and the bday continues

em as the
snow princess













the jedi
princess

































woodland fairy



















with her sunflowers
from daddy

four years and counting

mad's first
day












two weeks
later










one











mad's first
flower from
daddy











two













visiting
great gram












three













halloween


















four



















em, mad,
kate and meg
at the party










can't decide if mad
is hugging kate and
thanking her for the
gifts or trying to
strangle her for
touching the gifts









ebony and ivory
beauty queens

















waiting to
blow out her
candles

I pray the Lord will hold you close and keep you through the night
That you will wake up smiling in the early morning light
That He will always comfort you and make you brave and strong
I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long

I pray that you will grow up to be wise and good and true
I pray that you will please the Lord in everything you do
I pray that you will hear His voice and learn to sing His song
I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long

I pray the Lord will bless you with His presence every day
I pray he will protect you every step along the way
Help you love what's right and lead you far away from wrong
I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long

I pray that you will follow Him
I pray that you will follow Him
I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long

twila paris

blessed be the name

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

matt redman

conversations and one unhappy incident

first for the cute conversation we had the other night with mad.

she wanted a movie night. we told her, "no."
later that evening, she wanders downstairs and said, "God made movie nights to make people happy."
we told her , "no" again.
to which she replied, "you are making God sad."
"go to bed"

now for the not so cute incident involving em: on thursday we went to visit a friend who broke her leg. while driving home i told em, "head straight up stairs and start your history class. it's getting late."
she replied, "no"
not a wise response in our house. so i ammended my instruction to, "go straight to your room and after we're through talking you'll finish school."
she didn't say a word and went straight upstairs when we got home. but before she went upstairs, she locked the door between the house and the garage. did i mention mad and i went to get the mail? did i mention i didn't have my house key? after knocking and ringing the bell for several minutes, i walked to the back door and started pounding. she came running down the stairs laughing. she opened the door and was sent right back up stairs. later i walked past the front door and noticed she blocked it with the piano bench.
to say the least, em has had a very un-fun weekend.

to cousin k

em and mad want to know why you don't like to finger paint.
they would be happy to teach you someday. maybe the next time we visit we'll bring paint!
they think your mom needs at least one messy child.

(mad's exact words were:
"she don't like to finger paint! why?!?!!!!")

hopi indian village

the hopi indians
would dig a trench
from a main water
source to their
village.










this is our
hopi village













here comes
the water













mad watching
our village take
shape








both girls enjoying
the heritage
studies experiment

monster messes

reading class














mad's school
















em and "choco"
working their spanish













i love our old
oak table.















art class


















body art
















sharing art












i love our
oak chairs too.

if you're wondering,
the girls used the floor
as their canvas as well.









em being hosed
down













bubble face


















i advised the girls they
could have one glass
of water in the sand box
and one glass of ice. - no more
i did not specify that they
couldn't use the hose.
three inches of h2o later...












obeying the law,
but not the
spirit of the law...
















these messes occurred on monday and tuesday. today's mess was minimal. barbie and polly pocket were scalped, but a pile of blonde hair hardly compares to most days...

labor day

em climbing
the spider web













mad at the top
of the spider web

















in case you're wondering
how tall the spider web is














hiking down to
the river











n- with his girls














em and i fell in
the mud

weekend fun

grandpa, grandma t, and bear's family visited us over the holiday. hannah bear worked hard to keep up with her cousins.







mad sitting in a big
kid car seat
















em and mad helping
bear bowl































the bowling ball
nearly toppled mad
a couple of times






















em won!
















bear had more fun
playing with the
ball ramp than bowling












mad burning rubber
on her "new" bike




















em on her new bike































toothless t
she's covering up
the hole

thanks

thanks camera man and peridot rose for the beach pictures!