Sweet Land of Liberty

Our family went to visit my parents in Stephens City, VA on May 13th, and the next day we took a Field Trip to Washington D.C.  We have been studying American History at Buhl Academy, so Lily and Maddy were so excited to see all of the things they've been reading and learning about! 

The kids loved the Metro Station and ride:

 Squishing in a seat with Grandpa!:

Lily and Maddy wanted to see the White House first, so we headed that way as soon as we got off of the Metro.  On the way we saw the Treasury:

Here is Maddy trying to get a peek at the White House through the fence:

 Here are my Buhl Academy girls!:

The White House from the front:

 The White House from the back:

 Here is my sweet Maddy Faith who is almost finished with her Kindergarten year!:

 And here is my Lily Marie who is almost finished with her Second Grade year!:

The girls couldn't believe how tall the Washington Monument was in real life!:

 Lily and Maddy have become so much closer since they've been home together for school and I praise God for that! 

While at the Monument, we could see the Lincoln Memorial in the distance:

 It started raining after we saw the Monument, so we headed over to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. 

The girls got to use a printing press from the 1800s:

The girls enjoyed The First Ladies exhibit with all the pretty dresses, shoes and purses!

We got to see the red, sparkly shoes from the Wizard of Oz:

The girls loved this huge, gold, sparkly Star-Spangled Banner:

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the real flag, but it was so amazing seeing it in person!  After we were finished with the Smithsonian, it had stopped raining, so we headed back outside to go see some more sights.  Parker enjoyed the Field Trip too!

Jonathan was excited to finally see the World War II Memorial.  

Lily found our state of Tennessee!:

Jonathan and his Lily:

The World War II Memorial was beautiful:

My Dad thought it would be funny for me to "hold" the Washington Monument!:

Then it was on to my favorite part of Washington D.C., the Lincoln Memorial!  Maddy has really been fascinated with Abraham Lincoln, which makes me so happy because he is one of my very favorite Presidents!  He was such a godly man.  We read this about Abraham Lincoln while studying him:  Lincoln biographer William E. Barton wrote that Mr. Lincoln “read the Bible, honored it, quoted it freely, and it became so much a part of him as visibly and permanently to give shape to his literary style and to his habits of thought.”

I loved watching the kids running up all of the steps!:

Our sweeties in front of the Lincoln Memorial!:

Our last stop was the Korean War Memorial:

We spent 8 hours touring Washington D.C. and Parker Buddy was worn out! 

We were so blessed to be able to take this special Field Trip to Washington D.C. to enhance what we've been studying at Buhl Academy.  We are enjoying homeschooling so much and thank God for allowing our family to do it.  To Him be the glory!

“The Almighty has his own purposes.” - Abraham Lincoln

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:11-14

Ode to Joy!

On Tuesday, May 10th, "Make a Joyful Noise" Piano Instruction had their Spring Piano Party.  It was a casual recital for the students to show off what they've learned since January.  While we were waiting for the recital to start, Mrs. Thomas had their Christmas Recital DVD playing.  There's are sweet Maddy performing her Christmas music!

Maddy was so excited to perform at the Piano Party, especially since she was going to play five songs! She played God is So Good, The B-I-B-L-E, Rejoice in the Lord Always, Bridal Chorus, and her favorite: Ode to Joy. 

She was by far the youngest there, and she wasn't nervous at all!  She was so cute walking back to her seat!

Mrs. Thomas gave out awards to her students.  Maddy got a Certificate of Promotion for completing Music for Little Mozarts Book 2.  She is actually going to skip Book 3 and move to Faber Lesson Level 1!  She also got a Certificate of Recognition of Practice Hours for the Spring Semester.  Out of the Elementary group K-5, she got 3rd Place for having practiced 14 hours! 

We are so proud of you, Maddy, and give God all the glory for your talent and love for music! 

Sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, praise his name;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

Psalm 96:1-3

S'More Great Fun!

On Friday, May 6, Lily's Brownie Troop went camping together for the first time and I was so excited that I got to go with her!  We left at 4:00 on Friday and headed to the Girl Scout Camp, Camp Tanasi, for a weekend of outdoor fun!  Since this was their first camping experience, we stayed in one of the cabins on site.  The girls got to do lots of crafts while they were there. 

I had fun painting Lily's feet for her bandanna.

She kept giggling and giggling!

The girls had so much fun just being together playing outside.

 When it got dark, it was time to build a campfire and have s'mores!

After eating lots and lots of s'mores we sang songs and took turns sharing our favorite things and our least favorite things.  When we came in, everyone got ready for bed and I got to read a bedtime story!  I chose, "Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping," and it was so cute! 

The next morning after a huge breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage the girls worked on a Mother's Day craft

and then we all took a hike on the trail called Raccoon Run.  The girls were excited!  Lily brought her special pink hiking stick that her Daddy got her for her 7th Birthday.

We were blessed with beautiful weather and the views were amazing!  Praise God, our almighty Creator! 

 The hike was over 2 miles long, but it was lots of fun and full of adventure! 

 The flowers were beautiful along the way.

With all the rain, there were some parts of the trail that were blocked by water so we had to go off trail a little bit. 

 Me and my sweet Lily!

We stopped halfway to enjoy a picnic lunch. 

Here are Lily and Kaitlyn Strunk.  They met when they were first born, but lost touch over the years.  I'm so happy that the LORD brought them back together through the Brownie Troop. 

Hiking up the hill to the barn was hard work, but we were happy to find the horse barn we had been looking for!  Thank you, Jonathan for telling me to bring a map!

 We were so happy to see this sign!

The girls (and Mommies!) had "Turtle Time" when we got back so we could rest up for the rest of our busy day.

Such sweet friends!

 We are so proud of you, Lily!

The girls went out to gather 4 sticks to make a picture frame:

 We split up into two groups and went on a short hike to see the large Tree House:

 Under the tree house was a place to learn how to tie different knots. 

Kendal and Lily have become such sweet friends through the Brownie Troop.   

 Troop 20355!!! 

 After the tree house, we took a hike to the Observation Tower.  On the way we saw the platform tents just like I stayed in at Camp White Rock when I was a Girl Scout!

 Another gorgeous view!

 Lily enjoyed looking through binoculars.

Before supper, the girls all worked on friendship bracelets.

We ended the night with yummy ice cream sundaes!

 We were sad that it was time to leave, but thankful for the wonderful time together!

Thank you, LORD for my precious daughter, Lily, and the special time you allow us to share together! 

It was wonderful to get away from all of the busyness and to just take time to enjoy God's blessings and His amazing creation.  Can't wait to go camping again!

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to [the disciples], "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

Mark 6:31

Something New

Hi blog readers!  After much prayer, Jonathan and I have decided to make our family blog private so that it is not easily accessible to everyone in the outside world.  We would like some privacy into the everyday living of our growing family and also want to protect our sweet blessings.  If you would like to continue following our blog, please contact me through e-mail:  jbuhlx2@frontiernet.net and I will send you an invitation that will allow you access.  I hope you will understand our decision. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life.  He gave us a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from death.  Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children.  These blessings are kept for you in heaven.  They cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty. 
1Peter1:3-4