which is good, right?
Isn’t that where YOU sit to slice cheese?
Tabitha
“Look what I did, Mom!”
Angel has been really, REALLY struggling to read.
While she has perception beyond her years, and has often been regarded as tremendously clever, Angel is just struggling A LOT with learning to read. She is the only child in these disciples’ house that wasn’t reading by age 5.
We’ve been working a lot with letters and sounds. I left the table about 10 minutes before this picture was taken. I left fighting back tears and lamenting to our God. “HOW can this be!! Why can’t she get it? LORD lift the veil from her mind. WHY CAN’T SHE READ? She’s so SMART, God. I am helpless to help her, LORD, but You are not!” And then – just like David did now and then, I pulled out the big card, “LORD, how can she read your Word if she can’t read??” That should convince Him to unlock her mind, right? 😉
When I composed myself. I came in to the computer to email a friend of mine who is an early childhood education expert. She has been encouraging me and offering me support and suggestions these last few months.
Angel called me back to see her work. She was particularly pleased to show me how when she ran out of letters she made her own. See the second and third Ms in Mommy, the first M in Marie, and the A in Nan.
“Thank you, God, for my daughter. Exactly how You made her. I am humbled by her weaknesses and trust that she will read Your Word according to Your timing.”
Oh, how many times does He use my children for my refining.
Hunting for black raspberries and bunnies…
They didn’t find bunnies today, but they did find black raspberries.
Angel and I had gone out the evening before and saw that the black raspberries were starting to ripen. She escorted Skeezix out to show her. They noticed me with my camera and headed up to share their bounty.
See all the bushes on either side of them back there?
That only represents about 30% of the bushes!!!
Here they are at another patch…
God-willing, these should be ready by the end of next week. YUM!
I still get giddy when we pick the berries. I can’t help but think in amazement, “God gave US all this free food!” It always blows my mind. Why would He be so generous??? Why? ♥
They meandered out further and further… our house looks so far away.
I almost NEVER go out that far.
But who could resist the beckoning of such sweet guides?
While I was out there I took some shots of Daddy’s garden…
YUM!
HIS baseball
Our baseball/T-ball season was short this year. Really short. Kids played three games.
We were out of town for two, two got rained out, I had my appendix out one week… 
Boys didn’t get shirts as we missed the first two games.
But they still had fun. 
It was Angel’s first year.
So far behind…
I am so far behind in blogging…
I was retelling our trip to Florida, but that was going slowly.
I never got the pics up from
the baby’s first birthday.
Then there was the whole appendectomy…
*sigh*
This year has been a hard one, blog-wise. But here are two photos.
The first is of Angel and her Speech Pathologist. Yesterday was her last day of services. Mrs. Chapman was such a blessing. She worked hard with my little girl and we saw great progress. There is still a way to go, but Angel isn’t severe enough to qualify for services next year as a homeschool student.
We are glad we had Mrs. Chapman in our lives this year. We hope that we somehow blessed her, as well.
This is my countertop today.
I did now wake up this morning planning to make jam, but my friend Jennifer gave me strawberries from her garden. Then she gave me some Certo. And some sugar. 🙂
Thankfully, Aunt Betty accepts phone calls
with jam-making questions all day long!
Why we don't have a Wii…
Why we don’t have a Wii…
Angel’s first fifth birthday
I can’t believe our “baby” is FIVE! Well, almost. She will be five on Saturday. And she WAS the “baby” for more than four years. And if we had not had Scooter I am sure I would be coming undone over this birthday!!
My camera is not what it used to be, so the photos were painfully blurry. But I think the smiles come through loud and clear.
Evaluating her Rapunzel cake. Thankfully my kids are very forgiving… They know my limits in buttercream. 
As always, our family is too generous and Angel and her doll/”daughter” Jenny will be very well dressed this summer! [Matching Dolly & me clothes.]
Can you tell from the smiles they had orange pop and/or pulled pork for dinner?
Scooter slept through the first half of the party and was EXTREMELY surprised to see a house full of people when she woke up! Oh my. She is too cute I think!! ♥
Does she look proud, or what???
These boys weren’t quite able to come IN for cake…
mud + the creek + trees = dessert on the porch.
Boy… do I hope spring is really here. It was so nice to sit on the porch for a while!
Her “friend” party is Friday night, and her real birthday is Saturday.
Can you say, “Cake?”
They almost pull this off!
Prizes from Pizza Hut.
Three of the kids picked them out.
As I looked in my rear-view window on the drive home it made me chuckle. They’d forgotten they had them on, I think. And just their plain-old-looking-around-selves looked crazy-funny to Mommy.
Dayspring Disciples 
