Easter Celebrations

On the Saturday before Easter, the girls got their baths and hair blow dried topped off by manicures and pedicures.  Here they are selecting their favorite colors.  :)

Momma's salon is open!  :)  Hannah Reece is so independent with her self-care and I am grateful for that!  However, today I told her that I wanted to "serve" her by doing her nails and toenails and blow drying her hair.  After me begging and pleading, she relented.  ;)  Some days I still can't believe that the Lord entrusted me with daughters.  They are wonderfully made!  (Side note:  Hannah Reece picked out her first pair of "heels" for her Easter sandals this year.  Clickety-clack!)

In the kids' baskets:
-Girls: their favorite stuffed animals with the giant eyes, sticker/activity books, kit kat candy bar
-Graham:  A digging for gold set, 1st Mad Libs Activity book, kit kat candy bar
This year, we put one egg in each child's basket with a Bible verse inside, specially selected to pray for them over the course of the next year. Top:  Hannah Reece, Middle:  Graham, Bottom: Millie

On the evening of Easter Sunday (after the sacred napping hours :)  we headed over to Nana and Papa's for some fun and dinner. Millie got a little "head start" on the hunting this year.

Nana filled the eggs with puzzle pieces and the kids went to town putting the puzzle together when we came back inside.  I think it was a picture of Jesus calming the sea.

 Big momma and skinny minnie daddy!  Dan has lost over 50 pounds since last August.  I am so proud of him!  He is shrinking and I am growing.  :)

Grandma and Grandpa decided to have an Easter celebration the following weekend (and I forgot to pack my camera).  They asked us all to put on our Easter Sunday best and played the video from their Holy Land trip from two years ago.  The kids had a mini-egg hunt inside since it was nighttime and we had snacks together.

Easter Sunday 2013

Whatcha been up to?

I often ask other folks that question!  Here's a little of what we've been up to this week.

When a song comes on that Camille is rocking out to, she makes faces (similar to this one) and lip-syncs the words, it is the funniest thing!

Graham and Hannah Reece are my official dish unloaders, and they do an AWESOME job.  I am so grateful for their help!

I have been working on storing up some freezer meals this week, doubling and tripling some simple favorites. I know things will be a little hectic when I first come home with Lydia, so having some meals "ready to go" should help lighten the load a bit at dinner time, and maybe it'll keep us from eating take-out so much. So far I've made Sweet 'n Sour Chicken, bean, meat and cheese burritos, and later today I'm making Spaghetti Casserole and Chicken Curry.

Speaking of meals, this is Millie's favorite, basic black beans and rice with shredded cheese and a dollup of sour cream on top.  She'll even ask for it at breakfast some days.  Dinner is such a proper occassion around here.  ;)

our little helper

Millie loves to help.  Whether it's spreading butter on a piece of toast, folding a towel, or mixing up something special in the kitchen, she's game!  Today she's helping me take some letters to the mailbox.  

Such a big girl!

March Miscellany

Between being pregnant, finishing up our Classical Conversations year, enjoying the beautiful weather and lots of birthdays, March FLEW by!

Playdough was a hit this month.  The girls made many creations.  Here are some of Reecie's favorites.

We are not big network TV watchers (mostly Netflix shows for us), but the month of March is the exception.  Basketball has been our background noise for much of the month.  :)

The kids made these awesome models at CC that show the layers of the earth + the layers of the earth's atmosphere, both were included in our Science memory work.

Daddy helped everyone fill out their own March Madness bracket.  My alma-mater FGCU made it to the sweet 16...very exciting times for our little town to be all over the news media.  They've nicknamed Fort Myers "Dunk City".  Not bad for a school that's only 16 years old.   

 I was not loyal in my bracket, however, and went "chalk" for the winning bracket. Winner gets to pick a family fun day after Lydia is born.  Hmmm, what shall we do?  :)

More basketball!

 On Logan's birthday, he asked me to take these pics and tell anyone who messes with Lydia "they can have some of this from her cousin Logan".  :)  He is so excited about her!  Always running up to give my belly big hugs and says "I just can't wait for Lydia Kate!!" Sweet cousin.

Graham is blazing through books these days.  His favorite series is Encyclopedia Brown and he can burn through 2 or 3 each day if he has enough free time.  Enclopedia Brown with a little Star Wars on top.  :)

Come, let us worship the LORD!

We can worship the LORD in so many ways, inside and outside of the church building.  This month, the kids have had some special opportunities to serve and participate in corporate worship at church.  Here's Hannah Reece, an old pro with the palm branch on Palm Sunday.  I loved hearing the girls that morning singing a song they learned at Community Bible Study earlier in the week:

"Ho-ho-ho-Hosannah, 

A-a-allelujah, 

He-he-he-HE saved me,

I love HIM!"

 Millie's first time to participate in Palm Sunday, Daddy was rounding up a small palm just for her when I took this picture.  :)

 Graham and cousin Logan attended acolyte training this month, a special opportunity for children ages 9 and up.  It was so special to see these boys serve the LORD by lighting the candles as worship began on Resurrection Sunday.

Sweet Sabbath

Dan has been leading a study for parents for the last few Wednesdays on Sabbath Keeping.  Although it is a commandment from God to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy", we, too, have fallen way short of keeping an entire day set aside for holy rest, re-creating and re-energizing as God intended for our benefit.  When I think of how we live as a culture, constantly moving, sick, angry, overwhelmed and full of anxiety...it is hard and almost counter-cultural to keep one day a week set apart and sacred to rest.  But we are working on it, because it's what God has in mind for our protection and benefit. We are all beginning to look forward to this day with great anticipation!   

So, our Sabbath is ususally a Friday or a Saturday (mostly Friday) since that is Dan's day "off".  

These are a few of the restful, restorative activities we enjoy:

Dan blows up the big air mattress and we keep it out all day long as a landing area for snuggling, reading, watching a movie together, just hanging out.  The kids love this spot.  No jumping allowed!  :)

Creating.  Baking, cooking, working on  a sticker creation, scrapbooking (physical or digital), play do, Lego or some type of arts and crafts activity, these are energizing and restful activities to our family.

Reading books.  Being outdoors.  A trip to the park, or for Daddy, a little landscaping can be restful and fun. 

A few of Reecie's play do creations. 

Look what I made, Graham!

And some of us prefer people watching out the front window.  :)