He is Risen!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Resurrection Day with friends and family.  We certainly did!

We started the morning with Resurrection Cookies.  We've made these the past couple of years, and it helps the little ones to really "get" what the resurrection really is.  As a plus, the cookies are delicious!

Afterwards, we worshipped God with our church family.  As our pastor says, every day is Resurrection Day, because we rejoice each day in our salvation.  We have been going through Genesis as a church, and this Sunday, as we read chapter 49, I was amazed by God's redemptive plan throughout history.  From the beginning of creation, the Bible points to Christ as the Savior of His people.  Hallelujah!  

 

 

We (I!!!) drove to Mamie and Big George's house for lunch with the clan.  All fourteen grandchildren were there, as well as aunts, uncles, great grandparents, and friends.  The house was full, and after the enormous lunch, we were too!  Mamie bought a pinata for the little ones to take out their sugar high on.  Everyone from James to George got to hit it before it cracked open.

 

 

Uncle Jamie and Amy made a great team.

 

 

While the children attacked the pinata, some of the adults hid eggs.  The boys liked hunting for eggs, not caring that eggs bounced out of their baskets as they ran.  It just made the game last longer!

 

 

 Thomas went to great lengths to find his eggs.

 

 

 It good to see our Birmingham cousins, Helen (above) and Philip.  We hadn't seen them since late December, so we tried to maximze cousin time while they were here.

 

Wishing you all a joyful Resurrection Day

Joy

 

Resurrection Day

  Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 

(John 12:24 ESV)

" I came that they may have life and have it abundantly...  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand...  I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."
 (John 10:10, 28;11:25 ESV)

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
(1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

Happy 6th Birthday, Thomas!

Dear Thomas,

Happy Birthday!  I can hardly believe that my little brother is six years old.  Now you're not so little, are you?  As you would say, "Wow, that's old!"

 

 

I remember when you were born.  We were in the hospital waiting room with family, doing what people generally do in a waiting room--waiting.  Waiting for Little Blessing from God #6.  Daddy walked past the door in full surgical uniform, and we were so excited.  Our little brother or sister was about to be born!  

After the surgery, we got to go back to the hospital room and meet "the baby".  You were so cute; your little face was red, round, and chubby.  It was love at first sight.  "Boy or girl?" we all asked.  And you know the answer.  It was a boy, Thomas Chapman Moss, our little arrow.  Welcome to the world.

 

 

You grew and you grew.  You liked cookies, books, and a stuffed dog you named Jack.  You carried him everywhere.  I remember that you also loved to play outside.  Like your brothers, you built forts and hideouts.  However, being a very literal little boy, you didn't always catch on: "Why are the Indians going to tie us up?  And why is Samuel an Indian?" 

I loved you--and still love you--from the tips of your dirty, farmboy toes to the top of your ninetieth percentile "Moss head". 

 

 

Now you are six.  You still love your Jack, but like big boy things, too, like spelling and computers.  Sometimes, I catch you helping your older siblings with math (you're the boy who wrote the 19 multiplication tables, just for fun).  I joke that I'll have hurry if I don't want you to pass me.  After I catch you reading my world history textbook, I wonder if it was really a joke.     

 

Thomas, I hope you have a blessed sixth year.  I pray that you will grow to love God more and more.  I am so blessed to have you as my brother.  I love you.

 

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Joy

An Update

Hello everyone--anyone, actually, who is still checking our blog after an almost two months' silence. 

 Here's a quick update: 

 

 

The Farm 

The farm is being its usual Moss-y old self.  The chickens are producing twenty eggs a day, we just yesterday delivered two adorable (goat) kids, and the boys are building a tree house.  (It's in the not-so-secret Secret Place, to those of you who have explored our farm.)  I'm looking forward to planting our Spring garden.

   

 

Family Night

One of our recent family nights was a game night.  George asked to play Guesstures, and loved it!  He has a flair for the dramatic--which he gets from Mommy--so "hurt" was an easy word to enact.  He looks it, doesn't he?

 

Birthdays

What would a Moss Farm blog post be without a birthday?  The only problem is that not one of us was born in January or February.  However, our great-grandmother, Mama Em, had her ninetieth birthday this January, and we celebrated it with our annual Spa Night.  Normally, we paint nails, but this time we decided to paint something bigger--crosses.  It was, as always, a very special time.

 

Homeschooling

 

Homeschooling is back to its normal abnormal state at our house.  A couple of weeks ago, Delie, Anna, George, Samuel, and Thomas participated in our local homeschool spelling bee.  They did a wonderful job, and Delie won!  We were all so excited--Mamie and Big George, Aunt Emily, and three of my cousins came, so she had by far the biggest fan club.  The next rung on the spelling bee ladder is the Memphis bee, so she has been studying for that.  

 



And in addition to all of that, we just celebrated Valentine's Day; went to the dentist, a major undertaking for a family our size; and George, Delie, Mommy, and Daddy have been training for a half-marathon.  Life is busy, but it's a restful kind of busy.  I'm so thankful that Mommy and Daddy have chosen to raise us in the way of Deuteronomy 6:1-9.  The LORD is our God!

 

Joy

Our "Island Vacation"

 

 

We just got back from our island vacation in the middle of the Mississippi River.  Mamie and Big George have a hunting cabin on Davis Island, and for the first time in four years, we, as well as my cousins, were able to go with them.  (You can see the last time here.)

 

 

Normally, the river is so deep that we have to be ferried across; but this time we were able to just drive across the barge. When we left, the river was up to the truck's headlights, but we made it! *deep sigh of relief*

 

 

William was thrilled to be able to hunt with Mommy and Daddy.  He fell asleep, however, but not before he had seen some deer.

 

 

Some of the younger ones had an archery match with  our longtime Island friends, the Campbells.  Our friendship goes back for three generations. 

 

 

Mealtimes were lots of fun--not to mention delicious!

 

 

Philip, Martha, and Samuel, a.k.a. 'The Three Stooges,' had a great time together.  I wonder how they earned their nickname?

 

 

On Saturday, Big George's sister's family drove through the rising Mississippi to spend the day.  We visited the ruins of Jefferson Davis's home, a library, and a cemetery from the 1800's.  I love the picture of Marcus and the four unidentifiable boys in camo at the cemetery.

 

 

Before leaving, the Smith and Moss grandchildren and grandparents piled on and around the Kubota. 

 

We made a lot of memories and had a very special time on our island vacation. 

 

Joy