Joseph – All That is Gold

Christmas Day

Friday, December 30, 2016 by Sarah Leave a Comment

Christmas suspense was building. This little watcher kept a tree-side vigil patiently:

Well, mostly patiently.

We enjoyed Christmas music from family musicians old:

and new:

One of the best parts of the day was a father-son Jingle Bells duet. Alexander has been taking clarinet lessons for about three months.

Keeping time:

Little brothers-my favorite.

Daniel and Dominic sweethearts. Joseph is not amused.

Grandparents visited:

Dominic and Claire love to play ‘puppysitting’

Landon won the originality award for wrapping presents for himself:

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Bake!

Wednesday, December 28, 2016 by Sarah Leave a Comment

When the last test of finals week is taken, and I find extra time on my hands for the first time in months, there’s only one thing to do: bake! Long class days are always conductive to formulating long lists of recipes I’d like to try, and when I go on break there are plenty of helpers ready to assist. Waiting for the cookies to cool and a block of time to frost them was a major test of patience for the youngest ones, but we were able to manage the entire process with no melt downs. Alexander is growing into the role of family helper, and guiding the youngest hands in creating small white faces. Daniel and Dominic worked hard to decorate carefully, as picturesque cookies were promised a place on the blog. Sweet memories!

Black Hills Preview

Monday, October 17, 2016 by Sarah 2 Comments

A friend’s wedding took the family to the west side of the state in late September. The beautiful fall scenery in the rolling hills and jagged rock formations brought a wonderful rest from schoolwork, as we fit our entire trip between my weekday school schedule. (Thanks, Dad, for driving till four in the morning to get me home for Monday classes!) We brought home a multitude of pictures, and here are a few teaser pictures until I have time to sort them all.

Benjamin in the Badlands.

At last, it all makes sense; Joseph is a wild hoofed animal at heart. His first instinct when he saw the pronghorn antlers on the kids table at Wind Cave:

Almost all the family-Landon stayed home to take care of schoolwork, and Maria is the photographer. This is at Wind Cave national park.

Fair!

Sunday, August 21, 2016 by Sarah Leave a Comment

The last day of the fair was marked by steamy, 95 degree temperatures, but Maria, Johnathan and I were invited to spend the day with some friends. In an amazing show of bravery, Mom faced the heat and ventured out with the younger kids as well.

There were rides:

An lots of animals, including my Mom’s dream pet, miniature horses:

“Quack, Quack!”

But after all the sights had been seen, everyone was very, very worn out. The heat was sweltering, and it was hard for the little ones to stand in the sun for long. Cheeks all around were flushing, and Alexander went completely red.

But not too overheated for silliness, as soon as the camera’s presence was known:

Benjamin was much to interested in playing with straws in the slushy cup to notice the heat.

So many flushing faces called for rehabilitation by the ice cream method. A stop to the homemade ice cream booth did not disappoint, though in the heat we quickly were slurping milkshakes.

And then it was time to go home.

August

Sunday, August 14, 2016 by Sarah 1 Comment

The sun’s bedtime is retreating rapidly. Cicada symphonies perform in the dusky evenings, and every once in a while I spot a tree with bronzing tips. Still, August managed to catch me by surprise. (Although I’m not sure it feels like it is time for any month-except perhaps March and April.)

My desk and all my schoolbooks are now arranged, and I’ve started reviewing last year’s notes. The darker evenings are perfect for studies along with a cup of tea. For much of the summer I have been hoping the break would not end too soon, but now I am impatient to get started. Just this one last year stands between me and graduation, and I’m excited to get my footing in the nursing field.

The weather is beautiful, and some of the younger brothers and I have been taking advantage of it by moving story time outside. Joseph has discovered the magic of Edith Nesbit’s Five Children and It series, and Daniel loves Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. Cooler evenings put me in a baking mood, so they have also been helping me taste test several new recipes. So far, carrot muffins have been the favorite.

Joseph and Bandit

Saturday, August 2, 2014 by Sarah 2 Comments

Bandit is the first of several rabbits that we acquired lately. I and several other people in my family have severe allergies to cats and dogs, so pets so far have been pretty much limited to things with feathers. We found out, though, that rabbits do not cause a reaction, so now we are able to have a furry animal sit on our laps. Bandit is friendly, and likes to have his head rubbed a lot. All the boys like him, but Joseph, always the one who takes time for the animals, is extra fond of him. Here he is taking Bandit outside for some time to run around:

Brothers

Tuesday, July 22, 2014 by Sarah 2 Comments

Growing up fast:

Odds and Ends

Monday, July 14, 2014 by Sarah 6 Comments

Hello, everyone! Monday I had my wisdom teeth taken out, and the surgery went really well, but recuperation has felt really slow. I’ve been existing on a pretty much liquid diet, and I’m only just beginning to get back to regular foods. I’ve had enough milkshakes and pudding to last me a year! Also, everyone around the house can’t wait for me to talk better again.

All that sitting around has had me searching for things to do. I went through some recent photographs and found ones from several events from the last couple months:

Alexander and his friend from my ballet class’ recital dance at the end of May. They danced to ‘Danse Macabre’.

May and June brings a bunch of birthdays: Claire’s first:

Daniel’s fifth:

Alexander’s tenth,

Dominic’s third,

and Joseph’s eighth.

Joseph also got to receive his First Holy Communion

Probably the first photo of our entire family together (including Claire):

Racing in Rollerblades is NOT a Good Idea

Saturday, August 3, 2013 by Sarah 5 Comments

Joseph now sports a brace around his broken wrist!

New Chickens!

Friday, April 12, 2013 by Sarah 1 Comment

The baby chickens sure are getting a lot of attention around here! They are so cute though, so who could resist picking them up and petting their silky soft down. There are four of them, and they’ll be beauties when they grow up!

This is what they’ll look like when they are big:

A barred rock:

A speckled sussex:

A gold laced wyandotte:

A columbian wyandotte:

Chickens1

We’re working on naming them, since so far only the gold laced has been named (Victoria). Chickens have ended up being a really fun and rewarding project, so everyone is excited about the new additions.

Halloween

Monday, November 12, 2012 by Sarah Leave a Comment

Dominic thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of Halloween. Even though he didn’t get to go outside, he was kept busy watching out the window for the trick or treaters. When the approached the door, he would run to greet them as fast as he could.

Maria in costume:

Alexander, Legolas from Lord of the Rings. (complete with pointy ears)

Johnathan, a righwraith from Lord of the Rings:

“Arrrrggh!”

Daniel as Gimli the dwarf from Lord of the Rings. Somewhere he misplaced his beard.

Before we went from house to house, I reminded the boys to say ‘thank you’ after they received some candy. from that point on, every time someone put candy in Daniel’s bucket, he said, “Thank you!” then immediately called to where I was standing on the sidewalk, ” “Pumpkin, (his nickname for me) I said thank you!” That made a lot of people laugh.

The boys’ pumpkins: