Addie's First Ballet Class

We signed Addie up for a ballet class.
Partly because she asked to do it, and partly so I could live out my childhood fantasies through my daughter. That's healthy, right?

Well, it's just about the cutest thing ever. She has gone twice now and really enjoys it. That is, until she has to practice a routine over and over and the "fun" wears off. But anyway, she likes it. The teacher is fabulous, and I love watching all the little girls in leotards who somehow look graceful and awkward at the same time.

So here are a few shots from the first class.


stretching & warm ups
Notice who the group is looking at here? Addie. Because she was also warming up the conversation, not just her muscles.
I love this one because I caught her looking back at me to see if I was watching.









And while I'm posting about Addie, I have to relate a cute story from yesterday. We were driving along in the car, discussing how there was a live chicken in our garage (yes, you read that right), and Addie was quite delighted to find out that mommy was AFRAID of the chicken, when Addie was not. So we're talking about me being afraid of it and she said "Oh my word," and I said back to her "Oh my word," and she pipes up "Oh OUR word!" It just made me laugh. Man, she is so cute.

Us

I got a new haircut last night, and wanted to show the world. So we got out the camera and started taking pictures...
(Addie took this one)
Me with the kids- you can see the back of the haircut in this one. And seriously- isn't Scott cute?
I tried to get a picture of Scott, and Addie decided to steal the show.
Addie and Greg doing their goofy smiles. Man I love them!

New Things

Scott has started doing all kinds of new things in the last few weeks. It has been so fun!

He started crawling! Well, he crawls and drags one leg behind him, but he still can move himself. Thankfully, he is still slow and I can still keep up with him. Something tells me not for long.

He waves hi. It totally owns me.

A couple of days ago he started clapping his hands. It completely delights him.

And this isn't new, but he's a thumb sucker now. Only when he wants to go to sleep. I think it's sooooo cute. Ask me how I feel about it in a few years when we're trying to break the habit, and I'll probably sing a different tune, but for now, it's sooooooo cute!

Scott's First (Signed) Word

How exciting! Scotty signed his first word today! After going to town on some oatmeal, he started becoming more and more interested in the toys around him. I told him "You can't play until you are done eating," then tried to give him another bite. He shook his head no (which he's been doing for a few days now), so I gave him a little break and tried again. Another no, and then I asked "Are you all done?" and signed it for him. He looooooked at me, and then smiled, raised his hands up, and wiggled his wrists around with a big grin! I couldn't believe it! I said "All done buddy?" and he signed it again! And then, to really make me happy, he did it for the camera! I was so excited, and the best part was that Greg was home to see it (since he's home sick today). What a fun new accomplishment!

Easter

We ended up with an Easter quite different from the one we imagined. Addie came down with pink eye and a terrible cough on Thursday, and I came down with the cough and body aches on Saturday. But we were soooo determined to go to church to celebrate Resurrection Day! So Addie got eye drops to keep her from being infectious, and we all got dressed up and went to service- but just for worship. The kids couldn't go in Nursery or Sunday School and we were all too worn out to make it all the way through the service, but at least we got to go a little!
And we got a nice family picture anyway!

We couldn't go to our friends home for a nice Easter dinner, but while we were at home resting that afternoon, we got to feel the earth move under our feet- actually, it was the couch roll under our bum. We felt the 7.2 earthquake in Mexico all the way up here! We watched the chandelier sway for awhile and then all returned to normal.

Greg came down with the crud that afternoon, just about the time I started feeling a little perkier. God is so good that He would allow only one of us to be laid out at a time!
We opened some Easter gifts from Greg's parents on Saturday. Scotty loved playing with the eggs....
and Addie loves her new art supplies!


Scotty also worked on moving around the red chair. Both our kids have learned to stand holding onto the big red ottoman, and then started working their way around the chair. Such a fun stage!

Scotty Photo Shoot

Hi! I'm cute!
Love this face.
Sorry the picture is a little blurry, but this is his flirty look, and he uses it often!
And this is his mischievous "imp" look.

Easter Mountain- the Grand Finale!

Up from the grave He arose!
The soldiers (in green) lie on the ground, the angel (yellow) is in the tomb with the empty grave clothes, the women (pink) come to find the empty tomb, and Jesus has risen from the dead!
Yesterday we posted a guard at the tomb.
Friday night we wrapped Jesus in a linen cloth and put a stone in front of the tomb.

Good Friday

It seems strange to call such a somber day "Good Friday." This morning we acted out Jesus being tried before Pilate. That's his hands bound there with the yellow pipecleaner and a orange crown of thorns on his head.
Then He was whipped and beaten by the soldiers.
Then we put Jesus up on a cross, between two thieves. The little people in pink on the right are the women who watched the crucifixion, the green guys in the center are the soldiers who cast lots for His clothing.

At noon we plan to darken the house for three hours, just as the sky went dark during the crucifixion.
Here's a shot of us last night as we were doing the resurrection eggs. We've been doing Easter Mountain in the morning and Resurrection Eggs each evening after dinner. What a wonderful week we've had, focusing on all the events leading up to Easter.


In other news, we are just hoping we get to go to Easter services, since Addie has a cold, a goopy eye that is threatening to be pink eye, and she threw up in the middle of the night last night! We are hoping that the puke was a fluke (ha ha ha!), and we have a prescription for drops for her eye if it doesn't clear up by tomorrow. After all the heart preparation we've done this week, it would be so wonderful to celebrate the resurrection with our church family, but if we have to celebrate at home, we'll be OK with that too.

And in still other news, Scott started waving on purpose yesterday! If he's in the right mood and you wave at him and say hi, he'll put up his arm and wiggle his hand and wrist around. It's just the cutest!

Passion Week: Thursday

This morning we learned about Jesus eating the Last Supper with his disciples (gotta love the little people table with the fake food on it- I'm pretty sure Jesus wasn't eating a turkey leg at the Last Supper, but it works). We talked about how he confronted Judas as His betrayer.
This is Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane and his disciples sleeping.
Then Judas and the soldiers and mob that came to arrest Jesus.

All Quiet on Easter Mountain

It's Wednesday on Easter Mountain- the silent day. This is the only day of the week that the gospels don't mention anything happening on (that's a badly phrased sentence, but I'm feeling too lazy to fix it right now). But just wait 'till tomorrow- and this mountain will be one busy place!

Passion Week: Tuesday

Welcome to Tuesday on Easter Mountain!
This morning we discovered that the fig tree Jesus cursed yesterday had withered!
Then we read about how Jesus, back in the temple, taught the people and ANGERED the religious leaders. Addie and I talked about one of the many things he taught that day: the greatest commandment. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.... and the second is like it; you shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Last night Greg and I listened to a message by one of our old college professors, Doug Bookman, in which he explained how much Jesus' teaching went against the Sadducees and Pharisees. He asked the question, "given Sunday (the triumphal entry with crowds praising Jesus), why Friday (the same crowd calling for his crucifixion)? His answer was "Monday & Tuesday." Jesus' statements on this day intentionally incited the leaders to the point of murderous planning.
And those leaders found their way. Today we also learned about Judas betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
On a side note, I had to tell you what fun we had at dinner last night. I was going to Trader Joe's yesterday anyway, and since Addie and I had been discussing figs yesterday, I thought it would be fun to get some so we could all try them! I found some dried figs and a recipe online for "Pork with Lemon, Fig & Ginger Compote." It was deeeelicious and so fun to incorporate something we had been learning about into our dinner!

Passion Week: Monday

This morning we read and talked about Jesus cursing the fig tree.
(Mt. 21:12-22, Mk 11:22-26)
Thankfully, our pastor just preached on this passage a few weeks ago, so I was all ready to explain it! I learned that Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not have fruit as it should, and it was a symbolic judgement on Israel. The tree was not doing what it was created to do, and neither were the Jewish people. They were created to worship and glorify God, and instead were about to reject His Son. So Addie and I talked about this a little bit this morning. We talked about how to be a fruitful tree today and do what God created us to do.
Then Jesus went to the temple and cleansed it, calling it a "den of robbers."
(Lk 19:45-46)
(That's a picture of the temple back there in the picture) :)

Easter Mountain

This year we decided to start a new Easter tradition- one we've been looking forward to doing for a few years now. We got the idea from Noel Piper's book "Treasuring God in our Traditions" and have seen our friends the Kaneversky family do this activity with their kids in years past. It's called "Easter Mountain."

You make a big 'ol lump of dough and shape it into a mountain. You make a little cave in the front and put holes in the top for stick crosses too. Then you bake it and paint it. You also make the aforementioned stick crosses, and lots of little pipecleaner people. Each day of the passion week you use the mountain and the people to act out the events of the day.

Here we are, after making and baking; painting the mountain (OK, more of a hill, but it will work).


While the paint was wet, we got some dirt and rubbed it on top to make it realistic. In front of the mountain is our stone- ready for action on the right day! We poked little holes all over the mountain so we could stick in the legs of our little people and they can stand up.









So today's activity to act out was Jesus' triumphal entry. Here is our Jesus, riding the Donkey from our Resurrection Eggs. He wasn't near the mountain for this picture because it's paint was still drying. :)










As we meditated on the triumphal entry today, we couldn't help but think it wasn't really that triumphal. What a sad day for our Lord, to enter the city He loved and have the crowds cheering for Him, knowing they would reject and kill him in just a few days. Entering the temple, His Father's house, and seeing it filled with "robbers," then crying over the city. It just makes us more thankful for His sacrifice for us and gives us even more to celebrate on Easter morning.

Also this week, we will be spending some family worship time using the Resurrection Eggs and a book called "Benjamin's Box" that goes with them. Addie loves opening the egg(s) each night and talking about what is in them. There are other activities we'll be using too, to help us focus and worship during such a special week. We'll try to post a daily update on the activities on Easter Mountain so you all can follow along!

If you'd like to make your own Easter Mountain, the instructions are posted here:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/554_make_a_playdough_mountain/