Selah's First Birthday!

On Tuesday, March 11, Selah celebrated her first birthday. Wearing a shirt that said, "Birthday Girl," we had her party at our house and about 25 friends came. Selah looked so cute in her hair bow. Since she has had to wear the helmet, everybody commented on her headful of hair. By the way, we are DONE with the helmet! Thank the Lord! The week before her birthday we had the last appointment and also saw an eye specialist for children in Glendale and he said her eyesight is perfect, which we are so thankful for.

 

The night before her party, the kids plus their friend Lily helped me start the cake. We made a yellow cake in a 1/2 sheet cake pan. I froze it that night and next morning put it on the tray and topped it with a cream cheese pudding mix, crushed pineapple, and whipped cream. It was yummy!

Our friend Ida Larson bought the candles. The one on the left is a musical flower candle, and after I lit it, it looked like a sparkler, then each little candle lit and it spin around while singing "Happy Birthday." We all joined in with the candle, and it was so cute. By the way--the candle (which is now outside) is STILL making the music! We are wanting to see how long it lasts. It even got rained on a few nights ago but is still going. :)

 

Selah LOVED her cake...she had two pieces. She didn't even get messy and got all her cake in her mouth. Everyone was pretty impressed.



Daddy helped Selah open all her gifts. She sweetly sat on his lap the whole time for gifts. Tim for fun wore her hat, which made us all giggle. It was a fun party, and thank you to all our loving family and friends who showered our Selah with such love.



Acarith's Birthday!

 

On Friday, Feb. 28, Acarith turned three years old! Since she wanted to have her birthday party at our friends' house, the Rice's were gracious and opened up their home. About 20 people came to celebrate her birthday and we had a great time.

As she stood by daddy's side we sang "Happy Birthday."

She loved all the presents our friends showered upon her.

Thanking Hardy with a hug for his gift.

Acarith eating her Minnie Mouse cake and ice cream with Tirzah, Hardy, and her friend Ruthanne. It was a wonderful night. As we drove home after the party, Acarith said, "Mama, I like my party. It sure was fun!"

At a Preacher's Fellowship

Last Monday through Wednesday, our family attended the GIBF Conference (Global Independent Baptist Fellowship) at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Phoenix. It was a fantastic conference--Pastor Terry Randolph's church was so hospitable and their sweet spirit was such a blessing to us, along with the dynamic preaching and music.

Some dear friends of us, Dave and Grace Hardy, were there at the conference. Dave Hardy is one of the men our son Hardy is named after and they are like family to us. Tirzah loves Brother Hardy, and was so excited to see him there. Here she is in a picture with him.

Us with Dave and Grace Hardy after Monday night service. The kids enjoyed the desserts!

 

Hardy loves to eat sweets. Something funny--when Hardy first saw Brother Hardy he was eating dessert and went to give Brother Hardy a big hug. Brother Hardy saw the dessert on Hardy's face and hands and was very careful as he returned the big hug. It was hilarious!

We had a great time. It was fun catching up with so many friends and the kids had a fantastic time in their kids' classes. I felt so encouraged and I know Tim did as well. We are so blessed to have so many friends and appreciate your friendship with our family.

Your Family's Faith Affects Other Families

 

 

Ruth Ann's new Bible study called "Your Family's Faith Affects Other Families" just came in the mail today! The kids were all excited (so was Daddy and Mama!) as they looked at the books. Ruth Ann's first two Bible studies focused on one woman's faith affecting her family, while this Bible study takes it a step further and talks about the influence the whole family unit has on others. It is organized like the first two (with twelve chapters, each chapter word count is between 2800-3100 words, a main theme, four personal applications woven throughout, a prayer, and questions), but hones in on the important role of the family unit. Some families included in this study are: Esther and her cousin Mordecai, Zeresh and her husband Haman, and Deborah and Sisera's mother. Though you can't see it clearly from the pictures, the front cover is a picture of a dandelion with seeds blowing away, symbolizing our family's influence spreading throughout the world.

 

Tim and I dedicated this book to our four children--Tirzah, Hardy, Acarith, and Selah. They are gathered around Tim as he is reading the dedication to them.

 

 

Here I am holding up all three of my studies. We have done well, selling about 2,000 copies. This year we are hoping to step up our advertising a bit. We also want to eventually set it up to be ordered online, but until then if you are interested in ordering a copy, you can send me an email at rlarkly@juno.com. They are seven dollars each plus shipping and handling. Please pray that God will use this book and that it will be a blessing to others.

Going Fishing

Since Tim, Tirzah, and Hardy were going fishing, I asked Tirzah to take along the camera and get some pictures. They went with a man from our church named Bob Hawken and had a great time.

This is the fishing pond they go to at Dead Horse Ranch State Park. It was a beautiful day, but the 55 degree weather made it a little chilly. Thankfully the sun was out. (Of course, I'm bragging a little bit here about our beautiful Arizona weather.)

 

 Being all boy, Hardy played around with his bait (a plastic worm) on the grill.

 While they were fishing, Acarith and Mama stayed home and made vegetable soup. Acarith loves to wear her apron that Grandma made her for Christmas.

Tim caught a fish! Poor Hardy and Tirzah didn't catch anything. Normally, though, Hardy is the one who catches the fish so I was glad Tim had his chance on this trip.



Tirzah's Piano Playing

A little over a year ago, Tirzah started taking piano lessons from a fantastic piano teacher named Julie. One thing I've realized from homeschooling is that it helps to have my children learn from other adults, too, and not just all from Mama and Daddy. Every Wednesday Tirzah has lessons, and starting on Thursday, she and I spend time together practicing her new songs for the week. Once she gets the hang of them, she practices them on her own while I provide a listening ear. Tirzah loves to play the piano and has even started playing the offertory for church about twice a month!  

Because I'm often asked how I manage to spend time with Tirzah while she practices the piano or how she gets the practice time in that she needs every week, I thought I'd share just one piece of advice--never underestimate the value of ten minutes.

For instance, we start school at 8:30. However, if Tirzah is done with her breakfast before Hardy and before school starts, I'll set the timer and tell her she has ten minutes to practice the piano. At this stage, that's enough time for her to run through her finger exercises and a song. Though ten minutes may sound small, when added up at the end of the week, those ten minutes are how we got her songs accomplished. I want to encourage you that if there's something you want to do but are feeling crunched with time, just try giving it ten minutes a day--and you may be amazed how those minutes add up. 

 

 Tirzah playing "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee."

Tim and Ruth Ann's Getaway

For Christmas this year, Tim and I made a deal. We were to buy each other only fun gifts, not the usual clothes, socks, or other practical items. I decided to buy Tim a getaway gift to Sedona for a day. (Tim bought me a nice necklace and a lime green drill, which I love!) I arranged for a babysitter and even for Brother Hastrich to be in charge of Tim's responsibilities for church. Tim loved his gift (and, I confess, I enjoyed the mileage I got out of his gift too!) We stayed at a nice hotel in the Village of Oak Creek (close to Sedona), and the next day enjoyed seeing the sights of Sedona. 



One of our stops was to see the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Ruth Ann has lived in the area for eight years and Tim for twelve, and we had never seen the magnificent chapel. We enjoyed hiking up and around the chapel.

Tim inside the chapel.



Ruth Ann by the candles. You can see the front of the chapel is enclosed with glass, showing off Sedona's beautiful views.

If you and your spouse haven't had a getaway for a long time, I really want to encourage you to plan one. You both need it more than you know and the kids and work will do fine without you. Our kids had a ball at the babysitters, and not only did Suzannah enjoy them, but she also told us she was volunteering to watch them every other month for us to do another getaway! Also, Brother Hastrich did a great job filling in for Tim. It was a great way to kick-off our new year.