And Another One's Gone...

Miss P

Hannah was pleased, proud and tickled pink to be Miss P for the Letter People Parade at school. Okay, I'll stop trying to use "P" words as I type this. :-) We had fun making her costume together. Miss P likes pointy patches so we headed to the fabric store to buy fabric and something to help us iron on the patches we cut from the fabric. While Ava took her nap, Hannah and I had loads of fun cutting and ironing together. Hannah was such a great helper...she loves doing crafty things. She did a lot of the cutting while I ironed on the patches. We were both pleased, proud...oops, I'm doing it again. I'll try to refrain from overusing a plethora of P words. :-) Anyway...the shirt turned out really cute and Hannah looked adorable in her costume. The other kindergarteners looked awesome too! It was so fun to watch them parade through the school singing the alphabet.

Spring Break Highlights

Spring Break seems like a distant memory now...especially the days of sunshine. Hannah was sick during the first weekend of Spring Break but thankfully was better by the time Monday rolled around. Here are some of the high points of our break.

We loved relaxing, staying up later, and sleeping in when we could.

We had fun creating and playing with a FP Little People village in our basement. Hannah and her friend Grace enjoyed playing with it when Grace came over for the afternoon.

We visited my dear grandpa B. in Holland with my mom. He is 97 and doesn't get out much, but on the day we visited he was up for lunch at Russ'.

What a treat!

We also spent some time with him at the retirment home where he lives. It was popcorn day - my girls took full advantage of that, as did my grandpa who snitched from Ava's bowl when she wasn't looking. :-)

We were so glad to have some sunshine and warmer weather by the end of the week! Bring on those shades!

Hannah and Ava were excited to welcome home their grandpa and grandma who had been in Florida. Hannah was over the moon excited to get the starfish Grandma brought back for her. All of us headed out for a yummy dinner at a nearby diner that is one of our favorite spots.

Grandpa and Grandma brought back oranges from Florida, so of course we had to make some fresh squeezed orange juice. Hannah and her friend Lia took turns squeezing the oranges on our juicer. The end result...four glasses of delicious orange juice. Yum-o!

Lia taking her turn at the juicer

Our little cowgirl ready for a morning at horse camp. She and her friend Lia did a 3 hour camp together where they learned how to take care of horses and how to ride them.

Ava was really wishing she could do it too...as is the case with most things these days. She at least got to check out the farm and pet a new little kitten.

Hannah in her glory! She has always loved horses...at least for as long as I can remember. She thinks it's because she was born in the Year of the Horse (Chinese zodiac). Perhaps it is, but whatever the reason, Hannah absolutely adores horses!! She had a blast at the horse camp and would love to do it again or take private lessons...a girl can dream. She still talks about "her horse" Casey (pictured above).

Happy Easter!

We love celebrating Easter! The fun family traditions, the symbols of new life, the beautiful hymns and Easter songs, and the hope and promise that comes through Christ's Resurrection...we love everything about it!

I usually savor standing in church on Easter and singing favorite hymns like "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and "I Serve A Risen Savior," but this year I was on nursery duty. I escaped once to listen to one verse of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." It was all I needed...the song continued to run through my mind during the rest of the day. Throw in Keith Green's "Easter Song" (one of my favorites) and I was all set...or at least that's what I told myself to feel better about being in nursery taking care of crying children while others were triumphantly singing together and listening to the beautiful Easter message. Fortunately, I know the songs and message by heart and could celebrate that with my own children and husband at home through our many traditions. Having said that, I sure hope I don't end up in the nursery again next year on Easter. :-)

We went to a special Easter celebration at a nearby church. In addition to an egg hunt and other fun activities, they shared the Easter message through a "Journey to Jesus." It was so moving to walk through and reflect on the journey that brought Jesus to the cross. When we arrived at the empty tomb, I had tears of joy in my eyes as the angel greeted us and joyfully proclaimed, "He is Risen!" We happily responded with "He is Risen indeed!!!" We are hoping this church will continue to do this every year...it helped get our hearts ready for Easter.

Ava really got into hunting for eggs this year. She had a blast!

Running to find more eggs

Hannah's friend Chloe joined us too

Searching for their Easter baskets

Our beautiful little ladies all decked out for Easter

What a sweet picture of Doug with his girls

Snuggling with my girls

Ajla and Ava

Hunting for eggs at Nana and Papa's house

Ajla, Taylor, Hannah and Ava....wishing Andrew could be with us too!

Spring is in the Air

On a beautiful Spring day last week we headed back to see the butterflies during the day. They were so active...the air was filled with fabulous fluttering butterflies. They also had special activities for kids so Hannah and Ava enjoyed doing those too. Doug had taken the day off from work so he was able to join us and make it a family day. We're so glad Spring is in the air!

Thirty-two Years Later...

Drew, Hannah, Ava and Lance

Last week when I got together with my friend Dana and her two boys, it dawned on us that our oldest children, Hannah and Lance, are the same age we were when we first met in kindergarten at Bowen. Hard to believe that 32 years ago Dana thought I had magic crayons and taught me how to tie my shoes. Are we really that old?

Another One Bites the Dust

Four teeth and counting...

Baking and Birthdays

Ava has become quite the little Baker. :-) Anytime she sees me starting to cook or bake, she runs and grabs the step stool, climbs up, and wants to help with whatever I'm doing. Hannah's interest in helping in the kitchen ebbs and flows these days. They have both enjoyed wearing the aprons/hats we gave them for Valentine's Day though. The aprons are very appropriate for our two girls (and such a bargain...I found them at the dollar store).

We also recently enjoyed a birthday celebration with my family. We had a combo-celebration for my birthday and Taylor's birthday, which were in January, and Mark's birthday which was in March. Taylor was surprised and delighted to receive a special quilt from my mom and dad. Ava and Ajla enjoyed some quality time together...and some serious hugging (see below).

Lights, Camera, Action!

A couple weeks ago we were contacted by our adoption agency who wondered if we'd be willing to appear on an episode of a local TV program about special days that families celebrate. We agreed...so a TV crew came to our house to shoot footage of us talking about how we celebrate our girls' Gotcha Days.

Hannah's Gotcha Day, Sept. 14, and Ava's Gotcha Day, Aug. 12, are two of the most important days for our family - those are the days we first held them in our arms and welcomed them into our family. We're glad we got the opportunity to share how we continue to make those days special for our girls.

The taping process had a few humorous moments as our girls helped themselves to bags of snacks in the background while Doug and I were busy being interviewed. :-) They did a wonderful job editing. We were very happy with the final product. Here's a look at how we celebrate our girls' Gotcha Days... Video coming soon!