Welcome Baby Oliver!

St. Patrick's Day Celebrations

Picture 1: Yummy Yummy dinner at Mom and Dad Voelker's house. I'm thinking I'd like to make corned beef and cabbage a yearly tradition.

Picture 2: Sofia's first cake. (with help) :-)

Picture 3: Otis wanted in the action..

Peace

Week Two of our Sabbath celebration went well. My favorite part is all the playing, reading, and play time the kids are getting with the tv turned off for most of the weekend. And the yummy almond stuffed chicken..mmm mmm... We found both kids at seperate times this weekend off on their own absorbed in a book. Yay! Otis spent lots of time playing with Legos. Sofia cleaned her room all on her own - WOW!!! Patrick set up the new (to us) playhouse on the patio and the kids helped. Liz enjoyed her favorite hobby by transplanting about 50 tomatos, eggplants and peppers. Sunday afternoon we spent time with family(Erin, Ulises and Anthony) and that was a super fun time that included delicious food, kitty chasing, and the game Apples to Apples.

Peace was our theme for this week. We talked about how hands are important to peace because with our hands we can help or hurt. So we are watching for ways that people use their hands to help other people and in the process bring peace. It seems so symbolic of Easter because Jesus used his hands to heal and help so many and then ultimately, his hands were hurt in the process that brought us/brings us peace. In a small way, every act of giving we do with our hands can bring love and peace to someone else. I am purposing to be mindful of that this week.

The Perils of Clothing Autonomy

Note: The fashions portrayed above have entered into the regular clothing lineup of pictured individuals for certain purposes. Sofia has not been moved by convention in the past, refusing to wear a purple shawl with fringes over her shoulders but changing it over to a fresh, fashionable skirt. Everyone thinks it's a skirt because that's how she wears it. So, what do you do with underwear that's just too cute to hide? New head gear....Hilarious!!!

Joy

This year we are celebrating Lent by observing the Sabbath each week from Saturday night through Sunday night. This weeks theme was Joy. (The photo above of Sofia and Faith is a great picture of joy: a fun girls tea party with your friends!) In the week leading up to Saturday each person had a night in which we all participated in an an activity that brings them joy. The kids loved the idea and Otis named it "Joy night" as in "Is it my Joy night tonight?" For Sofia it was playing in a big tupperware full of assorted beans, sorting them, piling them, pouring them, sticking our hands deep into them. For Otis we played Batman Legos on the nintendo. That unfortunately backfired at school the next day, so we'll have to find him a less violent joy activity next time. The kids had a great time sitting down with Dad and his huge box full of Legos. We were a week late kicking off our Sabbath because of a prescheduled event but it went well. I'm still feeling relaxed, like I just had a mini-vacation. On Saturday we cleaned the house, gave the kids baths, prepared a delicious dinner and stocked the house with yummy snacks and spring flowers. I covered all the clocks and we only used candlelight. No tv or computers. The kids enjoyed the atmosphere, playing happily together. We also noticed that they were singing a lot this weekend. On Sunday afternoon we went for a drive to Multnomah Falls and hiked up to the bridge. Joy was each of the kids carrying their own umbrella and the sound of the water in a stream trickling down. It was very cold at the Falls and windy rain put an end to our hike.

I am looking forward to next week. There are a few extra things I will do to prepare, like having breakfast and lunch foods in the fridge ready to pop in the oven during the Sabbath and finding some fun activities to have on hand. Next weeks theme is Peace.

New Camera

We bought a new camera that is very fun to use. Here are some of the first photos with it.
This Saturday we had fun at Grandma Kitty's party and then stayed home sick on Sunday. Looks like Otis will get to miss school on Monday as well. Hopefully this will be the last wave of flu for the winter!

Christmas Fun