A Cord of Many Strands: February 2013

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A Fun Visit

Sunday afternoon we decided to go visit my family at Providence Prairie. We always enjoy visiting and seeing how much my siblings have grown.

Moriah naps in a clothes basket- she is almost too big for it now! :)

We got to see the progress they have made on the log cabin. A few of the logs were either missing or rotten on the cabin they disassembled and so new ones needed to be made. They are doing it authentically and have cut down the trees using a two-man crosscut saw and are shaping the logs with hand tools as well. It is amazing to see all the work that they have done.

Shaving down the log into a beam

The site for the cabin

Foundation stones are in place

A foundation log that was hewed by them

Some of the original logs

More originals

We also were really excited to be able to help them finish the the kitchen. It was so much fun to see the finished product come together. Dad is building new cabinets and they are the only thing left before it is complete. I'll have to post pictures when they are installed!

Priming the walls

Painting the ceiling

Painting the walls

Isn't it a pretty color? It matches one of the colors in Mom's Robinson Ransbottom Stoneware.

It was a brief visit, but it was a fun one!

Valentine's Day 2013

We thought we would share a few pictures from our Valentine's Day. Early in the day, Mommy had Justus make a Valentine's Day craft. We made a ladybug tic-tac-toe game. Justus had a lot of fun putting it all together!

Justus loves to wear hats of any sort!

Popping out the pieces

In the early afternoon, I was surprised by a delivery of three beautiful roses! I have a wonderful husband!

Aren't they lovely?

I made Ryan a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate cake for Valentine's Day. It had a chocolate fudge with chopped up peanut butter cups in between the layers, and then a chocolate fudge spread over the entire cake. After that it was iced with a peanut butter frosting and topped with more peanut butter cups. Mmmmmm!!!! So good and surprisingly not too rich!

Our gifts to one another

That evening we decided to go to the Trace Inn at Red Hill State Park for supper. It was yummy! Justus had a corn dog and as you can see, he really liked it!

What a yummy looking meal! Ryan got Fried Catfish and I got a Cheese Steak! Delicious!

We had a great day!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Singing

Justus loves music! He is starting to really sing the words to songs and is even carrying a tune! How exciting!

This Saturday, Ryan is giving a presentation called Dinosaurs and the Bible at West Union Christian Church. We are starting off the presentation with a song called- Could Behemoth Be a Dinosaur?

Justus is learning to sing it too!

It brought back wonderful memories as I sat him on top of the piano to sing along and learn the song. My mom would always sit us on top of the piano when we were learning a new song to sing. Justus seemed to enjoy it as well. He loves singing the part of the song that says- "a mighty sauropod!"

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Loving Learning

Justus loves to help with anything and everything and is always by Mommy or Daddy's side learning all about life. The other night we were making cornbread to go along with our beans we were having for supper. I of course set Justus up on the counter to help mix it up. We counted cups of ingredients and he helped me dump them in. I explained every step of the way. He is discovering new things and is learning to love learning!

Moriah is generally right there with us too! If she is not in the Moby Wrap, then she is on her play mat in the same room as us. Although she is still too little to understand what we are doing, she enjoys being there and seeing the activity going on. Soon enough she will be counting cups of flour and sugar right along with us.

I love my children! What a great job God gave us ladies- being a HelpMeet to our husbands and mothers to our children. Go love a little on your husband and spend some quality time with your kiddos!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Going for a Walk

When Daddy got home it was still warm outside, so we decided to put our new double jogging stroller to good use and take ourselves a little walk. It was good to get some fresh air and enjoy the warm weather all together as a family. Justus and Moriah enjoyed their ride- side by side!

Playing Outside

With the temperature being in the mid-60's yesterday, Justus, Moriah, and Mommy all went out onto the porch to play and soak in a little sunshine. It was almost hot sitting in the sun. What a blessing to be able to go outside and get a little Vitamin D in the middle of February!

Justus played with his horses, truck and trailer- and in the dirt that are in the flower pots on the porch. What fun! Moriah and Mommy sat on the porch swing and read So Much More by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin. If you have never read it before you should! It is a wonderful book written to daughters about their Biblical role in the family. It is still a good read for any married woman as well. Quite a challenging book!

We enjoyed our day spent in the sunshine!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Laughter

Proverbs 17:22 tells us- "Laughter is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." Laughter is good for you. Statistics show us that little kids laugh 400 times a day, while adults laugh as little as 4-11 times a day. What a big difference! There is even medical evidence that proves the Bible right. Laughing is likened to a form of physical exercise. It is like jogging on the inside. It lowers your blood pressure and heart rate, improves lung capacity, increases memory and alertness, reduces pain, and improves digestion. One doctor said that laughing 100-200 times a day is the cardiovascular equivalent of rowing for 10 minutes! Let's start laughing more. Laugh with your children, laugh at yourself. Laugh, laugh, and laugh some more!

On that note, we thought we would share with you a short video of the newest member of our family laughing. How contagious to hear a baby's laughter. Enjoy and laugh along!