Around these parts

"I must learn to love the fool in me--the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool." -- Theodore I. Rubin, MD

AMEN.

If you can dodge a wrench...

You can dodge a ball!! Yay for the 5th Annual Willow Creek Staff vs. Nampa PD vs. Nampa Fire Dept. vs. Canyon County Paramedics Dodgeball Tournament!


Good to know these guys are hard at work keeping us all safe.





We did not win a single game. BOO. But we looked awesome gettin' our dodge ball on & there is always next year!

Case in Point

Remember that no-pants-bandit I spoke of?

There has been another sighting.


Collin came up to me & said he was "Bumpa" Ken. Clever.

And in other news, Kaleb will have the same 3rd grade teacher that Parker had. Mrs. Andrea Koenig. She is excited about all things science, & it shows. Kaleb has been bugging me about getting the garden started, apparently Andrea as well. He asked her for some seeds & she had some extras. Kaleb labeled them. My favorites are "Swiss Charge" & "Brussel's Sprouts."

Just one more

Allow me one more birthday post for Collin. Can you tell I am holding on to every moment? It goes too fast, no matter how many pictures I snap.

This was hour 1 of his actual birthday. Party animal.

Planet kid, first timer.

Deep in thought. Lately he will stop to scratch his head & say "hmmm..."

Dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

It is still a no go on the potty. But in his 3 years on earth, Collin has accomplished many feats. The first that comes to mind is surviving our mad house. He actually thrives in the testosterone pool that is home. He has charmed the pants off all of us, kind of funny from a little man who rarely wears any pants himself. You would think the potty would be a natural transition from one with no pants. I guess dodging attacks from big brothers has him tied up most days. That, & it has got to be that I just want him to so badly!

Par-tay!

This little man had quite the birthday bash on Saturday.

From the looks of it, you would have thought it was Kaleb's big day. Joy just pours out of this kid.

I made my Pink Lemonade cupcakes for the big day, Josh was stroking my ego by consuming his 3rd on camera.

Showing Grandpa Ken the homemade hummus that Collin said was "poop." It is all about presentation, right?

Good Golly Miss Molly! She was hoping for a prince...

Sweet Sophie blowing bubbles.

The only party game I attempted was Hot Potato. The crowd was not easily corralled, though.

Birthday Boy hid in Grandma Annie's legs when it was cake time. Kind of funny, from the attention hound.

I found this guitar for Collin & asked Grandma Ellen to personalize it. It turned out so cool.

Great Grammy Fern with my parents.

A chance for Mama to get crafty & go all out for my baby boy. They say that at age three the brain reboots, meaning Collin will start to remember things. Wouldn't that be great if this was his first memory? Here's hoping it will be & not falling out of the shopping cart last week...uggh...

Baby Love

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination, full of hope.”

― Maya Angelou

Home improvement, gone wrong, & then made right

A recap, with pictures. See that tiled white ceiling? I hate those tiles. Matt & I planned to take them down 3 long years ago. We finally made time to do the demo over Spring Break with hopes of revealing a stunning higher ceiling, with no outdated ceiling tiles.

No go. Matt pulled a few down, along with quite a shower of insulation. only to find a bizarre framework of 2x4s & a lot more insulation. Enter Ellen & Plan B. A fresh coat of paint for the ceiling, walls, & baseboards. Tah-Dah! What do you think of the colors choices?

The Flipside

In summation of Spring Break,

We had a home improvement project go horribly wrong, then it was redeemed. Thank you Ellen!

Our van died. So instead of fun filled afternoons at the park or zoo, we were on car lots with the shadiest people in the Treasure Valley.

The formerly blue skies turned gray for almost the entire week, intermittently sending down showers of sleet or hail.

We purchased a van Friday evening & had all the hope in the world for finally enjoying our family time. Yet early Easter morn, Aden woke with spouts of vomiting & diarrhea.

The good news? You would never know it from the pictures.

Got some sister time!

My beautiful Aunt Leslie, reminding us it could be worse. You could be laying in your coffin & have someone take a picture! (WHAT? Not okay. RIP Uncle Chester. )

Matt & I made it through in one piece, barely.

LOVE THIS KID.




Parker & cousin Brock had some major guy time.





Finding eggs, losing teeth.

Eggs dyed with Kool-Aid.

Spring? Please?

Eggs dyed with coffee grounds.

Matt & I hid 260 eggs this year, yowza!

And as if that was not going to be enough sugar...cookie pops!

I hope you all had a blessed Easter. Even with all the road blocks of the past week, we had a rich time with the boys, celebrating the deep sacrifice our Savior made for us. Thank you, Jesus!

D- to the RAMA

That's the nice way of saying we feel like Spring Break has hit us like a Mack truck. Bleh... Prayers, please.