How can it be?? Our G is 9!!!

This is a very belated post that I began 2 weeks ago!! Better late than never....
This Monday begins the B family birthday bonanza...we celebrate5 birthdays in the next month. These busy annual spring celebrations remind me of just how quickly the years are flying by!! Just yesterday at our homeschool coop we were watching a video of our children in a musical we will be repeating next month. It was taped 6 years ago and seeing my 2 big boys so little just made me weepy... seeing the children of my friends, some who are now married, made me even more melancholy. And it seems like just yesterday that we welcomed our sweet little girl to our bustling boy household. I will never forget the joy and wonder as we reveled in all the unique differences between G and her big brothers.
G is becoming a beautiful young lady and has grown much in the 2+ years since becoming Mercy's 'big' sister. It is such a comfort to know that all of the stretching and painful growing is part of God's perfect plan for her. She is becoming quite the little homemaker helping me in the kitchen and spending her spare time on knitting projects. I can take no credit for the knitting...she learned it from Mimi, Grandmom B, and Mrs. S at her coop knitting class. Maybe I'll actually learn to knit some day in my 'spare' time :)

Rejoicing today in the gift of our little girl,
Love,

G chose to make a variation of the "Duggar Family" ice cream cake recipe for her birthday cake...she put it together with minimal assistance...it was yummy!!! She also helped prepare the meatloaf for her birthday meal.

The Kach family and Miss BAA joined us for Easter dinner so we celebrated a bit then :)

On G's actual birthday, Mimi and Pop-Pop came over for dinner on their way home from visiting my brother and his family in Saratoga. Their visit definitely gave the kids something to look forward to...it was the dreaded dentist day and all 6 had afternoon appointments!

Part of G's birthday gift from Mimi and Pop-Pop was an overnight with cousin Lexie who shares and April birthday (but is a year older). They made these really cool bags out of jeans with Mimi. Inside the bag was a little denim organizer for all of their knitting needles and other crafting goodies. What a fun memory for them!

What are they doing???

A funny thing happens in our house every morning. Now that we are no longer spoiled by the toasty warmth of our wood burning stove, the race is on to the closest heating vent. Each morning there is a mad scramble to see who gets to sit their bottom near the warm metal vent cover... Fortunately, Mercy is always warm, C has a hard time rolling out of bed early, and P is already on the couch with the coveted favorite fleece blanket!

Somehow,Spider Man managed to claim this space all to himself! See the vent behind him?

It's a good thing these 2 have tiny bottoms...somehow they can both squeeze onto the vent!


There's never a dull moment around here :)

Happy Resurrection Day!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable. 1Peter1:1-3

The greatest day in history,

Death is beaten

You have rescued me

Sing it out, Jesus is alive

The empty cross,

The empty grave

Life eternal You have won the day

Shout it out Jesus is alive

He's alive

Oh happy day, happy day

You washed my sin away

Oh happy day, happy day

I'll never be the same

Forever I am changed

When I stand, in that place

Free at last, meeting face to face

I am Yours, Jesus You are mine

Endless joy, perfect peace

Earthly pain finally will cease

Celebrate Jesus is alive

He's alive

Oh what a glorious day

What a glorious way

That You have saved me

Oh what a glorious day

What a glorious name

Words from Happy Day

By Tim Hughes

Christ is risen, Christ is risen , indeed! While I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. What amazing grace,what a Savior!!

Praying that we will all live in the good of these truths every day...

Happy Easter!

Love,

Introducing Mercy's new look...

After much contemplation and discussion with my hubby and later Miss Britt, we took the plunge and decided to try adding yarn extensions to Mercy's hair. I had been hesitant to do something like this as we want Mercy to be comfortable with how the Lord made her natural hair and don't want her to feel like she needs long locs to be beautiful. Anyhow, after reading about these for a while, we realized that the hours of work to obtain this new 'do' just might payoff in easier day to day care and lots of fun for our little girl who has never had longer hair to play with. Typically, once a style is put in by Britt, it stays in for several weeks and can not be altered. With these yarn extensions, Mercy can change her hair style daily ( or as I learned today, multiple times daily!!)
So, Miss Britt faithfully researched this on her own and came ready, willing, and able to begin the process :) She arrived at 10am and left at 6pm ...they probably took a 15 minute break for lunch but she worked diligently on Mercy's hair for 8 hours!! She did an amazing job completing the back of her hair...now it was my turn to take over to do the front--GULP!!! I worked for 4 hours Friday evening and was somewhat discouraged at how my braids were turning out. My hubby wisely told us to call it quits at 11pm...wise man, I was so tired and ineffective, and Mercy needed a break too! I am not gifted when it comes to things like hair, sewing, knitting etc. So, I literally was crying out to God to get me out of this funk and to give me the ability to get the job done! He is faithful....after 4 more hours Saturday morning, Mercy's hair was completed. During the marathon braiding session yesterday she decided she would never want to do this again...She did remarkably well, sitting for so long ... we watched many videos...Anne of Green Gables and American Girl dvds were the favorites but she was ready to be done! Today after she saw the fruits of her patience, she was thrilled. Tonight before bed, she ran up to me, gave me the biggest hug and thanked me. I had to make a new rule though: Mercy is allowed one hair style per day~ She was rearranging her hair so much that the braids started to come undone---Yikes! I know the novelty will soon wear off, but I don't want to have to redo all these hours of work before that happens :)
I never would have imagined just a few years ago the amount of time and energy that goes into taking care of ethnic care...I am so grateful for the means of grace Miss. Britt has been to me and Mercy~~
Enjoy the pictures!
Love,
MamaB

In between taking her old style out, there was time for dyeing Easter eggs with the Di's...thankfully, it was warm enough to do this messy project outside!

More egg fun!

Even the boys got into decorating,although P's expression surely doesn't show it in this picture!

This is Mercy the next morning just before Britt arrived...taking out an old style is typically a process that lasts several hours or often all day... first Mercy (with help as needed) takes out all the beads and snaps, then she needs to untwist or unbraid her entire head(again, with help as needed). Next I wash her hair in the kitchen sink, and then condition. Finally, I begin the painstaking process of detangling. Unfortunately, this part of haircare(preparing her head for a new style) is often the most stressful :(

Miss Britt in action :)

Done at last!!!....after a combined effort of 16 hours. We all decided the finished product was well worth the efforts!

Mercy just loves shaking her head of long locs!(even if they are made of yarn!)

Experimenting with styles...

So many options!

Mercy put these in herself, effortlessly!

She looks so grown up!