HI Family, It's been a looong time since anyone has written here.  I'm going to try an start writing here  again, as I really prefer this format to facebook.  I would love it if all of you would post updates on how things are going in your life. 

It seems like so much has changed in the past few years in the Laylock household.  We now have two teenagers in the house.  Teenagers have really changed the dynamics in our family.  It's fun to be around them, and you can have and intelligent conversation with them.   But they are still kids, and now more than ever they need guidance.  It's not the easy stuff anymore,  like don't cross the street before you look both ways.  That's easy, it's clearly the right thing to do.   Now it's decisions, like appropriate curfews, duel enrollment, dating.  And they can come up with a pretty convincing argument these days.   And I do second guess myself.  Did I make the right decision, am I being to protective?  Too lenient?  So I have to remind myself that God has given me the grace I need to parent these children, and I need to trust my own judgement.  The decisions that other parents make for their children might not be the right decisions for my children, even though they worked out great for someone else.  So I'll give an example, and then I'll move on.

Last week when I picked Ellie up from Youth Group at our church on Sunday night and she asked to drive home. She has her learners permit, and has driven a few times from church, but always during the day.  So my response was, "no, you aren't ready to drive home in the dark".  To which she countered with"c'mon Mom, I've been practicing, and it'll be fine", and her friends chime in to support her, "she's got to drive in the dark sometime, it'll be fine". So I let her drive home, against my better judgement.  And about halfway home, she needed to change lanes.  Maybe she looked over her shoulder a bit too long, or maybe she didn't judge the distance to the car in front of her accurately in the dark.  But she rear-ended the truck in front of her, and totaled her first car.   And the lesson that I learned that night was that I need to listen to my gut, and not let my kids convince me to change a decision.  And looking back, I can see countless examples of times I've made a decision, only to change my mind, and later regret it. 

And  now the kids are up and need me, so I"ll have to pick this up another time.

Random things

It's been ages since I've had a chance to post.  I have a bunch of random things that I'd talk to one or the other of you if I got a chance to see you, so I'll just post them here.

First, I can't remember who we've told that we are expecting a baby in April.  We decided not to find out the gender of this baby.  Matt always wants to be surprised, and I always want to find out, mainly for practical reasons.  I really love to purge our closets every spring, but this spring I'll have to wait until after the baby is born.  Since I had my way for the last two, I gave in and didn't find out.  One person in the family got a little envelope with the gender hidden inside, but I won't tell who.

And  here's a few pictures of the kids making cookies together.  This usually means I give them the extra dough, and the play with it until it's a sticky mess.  But it keeps them busy for hours, so it's well worth the wasted ingredients and clean up. 

Another thing I wanted to share with you was a recent discovery I made.  After Dorothy was born, my dentist told me that I had cavities in all of my molars and needed 15 fillings, some in teeth that were only filled a year or two ago.  Since I brush and floss regularly, and don't eat much sugar, I suspected  it must be from mineral deficiency from being pregnant of nursing for the past 5 years.  Then a friend told me that there is some evidence that you can remineralize teeth.  She also gifted me a bottle of Fermented Cod Liver Oil, which contains vitamins and minerals that our modern diet is often deficient in.  I've been taking this supplement for a few months, and noticed that I've had far fewer colds this season that normal.  I've also noticed that the depression that I usually get in winter hasn't set in.  After doing a little research, I beleive it's because of the high levels of easily absorbed vitamin D in the CLO.  I've also noticed that my kids recover very quickly from their colds when they take the CLO( they won't take it on a regular basis, but will when they are sick).  So for those interested, check out these articles here and  here , or do your own research:

And if you are interested in the Cold Liver Oil, this is the one I take and This is what I give the kids who won't take pill.


We finally rented out our house in Mauldin.  The process of screening renters was exhausting, but we have high hopes that the tenants we choose will take good care of the house.  I'm so glad to have that over with, at least for a year.


And I think I told all of you that we got a pony for the kids.   She was rescued from a starvation situation, but had recovered enough to be out of danger when we got her.  Her rescuer couldn't tell me much about her, but did know that she was extremely gentle, and great with kids.   After owning her for a few months, we've learned that she is indeed very gentle, and great with kids.  However instead of the 9 years old that we had thought she was, she is actually only 4.  We think she was broken to saddle, but never had any training beyond that.  Ellie is working with her under my direction, and I will also begin working with her after I have the baby.  She is quiet enough for the Joseph to ride in the arena, and Blake to ride on our property, or accompanied on the rode.  With a little work I am confident that she is going to make an excellent horse for the kids.  And if Ellie and Blake show responsibility with her, we will consider getting them another horse this summer or fall so that they can ride together. 

Hi Family,

As I'm sure you've noticed, the posting frequency on this blog has taken a plunge.  I know everyone stays really busy with life, but Andrew and I miss hearing about what is going on, so we decided to try something new.  We will pose questions to all of you in this post and you can answer them in the comments.  That way everyone can see them.  It will almost be like chatting on the phone (almost).

Dad, Mom, Maria, and Anna: How have the animals been?  Any new ones we should know about? How is the new roof coming? What kind of projects are the girls working on in school/class?  Any new plays for Maria in the future?

Holly and Paul:  How are the boys adjusting to their new home?  Are they enjoying exploring all the land?  What has been the biggest challenge to getting settled in for you guys?  Do you feel like you are (getting) more organized now than before?  Have you planted any crops?

Sandy and Matt:  We do pray your home sells soon and it looks amazing after all the work you've done on it. Have you closed on the new house already? Do you know when you are moving? Have you guys traveled or had any visitors this summer (is it the year for Matt's family reunion?).  How is your carpo tunnel syndrome doing, Sandy? How is Ellie's dog agility training coming along?

Heather and David:  I bet you are getting excited to meet your new little one.  When is the due date? Next month, right? Have any of the kids made any recent bedroom swaps (i.e. David getting his own room, or all three moving in together?).  Do David and Amelia take any classes like dance, gymnastics, karate, T-ball etc.?  What are their favorite activities?  Do you like your new neighborhood?  Are there more kids around than at the town home? Have you gone to any balls or galas recently?

Daniel and Regina:  Don't you finish up your course work soon, Dan? Do you graduate end of summer or end of next semester? Congratulations! How is work for Regina going?  Has she made significant advancements in the past couple of years with her job? Is she still in the same job as when you guys first moved there?  Do you guys get to travel around the New England area alot? Do you have a favorite little getaway spot?

Tristan and Elizabeth:  How has the summer internship been going?  Are you in NY or is it some other place?  What is Alistair up to these days?  Does he have a favorite TV show, genre, or character?  Do you get to visit with the Bartons a good amount (They are pretty close, right)? Has the weather been pleasant this summer for many outdoor activities?

Ok, as for us: We just did a big bike trip recently where we followed the Danube River all the way from Regensburg to Vienna.  The kids had a blast and we met lots of interesting people along the way.  It was so nice to get to really see and experience the Austrian countryside. Philip has been taking Ju Jitsu for about 2 months and he loves it.  It is really teaching him how to pay careful attention to the instructor and implement the moves.  He does it for an hour from 5-6 and then he stays at the gym while Andrew does his class from 6-8.  All in all, ju jitsu nights are really fun for him!

Well, I hope you like this new format we are tying.  We hope to hear back from you guys and feel free to post your own questions in a separate post!

Love,
Andrew and Amanda

Dorothy was helping me put away her pajamas and spied a pair of Black Patent Leather Shoes I had put away for winter at the back of her drawer.  She said "oooooh shoes", and immediately sits down to put them on.  Some of you may remember that Ellie had a fascination with shoes and Dorothy is following in her footsteps.  

Spring in South Carolina

It's finally spring here in South Carolina.  Normally I spend all my free time outdoors in springtime, but this year I've been inside so much that I almost missed it.  We started planting our vegetable garden in late February, and then we got serious about selling our house and the remodeling began.  The nice big garden Matt and the boys tilled for me lays pretty much empty. Perhaps someone else will enjoy the spot. 

My fruit trees don't need any help form me to produce though, so they are heavy with figs and peaches.  The apple trees are bare, I think the buds were killed by a late frost.  Oh, and we'll have late raspberries.

  And our chickens are thriving.  We added a few Black Australorps to our flock to replace the hens that did not make it through the winter.  They are extremely gently chickens that do well in captivity so I think they will do well for us.  And the kids really love them.

We are hoping to list our house next week, so please keep us in your prayers.  We still have some finishing to do, and lot's of painting.  It's been difficult for me because I've developed Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, and anytime I work with my hands it get's worse.  The hard part is sitting around looking at all the work that needs to be done, and not doing it.  There's an upside to everything though, and it has allowed me to get more reading time in with the kids(as long as one of them holds the book). 

Cruise to the Mediterranean

Hi everyone!  Amanda, the kids, and I went on a cruise out of Rome recently, stopping in Turkey, Cyprus, Israel (2 days), Crete, and Naples (near Pompeii).  I posted some pictures on facebook, but here are some Boyd family specials.

Philip was overjoyed to be at a train station.  He has been looking sharp as every with some David Ermine Jr. clothing brand jacket.

We found a roman catholic mass on Crete.  They sang one English song, the Sactus and Our Father in Latin, so we were able to follow along a bit.  I butchered the songs in Greek as I tried to pronounce contemporary Greek with my limited education in Biblical Greek.

Philip and Amanda are trying to found out way through Pompeii.

This is a Roman road in Pompeii, covered for nearly 2000 years by 20 feet of ash.  It was very well-preserved, and one can see the ruts from chariot wheels that slowly wore down the stones.

Entrance to the amphitheater.  Tristan...Dan...want to try and translate this?

Amphitheater.

Philip and Amanda on a castle wall in Alanya, Turkey.  The horizontal space above was where a large piece of wood...would have been to hold the stones and mortar as they settled.  It has since rotted away.

Stella at the beach in Turkey.

A monastery in Cyprus.

Stella at n Amphitheater in Pafos, Cyprus.

Philip and I at the Jordan river.  This site is where some entrepreneurial Israelis have turned baptisms in the Jordan river into a ridiculously over-commercialized business, totally targeted for American evangelicals.

Jerusalem

At Golgotha.  Philip didn't make it to the 11th station.

Our last day in Rome, we had lunch with 5 of my classmates from ICAS in New Hampshire.  They are studying theology there, less than two years away from ordination.  It was a lot of fun and we shared a lot.  Too much detail to divulge here.  For those that are interested, we can talk on the phone.

Happy Birthday Eddie!

Our darling little Eddie has turned two.  Happy Birthday to the little joyful rascal that can always make us smile.