying good-bye. We look forward to seeing you again this August for Alistaire's high school graduation. Thanks to you Brandon for opening your home to all of us. Your house is adorable!

Christmas In Texas

2010-01-14T13:12:00.000-08:00

Good-byes to Alwin, Lorimer's brother, and his family. We celebrated Christmas early in Texas with almost the "whole" family. Alwin and Mellissa left on Christmas day to visit family in South Africa. If we could have just been a stow away! Cape Town is so beautiful...so I've heard. The rest of us would soon be headed to Columbus, Ohio to visit the family "left behind."Alwin? Ian 9, Jordyn 12, Mellissa? Megan 7, and Gavin 4
Ian, Jordyn, McKenzie 9 and Sarah 9(More Cousins)

Kathryn 2 was so excited about the Christmas season...but it is all so tiring.
.......
Next...
Winter Piano Recital

David played Cuckoo, Both Hands.

Hope played Minuet in G Major (A Duet with Mrs. Huff)and
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Sarah played Happy Farmer and O Little Town of Bethlehem

Then....

Family Christmas Cookie Bake...

Even Daddy helped!

We invited Marianne, the children's' closest friend from church to bake with us. We baked 24 dozen cookies. Snicker Doodles, Great Grandma Cary's Sugar Cookies, and Gluten Free Ginger Snaps for Daddy. The girls had fun coloring the dough after all that mixing. Then rolling, cutting, baking, icing, decorating, assembling plates of cookies, wrapping, adding ribbons...Whew! Finally, a chair to rest our feet and the taste test...It was all worth it.

Did I mention it took two days to accomplish all this?

Baking, Baking and More Baking!

I must have forgotten to take pictures the second day so I do not have pictures of the finished product. The children made 18 plates of cookies to share with some of the Brewer High School Staff.

November: Papa Jim Visits Texas

2010-01-13T06:51:00.000-08:00

Fort Worth Stock Yards We are thankful that Papa Jim was able to spend a few days with us this year in Texas. We all had a wonderful visit and loved the time we were able to spend with him. The children adore Papa Jim! On this particular day we met Lorimer at the Stock Yards for dinner at Riscky's Barbecue. Yum! All you can eat ribs...All the boys enjoyed this meal. We strolled the sidewalks of the old town searching for the perfect gift for Grandma Gee Gee. We did not find anything in the western shops for grandma, but Papa Jim decided on something from the Spice Shop, specialty teas. The perfect present for grandma. We missed not having grandma here! We are however grateful that we were able to strengthen our bond with Papa Jim. We all are excited about how this trip has moved us to be better at keeping in touch. We have since talked with Papa Jim and Grandma on Skype and have enjoyed many phone calls. Family is truly a blessing, even when far away.

Everyone In! The children had such a fun time showing Papa Jim around Old Fort Worth.

Below:
Cowboy Guards the Door to the Spice Shop

Gathering Around For Family Worship
The children gather around Papa Jim for family worship. We all enjoyed singing hymns together and reading from Boyhood and Beyond. Such a special time! Thank you Papa Jim and Grandma Gee Gee for the books you gave the children. I guess you know we LOVE books around here.

Happy Birthday David!

2009-12-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it! David turned 8 on November 7th. He was the baby in the family for so long. I am sad to say he is growing up. It has been amazing watching him grow into a godly young man. It is a blessing to have a boy at home while Lorimer is away at work. God is good to have blessed us with such a son along with our three precious daughters.

Lorimer took David and a good friend, Jonathan and his dad on a weekend camping trip. The boys enjoyed being "boys" out in the wilderness, roasting meat and marshmallows until they began feeling sick, and lots of fishing. Zero fish were caught the first day, but on the second day David caught a one footer. He LOVES the outdoors! He's been asking dad when they are going to start hunting. Hmmm? Happy birthday to our dear son!

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good and a good name in the sight of God and man (Proverbs 3:1-4)

Has Anyone Seen My Hamster?

2009-10-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

Missing

by A.A. Milne

Has anyone seen my mouse?

I opened his box for half a minute,

Just to make sure he was really in it,

And while I was looking, he jumped outside!

I tried to catch him, I tried, I tried....

I think he's somewhere about the house.

Has anyone seen my mouse?

....

Uncle John, have you seen my mouse?

Just a small sort of mouse, a dear little brown one

He came from the country, he wasn't a town one,

So he'll feel all lonely in a London street;

Why, what could he possibly find to eat?

....

He must be somewhere. I'll ask Aunt Rose:

Have you seen a mouse with a woffelly nose?

Oh, somewhere about----

He's just got out. . . .

Hasn't anybody seen my mouse?

.....
David came running out of his room saying, "There's a mouse in my room!" He asked if Mabel was in her cage (our pet hamster) and the girls thought they saw her curled up in the corner. However, looking more closely, they realized that she had indeed escaped. Thanks to David we knew that she was in his room, somewhere. Once we figured out she was in the closet we cornered her and waited. She tiptoed out, took a quick look around and scurried back into a corner loaded with toys. Once again she came out to see what the fuss was all about. This time we had her favorite little, detachable holding box that she likes to sleep in waiting for her and she walked right in and made herself at home. That was easier than I thought it would be! We all thanked God that it was not Buckeye who found tiny Mabel.

Celebrating Year 11 With Hope!

2009-10-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

When Hope is not studying, sewing, quilting, or playing piano...she is thinking about, reading about and dreaming about horses. Naturally, for her family outing she chose horseback riding. She is riding Shemir at Silver Creek Ranch. Notice Brewer High School in the background. It was hard for her to hold her excitement back this week as she waited patiently in anticipation for this day to come. Lessons here may come more often since it is the first thing we see each week as we round the corner to Brewer High School...A herd of horses in a lush, green pasture painted with an abundance of golden, flowering clusters. It is so hard to resist the desire to spend time with these beautiful animals that God has created for our enjoyment. What bliss! We give thanks to God for keeping everyone safe today.The Happiest Girl in Texas: Grooming Shamir

Good Friends: The girls played Bean Bag Toss with the bean bags that Hope and Sarah made on the sewing machine last week. They filled the bean bags with lentils, decorated each with a unique face using scraps, buttons, beans, etc...The grand prize winner won a pattern to sew her own bean bag along with some fuzzy green fabric. Great job McKenzie!

(Marianne, McKenzie, Sarah, Kathryn, Marie, and Hope)

"Take Up Your Cross," the Savior Said

2009-10-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

When I was a young adult, in my teenage years, I often wondered at the phrase, "Take up your cross and follow Jesus." How could I do that? Were Jesus' disciples physically holding the cross for Jesus? This was a picture I just did not understand. Every time I heard, "take up your cross" I wondered what that meant for me. Now as an adult, I know very well what it means to "take up your cross and follow Jesus." Through various trials and sorrows the Lord has revealed to me what he means by those words. Motherhood has also been a means to learning what the phrase means in considering my life. This past Sunday, we sang a hymn in church that reminded me what I am to do during trials that God may send my way. This hymn says it well, "Take Up Your Cross, " the Savior Said.

Jeanelle

....

“Take up thy cross,” the Savior said,“If thou wouldst My disciple be;Deny thyself, the world forsake,And humbly follow after Me.”
Take up thy cross, let not its weight Fill thy weak spirit with alarm;His strength shall bear thy spirit up,And brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.
Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame,Nor let thy foolish pride rebel;Thy Lord for thee the cross endured,And saved thy soul from death and hell.
Take up thy cross then in His strength,And calmly sin’s wild deluge brave,’Twill guide thee to a better home,It points to glory o’er the grave.
Take up thy cross and follow Christ,Nor think til death to lay it down;For only those who bear the cross May hope to wear the glorious crown.
To Thee, great Lord, the One in Three,All praise forevermore ascend:O grant us in our home to see The heavenly life that knows no end.

Hurray For Fall!

2009-09-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Our Little PumpkinYesterday we took Kathryn to pick out her first pumpkin. It was a challenge finding a "Circle S Farms." There just isn't one. This was our favorite place to go and pick pumpkins. A hay ride out to the pumpkins in chilly Ohio, children, corn field mazes, huge haystacks to climb on, bunnies, and hot apple cider describes a day at the farm. The children have fond memories of their favorite season, FALL, in Ohio. Instead, we settled for gathering our pumpkins at a local farmers market. We are thanking God for sending some cooler weather to Texas. It is refreshing.

Texas Rangers or California Angels?

I wasn't sure who to cheer for. I grew up cheering on the Angels.

Angel, Really!

The Texas Stadium is our ALL TIME favorite baseball stadium. We sat in a suite this time, air conditioning, snacks and a great view of the game. It was especially nice for our munchkin.

Fall Family Picture: Brewer High School Tailgate

2009-09-22T11:13:00.001-07:00

The Arendse FamilyLorimer gathered many of the staff along with their families at C.F. Brewer High School for a Fall Tailgate to kick off the year. We enjoyed a meal together while visiting, in anticipation of the football, night ahead. Thank you morris88studios for the amazing pictures you took of each of the staff's family and for your willingness to serve at Brewer High School.

--Jeanelle

The 5 Browns: Piano Concert

2009-09-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Children and I visited The Bass Performance Hall this past Thursday to see The 5 Browns in concert. They are 5 siblings ranging in age between age 26 and 30. They "all" amazingly had a gift for music which was discovered at age 3. They began their first lessons in Suzuki Piano and by the time they were nine were practicing two hours each day. Eventually, the Browns had to get help trudging 5 pianos down to the basement so that the children could all practice together. They were so much fun to watch. They each spoke between pieces and shared a bit of there life and life experiences. After the intermission, they had A Conversation with the Browns and they talked with the audience answering lots of questions about their musical lives. They became the first at The New York Julliard School of Music to be all excepted into the program simultaneously. They have an obvious love for music and passion to see classical music impact the lives of young people. They have this Cd, No Boundaries.KATHRYN'S FIRST CONCERT THE FOUR.....ANY IDEAS?

ADMIRING BIG BROTHER

A Catfish!

2009-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

This was our campsite, right on the lake, at Lake Mineral Wells. The children enjoyed fishing all weekend. David caught the first and only fish.
More Fishing On the Lake...A Beautiful Morning

Project: Cake Decorating

2009-09-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

Grandma Arendse is teaching Hope and Sarah cake decorating. Grandma has always been the one who has made the birthday cakes for all of her grandchildren, 13 cakes a year plus. The girls have been practicing making icing to the right consistency and they have been learning how to use the many different kinds of decorating tips. Grandma had the idea that the girls bake a Bible shaped cake for the last evening of Sunday worship at our house. Hope made the cake, grandma helped shape into a book, and Sarah and Hope wrote a Bible verse on the cake with icing. Thanks Grandma!

Although the girls had fun making this cake, they are only permitted to create tasty treats like this for special occasions. They are too delicious and tempting to eat too much!

Science and God's Creation: Nature Journals

2009-08-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Fort Worth Zoo Field Trip: Illustrated by Hope She wrote, "I love how God painted these animals."

Sarah's Zebra And Hope's Crepe Myrtle, Cluster of Leaves. Right: Sarah's Front yard Creatures
Below: David's Backyard Observations of the Landscape
.....
Poetry
The girls enjoy copying poetry and writing original poetry. Here are some of their poems that they wrote to go with their observations.
.....
Myrtle
By HEA
Like tiny bombs containing life,
These humble seed pods grow;
Lying dormant in the fall,
And winter sleet and snow.

.....
Our Geranium
By HEA
A little red explosion,
From tiny buds of green.
It's fragrance like a potion,
For joy found in the spring.
.....

Pink, Small, and Punctual
By Emily Dickinson
Adapted By SLA
Pink, small, and punctual
Aromatic, low,
Growing in April,
Flowered in May.
Pink, small, and punctual,
Bloom every year.

Before the children begin drawing in their books, they are to sit silently watching and listening to their surroundings. I encourage them to take notice of the sounds and sights that are sometimes overlooked. For instance, the songs of the birds, the whistling of the wind, and the rustling of the leaves. What is it that is disturbing the leaves? What is it that is causing the children to hum or whistle? What is it that sweeps down and then back up again? After they have listened and watched for awhile, the children choose something to illustrate. They must include details that will help them to understand their observations later. They title their page, note the time of year that it is, the temperature, and any other details that they want to add. Finally, they label their drawings and add color to make their page come alive.

David maps out where each tree and bush stand in our back yard. He shows that it is a sunny day and that there are blue skies.He Has included the date and the season so that in looking back he can see that Texas is pleasant in the Spring. He has also included the City we live in since he may not remember this many years later as he flips through his journal. I will one day add these books to each of the kids' hope chests. David, unlike the girls, will have a tool chest that will include lots of books and some keepsakes.

Begone, Unbelief: Lyrics by John Newton

2009-08-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

Begone, Unbelief
My very dear friend sent me this song today that was of great encouragement. I thank God for the dear sisters in Christ that he has given me. I was convicted as I listened to the words of this song sung by Jess's friend, Lori Sealy. The words are from an old hymn written by John Newton. I hope this song also brings you all encouragement today.

--Jeanelle

Begone, Unbelief
.....
Begone, unbelief
My Savior is near,
And for my relief,
Will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle,
And he will perform;
With Christ in the Vessel,
I smile at the storm.
.....
Though dark be my way,
Since he is my guard,
'Tis mine to obey,
'Tis his to provide;
Though cisterns be broken,
And creatures all fail,
The word he hath spoken
Shall surely prevail.
.....
His love, in times past
forbid me to think,
He'll leave me at last,
In trouble to sink:
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Confirms his good pleasure
To help me quite through.
.....
Why should I complain
Of want or distress,
Temptation or pain?
He told me no less;
The heirs of salvation,
I know from his word,
Through much tribulation
Must follow their Lord.
.....
How bitter that cup
No heart can conceive,
Which he drank quite up,
That sinners might live!
His way was much rougher
And darker than mine;
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer
And shall I repine?
.....
Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine, food;
Though painful at present,
'Twill cease before long,
And then, oh, how pleasant
The Conqueror's song!

Shower Completed!

2009-08-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

It's so nice to have our shower back. We have endured over a year sharing a shower with the children. The original shower here, was leaking, really tiny, and an eye sore. So, what next? Lorimer plans on putting in a tile floor and having our neighbor help us put in a new counter top. Since we are doing those two things, we might as well get a new toilet and new mirrors. I'm not sure what Lorimer thinks about that? Guess I need to talk to my hubby! Our Shower Doubled In Size

We hired a plumber, a friend

Of a friend, who moved the

pipes and the drain. BIG JOB!

Lorimer is happy he had help

with this project. It took longer

than expected, but we are happy

with the results.

The base goes in after

a lot of leveling. Lorimer is

is again thankful for the help.

Lorimer did all the drywall

and framing by himself.

Begone, Unbelief

2009-08-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

My very dear friend sent me this song today that was of great encouragement. I thank God for the dear sisters in Christ that he has given me. I was convicted as I listened to the words of this song sung by Jess's friend, Lori Sealy. The words are from an old hymn written by John Newton. I hope this song also brings you all encouragement today.

--Jeanelle

Boys In the Kitchen

2009-08-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is David's idea of putting away dishes. Notice Lorimer's three favorite Starbucks coffee mugs balancing on the little saucers. He roared , "Look at my tower mom! Do you like it?" David was cheerfully working in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher, while using just a bit of his wonderful imagination. Boys will be boys! On another note, David made a delicious peanut butter bread for us today. It was part of his math assignment to cut it up evenly into fifths for all of us to enjoy. Thank you David! In addition, he has been a great help in the kitchen assisting me in preparing dinner and putting away dishes after lunch. I'm thankful David is learning to enjoy all kinds of work. Just this Saturday, David mowed, almost completely, the back and front yard with a little help from dad. His hands were sore but he persevered to the end and finished the job well.

Mission Potty Training

2009-07-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

Mission Accomplished!

Kathryn is 26 months old and has been potty training since she was 11 months. She has stayed dry for a long time during the day but still occasionally wet during her nap and always at during the night. We said good-bye to Kathryn's cloth diapers today. She no longer needs them at nap time or bed time. During our recent camping trip, Kathryn stayed dry the whole weekend during naps and nighttime. So when we returned home midday Sunday we decided to let Kathryn sleep in her...well, you know. She has continued to stay dry all week. Kathryn is almost as excited as mommy and daddy!

Camping in Texas

2009-07-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

An armadillo! This was the first thing we saw upon arriving to our campsite. They are amazing to watch. The kids were in the back of the truck watching the interesting creature forge for food with his long pink snout. And I was chasing after him for some good pictures. I am thankful they are friendly animals. This was our first time seeing a real live armadillo. The Camper Sleeps six but we could squeeze two more little ones in.

Camp Fire

There was a burn ban (surprise!) due the dry Texas weather. So we cooked our yummy marshmallows over the red ,hot wood coals on the grill. Instead of using graham crackers, which have gluten in them, we ate our marshmallows with milk chocolate pieces. They were messy but so worth it.

Meridian Lake

The Children had so much fun in the lake. They swam, caught little fish in a cup, and went fishing each morning with dad. It was great fun camping with the children. It's going to be fun to travel around the United States visiting different historical sites and enjoying places like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite which demonstrate the beauty and splendor of God's magnificent creation.

Fun With the Figs

2009-07-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Burgess Falls Good Friends
Sarah and Emma Nine Years Old

Where Is Uncle Matt and Nathanael?Taking the picture of course!

David and Emmaline (Emma)

The Little Girls

Ellie (4) and Kathryn (2)

The Big Kids

Caleb 11, Hope 10, Hannah 10, Sarah 9, Emma 9, David 7, Josiah 5, Ellie 4, Kathryn 2, and Nathanael 1 (Not all the kids were present for the picture). Wow 10 kiddos! Notice too the fuzzy creature Hope is holding. The two guinea pigs provided quite a lot of entertainment. It was especially funny watching Lorimer squirm at the sight of these rodents.

We had a wonderful time visiting with our dear friends the Figuras at the beginning of this month in Cookville, TN. It had been two long years since we had last visited with them. Kathryn was just a month old. And Nathanael wasn't even born yet! The children played joyfully together for the four days we were there. We had a rich time of family worship each night (Uncle Matt's Mini Sermons). We have loved these "mini sermons" since the kids were all little. Now that I think about it, they are not actually "mini." But they are rich and they are for the children. All the children, including Kathryn, look forward to these nights together! The adults enjoyed talking over coffee each morning and evening. There were other activities we also delighted in with the Figs like golf, ice cream, walks and bike rides. Our only regret was that our visit was too short. We hope to see them more often now that they are only a day away!

Hope and Hannah Ten Years Old

When did they get so big?

Summer Time Fun!

2009-07-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Uncle Matt teaches Hope how to ride the mower. Look out! The Bathroom Project: The pipes are moved. Yeah!
FRIENDS

Give them woods, sticks, and dried weeds. The children immediately start creating. Our children played here with the Tully kids all day while Lorimer and I helped our friends Eric and Heather move into the house in Atlanta.

CAMP
David enjoyed these camps this summer at Brewer High School: Basketball camp, soccer camp, baseball camp and Track and Field.

SEWING

Hope teaches Sarah how to sew on the sewing machine.

The girls are working on a regency dress. Sarah is making the apron to go with the dress Hope made. I'll post pictures of the finished product soon.

Summer Zoo Trip with the LeMasters

We all wished we could have joined the Rhino in the water!

It was fun to watch the zoo keeper feed the Rhino bananas.

GARDEN

Here is one of our peppers from our garden. It has been so hot, over 100 degrees here in Texas, that we are not sure if our tomatoes and cucumbers are going to produce very much friut. Next year we will plant in the spring. We also plan on planting some vegetables in the fall.

Fresh Organic Produce

2009-07-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today Sarah cleaned the kitchen, washed all of our produce that we just picked up from our co-op site and made lunch. It is such a blessing to have two daughters who delight in helping me with all there is to do in a day. All of these bright colored treats were worth a picture.

For months my family and I have been enjoying the fresh organic produce that we get through a local co-op. We pick up our bin full of fruits and vegetables every other Tuesday on the way to piano lessons and leave a check for $50.00. It is nice to get a variety of goodies that are in season and taste delicious. As a result we have been incorporating vegetables that I would not have thought to buy into our diets. Zucchini is now a regular, raw in our salads, on the side or baked with butter and Parmesan cheese. I love fresh green beans but this is not a family favorite. Add a homemade vinaigrette, feta cheese, and chopped almonds and the kids like them much better. You can find the recipe here.

Here is a picture of little Miss Kathryn and her baby helping me "snap" beans. She said, "See, 'snap!' Just like that."

Our Square Foot Garden

2009-06-01T05:16:00.001-07:00

Hope's Vegetable Garden: This is Hope's box. She transplanted all the vegetables into her garden and she will be solely responsible for watering, pruning and harvesting her plants.Lots of Helpers

Lorimer Builds the Boxes

David Helps Wheel All The Compost Mixture to the Boxes: The second box, Sarah's box, will have seeds planted in them. Cherry tomatoes, tangerine pimiento sweet peppers, beans, oregano, basil, and cucumbers to start with. The third and fourth boxes will be David's and Kathryn's. I will tend to miss Kathryn's box. She will be my little "helper." The last box will hold lots and lots of flowers to attract lots and lots of butterflies. We will use seed from Park Seed given to us by our good friends the LeMasters. Thanks Brian and Tiffany! Here a few we will try. Butterfly bush, marigolds, Shasta daisies (I love daisies!) and aster (very pretty!) Also these climbing cardinals look great for a backdrop .

My Hard Worker!

The Final Product

Most Asked Question: Are Some of Your Children Adopted?

2009-05-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Whenever Lorimer or I are out with some or all of the children, and are not together we often are asked this question: Where did you get your beautiful children? Isn't God good? I love to see the reaction on people's faces when they here that they are all ours; all four of them. Not that I think four is a lot of children. I would love to have more living children to raise up for God's Kingdom!

Motherhood is a joy. Yes, hard work, but a joy! I have had to learn many lessons along the way such as: patience (I was not born with it), compassion (physically tending to the needs of my children), sacrifice (putting their needs before my own) and diligence in training them in God's Word (which produces fruit). Motherhood has been used by God in my life to persuade and challenge me to live a life of obedience to God. I could not know how to raise my children without consulting God's Word first. So there the journey began with our first daughter that first week of her life. God amazingly used our daughter to draw Lorimer and I into His Word. With each child he has rewarded us with, he has given us the amount of Grace that we needed and caused growth in our lives. We are constantly challenged through his Word to die unto self and live unto Christ. Two crucial ways to reach the hearts of our children are to pray for them continually and to live a Christ-like life, modeling for them what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. They will do what we do, they will have the tone in our voice, they will go where we go, they will read what we read. Get the picture? Once our little ones start talking we begin to see and hear ourselves. God gently exposes this sin in our lives and draws us to repentance. Slowly he teaches us that his ways are higher than our ways and guides our steps, sometimes through trials in order that we be strengthened in Christ.

Now back to my original topic. Monday I was asked if Kathryn and Sarah were adopted? I would love to adopt children one day Lord willing, but for now I am enjoying the children God has given me. They may not all look like me but they are all loved, prayed for and considered our greatest blessing in this life. God knew from the beginning of time that he would use these blessings (children) in our lives to transform the hearts of women. What a privilege it is to receive all the children God has planned for us!

Happy Birthday Kathryn!

2009-05-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

What better way for a "two" year old than to spend her day gardening? A two year old, flowers, dirt, and water. A perfect mix! Kathryn had great fun digging in the dirt and spreading it all over, while the rest of us were able to accomplish much work. We were able to get two of the four boxes done for our square foot garden. Thank you to my amazing husband and hard working son for mixing all that soil and wheeling it all to the far corner in the back yard. So far, in the first box we have three varieties of tomatoes, three different kinds of peppers, and cucumber. We are not sure what we are putting in the other boxes yet, but plan to add some more tomatoes and cucumbers. Any suggestions? Pretty flowers!

Hope made this dress for Kathryn using a light pink T-shirt for the top portion of the dress.

Everybody helped!

Kathyrn has witnessed two birthday celebrations recently. One in March and one in April. When we showed her a UPS box from her great grandparents in California and told her it was for her "for her birthday" she said, "Open presents?" She new precisely what to do; no prompting necessary. Oh, and thank you for the cute shoes. Kathryn loves shoes, like most girls and their mamas.

Then later....A few more presents and lots of smiles!

Here is Kathryn singing Happy Birthday with her daddy.

MONDAY MAY 25

Memorial Day: Giving Thanks to God for our Long Awaited Daughter

Kathryn's friend, Ellie joins in the family celebration.

Wow, look what Grandma Arendse made! Pink for the girls and blue clowns for the boys.

Thank you Grandma Arendse for making such adorable cupcakes and a beautiful cake. And they were delicious! Hope is "hoping" grandma will teach her to decorate cakes like this!

A portable sand box. What a great idea grandma and grandpa!

Moments later, Kathryn fell out, face forward!

It took Kathryn three tries to gently blow out her two whole candles. Two too many!

It's hard for us to see Kathryn grow so fast. We give thanks to our Father in Heaven for giving her to us to care for for a while. Kathryn continues to bring much joy and liveliness to our family. She is doing so many new things every day. Here are few I thought of.

.......

Kathryn can....

Turn door knobs and open doors

Get on and off the potty by herself

Put on her own britches

Walk around in my high heels

Put on my lip gloss

Eat my lip gloss

Buckle her car seat

Pull flowers out of the pot, roots and all

Do peg puzzles

Make up her own version of a story book (babbling as she turns the pages)

Jump

Sing! Sing! Sing!

Sing a few hymns and her favorite lullabies

Sing Happy Birthday

Recite Ooey Gooey!

Help make pot roast

Tell me if something is "spicy"

Talk talk talk

Speak too many words to count

Do somersaults

Say, "Uv u too!" (My favorite)

Petit Fours

2009-05-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend the girls and I went to a baby shower; a fun girls day! To our delight the host provided delicious petit fours, chocolate fondue and strawberries, and cranberry chicken salad. We think the secret ingredient was celery seed. The girls said, "This was the best shower ever!" They loved the treats and got to decorate several bibs and T-Shirts for baby Zane. I wish I had taken pictures of their adorable designs. I asked the girls if they would mind holding up these petit fours for a picture. They did not mind at all. They knew they were going to get to eat a second little cake. I'm not a big fan of cake but these were scrumptious; the kind that melt in your mouth. Can you taste them yet?

These were bought at the Swiss Pastry Shop in Fort Worth, Texas. We will be paying them a visit! Hope is suggesting a tea party with petit fours for her 11th birthday. October? We have to do better than that! We plan on making them ourselves with the petit four pan my grandma gave us for one of Sarah's birthday tea parties. She has always loved tea parties. I want to experiment with making the icing to look like this.

Fabulous Flat Iron

2009-05-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

At my last hair appointment, I decided it was finally time to invest a little money into a quality flat iron. My iron is an Amica Flat Iron and it works great. The best part is that it also makes these amazing curls; a fun hairstyle for a night on the town with my hubby!

Backyard Fun

2009-05-18T20:44:00.001-07:00

Kathryn Not Interested In Touching Toad....But, She'll Tell You All About Him! David Catches a Toad....A Garden Friend

Plans for a Garden: Tomatoes, Peppers, and cucumbers....Thanks to my good friend Mary!

Lorimer is planning on building a Square Foot Garden for us this month. It is a no dig garden. He will build us a 4x4 box with a grid that will divide the box into 16 squares. We will then lay a weed barrier down, place the box on top and add 6-8 inches of soil made up of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite. No dirt needed! Next we will plant our little plants (peppers, 3 varieties of tomatoes, and cucumbers), some other favorite vegetables, and some pretty flowers. I'll share pictures along the way. It has been so rainy in Texas this spring that we have not had an opportunity to start our garden. We are praying for sunshine this Saturday! All the children will be helping tend to the garden. Hope especially enjoys gardening so I have no doubt she will help our garden to flourish. Oh, no! I just remembered how much Kathryn loves tomatoes. We will have to keep a close eye on her.

Spring Recital

2009-05-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Mystery Guest Musician: Lewis Warren
It was an honor to hear this extraordinary 12-year-old boy play piano at the childern's spring piano recital. Thank you Mrs. Huff for inviting him to play and inspire our children. Lewis started at piano when he was three years old, composing at just a wopping five years. He was amazing to watch; he has incredible speed. The children couldn't believe their eyes. The parents couldn't believe their ears. Lewis has accomplished much in his short life, most recently performing his own arrangement of the National Anthem at the Speedway before 170,000 fans, earning top prize in the Dallas Symphonic Festival. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sGYobRtaaQ What I thought most unique about this young man was that when asked if he had dreams of becoming a concert pianist he said, "I want to play music that is glorifying to God." Right now he enjoys playing at his local church and wants to follow God's will for his life. I pray that Lewis will continue to give God the glory for this talent that God has given him and that he will bless many through his music.

Sarah completed Suzuki Piano Book One and is now playing out of book two. She played the following pieces out of book one: Chant Arabe, Christmas-Day, and Musette. She played wonderfully, and I especially loved her musical expression of Musette. Lorimer and I are thankful for her love of music. Singing hymns during family worship each night has become even more of a delight over the years. Sarah is in charge of picking out the songs ahead of time for us since she enjoys it so much.

David played flawlessly! Wow! No show of nerves, not one bit. David played: Long, Long Ago, Twinkle B (Left Hand), and Honeybee (LH). It is a joy to watch him develop piano playing skills using his hands, while at the same time watching him advance in his soccer skills with his feet.

Hope began playing out of Suzuki Piano Book Two early this spring and played three pieces for her recital: Allegro, Ecossaisse, and A Short Story. She said, "I prayed just before I went up to play my pieces that God would help me to do my very best." And that she did! We are thrilled that she has a love for music that glorifies God.

How About this For a Date Night?

2009-05-11T13:46:00.001-07:00

A friend and I were just talking recently about her and her husbands next date night. I asked if they had decided what they were doing for their date. She seemed hesitant to share that they were going to the shooting range. She and her husband have taken an arms safety course and are learning how to use a hand gun. Why? For all those who are torn between whether or not this is necessary I would encourage you to read more about this issue at Visionforum.com. along with other topics that deal with Reclaiming the Culture. Our friends over at the Tully Telegraph are having a give away. Hurry and enter to win, They May Not Take Our Guns. Contest ends tomorrow. Sorry for the late notice. Just leave a comment on her blog and you Will be entered to win.

Random Happenings in Texas

2009-05-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

-Mother's Day

Thank you to my husband for having my "broken ring" of two years, fixed and polished. It looks like new and it is shiny and pretty again.

Thank you to my children who made made me sweet cards and beautiful pictures. Here is a poem Hope wrote for me.

Mother

You cook all our meals,
You love us so much.
You train us in the Lord,
You discipline us when we need it.
You comfort us when we are sad.
You teach us at home,
And rejoice in our happiness.
That is why we want to say,

Thank you for being the best mother

on earth!

-Thank You Hope

..................................................................

My Ring Sparkles Again. It really does seem new. I am just as excited as if it were!

--Something I like about Texas: Magnolia Flowers

--A Proud Papa: Lorimer talked a little bit about each player during the soccer banquet praising and encouraging them. David has played great as a goaly the last two games. Lorimer has wanted him to stay in the field but it is becoming evident that David is a natural goaly (just like his dad). He knows how to tackle that ball. Guess that's more fun than kicking it!

--Something I Do Not like about Texas: Lizards in the house! This is what we found on the fireplace screen upon returning from church this morning. Lorimer said, "David come and catch this thing!" Mama said, "You better not miss!" You know what that would mean: Lizard loose in the house. David DID NOT miss! Yeah David! Thank you for saving the day!

--A Close Up

--Zoo trip with the Tullys:
Favorite Animal of the Day!

A Blue Macaw.

--The whole gang

Left to right: David, Benjamin, Matthias, Sarah, Patricia, Jonathan, Hope, Kathryn and Lizzie.

The Mamas

I'm so glad Y'all came to visit us in Texas. It was so much fun for the children to see each other again. And it was so great of our amazing husbands to watch the kiddos for us so we could spend some time together. The children are all missing their Auntie Heather and Uncle Eric. Every time Kathryn sees a lady with your hair color Heather, she says, "Auntie Heather?" And I have to say noooo, Auntie Heather went home. A one year old, soon to be two May 23rd, does not understand that you're two days away. Kathryn also says, "Lizzie," every time she spots a baby. So sad! We hope to come and visit y'all in Atlanta soon.

Family Pictures

2009-05-08T13:06:00.001-07:00

This year's family pictures were taken by Tiarra at Little Faces Photography. We are pleased with the quality of photographs and look forward to having pictures taken with her in the future. We love that Tiarra takes all her pictures outside in the beauty of God's creation or she will come to your own home to shoot photos. Best of all, her prices were great in comparison to other photographers that I looked into in our area. Hope 10 Years

Sarah 9 years

David 7

Kathryn 21 months

The Boys

Mama and Baby

Convention: Home Education

2009-05-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

Friends, Heather and Dawn and I attended the 2009 Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati this past April. We listened to many of Susan Wise Bauer's talks on Classical Christian Education. We especially enjoyed the three sessions on writing in each of the three stages: Grammar, logic, and rhetoric. You can read more on classical education here or in Susan's book, The Well Trained Mind. I recommend any families who are considering home education or who are already doing so, read this book! It has been a wonderful resource and tool in learning to teach what we ourselves were not taught. We had the privilege of personally thanking Susan, who was schooled at home, for inspiring us to teach our children to read, to be thinkers, well-rounded self-learners who will be equipped for whatever life God calls them to. Educating our children at home means weaving history, literature, science etc...into their daily lives. What a joy it is to learn along side our children. What a blessing it will be to them one day as they use their learning experiences at home to instruct their own children. It is amazing to think of the impact that my teaching my own children will have on future generations. Generations of faithfulness! Generations of thinkers!

Inspired by Susan's perspective in teaching writing!
When asked if Susan would take a picture with Heather and I so that we could post it on our blog, Susan said, "Wait, let me put on my lip gloss!" Thanks Susan for sharing with so many home educators and teachers the lost tools of learning.

An Art Project: Especially For Daddy

2009-04-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

It was Sarah's idea to have all of the children make bear, art for daddy's office. She has done a wonderful job at keeping it a secret.Little Bear Participates in the Fun ! Thanks Sarah for helping your little sister.

Go Bears!

The children were so thrilled at the idea of framing their art work for daddy.

A Sunny Saturday

2009-04-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

Great Kick David!It is so much fun to watch our boys, David and Daddy, play in their soccer game. Lorimer loves coaching David's team and David wouldn't have it any other way. GO IMAGE!

Lots of Sunshine Today

Hope Survives the FallA bike crash, a large scrape on her face, a broken tooth and a lot of blood describes our day yesterday. Thankfully a friend from church (dentist) was able to fix her tooth in just an hour and a half. It looks great! Today was a beautiful, sunshiny day, a perfect day to cheer David on at his soccer game.

Give Away at the Tully Telegraph

2009-04-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

You can go here and say hello to our good friends Eric and Heather Tully to enter to win in a Vision Forum give away. You could win a Cd album called, True Beauty . Add a link to your blog and you will be entered twice.

Funny Surprise For Aunt Jessie!

2009-04-02T05:07:00.000-07:00

Ahhh! This is what I found when I opened the car door at 4:00am this morning. We had talked about it being too early to wake everyone up to say goodbye to Aunt Jessie so we all said our goodbyes the night before. Little did I know, my girls were plotting just how they would get to the airport. Hope stayed awake until 2:30am and then woke up Sarah. They knew Mommy and Aunt Jessie were not getting up until 3:00am. They had dressed the night before and put their pajamas on over their clothing. This must have been done after Mommy had prayer time with them and kissed them goodnight. Hmmm? When I opened the car door to place the suitcase on the seat I about fell over with fright at the sight of the girls popping up their heads saying, "Is it time to go?" I could only laugh! They had been in the car since just after 2:30 in the morning. They found a bible in the car and had their morning reading and prayer time together. How could I say no? Finally, at just after 4:00am we were off, the FOUR of us!Mission Accomplished!

We found a great tile back drop for pictures while visiting Lifetime Fitness, flowers included. A very sweet employee of LF offered to snap a few pictures for us.

Saying Good Bye!

Katie is sooooo tired after the tour of Brewer High School that Daddy took us on last night. The school is giant! Katie ran the entire time through each hall way!

A Girls Day: American Girls!

The girls each brought their favorite doll along to join us for lunch at the Bistro. Hope holds Elisabeth, an American Girl doll and Sarah holds Fidelia, a Vision Forum doll. This girls day was in honor of Sarah and Aunt Jessie's March Birthdays.

Ooey Gooey Squish Patooey!

2009-03-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

KATHRYN LIKES MUD!!!

....

MUD

Mud is gooey----

SQUISH patooey!

Mush it with your fingers;

Gush it with your toes.

Slimy, glimy, wet, and grimy---

OoooooooooH!

I like mud.

Louise Betts Egan

C.F. Brewer High School Principal: Lorimer Arendse (It's Official!)

2009-03-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Brewer High School Attire Will Soon Take Over Lorimer's Closet!Go Bears!

...

Lorimer signed his contract yesterday and was given the grand tour of White Settlement ISD. He will be interviewed by the newspaper today at 4:00pm at Grapevine High School about his new position as Principal of C.F. Brewer High School. Wednesday he will hold his first staff meeting at Brewer High and Saturday he will speak to over 800 community members at the Brewer Bears baseball game. We will get to go along for this! March 31st, Lorimer, I and the children will be present for the board meeting so that the board can approve Lorimer as Principal of BHS. I don't remember when, but Lorimer will also be meeting with the City Council. Really he doesn't start until April 9th. He is still Associate Principal at Grapevine High School until then.