April Happenings

There were a lot of things going on around here in April.

The first Saturday of the month, we celebrated Kamryn's birthday. The kids spent the morning at Sky Zone and then went out to a movie together. 

The kids practiced all their tricks on the trampolines and equipment.

Elisabeth has been working hard on her back handspring. She's making progress!

The next weekend we had fun in Edmond. We rented the gym again with our friends and had a fantastic day! The kids played in the gym while the adults played board games. We breaked for lunch and dinner and had fun fellowshipping with some of our favorite friends! We can't wait to do it again. It's the perfect set up!

We spent the night with the Segrests and had a cousin day at Frontier City on Sunday. We have to get plenty of use out of our season passes. 

Nathan was feeling a little under the weather for a day or two, and Sweet Elisabeth made him the most thoughtful gift. She made a container wiht affirmations and sweet notes and told him to open one every day. 

We met some friends at a fun coffee shop/playground after gymnastics one week, and the boys engineered this crazy ball drop.

Katherine asked to video her Bible story that she learned in Sunday school. She didn't have enough popsicle sticks for all the ten men, but she made do, and it was adorable. I sent it to her teachers to thank them for pouring God's truth into her heart. 

The girls received their dance costumes and got to perform their recital dance for the parents. Recital season is a favorite for our family (at least the girls in the family). The girls are counting down the days to their dance on the big stage. 

We celebrated Emmanuel's fourth birthday with a picnic in the "forest" behind the neighbors' home. My kids love to play there. We had perfect weather and such a fun time celebrating our friend. 

I mentioned to Elisabeth one night that when I was a kid, I liked to sleep in my closet, and ever since then she's been sleeping in hers at night. 

These boys (and their big brothers) had a sleepover at our house this month too. They have such similar personalities. Love them!

I always have to capture a rare nap photo for this Sleeping Beauty (and her dad next to her).

We've met some new friends at gymnastics, and they invited us over to their house to play after class. Katherine couldn't believe Xander had a drum set in his room. She was rocking out!

Katherine received some Easter money in the mail, and so of course we took a trip to Dollar Tree. She insisted on checking out by herself and giving the clerk her money. 

We're trying out a new hobby this Spring after some fun science projects involving growing plants. I bought a vertical planter, and we spent an afternoon planting herbs, vegetables, strawberries and flowers. We'll see if we can keep everything alive!

I certainly have plenty of help!

Elisabeth received an Aspire for Greatness award at our co-op for showing a servant's heart. We've struggled with some grumpy attitudes from her at home in the last few weeks, so this positive recognition was something we all needed. She can be the best, most thoughtful helper most of the time!

The boys have had state testing this month, which means Elisabeth and I have been doing schoolwork in the car while they're taking their tests. I videoed her reading during one of our lessons. I'm so proud of her progress. Teaching her to read has been equal parts joy and struggle. I sure love seeing her skills and confidence growing.

I have no idea what's going on in this picture, but it was too cute to not include!

Katherine has been enjoying gymnastics this year, and she is fearless. She yelled, "Hey Coach Ryan, watch this" and then did this-

We ended the month attending our neighbors' Spring Concert at their church and then an after party at their house. 

They started practicing a whole show/play for us about looking for hidden treasure and skeletons and I don't know what else, but their creativity is shining!

 

April flew by, and we are looking forward to the fun and craziness May always brings. 

Easter 2022

We had a special Easter weekend. We attended our church's Good Friday service at church on Good Friday.  Samuel and Elisabeth got to participate in the Lord's Supper for the first time, so it was a special service. 

Afterward, our church hosted a giant kids' event with an egg hunt and inflatables. We were pleasantly surprised that a helicopter dropped the eggs on the field. What a memorable egg hunt!

After the egg hunt, the kids played on the inflatables in the gym. It was a fun night with our church family.

We had zero plans on Saturday which is a very rare occurrence. When we have free Saturdays, they usually turn into chore Saturdays. The kids had prety good attitudes when I handed them a list of chores. They weren't too upset that one of the chores was stuffing Easter eggs. I got a lot done too that had been on my to do list for months. We ended the night watching a couple of episodes of the Amazing Race- that's been a fun family show to watch together. 

Sunday morning the kids opened their Easter baskets before church. I overheard Elisabeth talking with Katherine that morning and she said, "You know Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts are fun, but that's not why we celebrate Easter. We celebrate because Jesus rose from the grave, and that's the best reason." It's a joy to watch her mature in Christ and disciple her younger sister. 

They got some pool/summer toys and some special candy. 

 

We worshipped our Risen Savior at church on Sunday morning. Easter Sunday is my favorite Sunday of the year. It was a great service, and exciting to see our sanctuary packed full of people hearing God's Word. 

After church we came home and took some Easter pictures and finished up preparations for Easter lunch. 

These silly kids clean up nicely!

The girls picked out their own Easter dresses, and while they weren't matching, they each represented their unique personalities. 

My parents joined us for a delicious Easter lunch. 

After lunch, Matt hid eggs in the backyard, and the kids hunted them. 

Then they hid eggs inside for me and Matt to find. They hid them in impossible hiding spots like in my purse and up in the top kitchen cabinet. We couldn't find any of them without hints, ha!

Elisabeth made jello on Saturday for an Easter treat. She made it all by herself and was proud of her masterpiece. 

Sunday afternoon we napped, went for a walk, and watched the season finale of the Amazing Race to end a family filled Easter weekend.