Behold, My Little Ones

Jewels

 I have always LOVED the following story, and feel the same about my own children-- ALL thirteen of them!

"The story is told that in ancient Rome a group of women were, with vanity, showing their jewels one to another. Among them was Cornelia, the mother of two boys. One of the women said to her, 'And where are your jewels?' To which Cornelia responded, pointing to her sons, 'These are my jewels.' Under her tutelage, and walking after the virtues of her life, they grew to become Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus—the Gracchi, as they were called—two of the most persuasive and effective reformers in Roman history." ~Gordon B. Hinkley

Mother's Day Selfies

I have had a goal for a very long time to get a photo taken with EACH ONE of my children.

Just to put it out there, and get it off my chest, chubby moms like me don't love to have our pictures taken very much. But one day I realized that if anything ever happened to me, my children would not have many visual records of me WITH them!

And whatever I look like, my children LOVE ME. They see me in all my chubbiness every single day, and that is how they will remember me.

THIS IS MY LIFE. This is who I am. And while I may not be a "hot mom," or look like a fashion model, I am the mother that they wake up with every morning, cry on, look to, and kiss goodnight each evening. And they need to know how much I love each and every one of them.

When you have 13 kids in your family, that is not always an easy thing to get pictures taken with each individual! But, I decided that for Mother's Day, I wanted to take the time to get a photo of myself with each one of my children. It was a wonderful Mother's Day for me!

We decided to do selfies, since it's fast and easy, though I'm not the greatest selfie-taker. LOL!

Since there's a lot of photos involved, we'd better get started! Here we are, in all our glory!

Fiona, my thirteenth jewel in my motherhood crown.

Fun and energetic Avalon, our tenth baby.

Grayse (our ninth jewel) and Mama

My sweet Eryn (#11) and me

Davy-boy (#12) with his mama

My MacKenna, the eighth jewel

Lliam-lad, jewel number three

Our Ronan, lucky child number seven

Our beautiful Bonny, the fourth child in our family.

Gentle and good Dierdre (#6)

Life is fun with Gavin, our fifth child

Lovely and placid Morganne; my first-born angel.

Best Mother's Day Present

The very, VERY best part of Mother's Day, was getting to Skype with our MISSIONARY!!!! And yes, I even got a selfie with our wonderful Elder Brennan. We miss him dearly, but are so proud of him and all he is doing to love and serve the people in the Spokane Washington mission.

Our hard-working, fun missionary, Elder Brennan Keppner. He is our second child and first son.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO WONDERFUL WOMEN, EVERYWHERE!!!

Love, Mama Rachel

A Fresh, New Year

Goofy selfie with baby Fiona

Dear ones,

I just love new beginnings, don't you?

We had another nice week of vacation, and some New Year's Eve fun-- no fireworks this year! (After Ronan's fireworks accident in July, and Lliam's gunpowder explosion last New Year's, we thought we'd better not tempt fate.)

Fascinating fire, without the BOOM!

So, we lit four paper lantern/balloons, and enjoyed the neighborhood fireworks displays. We also had our traditional "dinner" of appetizers with different cheeses and crackers. The kids were in heaven! (Crackers are a treat around here-- they don't get that that often.)

We spent New Year's Day taking down all the Christmas stuff and packing it up for next Christmas. I didn't even cry this time! ;-)

She's HOME!!!

It has been so nice having Morganne back home. She is so sweet with the little girls, even though they drag her from place to place, all vying for her attention. She fixes their hair and helps with dishes and cooking-- we like it!

Saturday I took some time alone to plan out the new homeschool semester for our family. It was so cool to park in the temple parking lot with the majestic Gilbert temple in front of me, listen to some quiet music, pray and be inspired for this new semester. 

Posing cuties

I'm trying to add a weekly trip to the library on Mondays this semester, but it will all hinge on whether or not the kids get their chores done each Monday. (Our "House Recovery" day.) We shall see how it goes!

Today we have a flurry of room rearranging going on, and trying to get back on our usual schedule. Bonny and Gavin started seminary again today, and so that was good for helping us get up early, and get the day started out right.

Our TJLA classes start up again this Friday, so I have all kinds of administrative stuff to get done. (Ick.) That's not my favorite thing to do, but I am looking forward to my literature class for second semester. Austen and Dickens and Tennyson! WOOT! Lots of good books to come.

Pretty big sisters

I had my first rehearsal for the "Ten Virgins" musical I'm in for the stake. I play the part of the Narrator, and got to sing one of my solos in front of all the other ladies. I was a tiny bit nervous, but also had a great time. We all sound so good together on our group numbers! I am going to try to make sure they film it when we perform. We perform it on Saturday, February 7th. Exciting!

We hope you are all doing well. I have a testimony of the Savior's influence and help in our lives, even when things are hard. I know that Jesus Christ is on my team and He gives me HOPE to make it through whatever comes, even when things are really difficult. He is not standing before me in judgment, no! He is on my side, lifting and carrying my burdens WITH me. Oh, how beautiful that image is to me! His Atonement and love are amazing-- oh, it is wonderful!!!

"I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me." I know this is TRUE. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With so much love,
Mom/Rachel

Aftermath of Christmas

Every Christmas Eve,
our kids love to reenact scenes from the Savior's birth.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We hope y'all had a great one!

Our favorite presents were having Morganne home with us and being able to talk to our Elder Brennan via Skype. It was so great to have everyone "with" us for Christmas Day!!!

The kids were so excited to welcome home our Sister Keppner!

Brennan looked really great, and it was wonderful to hear his voice and talk to him face to face! He seems to be doing well, and we are so proud of him. We know he loves the Lord and we pray that he is able to keep up all the good work he is doing.

"Teancum and Friends" as Brennan calls his companion and roommates

We've been really enjoying having Daddy home from work for the week. We've had lots of yummy food and treats, but the best thing is being together as a family.

Babies in our new wagon

We did go see some movies on the day after Christmas; Bonny and Dierdre went to see "Into the Woods" with friends, and Morganne, Gavin, and Ronan went together to see it Friday, too. Then Daddy took me to see it that night for our weekly date.

I loved it-- it brought back so many wonderful memories for me. (I played Jack's Mother when our high school performed the musical my senior year.) The movie was really well done, and though they did clean it up quite a bit (Disney released it as PG), it really is NOT a kid movie. But it will be one of those we will look forward to sharing with Brennan when he gets home-- in only ONE YEAR!!! Wow.

Returned with Honor: Our Missionary Morganne is now
home to stay! Here she is with a cake made by her sister Bonny.

Morganne had a nice birthday, I think. She did a really wonderful thing, and told us she didn't want anything for her birthday, but that she would be giving US presents for her birthday. Isn't that so awesome?! She gave us some good books and gave a movie to Lliam. We did end up giving her one present-- Daddy's old iPod Touch. She was tickled pink!

Fiona was not sure about Morganne, at first.

We need to find a few furniture pieces for Morganne, but other than that, she is settling in with us just fine. For the first day or so, Fiona would cry when Morganne held her, but after just two or three days, Fiona adores her.

Fiona is crawling everywhere, and has even started trying to pull up to things like the couch. But then, she doesn't have very good balance, and falls down. :-( She doesn't like that part. 

A seriously cute little Santa

But she's a determined little soul, and so she keeps pushing herself to try new, hard things. I admire her and want to stop her at the same time. The baby years go all too fast!

One thing Morganne REALLY wanted to so on her birthday was to Skype with her friend, T---. For those of you that don't know about him, she met him when she was serving on her mission in the Family History Center in Idaho Falls. He was also serving a mission there, he has cerebral palsy and gets around in a wheelchair. He lives with his parents in --- and ended his mission just before Morganne did.

Morganne, and her friend, T---

Morganne introduced Daddy and I to T---'s parents over Skype and then they were able to talk for quite a while. He seems like a very nice young man. He and Morganne went on a few dates when she was up there, (Two missionaries dating each other-- funny, huh? But it was allowed on her mission.) and he has given her some really nice gifts. We are thinking we may not have heard the last about him. *wink*

Lliam gave Bonny a phone for Christmas. What a kind brother!

In other news, Lliam has decided that it's about time for him to move out, and Russell and I agree. He is taking a big step, trying to support himself and we are nervous and excited for him at the same time. We'll be sure to keep you all updated on that.

Lliam with short hair and happy babies

We love you all, and want you to know that we are so very grateful for each one of you and the good you are doing in the world. We also want you to know that we love our Savior, Jesus Christ, and are so thankful that He has made it possible for us to all be together forever!

With much love, Mama Rachel

December Hustle

Dear ones,

Oh, my-- what a busy week! I'm sure you all feel the same.


The first part of the week was pretty normal, but things sped up from there. TJLA classes ended last Friday, so we didn't have any classes this past week. Bonny and Gavin's seminary class ended for the semester, as did Bonny's dance classes at school. Lliam worked, and the kids made lots of messes. In other words, completely NORMAL!


Homeschool is now officially on break, though December is always slow in the academics department. What else is new?


We have been blessed to be the recipient of the 12 Days of Christmas this year, and we all work hard to NOT catch whoever our kind friends are. We've received treats, toys, yummy homemade bread, lovely decorations, and fun things like playdough for the kids. It is so sweet and makes the holiday even more fun than usual.

Bonny and some Dance class friends

Thursday evening, we ALL traipsed over to Bonny's dance recital-- the first one our WHOLE family has been able to attend, since the other ones from years past always charged mega-bucks for just Daddy and I to attend. It was awesome! Bonny did a really great job-- ballet truly IS her genius! The teacher placed her front and center on the ballet number, and it was GORGEOUS. She is such a lovely dancer!

She has made some good friends in her classes, even though she is one of the oldest students there. It's nice that the school is so small, but the majority of students there are junior high age. I'm going to look into the possibility of some science classes there for her next year. We'll see what she wants to do, and if that's even possible.

Lliam has been working hard in all the holiday rush at a cash register, and does a good job. Unfortunately he got sick, and has not been able to work as much as he would like.


Lliam, Bonny, Dierdre, Dad, and now Ronan all have killer colds, complete with sore throats and lots of coughing. Bonny completely lost her voice, and was not even able to go to church yesterday. The rest of us are taking lots of vitamin C, we all went to bed early last night, and several kids slept all afternoon after church. The house reeks of essential oils, humidifiers are humming, and herbal tea is being consumed at an alarming rate.


Almost all of Friday, I went out shopping, shopping, SHOPPING. It took a lot of time, but we FINALLY got Brennan's missionary package finished and SENT! (Whew!)

Then, that night, Bonny and I went with some homeschooling friends to see "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Center theatre. (We've been part of a group called "The Statesmanship Club" that Sister W-- has created.) It was really good, and we all agreed that I should direct it in the next few years. We've already practically got it cast! ;-)


After the play, we took the youth to the G--'s for the Ensign Educator's yearly homeschool Christmas party. Bonny came home with me, since she was feeling pretty sickly by then. But Gavin and Didi had a good time. They had a hayride and went caroling.

McKenna and her fellow ballerinas

Saturday morning, Bonny had her recital for all her ballet students. It was cute, and they all did a good job. I think the parents were glad it was short and sweet, and so were we! The girls had a great time, and that's what's most important.

Dierdre and A-- before their dance number

Saturday afternoon, Dad and I braved the crowds and went out shopping until late at night. We are mostly done with everything for Christmas! YAY!!!


Yesterday's Christmas sacrament meeting program went really well, I think. I had more people sing with our choir than have ever sung with the choir in this ward. (So Brother H-- told me.) We sang three songs, with two speakers in between our numbers, and the songs and talks went together perfectly. Heavenly Father is so wonderful, isn't He? Everything in the program was so inspired, and I am constantly amazed at how much the Lord loves us all.


Sadly, Lliam and Bonny were sick, so I left Fiona home with Bonny. Daddy even went home after sacrament meeting, since he was beginning to come down with the ick.


In Relief Society, I sang with some ladies for a special musical number. Sister W--, Sister H--, and Sister W-- (You'll love her when you meet her!) joined me in singing "Candlelight Carol"-- one of my FAVORITES! I think it went well, but most importantly, it brought the Spirit.


I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I am so excited to have my Morgie home with us-- I can't believe her mission is over and she is coming home!!!! And I'm ecstatic to talk to my Elder Brennan on Christmas Day. WAHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do we need more exclamation marks? Oh, yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:-)


We love you all and wish we could have each of you with us, but we are also grateful for the promise of eternal families that we have because of our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ! My heart is full of joy and hope all because of the sacrifice of our our elder brother.


More than anything else, this Christmas I want to give my family my sure witness and testimony that Jesus Christ is REAL! That He loves us, and that He did all that He did for US. HOSANNAH!!! And Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Love, love, love,
Mama Rachel

Trials and Tribulations

The past week has been a real "adventure"-- and definitely not one I would have asked for. Yet, at the same time, I have felt the Lord's protection and love so strongly this past week. I know He is watching over our family.

We've had money problems, MAJOR teen troubles, car issues, toddler craziness, and even bodily injury. Needless to say, I'm EXHAUSTED.

{Just as a warning, some of what has happened might not be something you want to read, and the corresponding pictures might be too much for some people to handle. So, read on at your own discretion!!!}

A Battle for the Soul

First of all, we have a child who is struggling spiritually. I am a very transparent person-- I don't like secrets, and I can't stand ambiguity. However, this child's story is not mine to tell to the general public, so I will refrain from going into details here on my blog.

I can say that it has been the most difficult year of my life, and I am learning some very challenging, though amazing, lessons from it all. I have discovered things about myself that I never wanted to know, but I have also experienced some phenomenal changes in my own heart.

I am in awe of how God can can make the painful and devastating into goodness and light. He truly IS a God of miracles!!!

An Accident

And now, on to the latest drama at our house. It involves this little sweetheart:

Our smiley MacKenna, age 8

My girls like to keep their hair long. And I mean LONG. A trim around here is a big event. With two teenage girls, and five-- yes, FIVE-- little girls at our house, it's all about the hair.

So, right before the sun began setting last evening, we were buried in the usual evening craziness. I was furiously making dinner while talking to my mom on the phone, the big kids were watching an economics video, and the other kids were all playing in the basement-- or so I thought.

As I was talking to my mom, my twelve year old daughter, Dierdre, came running up to me with strong urgency telling me that our MacKenna had her hair caught in the AC unit outside. I ran outside with her, followed by a couple of other kids. Over my shoulder, I asked Dierdre to go grab my sewing scissors, and, while still on the phone with my mom, explaining that something bad was going on (I think I was too shocked to hang up), I made my way to the north side of our house, where our AC units sit on the ground. 

MacKenna was on top of the big unit, screaming and crying. I hung up with my mom, and was greeted by an unfamiliar young lady standing next to my daughter. Apparently, she had heard MacKenna's cries and screams, and had come through our side gate to help her. She had then knocked on our back door and let Dierdre know what was going on.

I tried to assess how to best help MacKenna. She was lying on top of the unit with her head laying flat against the cage surrounding the huge fan. The fan was stopped, but as I examined more closely, I could see that her hair had stopped the fan, as it was wound around it several times.

I poked the sewing scissors that Dierdre had brought to me through the cage around the fan, and slowly turned the fan to unwind her hair. The sweet young lady that was MacKenna's hero held up MacKenna's body to help ease the pressure on her head. Finally, we got her hair unwound, and were able to release her and put her back on the ground. 

Her hair looked burned in some places, and she said that she felt like her head was burned. On closer examination, we found that she had some hairs that were now hanging down below her regular hair length. Some clumps of hair had been pulled out.

OUCH.

MaKenna's savior excused herself, and I thanked her profusely, telling her that she was a true hero! (Luckily, my girls know our hero by name, and so I'm planning to do something special for her in gratitude.) I took my poor girl in the house to examine her better, and see what we could do to help make her more comfortable. 

MacKenna was very upset, sobbing her heart out, and I was trying to calm her, while not panicking, myself.

As I carefully brushed her hair, more clumps came out, and I found where her hair had come out at the roots. She has a little bald spot that-- thankfully-- is easily covered by her other hair. However, her hair was damaged and broken above her shoulders, and so I knew she would need a haircut. 

This is just some of the clumps of hair that came out.
This funny girl smiled for the pictures!

The new bald patch

I also knew that she would need to give her hair a real rest, in order to prompt her bald spot to grow back, and her head to heal. (There was NO damage to her scalp-- a real tender mercy!!!) So, a short haircut it was to be!

You can see how it's now thinner on the right side of her head.

Before the haircut, we wrapped her in a blanket, to keep her from getting shock, and I laid her on the couch to rest and calm down. The other little girls were so cute, bringing her toys, tucking the blanket around her, trying to make her more comfortable.

At one point, she said, "Mom, you know how you told me that the best way to calm down is to take deep breaths? I'm trying to calm down."

So I helped her regulate her breathing, and she was able to relax considerably. 

At this point, my 18 year old son announced that my missionary had written us an email. (WHAT??? I had been told that P-day was supposed to be tomorrow!!! :-( Crud...)

So, while MacKenna rested, I tried to explain to my missionary why he had not received a letter. :-( (Sometimes we can catch each other online, and almost "chat".) I also gave a quick recap of the drama going on at home. (All this while dinner was still on the stove. I think my son had the clarity of mind to turn the burners down.)

Our missionary had to go, so I promised to send him a "DearElder.com" letter with more details of the craziness, and got back to finishing dinner.

Russell finally got home from work, and we had to tell the whole story to him. He immediately gave MacKenna a blessing of comfort, and she calmed down even more. (She had gotten upset again in the telling of the story. I can't blame her!!!) 

I am so VERY grateful for the Priesthood power that my husband worthily uses to bless our family. It makes even the most scary things become less traumatic. We ALL felt more peaceful after Russell's sweet blessing!

I called my mom back to let her know that MacKenna was okay, and we all sat down to eat dinner.

The Haircut

Her "Before" pose. (With a smile again!)

And "After"-- she looks so grown up!

Life Lessons

All of these "trials and tribulations" have got me thinking. My daughter was just walking by the AC units, enjoying the breeze produced by them blowing in her hair. One second, she was having a quiet, serene moment alone, and the next she was terrified and in pain.

She had not been doing anything she shouldn't be doing, really. But she was close to danger, and had no idea of what was about to happen in an instant of being too close.

Don't these things happen to us all the same way? And sometimes by our own faulty judgment? One inch too close to danger, and we can be devastated by the results.

But even when we have blindly and unintentionally strayed too close to the danger zone, God sends us heroes, and help, and love, and comfort. Our Heavenly Father NEVER leaves us alone.

If we permit ourselves to learn from these difficult times, and allow our hearts to be humbled and changed, there are smiles and good things just around the corner.

Yes, He truly IS a God of miracles, large and small.

Love, Mama Rachel

Another Week in the Kingdom of Keppner

Peek-a-boo with Fiona

Dear Awesome Missionaries and Beloved Family,

As September ends, and October begins, all is well in the Keppner Castle. The kids are super excited for Halloween, and are planning their costumes as we speak. I'm glad they're starting early this year, just in case I need to sew something. Often, we put it off until the day of, and that is no bueno.

Last week was mostly uneventful, though busy, as usual.

Gavin and Bonny attend seminary every morning from 7:30 to about 8:30. The Seminary is getting better about telling me when the time needs to change, and I sooo appreciate it! It is so sweet of them to remember us oddball homeschoolers. ;-)

Bonny is still teaching ballet and now has rehearsals for the Nutcracker, Lliam is working (YAY!!!) in the afternoons and evenings, and everybody is doing pretty well in our homeschool.

Davy, feeling quite unhappy in his footie pajamas

Davy spends most of his time in footie pajamas, in an attempt to curb his nudist habits. :-p So, now his favorite thing is to try to take a bath in our garden tub, footie pj's and all. He is soggy a LOT. We have to keep our door locked to keep him out. But, oh, man, is he CUTE! :-D

Fiona is a talker and likes to makes lots of noise. Where she gets that from, I have no idea. HA! She gets cuter every day, and we are all so in love with her.

My English lit class went well this week. We discussed "Sir Gawain," had some lessons on chivalry and manners, and then had a little potluck party where everyone dressed up in costume or church clothes, and brought a finger food to share. It was really fun! We've got a good group of kids. There a tall 18 year old I may have to kick out if his attitude doesn't improve, but other than that, it's a great group! ;-)

Daddy and I are working on getting out of debt, and really trying to complete the Dave Ramsey babysteps this time. *sigh* I think every time we try it, we get a little closer, so that's good, even though we usually have to start at step one again and again. We hope we can set a better example for you kids!

We're still not sure what to do about our landlords wanting to sell the house in January. It really IS my dream house, and I don't want to leave! We're just trying to follow the Spirit, and are talking and praying a lot about what we should do. Daddy also works at his dream job, but he really is not getting paid what he is worth, so that's hard. Whatever we do, we will do with prayer and pondering, and time in the temple, so don't worry about us. But extra prayer warriors are always welcome! ;-)

Sir Toby Hopkins, the toad

In other news, we got lots of heavy rain on Saturday, and the kids found a TOAD in one of the window wells! In true Brennan fashion, the kids have adopted him, and he now lives in the aquarium. Dierdre, who caught him and takes care of him, named him "Sir Toby." Ah, I love how Shakespeare sneaks into our lives again and again! :-D

Saturday night's women's broadcast was AWESOME!!! I bawled all throughout Elder Uchtdorf's talk, and was tickled to hear one of the ladies in the YW presidency speak from the pulpit in a Southern accent! Wonderful talks and music-- and it was so special to have MacKenna, Dierdre, and Bonny there with me. I LOVE it!!!

Miss MacKenna and Fiona

There is a wonderful article in the October Ensign that talks about how to have more effective prayers. I tried it this morning, and am feeling much more peace than I have in a while. PRAYER WORKS!!! It seems like it gets harder as I get older, which I guess is part of the test of life. I love Heavenly Father so much, and I know that He wants me to be more diligent in calling on Him, so I'm trying to do better. :-)

Oh! I got a new calling! I got released from Activity Day (after serving as a leader over many years, at 4 times in different wards)-- can you believe it??? And now I have been called as... Ward Choir Director! :-D This will be my 3rd time in that calling. But I really do enjoy it! And I get to get started on CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!! Yahoo!!! Sister B-- is the choir pianist, so we're going to have LOTS of fun! We are meeting today to pick music. :-D ♪ ♫ ♪

Daddy spoke in church yesterday, and did a wonderful job sharing some stories about Grandpa and Grandma Pike and their conversion to the Church. And he bore a beautiful testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. He is such a good man, and I love him so much! You ought to ask him to send you a copy of a letter he read parts of. It was one Grandpa Pike had written to your Grandma Diana when she was a girl. It's really great.

Well, I have babbled on long enough. We love you and miss you!!!

I know that the Church is true, that Jesus loves us, and that we will be happy if we choose the right!!! You all continue to be in our hearts and prayers. :-)

Love, Mama Rachel

September Rolls On...

Happy Fiona

Dear Fantastic Missionaries (and family!),

Life is busy, busy, BUSY, as always. It's always funny to review each week, because after getting through it all, it somehow becomes a big mish-mash of "What the heck did we do this week???"

I will try to remember everything that went on, just for y'all! ;-)

On Tuesday we did some science for homeschool (We still take Mondays off for cleaning and Sunday recovery.), and just stayed home learning and making messes all day. It was nice! :-)

Twinners MacKenna and Grayse

Daddy's car is out of commission, due to an expensive hybrid battery that we have to replace. ($2500 for a BATTERY. Yikes.) So he has been driving the van to work, and it's been a pain to not be able to go where I need to go, but it's kind of nice, too. The biggest problem with all of that is driving Daddy back and forth to work if I need the van that day.

It's kind of funny when I think about how Daddy now works only 5 minutes (And within biking distance) from our OLD house, as opposed to 20 minutes away from our house here in Gilbert.

Ha-ha???

Davy-boy is getting so big!

Wednesday was busy with history for homeschool, and then Activity Day, 11yo scouts, and mutual. The big kids got to go to SKATELAND for a combined activity and had a great time! They loved telling everyone about how we used to live around the corner. :-) 

Handsome Gavin

Thursday ended up being crazy, partially because Bonny and Lliam worked for the H-- in Mesa again, and partially because I got wild hair and reorganized the laundry room, which has been really bugging me of late. With Bonny and Lliam gone working, and Gavin was hiding in his room downstairs, I moved a very LARGE cabinet from the garage to the laundry room BY MYSELF. (Applause, please!) I was very proud :-) and sweaty. :-p

Bonny and Lliam brought home a box full of treasures. They were given a Polaroid camera from the 1960's, some old shoes and handbags for costumes, and even an 8-track tape. They were in awe of it all! LOL!

Ronan is the Lego Man

Friday brought our homeschool classes here to the house, with the Biology kids here in the morning, and me teaching my English lit class in the afternoon. I am LOVING it! But I hope the kids are enjoying it. It's a bit more sedate than my usual Shakespeare classes, but I'm doing all I can to make it fun.

Next week we will be discussing "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," which is an epic poem from the Medieval times. The version we're studying was translated by Tolkien. Yeah, it pretty much ROCKS! :-D (Brennan, you would LOVE it!)

Avalon loves to SMILE!

Saturday was BUSY. Bonny and I went to her first meeting for the Nutcracker ballet, followed by grocery shopping at American Discount Foods, and then transporting the Bon-bon to ballet CLASS and home again. She was cast as a toy soldier in the fight scene, and she is ECSTATIC! :) 

Ballerina Bon

Later that night, she also babysat for the W---. She came home exhausted! Between working for the H--- and babysitting like crazy, she has almost earned her payment for Europe this month. We are so proud of how responsible she is. What a girl!

Dierdre also was babysitting on Saturday. She's been babysitting a lot lately, too. She was set apart as the Beehive class secretary yesterday. She is such a sweetheart!

Dierdre, head of the breakfast team, making breakfast.

Sunday we had awesome meetings, and S--- sang while her mom played the violin. It was beautiful! Lliam came for the second and third hours, but then left and spent the day at a friend's house. He didn't get home until just before 11pm, and then he and I had a long, good heart to heart.

Wow, I LOVE that young man! He is struggling with some things, but he is still a wonderful son, and our relationship has never been better. I know the Lord is really working in his life. 

Lliam entertaining our Fiona

Well, I have oatmeal to scrape off the kitchen floor, and a fussy baby to feed, before I gather my cleaning crew to work on the kitchen.

Lovely Eryn

We all love and miss our sweet missionaries! THANK YOU for dedicating this time in your life to the Lord. I know that it is blessing us, you, and so many others.

With so much love,

Mom (a.k.a. Queen Mother of the Universe)