Family Expansion Project...

We are excited to announce that Kathryn will be a big sister sometime next August!

A Statement of Purpose Worthy of Thought

I recently stumbled upon an interesting statement by J. C. Ryle, an Anglican bishop of the 19th century. He asserts, "My chief desire in all my writings, is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and make Him beautiful and glorious in the eyes of men; and to promote the increase of repentance, faith, and holiness upon the earth." Wow! It took my breath away! May that be the chief desire, not just of our 'writings,' but of the whole of life.

Lessons from Leaves

This is our first fall in our new home with the lovely backyard containing 15 oak trees, one cherry? tree, a huge and accursed cactus patch and one dead rose bush. This is the first part in the backyard adventure series. I've been raking leaves and more leaves. This is what I've learned:

1. Fifteen oak trees drop a LOT of leaves.
2. Fifteen oak trees are capable of re-leafing the yard as quickly as one can rake.
3. The amazingly perfectionistic previous owners, "The Briggs" (intoned with as much awe as possible) kept the yard impeccable, thus raising the expectations of our neighbors.
4. The massive compost pile is not, as previously believed, their grocery scraps from the last 8 years. Rather it is their leaf collection.
5. Dachshunds like to relieve themselves on newly raked piles of leaves. When all urine is expended, they will 'mock mark' all the other piles.
6. #5 makes the casual scraping off leaves with your bare hand a risky endeavour.
7. It also provokes worrisome thoughts when your toddler throws her body into the pile.
8. Fifteen oak trees drop one trillion, three hundred thousand and two acorns.
9. Ambidextrous raking is recommended for avoiding calluses/blisters.
10. I'm a wimp!