Our Annual Valentine’s Day Party!

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This past Wednesday we had our annual Valentine’s Day party with Kay’s crew!

Addie plans, organizes, and prepares for this party – I am just a helper!

This year I helped by making lunch.

We had a baked yam bar, salad and oranges for lunch and it was yummy!

Then it was time to exchange our Valentine’s.

I had written little loves notes to the grand babies and Lane, Tate, and Eliza!

Everyone had such cute Valentine’s to hand out!

Of course there were treats too!

No party is complete without some sugar!!

Addie made such beautiful and delicious treats for us.

The rest of the day we spent just BEING together.

It was THE BEST!!

Then Tate and Eliza went home with Kayla right before dinner time to eat dinner and play at the farm.

Such a sweet day!!

Yes, the guys missed out – but Addie made sure they didn’t feel left out – I found this when I came out to the kitchen very early Wednesday morning.

Isn’t that so sweet??!!

They also got to eat our lunch for dinner that night, and eat all of the leftover cupcakes, cookies and strawberries!

I LOVE TRADITIONS!

The children thrive on them, and enjoy them so much too!

Thank you, Addie, for doing this for us!!

You are the best party planner and treat maker we know!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH and love celebrating Valentine’s Day!

It’s Been A Good Week

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We’ve had a good week here at Twin Oaks!!

There are a few new things around our nest – like these chairs for our kitchen table.

Our old chairs were all from garage sales and second hand stores.

After years of use they were so wobbly, broken and unstable!

Several got to the point where we could not fix them anymore – so it was time for new chairs!

I love how big this space looks now with the new chairs – and I love how they are all the same!

Another new thing are Chad’s glasses!

We made an appointment at the eye doctor for him knowing he would need glasses.

Once he got them and started saying things like “Mom, it really is a good thing to see stop signs a long time before you get to them” – I wish I would have taken him to the eye doctor sooner!!

Looking good, Chad Ryan!!

Tate had a piano assessment and moved up to Level 4!

Good job, Tate!!

Eliza had taken her assessment right before all the illness hit, and she is in Level 4 too!

Good job, Eliza!!

Tate was ready for his test, but when I got sick it just did not get done until this weekend.

So proud of them both and how diligent they are at learning to play the piano!

I had several days this past week where I wasn’t doing so great again – it was like I got sick all over again even though I wasn’t 100 percent anyway.

Good grief.

Lots of rest here these days, but I have wonderful ones to rest with!

Especially when we watch baking shows on Discovery Plus!!

Chad had Lane come to work with him one day this past week.

Chad is doing demo in a very old building for his boss.

They had a blast working together, but I almost didn’t let them back in the house when they got home, ha, ha!

They were covered in dirt!!

Saturday was our annual Valentine Banquet at our church.

Addie Mae runs the kitchen for this event, with lots of helpers.

Blake and I got to enjoy a night out like a real date where we were not buying grocery, ha, ha!

The meal was lasagna, salads, and bread, and the desserts were FANCY.

Tate made a gluten-free lasagna for us to take, and I made rolls and a salad as well.

Addie made cupcakes for one of the desserts!

We had a WONDERFUL time with lots of sweet friends, a very good speaker, beautiful music, some fun games, and all that delicious food!!

Yesterday was Sunday, which is our day with our favorites!

I was “chatting” with my brother over text in the evening, so I told everyone who was in the kitchen to get together so I could send him a photo!

A captured moment in time of a wonderful Sunday evening with our bests.

I LOVE SUNDAY SNACK NIGHT!!!

Happy Valentine’s Day, by the way!!

My Valentine is at work and then stopping at the grocery store for me on his way home – he is the PERFECT Valentine!!!!

On Friday when I was not feeling good at all I texted Blake to say I needed some sunshine.

He came home with these – and they are sunshine indeed!

That’s a wrap on another week!

It WAS good, don’t you think?

We have some fun things on the calendar for this week and next week too – we will see what the Lord allows!

Hope you all had a great week too!

Keep your eyes on Jesus, friends!!

Life is Marching On

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Life is marching on here in our little nest – even as I try to build back up my stamina from being so sick.

Thankful for these easily quieter cold winter days!

We got back to school last Monday and have been enjoying our rhythm and our learning very much!

It’s always a better day when this guy is in the house –

Chad works part-time and is also working on finishing his senior year of school!

And what would we do without chapter books to fill some down time?

Speaking of that, I need to go and pick up all the library books we ordered that are in and waiting for us.

I also just ordered two more chapter books on line that we could not get at the library.

They go with our History study and we will enjoy them I know!

We are enjoying the one I am reading aloud right now called Toliver’s Secret.

I think we need ONE more room in this little nest of ours.

OK, maybe two more rooms!

This visionary guy usually builds all of his creations in the garage, but it is just too cold for that right now.

I found him down in the furnace room of all places, but he is having fun and building cool things everyday.

I had to laugh when he came to me last week and said, “Mom, do you ever feel like you need to go 500 miles per hour right now or you might lose your mind??!”

Can’t say that I have ever felt that way, sweet boy.

But you go for it!!

When I went to find Lane for those photos I was so taken by all of the beautiful sunlight streaming in the windows downstairs – which prompted these photos!

I also had to get a photo of a new resident of ours.

His name is Chippy and he feasts visits our restaurant very regularly.

Isn’t he cute?!!

I thought so too, until Addie showed me that he chewed through the wrap we have on our deck to get to that food in the bird feeder.

Stinkin’ little Chippy.

Last week Tate and I made cinnamon raisin English muffins and then I made a huge pot of soup to go along with them for dinner.

It all was a hit!!

I had to take a two hour nap after I did all that – but Tate had a blast, and I had a blast with him, so it was all good.

Do you like the new pot my hubby got for me?

It holds eleven quarts!!

Our biggest lodge pot is only seven quarts and it just was not working anymore.

I LOVE my new pot and I use it ALL the time.

Thank you to my sweet man!!!

I left Twin Oaks for the first time in sixteen days this past Friday.

Crazy as that sounds, it is true!

Of course date night was NEEDED, more than ever it seems!

We did get grocery, yes.

It was wwaaaayyyy below zero and beyond freezing cold, yes.

BUT we were together, we had treats while in town, and we made a great meal together when we got home!!

So, so worth it – freezing cold and all!!

By the way, Happy February, friends!

Are the days getting longer where you are too?

I was SO excited when I saw daylight before 7 a.m. this morning!!

A sign of things to come, for sure.

Keep marching on, sweet life of ours!!

I’ll take it!

Hope you all are enjoying your days too!!

SO Majestic

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You all know how much I love God’s creation!

Well, one of those days that I was in bed sick Blake came and woke me up, opened my window shade, and showed me THIS.

Do you see her there?

That beautiful eagle?

Blake brought me my Canon Rebel with the long lens snapped on it to see if I could get some good photos through the window!

She was sitting in one of our beloved Twin Oak trees eating something that she had caught.

A huge crow flew in and sat next to her, just for a size reference!

She was HUGE.

Blake went outside to see if some noise would make her fly out of our tree – and it did!

You can see her holding on to whatever she had caught.

I am always in awe of the eagles that live around us here, but I have never seen one in our Twin Oak tree before!

It was SO close!!

I would say it was definitely worth being woken up for, wouldn’t you?

I am so glad my husband did not let me miss this!

Heavenly Father, thank you for ALL you created for our pleasure!!

It brings us pleasure indeed!!

Such a majestic sight that only Your hands could have made!!

May the glory be Yours, Lord!!!

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