Nate's New Favorite

Technically it's been his new favorite since Valentine's Day. That's when my mom gave Nate a couple of characters from Cars. Then he got a couple of more for Easter. These cars are his absolute favorite thing to play with. He wants to take them every where. One day he lost Lightening McQueen at a friend's house. I knew he would be upset, but I thought it would be a good lesson for him. After an entire afternoon of almost constant whining about it, I said forget the lesson I need some peace and quiet (emphasis on the quiet). So, Darren made a quick trip to Wal-Mart and everyone was happy again.

Spring Flowers

I am still working on my photography skills. This afternoon I practiced with some flowers in our back yard. I love this time of year. I love being awed by God as I look at His beautiful creation.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I made these amazing homemade cinnamon rolls a couple of weeks ago. I saw them on Bakerella's blog, but it is actually a Pioneer Woman recipe. They are not labor intensive, but they do require a lot of time. Most of the time they require is wait time. You have to wait on a mixture to cool before adding the yeast and then wait on the dough to rise. Trust me (and Darren), they are worth the wait. If you like cinnamon rolls, you should definitely give this recipe a try.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

It's Camping Weather!

Last weekend we went on our first camping trip of the year. The weather was perfect! The water in the lake was still pretty chilly, so Nate had to settle for the sprinkler. He LOVES playing in water. I think we are going to do a sprinkler/slip-n-slide party for his birthday in July.

My niece, Ashlyn (right) and her friend Rachelle (left)

When Nate wasn't playing in the sprinkler, he was playing with this bucket of water. He is really into Cars right now. He has several of the cars and loved getting them dirty and then washing them off in the bucket. My mom also made him a ramp for his cars. Grandparents are the best!

Because He Lives

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

Because He lives, all fear is gone.

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

I love that old hymn! We sang it on Easter Sunday and for the first time those words were so precious to me. Without the resurrection of Christ our lives would be full of fear and hopelessness. God has had our family on an incredible journey these last few months and we are learning to truly trust Him more and more each day. Darren and I are confident that He holds our future and His will is perfect. This doesn't mean that our life will always be easy, but we are confident in Christ's love for us.

Checking out his basket

Since Nate arrived, we've tried to take a family picture every Easter. This one is pretty good considering we did it before church with the tripod.

We ate lunch with Darren's family. While the adults were hiding eggs, the kids went on a hayride.

All of the cousins - Kelsey, Karmen, Carson, Cam & Nate

Easter Egg Hunt

We hosted our church's preschool Easter egg hunt. We had lots of families come down to our neck of the woods and we had a great time...until it started raining. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted, but here are a few cute ones.

The Case of the Missing Kittens

We've had a lot of stray animals cross our path the last 10 years. Most of them hang around a few days and move on, especially the cats. A cat showed up several months ago and didn't leave. We are a sucker for animals, so we started feeding her. About three months ago we noticed that she was probably pregnant. Then one day we noticed that she looked "normal" again. That's when the hunt for the kittens began. We looked for those kittens for 4 weeks and could not find them anywhere. Then last Tuesday the kittens appeared. First she brought out the black one and then the two orange ones. I'm really not a cat person, but I was so excited to see the kittens. We had the best time watching the kittens. The momma cat didn't even mind us petting them or holding them. Then the next day she carried them off again - so maybe she did mind us petting and holding them. So now we are on the hunt again for the kittens. She can't keep them hidden forever.