Cookies!

It's been a while now, but I wanted to put this on anyway. We have a tradition with our good friends, the Johns, to make Christmas cookies every year. Now that our children our school age it is a bit tricky to find the time. Last year, in fact, we didn't decorate at all. My girls were very sad to miss out on Mrs. Johns's delicious sugar cookies. This year we realized that the Monday after Valentine's Day was a holiday so we set our calendars. The kids had a great time decorating Valentine's Day cookies. It's amazing how much they have grown over the years. The first year we decorated I think Avril and Trevor were only 2. Amanda was still finding sprinkles to sweep up in her kitchen months after Christmas was over. This year we swept up after the "decoration/free artistic license time" was complete and there was almost NOTHING on the floor. Amanda and I looked at the little pile of crumbs in disbelief for a moment, and then smiled because our kids were off playing and we could sit down for a quiet lunch. It's funny how little things like that make you realize that in spite of what seems like an endless age of temper-tantrums and messes that the kids are growing up. Our time for decorating cookies with them is very short. Then Amanda and I will sit together over lunch and yearn for those wild kids to come running past us one more time.













Pictures: 1) Avril, Anderson and Ryan getting started. 2) Trevor, Eowyn and Maia diligently creating a canvas. 3) 6 sweet kiddos 4-6) Avril, Maia and Eowyn after the first round of decorations 7) The finished product. We're thinking of opening a cookie kiosk at the mall called "Instant Sugar Coma."

Spring Break

This is my first spring break since I graduated from college many years ago. Teaching Spanish has been a legitimate challenge for me. I truly enjoy the classes, but preparing the lessons has been a lot. I am more thankful than ever that I didn't try to work full-time while trying to care for my family. It is hard and I don't enjoy having to compromise our time as a family to do school work. However, the first year is the worst and now we have come to spring break! Adrian and I had a list of things that we wanted to accomplish. I wondered prior to this week how much would actually get done. Now that the week is closing, I have my answer--not much. :)

As expected things often don't go according to plan. Easter Sunday was lovely. I LOVE Easter. It is such a joy to celebrate the victory of the Lamb. And to add a hilarious note to the day...Adrian made a scavenger hunt for the girls to find their baskets. So I as put the baskets together he made up the clues. We ultimately hid the baskets in their car seats in the van. However, when all was completed Saturday night I unintentionally--really--left some empty baskets downstairs in a laundry baskets full of clothes waiting to go upstairs. Sunday morning I told the girls not to play with any of the plastic Easter eggs that they saw. So a few minutes later I went downstairs and Avril came up to me with one of the empty baskets in her hand, "We didn't get ANYTHING for Easter?" Maia: "There's a plastic bag in my basket." Eowyn: "My basket is empty." They all had the saddest looks of disbelief on their faces. They weren't angry at all, just stunned that all their excitement that had been building for weeks now had come to naught. When I realized that accidentally leaving the extra baskets downstairs had created a foil I was in hysterics. It would never have worked out so well if I'd planned it. Avril just sat at the kitchen table completely dejected, "We didn't get anything for Easter." Finally, Adrian came down and told them to open the first egg--which they did to humor us but with no actual enthusiasm. It directed them to a table in the living room that held another egg with more instructions. By now they figured it out and were tearing up and down the steps finding each egg. The last one led them to the van to check their car seats. Easter baskets filled with candy!!!! They were very happy and I have laughed all week remembering it.

So Easter Sunday was wonderful. I wasn't feeling fabulous, but not sick. However by Monday I definitely had the flu. It's been years since I was that sick. I didn't do much but sleep for two days. We'd planned a family date to Jumpin' Monkey (a place with lots of blow-up toys for kids to jump on) and I really didn't want to miss it. So I went and sat there, but was really glad to sleep for the rest of the day after we got home. Jumpin' Monkey was a great success and the girls had a wonderful time.

The rest of my spring break has been spent recovering from the flu. Thursday was the first day I had my energy back. I got my haircut. Yay! Adrian did a lot with the baseball team. He was able to plant the flowers in the front yard. It looks wonderful and the girls had a lot of fun helping him. We went out to dinner at Red Robin for another family date on Wednesday. The girls again thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Now we come to Saturday night. My house is not clean, let alone cleaned well, and I've done no school work-also on my list. So I didn't get to cross any of that off, but in all I really enjoyed the week with my family. I look forward to summer. It will be my first summer break in many years too. And I'm very hopeful that the flu will not bother me at all.

Pics: 1-5) The girls at Jumpin' Monkey; 6-8) Planting the flowers with dad. Get a good look at Eowyn's hat. :) 7) My new haircut--you get the idea.

Milestones

Maia hit a major milestone recently. She is beginning to read unaided. This is a big step for her, not because she is delayed, but because it didn't automatically happen for her as it did for Avril. I think she expected to just start reading like Avril did. Maia doesn't have the attention span or desire to work it out as Avril did. She gets bored quickly and wants to stop. But now that she is making headway the excitment is building and she is eager to try. We are so proud of her. Maia is a very bright, very logical little girl. Before long this will be a distant memory. But for now it is big news that we are excited to celebrate.

On another note, I was talking with Avril tonight about an issue in school. One of the points was her concern that some people might be angry with her. So I tried to help her to understand that regardless of her actions--sinful or not--she is not responsible for others' reactions (especially sinful ones.) So I said, "Do you remember when Mommy has been angry with you?" ready to explain how my anger was not her responsibility. But she said, "No." VICTORY!! I'm still in the clear. :) That's really no excuse for those times when I've been angry, but I was thrilled that my rage is not what sticks in her mind. YAY!

Becoming like Jesus

Earlier this morning, we learned that a friend would be coming to stay with us for a time. It was sudden, but it is our delight to open our home to a friend in need. But that's not what I am writing about right now. After Adrian got the phone call, he told the girls that our friend was in great need of a place to stay and would be coming over this afternoon. A few minutes later Avril asked for a bag. Eventually, she came into the kitchen with a zip-lock filled with little things--some band-aids, fruit, peppermints, among other things. I asked what she was doing and she replied, "You'll see." Adrian thought it might be a survival pack. Avril regularly does things like this, especially after reading something in one of her Ranger Rick magazines. Another 10 minutes later, Avril came into the kitchen again and asked for a few more things. By now the bag had more stuff--some pencils, sticks of gum and her $10 bill. I asked if she was leaving. "No." Finally, I asked, "Is this bag for our friend?" "Yes." I started to cry. I said, "You're giving him $10?" "$11--I put my quarters in there." I was so moved that Avril would immediately seek to bless someone that she had learned was in need. All of the little things were so thougtful, but her $10 bill was a treasure for her. Avril can really struggle (like most of us) to put others before herself. I grabbed her and hugged her and told her how proud I was. But more importantly that seeking to bless someone (especially at a cost to her) was very pleasing to God and that God would bless her in return. When I looked at her I could see the Lord. She was so beautiful. I emphasized that I was seeing Jesus in her at that moment and that she is becoming more like him through this act of love. It is such an enormous blessing to me to see Avril demonstrate Christ to others. I was also convicted to look for ways to bless those around me even when it cost me something. It is a great reminder that He is always working in us even if we don't see the results for a period of time.

Happy Birthday, Avril!

Avril turned seven years old on Sunday, October 28. I can't belive it. This has been a hard round of birthdays for me. I suppose it's because it's the first time that we've had successive birthdays with no newborn to repeat all the earlier milestones. So I am having a hard time coming to terms with how quickly my girls are growing. Avril has matured a lot over the last year. She speaks with adult language, understands on a high level so that adults can hold normal types of conversations with her. Her face is clearly maturing and she just isn't a little girl anymore. She is solidly in the "girl" stage. Avril is a voracious reader and rejoices over a trip to the library. She is especially enjoying the Garfield comics right now. Our gifts to her were two Garfield compilation comic books, and a real Bible. She was thrilled and has been spending almost all of her free time reading.

We are so blessed to have Avril. She is still a challenge in that she is very moody and can really test your patience. It's astonishing how much she is like Adrian in her personality. She even has his ability to block out all sound when she is focused. She honestly doesn't hear you even though you may be inches away. It is a delight to think about what she may be like in the future. It will most definitely be here before I am ready.

Due to scheduling, Avril's party was slightly different this year. We had one school friend, Madi, come and spend the day with us. Avril and I had talked several weeks earlier about her cake. She wanted a beach cake that was decorated as a beach scene. Because it was so small, I let the girls decorate the cake themselves. So just after Madi arrived they got to decorating. It was so fun. The girls really enjoyed themselves. Most of the afternoon the girls just played together. Madi was so generous to bless Avril with a gift card to Barnes & Noble. She couldn't have picked a better gift. (In fact, Avril went to the bookstore yesterday and spent it on new treasures.) For dinner, Avril decided on Uno's Pizza. The girls ordered make-your-own-pizzas. Just as dinner was finishing, the waitstaff came out to sing Happy Birthday to a customer. My girls had never witnessed this before (as we rarely eat out in a sit-down restaurant with them). When our waitress came to bring the check Avril proudly announced that this was her birthday too. So the waitstaff surprised her with a song and freshly baked, (it was still hot, YUM!) huge chocolate chip cookie. What a wonderful evening. After dinner, we took Madi home. Avril thoroughly enjoyed her day and I'm sure is already formulating plans for next year.




































































































**Regarding the picures: 1. Avril and Madi getting the "ocean" frosting ready. 2. Putting on the ocean water. 3. Adding the "sand." 4. All finished. 5. Make a wish. 6. Enjoying the fruits of their labor. 7. At Uno's Pizza. 8. Making pizzas. 9. Mmm, pizza. 10. Is that embarrasment at being the center of attention???? 11. Sweet reward.

Rain, Rain

There is a special tradition in our house. Ever since Avril was a very small toddler, Adrian would take her out to play in the rain. Adrian's favorite weather is rain so it was natural for him to implement this event. Over the years, the other girls joined the playtime as they became old enough to walk. Usually they will walk over to the tennis courts and splash in the huge puddles for a while. Then the will swing and slide on the small playground right next to the house. It's best in the summer when it's warm out, but they even go in the winter. When they come home soaked to the bone and covered in mud, they take warm baths and drink hot chocolate. This has become one of the girls' most cherished activities. We've been in a drought for a while now, and they did ask occasionally through the summer when it might rain that they could go out and play. We were finally blessed with some rain at the end of October. It was a perfect playing rain too--steady and gentle and long lasting (and warm). The girls were so excited to get to go and play in the rain with dad. Watching all of them walk off together into the rain has become one of my most cherished activities. What a treasure to have such sweet memories to hold.

Tea Time

My mom takes care of Eowyn on Fridays while I am teaching Spanish. This week she planned a rather elaborate tea party for which fancy dresses were required. Eowyn had a BLAST. She very carefully poured the tea, cream and sugar. In fact, she even had a second tea party at lunch time. Perhaps she'll marry into royalty someday and then she'll be ready for high tea.