Moving

I am in the process of moving this blog from blogspot to self-hosted wordpress.  I know I don't post often, but new posts from here on out will be found at the following address:

(Not working at the moment...)

Old posts and comments have been migrated to the new site.  The formatting and design still need some tweaking--bear with me, I'll get to it eventually. :)

Still a Zoo

I really like living near a big city, with all the amenities it has to offer, like the parks, and the museums, and the zoo, and the thrift stores.  (Yes, the thrift stores rank very highly in my estimation!)  Our three favorite places are the children's museum, the science museum, and the zoo, all of which are conveniently located within walking distance of each other, and bordering Hermann Park, another favorite spot.  All three offer free admission once per week or month, but as of just recently, we have memberships at all three, so we can enjoy them whenever we want.  When I was growing up, the children's museum and the zoo were very rare treats, so unlimited access feels like a real luxury, you know?

Anyway, last Tuesday was this month's free admission day at the zoo, so my sister suggested that we all (the moms and kids anyway) go.

The boys and I, being zoo members, got to skip the line (the lap of luxury, I tell ya) so while we were waiting for the others, the boys of course had to climb on the rhinoceros.

Mercy and her beautiful daughters:

Luke is a popular little guy.

 Thomas and his mama

Admiring some Ankole cattle.  They have impressive horns!

 Snack time!

The petting zoo was a big hit.

As you may have heard, I now have a new niece.  My brother and his wife were blessed with their fourth child a couple of weeks ago.  She's beautiful (of course) and hopefully at some point I'll post some photos.  But life is busier than ever, so no promises. :)

A Rare Saturday At Home

Most Saturdays I spend at least part of the day up in Houston and/or running errands, but today has been an unusual Saturday in that I have been able to spend the whole day at home.  It's been a beautiful warm day, and we've had the windows wide open, the curtains swaying gently in the breeze.  This morning we hosted a psalm sing.  It was well attended, including lots of children, and a couple of visitors from Canada.

We sang three of my favorite tunes.

First up was Felix, which fits nicely with Psalm 14.

Psalm 14 to Felix


Then we practiced St. Botolph. 

Psalm 27:7-11 to St. Botolph


Last of all we sang a tune that's very familiar to us here in Texas: Ericstane.

Psalm 142 to Ericstane


After the psalm sing, several of us stood and watched as herds (Or is it flocks? Gaggles? Swarms?) of children ran around in the front yard.  Visitors to our Texas congregation often comment on how many small children we have here.  And we have indeed been very blessed. :)  As the children get older, they are participating more in the singing, so our recordings may sound less "polished," but I like them better this way.  I hope you do too. :)

P. S. Remember that you can download these recordings, and others, to your own computer here.

Another Psalm Sing

Shortly after John and Naomi moved into their new place, they invited us all over for a psalm sing.  We had a great time visiting and singing, and recorded several psalms.  The acoustics were great!

 Psalm 71:14-17 to Stracathro


Psalm 107:23-30 to Torwood--note that we don't sing the tune as it's written in the latest version of the Free Church split-leaf psalters.  I believe this is an older version.


Psalm 127 to Artaxerxes--again, we sing a different version from that found in the Free Church split-leaf psalters.


Psalm 139:17-24 to Contemplation


Psalm 143:1-5, 2nd version, to Leuchars


And last but not least, Psalm 150 to Denfield


Hopefully we'll have another psalm sing soon.  Maybe next time I'll get the recordings posted in a more timely fashion. :)