Thursday, April 28, 2011

Ready or not, here I come!

This is what hide and go seek looks like at our house.  ;)

Easter

 We went up to my sister's house for Easter.  The boys always love sleepovers with their cousins!  Maddie softly sang to Casey to sleep for over an hour.  So sweet!
 Checking out what the Easter bunny delivered!




 Making sure his brothers' Easter baskets didn't have something his didn't have... ;)
 We had a small egg hunt inside before going outside for the big one!


  All dressed and ready to go!

 So. serious.

 Just like last year, Casey had to open each egg before looking for the next one.
 Thankfully, Uncle David guarded some eggs to keep them around for Casey.  ;)
 These two were the most competitive egg hunters for sure!


 What did you get guys?!


Gavin is in this funny stage where if he has anything in his hands, he holds it up to avoid smiling for a picture...  niiiice.



Sadly, there was a dark cloud over this Easter for me as my friend from high school/roommate from college tragically lost her 7 month old baby.  I went through the motions of Easter for the sake of my boys, but my heart was absolutely aching for her.  I'm so thankful she is a Christian and can lean on God for strength through such a difficult time... and know without doubt, that her little boy is joyfully up in heaven awaiting their amazing reunion one day.

Friday, April 22, 2011

An Eventful Good Friday

Our church had a Good Friday service this evening.  When we found out there was only childcare for birth through Kindergarten, we decided to bring Jacob with us.  I was looking forward to bringing him though.  I think it's really important to show him the true meaning of Easter and the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us.  Jacob is getting to that age where he's asking a lot of questions and his brain is getting sophisticated enough to understand.

The service started with a courtroom where the audience was on trial for our sin.  The plaintiff was God and the defendant was mankind.  In the middle of this court procession, Jacob lost his tooth!  He shouted out, "Daddy, Mommy!  LOOK!"  That broke the silence in the room for sure.  Thank goodness it must have been really ready because it didn't bleed at all.  I thought it was funny that his babysitter, halfway across the room, heard his little voice and knew it was Jacob.  Unsurprisingly, a lot of other people noticed too and congratulated him afterward.  :) 

Then they brought out a giant cross to the stage.  We had slips of paper to write the evidence of sin we were being accused for in court.  After we privately wrote down what we were struggling with, we walked up to nail it to the cross.  Adam asked Jacob if he wanted to write something too.  He immediately said yes.  I thought I might need to help him think of something... but after a few seconds, he wrote something down all by himself.   When I read it my heart melted.  Misspellings and all, I had no doubt it would melt God's heart as well.  He bravely held my hand and we nailed it to the cross.  Later that evening, one lady sitting behind us told us that she had been watching Jacob... and that to her, it was the most touching part of the entire service.

Afterward, I wrapped my arms around Jacob and we sung songs to God.  He watched his Daddy raise his hands in worship.   He watched everyone pray together.  He watched us take communion and had LOTS of questions about that.  We told him that right now, he is going to church with mommy and daddy.  But one day, he will make the decision to believe in God all on his own.  One day, he will ask Jesus to live in his heart forever and ever.  One day, he will take communion with us.  One day, he will be baptized.  And hopefully one day, he will even teach his own children about God.

When we were filling out some adoption paperwork recently, we were asked to write down the goals we had for our kids.   It's interesting that every business, church, and school seems to have well-thought out mission statements and goals.  It made me think, how much more important is it for parents to have goals for their children?  Anyway, it was good to think about.  As many hopes, dreams, and goals we have for our three boys (and little girl!), the first is for them to have unwavering faith in God.  That above everything, because in the end, that is all that matters.

The Spring Fair

We had a great time at the spring fair last week!  It was fun to see how many things you could do for free.  (Which is not very common in the fall!)  

Tattoos...
 There was an amazing reptile exhibit, filled with snakes, geckos, frogs... even a crocodile!
 I couldn't believe how excited our boys were to plant a pumpkin seed!  (Especially when it popped up through the dirt the other day!)  We will definitely have to make a little vegetable garden this year. 
 Scones... one of the best parts of the fair for sure.  :)
 Their daddy found this paintball station and immediately wanted to help the boys aim and shoot their first paintball!



 Rides!  So fun that Casey is big enough to join his brothers now!  :)



 Jacob's paper about grandparents was chosen from his class to be displayed at the fair.  I didn't tell him ahead of time, so he gasped in excitement when he saw it!  "Mommy, that's my paper!  There's me and grammy!  I made that!"
 What a sweet moment...
 Of course, Adam had a witty comment to say about these little goats... and of course, it was loud enough for people nearby to hear and laugh.  I'm pretty sure he loves embarrassing me.  ;)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Coloring eggs!

 I always dive into coloring easter eggs each year... tending to forget the mess involved, how many eggs crack = tears shed, and how many other things get accidentally dyed in the process!  ;)

Gavin's Toy Story coloring kit came with a set of 3-D glasses.  Doesn't he look like a little mad scientist or something?
So. excited.
 

 Helping mommy stir the colors.
Decorating...

 ... and in they GO!

 Casey ate two hard-boiled eggs in a row!  I always forget he actually likes them!
 Did I already say it was messy?  And that Gavin spilled an entire cup of yellow dye on the floor?  Yikes.
I'm not much of a baker, but these Easter jellybean nests looked pretty easy to make so I went for it.
They were a hit for sure.  :)