Oh Dear!

Oh my, after spending an hour getting caught up on the blog with an updated post, it has completely disappeared!!!   Must trust the Lord and head to bed!   Will work on again later in the week, Lord willing!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

That's the song Dom and I sang and taught the kids on the ride to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.  We took them to their first "baseball game."  Although it was not MLB, they had a Great time!  The stadium in beautiful and so easy to get to.  It was "Educators Day" so we went with our homeschool group.  In the concession area they had lots of tables set up with things for the kids to see, do and learn.  And what made the day even better was that the Bulls won, 1-0, on a home run! 

Little Maria with her new friend

The boys with their new friend! 

Donatella at the Bug table

Dom and Dio seeing the ball park for the first time

Everyone with their activity/goody bags

Maria and Scooby

Maria and Smokey

Dom and Dio enjoying the day!

Psalm 126

God brought this Psalm to me twice yesterday.  I was in awe as He gave me Verse 5 (as I have had lots of tears of late) in the morning during my quiet time, then completely taken as He presented the complete Psalm to me and the children during our Tapestry time.   I know He is speaking to me, and I'm waiting to hear as I meditate on this Psalm this week.  Thank you God for your timing...it's always perfect. 

Psalm 126 (KJV)

1 When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

4 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
5They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

A visitor

Last week Donatella and I went outside in the early evening to enjoy sitting and talking on the front porch while we waited for daddy and the boys to return from karate.  We discovered this giant "thing" on the house.  It was way down under the window close to the cement flooring of the porch.  I had no idea what it was, and whatever it was I knew I had not seen it before.  So we googled "giant green moth" and sure enough an exact photo came up of what we saw!  It is a luna moth.  It flys at night, although this luna moth stayed for a couple of days.  Upon further examination it appears that part of the wing was damaged, as there are supposed to be two long slender parts coming down, and in the photo we only see one.  It was very interesting and then one day it was gone.  We determined it was a male (due to the bushy antennae) and wondered if he had gone off to find his mate.  They lay their eggs under black walnut leaves, and then eventually caterpillars emerge.  The cycle of life!

Trip to Vollmer Farms

Here are some fun pictures from our annual strawberry picking trip.  The weather was beautiful and the strawberries were ripe for picking.  We also enjoyed some time playing, and eating ice cream, and bought some delicious local honey - yummmmmmmy in my Kefir!

Dio taking a break

We picked 5 buckets of strawberries..

...brought them all home...

...washed them and shared them with our friends.

We stopped and played

and played

and played!

Maria loved the little helicopter with real moving wing flaps!

Dom spotting his little sister and brother (above and below)

Dom practicing riding on a tractor, hopefully like the one he'll be riding when / if we move to our new home with lots of grass! 

Playing checkers...

and eating ice cream...

with your family...what could be more fun! 

I had a great day with my children!  Love you all, Mommy :)

Mother's Day 2011

This Mother's Day was a very special day. I was greeted with cards and gifts in the morning - a beautiful crystal bird, an Eastern Bluebird magnet, and a beautiful bracelet. After church Dom and the kids planted our garden for us, and while they did that I updated all the potted plants in the front. I like to remember all my flowers by posting the photos below. It was very relaxing. Then I thought we were all going to the boys' afternoon ice hockey practice, but they surprised me and said they "wanted to put my interests first" so they decided not to go to ice hockey but to take me out to dinner instead. That was a HUGE surprise (if you know the past 8 Mother's days in my home, you know why :)). We went to Sitti - a Lebanese restaurant in downtown Raleigh. Lots of vegan and gluten free selections - delicious menu and very nice ambiance. Thank you Dom, Dominic, Dio, Donatella and Maria for truly a very special day.

Lots of garden goodies this year - bell peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, early girl tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, chili peppers, Japanese eggplant, spaghetti squash, and of course my favorite herbs - parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary and lemon thyme.

My lucious oregano still flourishing from last year!  We cut it back quite a bit and relocated it to the front of the box for easier picking.

 I replanted our rosemary and lemon thyme in my bird feeder planter box.  However a very aggressive squirrel is springboarding off the plants to get up to the very top feeder!  Need to get that special bird seed my mom told me about - Red Hot, I think.

Here are our new flowers to welcome our family and friends. 

It isn't Mother's Day without a Geranium - as a little girl I remember bringing home a Geranium from school for my mom every Mother's Day!  It's fragrance alone brings back a lot of memories.

More flowers on my front porch.

and more

Donatella picked out this wonderful purpley show!

My pot of Impatients

And this by far is a family favorite - just so special, in my little "corner" around the side porch, where I can sneak away for some quiet time now and then.

What an abundant array of beautiful flowers our God has created - it is amazing!

Happy Birthday Grandma Sarah!

We had a nice time celebrating my mom's birthday this year at a cozy authentic Italian Restaurant in Durham.  Uncle Michael (my brother) even drove in from Atlanta.  Happy Birthday Mom!

Revival

Last week I took the girls and my mom to a "Celtic Revival."  I thought I was going to simply a Christian Celtic concert hosted by a wonderful homeschooling family...I must have missed the word "revival" or just did not realize what it was.  (I must talk to my friend P about this :))    Suffice to say that after I was enlightened, which was too late, I was very intrigued and disappointed that I was not "prepared" for the message that was delivered.  This was the first time I have ever been to a revival and I must say I'd like to learn/do more...need to pray about this.  This is a link to the Sky family that performed for over 2 hours  http://www.theskys.org/.  They are from Price Edward Island.

At the mom heart conference I attended recently Sally Clarkson mentioned several times that she listens to Celtic music, and I started listening to Christian Celtic on line at night when I'm planning for school - it is really nice and relaxing.  And I never knew that the first "C" is prounouced like a "K". 

Bye to Grandma

A few weeks ago my sweet grandma Jean, 97, went to be with Jesus.  I just wasn't expecting it, but I am rejoicing that she is with our Savior.  We made a trip to NY and it was wonderful to be with family and celebrate her life.  At any age, there are special relationships between people, and a sadness when they are gone.  Yet I will continue to laugh and smile as I remember all the wonderful memories I have with her - all 44 years of them!  My cousin put together such a wonderful tribute to her on DVD, and it is beautiful to see her throughout the many seasons of her life. 

Thank you, Grandma, for being such a special lady.  I love you.

Brown Belt

A few weeks ago little Dom was promoted to Brown Belt in Karate....we are very proud of him and what this represents both inside and outside the dojo.  Congratulations Dominic!

Happy Month of May!

It has been a busy month here with prepariing the house to put up for sale, and looking for a new home.  Our house has now been on the market for over 3 weeks.   Activity is picking up and we're just waiting for the right buyer.  We have found a home we would like to move to, and made a contingent offer, which is accepted and in contract.  Please keep us in your prayers as we wait for God to move.

In the meantime, we continue with school, happy days, and Easter has come and gone so quickly!  This next month is very busy for us with a field trip to Vollmer Farms, the Lighthouse Spelling Bee - for Dominic, Dio AND Donatella who has started reading - a Durham Bulls game, Field Day, and of course Mothers Day! :)

Posted below are some photos of what we've been up too!

Dom and DT listening to our guide at Prairie Ridge

Dom, Maria, Andy and Ellie at Prairie Ridge

Patty and DT with Guide

Rough Skinned Snake found in our front yard!  Very exciting!

Our home listed For Sale!

Maria trying out street hockey

DT :)

Silly kids!

Dom and Dio making pancakes for breakfast

DT showing us all the ingredients

The taste-tester says they're YUMMY!

Maria with little lamb outside church on Easter Sunday

Family photos on Easter Sunday