Easter

Easter was pretty fun this year. The kids couldn't wait to color and hunt eggs...and get presents from the Easter Bunny. We went to an egg hunt the weekend before Easter that was actually a fundraiser for a sick baby in our little town. I was so impressed with the huge crowd and all the volunteers. There was fantastic face painting, crafts, raffles, pictures with the Easter Bunny, balloon animals, and even the always popular bouncy house!

I think there were hunts for 4 different age groups.

Synnove had more eggs than she could fit in her basket!

On the Saturday before Easter, I took the kids to my Grandma's house for what I hope will be a new tradition! Back when I was a kid, my cousins (Wendey and Wesley) and I would always go to the annual egg hunt at the Warrenton High School and then head over to Grandma's house for all-day egg coloring, candy eating, and egg hunting. This year, it was fun to see our kids participating in the same fun. Unfortunately, Wesley's kids were sick and couldn't make it. It was a gorgeous day, and all the mess was able to stay outdoors.

The kids really enjoyed mixing and sharing colors...and they all got along!

My favorite part...basket filling time!

Bright and early the next morning, the kids found their gifts from the Easter Bunny. They had been begging for Hungry Hungry Hippos for months...and they finally got it! They just HAD to try it out as soon as they got back from church!

Our church had a special service at the Astoria High School Auditorium with special speaker Josh McDowell. I hadn't heard of him...but from the buzz around town in the weeks before, I realized he was kind of a big deal. Even Adam knew who he was...I was clueless. Anyway, he spoke on the resurrection and shared tidbits from his own horrific childhood. It was a great service. Afterwards we headed to Ridgefield, WA for our annual family dinner at Aunt Kathi and Uncle Steve's. Unfortunately, I didn't capture any photos, but the kids enjoyed hunting eggs with their big cousins along with Lyndel and Kevin's little one, Bristol and her brother Trenton.

Needless to say, the kids have enough candy to last them till next Easter!

Soren the Artist

Like most kids, my kids (especially Synnove) love to make pictures and cards...hundreds of them! To be honest, it can be exhausting getting all of those papers with a few scribbles. Synnove isn't known to take her time on any drawing, and her coloring often starts out nice and turns to scribbles because she just wants done with it. I try to emphasize that I want them to take their time and make something worthy of the fridge (not in those exact words). Plus, they are expert paper wasters...am I supposed to be happy that I have umpteen clean white sheets of paper with the same one-color stick figure on them?

I suppose Synnove is really the main culprit when it comes to the mountain of papers I have to find places for. After a month of sitting in a pile on the counter, they secretly make their way to the recycling bin. Of course, I save the seemingly extra special ones. You know...the ones that the kids bring to you with thoughtfulness and a big smile on their face?

Soren isn't much of a draw-er or color-er. It's not that he doesn't do well at it, it's just something he doesn't love to do. I very much enjoy getting Soren's papers from Sunday school and preschool. I can really tell that he likes to take his time to get everything right. His serious and methodical nature shines in his artwork. When he started preschool in September, he was still struggling to hold the marker or crayon correctly. In fact, he held it in a way that made it nearly impossible for him to apply enough pressure to make a mark. Though it was difficult, he would take his time to stay in the lines and fill in the white space as well as he could. Watching him would warm my heart...still does. Since then, he's learned how to hold his crayon and has even learned to write his own name.

A few nights ago, the kids were downstairs making cards. Synnove had given Soren one of the blank greeting cards she had earned as a prize at school. When they came upstairs to present their cards, their faces were beaming. Synnove had made a nice card with scenery on it for me, and Soren had made a special one for Adam. Adam waited till we got to the dinner table to open his. And when he did Soren made sure to describe what he drew. He said something close to..."that's YOU dad! Those are the hairs on your tummy, and that's your stinky button!" See below...

We all laughed uncontrollably for several minutes! Soren wanted Adam to take his card to work so that he could show it to his coworkers. But Adam wanted to make sure it made it to the blog first :)

Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery Field Trip

Last week Soren's preschool class went on a stellar field trip to the Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery. I love how interested those little 3 and 4-year-old's were in the life-cycle of the fish. And even though a lot of the words and concepts were over their heads, they were completely fascinated! Soren soaked in every word. Every time "Mr. Steve" spoke, he would inch his way to the front and listen intently. He had learned a bit already from his Uncle Henry and my Dad from his many visits to the Warrenton High School Hatchery, but this place was set up a bit differently. Soren even got to touch the tongue of a grown rainbow trout! In fact, I think he might have been the only kid brave enough to do it. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a good spot to catch a picture of it...but Miss Kara caught one!

From egg to fish...

There were no fish in these tanks, as they were already grown passed this stage...but the kids wanted to stick their hands in the cold water. Soren watching Steve feed the baby fish. There were so many, that it looked like rain on the water when they came up for food.

There are lots of scenic trails at the hatchery...and it's only 2 miles down the road from the preschool.

All the kids made it to this trip!

Parent photo-op time!

The Everyday...

It feels good to be getting back into the old routine after almost two months of sick. I suppose Soren's tummy has been the main focus for the last several weeks. Diet changes, patterns, and daily poop examinations have led me to believe he's having digestion issues. I've been trying some new things with his diet to help him with his digestion, and it seems to be starting to work. I'm saying a lot of prayers and keeping my fingers crossed! Meanwhile, he's been referred to OHSU and I've yet to hear from them about setting up a consultation. Synnove's insecurity has been slowly getting better. I'm so incredibly thankful! We still have a long way to go, but she finally lets me go outside without freaking out. She still opens the door every 30 seconds to check on me though :) Baby steps... Lucy ran off a few weeks ago and was gone for 15 loooong hours. She came back filthy, stinky, anxious, and completely freaked out. We've spent a lot of time with her in the last 2-3 weeks trying to get her back to being her old self. Long story short, we got a goat (more on that later). By the way, Lucy turns ONE tomorrow! And...she's getting spayed on Monday :( Adam has caught himself another bug. I've been praying hard and doing all that I can to boost our immune systems so that we don't get it as well. Poor guy has been on the couch for the better part of 3 days. I don't know that I've ever seen Adam so beat down with sickness. I'm pretty sure he already got the same flu Soren and I got last month...so this is something new. And what about Me? Well, I've been doing the usual laundry, dishes, errands, MAJOR bill paying (March sickness has put us in the poorhouse), Bible study, field trips, etc. Oh, and I learned how to make sock monkeys! I'm not finished with my first one yet, but it's gonna be super cute! Here's a random picture from a couple of weeks ago. As usual, the kids were goofing off in the bathtub and they started playing with Synnove's hair bands. They were pretending to be nutcrackers...clever :) ***If there are any Blogger friends out there who know a trick on how to ensure your post doesn't get all smooshed together...I'd love to hear it! I'm so tired of these random 1-paragraph posts!***

Heaven is for REAL!

**I apologize...blogger has AGAIN smooshed my post together into one big paragraph. I've tried to fix it with several edits and reposts...but it's not happening.** My Christian walk started at a very young age...I still recall, at age 5, asking Jesus to become my savior. It was at VBS, and quite frankly, I didn't fully know what I was asking...but God has a way of giving us the knowledge we need to move forward in our walk with him. Well, I've moved forward. I've finally reached a point in my walk with Jesus, that I can say wholeheartedly..."I'm going to heaven!" I thank God for my life, my upbringing, my country, my family. I'm so completely blessed. In the last couple of weeks, I've had a heavy heart. I can't help but think about our world, and how completely lost so many people are. I don't claim to have all the answers, and it is certainly not my purpose to place judgement. Last Sunday, during our church home fellowship group study, a very familiar Bible passage came up in our discussion, and 4 words have been resonating over and over in my mind ever since. Here's an excerpt from the passage... "...Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Do not be deceived"...4 words that our world needs to hear. I've heard it said before, and have almost been fooled into believing it myself..."well, I'm generally a good person, and that's good enough for me to get into heaven." Society has become so desensitised to sin that people are being tricked into thinking that their sin is okay. We've also made enemies of one another through misconception and confusion. Understandably so...considering the freedom we have to conjure up and announce our own non-biblical ideas, religions, and beliefs. There are so many words in our language that have lost their true meaning, and we have lost our ability to be respectful listeners. Words like tolerance, prejudice, acceptance, judgement...even compassion. Christians have been given a bad reputation by those who claim to be Christian. And what is a Christian? Well, I believe it to be a born-again follower of Jesus Christ who diligently pursues a life as it is defined by the holy Word of God (Bible). And just because Christians are pursuing a holy life doesn't make them perfect. Non-Christians are constantly looking for Christians to fail so that they can feel more justified in their own sin. Really, the only difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is Jesus. Accepting him as your savior frees you from sin and gives you entry into heaven. And once you truly accept him, he will begin to change you, convict you, and use you for his purpose. At the same time, your life will be blessed. I dunno...as I said before, I don't claim to have all the answers and it is not my intention to create controversy. All I know is that I've felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to share the above passage from 1 Corinthians. As I've grown in my relationship with Christ, I've gained a bit more boldness. Bottom line...we were all put on this earth to recruit all people for heaven. With that said, I encourage you to read this book:

I've read a handful of books on heaven and hell, and this one, because it is from the perspective of a child, is by far the best I've read. It's a quick and easy read, and is appropriate for all ages and all walks of life. I can say with all certainty that if you are even open to the "idea" of heaven then you will not be able to put this book down. It is hands-down incredible! I've already shared it with my family and many of my friends and most were able to read it in a day or two. One of my friends even shared it with her 11-year-old son who read it within 24 hours! This book is hope, and I "hope" you read it! I picked my copy up at Costco for less than $9...it's also available on Amazon HERE.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. John 3:3

Goin' to the Chapel...

On March 26th, my darling Mother-in-law got married. She and Steve have been dating for two LONG years. I say "long" because it was shortly after they met that they realized how perfect they were for each other and Patty wanted to make a commitment early on. Well...it took a little longer than that, but they finally decided to set a date only about a month before they actually got married. Through my sis-in-law Faith, Patty discovered this elegant little wedding chapel and reception area in Vancouver. Everything fell into place, and the day went smoothly. It was very important to Patty to have ALL the grandkids participate in the ceremony...and somehow it managed to work out with outfits and attitudes (for the most part). I took quite a few pictures, but it was a 7:00 wedding, and most didn't turn out. No, I still haven't found the time to figure out my camera yet! It's unbelievably frustrating for me!!

Patty's grandkids are on the left and Steve's are on the right

Synnove wouldn't stop fiddling with her dress, and when told to smile, Soren gave this face... Patty and I in the bride's room just before the ceremony

Each of the girls had their own flower basket, and each of the boys carried a rose and were asked to give the rose to one of the ladies in the audience. Soren was the last boy to walk down and ran out of aisle-seat ladies to give his rose to...so he gave it to a boy :)

Adam agreed to give his mom away. He wore the tux he bought in high school...the same tux he ended up having to wear for our wedding! Still fits!!

Just announced as husband and wife...

At the reception, just after signing the marriage license. The best man was Steve's brother, and the Maid of honor was Susan, a friend to both Patty and Steve. The pastor was also a friend.

The chapel provides all-inclusive packages...everything from the cake, music, catering, bar, emcee, etc. Patty even purchased her dress at the chapel weeks before.

There was a garter and bouquet toss, as well as a bride and groom teddy bear toss for the kids...Obviously, Samantha caught one...

There was lots of dancing! The kids had a BLAST sweating it out on the dance floor!

Congratulations Patty and Steve!