Hooked on Books!

Have you ever heard of the Dewey Decimal System? 

Well that's what we learned about Thursday afternoon at Aunt Melissa's house! 

We studied the Dewey Decimal System, different types of books, and we got to make some really cool bookmarks!
The Dewey Decimal System was invented by Melvil Dewey to organize books so you could find the ones you wanted easier.  The books are grouped by call numbers, the numbers stand for the subject of the book and the first 3 letters of the authors name. For example, books in group 400 would be books on Languages.

 

"Abraham Lincoln, until he was a grown man, had two books: One of them was the Bible and the other was the Foxes Book of the Martyrs.  Abraham Lincoln... And he studied that so hard, he read; he--he concentrated on that. That's what developed that kind of a character that Abraham Lincoln was." -WMB

 "The boys" :)

Lincoln, David, and Joshua

 

 Ribbon Clamps can be hard to fasten!! :)

 Hannah left some jewelry when she moved to Arizona so Melissa cut it up and we used the charms and beads to decorate our ribbon bookmarks.  Thanks Hannah! :)

 

Beaded Bookmarks

 

If you cut the corner of an envelope you have a nice little bookmark to stick on the page!

 



Magnetic Bookmarks...

 

Recycled ceral box bookmarks!

 

 Creative snack names :)

 

This was a really fun meeting, thanks for all your hard work Aunt Melissa!!!

 

 

 

Christmas Tree Into "Bird Tree"

After Christmas my mom went to a local Christmas Tree Recycling Center and got a Christmas tree.  Why does she do this every year?  She makes it into a "Bird Tree"!  We put the tree on our back deck and decorated it with fruits, popcorn, and bird treats to attract our feathered friends.  We've had lots of eastern bluebirds and a few dark-eyed juncos, cardinals, purple finches, and tufted titmouse's!

 

 

Tufted Titmouse...

 



January Arizona Trip

This past week our family enjoyed a little getaway in Tucson, Arizona.

On Sunday our flight was delayed because of bad weather here in Philly so we flew out later than expected.  We spent the night in Dallas then on Monday morning flew the rest of the way to Tucson.  Usually when we go to Arizona the temperatures are nice and warm compared to the freezing weather back home...but not this time!!!  It was almost as cold in Arizona as it was in Pennsylvania!  By the end of the week the temperatures were back up into the seventies though!

 

Tuesday we went hiking at Gates Pass.  The road is a continuation of West Speedway Boulevard and is named after Thomas Gates who built the road through the pass between the Tucson valley and the other side of the Tucson Mountains as a shortcut.  Gates Pass is often visited in the evening to watch the sunset.

 

While we were hiking we spotted some familiar faces peering out of a van driving by...it was some of our friends from Canada!!!  They turned around and came back to visit for a while.  It was a special treat to see them!

 

The Hagmans left to go to the Desert Museum so Daddy, Joshua, Lillia, Hope, and I decided to climb around a little bit longer.

We hiked up pretty far then Hope and Joshua decided to climb over to the next pile of rocks...

Wednesday afternoon we met our friends from Canada at a park for lunch.

We had fun playing together...

Wednesday night we went to a tape service at Hotel Tucson where Harmony in the Desert is held.

Thursday evening was the first night of Harmony in the Desert and we had fun visiting with our friends! Harmony in the Desert is a time of singing, fellowship, and worship. Message singing groups from around the world gather in Tucson, Arizona each year to bless others with their musical talents.

Friday morning a few of our family went hiking up Sabino Canyon with a group of friends.

At Eagle Rock...

We also hiked around to Pulpit Rock but I don't have any pictures of that.. :)

Daddy, Hope, Joshua, and I along with Michael, Juliana, Joshua, Justin, and Joanna hiked out the Phoneline Trail instead of taking the tram out.  The Phoneline Trail is a very easy trail and it didn't seem like 4.5 miles to me!

Saturday afternoon Bro. Bobby had a BBQ in the hotel courtyard for singers and people staying at the hotel.  It's very convient to stay at Hotel Tucson because there is so much fellowship right out your door!

Sunday was the last day of Harmony in the Desert...

The singing started at 3:00 p.m. and afterwards Bro. Bobby fed everyone Tacos.

Enjoying the singing...

Each night there are about 25 groups that sing for around three hours to the 800+ people present.

Streaming online was 2,000+ people almost every night!  It's quite an event hosted by the very generous Bro. Bobby Wertz!



Visiting with friends...

 

Monday afternoon we flew back to chilly Pennsylvania and our Arizona vacation was over!

 

Sorry about the lack of pictures...Mom and Dad actually took most of them...it seems like when you're having so much fun with your friends you don't even think to take pictures and then when it comes time to sit down and post I regret not taking more!!  Maybe one of these days I'll learn my lesson and start taking more pictures!! =D