fire pit

For Mother's Day, Dan baught "me" some chairs, a small table, and a fire pit. We have enjoyed some of these cool evenings outside cooking hot dogs and making s'mores.

Mackenzie likes her marshmallows well done!

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, as with every other one I can remember, we celebrated with friends and family at Wesley Chapel. It is a special tradition in our family, and we look forward to it every year.

This year was a little different in that we didn't get to decorate the graves because of the torrential rain. I was disappointed, and I know the kids were, too. The Legion members still stood out in the rain and gave the 21 gun salute and played taps despite the weather, which says a lot about the kind of men they are and how they feel about their military service.

Mackenzie sang "The Star Spangled Banner."

Elijah recited "The American's Creed"

"I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people and for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many soveriegn States; a perfect union, one and inseperable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, support its Constitution, obey its laws, respect its flag and defend it against all enemies. "

by William Tyler Page, 1917


Katie played "America the Beautiful."



Uncle Steve reading the roll call.




"Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

-Ronald Reagan

I'm two months old...

....................and I can SMILE!

May Days

It's been another busy month. Here's a little of what we've been up to:

This is actually April news, but I didn't get the picture taken until May...

Eleanor won 4th place in our newspaper's Easter coloring contest for her age group. The prize was a $5 gift certificate to the Frostop. You can't beat that!

The girls took a cake decorating class. Katie's cake is above and Mackenzie's is below:

We spent the better part of an afternoon trying to get a nice picture of all five kids.

We've been watching a family of birds living in a hole in one of our trees.

Eleanor decided that she wanted to take the training wheels off of her bike so she could go faster. I think she goes plenty fast already, but she was determined.

Dad makes sure her helmet is secure.

She's off!

And.........it was harder than she thought, so they're back on for now!

Oh well.

All of that is enough to make a person very tired.

The Princess Swing

Our church gave a shower for Constance last Sunday, and many people gave generously to buy her a new swing. It is beautiful. It plays music, rocks two different directions, has a mobile for her to watch and even a light show.

The video is dark, but you can see the lights well. If you watch carefully, you can also see how the butterflies move up and down like carousel horses as they go around. Too cute!

More pictures

Constance's first month

Our little princess turned a month old last Thursday. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by! It's been a busy month for her, attending her first wedding when she was five days old and Easter the next weekend, plus a whole lot more. Here's a little of what else she's been up to:

She's been eating a lot and growing. At her one month appointment she weighed 10 lbs. 8 oz., so she's gained two and half pounds in a month. Yep, that's my girl. Check out those cheeks and that extra little chin.

Sleeping. Lots and lots of sleeping, except during the hours of 2 am and 5 am, which is the best time to be awake in her opinion. Do I sound tired?


Bath time seems to be something she enjoys, which is a good thing since she has a tendency to spit up a lot, and sometimes doesn't smell as pretty as she looks.

Last week we joked that she discovered "up" because she seemed to figure out that she could look up and spent the whole day with her head deliberately thrown back staring at the ceiling of whatever room she was in.

Constance and Katie took advantage of one of the nice days we had recently and went for a walk in her new stroller. She liked that a lot, too.

It has been a wonderful month getting to know the newest blessing to our family. Constance, you are a treasure and we love you more than words can say!

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 126:3