Chinese Food

This year in Brandon's school, we are studying world geography and learning about other countries and cultures. We spend about 2 weeks on a particular country and try to learn as much as we can about it, including what kind of food they eat. Brandon has tried several new things that he did not like so much. For the past couple of weeks we've been studying China, and the Chinese food was a hit with the whole family. We also made Chinese lanterns, have had lots of fun making things out of a tangram, and we even bought a kite and took it flying since that is so popular in China! (This can be a plug for My Father's World curriculum for any homeschoolers reading this! We've had so much fun using this curriculum.)

Daddy does pretty well with the chopsticks.Brandon tried to use the chopsticks......
but decided it was much easier with a fork!
Bekah had some crazy two-handed way to use her chopsticks!
Do you know how long it takes an already slow eater to eat with chopsticks?!?!? Way too long!

Beautiful flowers!

When we purchased our current home, it came with a lot of things that we were not too thrilled about. (Like bad light fixtures, lots of pet hair, chewed up cabinets, holes in the yard, an almost dead tree, etc., etc.) However, some of the things that I have really enjoyed that came with the house are 4 beautiful azalea bushes. We do nothing to help these bushes, but each year they bloom beautifully. It's a bummer that they are on the side of the house where we park and are hidden by our van. Nonetheless, we do enjoy them each spring.

Easter Pictures, Finally!

Brandon and Bekah are all dressed up for church on Easter morning.
My handsome guy!

Bekah comes up with her own cute poses for pictures!

Brandon got a few Easter goodies in his basket.

And Bekah was very excited to get more Color Wonder paper!

And Todd was thrilled to get Reeses peanut butter eggs!

Belated Easter Pictures

Well, I'm just now getting around to posting some more Easter pictures! Better late than never, right?

Todd is getting ready for Resurrection eggs.
Bekah opens an egg and finds a white linen cloth.

Todd uses the Bible to explain each symbol found in the eggs.

Brandon finds a stone in his egg.

Here we are making Resurrection rolls. Brandon is embalming Jesus in the oils.

Bekah is putting spices on Jesus.

Now Jesus is put into the crescent roll tomb.

Daddy makes sure the tomb is securely sealed.

Bekah checks the tomb to see if Jesus is still there.

The tomb is empty!!!

Spring!

We have all been very excited that spring has finally arrived. It is very enjoyable after a long, cold winter! We actually had a chance of snow a couple of days this month, but I believe that is finally over. Me and the kids have been eating lunch outside and playing outside in the afternoons. We've been going for walks and enjoying all the flower and blooming trees, etc. Bekah loves all the yellow and purple flowers in our yard. To her, even the weeds are great! Bekah and I are both actually a little bit sunburned on our shoulders. The high temps have been in the mid-70's for the last few days which is just perfect. I have worked on the flower beds and mowed the yard for the first time this year. Our beautiful azalea bushes will be blooming soon. The kids helped me clear a bunch of dried up tree leaves that had blown into the bushes and gotten stuck. Brandon's arms broke out in hives from that, so I'm not sure if he has an allergy to azaleas or what. My tulips did nothing this year, which was a bit disappointing. I had 2 coming up but I think a late round of snow and cold got them. But, soon I'll be planting marigolds and other flowers, and hopefully it will be looking nice. I just snapped a picture of Bekah today as we were out playing and thought I'd share it with you all! Happy Spring!

Earthquake!

We were awakened this morning by an earthquake! It was about 5:39am and I heard a very loud strange sound. It sounded like a huge wind that was blowing rocks against the house. It even woke Todd up, which is saying something since he is a deep sleeper! He said, "what was that?" Then I asked him if he was shaking and he said no. It was then that I realized it was probably an earthquake. Back in June of 2002 we were visiting Louisville in preparation for coming to seminary. We were staying in a motel and spent our time checking out the city, trying to find somewhere to live and trying to find a job for Todd. While we were resting in our motel one afternoon, we realized that the bed was shaking. We though perhaps the maids were in the room next door doing some major cleaning. But, we found out later that day that what we had felt was an earthquake. So, this morning, we were a little more familiar with the feeling. After the loud windy noise subsided, I could hear things in the house rattling. It lasted for several seconds and then I heard Bekah's door open. She came in and asked, "Mommy, what is that shaking?" Todd told her we weren't sure and sent her back to bed. I was quite surprised since she has never come out of her room during strong thunderstorms or anything. Since Todd's alarm was already going off, he soon got up and looked outside and saw nothing strange. There was obviously no wind because the umbrella on our patio was still in place. I turned on the TV and it was confirmed that yes, we had felt an earthquake. It was a 5.4 which means it was a decent size but not terrible. Later in the morning, I woke Brandon up and the first thing he said was, "Last night, during the night, I heard a rattling. I thought Daddy was shaking my door and trying to get in my room or something. I thought the walls were rattling."
I'm glad we trust in a sovereign God who is not surprised (as we were) by things like earthquakes!

Blast from the Past!

Here's a picture of Todd and I when we were dating in college....probably around 1993 or 1994!

More Silly Bekah

Well, I guess Brandon is past that age of saying such silly things, but Bekah still keeps us entertained. As we were on our way to church on Sunday morning, we were listening to the Casting Crowns song, "If We Are The Body." Here is the chorus:
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
there is a way?
There is a way

Bekah piped up and said, "I know what they are singing about. They are singing about when Jesus was on the cross. Because when he was nailed on there, he could not move his arms and hands and feet."
I guess we need to work on teaching her that the church is the body of Christ!

Neighborhood Egg Hunt

After the egg hunt at church, we came home and had another egg hunt with some of our neighbors. There were 5 houses that participated, and we all had a great time! Sonja provided hot chocolate and coffee when we were finished because it was freezing outside!

Baby Abby is walking and getting so big. She was happy with only 2 eggs, one for each hand.

Here is a group shot of all the kids except baby Abby (and Sonja is in the picture too)!

The best part is opening the eggs to find out what is inside!!

After the kids open their eggs, we usually have another egg hunt with the empty plastic eggs just because the kids have so much fun hunting. Usually there are some eggs that never get found and we will find them days, weeks or months later (like weedeating in the middle of the summer). Sometimes you will find one that has a goody inside from the first hunt and sometimes you will find an empty one from the 2nd hunt. A few days after the hunt, Bekah found an egg that happened to be one of the empty eggs. At first she was bummed out, and then she excitedly said, "Oh, I know why it is empty...because God is in it!" So, she was a bit confused, but can you tell we went through the resurrection eggs with our kids?

Easter Egg Hunt

I know I am terribly slow, but finally here are some pictures from the Easter Egg hunt at our church.

Bekah and her friend, Faith, are ready to hunt!
Josh and Jake, our neighbors, are ready to hunt too!

Bekah, you're going to have to be quicker than that!

Looks like she got almost a basket full!

Now it is time for the bigger kids to hunt. Brandon is on the far left and Liberty on the far right.

They were quick!!

His basket was overflowing!

After the hunt they all came inside to eat lunch and hope to win a prize. Brandon did win a video of BibleMan! What a fun day!

Silly Bekah

WARNING......Do not read if you are grossed out by potty talk!!!!

Yesterday, Bekah was sitting on the potty yelling for me to wipe her bottom. (When she does #2 she needs help getting clean.) So, I went in to take care of business and she says, "I know your poopy is your food. Liberty told me that. So, that little ball is my Cookie Crisp cereal. But I don't know what that big snake part is. I didn't eat anything big and fat and tall."