Newbies

Our weather has been somewhat uncharacteristic and unpredictable as of late--which seems to be true of many regions. This erratic weather has impacted a number of things--one of them being our bees. Sadly, our hive did not make it through the extremely low temperatures we had. However, we did manage to get new bees! We are very excited to have bees in our backyard again. Hannah was quick to offer her assistance in setting up the new hive and John was happy to have the help. All of the children have suited up at some point and enjoy partaking in the care of our hives. :-) We pray for this hive to thrive. Welcome to our new Russian residents!

Closing Out Holy Week

Resurrection Sunday is the pinnacle of Holy week and truly the premiere holiday for Christ followers. Yes, Christmas is important because it brought us Jesus in the flesh, but without Easter and our Savior's resurrection, there would be no real hope. And hope changes everything! So we commemorate and clebrate the phenomenal sacrifice and victory of Christ over sin and death and the hope and salvation His sacrifice offers to those who believe. He lives--Praise the Lord--He lives! :-)

The church organized the celebration a little more spread out this year--which was actually quite nice. The children sang on Palm Sunday rather than on Resurrection sunday. This is the last time Riley will be on stage in this capacity, and potentially Hannah as well--they're not so little anymore! They did a fantastic job in their performance of a worship montage.

The church also set up this beautiful cross as a decoration/photo back drop. I caught Bethany and Nikolas in the right place at the right time to snap a picture. I sure wish I had corralled a few others to the spot--at least John and I--to take more photos, but the day was full and the church was full so the moment passed...

I did however, get photos of us before service, which turned out pretty good :-)

Last year, Levi joined us for our celebration. This year, Levi had a girlfriend whose family he joined for the holiday. No harm, no foul--it's a natural progression. Levi's absence was filled however, by Bethany. :-) She was a pleasant addition to our afternoon of games, movies, food, and fellowship. Bethany didn't even try to hold back in our confetti egg fiasco which was wonderful fun!

The day was beautiful and we welcomed and enjoyed the sun and temperate weather. How blessed we are that God has given us so very much!

A String of Birthdays

Birthday Season is up and running full speed! My birthday kicks us off with Nikolas' just five days after. Nikolas, at 12, started a tradition of the two of us spending a day together--usually involving lunch and shopping of some sort. This year, though he's older and busier, was no different--he still made time to hang out with his mom :-) We had a delicious sushi lunch at a new restaurant--which may very well become a new favorite. He also brought me flowers and we shared tea and conversation. Though we did not get any photos, the time we spent was precious. I know that this tradition of ours has the opportunity to fade as he steps out and makes a life of his own--so I very much cherish it now.

My time with Nikolas was ahead of my actual birthday (gotta work the schedule!). On my birthday proper, I actually spent most of the day being mom and doing things like dental appointments and school supervision. I did however, take a great lunch break and treated myself to a wonderful charcuterie box.

In the evening, we had cake and gifts. :-)

Nikolas turned 20 this year! Career building is demanding so he worked on his birthday but came home to a dinner of his choice with friends in attendance as well as cake and gifts. Sonja did a phenomenal job on his card (all of the children made great cards though) and he got Hudson socks--so much fun!

Though he worked on his birthday, Nikolas arranged to have the day after off for celebration. These four have been celebrating birthdays together for the last four years.

Though the coordination of events is sometimes rough and the activity they choose, as well as the level of picture taking, varies from year to year, they've been faithful to celebrate together making memories to last. Nikolas and Bethany's birthdays are one day apart while Levi's is in May and Jozsef's in June. The bigger outing usually happens in April but there is always celebrating for the other times as well. This year, they made a day of the April gathering. They started the day with coffee and art viewing at two local museums followed by a lunch break before experiencing a rage room where they had the fun of smashing glass, monitors, keyboards, and the like. After smashing the keyboard, the boys made their own art. :-) They had a blast!

When all was done, they came home to tell us stories of their adventures over dinner and we topped off the night with cake and gifts, accentuated by cards artfully made by the younger children--this time for Bethany. :-)

It was a great day. We are looking forward to Levi's birthday as he is turning 21 this year. Plans are still being made...

Wild Animal Expo

Spring brings wonderful blooms, great weather, not too many bugs, and opportunites to enjoy activites. Therefore, we take every opportunity we can to explore and experience. :-) Our first spring event was the Wild Animal Expo where there were falconry displays, dock diving dogs, bass fishing lessons, reptiles to learn about and touch, bird dog demonstrations, food to enjoy, and vendors to shop.

The two older boys were away for the weekend helping at a church event, but the other children, John, and I attended the expo. We actually unexpectedly ran into Nikolas there as he was chaperoning a group of youth in a rousing game of Bigger and Better. Nikolas' team gave it a good go, but Jozsef's team took the prize with the top trade of a piano! :-) There was much to enjoy but our absolute favorite was and is the dock dogs. Watching them take the challenge of high jumps and long jumps over water is always exciting.

At the end of the day, we were tired and a little burned from the sun, but we were happy to have shared a day of fun together.