dipped, dyed, and decorated

we couldn't wait any longer to dip, dye, and decorate our eggs. i can not tell you how much begging to do the eggs has gone on since they first caught wind that Easter was near.


briley and braxton went right to work. barron played in the pot full of water and then earned himself a trip to bed as we got super serious about decorating. maybe next year he will get the whole egg idea. anyways....

seriously hard at work...

taking a quick break for a pic...and showing off some eggs...

happily displaying the finished products.

i loved watching them work so hard on their little creations. we had so much fun that they are asking if we can do some more??? maybe....

+ 6

a conversation started a few weeks ago about about us NEEDING these...

well- Joey and the kids convinced me that baby chicks were a great idea for our family. With that said- we loaded up Saturday for the local TSC. The folks at TSC make it oh-so-easy for a family to take home baby chicks- with a start up kit and all!

On the way there I asked Joey how many we would get? 2? more? Wouldn't you know those TSC folks sell them by the half dozen! Are you kidding me? So now, we are the proud owners of 6 babies. Where do they live you ask?

Here we are getting them settled in their new home... down in our barn, in their homemade home (and yes, we destroyed our Sears car-topper for this little farming project- Joey always hated that thing anyway)!

any guesses on how long they will survive around here?

girls and boys

my grandparents had 2 daughters who then each had 2 daughters-

my sister, hayley, and i. (on the left)
and our cousins allison and kristi. (on the right)

then in 2004 each of us had a baby boy. the 1st boys in 3 generations. left to right... Braxton (mine), Hayden (allison's), Gavin (kristi's), and Tyler (hayley's).

and finally, we tried to capture a pic of the momma ducks and our ducklings. everyone has 2 little ducks except me- my 3 are nestled in there somewhere.

sadly, we don't get together as a group often enough. the kids love to play together. the 2 girls really loved taking charge of the boys and playing. we had gathered this time because our sweet 90 yr old grandfather "Pops" went to be with Jesus. he had blessed each of us with his love and humor. i am sad to say that i now have no living grandparents. it's hard to believe that part of my life has passed. but not without many many wonderful memories!!

it's hard to beat...

it is hard to beat beautiful weather and a picnic with cousins...

was it only a dream?

the past few days have brought us fabulous weather. literally, we we've spent most of the past 5 days outside.

if you know me you know i love love love being outside. so does joey and i can now offically say all 3 of our kiddos love it too! we have helped daddy fence, rode the 4 wheeler, ran 'til we could run no more, picked daffodils, had several picnics, ate our 1st dinner of the spring on the deck (yea- no sweeping after the meal- i love it). We have played in the creek, checked turkey feeders, drug out the dusty riding toys from the garage, caught what we think are frog eggs, played at the park, and mommy even got to walk a couple miles on the park trail. yes- i love warm weather!

but today we awoke to more cold dreariness.

was the wonderful warm weather only a dream?

come spring come!

just a few pics...

braxton and barron love the park. after much chasing i confined them to the swings.

wwwwwweeeeeee!

we also loved our adventure with our friend lila. She met us for a picnic and some climbing adventures. this was the best i could do to photograph these two. let's just say they are both very busy!

here's to wishing for more warm weather...

thousands of miles away

over 7700 miles away there is a baby girl. she will be born into a world so different than the one i live in every day. she will be born a days journey worth of flying time away from me. and one day, a day i anxiously await, i will fly those thousands of miles and meet her and love her and bring her home.
until then, i can hold this precious little blabla doll my sweet friend emily purchased for us a while back. isn't she just too cute:)

JUST A FEW ETHIOPIAN FACTS AND FIGURES:

Life expectancy: 42 years old

Population subsisting below $2/day - close to 80%

Average births per woman: 6.14

Deaths from pregnancy/abortion related: 1 in 7

Women dying from TB is 96 per 100,000

Children dying from AIDS: 1 in 16

Percentage of AIDS cases in the world: 7%

Female genital mutilation: >80%

Women experiencing rape: 25%

Newborns dying before age one - 1 in 10

Children dying before age 5 - 1 in 6

Orphans - 4 million plus

Children under 5 stunted from malnutrition - >50%

Literacy 41%

Literacy for women 26.4%

I look at these facts, among others, and think how we think we have it bad. but, we are blessed abundantly. my heart longs to make a real difference in this world.

I don't want to look back years from now and think -"what did i do for Jesus in this world?" "what difference have i made?".

Somehow we are so caught up in the great american rat race that we miss the true meaning of life. i'm pretty sure it won't matter in the end what school my kids go to or clothes we wear or how big my home is. but i do believe it will matter if i offered a drink to the thirsty or feed the hungry or clothed the needy.

Seems to me everywhere i turn these days the needy and the orphans are there- in stories, in sermons, in papers, in my thoughts. i guess that is what happens when God lays something on your heart.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me... Matthew 25:35

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:17-18

*****on a side note***** thanks to all who have purchased t-shirts. do not be dismayed for i do have more and i need to sell them soooooo buy one or make a friend buy one....