Christmas Pictorial

Joshua, Madelynn and Rachel setting up their nativities on Christmas Eve.

It may be Micheal W. Smith. And it may be from 1989. But its still the best Christmas album ever.

Singing carols with Dave and Geneva...

...and Papa and Neena, who came to visit for a week.

We were wonderfully blessed with a Christmas Day sleigh ride at Okontoe.

Renee. Bean Sprout. Joel. Mike. Bob.

Good friends Andrea and Jake (our sleigh driver). Joshua our son. Mike the Norwegian.

And for something a little different, Joel's parents, Nana and Grandpa, were in Kenya for Christmas with good friends who run a charity, HUGS for Africa.

Nana teaching some of the sponsored orphans a craft. She also worked on developing marketable baking items with some of the widows.

Grandpa preaching. He also taught seminars on worship, sermon preparation, and integrity.

As of New Years Day, Bean Sprout will be 37 weeks and all grown up enough to be born! He occasionally seems anxious to meet us, but we'll let you all know when that happens. Here's Madelynn and her nightly ritual of kissing Baby good night.

A new family tradition for the day we take the Christmas tree down: homemade ice cream + crushed candy canes off the tree = pink peppermint ice cream.

Dave's sign across the street at 6:30am.

Merry Christmas in the Name of LOVE CAME DOWN.

Happy New Year in the Name of ALL THINGS NEW.

He is IMMANUEL.

More Fun in the Snow

Rachel's highlight of the Christmas season was to get a Christmas tree. So one perfect snowy Saturday off we went! The sky was a beautiful winter blue, snow came down sporadically, and the kids were happy. Joshua and Rachel planted themselves firmly in the deep (adult knee deep in some places) snow and proceeded to have a jolly good time in the snow. Madelynn, however, did not smile once. She sat in the sled, observing the whole situation quite seriously, unable to form an opinion. We found our tree and then it was playtime!

We (well, everyone except Mommy) went sledding. Here is a video of Rachel:

Madelynn was at the top of this small hill and decided she wanted to go down by herself, with out a sled. She scooted all the way down, inch by little inch:

We went home with snow all over, cold toes, and a Christmas tree to some warm chocolate (with kids it can't be hot), lunch, and a nice long nap.

Joshua in the Snow

Can you find Joshua?

November Update

Joshua is learning more everyday it seems. He is a thoughtful child, though sometimes it takes awhile for those thoughts to formulate so that he can verbalize them. He is learning addition and his penmanship is so much better than it used to be. What a difference six months can do! He is reading out loud to me (Renee) each school day, and is getting better at sounding out the letters of unknown words. He enjoys our Read-a-loud time (where I read a story out loud to him). Some of you older folk might remember Uncle Wiggily with his red, white and blue striped rheumatism crutch. Well, Joshua really enjoys it, listening to Uncle Wiggily's adventures and how he helps the boys and girls with their various troubles. Our previous book was Milly-Molly-Mandy. I wasn't sure if Josh would like it because it's about a girl, but he enjoyed it very much.

Joshua is proving to be a caring big brother. He looks out for Madelynn frequently, helping her up onto chairs, helping M with her shoes, or zipping up her coat. Sometimes without me asking! When Joshua is helping M, he's gentle and uses a baby voice with her. Very cute.

Joshua is thoughtful, yes, but he is a boy and his energy levels prove this. He likes to sing, dance, be silly, run, play dress up and pretend, play with cars, trucks and excavators as well as watch the real thing, he likes to play his ukulele along with Daddy and his guitar.

He and Rachel both have taken an interest in the snow: Josh likes to shovel, sled and make snowballs, whereas Rachel wants to build snowmen and make snow angels (or snow princesses as she calls them).

That brings me to Rachel now. She likes the color pink, wearing dresses, and loves to dance and sing. Rachel likes little things and keeps them in her pink purse or basket and will carry them around the house, making sure Madelynn does not touch her "pink things". Rachel is the "nurse" or "mommy" of the family- she will make sure you have a pillow and blanket if you lie down for a nap. She also is usually willing to help Mommy with things. Like today for instance, I asked Rachel to find a "wipe" for Madelynn's dirty hands after lunch. Rachel finds one and does a thorough job of wiping every part of Madelynn's face. Not sure if she got M's hands but the face was clean!

Rachel likes hugs, pink clips in her hair, and likes to color pictures. She can recognize most letters of the alphabet and knows all her colors. Rachel's taken an interest in finding out what letters words start with. Including the letters themselves! For example: Rachel will ask me 'what does Cat start with?' I'll say "C" and then she'll ask what "C" starts with.

We are working on learning her shapes now. And I'm hoping to sit down with her in a few months and see if she'll start writing some ABC's on paper. No pressure, but she is learning fast and I want to be able to keep up with her and challenge her at the same time.

Rachel is looking forward to having a baby brother, I think she wants to hold a baby again. Madelynn is no longer a baby- though Rachel probably wishes her to be. It's fun to see the two sisters interact. They are young yet but it is amusing to see them relate to each other. Josh likes dolls, but only to a point. Madelynn will ask me (or Josh sometimes) to swaddle her own little dolly or teddy bear and she'll cuddle it and push it around in the play stroller. Rachel will join her either by fighting or by playing nicely and I'll put Rachel's dolly(ies) in a little sling for her and Rachel and Madelynn will sort of play together by walking around the house cuddling their "babies". Or by putting them in baskets for a nap. Or... you get the idea. It's cute.

So Madelynn is 17 months old. She has all her teeth minus one (which just poked through yesterday). She uses a fork and spoon and feeds herself (mostly). She has words now: Mommy, feet, teeth, up, please, help, Da-da. She recognizes many words and will usually do what I tell her. Like: "put your shoes away", or "put your clothes in the hamper". There are other phrases which I know she recognizes but throws a fit anyway: "Wait please" or "Just a minute". Yes I did say throw a fit. She is growing up fast, and with that growing up comes the "Terrorific Twos". Seems we just barely finished that stage with Rachel (except for the occasional "yikes! where did that come from?") and then Madelynn starts.

But enough of that, how about I tell you that Madelynn is taking an interest in the potty? Now some of you are happy for us about this, but I have to say that as much as I enjoy a child going to the bathroom themselves, I don't like the process- the potty training process that is. It's messy, frustrating and takes up a lot of time. So that's it, I'm done complaining.

Bean Sprout is growing and kicking and riding a bike. Well, it feels like he's riding a bike anyway. He weighs about 3.3-4 lbs (just by things I've read about being 31 weeks pregnant). Our due date is January 22, 2011. Everything is fine so far. His head is down so now we ask you all to pray that he'll be facing the right way. If he's facing my back bone, we shout hurray! If he's facing my belly button, we hope he doesn't get stuck which will result in the delivery being more complicated.

As for Joel and I, we are doing well. We are in the midst of a few situations which will affect the future (how more vague can I be?!). We'll let you know as things pan out a bit more and things are more solidified. For the time being we are waiting and praying and trusting.

I was finishing up the book of Proverbs when I came across the phrase, "She can laugh at the days to come." I chuckled to myself. That's exactly what I needed to read. The woman who fears and trusts the Lord will have no anxiety about the future, even if she's going to have a new baby in the midst of it all.

Time With Daddy

Our kids love time with Daddy.

On one of the nice Autumnal days, Rachel and I went to a rummage sale while Daddy, Joshua and Madelynn had a donut run. This was (I think) Madelynn's first and last bike ride this year:

This week Daddy ended up staying home for a couple days due to a bad storm. We made the most of it, getting some stuff done (like lots of baking-yum!), some Bible study, and of course, some snuggle time with Daddy:

We enjoyed our time together, it was a treat to have him home. The storm is over now, so Thursday Daddy went back to work. Thank you Jesus for a little surprise weekend!

Welcome November!

Here along Lake Superior November winds (yes I know it's still October...) remind all of us how powerful God is and how powerful wind and water really are. And how helpless we are in comparison. The wind picks up, our electricity goes out and we can't do much about it. So what does our family do? Well, we are one of the fortunate ones who did not lose electric power but we did hear the rain and wind all night just like everyone else. Joel's been home from work for two days now. Today we decided to bundle up and take a stroll (a hike?) downtown to look at the damage done, the wild 20 foot waves, and feel the wind on our faces:

The waves out in the lake (beyond the break wall) were supposedly 20 feet tall, a record. When they finally rolled in and crashed into the wall the spray would rise far beyond the lighthouse, higher than what you see here. Then the waves would keep coming in and crash onto the shore, onto the sidewalk and land upon the side of the road. We couldn't walk on that side of the road!

There were also a couple of boats that had been beached by the wind and waves, here is one:

A smaller boat was on the west side of the harbor. It was almost in the parking lot of a local restaurant!

Our town's municipal pool, though, I think had the worst damage that I could see:

The rubber roof was torn right off along with the white insulation. It's a pretty big mess, with chunks of insulation strewn about, and the rubber roof hanging over the side. Josh wanted to go inside and see if the roof was leaking. I asked Joel what would happen if it leaked and Joel replied "The pool would get wet!"

Good Marriage Book

I (Renee) just finished reading the best marriage book I've ever read. It's entitled "Created to be his Help Meet" by Debi Pearl. I was a little wary of the book due to the extreme conservative beliefs the Pearls hold. But it came recommended so often and from trusted friends that I finally picked up a copy. Wow! Such a great book, it is so refreshing and so, so very biblical. I highly recommend this book for every Christian wife out there. Even if you have a great marriage, there are great nuggets of wisdom about the kind of man you have married (because you know not all men are the same!!) and how you can meet his needs with a joyful heart.

(Order it through the library if you don't want to buy it.)

The Earth is Yours

Joel and I have a new favorite band. This doesn't happen very often. Perhaps we're picky. Perhaps we're too busy. Perhaps there is a shortage of quality, God honoring music. Whatever the reason I highly recommend their album: Band's name is 'Gungor' (the lead singer's last name) and the album's name is 'Beautiful Things'.

Enjoy!

Getting Ready For Bean Sprout

The arrival of a baby always comes faster than I think, even though the 38 week mark seems so far off. I've learned to use the 38-40 weeks God has given me to prepare myself, the house, and the children for a new sibling. A type of "spring cleaning" becomes a normal thing around here, though much more laid back. Like washing the futon covers and curtains or cleaning out clutter in the closets over the course of a few weeks.

At the moment I am working on preparing Madelynn for a new sibling. The first step was to arrange her new bed in a way that four children could sleep in a small sized bedroom. We have a set of bunk beds- Joshua is on top, Rachel is on the bottom. Now the two girls share the bottom bunk and Bean Sprout (when he's outgrown the bassinet) will sleep in the pack n play. Below are some photos of how we did the girls' bed. Rachel is sleeping normally with her head at the top (right side). Madelynn is perpendicular (on the left) with a blanket divider.

We've been doing this for a few weeks now and it's worked out really well. Of course the first night was rough, but that's to be expected. The second night the kids were so exhausted they fell asleep right away!

The second step to preparing Madelynn was to arrange her clothes in the closet so that she could reach them and also to make more space for one more person's clothes. We have one wardrobe and one narrow dresser for four children! God is so great in how he has helped us conserve space.

The third step, in which we are currently wrapping up (hurrah!) is to wean Madelynn off of the pacifier (Nuk, soother). It's been over a week now and I believe she does not remember it anymore. Two young boys in the church nursery had them and Madelynn didn't seem to clue in. She's stopped asking for her soother before her nap and bedtime too, so that is why I say we're "wrapping up" that step.

Autumn Hike and Picnic Lunch

We hiked the first mile of the eastern end of the Border Route Trail. The kids did great most of the way. We hiked along a creek, through a cedar forest, a birch forest, alongside an old cut-block and up some rocky bluffs to the overlook where we had lunch.

To the north for 180 degrees was Canada across the Pigeon River just below us. To the East were the fire towers on Mt Maud and Mt Sophie on the Grand Portage reservation. To the south was the Swamp River and wetlands, one of the largest wetlands in MN.

Joshua had a brand new diamond willow hiking stick to try out. Rachel had her baby doll in a sling.

Apple Picking, a Birthday Costume Party and Nana's Sweater

We managed to find an apple tree in town and picked a good number of apples to turn into sauce, leather, pie, crisp and other delightful applicious treats. The kids did a great job picking, sorting and catching the ones rolling down the driveway. Madelynn was content to sit and munch.

A little friend had a princess birthday party and invited her friends to dress up. Joshua of course was not a princess but a cowboy. That's his horse he's holding in the picture! Rachel was in her element to dress up as a princess, she loved every minute of it!

The next picture is for Nana especially, though of course all can enjoy it! Nana (Joel's mom) made this sweater when Rachel was a baby. Here is Madelynn ready for church:

Visit with Friends

A few weeks ago, our friends Alfie and Maria made their way up here and stayed the weekend. It was so much fun! Below are pictures from a hike we took with them while they were here.

Alfie and Joshua

Joel, Rachel, Renee, Joshua

Rachel and Maria

A New Wedding Ring

Some of you may know that I lost my wedding ring earlier this year. I'm not surprised it happened as my fingers have shrunk a size since I got married six years ago. Last night Joel finished making me a new temporary wedding ring! It is made of hemp with a strand of silver woven through it. Thank you Joel!!

(You can click on the photo to enlarge it)

More This and That

The first week of homeschool went very well. We were busy, but not overly busy, if you know what I mean. We did many things and talked about many things. The kids ask so many questions! I think the highlight of the week (or one of them) was making green and pink bread. Josh wanted green wheat bread and Rachel wanted pink Gluten Free bread. So they helped make each accordingly. They turned out fine, but the green one seemed to make my stomach turn a bit... So I pretended it was March and it was for St. Patrick's Day and that felt a little better. A little.

We have fallen into a general routine. It's great because I want the kids to know what is expected of them each day. Especially when Bean Sprout is born. The more good habits we form now, it will pay off big time later.

This week we started off making a solar system. Nothing over the top, just some sparkly sheets of foam and glow-in-the-dark stars. Some books from the Library helped us get an idea of the size and order of the planets, and also some constellations. The foam we cut into different sized circles and sticky tacked them up onto the kids' bedroom ceiling. Some of the stars are in the shape of the Big and Little Dipper, the rest are random. It was a lot of fun and a great science lesson for the day!

Rachel is very excited about two things. Her birthday and when Bean Sprout will be born. She asks me several times each day when these two events will take place. Tonight she and Joshua were both "pregnant" and having little "Rachels" and "Joshuas".

I've been feeling Bean Sprout kick and move each day. His movements are soft enough to ignore (which is nice late at night) but it is fun to feel him move around.

Update on Housing... We've decided to stay put where we are. Our landlord informs us that no one has taken an interest in buying this house and that we are welcome to stay for the winter. Other options have fallen through, so this is where we are. I am starting to make plans on fitting four children into the kids' room. I think it can be done, we'll see.

Joel is still working for Jerry and will continue to do so.

Joshua has been diagnosed with asthma. It's mild, not too severe. There is a possibility he will grow out of it. But for the time being he has a couple inhalers.

Madelynn knows where her belly button and her nose is. She also posed for this picture:

Yes, posed. I was trying to get a good photo of her pigtails, but she wasn't cooperating. She kept wanting to see the other side of the camera. Once she saw the few pictures I had taken, she pointed at the camera, sat down, and posed. So enjoy!

All the World is Our Classroom

I wanted to share what Joel and I are doing as far as our children's education. We have heard God's prompting to teach our children at home. Some of you may be interested in how we are doing this. Well, to start off with, I am very excited about all of this, and, thanks to Jesus, I am relaxed. Relaxed as in, not anxious about cramming everything into my Kindergartener's and Preschooler's brain as quickly as possible for fear of falling behind the public school. No, I am relaxed and letting the Holy Spirit lead what we do each day. Every so often throughout the day, I keep track of what we have done in a specific yearly planner. Why do I do this? Before I am accountable to the government when Joshua turns seven, I would like to find my "groove" for a record system that works for our family. And why am I letting the Holy Spirit lead our day instead of following a set schedule?

For starters, I am a Christian. I have given my life to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit lives inside of me. He is my boss. Not the clock. Not a list or a schedule. He knows what the day is going to be like and He knows what is best for us. Therefore, I have more joy (no anxiousness) when I listen to HIM instead of looking at a list or a schedule.

So to start off, I'll go through the main subjects we're focusing on this year...

Bible: Every morning, before breakfast and every evening before bedtime, Joel or I read the two older children a bible story from their children's bible. They love this and ask lots of questions! We also are memorizing a weekly bible verse corresponding with the letter of the week.

Science: I am adopting the Charlotte Mason method for this one. Josh and Rachel each have a "science bag" and within the bag is a small notebook, a pencil, and a magnifying glass. We go outside (when it's nice out) and look, discover and draw pictures in our journals. The kids love it! On not so nice days, we look and read from our science books from Sonlight.

Reading: Every week we have a new letter of the week. I read to the kids everyday from good, wholesome books either from the library or from the curriculum I purchased from Sonlight. In the afternoon when the girls are napping, Joshua and I do his sit-down schoolwork which includes him reading a small book or two out loud to me. Joshua and Rachel also participate in an online program called Starfall. It's a great phonics website that is all educational and very fun.

History: Sonlight has some great books that we are reading this year on world cultures and how people used to live compared to how they live now.

Geography: Every week we are focusing on a specific country, it's flag and where it is located on the world map.

Writing/Spelling/Language Arts: Joshua is continuing his handwriting with Handwriting Without Tears, an excellent workbook. When he is finished with this, we will begin what is called "copy work". Sounds boring, but it is a great natural approach to grammar, spelling and language arts. I will have him copy specific (small) portions of Scripture and fine literature everyday. This method is from Charlotte Mason and also Ruth Beechick.

Mathematics: We are using Alpha Omega's Horizons program for this subject. Joshua really enjoys it.

Art and Music: They are casual and seem to come into our life very naturally. With Joel playing guitar and both of us playing CD's throughout the day, our children already have a love for music. Arts and Crafts also happen naturally. It's great fun to sit at the table and color a picture or do something more special like collecting leaves from outside and creating leaf rubbings.

So that is mostly all for this year. Of course there is so much more kids learn. Like manners, emotional stability, sharing, social skills, doing chores, feeling free to ask questions and have them answered by people they trust, good hygiene, treating the earth and its resources with respect, how to talk on the phone, sports and other outdoor activities, using their imagination and so much more! That is why I titled this post: ALL the World is our classroom. Learning doesn't just take place in front of a workbook or a textbook. When we have that attitude, the day seems to go smoother. Joel and I take opportunities to teach anytime we are with the kids.

Backyard Bear

I (Joel) was feeling a little silly as we ate our picnic supper on the trail. The homemade buns, cheese and apples were great. But it was the broasted chicken, still warm from the grocery store, that worried me. The berries are gone but the bears are a long way off from hibernating yet, and still hungry. So we practiced our bear-scare roars on the hike out. That was a lot of fun and we didn't see anyone more interested in our chicken than us.

An hour later we were in town roasting those giant marshmallows over the fire with the H's and Danielle in Danielle's backyard. John got up to check on Joshua, Boston, Rachel and Trinity who were running around the garage where we couldn't see them. Instead of the kids he saw a bear! I ran over and saw that it was a small black bear so I got the kids to come see it and practice their roaring. But we decided to not try to scare it in case it went out on the road. The officer who answered the phone at the sheriff's dept said that there was actually a mother and cub in town. He also said that the conservation officer would rather not shoot it so they are letting it roam around. Happy Labor Day weekend tourists!

Hi Bean Sprout!

No, Bean Sprout wasn't born today, but we saw him on a computer screen. Yes, I said HIM, because Bean Sprout is a BOY! Hurrah!

He was kicking and punching as the ultrasound technician did her measurements. He wasn't cooperating for her: He was breech (head up, feet down) and facing my spine, so she couldn't see everything clearly - his spine was always in the way. Most of the time he had his ankles crossed and his left hand up by his face. She was able to see everything, it just took a lot longer than if he had been head down and facing up out of my belly.

Everything measured almost exactly on schedule - 19 weeks 3 days. amazing.

And Everything looked healthy, no potential problems at all. Praise God!!

Joshua, Joel and I are ecstatic about having a boy! Rachel is somewhat disappointed it's not a girl, but, knowing her, I think she'll get over it quite quickly. Especially when she gets to hold her new baby brother! And of course Madelynn has no clue.

So thank you for your prayers for Bean Sprout and for us as a family. We so do appreciate them.

Freshly Baked

So I (Renee) am on the long adventure of cutting out preservatives and high fructose corn syrup out of my diet and mostly out of my family's diet. It's harder than I thought. But I think we've made some progress.

One of the ways we have accomplished part of this task is by making wheat bread again. Since Rachel was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in January 2009, we have not had a speck of wheat flour in the house. Why? There is a huge risk of cross contamination. Rachel has zero tolerance for gluten, and that means a single crumb of wheat bread could give her a miserable 24-36 hours.

But! Now that I am comfortable with preparing and maintaining a gluten free diet for my daughter, I am now comfortable with the thought of having wheat flour in the house. After a friend gave me a recipe for kneadless bread, I bought wheat flour and tried out the recipe. It was so great and so easy! So now we have homemade bread for everyone! And since it is kneadless, there is a very low risk for flour getting into the air and onto other cooking surfaces!! Yea!

A Good Read

I recently finished a book a friend loaned to me. It is titled "First We Have Coffee, and then we talk" written by Margaret Jensen.

It is a wonderful non-fiction book, probably directed more towards a feminine audience. Margaret is a great storyteller and in this specific book she writes about growing up and giving a focus upon the most influential person in her life: her mother. Margaret's mother is a faithful servant to God and the way she raises her children is so encouraging. You see the patience and love she has for her husband, the way she reacts to problems in life, and her simple obedience to God. I highly recommend this book. I believe it's out of print, but it looks like it is still available.

Summer So Far

What a beautiful summer it has been! The kids and I have enjoyed watching the flowers in our garden grow and learning the names of new wild flowers. The whole family has also enjoyed lots of berry picking: strawberries, june berries (service berries or saskatoons), blueberries (big thanks to Nina and Papa!), raspberries, currants, and chokecherries. Lots of these we turned into jam, jelly, and syrup. Some of the blueberries we froze whole for later. Joel and I canned peaches for the first time and just this week Nana (Joel's mom) and I pickled some cucumbers (sweet dill). That also being my first time, so I'm thankful Nana was there to help and give me suggestions.

In the next month or two (depending on frost) I hope to make some Rose hip jam, Mountain Ash jelly, dry chives and mint leaves from the garden, and learn to grow lettuce indoors. I'm also on the hunt for a grinder for making pickle relish.

The family finally did some hiking a few weeks ago:

Madelynn is walking officially now. It's been great fun seeing her learn and succeed in this milestone. She is still small for her age, but is healthy and developing just fine.

Nana and Grampa are here visiting with us this week. It's been great to have them here. The last time we saw them was October of last year for Canadian Thanksgiving. Right now they are out camping with Joshua for two nights. I have the girls here with me and we actually went to the library!

Please pray for us as we are coming up to some major decisions that will affect where we will live for the winter and decisions that will affect Joel's career. We want what God wants, we just aren't sure what that is yet.

Madelynn Is Walking!

Madelynn Stacks the Rings

The Tree house!

A while ago I posted about our trip to Papa and Nina's house in Indiana. Now that the tree house is painted and officially done, we will now post pictures of the tree house Joel and Papa built in a beautiful maple tree.

First I will give you a tour: starting from the ground going into the tree house and then I will show you what it looks like from the outside. After that you will see the final result, painted and trimmed!

So first, you start here, a white ladder:

Walk up the ladder into the middle of the four tree trunks. There you will find a black rope ladder (you can see it on the left in the picture above.) Climb up the rope ladder. Don't bonk your head on the trap door!

Once you get through the trap door, remember to close it so you don't fall through! Straighten up and this is what you will see. To your left:

This is the princess porch. Notice the arched doorway. You will see the porch a little better later.

Straight ahead and slightly to the right you will see this:

This is the main deck/porch. There you will find a rope and bucket for all your hoisting needs.

Behind your head and to your right are large windows.

If you are an adult you will notice this in front of your face (If you are a child you may have to look up a little):

This is Joshua's tower. You will see this better later from the outside. There is a small ladder to the right to climb up.

Here is another photo of the tower:

Yes, those are skylights in the roof above the kids' heads. You can also see a bit of the ladder in this photo.

Well, now that you've seen the inside, would you like to get down and see the outside? Turn around and squeeze yourself through the trapdoor, go down the rope ladder, but stay there! Don't go down the white ladder, there's a more fun way to get down to the ground:

That's right! A slide! So since you can see the princess porch in this above photo I will show another photo for you, a little more close up:

If you circle around the tree clockwise you will return to the white ladder. But above your head will be this:

I have added these next two photos for added visual understanding and to see how high off the ground the tree house actually is and how tall the maple tree is:

On the left is Papa and Nina's house. On the right is a willow tree. A little to the left of the willow tree you will see the tree house. That is Papa walking away from the tree house. Gives it a bit more perspective doesn't it?

After we left, Papa painted the tree house a barn red with white trim and shingled the roof:

Let's give Joel and Papa a standing ovation for their creativity and hard work!!

A side note for those interested: they used conduit (sp?) for the bars in the railings and windows.