Easter morning 2012

we love gathering with our church family on Easter Sunday to celebrate our risen King.

with our favorite deacon...on duty today...




and then there was a request for a picnic on this glorious day. and how could i refuse this?



we enjoyed a delicious dinner with adam's parents (thanks guys!) this evening, but left our camera at their house so maybe more pictures later.

visiting b-ma and papa

the kids and i took a trip to see my parents in my childhood home and town this past weekend while adam worked long hours here at home. it was such a fun trip!

rufous. aka rufous poofous aka best cat in the world. it should be noted that when i went to college, he was the thing i missed most about home (besides my parents and sis of course!) the kiddos loved chasing and cuddling this big teddy bear, but every time he meowed miles burst into tears...

the baby toads hatched at the little pond behind their house so marit and graham caught bunches

marit found the teeniest turtle i have ever seen

checking out the catch (some were released, many died)

marble works! we loved these when we were kids...it is so fun to see our kids play with the very same toys and enjoy the very same books that i thought were so great way back then.



looking at the birds nest

we ran a 5k on saturday to raise money for retinal research in honor of a sweet little boy in my parent's church. i'm proud to say that we all placed in our age-groups...proud of my 60 yr old parents running races!

their church provided inflatables for the swarms of children at this event. here graham and marit are having a "sibling affection" moment shortly after graham told marit "i'll protect you from the big boys mare mare."


miles loves slides lately, with or without a lap


blowing eggs with papa


dying eggs with b-ma



enjoying the driveway and collection of rideable vehicles

before miles took a nose-dive over that truck


we came home saturday afternoon so we could be together on Easter, but i'm so glad i went! traveling with the kids alone is starting to be more successful without rendering me a complete nervous wreck. thanks so much mom and dad for loving on all of us!

O Lord of Light

O Lord of light, who made the stars
O Dawn by whom we see the way
O Christ redeemer of us all
Make haste to listen as we pray

In lowliness you came on earth
To rescue us from Satan's snares
O wondrous love that healed our wounds
By taking up our mortal cares

To God the Father and the Son
For ages of eternal days
Together with the spirit be
All glory, honor, might and praise



happy Easter!

on bread

if you like to make bread or would like to learn, i highly recommend this book. my neighbor checked it out from the library and let me borrow it for a day and then i quickly ordered my own copy. it is filled with helpful information, tips, methods, recipes, and wonderful photos. the author maintains that the more you understand about the process of bread-making, the better your bread will be. my mom taught me how to make rolls and bread long ago and i have since attempted to "teach" a few others how. Upon reading this book, i realized that there is so much more i could understand and alter, switch up, and create. there is even a chapter about building a brick oven...project for my honey maybe? there are plenty of online sources for this kind of thing too, like this one, but i do love to hold a real book.

check it out if you want to learn from the beginning or want a deeper understanding of the art and joy that is bread-making.

in the shadow

Because Thou has been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice psalm 63:7

"Let us not be afraid of shadows. Let us not be afraid of clouds. We often meet Him in thick clouds. The shadow is the shadow of our Beloved. He is very near to the place where His shadow is...

Shadow and coolness,Lord,
Art Thou to me;
Cloud of my soul, lead on,
I follow Thee.
What though the hot winds blow,
Fierce heat beats up below?
Fountains of water flow---
Praise, praise to Thee.

Clearness and glory, Lord,
Art Thou to me;
Light of my soul, lead on,
I follow Thee.
All through the moonless night,
Making its darkness bright,
Thou my Heavenly Light---
Praise, praise to Thee.

Shadow and shine art Thou,
Dear Lord, to me;
Pillar of cloud and fire,
I follow Thee.
What though the way is long,
In Thee my heart is strong,
Thou art my joy, my song---
Praise, praise to Thee

---Amy Carmichael (from the Edges of His Ways)
photo from here

little people this week

i just want to put some of these up here to remember these sweet early spring days. adam finished his final ward month EVER! hooray! he is now on to icu, but this month will be the last time we have this kind of schedule for a while anyway. we are thankful.

some of you mamas might appreciate these wise words over here...such a convicting read for me. happy palm weekend friends!
miles loves to have bubbles blown in his face

marit and graham patiently enduring miles in their sandbox play

six hands!

sweeeeetness

miles gets tickle torture

miles learning from grahammers

beautiful things

can't get this song out of my head lately. spring is such a reminder of our redemptive God making new, always making new.


All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new
You are making me new