A Miracle

How soft and fresh he breathes!
Look! He is dreaming! Visions sure of joy
Are gladdening his rest; and, ah! who knows
But waiting angels do converse in sleep
With babes like this! ~ Bishop Coxe (1818-1896)





Our family has been blessed with another beautiful bundle of joy. Cole Alexander was born Wednesday, January 13, 2010 and weighed an even 7 pounds. Mom and baby are at home and doing great.

Fairytales

Tinkerbell Zee

Cinderella O

Fun with Lily

Wheat Harvest

Rice is the first crop planted in the spring. Then we follow with soybeans. Wheat is planted in the fall after the other crops are harvested. It is called Winter Wheat and creates patches of beautiful vibrant green in the dead of winter. This is the time for harvest and many farmers plant soybeans behind the wheat. We are letting this field "lay out" or rest this year after it is harvested. We practice crop rotation and always plant crops which will add back to the soil after another crop has used the nutrients. Yesterday we started the wheat harvest. Master March planned his visit so he could ride the combine--one of his favorite things in the world.

Happy farm boy

There is a buddy seat with a seat belt.

View from inside the cab.

Another view.

Much of the time the driver of the combine is looking up and to his right at a screen. Once the pattern for cutting is established a gps records it (somehow--above my head) and the combine actually steers itself! We use it on tractors, also. This would've saved a lot of arm waving back when I first learned to drive a tractor! Another advantage of this compurized genius device is that during harvest it shows the bushels per acre yielded and the exact spot that may be weak or strong, so when applying fertilizer you set it up with the spreader and it unloads the exact amount of nutrients needed in any given area.







Usually we have grain carts go into the field to carry the grain to the truck, but this is a smaller field and we don't have the manpower to run an extra machine because rice watering is also underway. The combine is unloading directly into the truck,




This is "Neecy" waiting on her Dad, who will drive the grain to the port on the Mississippi River. It will be loaded on a barge and delivered to the buyer who may be in the United States or another country.

A Boy's Adventure

Bed in Summer
~Robert Louis Stevenso

In Winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle light.
In Summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

Master March is visiting for a couple of days. He has finished his school work and is taking a little break. He told Papa and me a few months ago that he no longer wanted to sleep with us. We were boring. Spending the night on the sofa with the cat would be much more exciting!

Now I have visions of him and Smash, the cat, racing through the house, leaping off the arms and backs of the sofa and chairs. So far, I haven't noticed any picture frames or lamps knocked down. No signs of mice, either.

Little Boys

Author: Unknown

Little boys come in all shapes and sizes,
Shy and adventurous, full of surprises,
With misshapen halos and mischievous grins,
Small dirty faces, and sweet, sticky chins.

They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while
Nothing can brighten the world like their smile.
And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy
Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!

Memphis Belles

Little girls dance their way into your heart, whirling on the tips of angel wings, scattering gold dust & kisses in our paths.
-- Author Unknown

Princess O is happy to have Mimi visit.

Helping mommy is fun.

Cheerful helpers.

Belles with bows......

Love one another.

Where's Princess Zee? There she is!

Please come back soon, Mimi.

It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother -
that's why the world calls her grandmother. -- Author Unknown

Mimi's Angels

Master March and Princess April came to visit on Mother's Day

"May I please have a bite of your snack?"

Mimi has lots of children's books!

We missed Princess Zee and Princess O but they enjoyed a fun day at SeaWorld!


¹³People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." ¹⁶And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16

About the May Header Photo

I'm also experimenting with photography. I chose this photo to start with because it represents several important elements in my life.

First, family. My sister W. brought the strawberries by last week. They are freshly picked from a strawberry patch near her home. She got to the patch at daylight to pick them for me and drove 2 hours to deliver them on her way to visit our mother. This meant a lot to me because she has just recovered from her second knee replacement surgery and suffers from arthritis so it was a sacrifice on her part. It's rare to have someone sacrifice like that, so I'm feeling very special and blessed!

Second, books and philosophies. Charlotte Mason is the author of a homeschooling series from the late 1800's and early 1900's. Our philosophies are close to the same: Children are each unique, whole persons, who thrive on interesting living books (not "fluff"), good habits and education as an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. You can read more of Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education at http://simplycharlottemason.com/.

Third, lifestyle diet. For those who know me well, you know I've struggled with my weight and also with my health at times. Fresh fruits and vegetables are now the main part of my diet and this is just the beginning of a new lifestyle of eating for me.

Fourth, the kitchen is the center of my home.. The white bowl here is a favorite. It is nice and heavy, but I like it mostly because it reminds me of my Grandma Henry. She had bowls very similiar to this one. The lemon squeezer also reminds me of my childhood and were still seen in many homes in the 50's.


O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalms 34:8 KJV