Very rainy and stormy.

Perfect night for pizza.


(Taryn wanted to have a picture with the box because she went in to the store and ordered it herself. If you know her or me well, you'll understand this was a big deal. I dropped her off because it was easier for me considering our little downtown, parallel parking, and enormous van.)

Springtime!

Bare feet!

The kids made a teepee and laid moss out in pieces for carpet.

Thankful we could get out to enjoy the beautiful weather. Finally we all seem to be well. We know lots of friends and cousins are still struggling with illness. Praying everybody is better soon.

Low-tech family entertainment.

Taryn is starting to give piano lessons to a friend. Not for pay, but just out of love (for her friend and for piano). She seems to be a good teacher. Here they are working on the theory book (the one I took of them at the piano was blurry... boo!)

Look who came to visit. These little guys keep showing up all over. They are at my table at mealtimes, doing schoolwork with the kids during the day, and driving all over the house. Some are Whimsy pets from Wal-mart and cost just $2, so the kids like to buy one every now and then. We have many more than just the four in the automobile. I guess the rest just have to walk wherever they go.

Sunshine and a good book (A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett). Perfect!

Because my picture for the day included a child who is not part of this family, I'm substituting these pictures from last Friday. A friend of mine provided us with starfish, dissecting kits, and instructions, so we didn't pass on the opportunity to explore God's creation a little more in depth. Fun... and gross!

John had the day off for Presidents' Day. I love this holiday because it always sort of sneaks up on me and I'm always a bit surprised by it. There have actually been years when John has come home the Friday before the holiday and said, "Guess what. I have the day off on Monday!" This year we knew ahead of time, but in true Farmer fashion, we decided on Sat. night where we were actually going to go for the day. Taryn had an 8:00 appointment in the morning (in Easley which was on the way), so we all got up and ready to leave the house by 7:30.

Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia

Beautiful weather

Picnic lunch on the banks of the Saluda River

Tram ride to the botanical garden

Long day that started too early

Breakfast and lunch packed for an early start to a fun adventure. Stay tuned.

Rebekah and I walked around the block yesterday and noticed the daffodil flowers had budded. By Saturday morning I was shocked to see 2 had already bloomed in our backyard. By evening, probably a dozen had opened up. SPRING!! It was gorgeous today. A day to praise God for His creation.

This is a tree that was meant to be noticed. Instead it sits humbly in the middle of a parking lot on a college campus. But I notice it every time I am going by the Brooks Center. Today we were there for a performance (right day, right time, second try). Tina happened to have her camera in the car, so I drove over and told the kids to jump out and stand by the tree. I'm glad the kids are in it for perspective. It's no little tree. Makes me wonder how long it's been growing there.

(I think this one looks like we ought to be a singing group.)

This morning we all got up and got ready to attend a piano concert at the Brooks Center on the Clemson University campus. Once we got there and realized there were no buses and nobody handing out parking passes, I took another look at the calendar and saw that the concert is actually tomorrow morning. The kids' immediate response was, "Can we tell Daddy?" Laughing at Mom is even more fun when they can do it with Dad, I guess. Here they are after we got home and before they changed out of their nicer clothes:

I was trying to take a picture of the girls and then was going to take a picture of the boys. My mistake was doing the girls first (How long have I been Mom? Even inexperienced moms know to get the boys/younger kids done first). By the time I had finished, one of the boys had done somthing to make another boy cry and that was the end of the photo session. But this one that the girls set up themselves turned out cute.

A boy and his dog. This was during read-alouds for school. I guess Odie enjoys A Cricket in Times Square too.

This was my kitchen at 9:00 am this morning! I made muffins and smoothies for breakfast and started a batch of bread rising. And then I cried when I saw the mess I made.

These pictures have nothing to do with Valentine's Day. It is just what my crazy kids like to do on sunny days. But at least it is leaves and not ants!

My little crafty Rebekah. She bought herself a cross-stitch kit on Friday. She taught herself and she's moving along on it quickly and I think she'll finish it within a week.

Today was the big day. The Valentine Tea Party.

First, three of the cutest, most original Valentine boxes ever.

And three of the most gorgeous girls I've ever seen.
No, I'm not biased. At all.

Friday night is movie night. And tonight there were root beer floats for dessert. Yum!

David working on a computer program which is teaching him to read. Or, at least it is giving him something constructive to do while I am teaching the others.

Again, it was late and I hadn't taken any pictures for today. I decided to take a picture of Tina's shelf and wall(she jumped up to be in the picture as well) because it just speaks so much about her. I always want to remember just how she is right now (I know this stage will soon be gone). All the pink, sparkle, pizazz. The picture below the shelf says "Leaping gracefully I fly like a bird in the air Dance is my passion" The other page is a checklist of what she is supposed to do every day. Her sisters very faithfully check each item on their lists off. Tina is a little bit less enthusiastic about it than her sisters. I don't think Tinas can be bound by lists.

John took me to the movies tonight. We saw The King's Speech and really enjoyed it. We think it had been about 5 1/2 years since we last went to the theater together (Pixar movies with the kids being the exception). We enjoyed the movie. It had enough history for John and enough British drama for me. And the R-rating was only for one scene in which Colin Firth swears repeatedly because he does not stutter while swearing. I do recommend this movie.

Our family as portrayed by Tina. Grandma and Grandpa are included though Grandma does not have gray hair, nor does she wear it in a bun. Cute picture anyway.

COUSINS!

My sister is visiting! Whee! So much fun to have her here. And love this little guy too.

Smile Preston! (All or nothing with that kid, I guess)

It has been raining all day and the cat was napping in my chair. I wish it was me.

Thursday at our house is bean night. We have been eating beans and rice on Thursday nights for a couple years now. It started as a way to make tangible for the kids that we were giving to a child through Compassion. It was supposed to be a sacrifice that they would make and also a way to remember what people in a lot of the world eat a lot of the time. Turns out though, it hasn't been a sacrifice at all and we actually all look forward to bean night. We sometimes do different types of beans, but we eat pintos the most often.