Family Pictures

In April we had our family pictures taken. A friend, Keith Halladay, took them for us. It was a lot of fun. The kids were great! The weather even cooperated, which is lucky for spring in the northwest!

This first one was a pose I wanted. I printed off a few different ones (I am only showing you one here) and put a nice framed collage together with the saying, "LIFE ISN"T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORMS TO PASS...IT'S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN!" I love this saying and feel like is describes are family.

Here is some other poses.

Showing our true colors!


This is my favorite family picture. For years I have admired these yellow flowers that bloom in this field near our house with the picturesque old red-roof barn. They are only in bloom for a short while, so finding a day when both Keith and our family were available, the weather was nice, and the flowers were blooming was almost a miracle. I'm grateful for the little miracles!

I also LOVE this one!

I will post more of the kids individually and in different groupings later. Stay tuned!

Nick's First Temple Trip!

April 30th was Nick's first youth temple trip. We went up to the Portland Temple. This was a very special day for not only Nick, but for his daddy and me too. It was very sweet and indescribable to see our son, all dressed in white, and being in the temple with him. Watching as he reverently performed saving ordinances for those on the other side of the veil and his dad, a worthy priesthood holder, with him. I always love being in the temple, and I love being with the amazing youth, and I love being with my family...this day I was able to have some of all three all at once. It was an unforgettable day.

Your Dad and I love you so much Nick and we are very proud of you! You are an amazing young man!

Some of the youth from our ward that attended the temple that day. This is a great group of kids! I adore each one of them.

Ben's preschool carnival

On April 29th, Nathan and I took Ben and Andrew to Ben's preschool carnival. They had a great time! Here are a few pictures of our boys...

Our Chicken Coop!

Nathan worked hard on designing the chicken coop and building it. Everyone is really impressed when they see it. He is so talented and is good at whatever he does. I love my handy honey!

The inside of the coop. Those are some happy chickens!

Nathan and two of his assistants. The following pictures are just different views from different angles of the coop/pen.



The little box on the side on the above picture is the nesting box, where the chickens lay their eggs (most of the time). The picture below is inside the box. can you see Tatiana peeking in from the coop? Nathan built it so that we just have to lift up the lid and pull out the eggs. So handy!

Handy AND cute!


Good work honey!

We placed the chicken coop/pen in the corner of the garden. We have a large 20'x40' plot and always seem to have way more produce than we can ever use so it was the best spot for it. It will make it so we will have a smaller and hopefully more manageable garden this year.

Girl Scouts at City Hall

On April 27th, Tatiana and a couple of her Girl Scout friends, Lily and Katie, went to the City Hall meeting to conduct the opening flag ceremony. Everyone, especially the Mayor was very impressed. They all did a fantastic job!

Boys will be boys.

Ben and Andrew; brothers, buddies, boys. We were at the elementary school to have lunch with Tatiana one day. While we were waiting for them to come out of class, the boys started playing an the rain that was running off from the roof. They got wet, had fun, and it produced some of the cutest giggles! Boys will be boys!

Rope maker

Nathan made a rope maker out of wood. He cut, sanded, and assembled the rope maker using a pattern he found online. He has used this many times, both at home and with the Boy Scouts. It is very cool. It works great! Good job honey!

Preschool at the movies

On April 22nd, Ben's whole preschool went to the movies! They went to the PIX Theater and watched a slideshow of pictures taken during the process of getting their new playground; fund raisers, building of, and playing on! After the slide show, they watched two episodes of the new PBS cartoon, "The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That!"

He had a blast! Even had juice boxes and popcorn!

Brothers

Ben and Andrew have so much fun together. This particular day we went to the park and they collected some "nature treasures". We came back to the house and they sorted them, examined them, and were little botanists. So cute.

Then Ben realized that one of the seed pods looked just like the "speck" that the "Whos" live on in "Horton Hears A Who!"



I have to add this picture too. Andrew feel asleep on the chair in the office. Ben covered him with a blanket and cuddled all of his favorite stuffed animals around him. What a sweet big brother...what a sweet little brother.

Easter Testimony and Traditions

I love Easter. It is a special time of year for so many reasons. Spring is in the air, or soon coming. Bulbs and trees are blooming, adding touches of color to the earth. But most importantly it is a time to reflect on the life and mission of our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ. To remember why He was born, what He taught us through His example and teachings, His ultimate atonement and sacrifice, and His glorious resurrection. I am so grateful to our Father in Heaven for His wonderful Plan Of Salvation. I am so grateful to Him for giving His Only Begotten Son to die for us. I am so grateful to my Savior for His sacrifice and love. I KNOW Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I KNOW He is the only begotten Son of our Heavenly Father. I KNOW they both love each of us. I KNOW He suffered and died for ME, that I may also live again and be saved. I KNOW that HE LIVES and that He is aware of us, concerned for us, watches over us, and loves each of us. Yes, I love Easter, and I love sharing it with my family!

We still have many of the traditional activities. Dying Easter eggs is always fun!


The early morning Easter Egg hunt. We also have 12 eggs that are marked and have a different symbol of the Easter Story in them. They are called the "Resurrection Eggs" and can be found here. http://www.annieshomepage.com/eastereggs.html




We all get dressed in our new Easter clothes and go to church. Here are the kids as we just arrived at church. The door we walk into has this beautiful picture of the Resurrected Christ. I quickly grabbed my camera out of my purse, which I just happened to have with me, and took this photo of the children in front of the painting. Awesome.


Easter baskets! One of the fun things about Easter. This year they got a chocolate bunny, a kite (Nick has two kites already so he got an extra game), games, books, and Andrew got a cartoon movie from Deseret Book. They had fun playing games together all day.


Happy Easter to a happy family... happy, thanks to Heavenly Father's plan!