Happy Birthday Mack!!

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Uhhhhhhh! where did it go??

It was so fun to baby sit Mack!

Go Macky Boy!

For our St. Patrick's Day program Joseph told the real story of St. Patrick life and ministry. We were all inspired by his dedication to the Lord.

For this program we really just played a lot of songs we already knew but put in a few Irish songs that we had not done before. The program turned out nicely.

We went and played for the Lion's Club pancake supper. Two thumbs up for the meal!

Oh Boy! Here comes busy April.

Wow Graham! I knew you liked looking through binoculars but not that much.

A new look!

I cannot believe it is March already and I am still posting February pictures.

Why are you looking so scared? Did you mess up???

Hey Graham, look at how Joseph is doing it. Good job painters!!

Valentine program! Luckily are matching ties are pink. It is hard to find 10 ties that are all the same color and style. I think we bought these pink ones online special.

Wow Betsy! was that your friend you graduated with from high school way back when???

Too bad Seth it's all gone. Hahaha!! It looks like that was your third or fourth fun-size pie cup from what I see on your plate.

The meal was great! See the smiles:)

Our good friend Curtis was giving us guitar lessons while we were setting up and putting down the instruments.

Having fun tuning up and jamming in the corner.

Although bells are hard to get exactly right, I think we did okay this time.

Now that we have been playing and visiting these people for three years regularly, they have all become our dear friends.

We always enjoy visiting Covey, Melody, and Mack in Omaha.

New Video

It has almost been a year now since we've made our website and blog. They have been so nice to have. We enjoy sharing them with friends and new acquaintances. Here is a video we put together that shows snippets of our past programs.

Happy Birthday Joseph!!

Happy Birthday Joseph!!

Your choice of cake and meal were fabulously delicious. I wish you had your birthday more often:)

One of our favorite birthday games to play is called "Windbag." Every windbag game is different because dad always changes the rules but the main object of every game is to blow out the candle or candles. It is always a blast!

Oh, no! Betsy, what are you going to do? Your younger brother and sisters are getting taller then you.

Our first programs for the year were at our local elementary schools. We always love sharing our music with children.

January

Getting ready for the new year by setting goals??? You would think so but not here... we are practicing, practicing, practicing. We have some big programs coming up this spring.

There is plenty of room for everyone to play around! hahaha John is giving dance lesson to the family.

Happy Birthday Katie!!!

I think Katie savored every last bite of her birthday cake. She will be leaving for India soon. She is going to spend probably the next six months over there working on a building project. We will miss her sooooooooo much!

Nature is so majestically beautiful!

I hope the bunnies are warm in there.

Deep, deep, deep, snow. We we all excited. This was the second time we've had a snow storm this year.

Last year our wonderful neighbors next door bought us a snow blower. It helps a lot!

Betsy shoveling out the neighbors porch! We all enjoy going around the neighborhood and shoveling people's walk ways.

"When ye are in the service of your fellow men ye are only in the service of your God"

Looks like the sidewalk is nice and clean of snow. Good job Isaac!

While the boys were probably enjoying a snowball fight. Marilee made sure the bunny cages were dug out and that they were acclimating well with the snow.

These times we have together as a family our precious moments. It is taking the time to notice and observe the simple but important things of our lives.

Building Update!

This should be voted as the funniest picture of the month! Where there is a break time, there is always creative ways to find enjoyment... like teeter-tatoring on debris.

How is it? Isaac is testing out the new bench he help make with Seth.

Good Job Seth and Isaac! They look good so far.

Oh Boy! We got plenty of tile.

We are excited about laying this tile down. It has a lot of character and variation.

John and Seth go in the morning and lay tile for couple hours. Little by little it is starting to take shape. The plan is that they start at the front door and are making a pathway to the back of the room.

Dancing or sweeping? Well whatever you are doing you have good style!

Endless cement mixing. I think there is around 1500 square feet of tile and cement. Seth and John will be experts by the time they finish this big project. What a wonderful job they are doing.

Knees hurting yet? It is looking good boys! You are almost there! I can see the back of the wall.

On Saturday's we all try to spend time helping John and Seth with the tile. Cleaning all the excess cement is the next step before putting in the grout. I cannot believe the tile is almost done. Although there is still a lot more to do on the building this will be a relief to have done.

The Lord has blessed our lives so much. We hope that we can dedicate and use the building for His work and glory!

Back to Work!

I'm sorry about the belated updates but I am just getting back into a schedule and I have been trying to organize all the pictures that we took during the holidays. I will quickly try to catch you all up on what has been going on in "R" lives this last month.

Our friends at the Mosaic gave us this sign and it fit perfectly in one of the front windows of our building. I guess this is the "official" sign that we actually own the building and that we are going to keep it for awhile.

So to continue with the projects.

This is a view of the front room in the building. We wanted to open up the whole front room, so that we would have more remodeling options. Naturally, Graham, Isaac, and Marilee were thrilled to help with this project.

DEMOLITION TIME!

VICTORY!!!

Within an hour the walls were down and all that was left was...

a pile of rubble!

6'10" WOW!!!
This is how Isaac likes to measure the distance from the floor to his head. It makes him feel taller, right Isaac?

Who's painting those walls!?!
Yup, KT and I got to paint the walls that beautiful orange rust color. (Believe me, it looks better in person.)

As we planned for 2012 and organized our music for the year, we have also been getting some skits together. Well after some deliberation, we decided that we needed a few more members to add to our band. So, Katie and I spent a week sewing, sewing, and sewing some more...

The result?
4 life-size dolls, complete with wigs!!!

We're just a couple of "dolls". Wouldn't you agree?
With the addition of these very interesting contraptions, we also have the loss of one member of our family from the home front. Katie left the U.S. on January 23rd and traveled for over 36 hours to answer the Lord's call to serve Him in India. For several years Katie has been a volunteer at an orphanage in Southern India named Families for Children (FFC). You can read more about her work in the India page. Last year she took a break and stayed home to help us with our music programs, as well as recuperate from Mal-nutrition and exhaustion. With the dawn of a new year, the call to serve came once more and she has set off on another grand adventure.



"I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

1 Nephi 3:7