The Sword of the Spirit

Years ago, I told Zane about how I had some spiritually dark nightmares as a little girl and my Mom would open the Bible and put it by my bed. The dreams stopped instantly. God's Word is so powerful. Ever since then, Zane has kept his open Bible next to his bed at night... then the other boys shortly followed suit. It recently struck me that this is pretty awesome. I had to snap some pictures. This is what you will see every day and night in their rooms. I was especially moved when we were in Sonora for Easter. I went downstairs late one night to check on the boys, totally unaware that they had brought their Bibles. There they lay, sound asleep, each one next to his open Bible. Not one of them forgot to pack his Sword.


Zane's Bible is always open to whatever scripture we are memorizing at the moment: right now, John 15:1-7. We just finished learning Ephesians 6:10-18 (how fitting!). Zane has been getting up on his own early each morning for a while now, spending time in the Word. My heart swells with what God is doing in each of the boys' hearts. Nothing compares.


Titus and Levi's room: Swords methodically positioned.


Levi literally covers his head with the Word at night. I love how he balances it just right on his headboard. So sweet.


I'm not sure what the significance of Esther is to Levi, but it's usually open to this book. Levi loves to read his Bible each morning.... pretty impressive for a little guy who doesn't read too many big words yet!


Titus keeps his Bible on his windowsill, propped open by the blinds. He is passionate about this and is convinced it's the ONLY way to get a good night's sleep.


Like Zane, Titus has his Bible open to his memory passage. He tells me he reads it each morning. What diligent children! ;)


Let's take a closer look at Bunny. LOVED.


Any touching moment can be ruined by something like this. Oh, BOYS!!!

Dining room

We just love our new dining room! It is cozy, with a capital C! It's especially wonderful with a fire in the fireplace. And the big windows with the trees outside make it so serene. I'm SO thankful.

Latest "adventure"

So, we discovered a leaking pipe in Sullivan's bedroom wall. The plumber said it has been leaking for months, at least, and has saturated the whole wall, insulation and all. We found it when there were wet spots in her carpet! Will demolished the wall (between Sulli's room and the laundry room) by himself (to save money) and then had the Dry Force people come and spray the mold and leave their de-humidifiers. For weeks, Sulli has been our little roommate, sleeping on the love seat at the foot of our bed. She is quiet as a mouse, and I will be sad to see her leave. Her wall is now repaired, and we just have to paint and tack down the carpet.

Red Belt!!! (Titus)

Titus recently earned his Red Belt in karate. He is progressing so quickly! Here he is, doing "Heaven" and "Earth" with his instructor, Mr. Kruger.


Here's Titus, confidently reciting his memory verses... perfectly!





We are so proud of our Red Belt! It won't be long before he is a Preparatory Black, like his big brother! Go, Titus!!!




We celebrated our warrior's accomplishments and went out to dinner!

Home, Sweet Home

Here are a few pictures of our new place... the front, from the front door and of the pool out back. It is so peaceful... we STILL can't believe we live here!




Will and I assembled and stained this picnic table for our front porch. I love it because we can eat outside, under the trees, and the kids can do their school work out there, enjoying the fresh air. Even on a hot day, the temperature is perfect on the porch because it's completely shaded and there's always a nice ocean breeze. At night, it's fun to sit out and listen the croaking frogs in the creek!



And, of course, Levi can be found in his favorite thinking spot almost every afternoon after lunch.

Mud Hens #10

I can't believe I haven't taken any pictures this TVALL season... except one. I have been to several games, though, and Zane is the best Mud Hen in the whole, wide world. Horrible name.... GREAT team!

Great Aunt Betty

We had my great Aunt Betty over for dinner a little while ago. She lives in Carlsbad and doesn't drive, so Will enjoys picking her up, and she LOVES Will. They enjoy talking during the hour-long drive each way. Betty was excited to see our new place, and we thoroughly enjoyed having her. She is 90 this year and reminds me so much of my Fauv (her brother). Their mannerisms are so similar, that I find myself fighting back tears once in a while, as I watch her. I miss him so much.




She brought old fashioned toys for the kids, which they loved. Sulli also enjoyed playing with her cane. Levi made her a sweet note and taped on a few coins, in typical Levi-fashion.

Thank you, Eden...

... for the precious skirt you made for Sullivan! We love it!

ELEVEN!!!

On Zane's birthday, March 8th, we took the day off of school and went out to dinner that night. He chose Islands because he likes their burgers and loves to watch surfing while he eats. As you can see, the kids were in rare form. (Notice Titus's new Beaver Cleaver face.)



After dinner out, we came home for presents. Nonnie and Popsie strike again! Levi wasn't the only one to get 2 new western shirts and a cowboy hat! Zane's favorite was the one with the guns on the back, of course! Thanks, N and P!





From us, Zane finally has two things every boy needs: a Swiss Army Knife and an iPod Touch.


And here he is, modeling the gun shirt... with his gun.