Our Calm before the storm

Thanks to some of our most wonderful friends we got to get away this past week for 2 days just to be together, our little fam. It was soooooo wonderful! Restful, fun and - just being together. We didn't know it was coming, but as soon as we got home we pretty much all got sick, me with strep throat, Norah and Jack had ear infections, and pink eye touched a few. Thankfully Lee is healthy, please pray he stays that way! But before all that hit and Lee had to leave for Colorado we had this little haven of fun together. It was beautiful, thanks friends!  Please pray for me too, when Lee is gone I feel so homesick for him...

A dragonfly that enjoyed our picnic

sweet Jack with daddy

Our two little swimmers- they loved it!

Look at that view... that's all there is to say!

New pics

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've posted anything. Sorry about that. Here are some pics to fill in some of the gaps. Anna graduated from her preschool last week, she is Kindergarten bound and couldn't be happier. The other pics are of us hanging out with some fam at Mary's house for Henry's b-day.

Somewhere Beyond the Barn

Anna just before her kindergarten visit

tickle time

Grandwoman's visit

I've noticed a new phenomenon happening with our little Rosie lately.  She loves the Veggie Tale's movie The Wizard of Has, a Veggie portrayal of the story of the Prodigal Son following the pattern of the old classic, The Wizard of Oz.  

Well, at the end of the movie the little hero "Darby" goes back home to his dad on the dental floss farm and his Dad runs to greet him, hugging and lavishing love on him- even to the extent of renting a bouncy castle and jumping in it together with his runaway son who had come home.  During this part of the movie, and long after it, our little girl just bawls her eyes out.  She literally walks around the house singing the songs and crying to herself.  I think her sweet heart is so struck by the magic of that story, the love that our Father has for us, and it melts her heart.  

In the words of Andrew Peterson, "A thing resounds when it rings true, ringing all the bells inside of you."  

This story resounds with you sweet Norah, and we just happened to catch it on video!

Funny things...

The girls have been providing me with the best entertainment lately with the hilarious things they say, sometimes in the middle of me being in a funk- usually it can help turn my bad attitude around.  I've decided I've got to write some of these things down, because I'm forgetting them almost as quickly as they are happening.  

Tonight I was reading the girls their bedtime Bible story, we were all huddled on Anna's bed.  After the story I started asking them some questions like, 'how do you feel about that?' 'what blessings from God are you thankful for?', etc.  Anna's face lit up with delight upon realizing that she had the floor and a willing audience.  She started to give an answer, then quickly shot up and ran to the middle of the room.  "Wait!  Let me just get out here in the middle of the floor and preach a little bit," she said.  :)

The other day I was hanging out with Norah (Anna was @ school, Jack asleep) and I started to sing the old Muppet Babies song.  I told her all about how I used to love watching that cartoon and how cute baby Piggy and Kermy were.  Well, at lunch I found an episode on YouTube and let her watch it.  She fell in love with Kermy and kept trying to mimmick his "cute little voice" in her super high pitched tones.  When Anna came home from school that day she said, "Anna!  Mom, can we show Anna Hermit the frog on that show Muffin Babies?!  He's so cute!"

Today at lunch Anna got hurt somehow.  Norah put her hand on Anna and said, "Oh, Anna, it's okay.  You got a little leprosy?"

Thanks to Nancy, a truly magnificent Sunday School teacher :)

Norah has been saying this thing lately whenever she is particularly pleased with her baby brother, Jack.  

"Oh Mom!  Jack is so cute, can we go to the store and get another baby just like this one?"

   

Here are some pics from our Easter, 2009-

 

                                             

Visitors...

We had a wonderful visit from Granddaddy and Karen this past weekend. With playtime and handprints, beans and cornbread, and an excellent Chinese buffet, we had a great time!

Then we had some other special visitors.  Our sweet neighbors, the Dowdys, played Easter bunny and hid some eggs in our yard.  The girls were ecstatic!

Last but not least we had a visit from some wild creature in our yard that got to one of the eggs before we could!  The egg was all muddy with the evidence of eaten chocolate lying next to it.  Some woodland creature out there has a sugar-high thanks to us!  Bet our yard is their fav now :)

Pi Pai and Gi Gai!

We have been so blessed to have my wonderful Mom in the States and my sweet Dad has been able to pop in and visit too- Yeah!!  Here are some shots of them with our kiddos.

Norah getting a hair cut (sucker as bribery to stay still)

Special helper Anna cutting her favs- green beans

Baby burrito cared for by Norah's tender touch