Happy 29th Birthday, John!

For John's birthday I surprised him with an overnight stay at Mast Farm Inn. (Ok, it wasn't actually his "29th" birthday, we just like to make him feel better.) The trip was totally a last minute plan, which says a lot about the kind of friends I have. (Thanks Gail, Kristin, Jess, Celia, and Michelle for watching the kids!). We had a very restful, relaxing time, which is just what we needed.
Since we were in Maggie's stompin' grounds, she made the cakes and we celebrated at her house too! (Thanks, Magz!) ;)

Gardening and a Few Ramblings

Other than pool parties, I have been busy caring for my flowers. A hugely rewarding project. Each morning I love to spend time in my quiet backyard to focus on the goodness of our Lord. It is a peaceful haven, and I feel so blessed.
I'm also thankful for my little helpers, who (I think) are achieving an appreciation for God's creativity as they see His creation thriving in their own backyard. We recently hung a few birdfeeders, and have acquired a couple birdbaths. Watching and identifying birds has been a delight.
As the summer comes to an end, I've also been gearing up for the new school year and relatively new season of life. For those of you who do not know yet, Noah will be attending "real" school this year at Covenant Classical in Concord. He will be entering the seventh grade. When John and I began homeschooling Noah it was our hope to keep him home through his highschool years, but as he's gotten older it has become clear to us that he would benefit from a traditional school setting. The academics offered and extracurricular opportunities will hopefully spur him on to excel in his overall education. CCS is a highly respected academic facility. Some of his buddies already attend there, and he couldn't be more excited.
Please pray for a smooth transition for Noah, my biggest concern would be academic. Covenant is known to be uniquely difficult. Also, he will be going from a classroom of four to a classroom of twenty! Noah has always relied heavily on my one-on-one assistance. I hope he will grow more independent quickly!
In addition to transition, please pray for his character to grow in godly leadership and not to succumb to negative peer pressure. Homeschooling does allow parents to protect children from some of the harsh realities that are sadly introduced to children at too-young-of-ages (in my opinion). Though Noah is current on world events, (more so even than myself, he's an avid reader of World Magazine), he certainly has not had to endure the peer pressures that I faced by his age. I'm not hugely concerned about this issue, (Noah's a good kid), but I still covet your prayers for him and for wisdom for us in leading him through these years.
Thank you so much! I feel so privileged to have so many wonderful people walking through these years with us. You are a blessing to me!

Crazy Summer Daze

For the few of you who still visit this blog, I am grateful this
isn't the only place you go for regular updates about the Morrison family. Now that we all peruse Facebook, I've found it much easier to post video and pictures on there... leaving the blog to gather cyber dust. On occasion, the rusty wheels of my brain begin to turn around some story or event that I deem "blog worthy" and here I am again. Sorry for my absence, but I think it's inevitable this utility will be receiving less and less of my attention.
This summer has been particularly crazy around our household, especially July (notice not a single event was posted). Our church has designated July as our Sabbatical month of the year, temporarily postponing all meetings, except for Sunday mornings. The goal is to allow people to concentrate on their families as well as having time to reach out to others. We chose to spend the month opening our home to the small groups John oversees. Since we have the pool, our home is very conducive to large summer gatherings.
Altogether we had a total of six large cookouts in our home, at least one a week. The groups ranged from twenty people to nearly fifty. Here are a few pictures:




Between children flying through the air, and surprisingly older gentlemen cannon-balling into the pool that pretty much sums up our month.
It was fun!

Julianna's Jumpin' Birthday Jam

We celebrated Julianna's seventh birthday at Bounce U.

Boys' Night Out

My sister, Kath, took all the boys, including Grandpa, James and Benjamin, to see Up! at the theater. Can you find them all in this picture? They obviously had a grand time together. :)

Wipe Out on Family Day

Mondays are our official "Family Days", and in the summertime you can usually find us out on the lake.

A Bit More Poetry

Upon Gail's suggestion (my personal homeschool guru), we've been following a book written by Andrew Pudewa entitled Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization. We've been using incentives to motivate the children to memorize each poem. (Money talks.) It's been so much fun, and the kids are doing a great job!



Poems recited are as follows: "Ooey Gooey" (Author Unknown), "Celery" by Ogden Nash, "The Little Man Who Wasn't There" by Hughes Mearns, "The Vulture" by Hilaire Belloc, "After the Party" by William Wise, and "Singing Time" by Rose Fyleman.

La la la la Lauren

Grandpa in the Mountain

Went to Grandfather Mountain with Aunt Pat, Aunt Gail, Maggie, and all the kiddos. On our way there, Lauren asked if we were going to go see "Grandpa in the mountain". : )

Spring Has Sprung

We're always enthusiastic about all the critters spring brings about. This gray tree frog showed up in our backyard. The kids got a kick out of watching it climb up our window with its sticky feet. (Totally cool, if you ask me.) Slightly slimy, it was apparent immediately he wasn't a common toad, despite his bumpy gray appearance.
Anytime we look at these creatures up close, I am again amazed. Don't we serve a great God?!

Toothless

Cultivating a Green Thumb

This is what I've been up to lately, and I've had such a grand time doing it! These are only a few of the things I've planted. I've also planted knock-out roses, gardenias, a yuletide camelia bush, tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, parsley, blueberry bushes, jessamine, coreopsis, lantana, lady banks roses, peonies, phlox, pinks... the lists goes on. It has been glorious!
I love the spring!

Bracing Myself for the Future

Getting braces on Noah and Alyssa has been a regular reminder of their rapid progression towards adolescence...another step towards that phase of life that makes most parents cringe in apprehension. Books such as Paul Tripp's Age of Opportunity and Carolyn Mahaney's Girl Talk pair up on my reading list. A chapter here and there to answer the latest question or dilemma.
But it's an exciting season as well. The kids are beginning to think through their own decisions and beliefs. They are beginning to evaluate their hearts and personal choices they make. Hopefully the training we've done so far is beginning to bear fruit and our Christian faith will become their own.
I can be tempted to fear the upcoming years, but I am enthusiastic about it as well. I don't think I've ever felt more of a need to pursue discernment from others, and to seek God, from Whom all wisdom flows. And slowly, I am learning to loosen the protective restraints we've placed upon them in their earlier years. But I still want to hold on.
Training hearts while training teeth. Never thought braces would bring on so much reflection! Surely their symbolism will keep me on my knees, as I'm bracing myself for the future.

Lil' Dancers

Every time Julianna watches this, she says, "Ew. I had to dance with a boy." haha ; )

Bidgie's Third Birthday

This was one of my all-time favorite birthday parties. Maggie and I began planning a few months prior to the party via email... bouncing ideas back-and-forth off eachother. (I always say we make a great team.) ; )
We began the celebration with doggie ears, collars and face painting, and sang a few "doggie songs" to put us in the puppy mood. My niece, Kathryn, recently became the proud owner of a poodle-mix puppy, and brought him over as the guest-of-honor. The children were thrilled to play with a real, live, (very-active) puppy-dog. Next, Maggie led the children in Obedience School, where all the little "puppies" learned how to sit, beg, roll-over and speak. Then they enjoyed some "puppy chow" and milk shakes in their own little doggie bowls. Following the snack, we read a little story and all the children ran off to dig up some bones, which they later used in a game of Fetch. Lastly, we had the most adorable cake (Maggie's discovery online) and opened presents.
Some of my favorite moments were during the gift opening, as Lauren cheerfully thanked each person who gave her a gift, and even allowed another child to open one of her presents for her. She was simply delightful. It also was a joy and honor to have Jamie and Linda celebrate with us and the opportunity to introduce them to some of the people we love most.
Lauren's birthday, as each of our children's birthdays tend to do, was another reminder of the many kindnesses God has so graciously bestowed upon us. It was a reminder of the many people: family, friends, and church members, that He has placed in our lives. I am so grateful for them all.
Can you believe our sweet girl is three-years-old?

Faith and Trust

Challenged by this quote today:
Piper says, "Ordinarily faith would mean trust or confidence you put in someone who has given good evidence of his reliability and willingness and ability to provide what you need. But when Jesus Christ is the object of faith there is a twist. He himself is what we need. If we only trust Christ to give us gifts and not himself as the all-satisfying gift, then we do not trust him in a way that honors him as our treasure. We simply honor the gifts. They are what we really want, not him. So biblical faith in Jesus must mean that we trust him to give us what we need most–namely, himself. That means that faith itself must include at its essence a treasuring of Christ above all things."
-John Piper, Don't Waste Your LIfe

Three Wheelin'

Three-year-old Lauren learns how to ride on three wheels.

Snow in Charlotte!

Woohoo! We love the snow! We didn't even have to drive to Boone for a change. : ) (Though I have to admit, it's not quite as much fun without Magz.)
We are getting our fill of snowy days this winter. We've gone sledding in Boone twice this season, skiing at Sugar, and most recently skiing at Winterplace. Hoping to post more pictures soon.

Two Valentines

God has blessed me with two Valentines in my life. The obvious one being my true love, John. The other is a little girl who came to me on March 8, 1998, then two and a half weeks old.Alyssa was born on Valentine's Day and had spent her first couple of weeks in foster care. John and I had made the decision to adopt again just a couple months before she was born, and had no idea God would bring this little one into our lives so quickly. Only two weeks after we completed our paperwork, homestudy, and profile album, Alyssa joined our family!
Alyssa has always been full of life and adventure, though my favorite personality traits in Alyssa are her servant's heart and her generosity. Alyssa regularly gives to others, she shares without being asked and often spends her money on others. This kindness truly characterizes her, it's part of who she is.
I'm so excited to see Alyssa growing up to be such a lovely young lady, but especially since her decision to follow Christ. This has been a wonderful year in Alyssa's life, as she has been reborn in Christ, and can now celebrate an even more significant birthday in Him. What a joy for John and I as we watch her responding to the Lord's conviction as her desire to please Him is continuing
to grow.
Alyssa, we love you with all of our hearts and thank God for bringing you into our lives eleven years ago.

I Have a New Niece

Lauren Demasi was married to my nephew, Erik Poulsen, on February 7th. We are thrilled to have her as the latest addition to the "Flanigan" clan. (Isn't she beautiful!)

Mi Amoré

We decided to get Spencer a pet hamster. Just because.

I Failed to Mention....

He's nine.Spence celebrated with a Spiderman party.

Happily Ever After

John and I are celebrating our sixteenth wedding anniversary today! (I love you, Boogs! Happy Anniversary!) : )

Holiday Highlights