After dinner James and Timothy approached the rest of us who were sitting outside and asked, “You want to see our latest addition?” They were holding a little something behind their backs, waiting for a big reveal, and full of excitement! We all assumed it was a new baby lamb.
Wow, were we wrong! James proudly showed us all a precious little fawn, while grinning from ear to ear. After we all marveled over this little creation and took turns loving on her, James explained what probably happened.
He rotates our sheep to a new pasture every few days. (Hopefully he will write a blog post on rotational grazing soon; it’s quite fascinating.) While the animals are enjoying one pasture, he builds another one, using temporary fencing. Well, it turns out that he must have built a new pasture while this little fawn was hiding among some bushes. Baby deer will lay still wherever their mama tells them to stay until she comes back for them. The fawn’s mama was likely foraging while James was fencing in the new pasture, and when she returned it was too late to retrieve her baby. All of this occurred without our knowing.
When James found our little deer she had probably been in her same spot for a full day or a little longer. She was so thrilled when James fed her a bottle! It was absolutely precious. Our kids have always wanted to hold a baby deer, and they finally got their chance. We had people ask us if we would keep her as a pet. But, as much as we enjoyed loving on her for a couple days we knew she needed to be reunited with her tribe.
James was able to arrange a situation that brought deer into our field during the night. He set his camera up to try to capture what happened. Though the camera didn’t capture every moment, we do know that other deer came to be with the fawn, and she was gone the next morning.
What a treat it was to enjoy that precious baby deer. Lauren was able to capture some sweet pictures of Esther with our fawn. It was a hilarious photo shoot!
What can I say? Jekyll Island feels like my home away from home. It is such a wonderful place! But it’s even better when you get to spend time with some of the people you love most. My mom, the girls, and I spent the weekend together at Jekyll. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the beach immensely. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
We hugged and kissed our guys goodbye, and though they acted a bit sad, I think they got along great without us!
Our first “matter of business” was a fun photo shoot on Driftwood Beach. I’m grateful that Lauren loves to capture beautiful memories. See her lovely photos below.
After Driftwood we headed to the water before sunset. Then, it was time for ice cream. While we indulged at the beach, the boys enjoyed ice cream at home.
Many more hours were spent at the beach relaxing, playing in the sand, and jumping waves.
And a weekend away wouldn’t be complete without a coffee date with my girls. 🙂
These two little girls are so much fun! I’m so glad they are best buddies.
A game of miniature golf rounded out our Saturday. Though we played the easy course, I wouldn’t say it was super easy for any of us. 🙂
A few favorites from the Driftwood Beach photo shoot captured by Lauren.
We don’t go out to eat very often, but today we decided to go out for lunch. Everyone grabbed a bowl and we shared a few pair of scissors as we headed to the garden and began harvesting greens to our hearts’ content. Kale, arugula, Swiss chard, and lettuce are growing bountifully these days. What a beautiful array of life and health the Lord has provided for our nourishment this spring, just steps from our front porch!
One by one we headed indoors where we garnished our salads with a lovely display of toppings set out on the kitchen island. Strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, almonds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, colored peppers, feta cheese, granola, and alfalfa sprouts were available to all. The weather was gorgeous, and we dined outside on our front porch along with some freshly baked loaves of bread.
It just doesn’t get much better than family game night! Add on top of that some loud, fast, and entertaining commentating by Timothy, and you have a recipe for loads of fun!
One of our favorite family games is Blank Slate. It’s a hit with all ages, even our Littles. One round of Blank Slate gives our family of 12 around 30 minutes of play time. Last night after the Littles and Middles were in bed we played a couple rounds with just the Big Kids in less than half an hour.
How do you play? Everyone gets their own color-coded miniature white board and dry erase marker. The moderator of the game (choose someone fun!) draws a card and lays it out for everyone to see. Each card contains one word and a blank line either before or after the word provided. Players have 30 seconds (or up to a minute for younger ones) to write a word on their board to fill in the blank. For instance, a card may read “Dog ______.” Possible answers may include: catcher, bone, blanket, biscuit, treat, bath, etc. Creativity is what makes this game a blast! But, in order to score the most points you only want one other person to share your same answer.
Once all cards are laid out face down on the table, the moderator then turns them over one by one and reads them aloud. Any overlapping answers go in the same pile for scoring. If no one shares your same word, then it’s zero points for you. If only one other person happens to think like you do, then you both get three points! And if a whole bunch of people get the same answer, they all get one point for writing the same word on their cards. In the end, whoever reaches 25 points first is the winner of the game.
Some of our Littles write random, silly words or letters on their cards, and Timothy keeps them cracking up as he reads their answers and makes them feel like they came up with something brilliant. Knox likes to write his name over and over again on his board. So, don’t let this game scare you away if you have several Littles. They make it even more fun and entertaining!
If you have a large family like ours you will need two game sets. But if you have a more “normal” sized family, one game box will do just fine. 🙂
We’d love to hear about any of your favorite family games, and let us know if you decide to give Blank Slate a try!
I have always enjoyed capturing memories of our family. Actually, Tim and I have loved capturing memories together since we first met. We didn’t have cell phones or even know the term “selfie” back then. We simply turned the camera around, pointed it at ourselves, and then hoped what we picked up at the photo store turned out half decent. 🙂
I’m so excited that we now have a daughter who is an amazing photographer. She takes the kids outside regularly and captures so many wonderful photos of them. I’m rarely the one who takes pictures anymore, and I’ve gladly given that job over to Lauren. It’s such a blessing to see her in her element as she helps other individuals, couples, and families capture milestones and memories through her photography.
Lauren recently treated Tim and me to a super fun photo shoot in the peach orchard. She is a natural behind the camera and gives flawless instructions, making photo shoots such a breeze. It’s always a treat for me to get Tim by himself for a little bit, and I’m grateful to Lauren for capturing some fun new photos of her aging parents that we will treasure for years to come.
You never know what everyone will show up wearing to dinner for our annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Knox was super excited to participate this year! When I offered him some green apparel to wear he was absolutely elated and yelled, “THANK YOU, MAMA!!” Then, he spiced up his outfit even more with a red coat of his choosing and some fun glasses. Timothy showed up in the same outfit as last year but acting the part of a different character. He plans to repeat the same fashion statement for years to come and said, “I want these clothes to be a bit baggy by the time I’m 45.”
Hannah prepared a spectacular dinner for us – all healthy, homemade, and delicious. The dining table was adorned with lovely arrangements of violets from the herb garden. Levi and Eliana won the dress-up competition, and as you can see Eliana was overwhelmed with joy by the announcement of her win! Did you know her middle name is Joy? 🙂
We love making fun memories around here, and this year’s green celebration was no exception.
We LOVE celebrations around here! You may have heard me say that a time or two before! 🙂
The kids went all out for Valentine’s weekend. We divided them into two teams — creating a full meal from scratch including a soup, salad, and a dessert! But the dessert wasn’t just any treat that you would typically find on your Valentine’s Day table. Each team had to create a dessert imposter! What is a dessert imposter? It’s a dessert that looks like a “regular” food. For instance, a dessert imposter might be a look alike hamburger: vanilla cake for the bun, a brownie for the burger patty, buttercream for the mayonnaise, and so on.
Check out the picture below. Which of the items are dessert imposters? Can you tell?
But let me not get ahead of myself. The dinner and dessert imposter competitions weren’t until later in the day.
We started off the day with a fun repeat game from last year’s Valentine’s Day celebration – How Well Do You Know Your Sibling? There were three sibling teams — Hannah and Lauren, Timothy and James, Levi and Eliana, and John Luke and Tim were on a team together.
I (Allyson) had the fun privilege of being the game moderator and asked each team a variety of questions that I had come up with in advance. Sample questions included: How many teeth does your partner have? If they could spend one week anywhere in the world, where would they go? What is their favorite green vegetable?
Each teammate wrote what they thought their partner’s answer would be on the top half of their tablet, and they wrote their own answer at the bottom. When they revealed their answers, I was able to easily read off and compare what they had written.
Some reactions were quite funny. Teammates were sometimes shocked by their partner’s answers. Other times they cheered and gave hi-fives. It was an hour full of laughter and fun! But, one team was the clear winner — Levi and Eliana! I had a feeling that they would pull out a win, but they did even better than I thought they would. They clearly know each other very well!
The remainder of the afternoon was spent preparing for the big dinner competition. Team #1: Hannah, Timothy, Eliana, and John Luke. Team #2: Lauren, James, and Levi. Both teams planned days in advance for the competition and worked so well to prepare and present their meals.
Tim and I were the judges, and we felt like honored guests as the kids prepared a special table with all their delicacies spread before us. We judged in two categories: Best Dessert Imposter and Overall Winner. Each team cooked/baked a soup, salad, and dessert imposter. Team #1 chose an Italian theme, whereas Team #2 chose more of an Americana theme. Both looked absolutely delicious, and the dessert imposters looked even better in person than in pictures. The pictures don’t do them justice.
Team #1’s Meal: The most amazing roasted garlic and mushroom soup imaginable – served over a bed of rice, a fabulously tasty Italian salad topped with homemade Italian dressing, homemade garlic bread sticks, and a pizza dessert imposter. You may wonder what the pizza was made of; I did too! 🙂 The crust was a cookie crust topped with a cream cheese frosting for the “cheese.” The “olives” were homemade chocolate that they poured into circles. The pizza sauce was strawberry coulis, the “basil” was actually mint, the strawberry bits were in place of tomatoes, and the meatballs were homemade chocolate covered pecans. Absolutely and incredibly delicious. Every. Single. Bite.
Team #2’s Meal: A mouth watering homemade chicken noodle soup, flavored with an array of delicious spices. A beautifully decorated and delicious Cobb salad, which also came with a homemade honey mustard and garlic dressing. And for the dessert imposters: BLT sandwiches with a side of fries and ketchup. Wow! What a spectacular presentation, and everything tasted amazing!! The fries were actually sugar cookies, baked to perfection, and the “ketchup” was strawberry coulis. The BLTs were made with vanilla cake (as the bread), buttercream frosting (for the mayo), white chocolate mixed with avocado (in place of lettuce), strawberries (as the tomatoes), and the bacon was the most impressive of all! It actually looked like real bacon but was made with caramel, tootsie rolls, and white chocolate. To complete the look, the sandwiches were brushed with “grill marks” made from strong coffee. Quite a spread!!
A lot of work went into both of these meals, to say the least! Tim and I both agreed that this spectacular meal was much better than a fine dining experience at a fancy restaurant. The food truly was exquisite and the presentation was incredible! The creativity of the teams was brilliant!
The judges had a lot of deliberating to do for sure! But, we finally came to our conclusions and announced the winners to the teams as they enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Team #1 won the Overall Competition! And Team #2 won the Dessert Imposter category! We were not trying to give each team a way to win. That’s truly just the way it worked out. Tim and I could not have been happier to be the judges. 🙂 What a fun competition that we will remember for years to come!
We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas – from our home to yours.
These past few days have truly been joyous in our home. Though Christmas is all about Jesus, we are thankful that we get to celebrate his birthday as a family, doing lots of fun things together. We all anticipate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with great delight. Having littles to celebrate with makes memories that much sweeter and more fun!
It’s always a big day in October when ten names are written on ten small pieces of paper and placed in a bowl. Each of our kids draws one of their sibling’s names, revealing who they will give gifts to on Christmas Eve morning. This was one of the best decisions we made years ago in order to streamline gift giving. I love how excited kids get about finding the perfect gifts for their siblings. Some are homemade and some are store bought, but they are all special.
Two days before Christmas we all got excited about an early Christmas present that none of us expected until January. A baby lamb! He is absolutely adorable. He lives outdoors, of course, but he’s been treated to some extra lovin’ indoors with the extreme cold temperatures these days.
When Christmas Eve morning arrived, our Littles were jumping around with anticipation, excited to head upstairs where we exchange gifts. Some of the kids “fight” over who gets to give their gifts first. 🙂 I snapped some pictures of the siblings that gave each other gifts.
Hannah had the wonderful idea of writing down many of the memories she has of Grandma through the years. She also wrote down many things she is thankful for about Grandma and shared those out loud during our gift exchange. I told Hannah later that I hope I have a grandchild like her one day. I was really blessed by all she shared!
One of the really fun things about Christmas morning is the bags of Cheetos that Grandma gives everyone! It’s always the last gift we open, accompanied by cheering and chanting, “Cheetos!”
It has become our tradition to conclude our morning with a lovely and delicious brunch, prepared by Hannah and Lauren. This year Eliana joined in the baking as well. We feasted on homemade quiche, grits, cinnamon swirl bread, various fruits, pancakes, scrambled eggs, as well as tea and coffee. We enjoyed hamburgers and lots of yummy sides later in the day for dinner, and then the fun really began!
It was time for our annual Christmas Eve sleepover! All the mattresses were pulled out into the living room, topped with piles and piles of blankets and pillows. The seemingly endless row of mattresses turned into a mini trampoline park for the evening. Then, we all settled in to watch a movie together before falling asleep with a lovely fire crackling in the fireplace.
Christmas morning is a special time to focus on God’s goodness in our lives. We enjoyed celebrating this time by quoting Scripture passages that we’ve all been working on memorizing over the past few weeks. The length of the passage/passages isn’t important. Rather, we want to edify and encourage one another with God’s Word.
What a blessed time it was of listening to all the kids quote their passages. Even Grandma joined in the fun by quoting verses she had memorized. Tim and I both agree that memorizing is not easy but it’s definitely rewarding.
Passages we quoted included:
Psalm 25:1-14
Proverbs 3:13-14
Ephesians 6:10-18
Psalm 105:1-45
Proverbs 12:1-28
1 Timothy (Chapters 1-4)
Psalm 27:1,4
Ephesians 1:1-23
1 Peter 2:1-25
2 Peter 3:1-10
Hebrews 9:11-28
Hebrews 10:19-39
Titus 2:1 – 3:5
These two got the giggles as Knox tried quoting Esther’s passage after she was finished quoting
We are so blessed that our children are walking in the truth!
We hope you all had a wonderful day, and once again we wish you a very Merry Christmas!
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Thanksgiving Day is a super fun day of celebration in our home that we have really come to look forward to every year!
Most days of the year you will find us sharing things we are thankful for around the kitchen island during breakfast, around the school table upstairs, or around the dinner table in the evenings. We know that it is always God’s will for us to give thanks (see the verse above) so we try to put that into practice on a daily basis.
On Thanksgiving, though, we just have a big celebration!
Our lunch meal is a delicious feast, and this year the kids did all the cooking. Lauren prepared the mouth watering turkey and most of the scrumptious side dishes. While lots of yummy smells filled the kitchen, Esther and I had so much fun decorating her gingerbread house.
We enjoyed playing games together and relaxing and chatting over cups of coffee.
The real fun always begins in the afternoons, though. Baking time! This year was our 6th annual bake-off. The seven oldest kids start preparing their recipes weeks ahead of time in anticipation of the big competition. I love watching them bake and have fun together in the kitchen, while Christmas music fills the house.
Just as the sun was setting, all the desserts were ready for show time!
It is quite a feat to fit seven small servings of dessert on each plate in order for the tasting to begin. It’s an even bigger feat to sample them all and determine which order to rank them in on our score cards. After everyone turned in their tally sheets, I escaped to a separate room to count all the votes. This year we had a three-way tie for second place. But, our first place winner won by a landslide!! The anticipation was killing everyone as Tim dramatically read off the scores and finally announced our 2022 winner. JOHN LUKE!!! The youngest baker in the bunch wowed everyone with his Dutch Apple Pie. It was simply amazing!
John Luke was beyond thrilled when his name was shouted out! He ran around with glee before being overwhelmed with emotion as he gave his Papa the biggest hug. Applause and cheers erupted around the dining room! We were all so happy to share in John Luke’s excitement!
There is just so much to be thankful for this holiday season. Most of all we are thankful for Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again to save us from our sins. We are thankful to know Him as our Lord and Savior. We are thankful that anyone can call on the name of the Lord and be saved and know the one true God personally. We are thankful for His inspired, inerrant Word that we can read and study everyday in order to know God and trust and obey Him alone. We are thankful for one another and the love and joy the Lord has given us in our home.
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Growing Reeds 