Our little slugger

 

baseball is lance's very favorite sport... making it really fun to watch this kid get better and better.

I lost track of how many home-runs he got this season!

such a cutie!!

 they were trying to have "tough" faces!  HA!

 his team came in second in the league and got a trophy... he was super proud and so are we!

We love to watch our boys excel at things, but we have an even bigger hope that they will honor God with their lives on and off the field!

HAITI!!!

 It almost seems unfair that I can not possible retell every story, memory, feeling, and experience from Haiti.  It isn't even possible to sum it up in a few short sentences, but I hope that these pictures will give you a small window into our time there.  They are some of my favorite moments...

Lance teaching while his words were translated for the children encircling him.

having tired bodies, but full hearts at our return to the mission each night AND the realization that even a coke is gift worth celebrating!

Being in homes of people who have nothing and are grateful for everything

Linking arms with these incredible people and learning all that God wanted to show us.

experiencing the food and culture of another country

loving on and being loved by the people of Haiti.  Isn't this little nugget adorable???  oh, how i miss this face!!

learning the difference between necessity and comfort.

meeting men that are champions for Jesus in Haiti!  Join me in prayer for these three amazing men!

 I honestly couldn't go back soon enough!!  I'm anxious to get back there and maybe take a sisco kid with me too!

HELLO SUMMER

This party gets bigger every year and I LOVE it!  Everyone wants to celebrate the end of a great school year and even more so... say hello to an incredible summer.

I supply the ice cream and water... they supply their own water guns and towels!  An hour of absolute mania!!  It is one of my favorite traditions!

Brothers and Puddles

Some days call for "rain boot" entertainment

 I mean looks at these faces... we needed to get out.. they are so silly today!

He's even got snacks hidden in those pockets... priceless

1-2-3 JUMP!

A few Treats

I've had the chance to work on some fun projects lately.  Here are a few of them...

camping cupcakes!

housewarming party cookies

volunteer appreciation cookies

and a cake for a little girls birthday tea party.

SOCCER

Well,  it has been a sad state of affairs in the blogging world lately!  I've really let months pass without any updates and that is just not cool!

We were super proud that A chose to play soccer this year.  She has only done dance and ballet and this was her first go at a team sport.  She did well and her coaches tell us that if she can have a little more self control with her motion that she'll excel.  She already has the drive and determination... now we need the accuracy!

Here are some pics of her season on the STARS!!

Last Preformance in Bible Study

 If you know number three at all, this post doesn't take much explanation...

he was doing motions and singing!!

I cried a little

and prayed that this one little glimpse into his heart would turn into a young man that loves Jesus and others with ALL that he is!!

We are headed to Haiti!!!

Over the past year Lance and I have been pouring into and loving on five newly married couples.  We have discussed communication, conflict, and finances every other week for 13 months.  As the year continued, we realized there was no better time to take a discipleship trip than NOW! They are young, childless, have double incomes and this trip would be a great bonding experience! It’s for this reason that we wanted to encourage them in this direction and join them in it as well.  We were so pleased to learn that all five couples were on board with this trip!

That being said, God has opened the door for us to go on a short-term discipleship trip to Haiti with Watermark Community Church in June. We will team up with Mission of Hope-Haiti.  The purpose of the trip is to build relationships through serving the people of Haiti and sharing the gospel with Haitians who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We would love to ask for your help in two ways.  First, please, please, please join our prayer team!  There is no way any of this can happen or make a difference without the LORD first going before us and working through us while we are there.

Second, we would treasure your support financially.  Our portion of the trip costs $3,000 and it is due by May 15th.  If you feel led to give in this way, click HERE to give online using your checking information.  If you choose this option, please send me an email that you gave online so I can keep track of the funds.  You will need to create an account (this just allows the system to gather your information for sending you tax receipts later). 

We are truly excited about this opportunity. If you would like to learn more about all that Mission of Hope is doing to care for the people of Haiti, please visit http://www.mohhaiti.org/.  Thank you for considering partnering with us in this endeavor.  

 

Art Show

        We were really excited to learn that Allie had two pieces go to the Art Exhibit year!

Her super fun tabby cat and...

a pinch pot.  This one was really special because it had Caleb's name on it because she made it for him.  Super Sweet!!

36? WOW!

My family always makes me feel sooo loved on my birthday!  

Lance is usually whipping up something sooo yummy and this year was no different!  He also got us tickets to see Wicked and we've been waiting for a long time to catch that one!  I'm excited to go.  Love this group and wouldn't want to spend my birthday with anyone else!  It was awesome!

Time to prep for Easter!

Don't panic!  

It's not THAT close, but if you want to be intentional with your Easter traditions the time to start thinking about it is now.  Planning today  means low stress, more fun, and (let's be real) maybe we'll actually DO IT!!! 

Sooo... Here's a round up of somethings you might want to do.  Just pick one and have fun.  Doing all of them will leave nothing new for next year and make your neighbor feel like you have it all together... and who wants to give that impression.  We're all a beautiful mess!  Embrace it!

Resurrection eggs with a TWIST

This one is a great one for our little preschoolers!  For those of you that have done it before... this one is a bit different.  Rather than tell the entire Easter story, it unwraps many of Jesus' teachings and then encourages your child to act on what they've learn.  New twist on an old tradition!  Love it!  You just need an egg carton and 12 little trinkets (most that you can find around your house).  She uses stories that you can find in most Children's Bibles and I think it is a win!

Easter Mountain

My kids have enjoyed this from age 3 and up through the years!  This one involves salt, flour, and some pipe cleaners.  All things you can grab at the dollar store!  Holla!!  We enjoy making it before Palm Sunday so that the kids can read and act out each part of the Easter Story in real time as much as we can determine! 

All they want to do is Dye the Eggs

Hey!  That's all right!  Let them dye Easter eggs all day and stir up great discussion.  Here are some ideas to get you started!

Resurrection Rolls

This is a tradition that can turn a snack time into something meaningful.  All you need is a can of biscuit dough, marshmallows, cinnamon, and sugar!  Grab those things and chat about Jesus death and Resurrection!

Enjoy!  HAPPY EASTER FRIENDS!!

Griff's Turn to Celebrate

This sweet boy has his own friends and knew just who he wanted to celebrate with!

He's totally into rescue bots right now...

these two are his partners in crime... two friends that he talks about EVERY DAY!

And here is two more little buddies that he adores!

we got these five together and put a little bounce house in the front yard... the most laid back, chill birthday!  it was perfect!

He loved his cake and his friends and all the fun!

grammie and poppy came and snuggled up close and loved him to pieces too!

it was such a fun day of celebrating the littlest cutie in the family!

Another Five Year Old in the HOUSE!

Sweet Riley Luke!

He has always felt older than he was... used words beyond his years... has thoughts that kids older don't - but at heart... just a boy that loves to build!

Turning Five is just a BIG deal so we celebrated BIG... Lego style!

He was thrilled

everything truly was AWESOME (in his eyes!)

Daddy stayed up into the night making sure that he got the coolest pinata EVER!  It was not difficult for the boys to take turns beating up Emmett!

They got some free creative time

 played a fun hot potato game in which they all got a sheet of Lego stickers

We did a co-operative build...

And the game that really won the guy's hearts... a scavenger hunt for the missing mini figures!

It was fun to have all these boys in one place

and they all went home with mini figure face cookies.