A surprise goodbye...

Tonight, as I read Ella Enchanted to the children, Elliott went out back to let the dogs run and to go feed our backyard bunnies. We got the bunnies when I was pregnant with Micah, they are nearly five years old. Feeding the rabbits is one of Elliott's nightly "shut down" routines, and they love his nightly visits. 

Oblivious to all the goings on in the backyard, I was trying to keep straight which voice went with which character. When Caleb burst in with a shriek and exclaimed "One of the bunnies died!", I dropped our read aloud and ran out to see. My husband recounted how he had given the girls their nightly carrots but was only greeted by one cheerful rabbit. It only took moments before the children were crying, even I choked back my tears and tried to figure out where to bury our sweet bunny friend.

When you acquire a new pet, you don't often think about the "one day" when your furry friend's 5-7 year life span will have spun itself out. Questions about life and death from the children start rolling off the tongue as tears roll down cheeks. Some wrote notes, drew pictures.  Others just cried. Noah has been reciting what could be written on Dot's tombstone (they've already picked it out and have the Sharpie at the ready once the wording is agreed upon) until we finally had to ask him to wait until tomorrow. 

Our evening ended with a little more reading from Ella and a lot of hugs of consolation. Evening prayers were whispered through sniffling. Children reluctantly drifted off to sleep. I am praying that this reminder of the briefness of life will inspire us to not only to grieve what we've lost, but to propel us towards rejoicing in all we have, being filled with thanksgiving to our Creator. 

Tough evening for the kids, but thankful for this opportunity to love them through their trials of sorrow and be able to point them to Jesus, our greatest comfort. 

These photos were taken a few weeks ago when we brought the bunnies in during a freeze. Micah is holding Spot, Caleb has Dot. 

Some days you only get one...

This morning was our Young Birder's Club meeting for January. Hannah and I were excited as we woke early and made the trek over to Guadalupe River State Park to help our club learn about bird banding. We love being bird banding assistants. And the sun greeted us first thing...

Once everyone gathered it was time for some instructions...

And a closer look at the bands...

We walked the hill country grassland across 10 acres to check six nets in hopes of finding some native song birds to band. It was a slow day, the sun shining brightly making the nets easy to see, but we finally got one little bird...

This little Grasshopper Sparrow was the exciting first catch of the day. Back to the tables we went so he could be banded and recorded...

Then we l gathered around for a closer look. I never get tired of marveling at the gifts of the Lord, especially these little feathered friends...

We made round after round checking the nets. Nada. The wind started picking up so we made a final round to pull the nets. Then we saw this Savannah Sparrow in a tree right by the nets. He stayed in the tree. I think he was laughing at us...

It was a fun morning out, even with only one bird caught. I so enjoy being in nature and learning about the magnificent world God created for us to enjoy. 

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1

Real life New Years...

My head hit the bed a little after 1am when the fireworks from New Year's Eve finally ceased and the children were all happily dozing. Sleep didn't last long, my alarm woke me cheerfully before 7am, my brother and family needing a ride to the airport to head home. They rolled their eyes as I drove through the line at Starbucks for my morning coffee, but I got them to the airport safe and sound thanks to my little triple venti latte wake-up call.

Elliott was up and cooking when I made it back home, omelets and other goodies awaited my return. Just the sustenance I needed to prepare for the day of work ahead. Due to a surprise contagious illness acquired the last two days of 2013, the first day of 2014 was filled with laundering, cleaning, vacuuming and sterilizing. It may be another day or two before we actually have all the laundry finished. Every time I think I have finished cleaning some pile here or there I find out a child wandered off with something not yet cleaned and I have to chase it down again. I have been vividly reminded why I do not wash clothes and linens on the same day. :)

Kids rode bikes while we put away Christmas in the garage. I cleaned out the indoor (garage) rabbit cage, now it's ready for the next freeze when the bunnies get brought in for refuge. Both cars were cleaned out and vacuumed. The garage was swept. Every time I do this I realize it is a futile effort, but it feels rewarding at the time, albeit short lived.

Somewhere along the way we skipped the official time for lunch and opted for a snack as the the Lego Winter Village sets were brought out and kids toiled away at making repairs to sets bumped and bruised in storage. The rest of the week they will tinker with putting together the pieces for this year's set. I escaped for a short round of errands and Elliott made homemade pizza to the great delight of the children.

I read some blogs between loads of laundry, other folks had some much more intentional and purposeful ways to ring in the New Year. Maybe that can be a resolution for me, to be more intentional to mark holidays and milestones in the coming year... I tend to just be happy to escape the holidays without a trip to the ER. One blogger buys everyone in her family rainbow colored socks and they all wear them on the 1st day of the year - I chuckle at the thought of finding a pair of rainbow colored socks in Elliott's size 16, but the imagery of remembering God's mighty promises is inspiring.

I will be honest, though, I have to guard my heart not to be discontent with the normalcy of my life compared to the blogworthiness of others. I am not sure I will even begin to contemplate goals or resolutions for another week. Our schedule and life is about to change, new activities and the first glimpse of older kids with busier schedules has my mind spinning. We have spent so much time guarding our family time over the years, we are looking to continue to strive for a balance that also allows for children to thrive within their giftings and interests even as that begins to take shape in seeking outside opportunities for them.

No matter how 2014 unfolds, through the normal real life moments, or the notable blogworthy ones, I know this, God's Word is true, and His mercy is new every morning, He is faithful and mighty. Do you know Him? 

Too far south...

This morning the girls and I bundled up to go on a bird hike, a very special, first annual Kids' Christmas Bird Count at the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center in San Antonio. We love Mitchell Lake, and we love our birding friends who lead the Young Birder's Club of San Antonio who were co-hosting the event. I am not the best birder, my identification skills are quite lacking, but what I lack in precision I try to make up for in enthusiasm and photojournalism.

I really could say a lot about our bird walk this morning, the weather was lovely, just chilly enough to be comfortable in a few layers but not cold. The company was jovial and eager to identify and count birds, and laugh at the number of Northern Cardinals and Northern Mockingbirds strutting in front of us to make sure and be noticed. But the minute we got the phone call that the Long-eared Owl had been spotted, the rest of the morning's events were trumped by this special, and quite unusual sighting (this owl doesn't usually come below Plano, so his being in San Antonio is causing quite a stir in the bird world). And he was a very photogenic owl too. :)

And these two little White Crowned Sparrows just posed so beautifully, I couldn't resist but share the shot I got of them before they flew away.

There were quite a few more birds this morning, but I haven't had time to cull through my photos. I was dying to see the pictures of the Long-eared Owl, so I got those up, and I just had to share!

Getting my act together...

Fresh from the printers, and now time to limber up my writing hand and begin the addressing process. Merry Christmas Y'all!

Be on the watch for one at a mailbox near you! And if I don't have your real physical address... Let me know! 

It's beginning to look a lot like...

I still have a couple more to design, but thanks to some sleeping in children and some Pinterest inspiration, my chalkboard wall in the kitchen is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

A Beautiful Mess...

Every so often a new something comes out that promises to clean your dishes better, or dry your clothes faster, or make your car smell fresher. Most times I look around and realize that my whatever works fine and I move on. This is especially true when it comes to computers or phones or apps. I usually just yawn. I spend a great amount of time agonizing about the blessings of technology and whether or not they outweigh the curses.

One technology that I do enjoy enhancements in is photography. I have been known to stand in the camera aisle at Costco and salivate over the newest Nikon. I have a folder on my iPhone with a number of camera apps. Instagram in an obvious favorite. Halftone keeps Noah entertained. But Hannah showed me some new stuff in an app called A Beautiful Mess, and it is just plain fun. :)