It's Spring!

Tasha gave birth today to two sweet kids.  The black spotty one is a female and the other a male.   

A Delightful Surprise!

Matthias found some baby chicks yesterday! The hen had been sitting without our knowledge.



We put them in the chicken tractor to protect them from predators, something we learned the hard way last year. Hawks do have sharp eyes.

First Spring Salad

Salad recipe from A Little Loveliness. I omited the turkey, as I didn't have any. I don't usualy eat salad that sweet, but it was delicious!

Poetry Friday

After reading the book Spring, An Alphabet Acrostic , the three youngest boys wrote their own acrostic poem.

Joy, from Laurence (He traced the Lamb from the book A Catholic How-to-Draw)

Nest, from Dominique

Life, from Matthias

And Look What Happened Today

Madame Alfred Carrier

Fairy Roses

Joseph's Coat

Not too surprising with temperature in the nineties! And Lydia did spend a good part of yesterday morning caring for them.

May 1st, St Joseph the Worker

Saint Joseph, Foster Father of Jesus Christ, Head of the Holy Family, Patron of the Universal Church,

Patron Saint of a Happy Death,

Pray for Us!

From A Year With God

On the first day of May we love to make May baskets. It is one of many traditions we delight in to create A Time to Keep for our children. However, this years there is no roses in bloom to grace our baskets. But, to our enchantment, as if it new that this is the beginning of the lovely month of Our Lady, a single bud on one of our peonies slowly unfolded throughout the day into this magnificent flower. This single blossom on the first day of May is like a sweet promise of the many more to come during this glorious month of Mary.

Like so many friends inspired by Alice, the queen of crafts, we made a Marian May Cone for Dominique's godmother.

Again, just like last year, the children made greeting cards, this time using lovely scrapbook supply. Dominique also made one for his godmother to give with the May cone above.

St George, Shakespeare and Springtime!

Yesterday, just like last year on this beloved feast of St George, the little boys busied themselves drawing pictures on one of their favorite theme; knights and dragons!

Felix

Matthias

Dominique

Laurence

Lydia and Laurence made some shortbread dragon cookies with the cookie cutter Sara gave us for Christmas.

What fun it was to decorate them!

But also to eat them at teatime with some Harrods English tea.

Since it was also Shakespeare’s birthday we watched part two of In Search of Shakespeare a very well done PBS documentary. Was Shakespeare Catholic? Michael Wood gives good evidence that he was.

You might have notice Laurence’s dirty fingernails as he is sipping his tea. Well, the weather was so gorgeous, it just beckoned us to go outside and explore the wonders of springtime.
Look who was out in the pasture basking itself in the sun along with the cows and goats.

Just then Dominique spotted a hawk in the sky. As Laurence turned to see, I snapped this picture. It almost looks like he is trying to imitate the turtle.

We followed the box turtle into the woods where Dominique had a chance to see it face to face.

How amazing that sweet Mother Dove stood still to let me take this closeup picture. I was less than a foot away!

A look inside one of our bluebird birdhouse revealed these roundish little ones.

Matthias found these abandoned wren’s eggs near where the chicken lay their eggs. I guess the chicken scared Mother Wren away.

Poor wrens, they seem to have a habit of choosing precarious places to nest. Last year they build a nest in Sebastien’s shorts hanging on the clothesline. I tried not to disturb the little mother, but one weekend we kept our son’s dog and sadly he had other ideas. I’m sorry to say that he more than unsettled the little nest.

The first sunflowers in the sunflower maze are sprouting.

Of course spring and kids simply go together like bread and butter. Here are Matthias and Mattimeo.