one last tux shot

yesterday was a momentous day. the last of matt's group of college buddies FINALLY got married!! :) and to think--to a girl he graduated from hope college with! yet just in the past year have they struck up this relationship. we, too, have known his new wife since college, so it's fun to see them together now. they are going to be great together. of course, ryan and jen didn't even make it into this picture yesterday, but maybe he'll post some of their wedding photos on his blog.

since this may be the last time all the guys will be in tuxes together, i just had to highlight the occassion, as well as to include their previous tux shots. the first here was taken 8 years ago at scott's (second from right) wedding, and the second was taken 7 years ago at ty's (second from right) wedding. (our wedding was a month after scott's, and no tuxes.)

matt has been so blessed to have this great group of guys who have stayed in touch through the years since their beginnings a decade ago-yikes-at hope college. looking forward to a couple of days at the cottage all together (minus the honeymooners) next weekend!

misty of chincoteague

i recently finished reading this book to miriam. it is a wonderful story, but the most exciting part for me was discovering throughout the course of reading that it is based on true facts. the island of Chincoteague really exists off the coast of Virginia/Maryland and its neighboring island, Assateague, still swarms with wild ponies, as the book depicts. "pony penning day", also described in the book, is still an annual event there. this destination is definitely going on our list of family vacations to take. i love how reading opens up new worlds right from your living room sofa.

computer wackiness

our computer has been whacked out for the past week or so, so for the two of you who actually check my blog regularly, sorry about that. :)

angel encounter at wendy's

one day last week we met matt at wendy's for lunch. there was nothing in the house to eat and i was too unorganized and tired to go to the store. it had been a rough morning, and i was in a really bad mood. it was one of those days of feeling like my kids would be better off if i was not their mom.

toward the end of our meal, i looked up and there was this sweet older woman standing over our table, who began in a very soothing voice, "do you know how blessed you are to have this family..." and then proceeded to look each of us in the eyes with compliments and encouragements. i was fighting back the tears, because it was SO what i needed right then. and it came from a total stranger.... or was it?

me & music

when i hear good music, something comes alive inside me. i am amazed at how a certain song can come on and, either because of profoundly relevant lyrics or even just really well-done music, it can just instantly crack me open.

i am adding a music feature to my sidebar. sometimes it may be an album or sometimes just one or two songs that i am enoying or that have blessed me in some way. i don't personally own nearly all of my favorite stuff, so sometimes it will just be a song i've heard somewhere or snippets i have heard online.

great family flick

earlier this year i read the book Because of Winn-Dixie to Miriam, and this past week we watched the movie. it is sweet and innocent for kids, and still entertaining for adults, with a good message, too. i was also pleasantly surprised to see (and hear) in it one of my favorite musicians, Dave Matthews. i would recommend it!

charlotte mason

as you can probably tell by my last post, i really get into charlotte mason's philosophy of education. it resonates with my interests and style (and ours as a family). and though i doubt the way we teach our kids will fit perfectly into her methods and ideas, overall i think they will impact much of what we do. one writer on the web gave what i thought was a nice synopsis of what was important to mason in regards to educating children here.

you can also find/read charlotte mason's entire original homeschooling series online here. i still have much learning and reading to do!