May flowers, etc.

We are so very proud of our niece, Heather.  She graduated from medical school!  Most of us were able to go up to Michigan to enjoy the festivities.  It was a quick trip, but we're so glad we made it.

This year, we raised swallowtail butterflies that I found in the garden.  I went out there one morning and saw something on the dill - I was about ready to smush it when I realized it was a swallowtail caterpillar.  They eat a LOT of dill, and I was hoping to keep some of it for homemade pickles.  Ah well.  The butterflies ARE beautiful.

April was fun!

April brought Easter - we had a beautiful day for it!  Lunch was had at the Livingstons in Culpeper, then we walked to the Mewes (a half-block away) for the Easter egg hunt.  Not sure what we're going to do next year, as I'm pretty sure we've set the age limit at 12 for hunting for eggs.  Won't be much fun with just Victoria doing it!

We were also able to go to Massachusetts for about a week - the real reason we were there was for my cousin's wedding, but we managed to squeeze some Boston sightseeing in, too!  The Boston Massacre site, Freedom Trail, and of course, Gillette Stadium - home of the Pats!!

Jonathan turned 14 - and oh, boy....is he acting it!  He's had his hair in a "Mohawk" for months, his voice is changing, and he's getting a little mouthy.  However, he is still our lovable boy and we wouldn't trade him for anything.  As usual, he chose steak for his birthday dinner.

So far this year

We've had a bit of snow this year.  The kids are LOVING it!!  In case you're wondering, our homeschool snow day policy is this:  if the county calls school, we MIGHT - but only if it's GOOD snow.  Meaning, if the kids are going to go outside and play in it, we can call it.  However, they usually get a little schooling in because they usually wait until the neighborhood kids are out before they go out.  Mittens (our cat) hates the snow, so he usually just sits by the window and watches the birds come in to the feeders we have stuck to the windows.  Abi (our dog) loves the snow, especially when it's falling!

Victoria, 8, made her very first batch of cookies ALL BY HERSELF.  It's very hard for her to do things all by herself, since there are always kids around who have already done it and want to help (whether she wants the help or not!).  This time, I told her all the ingredients (couldn't find a copy of the recipe) and she put them all together, scooped them all out, and baked them.  She was, of course, very proud of herself.

Peter taught Abi a new trick - balancing a ball on her nose until she's told, "okay."  This trick is very difficult for Abi, because she is completely obsessed with balls.  Seriously.  I'm sitting here typing and I can see three balls just around my feet.

Minions!

We love the Minions - don't you?!?!  This is our attempt to paint Victoria's fingernails in Minion fashion.

Super Bowl!

Now I know there are a lot of Pats haters out

there.  Too bad.  This is my blog!  We're rooting for the Pats tonight - even the dog is!!

Merry Christmas!!

The AMewesing Times

Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas, beloved friends and family!  What a year we have had!  Jonathan turned 13 and is officially a teenager.  He’s still our sweet, helpful boy, and we are hopeful he will stay that way through the teen years.  Caroline turned 11 and now has an email address.  Please write her – she loves to have email!  Victoria turned eight, so her milestone was getting her ears pierced.  She’s thrilled – one more way she can be like her big sister.  Peter turned 16 and got his driver’s permit.  Pray for us all, will you?!  Ha, ha – no, really.   Tim is, so far, still gainfully employed, for which we are tremendously thankful.  I am still at home, home-schooling the kids and keeping house.

While many things happened this year, the highlight has to be our cross-country trip.  We had talked for several years about visiting my grandparents in Oregon, and this year we decided to just do it.  We were on the road a total of 24 days!  We started by driving to Niagara Falls and riding the Maid of the Mist.  We then found our campsite…oh, did I mention that we had never camped before?  Caroline was especially apprehensive about sleeping outside, but it turned out to be quite fun!  The next day we drove to Indiana Dunes, on Lake Michigan.  Beautiful!  Chicago was our next stop.  We went to the Museum of Science and Industry, drove around, saw Wrigley Field, and ate deep-dish pizza.  DELICIOUS!  We had a short drive to our next campsite in Wisconsin.  The kids swam and that night we found out that, fortunately, our tent was indeed waterproof!  The following afternoon we were in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where we poked around the falls (not as big as Niagara, but quite pretty!).  We drove to Mt. Rushmore (so cool!!) the next day, and attempted to camp overnight at Devils Tower, Wyoming, but a storm blew up – a BIG one.  We ended up driving (during that awful storm) to a hotel that night.  The next day we set up camp for TWO nights in Yellowstone National Park.  It was COLD.  We woke up to 33 degrees.  Brrrrr.  The kids, however, were great.  They were more than willing to deal with the cold for the AMAZING things we saw – buffalo, bear, trumpeter swan, Old Faithful, “mud pot” geysers, cool geothermic formations, elk, deer, eagles.  God’s handiwork was loudly proclaimed in that place.  

The next stop was Oregon!  We stayed five nights, playing games, going to Mt. St. Helens, the Oregon coast, the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, a HUGE bookstore, and thrift stores!  Tim flew home from there, while the kids and I continued to Mt. Shasta, California.  The boys set up the tent by themselves, the girls set up the inside, and I made dinner.  The kids were great – have I mentioned that yet?  Next day was full of fun – In-and-Out Burger, driving up and down Lombard Street (!!!), over the Golden Gate Bridge, and into Monterey.  I took them to the aquarium, which they LOVED, and the next day we poked around the neighborhood where we used to live, drove down to Pacific Grove to see where the monarchs congregate (although they weren’t there then), saw seals and otters,  and ate at Compango’s.  Best sandwiches ever!  Then down to Sequoia National Park.  I tried to go to Yosemite, but went to the wrong entrance, so we had to skip it to go straight to Sequoia. Oh, and something you should know is that starting in Yellowstone, we had to wear different clothes into the tent than we wore to eat, to keep bears away from the tents.  Yes, bears.  No food, toiletries, nothing that had an odor, was allowed in the tent, ever.  It’s harder than you might think!

Anyway, after Sequoia and seeing General Sherman, that HUGE tree (oh, and a black bear), we drove to Murietta to see Tim’s sister, Heidi.  The next day was….DISNEYLAND!  Oh my gosh, we had a great time!!  We were sad to leave the next day, but had to hit the road.  We drove through Las Vegas (while listening to Elvis singing, “Viva, Las Vegas”), then over the Hoover Dam, through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, and into the Grand Canyon.  Another thing – we were now out of bear country.  Now we just had to worry about rattlesnakes and scorpions, but we could take food into the tent.  Good thing – because it started thundering as the boys were setting up the tent and I was cooking.  We just tossed everything in there and got in just as it started to rain!  Next day, we went to see the Meteor Crater and then to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit with some dear friends.  The following day had a stop in Abilene, Texas to visit with MORE dear friends!  We stopped in Hot Springs, Arkansas the next day.  On to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, and a cave tour and the next day – HOME!!  We were so glad to see Tim, the pets….and to have a lovely, hot, long, shower!!  It took us an hour to empty the car, and two days to do the laundry, but it was worth it!

We talked a lot about our trip and we all felt the enormity of God during those 24 days.  So many times we confine God to an hour on Sunday, or a few minutes of prayer before dinner.  God is so much bigger than that.  SO much bigger than we realize, yet He made Himself small to come to us as a baby.  He kept His glory confined in a human body to die on the cross for us, and then He released His glory when He rose again, so we too could have eternal life.  He died the death He did not deserve, so that we could live the eternal life we don’t deserve. 

Amazing grace. 

We pray that you know God’s love, mercy, grace, and peace this Christmas.  He loves you.  We love you.  Thank you for your friendship, your prayers, your love.  You are important to us and we are so glad you are in our lives.

Love,

The Mewes family

P.S. Let me know if you'd like email addresses for the kids - I don't just want to post them on the internet!!

Happy New Year!

 New Year's Eve was a little different this year.  Tim had go into work for 6:45 am the next day, so we went to the Westenhofer's.  Great fun!  (A little too much tequila, but great fun)  Of course, our annual tradition is the smashing of the gingerbread houses.  Enjoy!

Yes, I know there's no individual picture of Peter.  Be happy there's one of him at all!!  We have entered a stage where pictures are not encouraged.  <sigh>

This year, I made ten gingerbread houses for kids.  The girls invited the new neighbors over (they have four kids), and of course, the Westenhofer boys joined us.  Couldn't have gingerbread house building without them!  It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work.  We'll see how many I'll make this year!