Fishing Fun

Today was an exciting first - Evan's first fishing trip! We had been practicing casting during the week, and he was ready to go. One of the local ponds was stocked with catfish for a Jr. Angler Fishing Derby. The weather didn't totally cooperate - it was overcast and chilly and the fish just weren't biting. Evan was quite a trooper, though. He didn't like waiting to reel in the line, but he would (at times). He lasted all three hours, too. They gave out prizes for the biggest fish in the different age categories. Since he didn't catch any fish, he didn't win one of those. They also gave out "random drawing" prizes throughout the day, and he didn't win any of those either. Despite not catching a fish or getting a prize, Evan still declared it to be a good day. He wants to go fishing again, too.

"It's taking too long!"

"I don't have enough patience to wait."

He cast out a few times.
It was so cold he had to borrow Dad's sweater.

Joel was there, but he spent a good amount of time on the nearby playground with Grandma. (Grandma and Grandpa are in town this weekend, so that added to the excitement of the fishing trip.) He did hold one of the rods for a couple of minutes, but his attention span is still quite short, especially compared to Evan's.

Joel had trouble keeping the line still.

All in all, everyone had a good time, and now I will be looking for more free fishing events in the area.

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

While I am waiting for dinner to cook and for Joel to fall asleep, I thought I would share some of our Easter pictures with you.

We used a new technique to color our eggs this year (actually, I think we do something new every year), and they turned out pretty well. The dye was contained in a q-tip and you got to paint it on. Both of the boys (and I) really got into it.

After the eggs, we made resurrection cookies. In case you aren't familiar with those, as you make them, you tell the story of the crucifixion. Then you leave them in the oven (preheated and turned off after you put the cookies in) overnight, like Jesus was placed in the tomb. In the morning the cookies are supposed to be cracked and hollow, like the tomb was on that first Easter! Ours weren't cracked today, but they were hollow. This is an improvement over last year. I am hoping that they boys won't remember the outcome of these first few tries, and that next year I will get it right. ;)

This morning we got up early and went to church. (We normally go to the 11:30 service and today we went to the 8:30 service. ) We all had a great time of learning and worship. Joel didn't like his new class at first, but we are told that he was fine after we left.

After church we got some donuts to bring home for a mid-morning snack. We also stopped at Lowe's and got some flowers to plant. We ate the donuts, planted the flowers, got some food cooking, and hunted eggs!

The boys really enjoyed both hunting and hiding eggs. They also both liked to point out where they had hidden the eggs to the person who was hunting. So, they may not have the concept down completely, but they had a lot of fun.

Evan couldn't help but point out the eggs hidden in the kitchen set.

Joel was excited that Dad found his hidden eggs.

Right now they are all outside playing again. (That means that Joel did not fall asleep.) In a little while we will eat, and then we will spend some more time reflecting on the amazing reason for this most special of holidays. How unfathomable that God would love us enough to become a man, suffer a cruel death, and raise Himself from death - all so that we would not receive the punishment that we deserve! While we enjoy the eggs, the special meal, and the new clothes we don't want to ever lose focus on the wonderful love and amazing power of Christ! We pray that you experience this love and power in your lives as well.

He is Risen, indeed!

Carrying on the tradition

I am very thankful that we were able to make it to Mississippi for Uncle Bobby's funeral. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate his life with the rest of the family. Steve and I had decided that we would stand in the back of the church during the service, so that if the boys got rowdy we could leave with them. Unfortunately it was so crowded that we were standing in the foyer, and it was difficult to hear. I took Joel (who was very sleepy and laying on my shoulder) into the church and we sat in a metal folding chair in the aisle. Of course, Joel decided at some point that he wanted to get down and sit in his own metal chair. Then he realized that it would make noise if he hit it. I gave him a look and he did it again. Then I tried ignoring him, but he did it more, trying to guarantee that he would get my attention. The whole time he had a devilish smile on his face. So, we had to leave the service.

After the service we went to Uncle Bobby and Aunt Gloria's house to spend some more time with the family. Steve and I were inside the house and the boys had been outside for a while. Some of my uncles and cousins started telling stories. Then one of my cousins quietly waved at me and motioned me to look out the door. There was Joel playing in a mud puddle, in his good clothes, and soaking wet. When Evan saw that Joel wasn't getting in trouble, he decided to play in the puddle, too. Joel asked for a towel, so I asked him if we was done in the puddle. He said no. I let them play for a while longer, then they both got baths and clean clothes. One of the things that Uncle Bobby was known for was being a prankster, so I had to think that if was seeing Joel's antics from up in heaven that he was probably smiling.

Joel's pants were hanging down below his diaper, from the weight of the mud in his pants.
He also had mud on his face and in his hair. The next day I found some in his ear that had escaped the bath.

Evan at the scene of the crime.

Just in case you were wondering, the clothes and shoes got washed the next day and everything but the socks came out alright.

Prayer Request

I received news last night that my Uncle Bobby had a heart attack and passed away. I am thankful that I got to visit him on my recent trip to Mississippi. I trust that he is now in heaven and pain-free. Even better than that he is getting to worship God in person! Although this is great for him, his absence from this earth will be difficult for his family. Please keep them (and us) in your prayers.

Budding artist

Evan has recently gotten serious about drawing. He loves to draw and write and goes at it for a long time! I keep hearing, "Mommy, how do you write ____?" As I am typing this I am spelling "cereal" for him. It can be hard to type and spell for someone else at the same time. I thought that I would share some of his recent artwork with you.

This is a choo choo train with me as a conductor. We sounded out the words together and he did a great job! The "n" is on the next line because he didn't want to write it over the smoke coming out of the train, but it's hard to see the smoke in this picture.

This is Evan as Superman. Notice the blue cape and the triangle on his chest.
He also gave himself green eyes, which is accurate.

Yes!

We did get a little snow overnight. Evan got to see it, but by the time both of them were up and ready to play it had mostly melted. At least I got a picture of it. This is part of the backyard.

More snow?

Not for us - again. It stopped just north of us with some areas getting heavy snow today. We still have a chance of flurries overnight and in the morning, but we won't get anywhere close to the 3-5 inches that they were predicting for our area earlier today. I charged up the camera and camcorder batteries, but so far all that has happened around here is rain. And overnight it should get below freezing. (Lots of rain + freezing temperatures = ice on the roads.) Oh well.

Tonight was supposed to be Steve's awards banquet for work, but it got postponed due to the weather. We were looking forward to a night out and a nice meal, but at least they postponed it and didn't cancel it altogether. In case you didn't know, Steve got a Tech Honors award from work this year. It is an award based on peer reviews, so it is a nice honor. (I like to brag on him.)

So, will we actually get snow later tonight? I don't know, but I will keep you posted.

March snow

We finally got some snow here! It was not what was predicted, and the kids missed it, but it was snow. Steve and I walked out last night and saw the snow falling. The weather people were predicting 1-2 inches of snowfall accumulating on the ground and rooftops. This is what we had.Let me also point out that the night before the snow we had a tornado watch. And today we are expected to get up to 58 degrees. The weather rollercoaster continues!

Boy am I sore!

Yesterday was an exciting day for some of us. We went to a birthday party in a warehouse full of bounce houses! The party was for a set of twins in Evan's class. He had a good time playing with his friends and people he met at the party. I went down the two big slides and sustained one injury. I noticed the sign that said to remove our glasses, but it didn't "click" until I face planted at the bottom of the first slide. Joel didn't like the bounce houses and we were trying to show him how much fun they were. We were at the top of the slide with him, and I said, "Watch Mommy go down like Superman!" Then I went face first on my tummy. Everything went well until I reached the bottom and seemed to stall - and then the face plant. I went quickly to another mom and asked if I was bleeding. I was, so I rushed to the bathroom to clean it up before the boys saw it. This was not quite the outcome that I had hoped for, but I was fine. It didn't help Joel any and after a few more minutes he and Daddy went to another room that had some chairs and a tv. Joel used to love bounce houses, but not yesterday! I don't know if it is a stage he is going through, or if the room of bounce houses was intimidating. It was certainly loud!

Last week I seemed really tired, so it was hard to do my exercises early on. Friday and Saturday I walked and did my strength training. Then I bounced some at the party. I guess all of these things combined to make for some very sore thighs! I can hardly walk (it's kind of like a waddle until I get going). If I stand with straight knees I lose control of my legs. I haven't had a leg problem like this in years! I hope I end up with some good results! ;)

I also thought I would share some of a conversation from our van today on the way to church.

Evan: Dad, when I am an adult and Joel is not can we um, um .... (Joel starts up with something and gets him off track)
Dad, when I am adult, like 12, and Joel is like 10 can we ...

The rest isn't really important, and it took a long time to get to the point, but it involved playing a game and who would win. I laughed a lot at all of this and decided that was a good ab workout for the day.