Accordion to Isaac

My sons..... What can I say but that they are most definitely different. They are very unconventional and eccentric for sure.

Why they end up liking what they do is still a fascinating mystery to me. Isaac for sure is random. Thus we can him "Random Man". His likes are anywhere from guns and swords, to art and music to sewing ( he took a sewing class last summer and was the only boy. He loved that :).

Alot of what he is influenced by is what he sees on tv. We are huge Nightmare Before Christmas fans. It started for me and Steve in college and we have passed the love for all things Tim Burton to our sons. Well this year we were watching this for the thousandth time over the holidays when Isaac decided he wanted to play the accordion. Most of the music in the movie has a minor key feel so the accordion is a feature. It also peeked his interest when the boys went to see Weird Al in concert :).  That experience is for a later post!

Well being the music loving family we are, any interest is an instrument shown must be pursued. So we started doing some research.  Steve and Isaac scoured the internet to find one.  Little did we know that a real accordion is actually very expensive.  So we shelved his accordion dreams for a while.  One day, however, Steve was sharing with one of his bosses that Isaac wanted to learn to play the accordion.  Apparently his boss shares the same affinity for randomness and just so happen to still have his accordion from when he was 9 and wanted to learn to play.  He told Steve that he would be glad to have Steve take a look and see if it was something that Isaac may want.  Long story short, it was beautiful and in perfect condition.  So Steve, being the good daddy that he is, traded a coveted gun of his for this 50 year old accordion.

So here we are, a couple of months later and this is what he can do ;)

Now if we can  only find someone who teaches lessons.  Does anyone still do that anymore :)

Through the Lens of Ethan......

Ethan is dying to be movie director someday.  He is constantly caring around a camera and "setting up shots" and arranging scenes for his movie.  He has a script he has written, a cast of characters that include most of his friends, and HUGE aspirations.  He wants to make and produce good quality Christian movies.

Like all kids (and adults alike) Ethan has some huge strengths.  He is very bright, creative, sweet and helpful.  But again, like all human beings, he has a few huge weaknesses too.  One of which is FOCUS!!!  That boy can build a computer from scratch but trying to  get him to focus on any given conversation, is like pulling teeth.  Now I am not saying this to hurt him.  He knows it's a weakness of his and he does truly try to work on it as well as any preteen can.

One thing he can truly focus on is photography and film making.  He seems to be truly gifted as this.  He has one a couple of  blue ribbons at photography competitions and really loves it.   I have often wondered are you good at something and that is what makes it interesting to you or are you interested and then you learn how to be good at it.  How do you know that movie making is something that you can be good at?  Maybe it starts with being bossy ?  Then I should be famous by now :)

I just wanted to share some of the random shots Ethan has taken over the past couple of months.  He had a contest he was going to enter and we missed the deadline with all of the foster care craziness that went on here in the months of February and March.  He has been understanding about all of that so I had to post them somewhere :)
Now these are not "finished" shots as Ethan says.  He has not Photoshopped them yet.  I still think they are fabulous.

Our backyard at sunrise

Ethan loves texture shots. 

I wanted to post a preview of his movie but he said it was not ready for preview yet :)

Hunting

Not our usual hunting weekend.  We actually didn't kill anything this time.  Well, we did put a little chocolate out of its misery.

We had our 3rd annual Easter egg hunt with our little church a couple of Saturdays ago.  It's always so fun to go hang out with our church family.  This was Evan's first egg hunt.  Not much to really explain but lots of pics:

The basket concept confused him a bit

His solution... dump all of them out

And pick them all back up by hand

Whatever works I guess

Ethan thought maybe 12 was too old to hunt eggs until Isaac reminded him that there would be candy :)

Loot!!!

Then I got roped into a 3-legged race with Ethan.  And yes.... he is taller than me

And wouldn't you know, we WON!

Then it was Isaac's turn.  We weren't so fortunate in our race.  I forgot Isaac was left handed and so we literally got started off on the wrong foot.

Not too old for the hula hoop competition either since there was more candy to be had.

Egg toss was great this year.  Plastic eggs = no mess

Goofy boys... all three of them :)

Hoppiness

Well our New Zealand Whites finally had their babies.  All of their babies.  All 22 of them.  Which seems like a lot but when you know that one female NZ can birth up to 14 kits at a time, I am okay with the number for our first time breeding them.

Now I know this may shock and horrify you but our rabbits are being bred for meat.  Yes, we are actually going to eat them.  I know this sounds disgusting to some of you but in most "cultured" countries, rabbits are a delicacy.  To be honest, it grosses me out a bit too :)  Now we have chickens too that we get eggs from everyday (well, most days!) and I have no problem at all thinking about killing and eating them because chickens are ugly and totally FREAK ME OUT!!  They look at you with their crazy bird eyes and I can tell they are plotting against me.  I am not sure what they are going to do since all they do is beg for food but I can tell that they are devious, conniving little creatures. They are just waiting for the chance to jump me and peck my eyes out.   It's like they now that they are what my nightmares are made of.  Kinda like the movie right?

 But... I digress...

Back to the bunnies.  Although they are significanlty cuter than chickens, cows, and pigs, we are still planning on placing them on the menu if a few short weeks ;)

Some interesting facts about rabbits that I have learned in the last week.  Rabbits have a gestation period of about 23 days.  Can you believe that ? The only breed of rabbits that have kits that are born with fur and can hop within minutes of birth is the Jackrabbit.  Most breeds have kits that are hairless and have eyes that stay closed for up to 3 weeks after birth.  Rabbits have the richest milk of any mammal so the kits only nurse once a day for only 2-3 minutes.  Oh, baby rabbits are called kits and when the female gives birth it's called "Kindling".   They can be ready to breed again about 45 days after the birth of a litter.  Guess that's where the old adage comes in :)  You know the one I am talking about !!1  And kits are weened within about 30 days after birth and can be ready for slaughter after 90 days.

I know more about rabbits than I care to admit now.

Here are some pictures of our litters...

These are 2 days old

4 days old

 6 days old. 

 They are already getting their white fur and are moving all over the cage even though they can't see.  They would look like little rats if they didn't have those cute little ears.

Life on a small little farm is crazy busy!  We love it though.  Next time I will have to update family pics, chickens, garden and vineyard.  All seem to be growing like crazy :)

Boys :)

We had another trip to the ER last night. This is our 4th with Little Bit. It's amazing how attempting to stand up from a sitting position can lead to this. I guess that's why they call them toddlers.  Thankfully no stitches this time, just the dermabond to make sure it stays clean and dry.

Never a dull moment that's for sure!

This Life on Earth Easter means that this life on earth is not all there is. 
Jesus went "to prepare a place for us" in His Father’s heavenly mansions for all eternity.
 Jesus died for our sins, paying our penalty, so that we could be forgiven. 
He was resurrected, to prove that death has no hold on those who repent and accept Him as Savior. 
This life on earth is a prelude to eternal joy with our Lord. Easter is a celebration of our eternal destiny. 
By Joanna Fuchs

I love this painting.  We have it hung in our living room right when you walk in the door.   It's called "Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection".  When Steve and I were poor college students, we used to go to the mall and stare at it through the window of the art store there.  We loved talking about it.  The expressions on their face I think capture the emotion that Peter and John would have running to the tomb.  John looks like he is pleading that it be true.  Peter seems skeptical.   I live my life like the emotions expressed on this painting.  I go between true hope and deep skepticism.  Not about my faith or that God is who he says he is but just about what is the purpose of this life.  Have we got it all wrong?  What are we REALLY here for.

I think Easter should symbolize not only the celebration of life over death or Jesus conquering sin but truly that our lives should be lived as living sacrifices to God.  That is why Christ died on the cross.  Not because He loved me so much but because He was living His life in true obedience to the Father!!  AMEN!!  If only I could do that even a fraction of the way Christ did!!  This is how I want to worship the Father and celebrate and thank Jesus for what He has done.  Die to ME!!

"And so, dear brothers and sisters,

 I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.

 Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. 

This is truly the way to worship Him."

Romans 12:1

Happy Easter!  He is Risen!!!  Go celebrate this!