Easter 2013

Yesterday we went to Grandma Barreth's house and had an indoor Easter egg hunt.  The kids had a good time.  

This morning we went to church to celebrate.  I thought they were cute.

Ben had to play his armpit to get these smiles... no lie.

Kid's Art

I find kid's art very interesting.  I especially find it interesting to see how it changes over time and to see how different Gwen and Zeke's images are from each other.  This first one is by Gwen and she must be tired of the cold or must be hearing her mother say she is looking forward to seeing the garden grow or something.  She told me she drew plums, cherries and a carrot and then sunflowers near the people. :)

These next two are Zeke's pictures.  These are maps.  I find these all over the house and think they are just scribbles so I throw them away only to have Zeke find them and him tell me, "NO, these are my maps!"

Think you could find the treasure with THIS map??

Amish Poetry

Then the words of the visiting preacher
struck my heart like a two-edged sword,
For he asked, "What's the highest calling
Ever given to man by the Lord?"
He went on and said, "You mothers
At home with your children so small,
Yours is a very great calling,
Yours is a most sacred call.

I lowered my head in submission,
For the lot had fallen on me
To carry this most precious calling,
For I am a mother, you see.
_________________________________________________________________________________

The little cares that fretted me
I lost them yesterday
Among the fields above the sea
Among the winds at play;

Among the husking of the corn,
Where drowsy posies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born
Out in the fields with God.

And... MORE snow

I gave the kids their Easter treat early.  This is all they get in this household... no basket of candy, but still... it's good chocolate.. not that stuff with lots of wax in it.

Does this look like Easter time to you?  Just last week we had the baby pool out and now there is only frozen water in it.  Kansas... the land of extremes.

Daddy

My Japanese Maple saying "help me"

We had 8 inches on the grass and 5 on the road.

 Zeke shoveling with daddy.

Balloon Animals

Today Zeke had a dentist appointment.  After we had seen the dentist we walked into the lobby and they had a person making balloon animals out there.  We got some made and this lady was really good!  Gwen requested a dolphin and look what she got!  I was astonished.  I asked her what her most challenging request was and she said kids surprise her every day with what they request.  

Zeke asked for a fish, but by the time he got home with it the tail was off.  So much for a picture.

These poses are unprovoked.  They crack me up.

First Signs of Spring and Ballet

Well, yesterday it was 82 degrees out.  We loved being outside and the kids were so excited that they somehow with all their exuberance convinced their father to get out the baby pool.  To say the water was a little chilly would be the understatement of the year.  I asked the kids for a picture and while Zeke was totally unaware I had spoken at all, Gwen decided to do some posing of her own choosing.  It cracks me up so I shared several of her poses.  

Daddy splashing the kids.  They had so much fun.  I was having fun too until they threatened to splash me and I made a mad dash to the kitchen.

I've been singing with the ballet.  They are doing "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and the ladies from my choir are providing the fairy voices.  We are in the orchestra pit with the instrumentalists and it is beautiful music.  I love Mendellsohn.  He's my favorite composer.  Anyway, I saw this sign up tonight and decided to take a picture of it for you all to see.  Make sure if you are an adult fairy that you sign in.

Meeting the Heavenly Homemaker

One of the highlights of today was being able to meet a fellow blogger.  Her name is Laura and she writes the blog heavenlyhomemakers.com that I check out every day.  I feel like I know her and her family and we just met for the first time today.  When I met her I told her two things... that my little girl on the way there asked if there would be a roller coaster where we were going and that her turkey sausage recipe has been life changing.  :)  She has a cookbook that just came out and I got it today.  I'll have to make my way through it. 

I've paid more attention to my blog lately and noticed my lack of postings because I'm taking a break from facebook.  I haven't been on there since Tuesday and I feel like I am on the computer so much less.  It's a good thing actually.  I don't want to spend my days looking at that stuff when I can connect with my family or friends or my Lord.  Ya know?  It's a beautiful day here in Kansas City today and we were able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air with friends.  The best things in life actually ARE free!  What a revelation!  

Yes, I'm wearing a maternity shirt even though I'm really not showing.  It looked comfy.  The kids were in an adjacent room putting on a puppet show.

Kindness

I'm in Alabama visiting my mom and dad.  My mom is about to start chemotherapy.  She had a small lump that they found in a mammogram that they took out and they took out some lymph nodes.  We thought she would only have to have radiation... but we were wrong.  Some of the lymph nodes came back having cancer cells in them, so they are going to do chemo and radiation.  We don't really know what the future holds of course, but we are optimistic and she has a good prognosis.  

I was looking through some cards that she got recently that she had on her counter and found this one from her mail carrier.  I was so touched that her mail carrier took the time to send a card and even know my mom.  I don't believe my mail carrier knows me.  This is the remarkable thing about the south I think.  People want to really know you.  Everyday kindness like this makes a difference.  

Snow Again

Today I made Mexican gypsy fingers.  I saw it on TV last night.  You roll out a piece of sandwich bread flat with a rolling pin and then put in a filling (peanut butter, or jelly, or nutella) and then roll it up.  You dip it in a mixture of 1 egg and 1/2 C milk and then put in a skillet over medium heat.  Turn over with tongs.  I couldn't have them since I'm doing the gluten free thing, but the rest of them liked it.  It's like french toast almost.  They dipped theirs in cinnamon sugar.  

We got MORE snow last night.  This is nuts for Kansas City to get this much.

Zeke Singing

Snow!

We had quite a snowstorm last Thursday and we are awaiting another big one tomorrow evening.  I have never seen so much snow in Kansas City before.  When you are inside looking at it you think... I don't want to get out in that (inner old person), but once you are out there and picking up snow and looking at it and walking through it your inner child comes out.  When I lived in Miami I missed seeing seasons and that even includes snow for me.  I really do love it and how it glitters in the sunshine and how it is so beautiful.  Here are some pictures of our recent snowstorm.

Ben worked from home on these days, but he saw the neighbors out shoveling their drives and he couldn't handle watching... so he helped and then they helped each other.  Here they are chatting.

Zeke playing with playdough.

We measured and it was 11 inches at our house.

Zeke looking out at the snow...:)

Zeke helping daddy shovel our drive.

Ben's concoction.  He gave away all of his shoes to a homeless shelter, so he has two pair of socks, a plastic bag and his sandals on.  :)  He said it worked just fine.

We filled spray bottles with water tinted with food coloring.  They enjoyed "decorating" the snow.

Ben lifting a large snow chunk.