stick sculpture

Back in the fall we went to explore a free stick sculpture exhibit on the campus of Guilford College. The structure was absolutely fascinating and the kids had a blast weaving in and out of the stick village. The sculptor, Patrick Dougherty, is quite famous in this art and you can check out his website here.


this picture shows what the sculpture looks like from above and how he is inspired by the shape of the honeycomb


this picture shows the size of the sculpture in comparison to Elijah who is over 4 feet tall


Jonas inside the sculpture


Miss Ruthie looking pretty next to the sculpture

Funny Things...

This year is gone.
This year was fun.
Next year is another one.
Every year,
From here to there,
Funny things are everywhere.

(If you know your Dr. Seuss this may sound familiar...from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish)

So very thankful

a thankful heart hath a continual feast. ~W.J. Cameron

There are so many things to be thankful for; some things are obvious and automatic, while sometimes we have to be very intentional about recognizing our blessings- especially when times are hard and our eyes get blurry. I want to live my life seeking the blessings that can be found in all circumstances and living with a heart that is overflowing with thankfulness and gratitude.
I am thankful...


For the husband of my youth. 10 years of marriage and we still hold hands on the couch and stay up late talking. I am thankful for his servant heart and devotion to our family, for his hard working hands and leadership in our household.


For sweet big brothers, quiet moments, the sun shining into our living room and giving warmth.


For brothers that are friends.


For wild boys that bring so much excitement to our lives.


For a sweet little girl who likes to dance and sing. She is the joy, joy, joy, joy down in our hearts...


For loved ones who have passed away, but are very much still with us.


For time spent outdoors in God's good creation.

and so much more...

She tries hard to keep up...

but some times it is just too hard!



I cannot believe that Adara Ruth is a year old. She was born on Yom Kippur last year and our verse for her was "the joy of the Lord is your strength". If I had one word for her it would be joy. There is something about her that gives us all encouragement- maybe it is her sweet nature and gentle spirit...or that she almost always has a smile on her face. She is saying lots of words, but she particularly loves ducks and likes to make quacking sounds. Although she hasn't shown much interest in walking until lately, she is starting to discover that when she takes steps, her feet will take her places that she wants to go. Now that she has had that revelation I'm sure it won't be long before she is running around with her brothers. Speaking of those brothers, out of all those wild boys she is actually the most daring and curious baby. She gets into absolutely everything and she's also the earliest climber that I have ever had. I'll be doing dishes and I'll turn around and some how she is standing on the kitchen table! Yikes. She also likes to go head first down the slide at the park and swing really high on the swings. Miss Addy Ruth you sure are a mess- but a very, very sweet mess.

Habitat, Habitat, Have to Have a Habitat

Have you ever seen a Rhinormous in the wild?

The boys have several favorite games and most involve some type of role play. It's difficult to say which is most favored but pretending to be various animals is probably at the top of the list, at least for the younger boys. Here's a sample of a recent dinner table conversation:

Jonas: I'm a daddy rhinoceros.

Me (Matt): You are? Is the daddy rhinoceros going to eat his Korma? (not sure if this was actually what we were eating that night but it fits)

Ezra (inserting himself in the convo with "manvoice" as Kallie calls it): I'm a rhinormous!

Me (with laughter): Is that similar to a rhinoceros?

Ezra: No, it's a...it's a...it's a...rhinormous (said very slowly because I was clearly being dense in asking such a question)


Here are a few facts about the rhinormous to help you identify him if you ever run into one in his natural habitat:

A rhinormous is an animal who exhibits a highly refined sense of humor for his age. He likes blankets and trucks and has often been spotted carrying both at the same time. He is typically docile but can be toothily dangerous when cornered; particularly if you happen to be red-headed, slightly older and named Jonas. He is a highly efficient predator in the presence of cherries (above pic covered in red), mangoes and other fruits and his favorite beverage is "milk from the yummy cow" (aka raw milk).


The Z-man's new species also gives you readers out there a window into one of my personal favorite family amusements: word blending...nothing beats a good fresh compound word blend that never existed previously. The only rule of course is that it cannot be in the dictionary...just doing our part to pass on a little creative reverse scrabbliciousness to the children.


I'll leave you with Rhinormous Observation Tip #349:

If you see the rhinormous in the wild, just call him "sugar baby" and he might not attack.

Boys and dirt are synonymous

It was a typical summer day. I set up the water table so the kids could splash around a little, but after a while the little boys got hungry so I dried them off and brought them in for lunch, leaving the bigger boys behind and not thinking much about it. I thought they could play outside for a few more minutes while I got the food ready. A few minutes later when lunch was prepared I went to look out of the window and didn't see them, but when I turned to walk back to the kitchen something caught my eye...a fast moving blur in front of the window. I turned back around to get a better look at the flying object and I see Elijah running through the grass with a big giant mud ball not far behind him. Interesting. They were throwing mud balls at each other as if they were snowballs. What is it with boys and mud? The funniest part is that I was literally hosing them off in the driveway with the garden hose when the UPS man walks into the driveway with a package...don't mind me, I'm just hosing my kids down:) Maybe he has boys. Maybe he understands.

Baby Mischief Maker

I was getting dressed and ready for the day and when I came out into the living room I saw a little girl that was full of mischief and very proud of herself.