Our family, along with our church family, is working on memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism along with Scripture passages.  It is precious and sweet to me to see my young children recite truth from God’s Word and from the WSC.  Here are a few samples.  There will probably be more in the future, I hope.

Tim was eventually able to loosen the nuts on the flat tire by brute force, a strong will, and yes, ultimately, the grace of God.  Actually after finally managing to work four of the five nuts loose and working to no avail on the fifth,  a sense of frustration and hopelessness began to show on his face.  At this point, I told Connor and Lucy, who were active observers in this whole process, to pray that the Lord would help Daddy get the last nut off the tire.  (I had been praying silently pretty much since the flat.)  They happily and obediently walked a few feet away and prayed for Daddy.  Within three minutes, that last stubborn nut was loosened and the spare was put on.  Praise the Lord!  We now have four new tires, (which we needed anyway) on the swagger wagon.

On our way from homeschool co-op, I managed to drive over a giant bolt, which caused an almost immediate flattening of my tire.  We are thankful that the children and I made it home safely.  But now the tire is completely flat, and Tim is diligently trying to remove it and replace it with the spare.   Unfortunately,  he has been unable to loosen the nuts to remove the tire.  So we’re in a state of limbo.  I’m praying that we can get the spare on, so we can get to the tire shop.  And it looks like it’s going to rain.  As discombobulated as I currently feel, I know that these sorts of interruptions are actually part of God’s good plan for my life.  Lord, help me have the grace to accept these disturbances with calm.

See the bolt?

He was smiling when he started. And no, he is not intentionally making a rude hand gesture 🙂

Yesterday, I was blessed to have two little helpers in the kitchen.  Ty was up before everyone else in the morning, so he helped me whisk the eggs.  Lucy helped me later by washing the dishes.  Sometimes many hands do not make light work, especially when they are little hands, but it’s fun to allow these little helpers to learn alongside me, if I will just relax and enjoy the moment.  This time I did (thank you, Lord!).

Tyler was quite proud of his efforts.

Homemaker in training

Yes, she’s at it again.  Connor “earned” some time on my computer to play games, and Lucy followed him into the office to watch him play.  Five minutes in and this is what I found (Notice that the situation had no effect on my son’s focus.):

Maybe we need to put her to bed earlier?

Sweet little sleeper

Roses from my sweet neighbor Robin

Last Sunday, in addition to celebrating another “day of rest and gladness” in worship at church, our family also celebrated Mother’s Day.  I slept in until 7:30AM (this really is late for me) and took a relaxed shower without having to tend to anyone else’s needs.  My hubby, along with the children, prepared homemade french toast and coffee and brought it to me in bed.  I sat alone in bed with my delicious breakfast and read quietly, while my husband fed the children and cleaned up the kitchen.  It was wonderful!  On top of all this luxury, I also received a lovely card written by Timothy and signed by my children.  Inside the card was a gift certificate to my favorite spa in town.  Hurray!  And (yes, it gets even better) my love also gave me something to help me in days of domesticity–a shock-absorbent mat to put on the floor in front of the sink.

This year I really had no expectations about Mother’s Day, although I sort of knew about the french toast because Tim went to the store Sat. night and returned home with a loaf of white, thick-sliced bread. haha!  But I was really blessed by the gift of thoughtfulness from my family.  It’s nice to feel appreciated, even when we know we’re working as unto the Lord and not to men.

Tim got me a hydrangea too! I'm going to try really hard not to kill it.

My new mat--I dragged Tim out of his office to take this picture, and yes, I did put the slippers on just because my feet are gross right now (too much flip-flop wearing and not enough exfoliation)

Connor faithfully enters each Lego contest that comes in his Lego magazine, and this month is no exception.  The theme this time around is “Sports.”  His creativity and ingenuity are really starting to come together.  This is his best attempt yet, I think.

Connor and his creation

Baseball game (Police vs. Bad Guys)

So a few days ago, while I was in the kitchen washing dishes one afternoon, Lucy decided to work some puzzles at the dining room table.  I guess she got a little fatigued with the effort.  🙂 When I called out to her and got no response, I went to check on her, and this is what I found:

Sleeping Beauty

She was almost finished too!

Last Friday, Connor played in his first piano recital.  I know for a fact that I was much more nervous than he was.  God really answered our prayers though, because it was a really positive experience for him.  He played his piece well and enjoyed listening to the other students.  His favorite part was probably the cupcakes and snacks that followed the recital.  It was a blessing for all of us that other members of our church family were involved in the recital too.  And as an added bonus, my dear friend Teresa brought her boys (our special friends) Mario, Leo, and Carlo to support Connor.  It was a great experience.  Here’s a video and some photos:

After the recital--not sure why he's making that face

Connor and church buddy JJ

Every year right at the beginning of May, our friends the Palmers let us come out to their private blueberry farm and pick blueberries.  Anyone who knows them is allowed to come out for u-pick, and we always have a great time.  This year, we went after supper and the weather was perfect.  The blueberries were/are delicious, and when we were finished picking, Leah Palmer made us some blueberry lemonade.  Yum!

Connor and Lucy were enthusiastic pickers

Tyler got some help from Daddy

A bird's nest in the middle of a blueberry bush

Connor showing off a "good one"

Sweet little Lu with her bucket of blueberries--she did much better than Little Sal

We picked 9 lbs.!