A Month In Review - March 2015

Shalom Friends & Family,

 

I am not sure what March was like for you but our whole month of March was wonderful!  I am not sure what the difference was from other months ... was it the warmer weather???  Was it because we could go on our bike rides again?:)  Or go on long walks without having to bundle up?  Those things have all been great, but I think it was probably the refreshing cool breezes and the new life that was popping up all around us!  After a long, cold "dead" winter, new life is amazing and so refreshing! March kept us really busy but not too busy to enjoy the beautiful creation around us.  Here are some pictures and videos.

 

March Brought ... Goodbyes.

 

We started out the first day of March by telling our dear friends Clinton and Sharon goodbye (they had been staying with us for a couple days).  Once they left, we had lots of people come out to pick up their puppies.  It was a very busy day!

 

Taking a walk with our friends the day before they left.

 

Oh, before I go on.  Samuel has recently started playing the guitar and he practiced this song to share with our friends while they were here.  Here is the video that Tommy got of it.

  

March Brought ... Bubble/Suds Fun!  

Hmmmm .... this is what happens when the two youngest are supposed to be doing dishes, but want to have fun instead:)  Haha, I remember when I use to do this ... many years ago:)  Get a straw, fill your sink up with hot water and a squirt of soap and start blowing!

 

On a different day ....

Oh, and by the way ... this does not happen everyday:)  They normally get their chores done quickly without playing, I do not know what got into them:)

March Brought ... More Snow!

 

We got more snow at the beginning of this month!   We children got to sled down our hill (you can go up to a mile until you stop) which was SO MUCH FUN!!!  The only "not so fun" part about it was climbing back up the hill, pulling our sled.  But ... Samuel found a solution for that!  GOLANI!!!  Each time someone went down the hill, they would call Golani after them and then once we got to the bottom, we hooked the sled to his leash and he pulled it up!



 Good boy Golani!

 

The only problem was when he decided to dash off into the woods or got tangled around a bush with the sled:)  But that was not too big a deal!

 

Twice, we children went for walks/slides down our hill.  It is kind of our tradition and they are a lot of fun.  One day Hannah decided to take her two Labs, Ruger and Remington (aka. Remi or ... Rim-rod!) with us.

 

Icicles are great when you are thirsty.

 

I am surprised that Lydia is standing.  The whole road was ice and we had to be very careful how we stepped.



 Hannah got these two videos ... I think the second is funnier than the first, but I am going to post them both.

 

 

March Brought ... A Birthday.

 

My sweet sister is growing up:( 

Dear Abigail had a birthday at this beginning of this month.

 

March Brought ... Purim.

 

Lydia painted this picture for Ima for Purim.  She has been painting a lot recently and has been doing some pretty amazing things.  She used her hand as a guide to make this tree.

 

Homemade Hamantashan (and chocolate cake with chocolate/peanut-butter icing).

 

Abba has several special things that he cooks for us every once in a GREAT while!  One is pizza - he makes the best homemade pizza.  One is omelets - he knows how to stuff omelets so full of delicious ingredients (of your choice), they are so good.  And another one of his specialties is ... burgers!  Abba knows how to make some really good burgers and since Purim is a special occasion, he made them for us and our friends the Cardens who came over to celebrate with us. 

 

Enjoying little children and puppies!

 

Lydia and her friends dressed up in different costumes ... they were so cute.

 

This little guy is a really good mandolin player (with Sam's help).  He had the strumming down so good, but his little fingers did not know how to change chords yet.  Give him time and I bet he will be a pro at it though!

 

Beautiful Little Ladies.

  

 March Brought ... Shining Stars Magazines!

We were very excited when the magazines arrived!

 

We quickly set to work with sealing, labeling and stamping them so that they could be sent out the following day.

  

  

  

  

 Signing the magazines that were going to our grandmothers:)  <3

 

Our dear Ima.  I really liked this picture, even if it was kind of blurry!

 

March Brought ... SPRING!!!

 

It is so wonderful to see the beautiful flowers bloom again!

 

 

 

Feeding the neighbor's donkeys.

 

Feeding another neighbor's horses!

 

 

 

 

 

One of Lydia's bunnies.

 One of Samuel's little friends.

 

Abigail and Tommy's "Duckers".

 

March Brought ... LOTS Of Puppies!

 

This month we had a lot of puppies that kept us extremely busy.  We had all four breeds (Labradors, Coton de Tulear, Beagliers and Cavachons) at the same time which was a lot of fun.  The puppies are so much fun and SO cute!  Here are a couple pictures from two of the litters we had.

 

A couple Beagliers from one of the litters.

Two of the Cavachons.

 

March Brought ... A Fun Trip To Town!

 

Haha ... this is what happens when you take a car to town instead of the truck and then realize that you are supposed to pick up a bunch of cedar chips and straw!

 

As the guy from the co-op was trying to load the straw in the back, he asked if one of us could ride on the roof:)  Thankfully he was able to make them fit.



 

March Brought ... Target Practicing At Our Range!

 

We do not get to go target practicing very often in our bottom field range, so we were all very excited when the rain stopped and our whole family was able to go down together one afternoon!

 

Samuel and I hanging targets.

 

Tommy hanging targets while the others get ready.



March Brought ... A Visit From Dear Friends!

We were so happy when our dear friends the Coons were able to come visit.  They live several hours away so we do not get to see them that often, but we always have such a wonderful time when we do get together.

 

For the first time in a long time, it was sunny and warm out, so we took advantage of it and went for a long walk.  

 

 

 

I love this picture!

 

 

 

A group picture, minus Ruthie.

 

When we got to the end of the dead end road, we just stood there talking for a long time.  No one wanted to walk back to the house and then go inside ... the weather was too pretty!

 

 

 

Okay, so this is what happens when you try and get a girl's picture:)  Mr. Jason is a living cartoon and will keep you laughing almost the entire time you are in his vicinity :)

 

Okay, this is better!

 

Haha ... this is a typical picture of what happens when you get my father and Mr. Jason together!

 

In case you are wondering, they do know how to be serious too. 

By the way, we tried to get a boys picture, but that did not work out:(

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holly plays piano beautifully and she played several pieces for us before they left.

 

Sweet friends!  We had such a wonderful time together.

March Brought ... Wiffle Ball Games!

If we had a field where we could safely play baseball, I'm sure we would, but with the place we live, we have to settle for wiffle balls and bats:)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love when the girls get pictures of the moon!

March Brought ... LOTS of MUD!!!

After the snow and ice melted, we got a lot of rain and our place was a complete mud pit!  It was so hard to walk around outside to take care of the dogs because you just sunk down into the mud and could hardly walk!  Most of the mud has dried up, but there is still some and the other day Lydia and I started making some mud people!

I told the others that this is what you do when you have mud instead of snow!  You know, the Bible says give thanks in all things, so this is a great way to have fun and give thanks for the trying mud:)

March Brought ... A Northeast Delivery Trip.

We had someone from New Jersey buy a puppy, so one Sunday Abba and Ima drove up there to deliver the puppy.  The following day they went into New York City and here are a few pictures form their time. 

Our wonderful parents on the Staten Island Ferry.

A peep of New York City.

The Statue of Liberty.

Passing another ferry.

I thought it was funny when I saw this picture on Abba's phone since he is a Windows/Galaxy guy, but I guess he got the picture for Tommy who is a Apple/I-phone man and Hannah who is half & half (she likes to work with Mac laptops but uses a Samsung phone)!

My grandparents stayed at The Waldorf-Astoria on their honeymoon. 

The New York Public Library.

Buildings ... buildings ... buildings. 

New York City is FULL of buildings!  But, do you know what this building is??? ...

... The New World Trade Center.

Wall Street - New York Stock Exchange.  

 Ima in Central Park.

And another picture of our lovely parents.  They're learning what the word "selfie" means!

March Brought ... Tickets To Israel!!!

Well, for three family members at least!  Abba, Hannah and Tommy are flying to Israel in May for three weeks.  Please be praying for their trip and also for us while we hold down the fort here.  While we are a little sad we cannot go along, we understand that the timing was not right for all of us and we are EXTREMELY excited for them to be able to visit the Holy Land once again.

 

 

Well, that is all for now.  I hope you all have enjoyed this post.  Shalom and Hag Pesach Sameach (Happy Passover)!

P.S.  The other day we were singing this song at praise and worship time and I just wanted to share it with you all.

A Month In Review: February 2015

Shalom Friends and Family!

 

I hope that this finds you all well.  As I looked over our pictures for the last month, I realized that most of them were taken when we had a huge ice and snow storm (well, I know it would not be considered "huge" for those of you in the northern states, but it was for us here in TN!).  I thought about sharing them here, but Hannah already shared most of them on another one of our blogs, so I did not particularly want to post them here as well!  I do have a few pictures that I wanted to share, and if you would like to see more, you can do so by CLICKING HERE. 



 

This picture was taken at our neighbor's house.

 

Besides living regular life, our family has been preparing for Purim!  Do you celebrate Purim or have you ever even heard of it?!?  If you read the book of Esther you can read all of the details regarding this festival, but in a "short" summary, when King Ahasuerus (also known as Xerxes I) was reigning in Persia (modern day Iran), he promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.

 

Haman hated the Jewish people and he plotted how to kill them and then he got the King's permission to make a decree to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions.

 

But this situation did not catch our Heavenly Father off guard ... doesn't it say in Psalm 121:4, "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."?!?!?  The Jewish/Israeli people are YHWH's chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6) and they will NEVER be destroyed.

 

Queen Esther was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin.  Until that time, her uncle, who had raised her as a girl, had commanded her to conceal her identity.  But when this situation arose, he asked her to go before the King to plead for their lives that they might be saved.  Esther replied to her uncle that it was forbidden for anyone to approach the King, unless the King summoned them.  Her uncle replied, "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"  Esther 4:13b-14.

 

Queen Esther listened to her uncle and she went before the King.  He held out his sceptre and she made a request for him and Haman to come to a banquet where she would make her petition.

 

As I write this, my heart has become so excited!  I have celebrated Purim my entire life and I feel as if it is a part of my life, it feels so real to me!  The story comes alive in my heart and mind!  As I sit here, I wonder if I should just stop my summary here and let you read the book to hear the ending!

 

I guess that I will say that Esther, by YHWH's wonderful plan, saved her people from Haman's evil plot, but I guess that you already knew that because the Jewish people are still alive today:)  Am Israel Chai!!!  Towards the end of the story, Mordecai and Esther sent out a counter-decree with the King's consent for all of the Jews to come together and fight back and destroy anyone who rose up against them (according to Haman's decree).  Afterwards there were three days of rest and feasting and Mordecai and Esther made another decree that each year, Purim should be celebrated as a day of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.

 

The book of Esther is a beautiful and exciting story, but it is a true and historical account and I cannot encourage you enough to read the book for yourself.  There are only 10 chapters in the book and it really does not take that much time to read the book (around half an hour if you just read it through).  Each year our family reads the book through with shouts of "BOOOOO" to drown out Haman's name, "YEAHHHH" for Mordecai and "AHHHHH" for Esther!

 

Do you think that it is a coincidence that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to the United States Congress on the 3rd of March (two days before Purim) to speak about the danger of Iran getting their hands on a nuclear bomb???  Remember that Iran is the modern day name for "Persia"!!  That's right ... the same Persia/Iran that said that they were going to annihilate all the Jews, thousands of years ago ... this is the same Persia/Iran that has said that when they get a nuclear bomb, they are going to annihilate Israel.  But just like in the days of Esther, they will not be able to do it.  Again, we say "Am Israel Chai" ... The People of Israel Live!!!



 

That is all for now.  I pray you all have a blessed March and a very Chag Purim Sameach (Happy Purim)!!!

 

P.S.  Have you all ever played a game called Fishbowl with your family or friends?  If you have not, I would highly recommend it!  We have out of town company visiting and this evening we decided to play Fishbowl.  When we were in Israel last year a friend taught us the game and it is SO much fun!  CLICK HERE for a link of how to play.  We played with a couple "house rules" though.  Instead of having 3 cards like the link said, we played with 5 cards each.  Also, on the link it said to write down 3 names ... we wrote down:

Card #1. Person's name or a title

Card #2. Place

Card #3. Thing

Card #4. Action

Card #5. Random

 

Get a group of people and enjoy an evening of laughter!  We laughed until it hurt ... Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones."