I know it is only the 3rd of June...so I actually have not sent all these letters yet. But I have prewritten the generic parts of the letters and am working on the personal responses. I just thought I would share my goal for the June letters! I noticed that our stack of letters from the kids is piling up, so I figured it's time to personally respond to each child's letter!
I also know that when our new baby arrives in July, writing is going to get hard for a few months, so I thought I would share one of the baby's 3D ultrasound photos (I got to be a volunteer for 3D ultrasound training at the hospital where Eric works!) and I thought the kids would enjoy the ultrasound photo. I also found a coloring page for Psalm 139:13-14 at Marydean Draws. Seriously, how cool is this 3D ultrasound photo??
In addition to sending the ultrasound photo, I have had photos from Eric's baptism that I've been meaning to send for over 5 years, along with our testimonies. So since I finished up the 10 Commandments from Jill's blog, Compassion Family, I decided to check out her other writing ideas. Hence June's faith letter was inspired by Jill's Your Faith post, specifically the first three questions:
When were you saved?
How did you come to know the Lord?
Were you baptized? If so, how old were you and what was the experience like?
And I have been meaning to write about local wildlife for a while, and am finally getting around to it. I thought I would share about some unique local birds, specifically herons, egrets, pelicans, and red-shouldered hawks, which we see on a regular basis when we walk! I linked my references with each bird's name: Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Pelican, Red-Shouldered Hawk.
Dear Friend,
I thought it might be fun to share a little about 4 species of birds that we see frequently when we go on walks near our home!
Great Blue Heron: "Great blue herons' size (1 to 1.3 meters) and wide wingspan (1.6 to 2 meters) make them a joy to see in flight. They can cruise at some 20 to 30 miles an hour. Great blue herons are waders, typically seen along coastlines, in marshes, or near the shores of ponds or streams. They are expert fishers. Herons snare their aquatic prey by walking slowly, or standing still for long periods of time and waiting for fish to come within range of their long necks and blade-like bills."
Snowy Egret (another species of heron): "Male and female Snowy Egrets take turns incubating their eggs. As one mate takes over for the other, it sometimes presents a stick, almost as if passing a baton. Both parents continue caring for the young when they hatch. The Snowy Egret eats mostly aquatic animals, including fish, frogs, worms, crustaceans, and insects. It often uses its bright yellow feet to paddle in the water or probe in the mud, rounding up prey before striking with its bill."
Pelican: "A pelican has many adaptations that help it catch the fish it eats. Air pockets in its bones help the bird float. Webbed feet are perfect for paddling along the surface of the water. And that big pouch of skin under a pelican’s beak is super for scooping up a meal! A pelican may eat up to 1.8 kilograms of fish each day! Different types of pelicans catch fish in different ways. Brown pelicans dive headfirst into the ocean to snatch a fish seen from 21 meters in the air!"
Red-Shouldered Hawk: "A common hawk of wet deciduous woodlands, they are the noisiest of the buteos, especially during spring courtship. A perch-hunter of the forest understory, it feeds on frogs, snakes, lizards, and small mammals. Soars on flat wings held forward, glides with wings cupped, giving a “hunched” appearance. Wingbeats are quick and shallow, interspersed with quick glides."
We also have lots of little birds that live near us, but I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the larger birds that we have! I think they like to live near the water. What kind of birds do you enjoy seeing near your home?
Love,
Hannah
I found the photos via a Google Images search, and used Pizap to create the collages. Feel free to copy/paste and adapt the letter to your uses!
