It's Friday But Sunday's Coming!

Because we know HE LIVES, we had some fun celebrating in anticipation of Easter! We 'hit' hunts at two large churches just down the road from us. There were 1000s of eggs, crafts, animals, free food and candy, candy, candy.

Elle remembered the sweets from the year before, so she was just a little excited.

She cruised the fields and scored! :)

Zane took his time -- he wasn't sure why all the fuss over colored plastic things. He figured it out!

He also thought the big, white bunny was awesome -- Elle kept her distance.

What a fun family day!

Good Friday

Our Bible verse focus leading up to Easter was "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

More than in years prior, Elle is grasping a deeper understanding of God's love to us through His son, Jesus. What a sacrifice Jesus made to give us eternal life in heaven with our Father. Watching this knowledge unfold in your child's heart is JOY!

One way we focused our hearts, on this best time of year, was using the resurrection egg devotional. Oh how they looked forward to our evenings, discovering the next hours in Jesus' journey to the cross. They were somber and full of questions. This year, the crown of thorns and nails He bore for us deeply pained Elle. The story was brought even more to life at our church's Good Friday prayer walk. Each station had focused scripture and prayer regarding the last days and hours before our Savior was laid in the grave. Eric read and prayed with Elle at each station, but at the cross she was too burdened to kneel before it with Eric and literally pound in a nail. She quietly watched.... But at the final station, the tomb, she asked to pray and thanked God for Jesus and that He is alive. She hasn't stopped talking about Jesus' sacrifice...as it should be, all year long.

In celebration of our new life, found only in Jesus, we participated in Rent-a-Chick. My sister's family has a coop of them and was flabbergasted that we actually paid for this experience. Ha! It was good fun though and made for a memorable Easter happening.

So this is how it went down... we picked up two yellow and fluffy baby chicks from our nearby friendly farmer. Along with the chicks, they sent us home with a box, bedding, feed, water and food dispensers -- and then we experienced....

Funny story...on our drive home, we all had to go potty, BADLY! When we all had successfully made it on the convenience store potty, Elle shouted out, "HOSANNA!" ...just living The Word! ;)

The chicks were completely adorable and Elle was such a good 'mommy', cleaning their box, feeding them, replenishing their water and holding them until they fell asleep. Zane, not so much. I had to nearly force him to 'enjoy' this adventure and he just wouldn't have anything to do with it. Well, this lasted for five days and then those baby chicks just got ugly, smelly and not so yellow and fluffy. Eew, yuck! :( I'm thinking, a week would have been plenty of adventure for this city family.

My sister is still speechless. She informed me that I could have bought them for much less.

Me: "But what would I do with them when we're done?!"
My (compassionate) sister: "Kill them."

Uh.....yeah, right! ...we live in two different worlds!

And oh, cousin Titus also experienced Rent-a-Chick to his joy as well! ;)

HS Conference

Eric and I recently attended a home school conference, together! It was too many hours away from Zane last year, so Eric stayed home while I went with a friend. This time was like a mini vaca! We had not seen Grandma H. in eight months, so it was perfect timing for her to fly in for a visit and watch the kiddos while we were filled-up and refreshed.

What we appreciated most about this time was the encouragement in building a family of faith, with hearts turned toward The Father and each other. The keynote speaker was Dr. Th*mas Sharp from Creation Truth Foundati*n. He is a brilliant scholar, but most impressive is his love and passion for Jesus and the family. We agreed that the biggest take away from our time listening to him was our responsibility to train our children to discern right from wrong and adhere to God's truth.

The other stand-out Biblical challenge, shared by another speaker, was the 'fattened calf' principle from Luke 15. The parable of the prodigal son should remind us that after we've prayed, listened and waited for God's answer -- we need to celebrate His provision! As a family, don't miss offering BIG praise for His answers, His care, His victory!

And boy, did we come away from the weekend with BIG 'fattened calf' PRAISES!

First, we met a speech pathologist who practices with a philosophy that we have been praying and searching for. I cried as I sat in her class and leaned over to whisper to Eric, "I want her!" After her lecture, I approached her and told her directly, "I want you!" There are not enough words to express the knee-buckling, God-awing provision this providential meeting was. She shared that she knows of no other pathologist in our area that practices with her approach and she came as a last minute speaker for just one of the conference days. God directed us to her class out of ten others that hour - an incredible answer to years of prayer.

The other 'chance' (NOT!) meeting was at a small class that discussed neurological testing, advancement and healing. We have been seeking God's direction for professional help with a Godly worldview that would address some needs of Elle's. Something that has been difficult to grasp was laid out and broken down with real next steps offered by some of the world's foremost authorities in learning challenges from our own city...we are still awed-speechless....

Praise and glory

and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. (Rev. 7:12)

Speaking of blessings, having Grandma here was such a joy. The weekend would not have been as wonderful without the comfort of knowing Elle and Zane were in such caring and loving hands.

The HUMONGO highlight of the week belonged to Elle. She and Grandma went on a date to see a theater production of Beauty and the Beast. The morning show began with a royal brunch with Belle herself! A few of my girlfriends and their daughters also attended and at intermission they were crowned at a coronation service. I understand Elle charged the stage boldly, ready to take on her princessly duties. All the pictures from this event are on Grandma's camera and I forgot to get copies before she left - yikes!

It was particularly difficult for Elle to say goodbye this time. She got choked up as we drove away from the airport and misses her early morning bed cuddles with Grandma.

Oh, Zane-O Boy - silly, silly!

Traditional farmstead visit.

Aunt Patty came to visit too!

A little antiquing.

Creative, wet, fun downtown.

Staycation

Spring break was a staycation. Daddy at home; what else could we want for! Even then, having him 24-7 for nine days wasn't quite enough. So they rode, climbed, tackled, hugged, and kissed to drain every bit of everything from him.

We played games, spent time outside, worked on projects, had some adventures, ate out (multiple times trying to find the best fish tacos in the city), cooked and ate good food. With Eric's classes on break, he didn't even have to study, so it was a lot of playing hard.

Our first bowling experience was definitely a highlight. Must find out how to do it cheaper! When did bowling get so expensive?! But totally worth it for the thrill they had. The kiddos held their own and scored amazingly well with a little help from bumpers. There were lots of high-fives, woo-hoos and cheers; what a blast!


We also visited this train exhibition that is set-up in a store front at a local mall. Men in the community build and maintain the sets for young and old to come hang out and enjoy. There's even an area of hands-on Thomas engines. Zane was wide-eyed!


Bargain hunting at second-hand stores turned out some big scores for the kiddos; puzzles and a brand new Lite*Brite still in its original packaging!

While I took Zane to a doctor's appointment, Elle had a breakfast date with Dada. Her flower clip makes me happy-laugh. Apparently she drew some attention with her style that morning.

Tis the season, the mowing and rides have begun! It's a lot of cutting for Eric, but he has it down to a science and has been trading in tractors the past several years to increase his cutting deck to an impressive 52".


Just a little hail in the middle of our spring break. Ahhh, Kansas!

One evening we had French toast with cream cheese, blueberries, and real maple syrup. It's actually the first time I've made this since Elle arrived in 2006. Not being huge bread eaters, this was a super-duper yummy treat. Wowzers - it was good!

Zane enjoys 'painting' the bricks and always finishes with more water on him than anywhere else. Painting is also enjoyed inside, especially when Dada is the audience.


The week's evening thrills were at the dinner table over games and popcorn. Z*ngo is a favorite and Zane is really quick at it. He even keeps track of the tiles others need and grabs it on our behalf, to help us out. But nobody cheers over a victory as robostly as Elle.


Certainly enjoyed this year's staycation. When it was finished we weren't exhausted, didn't feel like we needed a couple of more days to recuperate and thoroughly soaked each other up. Not surprisingly, it was very difficult to give up Daddy that next Monday morning.

Valentine's Day

We did Super Bowl Chinese style and made such a spread, it wiped us out! The food was good (still not completely satisfied with my dumplings), but we just took on too much! Homemade egg rolls, dumplings, egg drop soup, stir fried rice, bok choy, sauces.... whew! With little ones that needed their mommies and a game that we didn't want to miss, next year it'll be pizza!

Enjoying his Chinese New Year chocolate coin.

But I'm a glutton for punishment and determined to improve my dumplings, so I tried them again with another batch of egg rolls for a family Valentine's dinner. Again, crazy! Eric had just an hour between getting home from work and leaving for class (first semester of MBA program). In the end, we pulled it off, and had to cut Elle off of the dumplings -- she loves them! Throw in a cherry dessert (from our neighbor's tree) and some homemade cards, and it made for a short, but sweet, Valentine's Day.

I was able to forego butter and gluten (and some calories) by making the cherry filling with Xylitol (naturally occurring carbohydrate, 40% less caloric than sugar, and fights cavities). I served the sweetened and thickened cherries with a pizzelle -- it was very pretty and yummy. Because Zane is allergic to cherries, he enjoyed some pumpkin on his pizzelle.

Elle and I had the best craft time ever making Valentine cards. The coordination of cutting, taping and gluing has definitely been a challenge, but with steady progress and practice, practice, practice -- she really has improved and her pride nearly matched mine for her determination and creativity. Even Zane got in on some of the fun -- in fact, Elle is a great teacher and, of course, Zane loves to do anything just like big sister.

Zane's face when you tell him to smile.

When Eric finally got home from class, he installed a new garbage disposal and I ran to the grocery store for last minute birthday items. The day finished early in the morning, but we were ready for Elle's big day!