We happened on this huge sunflower farm - acres and acres of gorgeous yellow and orange flowers, some towering over us, some small that we could hold in our hands...yet ALL of them bringing a smile to our faces!

Well, I'm behind on updating our blog since this is now the start of the 3rd week of school already.... Aurora started 3rd grade this year and is loving it! She has a man teacher and so far says he is the best teacher ever! Like I said, it's only the third week of school. But we're all happy! They're already done with review and into learning new things - multiplication! I didn't think we were done with subtraction yet, but apparently the curriculum says otherwise. So we're still working on subtraction flashcards at home, while adding multiplication in too! Yesterday Aurora was reading a Nancy Drew book that she got from the library and I started to ask her questions about the story...it peaked my curiosity and before you know it, we had read together for 2 1/2 hrs.! We couldn't put the book down - every chapter ending leaves you hanging...so we kept reading! It was fun and brought back alot of memories from my childhood when I'd read the Nancy Drew series and the Hardy Boys! WE LOVE THIRD GRADE!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We spent this last weekend in Boston, MA - a little get-away as our "calm before the storm" of activity that begins this week with our summer schedules. We had a great time as a family - easy flights, a wonderful hotel room and lots of fun in the city. The weather was perfect and we were able to enjoy many outdoor activities.

One of the highlights of our trip was the Duck Tour - a "must" for any visitor to the city. You ride in a WWII vehicle that goes through the city and also in the Charles River. We saw so many historical sites and learned alot. Aurora was invited to be the co-captain for our tour down the Charles River. She loved driving the "boat" and did a great job!

Above this post is a little slideshow of our time in Boston.

It's been just a little over a year since mom went home to Heaven. We miss her dearly and think about her often, especially as mother's day is quickly approaching. She was such an example to us all in so many areas of her life. Yesterday at church our pastor spoke his farewell message (he's retiring) & one of his points in his prayer for our church is that we'd be gentle people, as Christ was. When he made that point, I immediately thought of mom. She was probably the most gentle person I have ever met - she made everyone feel comfortable around her. That's what Christ wants us, His church, to do - be gentle to those around us (family, neighbors, strangers and our friends). It's not always an easy task, but a necessary one. Like our pastor says every week...we should love God and love others! That's what makes a gentle person! Something I need to work on daily....

It's been a single-parenting week for me as Dan is in Dallas all week. It was hard to get used to him being gone again, after having him home for almost a month. But we adjusted. These weeks definitely give me a renewed appreciation for him. I don't enjoy being the only adult in the house, the only parent to deal with stuff, being the one to turn out the lights at night, and the last one to bed...not to mention taking out the garbage & taking care of some of the stuff he does for us. Aurora struggles as well - even though she's my "cuddle bug" while he's away, she gets upset more easily & very clingy. We miss him and can't wait for him to be home! Tomorrow can't come soon enough...and then it's time for a little R&R! Can't wait!

Saturday Aurora participated in the Sparks AWANA games. It was her first time and after a whole month of weekly practices on Sunday afternoons the kids were ready & excited! She took her friend with her & was happy about that. Our team made tie-dyed shirts as their uniform & they looked great! It was crazy in that gym - 8 Sparky teams all cheering & yelling at the same time. The kids had a blast! I didn't understand all the rules - most of us parents didn't - but it didn't matter because the kids were having so much fun. Our team ended up taking 3rd place and did a great job! Here are some pictures of the event....

It's hard to believe how fast this year is going already. I had really hoped things would slow down, but this month's calendar looks to be another overly busy month. Dan was traveling on the West Coast for a week and it was hard on all of us, but at least his travels will slow or stop this month as we anticipate the start of Candidate Seminar in just 3 weeks. We're excited about that & the units that God has directed to ABWE in this class. Aurora is healthy again & caught up on school work. She just brought home her 2nd quarter report card & she did very well. She's started working on her recital piece at ballet - they're doing Anastasia - & is very excited about that. Pray for physical stamina has our schedules continue to be very busy with various added events & responsibilities again. We worked on prioritizing this weekend & that was a good feeling to get all of our thoughts out & collaborate about what needs to stay & what needs to go. Time to think about Valentines for school...which I'm excited about as I've been too busy to take many pictures since before Christmas. We'll post them when they're done!

It's already half way through the month of January, but things have been crazy at our house, to say the least. The events of the last few weeks have been very difficult & unsettling - battling viruses, missing school, death of our ABWE president emeritus, Dan traveling again... it all makes you stop & think & try to put things in perspective again. It really made me (Debbie)take a good hard look at what my priorities are & what they SHOULD be. That analysis brings some change - not sure what that all entails yet, but change is good & needs to be embraced (as difficult as that can be at times). So, I took some time to give the blog a new look & to focus on what God is doing in our hearts & what heART that will produce.

The temps today have been very cold (teens with a wind chill in the single digits). We can't complain though - it'll be back up in the 40's tomorrow, but it made me remember the pictures I took of our little ice storm the week before Christmas. It was breath-taking! (I can say that so easily because we didn't loose our electricity or have any damage, unlike so many 1000's....). But here are a few pictures I snapped after church on our drive through the wonderland...