365 Project: Week 12

3.25.13
Evelyn's current favorite busy work while the big kids do school is using scissors to cut paper. It makes her very happy and keeps her busy for long periods of time. Of course, the house looks like a tornado has ripped through a paper mill and spit out everything in my living room, but hey, she's busy, quiet, and not watching Netflix on my phone. What more could I ask for?





3.24.13
Officially the most boring 365 pic yet. A pebbled sidewalk.




3.23.13
Our black panther has some war wounds after this long winter. I'm not sure what happened, but perhaps the squirrel out by the barn could tell the tale. If there was anything left of him besides a fluffy tail.





3.22.13
There's nothing better than an empty room to skate in to beat the winter (and sicky) blues! However, switching rooms on a Friday afternoon is not my best idea.





3.21.13
Just chillin' in the snow, trying not to compare the 20 inches of snow on the ground on the first full day of spring to last year's playing in the water at the lake on the first day of spring!





3.20.13
This girl.





3.19.13

Being the only kid not sick has some benefits! Emmy got to walk to Grandma's and spend some quality one-on-one time with her.

365 Project: Week 11

3.18.13
My airplane enthusiast cowboy.





3.17.13
"Horsey book, Daddy!"





3.16.13
"The Purple Lady"





3.15.13
Still winter...





3.14.13
We got a special package in the mail from Aunty Raini and had to have an impromptu tea party with the special goodies!





3.13.13
The sentinel at the top of the castle tower, just before Joshua demolished the castle to build an aircraft carrier in its place.




3.12.13

Helping Momma make pancakes.

Epic

They worked on it every night for months.

Hours and hours of father and son sifting through thousands of tiny pieces, finding just the right one for just the right fit. Concepts and ideas flew as they built.

Plans were sketched for additions, hidden doorways stashed behind vines growing up the side, horses were placed carefully in their stalls.

Before they were even close to being finished, battles were fought between the Lion Knights and the Dragon Knights, a working trebuchet was constructed, then a seige tower.

Armies lined up in front of the moat with kings perched on thrones to watch.

It was epic.

A full size sheet of plywood sat on barrels in his room, with walking room all the way around so he could build on every side of it.

And it stayed there for about a year.

"Joshua, did you know the Bible talks about Lion Knights and Dragon Knights?"

His eyes grew big.

"In Revelation the Bible calls Jesus the Lion - 'Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered...' and calls Satan the Dragon? - 'Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended." (Rev. 5:5, 20:1)

So their minds were sparked with the study of history and nations, medieval battlefields and spiritual battles.

I couldn't help but feel nostalgic as the castle began to be surrounded with scattered lego pieces and airplanes lined a small path snaking across the floor of his room from doorway to bed.

It was time.

Time marches on, doesn't it?

The Castle came down today, demolished to make room for an epic aircraft carrier and a flying field. 

But at least we're still in the LEGO phase. I just hope it lasts a little while longer. 

There will be real battles to fight, son, soon enough.

Project 365: Week 10

3.11.13
A dreary, rainy Monday. Perfect for an afternoon of playing "Birds" and daydreaming of summer days when playing cowboys all day in the barn from morning till dark is a reality.




3.10.13
Silent Storyteller.





3.9.13
On Saturday night Emmy and Elayna went with me to watch the GLAA Aerokhanas perform. They couldn't sit still in their seats, bouncing, laughing, clapping and....climbing the outside of the bleachers (Elayna) trying to be like the gymnasts. It was a lot of fun! Especially when they each were lifted up high like one of the team.






3.8.13
How he studies.




3.7.13
"Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."  Is. 40:26





3.6.13
Ahhhhhh.......coffee.




3.5.13 - 
Meanwhile, back in MI...

it's still winter.

365 Project: Week 9

3.4.13
Last morning in the hotel. She had snuggled up by Daddy after playing contortionist for the past few nights. This happens to be the only picture I took all day, but I wouldn't change a thing. Sometimes this is just going to be about capturing the fleeting moments before they're lost.




3.3.13
Looking out over some of the modern aircraft from the balcony behind the Missile Silo.




3.2.13
There it is! The entrance to the enormous National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The size of the airplanes housed inside the hangars is overwhelming. Covering everything from early flight to modern military aircraft, including a 140 ft. tall "silo" that houses full size missiles used to maintain peace during the Cold War, it's impossible to see everything in one day. Evelyn thought she'd seen it all in the first half hour. Joshua could have spent at least a week exploring it and rereading every bit of information available.




3.1.13
Colby has never really enjoyed swimming or being in the water. But every single night at the hotel he was in the water with his kids! They had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it. And truth be told, I think we made far more progress in swimming skills during that time than in a year of lessons at the pool.




2.28.13


"Out came the children running, all the little boys and girls, with rosy cheeks and flaxen curls..." ~Robert Browning.





2.27.13

I really have no explanation for this. I went outside to grab some pictures of Joshua and Emmy playing Cowboys and came in to find this little monster sitting on the table using the lampshade as a hat. What'cha going to do but...take more pictures, of course!

**Favorite Things: I tried to convert these to black and white and stuff them into the "right" 365 format that I've done for the last 2 months. But these just wouldn't go, they refused to cooperate, and eventually won the argument. So here they are, in full color, my little time capsule for February 26, 2013.

2.26.13
Favorite Things | Evelyn ~ {almost 30 mo.}



2.26.13
Favorite Things | Elayna ~ {5 years 9 mo.}




2.26.13
Favorite Things | Emmy ~ {age 7}



2.26.13

Favorite Things | Joshua ~ { age 9}