Last day of February

I just heard about this little girl (on the left in the photo above) who had been coming to our church, she came to America with her family from Ukraine, because she had cancer and needed the best treatment.  Sadly, she passed away yesterday.  Please keep the soul of Salomia and her family in your prayers.

We got a dusting of snow this morning, the last day of February.  More is still falling... 

A ceili...

Ceili is a gathering of good music (the band "The Bloody Tinth" played, live fiddle, mandolin, guitar and drums) and Irish folk dancing!  Hannah dancing the Fairy Reel, with her girls.  She goes to class twice a week.

Olivia goes once a week...she JUST got her McGing school dress a week ago!!!  She danced the Siege of Ennis.  Olivia and Hannah both danced the Walls of Limerick and the Suites of May, so they each got to do 3 dances!

Another video...these are the kids who've been dancing longer:

Bread pudding made with raisins and apples, with a whiskey cream sauce and caramel drizzled atop...from Claddagh's Irish pub...to end the night!

Hiking and sap gathering...

Pathway lined with moss-covered rocks remind me of The Hobbit, which we are still reading together.  It was very cold, but the sun shone and the skies were blue...

Snowdrops.  I don't know the names of the little yellow flowers, nor the pinkish or white ones...do you?

 The woodstove is hot...and boiler with sap turning into maple syrup...and a pile of wood. 

We met up with my sister's family and a couple friends from church.

Rowe Woods is in Milford, OH.  We helped gather sap and watch as they boil it down to maple syrup....and the best part was tasting it after!

Here are our pictures from our sap gathering in 2010.  It always reminds me of one of my favorite books:

"Laura and Mary each had a pan, and Pa and Ma showed them how to pour the dark syrup in little streams onto the snow."
- Little House in the Big Woods

I guess they switched from using metal buckets to plastic at Rowe Woods.  I'm not keen on the use of plastics.  I know it is not as food-safe as many have thought...and I don't want to take chances.
Learning as we live...we all have to take some chances and make choices.  
It's sure been a cold winter here in Ohio.  I hope it snows one more time!

Raising of the cupola and cross...

There it is...the cupola and cross, on the ground...and now, atop the church building!  Bishop Peter flew in from Chicago.  The NEW church is actually not in Cincinnati, but in Loveland, just northwest of the city.  What a beautiful day!  Sunshine and blue skies.  Afterwards, we stayed and played at the park for an hour with a bunch of cousins and friends.

Carrot salad and dolls...

We ♥ carrot salad.  It's very simple to make.  I used 7 large carrots, and shredded them in my food processor.  Then shredded a small chunk of asiago.  What you'll need is:

• 1 pound of carrots
• 1/2 cup cheddar, parmesan or asiago cheese
• clove of garlic, pressed
• 1 cup of raisins 
• 1 cup of mayonnaise  

Mix up really well and enjoy.  This serves our family of 4.  We ate this with a big bowl of baby greens for lunch.  (Here is a wonderful vegan variation, for Great Lent!)

My girls really love the American Girl books.  I think the historical fiction is great, because it really gets them asking and interested in history, the Great Depression, slavery (and Olivia is studying the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, abolition, right now), etc. These dolls are called Our Generation, they are 18" like the American Girl dolls, but without the $100 price tag.

You can get them at Target for about $20-30.  The past 2 weekends, they've been doing clothes swap...so much fun!  Hannah's doll has the neatest hair.  She does a beautiful French braid. 

Natalia and Pepper.  She helped me collect eggs.  And you can see a little bit of snow there...it has since all melted.

My mom's birthday...

 

Yesterday was my mom's 68th birthday.  I made her a vegan chocolate cake, Hannah sprinkled sliced almonds on top.  It was really good!  Then, we played Upwords together, my girls are pretty good at playing Scrabble, but I think they like this even better! 

At little update on my dad...he needs prayers.  ♥  Last week the doctor took another x-ray to see how his arm is healing (he dislocated it on Jan. 18, 2013 and broke his humerus)...they saw that the piece of his humerus is actually falling down, not staying where it should heal.  The doctor said he would do surgery on anyone else.  My dad has terrible dyskinesia (uncontrollable movements) due to Parkinson's, and recovery would be difficult.  He is supposed to be wearing a sling, but he already feels like he is captive...and that would limit his freedom even more and cause is balance to be even more off...he wears it occasionally.  

The problem is this floating bone, that is falling down inside his arm is causing extreme pain.  He is trying to wean himself off the pain medication, as his prescription is almost out...

Lusy ran around in the snow and tired herself out, while we went sledding!

This is our Christmas tree...we got one with roots this year and planted it in our front yard.  It looks so pretty with the fresh snow on it.

Hannah and her friend Katie made a huge snowball...and then rolled it down the hill.  We thought it'd get bigger and bigger.

A little creative writing inspiration.  See this blog for more (there is a book giveaway, too)!

Horses and hay

Have you ever climbed up a pile of bales of hay?  It's so much fun.  And not too dangerous if you fall.