Happy new year!

May it be blessed.

S' Pradznikom! A blessed and joyous feast to you all!

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One,

And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One!

Angels with shepherds glorify Him!

The wise men journey with a star!

Since for our sake the Eternal God was born as a Little Child!

Christ is Born!  Glorify Him!

Meet...

Albus (on the left) and Minerva (Minnie for short)

Bilbo (Papa's new sidekick)

Lupin

Merry Christmas girls...

This moment

The feast draws nigh...

8/52

Zoe:  Answering the door and explaining to Rick James why she can't come out to play right now.  Yes, they do peck on the door until she comes out and plays with them and yes she named her favorite bird with a mohawk Rick James.

Katya and Thea:  Serious elving has begun round these parts.  

Papa:  Expressing his Papa-ness.  

This moment

St. Herman of Alaska

O blessed Father Herman of Alaska, 

North star of Christ’s holy Church, 

The light of your holy life and great deeds 

Guides those who follow the Orthodox way. 

Together we lift high the Holy Cross 

You planted firmly in America. 

Let all behold and glorify Jesus Christ, 

Singing his holy Resurrection.

7/52

Papa:  Enjoying the cooler weather.

Zoe:  Not enjoying the cooler weather.  (Actually, she has loved the snow and ice.)

Katya:  Warming her hands.

Thea:  Sewing her first skirt.

This moment

S pradznikom!

In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
An image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
Your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.
Hierarch Father Nicholas, Entreat Christ our God
That our souls may be saved.

A joyous feast of St. Nicholas to you all!

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S pradznikom!

Today is the preview of the good will of God,

Of the preaching of the salvation of mankind.

The Virgin appears in the temple of God,

In anticipation proclaiming Christ to all.

Let us rejoice and sing to her: Rejoice,

0 Divine Fulfillment of the Creator's dispensation.

~The entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple

6/52

Zoe:  Thrilled that her hens are finally laying.
Papa:  Roasting peppers.
Thea and Katherine:  Harvesting the last of the basil the night before our first frost.

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5/52

Papa:  Taking in the beauty.

Me & my girls:  Enjoying one of our favorite places on earth, Holy Archangels Monastery.

4/52

Papa:  "No more crowing!"  He's headed to a farm where he can crow to his hearts content.  (The rooster, not my husband).  
Zoe:  Because there are few pictures of her without her birds.
Katherine and Thea:  Making music together.

Wow

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Love

A Prayer By the Lake

  My Lord is the One who resurrects.  He resurrects the dead from morning until dusk, and from dusk until dawn.

  What the morning buries, the Lord brings to life in the evening; and what the evening buries, the Lord brings to life in the morning.

  What work is more fitting for the living God than to resurrect the dead into life?

  Let others believe in the God who brings men to trial and judges them.

  I shall cling to the God who resurrects the dead.

  Let others believe in the God, who does not even draw near to the living when they call upon Him.

  I shall worship the God, who holds His cupped ear even at cemeteries and listens, to hear whether anyone is crying out for resurrection or for the One who resurrects.

  The gravediggers dig graves and are silent.  The Lord opens graves and shouts.

  A mother places her daughter in a grave, the Lord takes her out of the grave; the Lord is a better mother than the mother.

  A father covers his son with soil, the Lord uncovers him.  The Lord is a better father than the father.

  A brother buries his brother, the Lord resurrects him.  The Lord is a better brother than the brother.

  The Lord has neither tears nor smiles for the dead.  His whole heart belongs to the living.

  The world mourns for their kindred in the cemeteries, the Lord seeks His own with a song and awakens them.

  Resurrect my soul, O Lord, so that my body might also be resurrected.  Dwell in my soul, and my body will become Your temple.

  My neighbors ask with anxiety whether this body of ours will be resurrected.

  If you have denied yourself once and for all, and no longer live for yourself, then your body is already being resurrected.

  If your body is a temple of the Most High God, then the One who resurrects is within you and your resurrections is already being accomplished.

  Our body changes with age, throughout our lifetime we have called many bodies our own.  Which of them will be resurrected?

  Perhaps none of them.  But your can be certain that if you have had a body which expresses the Word of God, clearly, it will be resurrected.

  My Lord who resurrects, does not resurrect death, because death was never alive.

  Your are the One who resurrects and You are the resurrection, for You are life.

  Only the seed which  contains You is resurrected, and that seed which is of you.

  You will only bring to life that soul which now lives by You and not by the world.

  You will only preserve that body, which has begun to be filled with the Holy Spirit during this time.

  That which is of the Living God in the graves, will be resurrected into life.

  No one can resurrect the dead except the Lord, and no one can rise from the dead except the Lord.

  For He is in His holy people.  Truly, He is in His living people, both in the grave and out of the grave.

~St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Michael Anthony Dobbs

September 14, 1960-October 11, 2013

Memory Eternal

2/52

Zoe:  Making her mark in the world
Thea:  Searching for beach treasures
Katherine:  A joyful reunion with her beloved godfather
Papa:  Being reflective-as usual

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Hello Again

Wow, it's been a long time. It's been so nice to lay low for awhile. As much as I love people I also love a quiet life. However, friends and family far away want to see their girls...more.

Here's a first post inspired by Bluebird blog. I positively love the idea of taking a picture of my loves once a week for a year.  We'll see if I can keep up.

/52

::Thea:  Sweet Thea.
::Katherine:  This girl is all about making music these days.
::Zoe:  In her own world.
::The Papa:   Living the life.