Fresh Strawberries

On Friday the kids and I picked 6 gallons of strawberries! Every year I think I'm picking enough to last a while and they're always gone before I know it. We've eaten a lot over the weekend, but I froze at least 4 gallons. After we pick blueberries in June we will have the best smoothies. Too bad there are no U-pick banana farms in Atlanta :)

Our little pickers actually do quite well choosing only the ripe berries.
We've gone with our friends the Frasers for about 4 years.

(l to r: Caleb, Nate, Kate, Aden, Ian, Meg, Anna, and Abby in car seat)

Flashback from 2004
(L to R: Anneke, Anna, Maggie, Meg, Ian, Liske, Nate)

Another Baby Bird

This one got tired of waiting for his mother to feed him and went foraging on his own.

We Have Baby Birds!!

Today I looked in the birdhouse on our deck railing and saw six brand new, sleepy, helpless little baby birds!! (I can't tell if the egg at the bottom of the picture has hatched yet, so it may be seven.) As soon as I opened the lid their little mouths popped open hoping for some lunch. They didn't even make any noise.

There was a bird nearby on a tree branch that seemed to be scolding us, so we came inside. When we went back out later to show Erik, I opened the lid and sure enough, the mother bird was back on the nest. So, of course I got my camera and went back out to take her picture. This time as soon as I opened the lid she flew away. I guess we need to back off for a while so she doesn't abandon her nest. I found some pictures on line, I think it is a Carolina Capped Chickadee: http://www.sialis.org/nestscach.htm. I got out my "Bee-Nock-Lears" (Kate) so if we see her in the tree again we can get a good look without scaring her off.

Wedding Photos

This weekend we went to Chicago for the wedding of Erik's sister Bethany and Nate Johnson. It was very beautiful. Meg and Nate (and their cousins Kylie and Tyler) were flower girls and ring bearers. Here are a few pictures of the big day. Congratulations Nate and Bethany!!

Happy Easter!

Best Friends

Easter Egg Hunt

Spring Break...Day 5

Pancakes and bacon for breakfast (and blackberries!)

Dyeing Easter Eggs

Our friend Nella from next door came over to play and eat lunch.

Spring Break...Day 4

Meg and I went to get our toenails painted this afternoon. I overruled her first four color choices (blue, sparkly gold, neon pink, and multi-colored glitter), which somehow didn't see quite right for a six-year-old at Easter celebrations and her aunt's wedding next weekend. She settled on a light, shimmery lilac with a flower painted on each big toenail. Very sweet.

Movie and popcorn.

Spring Break...Day 3

Today was a "skip-work day" for Daddy. He took the three big kids
to McDonald's for breakfast while Caleb took his morning nap and
I got a day's worth of chores done in the two hours they were gone.

Then it was off to Stone Mountain.

A little cold and windy at the top.

We've wanted to Ride the Ducks ever since we got our mountain
membership last fall and today was the day. When we got out into
open water, the driver let all the kids take a turn behind the wheel.

Well, not all the kids. :)

Are you a gardener? Take this quiz to find out.

Q 1: How many sprouts can you find in the picture below? If you answered
a) 0... you're in good company (but wrong)
b) 1-13...you have good eyes (but keep looking)
c) 14 or more...you are either very observant or very persistent (but still not necessarily a gardener)

Q 2: How did you feel when you spotted those tiny green specks in the picture above? If you answered
a) "What green specks?"...see your optometrist
b) "How did I feel? What kind of question is that?"... find another hobby
c) "An adrenaline rush", "Butterflies in my stomach", "Misty-eyed" "Almost as excited as when I used to see that cute guy across campus"...regardless of the color of your thumb, the curb appeal of your flower beds, or the yield of your tomato crop you, my friend, are a gardener!

There is something about shoving a bland, puny seed into the dirt and just a few days later seeing a vibrant, green shoot rising up in its place that thrills, I mean thrills, my soul. My breath actually catches in my throat. How does God do that???!!! Really, how??

"How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all." "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."

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In the foreground, the same sprouts (chives) about a week later. (Thyme in the background.)

Tomatoes starting to develop their second pair of leaves. (Thanks for the heirlooms, Andrew!)

Spring Break...Day 2

This morning we were had light, sporadic sleet/snow flurries. (An almost-freeze is forecast for tonight. I think this is the last hurrah and by the weekend we'll have only warm days ahead.) Thankfully none of the kids was motivated to be outside for long, so we spent extra time reading library books and organized their craft supply bin.

After dinner I made sopapillas. A big hit! Can you tell?

I did not use 1 cup of butter, but we did add ice cream on top :)

Spring Break...Day 1

Meg and Nate started spring break week with a little craft time--making Fully Automatic Fun Hats (a la Curious George). Inside the fun hat: craft supplies, raisins (accessible via the snack flap) and a few jacks.

Next, we all went out for haircuts (well, the three big kids) and then to Johnny Rockets for lunch and milkshakes. May I take a moment to brag on my little cherubs and say they were the best behaved of all the children at the kid salon. And there were lots of kids there for comparison (I guess everyone gets a haircut during spring break/week before Easter). No whining, arguing, horseplay or begging. Even little Caleb, who had to sit in his stroller for an hour and half (way past lunch time) as I hand fed him green beans, was a pretty good sport. And they even held up through lunch although we didn't leave the restaurant until 2:00 (an hour past nap time!) It was a fun morning!

My Lovely Assistant

Everytime we have a party, Meg asks for jobs to help get ready. Last Saturday we had some friends over and she set out appetizers, straightened the deck, counted out plates and cups, stuffed some deviled eggs, and washed the fruit. She thought this bunch of grapes was worth photographing. She is a really great helper!