Thursday, July 23, 2015

It's Bluebonnet Time!


We couldn't forget our the annual bluebonnet picture tradition this spring! It was nice to have Grandma's help getting smiles this year. We remembered a stool for Ryan and a Bumbo seat for Nathan. Yay! The hardest part was that it turned out to be a super sunny, bright morning! But we got some cute pics anyway!


too sunny to keep the eyes open wide :)









Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Happy Easter!


Jesus has risen. He has risen indeed! Alleluia! What a reason to celebrate! No longer do sin, death, and the devil have any power over us. Jesus has the victory, and His victory is ours! Easter is truly one of my favorite holidays! We did some special things to celebrate ...

My sister had told me about a fun idea that was popular in Montana: hiding 12 eggs in someone's yard, then placing a "You've Been Egged!" sign on their door (describing how they would find 11 filled eggs and one empty egg -- since Jesus' tomb was empty -- in their yard). Our boys thought this sounded like great fun! We "egged" two friends' yards. A few days later, it was such a treat when one of these sets of friends "egged" us back! :)

Our boys enjoyed dyeing Easter eggs with help from Grandpa and Grandma. They both stuck with it quite well. They dyed the dozen that we had hard boiled, another dozen that we hadn't, and would've kept going!





The wire whisk really worked well as an egg-holder. (Thanks, Pinterest!)


The day before Easter, our church held a large community egg hunt. Both boys definitely got the hang of quickly grabbing eggs after Pastor John said, "GO!"

Right after the hunt was done, the boys opened up their eggs to find the candy inside.



The boys enjoyed jumping on the bouncy structures and playing some carnival games before we all did the Resurrection Walk (new this year -- very well-done!) and ate a hot-dog lunch. A very fun morning!

The boys woke up early on Easter morning and ran to see what "the Easter bunny" had left them in their baskets.  The boys had goodies from Momma and Daddy AND from Grandpa and Grandma! Of course, they wanted to sample some of the candy right away!



We paused for some family photos before church, especially because we we all relatively coordinate and happy. :)










We joined Jon, Chelsea, and some of Chelsea's family (visiting from Montana) at our church's yummy Easter breakfast.

When we got home from our Easter service, we found out that our neighbor Gloria, had "egged" our yard! What a fun surprise! The boys were thrilled to find a $2 bill for each of them in addition to some yummy candy.




Thank you, Gloria!
We were happy to be able to host an Easter ham dinner for our family and Chelsea's family.


Cousin Love!

Happy Easter to everyone! :)

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Fun with the Schleicher Family

 We were blessed to spend time with all of the members of Matt's family during late March and early April. Matt's parents and Beth & Andy came to Texas for baby nephew Isaiah's baptism.

 Our boys got plenty of grandparent and aunt-and-uncle time and attention as well. Everyone even willingly and graciously participated in our Sunday evening Family Game Night tradition. On this particular evening, Ian had made up a game that included people driving their chosen vehicles to various destinations around the house. 
 We also played a fun game (I think it was a Matt-devised one) that involved kicking a ball from behind a sidewalk chalk line in our cul-de-sac.

During most of our time together, we just spent our time in a low-key way, catching up and just playing.

Ryan was excited to have some extra family members willing to read to him ...



 ...and even to wrestle with him! :)
 Nathan got lots of loving attention, too! Under Aunt Beth's tutelage and encouragement, Nathan *almost* got the knack of rolling over. (He did it independently just days after Aunt Beth returned home. :))


Some TLC from Uncle Andy


 What a treat for Nathan to have lots of playmates!


 


 Grandma had a magic touch! She lovingly rocked Nathan to sleep a few times.

 Grandma and Grandpa were always willing to play with the big boys, too. Thanks for getting down on the floor with our boys and being interested in whatever they were playing. :)


 
Grandma planned a special activity with stickers and a calendar.


One afternoon, Grandpa and Grandma took Ian and Ryan to the theater to see the movie "Home." What a special treat! Another morning, they joined Momma and Ryan at Toddler Time at the library.



 Grandpa and Grandma were willing to help out however they could. Grandpa cheerfully swept all of the pollen-filled tree "droppings" multiple times during his stay with us ... and, most of the time, he had a willing helper in Ryan!
One day, Grandpa and Grandma volunteered to take Ryan to the children's museum (while Ian was at school) so I could have time to finish our taxes as Nathan napped. What a gift -- to me AND to Ryan! They had a great time together!


On most afternoons, Grandpa (and sometimes Grandma, too) volunteered to pick Ian up from school (which usually meant that Ryan and/or Nathan and sometimes even Momma could get an uninterrupted nap). Grandpa and Grandma even got to attend his classroom Easter party!

We loved our time together, Grandpa and Grandma! 


About two weeks after Isaiah's baptism, Jason, Amy, and their boys flew down from Montana for a house-hunting visit. (We couldn't have been happier when we heard that the Lord led them to accept the call to Salem in Tomball -- only 20 minutes from our home!) Grandpa and Grandma were still in town hanging out with their newest grandson, Isaiah. We were all thrilled to hang out with Jaden and Cody while their parents toured the Spring/Tomball area with their realtor. The cousins got along really well, though it was nice to have extra playmates like Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Chelsea around.



Don't let this picture fool you ... Chelsea took about a 5 minute power nap while holding newborn Isaiah and then jumped right back into helping to watch her five nephews.


 


 Play dough time ...
 




Grandma fed Isaiah his first-ever bottle. He took it like a pro!
Aunt Kim got to help out a little, too! :)

Amy and Jason ended up finding a wonderful house! Our boys loved the time with Uncle Jason and Aunt Amy as well.





with Jaden




with Cody








COUSIN TIME!

What it took to get (most of) the kids to look at the camera!



We love you, dear family! :)