Olivia's birthday

Olivia turned fourteen years old this weekend.

We celebrated with a "blue velvet" ice cream cake (including cream cheese ice in between the layers of R2D2)

Lots of family and friends crammed in our little house. 

I love that my kids have two great-grandmothers living nearby who can be a part of our daily lives.

This birthday gathering included adventure when a two-year-old bolted the bathroom door and we had to pull her out through the locked window (a neighbor with experience to the rescue!)

We also circled round Olivia to thank God for her and to pray blessings over her.  I think that's my favorite part of any birthday celebration.

Our house was so full of joy and people and celebration that I didn't even get pictures of everybody who came to celebrate with us!

We are so grateful for the gift of Olivia and for the spunkiness and authenticity she brings to our home.

Shakespeare Summer

Shakespeare Summer is winding down.  With Vacation Bible School last week, a birthday party for Olivia on the weekend, and orchestra camp this week, we find our time to sit and savor the bard diminishing.  Some of the books for kids filling our basket this summer:

Tales from Shakespeare by Marcia Williams

More Tales from Shakespeare by Marcia Williams

Illustrated Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

Bard of Avon by Diane Stanley

A Midsummer Night's Dream retold by Bruce Coville

Romeo and Juliet retold by Bruce Coville

Macbeth retold by Bruce Coville

Hamlet retold by Bruce Coville

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit

Shakespeare:  His Work and HIs World by Michael Rosen and Robert Ingpen

Who's Who in Shakespeare by Wendy Nelson Cave

And a couple of resources that mama has enjoyed, too:

Verdi's Shakespeare:  Men of the Theater by Gary Wills

Starting with Shakespeare:  Successfully Introducing Shakespeare to Children by Pauline Nelson and Todd Daubert

Audible recordings:

Shakespeare's Biggest Hits retold by Bruce Coville

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit

Weekend Wonders (or is it Wanders?)

What set of values determines your schedule?

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above..."

(Colossians 3:1,2) 

You have only two choices:  an "on earth" way of thinking that is all about this right here, right now physical moment, or an "above" way of thinking that looks at life from the vantage point of the grand redemptive story.  ~Paul David Tripp

This weekend found us wandering over to East End Baptist Church to lend a helping hand with a missions conference they were hosting.

We sliced and diced food and stuffed bags for an upcoming missions trip. 

It's so nice to be able to on this side of the globe and be on the giving end!

We also had some friends wander on over to our house on Sunday afternoon.  These amazing ladies taught alongside us back in our orchestra teacher days, and they wanted to come by to celebrate Sarah's graduation from high school.  We always enjoy every minute we get to spend with the "Ellens".

I've found a good tool to help me track my wanderings when I go moving in the mornings.  Map My Walk is my new favorite app!  It fits me exactly where I am right now in my journey to being strong and healthy again.

Family Reunion, Part 2

Some of my siblings needed to leave on Monday afternoon, so we gathered around and took precious pictures to capture this moment.

My maternal grandmother spent the morning with us. 

Four generations of first born ladies.  I love that my kids have great-grandparents around and can build good relationships with them!

My grandmother has nineteen grandchildren, and six of them crowded around her for pictures at my parents' home.

Once again, we shared food, conversation, laughter, and games,

very aware that this slice of time was precious.

Tuesday we jumped into Independence day with both feet.

We don't take for granted being able to celebrate the Fourth of July in America.

I have great memories of attending Pops on the River as a child, and my kids wanted to be able to share the experience.

Being in the audience instead of on the stage still feels funny, even though it's been fifteen years since we earned our living as musicians. 

We got to hug our cello teacher's neck and be reminded that I began lessons with him thirty years ago.

We sang along with almost every piece the orchestra played (and apologized to the people in front of us that three cellists were sitting behind them - turns out they were music teachers!).  The Arkansas Symphony even played the entire 1812 Overture, complete with the gorgeous cello beginning.

On Wednesday, one more sibling left, and the last one pulled out early Thursday morning.

Making memories to tide us over until the next time...

On my bookshelf...

My goal this summer is to read three books each month - one each of non-fiction, fiction, and spiritual growth.  June's books were excellent!

Non-fiction:  The Stuff of Family Life:  How our Homes Reflect our Lives by Michelle Janning (found this one on the "New Release" section in our library and it fit my nerdy anthropology bent)

Fiction:  Still Life by Louise Penny (I finally succumbed to the Inspector Gamache craze)

Spiritual Growth:  God in my Everything:  How an Ancient Rhythm Helps Busy People Enjoy God by Ken Shigematsu (thanks to my friend, Ann, for the excellent book!)

Family Reunions, Part One

 It's been five years since all five of my siblings have been in almost the same place at almost the same time.  We are all over the map geographically - Solomon Islands to Maine to Houston to St. Paul - and our personalities are all over the map, too.

So it was no small feat to get this crew together.  Each member of the family stretched his or her resources of time, energy, and money to make this family reunion happen, and I'm so grateful.  Sunday afternoon, we attended one of Arkansas Shakespeare Theater's performances.

My paternal grandmother and cousin joined us after the play.

 It made my heart sing to watch twenty people whom I love all together at our little house.  

I think this may be one of my favorite things about coming back to America in between our times of serving in the Solomon Islands.

My grandmother surrounded by seven of her eight grandchildren.  Notice that I'm the short one of the bunch!

As always, lots of good food and lots of laughter bound us together.

As we anticipate launching our growing kids into more independence,

building relationships with their extended family members becomes more and more important to me.

Even if our gene pool is a little wild and crazy.