Happy Birthday, Savannah!

Savannah turned 14 yesterday, so we had the family over last night to celebrate.  She spent Thursday night with a friend, so she awoke on her birthday in a different house.  She is growing up.

Savannah normally helps Andy make cheesecake, and she is always disappointed when he does it without her.  However, there was not enough time to let it set and cool if he waited for her.

She did make her cupcakes, so yummy.

As Andy and I approach our 19th anniversary in a few months, we finally bought deck furniture. and had it set up almost on time for the party.  Zach did most of the work.  I have always wanted deck furniture, but we could never squeeze something so unnecessary into the budget.  We finally decided to buy a cheap set and go from there.

Ask and you shall receive.  Savannah wanted frames for her artwork, and she is now well-supplied.  By the end of the night, she had already framed several pieces.  Now we just have to hang them.

Our tradition of taking pictures with all the family continued.  Tara needed a repeat because she looked shorter than Savannah in this one.  Tara, Savannah, and Joshua

Jonathan, Regan, Danielle, and Savannah  -- May 24th is the big date for baby boy Todd, a name is  yet to be determined.  Danielle looks fabulous!

Austin, Tiffany, and Logan - maybe when he gets his braces off, Logan will smile again.

Dad and Tara (on her tip-toes I think)

Tessa

silliness

Jean (Andy's mom) and Victoria (Jean's Korean exchange student)

 I did not think about it until everyone had gone  and I saw my sister-in-law's post on Facebook, but Savannah's 14th birthday marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Andy's dad.  Tom was out running in a nearby town when he was struck by a car and killed on Savannah's fourth birthday.  We had celebrated the night before because my mom was leaving for Europe that day.  Andy has always made this day about Savannah, and I am so grateful that he is able to do that.

I think Savannah had a fabulous time with the family last night. We all love this sweet girl!

Spring Break Fun

Our spring break has been a blast so far.  We started with a game night on Monday night with some great families.  We've done this with them three times now, and it is always a blast.  


On Tuesday, we headed out of town to visit a fantastic zoo.  We met up with a family that we traveled to China with on our trip to adopt Julia.  Julia and Ellie were adopted on the same day, and they hit it off very well.  Andy and I really enjoyed reconnecting with Lou.


Julia was our photographer, and I have worked on editing some of the many, many pictures this morning. Unfortunately, none of my edits saved...ugh.


We had a terrific time, and even the big kids want to return to this beautiful zoo.

petting an American alligator

The cougars were super-cool.  We happened upon them while the trainers were working with them, and they were really fun.

I couldn't believe Julia got such a great shot of this beautiful owl.

The carousel made Delilah happy.

Ellianna and Julia really hit it off.

Savannah has always liked the polar bears.

adopted on the same day and fast friends

Zach loved, loved, loved cheetahs when he was little.  His kindergarten teacher called him Cheetah-boy.  Unfortunately, the cheetah exhibit was closed for the season.  I do think we will return in the summer because this looks like an exhibit worth seeing.

Is the zoo the only place to get a good picture of my four kids?

The weather was just right for this visit.  It was cool but not cold enough to be miserable, and the cool temperature meant we saw active and happy animals.  A great but tiring day overall!

Happy Easter!

Easter brought us beautiful weather.  We started the day with the scavenger hunt for the baskets, followed by breakfast.  We attended church together earlier this weekend and had a great Easter service with a wonderful reminder that all things will be new one day. Cancer, financial stress, suffering will all be gone.  It was a timely service, as a family we do not know but who is a part of our school community, suffered unbearable loss today when their only child died after complications from injuries sustained in a car wreck last week.  Even as we celebrated the resurrection, my heart held a heaviness for them all day long.  

Andy and I worked the church nursery and had a rather unusual end to our shift when the fire alarm went off just as the last of the children were being picked up.  Apparently, a naughty little one pulled the alarm.  Lovely.

We ended the day at Dad's with a feast, egg hunt, and egg coloring. Oh yeah, we put up a tent in the front yard too.  Yep, you read that right.  My dad's latest way of having fun is buying tents so that we can camp in a nearby city and enjoy their attractions.  We had to put up the tent to time our efforts.  Let the camping begin!  

a clue on the shadow box of family memorials

reading clues...We used the same clues as last year, and Zach and Savannah remember them, so we will have to get it together and do new clues next year.

the destination

couldn't miss this picture...Julia had to have UK Wildcats edition of  Sports Illustrated

egg hunt

so fun to have a toddler in the family

Regan will be sharing the attention come May 24th when her little brother arrives.  Yes, it is scheduled, so we know the date, and it happens to be a special date for us as this is Wyatt's referral date as well.

coloring eggs, she worked hard to avoid the camera all day

We are now officially on spring break.  While we don't have any big plans, this break is much needed.  I am worn out and almost didn't think I would make it, and maybe I didn't on some level.  Just a week and a half ago, I had to take a sick day to be home with Julia, and I slept that day, a lot and really needed it.

Wyatt has already started begging for daily play dates.  Zach is disappointed that he is stuck here while his friends visit the beaches, but I am ready to do some spring cleaning, have a little fun, and get a lot of rest.  We'll see what shakes down.

Preparing for Easter

For a fun Easter tradition, have a scavenger hunt to the baskets.  Our clues, which are tweaked yearly, are posted here.

Seder

Andy led our C-group through the Seder tonight.  Our C-group consists of six sophomore boys who meet with Andy and our friend, John, in our home every Wednesday night. Our family went through the Seder last year one night while I was working.  I learned so much and had no idea of the complexity of this celebration.

One of the four cups of grape juice.  The cups represent freedom, deliverance,  redemption, and thanksgiving. These elements were altered in honor of our Christian heritage on this side of the cross.

unleavened bread

The "hidden" leavened bread that was to be found by the children. We will store our nativity set after Easter.  We kept it on display in honor of the often repeated phrase from this past Christmas, "Christmas means nothing without Easter."

candles lit at a key point in the ceremony

Takeaways:
We tasted the bitter root to signify the bitter tears of the Israelites in bondage.

The unleavened bread was found and removed from the room while we were asked that sin we don't even recognize would be removed from our hearts.

There was a responsive reading of the story of Exodus.  The leader would tell part of the story with the group responding with "Dayeinu!"  Dayeinu means it would have been enough. This was said in response to things like:
"If only the Lord God had taken us out of Egypt and not passed judgement on the Egyptians..."
"If only the Lord God had parted the sea for us and not taken care of us and fed us manna in the desert for 40 years..."
...and there were a few others.

It was amazing to think of just how much God does for us, going above and beyond.  I am reminded of the poor widow with only bread for supper who said, "All this and Jesus too."  She was grateful.