Birthday and Baptism Celebration Weekend!

This weekend has been great, but really busy. Jonathan's 7th Birthday Party and Baptism Celebration were this weekend. We started Saturday with his birthday party, and we had pizza, Star Wars ship cake (or at least my version of it), Yoda Soda (green sherbet punch), and ice cream. Jonathan got lots of wonderful gifts from the family, and everyone had time to visit.

On Sunday, Jonathan got baptized at church. It was a really nice service, and lots of family, friends, neighbors, and even his former Kindergarten teacher, Mr. Ron, came. The Children's Minister baptized him, and it was a very special time for us. We really appreciate all of the effort, time, and money it took for folks to attend. It meant a lot to us and to Jonathan that everyone came. After the baptism we all came back to the house for a very quick taco soup and cake/ice cream. And, Jonathan got a few more birthday presents today as well.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. But now we're all settling in for a long Sunday afternoon nap.

Texas Bluebonnets!!!!

In Texas, it just isn't spring until the bluebonnets are out. They line the roadways throughout the state, and I can hardly keep my eyes on the road if there are any around. I really think they are one of the most beautiful flowers God ever created......there's just nothing like the rolling hills of green sprinkled with their radiant blue to warm the soul and make you thankful for God's creation.......but maybe that's the Texan in me talking.

I remember as a kid going with my brother to get our pictures done in the bluebonnets every year, and Mom would dress us up in our Sunday best. She must have been a supermom, because we did our pictures today right after school in our play clothes, behind the local McDonald's, and Alyssa even had dirt in her hair from the playground! But, we still got good pictures, and I think they capture the kids' personalities............the good, the bad, and the beautiful! Anyway, hope you enjoy the bluebonnets.........after all, they are a Texas tradition!

The Grass is Greener.....

....in the first grade! Jonathan's first grade classes presented a little program tonight based on a book they read, In the Tall, Tall Grass. They sang, played instruments, and did rhythmic movements to the song. They all wore green to represent grass. Jonathan did a great job, and the program was short enough that Alyssa was actually well behaved in the audience - a good bonus!

Easter

This year for Easter our family celebrated in several different ways. We started yesterday by making resurrection cookies. The igredients for the cookies each represent something from the Easter story, and after you mix them up you put them in the oven all night and tape it shut. In the morning, you come down to an "unlocked oven" (I took the tape off last night) and the cookies are hollow and symbolize the hollow tomb found on Easter morning.

The kids always get a basket of Easter goodies, we go to church (and it was a really nice service this year - great music, lots of flowers, and a good sermon), and we have a good Easter lunch. This year Richard made a great ham with a yummy glaze. We also had sweet potatoes and a wonderful spinach salad - truly the best salad I've had in a long time. For dessert I made a strawberry jello cake, put fresh strawberries and whipped cream on top, and put a few Easter sprinkles on it just for the kids. It was a nice light end to our lunch.

Our Easter egg hunt this year had to be inside because of all the rain we got last night, but the kids had a great time anyway -- 62 eggs for 2 kids.....who wouldn't have fun!?!?!?

We ended our celebration today by goig through the Resurrection Eggs that we bought the kids last year (a set of eggs, that once opened, reveal the entire story of Easter through scripture and tiny objects, and the last one is empty for the empty tomb.) The kids always like those.

Wailing and Weeping

Well, Alyssa has not been sleeping through the night at all since last week. I think it has something to do with my grandmother's passing. She is a lot more scared of things, especially the "darkness" as she calls it, and of being away from me. I keep reassuring her, but she's still so emotional. And, it's not like it is normal crying. It's the kind of gut-wrenching sobbing that comes from someone who is really, really upset or scared out of their wits---and don't even get me started about how she acted when the storms rolled through the other night! Let's just say I am really tired from her not wanting to go to sleep or from her coming into our room a trillion times a night. I may start crying soon myself! :-)

If you haven't seen it....

...then it's new to you. We bought used, but it sure feels new. We are so thankful to have found a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan at Carmax on Saturday. I thought we were just looking and I had psyched myself up for high pressure sales, gimmicks, and hidden fees. Carmax was so easy. We test drove and looked at several vans trying to find the best deal for the money. The sales rep was quite helpful. When we were done he simply said "It's up to you". No begging or pleading for us to make a choice or buy something right then. I was in shock. So we completed the whole process in about 3 hours. The kids sure like the new ride, and Cynthia is proud to be riding up to her school in style (like an administrator should :-). Now, what to do with Mema's old van, lol???

Caden's First Campout

Over spring break I went with my co-worker, Craig, and his 5-year-old son, Caden, to Lake Mineral Wells State Park. We set up camp, went rock climbing, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and told ghost stories around the campfire. We even used the dutch oven to make a cobbler. The next morning I made my traditional breakfast with all of the fixings. We made biscuits in the dutch oven. Later, we broke camp and went canoeing. Caden and his dad had a great time.