Days' of Late:

A day at the park with our good friends: Christie & Bella.

Ooops, shinny hinny!!

Sweet girl, Petra.

Ivy Joy in Sunday school.

Easter photos coming soon!!

We love you,  A. Elrod

the happenings:

So, here are a few pictures from this weekend:

This is Thea~ she has started violin lessons @ school, and received her first violin this week. She has been very excited and enthusiastic about practicing (hopefully that continues to last!)

Earlier today, Andrew was driving home from the eye doctor's (girls in'tow) & they took a great interest in what was being played on the classical station (which happens to be the only station Andrew listens too!)...Apparently, an opera was being played & Thea especially took great interest in it..so, he turned one when they returned home (The Marriage of Figaro)...They were glued for the full two hours!! 

(I hope this continues to give Thea the continued inspiration she will need in her violin lessons!)

~ I did not allow them to sit this close for the entire duration of the opera...Last thing I need is an eye doc's bill x5!!

Blessings ~Ami 

How To: Christmas Tree Disposal

Christmas is over; the holidays have run their glistening, opulent, waste-expanding course.  Now it is time to resume the routine--time to box up the last vestiges of green, gold, and red, and hide them away with other seasonal memories.  Alas, there is one decoration that is more cumbersome than the rest.  I speak, of course, of the Christmas tree.

With this winter's temperature drop, and the corresponding rise of my electric bill, I found myself wandering along the outskirts of the woods for dry sticks and fallen trees--free fuel.  One evening, as I carried an armload of rotting wood up to our apartment I had an epiphany: Christmas trees are made of wood!  Why not burn the Christmas tree?  It is an energy efficient, hassle-free, money-saving, green solution!

 

Here what you will need:

1.   Last year's calendar

2.   A Nat King Cole Christmas Album featuring the holiday favorite: O Tannenbaum

3.   Pruning shears

4.   A handsaw

5.   A wood burning fireplace or stove

 

Begin by removing all decorations and lights from the tree.  This process can be made easier by trimming the branches from the tree as you proceed.

It is helpful to store these in a box as they await their destiny.

As you progress it will become necessary to saw the trunk into smaller sections.

Start a fire in the stove or fireplace using last year's calendar or datebook.  What better way to leave 2011 behind?

Once the fire is of sufficient strength toss in the pieces of trunk.  After that, you can begin to burn the lush branches.

Eventually you will have a roaring fire, cathartically releasing the last remnants of Christmas cheer into free, house-warming energy.

Sit beside the fire, drink hot chocolate, and play the King's O Tannenbaum as you and the family enjoy the show.

Johan is on iTunes!

Johan du Toit's album "Remnant Voice" is now on iTunes!  For those of you who do not know Johan, he is a missionary and pastor in France.  He is a South African native who has served in various ministry capacities in South Africa, Ukraine, the UK, and throughout Europe.  The album is unique, and deeply reflective.  Johan's philological leanings (e.g., 5. From the Periphery), and theological passion are replete in this work.  I highly recommend giving this album a listen.