Ancient Greece

Following our Story of the World chapter on the Wars of the Greeks, we did "stone" sculpture with soap. The Greeks did so well making statues and friezes that when their towns and cities were taken over, their hard work was taken as bounty.

The kids also worked hard and enjoyed "sculpting", but the next day I found Avery with Jasper's project crumbled on the floor.

One of the benefits of working with stone i suppose.

Heartless Christians

In usual fashion, I read the the wrong day of my daily reading. The page must have rustled back when i got up for my coffee.

So O. Chambers is talking about Romans 8 and says this, "Beware of outstripping God by your very longing to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, consequently we get so burdened with persons and with difficulties that we do not worship God, we do not intercede."

What fantastic thoughts regarding relationships! To bring each difficult person and circumstance before God in prayer, surrendering our own opinions and feelings. Sounds easy when sitting down for a quiet time, but not as much when someone causes me great distress.

He goes on to say, "A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief to Our Lord."

One reason i never wanted to be a Christian. And here I am.

Great River Road

McAdams Peak

Brussel's Ferry Crossing

Swig...

and Grin

On Sunday we went hiking on the east side...Illinois!

Pere Marquette State Park encompasses 8,000 acres at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. After a picnic and a hike up McAdams Peak, we took the free Brussels Ferry over to Calhoun County. It is at the tip of a peninsula and the main form of transportation is by ferry. Four ferries are available to cross the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and two of those are free. Brussels is a tiny town and we stopped by the Golden Eagle Country Store for pop and penny candy. There was a bluegrass band inside and we tapped our foot to the beat.

From there we drove through the beautifully undeveloped rural countryside to a cemetery.

It was such a lovely day, I even thought twice about urban living.

Henna Party

We invited Sister and Sister-in-law over for a henna party. We were even joined by a Sister's Sister-in-law visiting from Edmonton!

It seemed a tad complicated in the beginning, but we managed to figure it out. It turned out to be similar to real tattoos since it was addictive and we all ended up with more henna than we intended. It was fun and I look forward to doing it again soon...

The Big Yellow Truck

Our brother-in-law and his Dad driving from Edmonton to Mexico to donate a fire truck.

http://thebigyellowtruck.blogspot.com/

Sunday Bubbles

Baby Camel

We walked over to the zoo to meet the baby camel. It was drinking milk from it's Mama and was so cute...

The new pedestrian bridge is coming along nicely. The zoo also plans to post a memorial plaque near the spot where a drunken driver struck and killed 7-year-old Luke Maue while he was on a field trip in 2001.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/21C6E4A2A7D818CB862576D50016FDB8?OpenDocument

Snuggle-Time With Judy

It is commonplace to find Jasper and Judy in an embrace on the floor. She puts her arm around him and they spoon. She can do wrong in his eyes. A boy and his dog...

Crisis Nursery

The St. Louis Crisis Nursery is an independent, not-for-profit agency funded by donations and committed to preventing child abuse and neglect by providing short-term, emergency shelter for children, birth through age 12, whose families are faced with emergencies or who are in crisis.

There are several locations all over the metro area.

http://www.crisisnurserykids.com/

Consider giving a bit of your time...

Stormy Tulips

These tulips were a gift from my brother 8 ish years ago. The kids helped me dig and divide last fall. Many fell victim to the local squirrel population, but we had several pop up. They have been so delightful to watch!

Today it stormed and they all closed up. I love the raindrops on the delicate petals. The sun has been shining for an hour and I am sure they are starting to open again.

Redbud

This is our neighbors redbud so technically it's not ours. But it is on the property line. When your yard is the size of a small trailer, everything counts...

I love the way flowers come straight out of the trunk. It is my favorite tree in every season.

More Spring

Unfurling Ferns

It is a gift to see ferns unfurl in a beautiful dance. To wake up each day and see new blooms.

Blooms This Week

Hyacinth

Backyard Cherry Tree

In the midst of the terrible news i happened to read about Trenton, New Jersey today, i feel encouraged by the promise of rebirth that Spring brings.

Each day something new pops up. And because of Winter digging and overly ambitious squirrels, we have bulbs in random places.

The evil in this world is unimaginable. But the beauty is too...fitting for this Holy time.

Mastodon State Historic Site

Evergreen Droplet

I'm not sure what this is...stunning in the rain.

We paid a visit to the museum at Mastodon this weekend and took a cool, rainy walk down to the Bone Bed. Bones of mastodons and other now-extinct animals were first found her in the early 1800's, including the giant ground sloth.

It certainly was interesting and I am glad we went. But the $4.00 per adult seems steep for what the museum offers. It isn't a "waste" of money. Think of it as a donation.

Surprise...

Crocuses!

I didn't think they were around because they were so close to the area that was dug up by Laclede. The dirt/clay was piled up all over. The rocks/bricks they dug up were in a heap where the crocuses are/were so i had assumed they were too sad to come up and be beautiful.
I was wrong, yay!

Field Trip

We spent time at the Butterfly House for a field trip this morning. There were over 4,000 butterflies and it felt surreal. Coupled with the heat and humidity, the boys left the place shirtless. Tullaia and I could've spent a bit more time just sitting and letting them flutter about. Perhaps another time.

St. Patrick's Day

We celebrated St Patrick's Day with our neighborhood parade that is sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians. www.stlhibernians.org

Dogtown is an Irish neighborhood and several theories float around about the origin of the name. But according to Bob Corbett of the Dogtown Historical Society, the most plausible theory describes the way the landscape looked after rustic mining. They dug lots of holes with shovels. It looked like dogs dug them.

For a more in-depth and interesting article on Dogtown click here.

http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/dogtown/origins-2.html

Beady Smiles

Fitting In Quite Well With the Party People

Ready to Go

For Grammas and Neenas

Avery singing I Saw Three Ships, his favorite Christmas carol.

Seeds

I am always amazed when things grow.

I love to watch the plants unfurl. When i walked downstairs last night i couldn't believe it. They grew inches in days!

We didn't end up buying vegetable seeds. We still had some left from overzealous seed purchases in 2002. So we took a chance and most of them came up. They were old and they still did their job. Wow, dedication.

We did buy some seeds from Baker's Creek though. http://rareseeds.com/

They are in Mansfield Missouri along with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. That is also where Justin's people come from. Time for a country road-trip.

We Have A Graduate!

Judy passed her classes! She is 9 months old and 105 pounds. The look in Jasper's eye says it all. She is a long and lanky lovely lady...

Poem From a Friend

A friend sent this to me in response to my hermitage time...thank you Julie!

I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit. -Dawna Markova

Cousins around the World

Cousins in Central Asia

http://thetravelingstams.wordpress.com/

Cousins in Columbia

http://colombiacarters.blogspot.com/

Pigeon Killer

The Aftermath

We spotted another Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk today. We watched it up close for quite some time. It was intimidating and i got some good pictures.

Mississippi Mud

I went on a semi-silent retreat with my dear friend this weekend at Visions of Peace. http://www.visionofpeacehermitages.org/hermitages.html

I was here a year ago and it seems like it's been 5 years. Thankfully.

I wrote many haiku (what is plural?), dozed in the warm winter sun, listened, read, pleaded with God, and was. Wonderfully necessary.

This is taken from the hermitage notebook.

"May prayerful peace flow outward

from here,

touching with grace all those

whom I love

and the earth as well...

Lord, may my prayer be one with

that of all persons

who throughout this earth

are in solitude and

stillness,

forming a luminous and silent

hymn of glory to you."

Mississippi River Trash

Softened by water,

sharp edges are taken off.

I want to be this.

Dear Friend

Sturdy Woody Stems

Railway Hobo

Holding Out

The sun recharges

all in the forest right now,

especially me.

Although i strongly dislike geese,

their endless and undulating

V-formation

thrilled me just now.

The noisy organization

of so many large birds

can inspire.

"Let us be united;

Let us speak in harmony;

Let our minds apprehend alike,

Common be our prayer;

Common be the end of our assembly;

Common be our resolution;

Common be our deliberations.

Alike be our feelings;

Unified be our hearts;

Common be our intentions;

Perfect be our unity."

-From the Rig Veda

And if you believe (as i do)

that Truth has been revealed to you,

pray that this Truth you know will envelope others.

Too many wars have been fought.