While our blog is quiet...

We're in the midst of getting ready for this very big weekend - which includes out of town guests arriving today. So, watch for more interesting posts next week after our 10th Annual Liberty Celebration, and 3rd Annual Liberty Day Conference. Hey, and you can still come and have fun with us, too!

But in the meantime, while our blog is quiet, you might enjoy heading over to Josh and Abbey's blog and watching THIS video from the wedding, as well as looking at some of the other wedding pictures they've put up in the last couple of days. Professional photos should be arriving soon, and they do have one of them up already.

Please also be praying for health and strength for our family (and all of those involved this weekend). There have been some more colds, fevers and flu things going around and it would really be handy to have Patrick Henry, and George Washington, and Richard Henry Lee, and Thomas Nelson Jr, and Peyton Randolph, and - well, and everybody else to be up and healthy! PLUS, we'd hate for any of the Erberantey's to lose their voice... :-)

Springtime Celebrations

St. Patrick's Day

Corned Beef, Cabbage and Potatoes - a must dinner menu on March 17. And for dessert...

..."Emerald Isle" Ymmmm!


Getting ready for...
Liberty Day

More rehearsing for Liberty Day...


Getting ready for...
Easter!

Birthday!

We're a few days late, but....

Happy Birthday, Jeanine & Joanna!


For their birthday (Friday the 14th) Joanna made an absolutely incredible chocolate cake. It was lovely - and delicious!


Jeanine and kiddos came and spent the day with us - as did Abbey, and Sara and kiddos. We got some sewing done for Liberty Day...

...and built a huge duplo tower...

...and visited with the other "birthday boy" Grandpa Erber (whose birthday was on the 12th).

When March's birthday season comes around, us September girls have to stick together!

But anyway, a very happy birthday to our 15-years-apart-twins! You both add so much to our family in so many ways. God has truly blessed us! We love you!

Signs of Spring

Spring is coming at last to the Midwest! I love winter weather, but once spring starts to come around, we're all ready for it!

Last night the sun was still up and it was still above freezing after dinner so we took advantage of the lovely weather and went for a family walk. It was so good to be outside again - and to not be bundled up too thickly! All around us things are starting to drip. What used to be sheets of ice are turning into the rivers of waters. It is now actually possible to drive somewhere around here and see clear pavement the entire way! Jeanine spent some time here today and Winston and I sat out on the front deck for awhile listening to the birds and watching the flocks of geese fly north. Oh, and one other sure sign of spring - Bambi is out and about again. Drivers beware! We had an encounter this morning, but thankfully it wasn't as close of an encounter as some of the others we've had...


Joanna and Corrine working on dresses for little girls for Liberty Day 2008!


Winston


William playing Duplos with his new Aunt Abbey


The Erberanteys rehearsing. I feel sorry for everyone who only gets to see the performances. The rehearsals are so much fun!! On Sunday the 2nd Virginia Convention cast also had a rehearsal. Each year a little more personality comes out - during the rehearsals and the performance - but especially during the rehearsals!

Watch out for pot-holes!

I spent the day dealing with my car. This morning I hit a pot-hole. The impact actually turned on my wipers! It also bent my tire rim and ruined the tire. So, I found a driveway and changed my tire.

On my way to buy a new tire and rim (and totally unrelated to the pot-hole) the serpentine belt on the motor decided to come apart in spectacular smoking fashion... One never knows what a day will bring!

Pot-holes. . . a midwestern blessing of spring.

Let's remember to thank Him for all things.

Rog

A couple of weekend pictures!

On Friday, Dad and Joanna drove down to Indiana for a special Father/Daughter dinner and evening. Thank you, Therese, for taking the picture of them for us!! They enjoyed music by the Eden String Quartet and encouragement from Mr. Zes and daughters, and a few other dads.


Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Erber are back home! They stopped by for a little bit today and seem to have survived the honeymoon just fine - they've even got some color in their faces from that warm southern sun! They might be having a hard time adjusting to the colder air up here, but they are probably the only ones around here that won't notice the lost hour tonight! Speaking of which, I've got to change a couple of clocks around here...

Looking ahead

March is here! And with a new month, come a whole new set of items on the to-do list. Most of those to-do's center around Liberty Day, some preparation for some responsibilities in April, as well as a few birthdays.

Sunday we get to see Josh & Abbey again! Yippee!! We also have a rehearsal for the 2nd Virginia Convention reenactment and the Erberanteys (sorry, no dresses this year!).

We've moved to a new facility for Liberty Day this year, so we've got a few more things to think about as we get ready. But overall, it should be a much more comfortable place to spend the day - it's prettier, too! AND, in addition to the fun stuff planned, Dr. Foster should be just excellent on the topic of the heroes and happenings of America's European roots. I, personally, am really looking forward to it.

It's hard to believe that this is our 10th Liberty Day Celebration! It's grown a bit since that first year with just us in the living room. "Just us" has grown a bit, too! Let's see, three weddings, 6 grandchildren...

One last comment on Liberty Day: You don't want to miss it! So, visit this link, send in your registration, and start making your plans to come! We look forward to seeing you there!

Aside from Liberty Day, winter is trying to decide if it is staying or leaving, so we are swinging back and forth between single digit temperatures and snow, and rain and mud. Guess it's March!

Last Friday, some friends invited us ladies over for a 'girls day'. We spent the afternoon and early evening there enjoying conversation, games, and food! Thanks, Johnsons, for the day out!

Around home, we're still just taking life somewhat easy around here since the wedding. Josiah is still struggling to overcome a fever/cough thing that he came down with last week. So far, the rest of us just have been extra tired but haven't actually gotten a fever or anything.

Last night we had a spontaneous visit from Caroline and William. They arrived as we were getting dinner ready and stayed until bed time. William is an extremely slow chewer, and can keep food in his mouth for a LONG time... but, he is a boy and a competitive one. As soon as Caroline was taking her last bite, he stuffed the rest of the food on his plate into his little mouth, and as soon as he could, opened up enough to shout, "I'm done!" and inform us that he had finished first!

While some of the others got started watching a video on Cathedral building, Caroline, William and I sang through the first half of the "Sound of Music" and reenacted much of it as we went along! They know it pretty well! :-)

That video on Cathedral building, though, was quite impressive. I felt myself to be rather stupid after watching it! The kinds of things these men had to study, and know, and do, was amazing. So much for folks being uneducated during the medieval era!

Time to sign off. I'm being called to attend to other duties in the other room!