My House

Desert Places

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
Between stars- on starts where no human race is.
I have it in me so much nearer home
To scare myself with my own desert places.
- Robert Frost

Lucy and Howie

This is some of the fun Lucy has while sisters are in school.

Happy Birthday Lucy

To the child who keeps me young and gives me greys all at the same time. We love you Lucy.

knots and curls

I saw a picture of this online and I thought I'd try it out.
 After Karianne got out of the shower I twisted and knotted her hair.

The other kids all wanted their hair done too so they all lined up. It doesn't take as long as all over braids or the smocking thing I do with the rubber bands so I got them all done in a little over a half hour. Except for Amy, she had the all over hair bands in a smocking pattern so we left her hair alone. they all loved how silly their hair looked but I suspect it wasn't that comfortable to sleep on.

 this morning I took out the knots and their hair was SUPER curly.

I could barely get a pick through the curls. Karianne cried and was afraid kids would laugh at her so she went to school in a pigtail. Angie loved hers and it looks very pretty.

 Lucy likes hers as long as she doesn't look in the mirror to remind her that I stuck a bow in her hair. :-)

More Hiking

... It's what we do best in Arizona.  We hiked with some friends in Cave Creek not far from our house today. Got to see some colors in the trees still. It was a bit cooler than we are used to in Phoenix, kind of a treat for us. We went to a new spot we hadn't hiked before. It was just beautiful. I am continually amazed on how the geography can change around here. It's not just all desert.

 FYI, most of my pictures are of Lucy because she was my hiking buddy most of the time.

Crabs in my Closet- Thank you Jesus!

There are hermit crabs in my closet and a bike in my bedroom hiding under a blanket. I'm sewing a nose on a green pig, it must be Christmas Eve. I am so thankful for children at Christmas. My children. Just look at them. Each one of them was a miracle at birth, who beat the odds and made it into this world when they shouldn't have. So many past Christmases in which we struggled with our barrenness and losses. It doesn't seem to matter how much you love Jesus it hurts to celebrate the birth of a child when grieving your own loss. Christmas songs, church services, they all hurt. I have a friend who is grieving the loss of a child this Christmas and it brings back all my own grief and loss. 10 years with no children of our own here on earth. For those of you who are in the midst of loss, I know and I am so sorry.
 While I still grieve my 5 children in Heaven, and my heart yearns for our child in China who is spending his last Christmas in an orphanage, I am so grateful that I can share the joy of Christmas with these my precious children that God has given me.

Merry Christmas

The Making of a Christmas Card

Here's our Christmas Card. 

We had a lot of fun making it. Any concept that doesn't involve 6 people looking at the camera and smiling at the same time is a good thing.  We've had a lot of questions about it so I thought I'd show you how we did it. I like to come up with the ideas and Brent is a genius at making it happen.  The fun part was staging it. I put a table in a corner and put a red drape behind it. Then we all did our best pantomime impressions by ourselves with a table and a wall and Brent made computer magic with the shots. Here's some of the shots that went in to making the picture. 

 

Merry Christmas from us!

Nightly Ritual

before and after

$9 thrift store desk.

dry brushed with one of my favorite colors.

ready for action.