Happy 16th Birthday, Daniel

We blinked and our little boy turned into a young man!

A young man with quite a few talents.
A young man who knows where his faith lies.
A young man who is passionate about many things.
A young man who is fearless and isn't swayed by popular opinion.


You make us belly laugh.
You are the kind of person other people enjoy being around.
You are quick to think of others more highly than yourself. 
You are uniquely you, Daniel!

We love you and know that God has great plans in store for your life!

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 

'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

Jeremiah 29:11

Everybody's Birthday

The kids don't get to celebrate birthdays with their cousins, so when we do get together we have a "everybody's birthday party"!

Almost 18 years ago, Uncle John bought Tera a TY bunny. Tera became attached to "Bunny" and took her everywhere! I called him up soon after, telling him he needed to find another one as a back-up. (I thought I had messed it up in the wash and we were concerned she might lose it.)

I have had "Bunny 2.0" stored in tissue paper in a ziploc bag for all these years. I told my brother (since he won't be here for Tera's 18th birthday) that I wanted him to give it to her today. I got very choked up and almost cried!!!!

We joked that "Bunny" has lived a hard life compared to "Bunny 2.0", but there is no doubt that she's definitely been LOVED!

My clan right here... 

Jeep Fun

My brother and his family were in town for the Jeep Invasion this weekend.  We met up at our house for breakfast---Tera's cinnamon rolls.  

Then, we headed out for a group Jeep ride around Cades Cove!  John and I had the two youngest cousins with us.  The teenagers were all together in Christy's Jeep.  It worked out perfect! 

 So happy to spend this day making good memories....

Fun projects

Rainbow biography of William the Conqueror

Botany flip book

Did you know  PEZ is from Connecticut?  That was our "recipe" for this unit---a brand new PEZ dispenser with candy included.  

In our Norman Britain unit, Tera and Daniel are learning about the "Bayeux Tapestry".  One project choice happened to be to create your own Bayeux Tapestry.  Daniel chose to create a sequential comic strip type story as a blog post for his project.  

A Bayeux Tapestry timeline project

Now that school and most of our activities are in full swing, I'm trying to remember to take moments throughout the day/week for quiet times and focus.    It's going to be a busy year, but definitely a memorable one,  IF I take the time to relish and savor the moments when I can.