A Bittersweet day

Well, we started off on a happy note...so happy in fact, that Miss Annie decided to mark it all over her body with a stamp.




Things took a sudden turn for the worse while we were making cookies. How in the world could such a happy day turn bad while making cookies, you may ask?

Take a look at the following pictures....














Hey! I tried to warn them it wasn't good.

Enzo

Congratulations to our friends, Mariano and Becky on the birth of their beautiful son, Enzo David. He was born on April 2. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz and was 21 inches long.




I can still remember the day that Mar and Beck came to our house for dinner. We all sat down, and Joel asked Mar to pray. Mariano said, "Ok, but first we want to tell you something." Mar looked at Beck and she was just grinning so big. He said, "Do you want to tell?" She said, "You can." He said, "No, you tell." She laughed and said, "You." This went back and forth until I said, "Well SOMEBODY better tell us!!!" Mariano broke out into an enormous smile and said, "God is blessing us with a child." We all screamed and hugged! What a happy day that was!





He is a blessing from God for sure! Look at this beautiful face! So perfect!



Mariano and Becky are heading to the mission field of Uruguay. They have just begun deputation with this sweet little guy. Pray for them as they are travelling.


Mar and Beck, we always knew you'd make the best parents! We're so happy that he's finally here! Congratulations again! We love you guys!

It's my Birthday!

Just in case anyone is wondering what all the excitment is all about....well, quite frankly, it's all about me.




When I was growing up, Mom had a red "you are special" plate that she used for special occassions like birthdays. However, she didn't just use it for birthdays. She also gave us "We Appreciate You" parties. A "We Appreciate You" party is a party thrown in your honor for no other reason except that our parents wanted us to know that they loved us. When I got married, my mom gave me my very own "you are special" plate that we now use for birthdays and special "We Appreciate You" parties. I love this plate. It tells the user for the day that they are loved. Today, it was placed at my seat at the dinner table.



And just as family traditions goes, I could find all my cards under the plate.

This is the delicious dinner that my darling husband cooked.






And if any of you want to know what I got for my birthday....here it is....-oh brother, I want you all to know that it takes a very secure woman to do this...... (sigh.... here goes!)









I got some equipment for my triathalon that I'll be doing.

Spring Has Sprung

The last of the snowmen has melted and Spring officially has arrived. I love the smell of Spring. Why is it that the only seasons that have a smell of any kind are Spring and Fall? I guess those are the seasons that have a prominent memory for me. Fall reminds me of going back to school, and the scents of Spring signal that school is almost over. (Personally, I love sniffin Spring.)



With the arrival of Spring comes Spring cleaning. We hauled out the rakes and the wheelbarrel today, and got some yard work done.




To my sisters: Does this remind you of our youthful days of spring clean up in our yard?



We have one particular home video of us girls helping Dad with the yardwork. Annie and I are pretty little. I would guess, I'm 2, and Annie's 4, which would put Trish and Krisy at 6 and 8. Hey! who needs hired help, or sons for that matter, when you've got us, Dad! There we all are sitting on the back of the trailer, which is attached to Dad's bright yellow John Deer lawnmower. Dad drove us all around the yard, and periodically made little "pick up sticks" stops. We'd hope off, grab some sticks, load them onto the trailer, and off we went again. Well, given me and Annie's ages, I don't think we were much help. We were just sitting on the back of the trailer like two little lumps. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum was Trish, a.k.a the Hulk. She was hefting enormous logs into the trailer like she was trying out for the "strongest man" contest. My favorite part of this home video is when the "mommy-cam" turns on dear, ole Krissy who is totally lazin around. Then, you can hear Dad's slightly, irritated voice in the background say, "Come on, Kris, get helping!" So, she turns around, bends over like she is the floppiest fish in the ocean, and picks up the tiniest, teeniest TWIG. (I mean it when I say a twig!) And then, with a very limp wrist, she hands it over to Tricia, who at this point has hauled an entire acre of logs into the trailer. -Oh we need to watch that one again. It makes me giggle just thinking about it.

And apparently someone in our family was taking notes during that particular scene in the home video...



We had to be careful not to step in any "steaming pebbles," if you know what I mean. I told you we've had a lot of deer around here....


When the work was done, we decided to have a race. The kids wanted to run and bike. The problem was, that Emma doesn't know how to ride a bike. So, Joel gave a quick little tutorial on "How to learn to ride a two-wheeler in less than 30 seconds."



She actually wasn't doing too bad. She took a major spill off her bike, but with all the determination in the world, she went and got right back on.



Of course, she had to catch Daddy first.



Obviously, Annie doesn't ride a bike either. She just rode like the wind on the ole chicken, having the time of her life.



But even that gets a little tiring after a while.



Now, it was time for our race to begin. When I said, "Go", they all took off like lightning.





And the winner was.....Matty! Mary was a close second. -I think running in her "crocs" may have hindered her a bit.




But around here, we're all winners! As a "wise ole owl" once said, "If we've all had fun, then we all won!"



And we all had fun!!!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Luke 24:6, "He is not here, but He has risen." -This morning, Joel and I were talking to the kids about the importance of this day. He asked them what today was all about. Emma yelled, "About Jesus! He rose up the grave!" I hope we don't ever trade the excitment of an empty tomb for the excitement of a candy basket. Our prayer is that we can wisely instill this in our children, so we don't pass on an apathetic generation that forgets what the true meaning of today is!





I was hoping to capture that precious Easter picture of sweetness, but well... let's just say I missed that shot.




Thankfully, we did find some sweetness a little later, though. :o)

A 5k, A trip to the Pet Store and A lollipop.

On Saturday, Joel ran a 5K. We woke up to snow. It didn't look good for the little ones with colds. Joel was thinking that he would just drive down by himself, run it and come home. Well, the kids absolutely wanted to be there to cheer for him. So, we loaded into the car, and off we went, praying on our way down that it would stop snowing. The snow turned to rain, which wasn't looking great either. When the race was about to begin, God opened up the sky for just enough sunlight to shine down. We were so thankful.



Daddy's fans: "Please, kids! Calm down! You guys are just plain ole embarrassing yourselves with all the noise you're making!"


Joel finished in 24min. 50 sec.


After the race, we stayed behind for all the fun. They had face painting and make your own sundaes for the kids. None of our gang wanted their face painted until Joel did it. He got a soccer ball. (which looked more like a freaky growth on his face.) Once Emma went, we couldn't keep the girl away! She loved the butterfly on her face and was asking me every two seconds to take her to the bathroom so she could look at it. Every time I turned around, Emma was running back to the face painting table for more sparkles on her cheek, another flower, and then more sparkles on the flower.- Remind me to never let this kid near a tatoo parlor!

Hey and guess what, Joel won a random drawing. He got a $20 gift certificate for the running store.


Annie was proud of her Daddy and didn't leave his side when he crossed the finish line.

After the race, we stopped at Michael's for the kid's craft day....

The girls made wands and Mikey made....what else...a sword.

Our next stop was the pet store. We enjoyed looking at the fish.

Mary and I thought this fish looked very similiar to Annie for some reason.

We fell in love with this bird. As he was eating, he would stop and look up at us. Then we would walk over, and stick his beak in between the cage and give you some type of "treat" from his bowl. Here, he is giving Emma a peanut, for which she will be eternally grateful. She was in love! When it came time to leave, she was blowing him kisses at the door. Let me guess, he's going to be added to her "best friend lists."


The day ended with lollipops on the way home.


And apparently for one of us, it had been a while since we had a lollipop...



And man! were we enjoying EVERY LAST LICK!




Ahhhhhhh, complete bliss.