Seven

Yep, our little Matt turned seven years old yesterday.  We surprised him with a chocolate cake and strawberries last night even though his "real" birthday party (which he double-checked before eating his piece of cake) isn't until Friday.  

I don't think the reality hit him until today when he put on his hat, ready to help in the garden, and exclaimed, "Jo!!  I'm the only one who is seven in this family!"

Evidently, that is a very exciting fact. :)

{when you're in a family of seven}

He's a special boy. 

a Recital

On April 10, 2011

A Rambellwood Recital

3 o' clock in the afternoon

{Refreshments to follow}


This Sunday there will be a gathering.  We will come together in our small parlor and listen to music, watch small instruments held by small fingers, and hear small voices thrill our hearts.  Then, too, there will be songs by the adults, all of us, together, sharing music.

Do you have anything special planned this spring?  Share it with us!

Late Is The Hour

It is late, very late.  Late, because, on a Sunday evening, one finds an early bedtime crucial in one's preparation for Monday.  Late, because, after such a long week, one must rest, and rest well.

But, this particular Sunday night, I have a particular reason for staying up.  I discovered, in reading Everly Pleasant's blog, Clickety Clack, something that peaked my interest, a conference for Christian women who write, or speak, and minister.  A conference called She Speaks.  They are offering three scholarships, and I am barely in time for the second.

The challenge?  To write a story in six words.

The example?  Ernest Hemingway's, "FOR SALE. BABY SHOES. NEVER WORN".

Intimidating, right?  But a challenge to my writer's soul.  So, I laid down my book, closed shut my eyes, and raised my prayers for wisdom, for words to speak His heart, for truth that was His.

Here is what, with all my heart, I put on paper.

CANCER.  Terror.  Miracle beyond believing.  JESUS.

There.... a story, simple, true, and brimming with all the joy I can muster.

-Emma

the Kitchen

... is where the fun happens!

Mmmhmm... :)

Signs of Spring

Gerber daises and oranges

Sunshiny outdoor activities

Fresh Peach Pie made from last fall's canned peaches

Yellow umbrellas :)

"All signs of spring", I thought, smiling behind my camera.

Is it really here to stay, do you think?  

Upside Down

The sun was pressing kisses against the earth when I stepped outside after lunch, my whole being lapping up the glorious warmth of it.  I shut my eyelids against the brightness, feeling a drift of a breeze flutter over my eyelids.  Then Matthew's voice pulsed like distant chimes against my ears.

"I don't want the world to be upside down," he said to Dad, who was doing something near him.  "I don't want the world to be upside down, 'cause I don't want to be squashed by a plane."


I laughed at the childish innocence of it, and my ears suddenly opened to the truth in my little brother's words.  Sometimes, in our little existence, we feel that our world is tossed upside down, our lives shaken by the endless turning of the earth.

And yet, suddenly, there is a breathless joy in the uncertainty of that thought.  Our lives are turning, like the earth, held by a hand we cannot see...

 ...yet sure in the infinite truth that the world cannot stop turning, unless He stops it, and we are safer here, in this this topsy-turvy world, than we would be in a perfect, flat world, where nothing could go wrong, where we were in control, our lives in our own hands.

I felt like Christopher Columbus, standing beneath a sky blue with spring, my head touched with joy, discovering peace in the thought that, after all...  I live in an upside-down world.

With all my heart,

Emma

Peanut Butter & Jelly

The best PB & J is made with homemade whole wheat bread, homemade peanut butter, and homemade plum jam.  It comes with apple slices, carrot sticks, and a glass of chilled farm fresh milk.

And to make it even better?  Add an episode of Mr. Ed on Hulu.

Every Thursday, lunch is just such a party.  Mom and Dad are gone for the day, in Tyler for Mom's weekly Vitamin C infusion, and we sit around the living room with our full plates, smiling over the funny 50's TV show, complete with old fashioned dresses, comical characters, and a talking horse.

Need I say it is one of our favorite days of the week?