It's a Zoo out there!

The fun Zoo Day!

Jonathon's sister won some free tickets to the Cleveland Zoo and very thoughtfully asked us if we wanted to go. So, we made it a super fun day and called it Josiah's birthday celebration.

We walked into the park with extremely excited children. If we would have been in a building, I would have said they were bouncing off the walls Excitement was high as we entered the Rain Forest building, and they went from exhibit to exhibit with great enthusiasm about what they were seeing.

They picked their favorite creature to have a picture with. What fun they had. It looks like the tree frogs won out. Must be tree frogs have gained popularity in our house because of the one at our house that talks to us from the air conditioner unit. :)

We learned a great deal about marsupials. I even learned new things. The children got to feel the difference between the red and brown kangaroo fur. We also learned that a koala bear is a marsupial and watched a video of how the baby finds it's mother's pouch. Amazing creation!

A trip wouldn't be complete without a family pic. Even Benaiah looks like he was ready for the camera. We did have such a good time!

Aunt Mandy joined us since she won the tickets. What a great time of sharing a fun day with her. The children sure love her!

This was a slide that was like a snake that came out of the side of a big ship. It really looked neat from the outside, and everyone was wanting to go down it until we got inside, and they saw what the opening was. The two younger ones chose to take the steps down with me while Alegra braved it and went down through the snakes belly. She beat us to the bottom and said it was really scary, but she loved it.

Of course every zoo has a petting farm. These sheep were super cute and the girls didn't want to miss out on petting them.

This little train would have been a fun ride, but we chose to just watch it. Josiah was such a friendly bystander, waving to the riders everytime we passed it. So cute!

His hand was so small compared to the big gorilla hand. We did see the gorilla but from a distance. Alot of the animals weren't close enough to really enjoy...except the beaver. He was right along the glass where we stood. Details of an animal are truly a wonder, and we were glad to get to see some of them up close.

This was Josiah's favorite part. He knew these were reindeer, but he said that reindeer are buck deer who like the rain. Very funny. He actually got a camera in the mail that we got through a Kellogg's cereal box before we left for our day away. We told him he could take whatever pictures he wanted to. I'm sure we will be surprised by what the pictures end up being, but the majority of his pictures were of the reindeer and their big antlers.

The amazing giraffe! They got to see this guy up very close. Josiah was always too short to see over top, so he usually took the low road. :)

The highlight of the children's day was seeing the dinosaurs. This T Rex was quite large and Josiah really didn't want to go stand by him. The little girl beside him wasn't scared. In fact she walked over to Josiah, put her arm around him and smiled at her daddy taking a picture. Too funny! Josiah quickly got away from her. I'm not sure who he was more scared of then. Ha!

You have to know that this was the Dad's idea, of course, and had I been thinking better, I would have had the people standing on the side laughing at his set up, take our picture, and I would have joined them as the horrified, screaming mother on the side. Would have been funny, but this picture turned out cute enough I think.

Here Alegra is climbing the rope tower. In the distance you can see the domed rain forest building (on the right hand side of the rope tower).

Josiah demonstrating what a lion does. The lions are so neat even though they just lay there. When we went to the van to eat our packed lunch, we could hear the lion roaring. What a sound of power! We must have missed their lunch time and not wanting people so close to their food because they didn't give us any good shows.

Here is our happy boy. He enjoyed the day and was so good, as usual. It sure is enjoyable not having to worry about having a fussy baby to deal with. What a blessing and enjoyment he is to us! The end of the day and he was still smiling.

We rode the tram a little before we left so the children could take a ride. It didn't turn out to be quite what we were planning (poor Jonathon had to walk back to the van from the drop off point), but at least the children got to ride a little. Free rides are enjoyed so much more than the ones that cost!

They could only be serious for so long, then they busted loose. Josiah was still in lion mode.
Actually, the majority of the time he seems to be in lion mode. He's a boy!

Me and Benaiah on the tram. What a nice ride on a warm day.

All in all, we had a wonderful day together! It was a long day, but well worth it. This was our kick off for school and a good one at that! Have you visited any zoos this summer. Please comment about it. What zoo, where, and how was it. We love to hear what zoos are good ones for future zoo trips.

Our busy weekend- wedding bells

I am just getting around to posting about our fun filled last weekend. It is the start of this weekend, and I thought I should go ahead and get caught up before needing to post on a field trip we are doing on Sunday.

Last Friday night, we had the priviledge of attending an absolutely beautiful wedding. Some friends from church, Joel and Bethany made a marriage covenant outside in the bride's parent's backyard. It was a perfect evening and wonderful. We made it a date night (well with Benaiah too) and had a splendid time at the reception too. What a blessing to see the start of a marriage that is firmly built on God and HIS ways.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Joel Hawkins!

Our friends, Phil and Casie and one of the other babies that got to attend, Amalyah.

Jonathon and I with a sleeping Benaiah on the floor in his seat beside us. What a lovely evening!

Growing Baby 3 1/2 months

Our happy baby!

Well, I haven't posted much on Benaiah lately, and with him being a baby, he will be changing so quickly so fast. We have not enjoyed any of our children, as babies, as much as we have this one. Maybe it's because we are older, maybe it's because we appreciate life so much more, or maybe it's just because he is a really, really sweet baby.

He is so happy and enjoyable to spend my days with. He has lots of stories, is beginning to laugh (kind of), and is really starting to respond to all of us in the family. It's really great seeing him talk with Alegra, really scary seeing him watch Josiah, really challenging watching him get frustrated with his lovey sister, Diella, really wonderful seeing him gaze at his Papa in awe, and really heart wrenching when he sets his focus on me and just smiles. I really like this little babe, alot!!!

I can't believe how fast he is growing! The time is just slipping away, so I am trying to make sure that I don't miss any moments. Sure, I'm with him all day, so how could I miss anything? Easily when I have a house full of needs and wants from little ones. My days are full of normal mommy duties and very few "I just want to because I like to" times of relaxation. That's just where I have to be right now in life, and I really don't mind it. I get to watch four amazing children grow up to hopefully become servers, worshipers, and followers of HIM.

Bethany's Marriage Celebration

Bethany Boomershine's Celebration of Marriage

This was by far the most detailed Celebration that we have done. Not quite as quaint as some, but overall one of the most fun and sweet Celebrations. In the past all we have done were Celebrations for expectant women, but this time we wanted to celebrate an up coming wedding.

We made it an elegant evening and all the decorations and food were suited as such. We also wanted to incorporate fresh flowers as she loves flowers, so you will see how we did that. The meal was salad, manicotti, breadsticks, and then miniature wedding cakes. The ladies all mingled while eating and enjoying the evening of lady fellowship.

Preparations for this evening were grand, but well worth it! And yes, all of us who worked at it, did have quite a bit of fun getting ready. The following pictures are of the cake making. This took most of the time out of all the decorations/meal prep. But you can't argue that these cute little cakes are elegantly adorable.

This is the table full of the adorable little cakes. And here is the cake up close.....

While ladies shared scripture and biblical advice on marriage, we also did feet washing. This was very special as their was so much family attending this Celebration. The picture below is one of my favorites. The lady washing Bethany's feet is her sister-in-law and the baby is her niece. I think Shalom, the baby looks up to her Aunt Bethany and this picture clearly shows that.



This next picture is also one of my favorite pictures...okay, all the feet washing ones were favorites. This is Bethany's grandma and great grandma. Isn't that completely perfect?! What a blessing for her to have had two older generations serving her in such a way. I love it!


And then her mother-in-law washed her feet. What pure joy is displayed here between two who will soon be mother and daughter.


For this Celebration we wanted to do something special for Bethany that had to do with the men in her life right now. With the help from a couple others, a video was put together of pictures of Bethany and her fiance, Joel with recordings of Bethany's two brothers, Dad, and Joel. They recorded reading scripture, memories, and just their own personal thoughts to Bethany as she enters this new phase of life. It was precious and definitely put to use the kleenexes.


Lastly, we gave her gifts to help them get started as a married couple. But from all of us sisters at the church, two of the ladies made a quilt for her, and it was presented to her. Very beautiful and should be a treasured piece.

This Celebration was so beautiful and enjoyable as we all were reminded of how to serve our husbands, remain in the faith to be an example to them, and how to put up with the "male" gender that is so opposite from us. It was truly wonderful to see a young lady who has kept herself under her dad's authority and ready to be under a different man's authority. But making sure that he is truly going to lead her family according to the scriptures that God has given to us to follow. What a blessing these two are and an encouragement to all of us with young children that it is possible to train our children to stay under the proper authority until the right day. Thanks to all who helped and to Bethany for letting us honor you and serve you as you enter becoming a wife.

My Long Awaited Celebration of Motherhood

My Celebration was planned for while I was in the hospital, but on the day of the original party, some of the ladies graciously came to the hospital to do a mini Celebration for me. It was a blessed time with snacks and scripture sharing that was perfect for what I needed at the time. But then I got the "real" Celebration too. I'm undeserving!


For the original Celebration they had all the ladies go in together on buying us plants for the garden and flowers for our flower beds. These things were given to us before, during planting time and one of the men from the church planted our whole garden and tended to it while we were gone. What a huge blessing! Little did Laura, the one who planned it all, know that this would be more of a blessing than what she realized. She didn't know that I would end up in the hospital unable to get things planted myself. That is where it is truly so much of a blessing when we hear the Lord directing the Celebrations to go in the direction He wants them to go in. It makes far more of a blessing than we could ever conjure up on our own. So she stuck with the theme of planting and flowers. She had vases of flowers and packets of seeds on the table for the ladies to take home.

They planned a brunch this time with some of the most delicious foods ever! I was impressed for sure! It's too bad I didn't get a picture of the food table.


The surprise this time was that they had Jonathon, my husband, come in and lead worship. He chose some of the songs that he and I sang a lot of in the hospital that were encouraging to us. This sure was nice. And it made for some good tears too. Thanks! As if there aren't enough of those at these things. :)


Me crying during worship time. Was such a blessing having my husband come and share with us ladies.

Then sharing time... Most all of the ladies shared scripture, stories, poems, or whatever was on their hearts to share with me. I do not feel that I am all that they shared me being, but it was encouraging to hear how the Lord blessed others through my situation and seeing how we handled it. May others learn from our trial. Above is Liz Arsenaeu sharing her wonderful little story about a mother who makes a mess in her frustration. How encouraging it was to remember that we need not get upset because it always results in actions we later regret.


Casie shared about being an invisible mom. We do so many things that never get recognized. Our rewards are certainly not earthly when it comes to mom awards.


They washed my feet and then Vicki massaged them. What a humbling feeling knowing that they were all doing it out of love for me, wanting to show me their heart ti sit at my feet to serve me. Again, I am undeserving!


I was also blessed to have the girls there to see how ladies should minister to one another. This is so much more than a typical baby shower. It's what we are called to do. The older ones teaching the younger ones. Building one another up in love. Thinking of others more highly than ourselves. Serving those of the household of faith. How precious it is for my daughters to see how to grow into a biblical young lady.

Here is Diella in all her cuteness!

And after the party is over, the clean up crew. Thanks ladies to all who helped plan, helped prepare, shared to make it a blessing and helped clean up. What a blessed time with my sisters!

Photo Shoot Fun With Mommas and Babies

We decided we wanted some family pictures taken at our house and the lady who we had as our midwife volunteered to do this. Then she decided she would like pictures of all the moms and their babies that she has delivered from our church here in the last year. So, we invited 6 other families and had such a great time taken pictures.

Here is Ireena, the midwife, with all of us ladies surrounding here. What a great pic. Well, all the pics. really are great! It was so much fun!

This is just the moms and babies. They all really did cooperate well.

Here is our little family sitting in our backyard. Alegra 7, Diella 5, Josiah 3 (almost 4), and Benaiah 6 weeks. Couldn't have asked for a nicer picture!

Here is Jonathon with the three older children. What a great Papa and is clearly displayed here.

These are our good friends who also had their family pictures taken. What a cute bunch of children we have...okay the adults aren't too bad either. :)
Until you saw their crazy picture, then you might have thought we weren't all that great. Haha!

Sleepy children

One night I walked into the children's room and saw such peacefulness. I had to share the pictures with you. For some reason we didn't get one of Alegra or Josiah, but you can enjoy the other two.
Here is our Benaiah sleeping ever so peacefully. He loves his bed! I put some blue and green sticky butterflies on the wall above the crib rail and he loves looking at them. He also likes looking at his taggy blanket that you can see in the bottom left corner. Such a clever little blankie for babies with different colored ribbons sewed all around it. I think he will really like it when he can get it into his mouth.

And this one cracked me up and was the reason we decided to take pictures in the first place. Diella has been, by far, our biggest cuddler and loves to snuggle with soft things. Apparently this night she needed the softness all around her head. Bear and Freddy Frog must have soothed her to sleep with their softness. Too funny! Hope you enjoy it!

Summer Irrigation Fun

Summer Irrigation Fun

Diella and Josiah had so much fun one warm day playing in the irrigation. Complete with umbrella and snow boots, they made for some great pictures.

Diella-"Is it coming yet?"

Josiah- "oh, no, here it comes!"

I love this one!!!! It looks like they love each other! They do have their loving moments. Oh what fun on a summer day!!!