Winter update

1/4/10
Little Brook is ignorant of her birthday today, as expected of a 1yr old, she but sure enjoyed everyone making a fuss of her.  MeMom & BeBop made a special trip out and brought her some stylin’ new duds, which she was willing to model for them.

BeBop couldn’t resist when this thrift store teddy bear whispered to him the other day, “Purchase me for your Little Brook…”

    

It’s a wonder to wake up in the morning to see the sun shining in the window and remember what a delightful sight it was one year ago when it rose to shine through the same window on your newborn baby, family and friends.  Happy, blessed memories.
(For those wondering, I’m not pregnant.  I know, I know, I usually am around the youngest’s first birthday.  Talk to Father about it!  It’s entirely in his hands!)
My big Little Brook went from crawling to walking overnight (a week or two ago).  It’s so exciting and new for everyone that I really wonder if any of my other children ever learned to walk!  She has moved from Momma & Daddy’s room upstairs to sleep (still in her crib) with the big kids.  Six kids in one room.  Sheesh.  It’s nice to sleep through the night again.  And it’s nice to have the space in my bedroom.  I celebrated yesterday by rearranging a bit.  I killed two birds with one stone, if you will, by moving several of my hanging plants from the living room into my bedroom (it’s so cozy in there, now) to make room in front of our sliding door and windows to set up my seed trays.  Gotta get those onions and leeks started next week.  (My farmer’s almanac says today is also the official start of the gardening season.  Hmm.)
Now there’s a cupcake on the counter and ice cream in the freezer awaiting the return of my spouse who is currently installing insulation in a muddy, cold crawl space.  (Praise Yah, we might just make the mortgage payment on time this month!)  What a good, hardworking man my Bobby is.  This customer is one of those word-of-mouth referrals that small-town businesses rely on.  Yahweh is definitely blessing Bobby in his endeavors.

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Blue and Little are playing contentedly nearby while my other four are off hiking in the woods.  I realized we weren’t getting outside very much and so I’m encouraging this.  It’s bitter cold out but the sun is shining.  The ice on the creek is fascinating!  I went for a little hike by myself on Sabbath and it was so invigorating.  Most of our property is wooded and since it’s not fenced (yet.  Oh that fencing weren’t so expensive!) we don’t make much use of it except an occasional hike.  I was amazed again how much land we have.  It’s only five acres (“more or less” according to the deed), but is so varied.  At the top of the hill, tucked into the thick of the forest, is a rocky glade partly covered with gorgeous, cushiony moss.  I forget that it’s up there!  I think it’d be nice to camp up there in the spring.  Equally amazing is how many trees came down during our freaky inland hurricane last spring.  There must be at least 60 trees down on our property, mostly large oaks, maples and hickories.  What a mess.  At least it’s good firewood.

Here’s a cool photo Farra took while hiking yesterday:

I’ll bring the camera along next time I’m out and share some more with ya’ll.

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While I’m sharing photos, here’s my niece, Isabella (“Umbrella” to Royal), about 10 months old:

Vince came over to help Bobby buck up some trees.  Galidee and Umbrella came along to visit.  Here they’re trying on a snow suit, with happy cousins looking on:

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That’ll have to hold you over until next time.  Incidentally, this is my first entry composed offline with Windows Liver Writer.  Lessee if I can publish it without losing it all!