:-)

My pretty girl got braces!

Poor Summer has had a very hazardous week with the scars to prove it! (That awful bruise on her chin came from falling off the toilet, poor baby!) I tried so hard to picnik these boo-boos out, but I couldn't. I guess it's appropriate that the little stinker is recorded "as is" for history's sake.

Let Brotherly Love Continue

I try really hard not to interfere in my children's disagreements (unless I see splatters of blood). I've tried to teach them to take the Matthew 18 approach to resolving arguments and not be "tattle tales" as we say here in the south. Therefore, I'm not really sure what's going on between Bubbie and Sis, but this is what Bubbie has taped on his wall right now. It's a picture of Madelyn, complete with earrings and braces, and he obviously remembers how to spell her name now. Those homeschool art lessons and phonics are really starting to pay off now!

Supposing God Became a Man

"But supposing God became a man - suppose our human nature which can suffer and die was amalgamated with God's nature in one person - then that person could help us. He could surrender His will, and suffer and die, because He was man; and He could do it perfectly because He was God. You and I can go through this process only if God does it in us; but God can only do it if He becomes man. Our attempts at this dying will succeed only if we men share in God's dying, just as our thinking can succeed only because it is a drop out of the ocean of His intelligence: but we cannot share God's dying unless God dies; and He cannot die except by being a man. That is the sense in which He pays our debt, and suffers for us what He Himself need not suffer at all."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

Happy Resurrection Day!

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Little Gardener

Rosebud loves being outside and "helping". Whatever she sees Daddy doing, that's what she wants to do.

Time for a break! I normally don't let my children eat high fructose corn syrup and dye, but those little Kool-aid type frozen popsicles in the plastic are sort of a right of passage of childhood I guess. :-)

Summer has the Pippi Longstocking movie on her iPod and loves it. Therefore, she loves to have her hair braided like Pippi. I just love the little curly tip. It's actually quite a challenge to braid her hair, fighting the curls with every strand. So pretty!

New Things

New Friends (Summer has finally decided she likes Junior, the coon dog)

New Garden (Yes, it's big. Jason always thinks BIG, that's just one reason I love him!)

Brocolli already!

New experiences

New pond (hopefully!)

New Life. This is a moth that emerged from a huge cocoon that Bubbie found on an oak tree outside. The cocoon was about 2 inches long and about an inch wide with leaf prints carved into the side (I wish I had taken a picture!). The cocoon itself was beautiful, and the moth has amazed us all. It's about 6 inches wide and absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, it does NOT like having its picture taken, so here are a few lousy shots I was able to get. It's flying free in our house right now.

This is outside the kids' tree house. If you'll look closely on the dog's neck, you can see a cocoon!

I just love spring!

My Sweet Happy Girl

Okay, maybe she's a little more mean than sweet, but she's definitely happy!

Science in the School Room (literally!)

Well, if you've been a longtime reader of my blog, one thing you know is that my children love caterpillars! It hasn't just been a phase; every year they look forward to this (even Caleb at 13!). Check out this post from 3 years ago (look how little everyone was!). They like to capture them and build houses for them, decorate them (see below), and do other things I won't list on here in case there are any earth-worshipping, pantheistic pagans browsing by. I've lost count of how many butterflies and moths we have seen "born" in our house, right before our very eyes, ones that the kids have captured outside and brought in. It really is a fascinating testimony to the glory of God how a worm-like creature can wrap itself in tissue-like substance and emerge as a beautiful, winged, 6-legged flying insect! When you come to my house, you come to expect the chirping of crickets in the background (frog food), and don't be surprised if the carpet appears to be moving, as those little crickets are sneaky and can escape from almost any container! If you come at the right time, you might hear hatching chicks chirping from the back closet (it's a long story....). Obviously, there is always Frogger, our tree frog to see, and it's rare that there isn't some captured creature like a toad or turtle that Seth has been stalking. As of right now, there are 6 bullfrog tadpoles sitting on my hearth, splashing like kids playing in a pool. You will occasionally find a few sea monkeys too (my kids love those....okay, I love them maybe a little too much for my age...). A huge cocoon with an amazing leaf pattern design on it which Bubbie found on an oak tree outside, sits in a "bug tent" on top of my cabinet waiting to emerge. And as I type, I'm listening to the squeaking of 7 new little kittens on our carport. I said all that to say this. We've been through a lot of nature projects, but THIS is a first!

This is a desk in our school area. One of the boys' caterpillars escaped and cocooned right underneath the desk! Sis found it when we were cleaning up after cutting out our history timeline figures. We can't wait to see what happens next!

Randy Alcorn

Here's a quote from one of my favorite authors, Randy Alcorn:

"I thank God that today I don't just love Jesus as much as I used to,

I love Him more. That is to His credit, and I'm deeply grateful.

He's what makes it so exciting and so worthwhile, and He's the One Who empowers me to walk a long obedience in the same direction."

Fly on the Wall

Here are some cute sayings from my precious boys:

BUB: "Mom, I'm going to marry you 10 times when I grow up. You're my best wife!"

BUB: "Mama, this pencil's out of lettuce."

BUB: "Mom, did people get baptized in the Old Testament?"
ME: "No, it was pretty different back then. They didn't have churches the way we have now, but there were other ways to show faith in God."
SETH: (obviously not satisfied with my simple answer) "Bub, the main difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that they didn't have chairs in Old Testament days and they all had to stand up to listen to the preacher."

BUB: (getting ready for phonics lesson). "Mom, remember I had a hard time with this yesterday.....(thoughtful pause)....Boy, it's a good thing it's not yesterday anymore!"

SETH: (just learning a new objective in his Singapore Math): "This is quite possibly the easiest thing I've ever done in my entire life!". (I, Tara Stringer, have a kid who loves Math!)

My boys are growing up so quickly! I know these hilarious moments will become less and less frequent, and I'm enjoying every minute of them being "little boys"!


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Spring!

My little scientist is so glad spring is finally here. Now he can collect critters galore! Here he is this evening sitting patiently while Sis took her piano lesson. Check out what's in his hand.








If you look closely, you'll see where he colored them with Sharpies to make them more colorful. He's such a sensitive soul! Love my Sunshine!








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Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

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