Family Alive

Whew… what a week!  We’ve had fun celebrating my birthday as well as spending a busy week with all the Easter festivities, and enjoying church to remember the true joy we celebrate all year long… Christ is risen!  I love it when my birthday falls so close to Easter!  Here’s the summaries…

Analise baking my birthday cake, and the final product, below.

My birthday… this was a sweet, sweet birthday.  I’m 31 (can you believe it? that sounds so old!).  Brian got me a beautiful "Trust in the Lord" metal wall hanging, that I’ve been wanting for a long time.  It’s hanging in our stairwell to the basement, which you can see through our front door (the door to the basement is glass).  My mom gave me some $$ for a shopping spree, which was a real treat!  Kat gave me Season 3 of Mad About You, which Brian and I have already been enjoying.  Toones gave me a beautiful crystal cross to add to my collection.  Dena gave me a gift certificate to a spa… she’s a mom – she KNOWS what a mom needs!  Anna gave me a stylish pursh… nice to have something that doesn’t shout "I’m a mom – I’ve got diapers, wipes, toys and snacks galore with me at all times!"  To top it all off, I was with my sisters on my birthday… a rare occurance!  I’m so glad I got to see them!  Seeing them makes me miss them even more, though…  All in all it was a GREAT birthday!  Thanks, everyone!

Like Kat’s new haircut?  Makes us look even more like sisters!

Our family in Indiana always has a BIG Easter Egg Hunt, and it was fun to enjoy it with our kiddos.  In spite of the 30degree weather and blowing snow, Analise and I hopped around picking up our loot.  She was overwhelmed with all the candy options, but we’ve manged to dole it out pretty strictly.  Between my cousins and I, there were 7 kids under 7, I believe.  Add in the "big kids" and adults and there were 23 people there in all.  We celebrated my birthday again with cheesecake. 

Analise hatching an egg at Toones before Easter.

Not a bad family picture, as hard as it is to get us all looking at the camera!

We stayed in my Grandma’s old house, which is empty.  It was as good as a hotel, and we were able to put Josiah in his own quiet room, have a bathroom to ourselves, and even pick up free wireless from somewhere.  Easter morning, we went to Grandma’s church, and in the afternoon, after everyone else had gone home, we moved over to Grandma’s to spend some extra time with her and Charlie.  We had a fun, family-filled weekend.  It was a LOT of travel for such a short time, but it really was so great to be with my family.  The only people missing were my mom and dad, spending an Easter weekend together in California, before he moves back to start a new job at the University of Minnesota in May. 

Other fun notes… we learned some good lessons from hearing Veggie Tales’ Gideon and the Tuba Warrior 3 times back-to-back-to-back.  Specifically, "It’s a good thing God has patience, man, because I’m sure losing mine," and "If you want to hear God say ‘well done!’, you have to do what He asks."  Good stuff!

Josiah’s a budding Mozart!  He loves to play… on his tip-toes with the very tips of his little fingers.
Above is our piano, and below is at my Aunt Connie’s this weekend.