Jason's birthday was a 2-day affair this past weekend! Jason's mom watched the kids overnight on Saturday (which is an awesome gift in itself, one that I enjoyed, too!), which gave us the chance to go to Samba for dinner with some friends on Saturday night. We ate soooo much but still managed to have dessert at Piazza del Panne afterwards. Then after church on Sunday, we drove up to his mom's and spent the rest of the day with his family. Hope you enjoyed your birthday, babe! We love you so much!
Jeremy loves brushing his teeth... We have been using the little finger brush up until this past week. This week, we decided to begin using an actual toothbrush (there are times when he bites down really hard and it really hurts!). He gets all smiley whenever we sing the chorus to Raffi's "Brush Your Teeth" song, moving his head from side to side (rocking out). We also sing, "This is the way we brush your teeth," while actually brushing his teeth. We'll have to get a video of that one of these days. (By the way, our walls are not quite that bright- the flash made them super bright).
When Grace turned one, I went to Studio Ceramique to paint a plate with her handprint on it. It was hung on our wall as a reminder of that time in her life. I'd post a picture of Grace's plate except it's currently packed away in a box somewhere (due to the kitchen remodel). Her handprints are flowers, and the plate has ladybugs around the rim. Last week, I went with Jill (my close friend) to Color Me Mine to paint plates for our boys. Look at how Jeremy's turned out!
I bet you didn't know this about me- aside from Thanksgiving, Good Friday and Easter are two of my favorite holidays of the year- more so than Christmas! These days symbolize so much to me, and I'm not talking about the Easter bunny, chocolate, or Easter eggs. I spent a lot of time on Good Friday reflecting on what it means to have a Savior, His love and sacrifice, and what that means for me as a person who strives to live in a way that shines Christ. In fact, Grace and Jeremy even joined me in my personal praise session on Friday night, singing about Christ's love for us. Below is one song that stirs my heart (I did not show the kids this- we just listened to the music). It's called, "Lead Me to the Cross," by Hillsong United.
And so of course the story doesn't end there- Praise the Lord- He is risen! We celebrated Easter Sunday by first going to church. It was great to witness 11 people being baptized- what a special reminder of Christ's love for us. After church, we headed up to Jason's mom's house to spend the rest of the day. Lunch was fantastic (as usual!) and it was great to spend some time together. Jeremy participated in his first egg hunt, and he was actually able to find quite a few on his own. My hope is that though it's fun to do the egg hunt, dye eggs, and talk about the Easter bunny, that Easter won't become as commercialized as Christmas, where its true meaning is easily hidden. Hope you all had a great Easter! Pictures of our Easter are on the right!
Our church hosts an annual neighborhood Easter Eggstravaganza on Good Friday. It's held at Robinson Park, which is right near our church and Robinson School. I was able to get Jason to go with us this year. The kids had a lot of fun- there were 4 stations, topped off with an Easter Egg Hunt. Grace's favorite was the bounce station. Jason helped Jeremy make it through one of the inflatables and judging by the fit Jeremy threw, we can assume that it was his favorite station, too. Next was the music station where we sang some praise songs, followed by the craft station. The last station was the story station, where Grace got to hear the Easter Story through the use of Resurrection Eggs. (I'm amazed at how much she seems to understand- when she prayed this morning for our breakfast, she said, "Thank you Jesus for dying for me and for you, Mama.") After the Easter Egg Hunt we walked to church and enjoyed lunch. Tomorrow, we'll celebrate our Risen Lord at church, and then we'll head up to Jason's mom's house for some family time. Happy Easter everyone! (More pictures on the right hand side)
Jason and I are on Spring Break! We're so glad to have this much-needed break!
This past weekend was Fresno's annual MCC Sale (Mennonite Central Committee). It's a huge sale that raises money for relief efforts around the world. In my opinion, it's like a huge Mennonite reunion. We always look forward to going for the chance to run into friends we haven't seen in a while, and to have some yummy foods that Jason grew up with. We went on Friday night for a tasty dinner of German sausage (the real thing) sandwiches. The lines for fritters were long, but some very nice people (thanks Aaron and Mark) gave us some. On Saturday morning, we returned for the pancake breakfast. Jason's mom met up with us there. We bought some Hot Wheels to keep Jeremy entertained long enough for me to watch a little of the quilt auction. Before leaving to take Grace to gymnastics, she treated the kids to homemade ice cream (at 10:30am!). Oh to be a grandma!
Sunday was Palm Sunday. Grace joined many other children at church, waving palm branches as they sang a few songs praising our Lord Jesus. I missed it, running to try and get a better spot to take pictures, but apparently, Grace was "playing" her palm branch like it was a guitar. She was rocking out! Just like her daddy, I guess! Thanks to the Macks for sending us this picture!Sunday evening was beautiful outside, so we went on a walk around our neighborhood. Grace dusted off her bike, and Jeremy got to ride in the jogging stroller. It was a great way to end such a busy weekend.
Jason's birthday was a 2-day affair this past weekend! Jason's mom watched the kids overnight on Saturday (which is an awesome gift in itself, one that I enjoyed, too!), which gave us the chance to go to Samba for dinner with some friends on Saturday night. We ate soooo much but still managed to have dessert at Piazza del Panne afterwards. Then after church on Sunday, we drove up to his mom's and spent the rest of the day with his family. 
Hope you enjoyed your birthday, babe! We love you so much!
Jeremy loves brushing his teeth... We have been using the little finger brush up until this past week. This week, we decided to begin using an actual toothbrush (there are times when he bites down really hard and it really hurts!). He gets all smiley whenever we sing the chorus to Raffi's "Brush Your Teeth" song, moving his head from side to side (rocking out). We also sing, "This is the way we brush your teeth," while actually brushing his teeth. We'll have to get a video of that one of these days. (By the way, our walls are not quite that bright- the flash made them super bright).
Sunday was Palm Sunday. Grace joined many other children at church, waving palm branches as they sang a few songs praising our Lord Jesus. I missed it, running to try and get a better spot to take pictures, but apparently, Grace was "playing" her palm branch like it was a guitar. She was rocking out! Just like her daddy, I guess! Thanks to the Macks for sending us this picture!
Sunday evening was beautiful outside, so we went on a walk around our neighborhood. Grace dusted off her bike, and Jeremy got to ride in the jogging stroller. It was a great way to end such a busy weekend. 
