A little of This & That

We had a great time celebrating Easter yesterday! We went to church and got to sit with family, and then we went over to Dad and Janet's for a wonderful meal and egg hunt. It was a fun day!

We didn't plan any amazing outfits, or dye eggs, or do anything very festive leading up to Easter this year, but this was one of my favorite Easters! God has done so many amazing things in our lives and the lives of those around us, and my heart has been overwhelmed by His love. I loved everything about yesterday's church service. I got to see God answer prayers in the life of a friend that my dad and I have been praying for this past year, and it just put me all the more in awe of my Savior! He pursues hearts, and he redeems the broken things, and restores joy in those who have experienced deep pain. He is full of compassion, and seeks out the lost and hurting. Have you felt him nudge your heart? He sees you and loves you! You're not alone. He cares about you!

What a great and loving God we serve!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter!! xo

Two sheep escaped their home somewhere around here. We have no idea where they came from, but we occasionally see them in the yard. One day, when the kids and I were putting on our shoes to walk out the front door, we were surprised to find the sheep standing there outside the front door steps, on the walkway, staring at us! But as soon as we got near them they decided to bolt.

Spring came late this year, and it still hasn't warmed up much yet. A friend posted this in March and it made me laugh because it's so true here in Oregon! Annndddd... it's still true for April. Ha!

Even though it's been overcast a lot, it's still beautiful! I loved seeing these white cherry blossoms set against the moody gray sky the other day.

Our friends, Robin and Laura, recently helped us care for our first chicken Lonely, who injured her legs. :( They also were so kind to give the kids a new chicken that they instantly fell in love with. Selah named her Leia (because she lays-uh egg every day.) ;) Our friend Elijah came over to play and approved of Leia too.

This past weekend the kids got to build their own computers. It was such a fun process! We ordered KANO computer kits for the kids to use for school, and not only did they get to learn how to build a computer, but they are learning how to code it. It's been a great learning tool!

We LOVE spending time with the Hiltons and we're trying NOT to count down the days until they leave (because it's way too soon!)

Every bit of time spent with them is a treasure.

I'm going to miss seeing Ann every week!!

We had a great time celebrating Jude's birthday two weeks ago, & Selah's is coming up this week. I'll be sure to post more about those days soon.

Swim lessons have been going well. Selah has moved up to the big pool, which is much colder, but she's doing great, and she made a new friend in her class.

We adult kids (siblings and spouses) went to a marriage dinner at our church recently. The food and message were both amazing, and the company was the best! I love this bunch.

We also got to celebrate Jen's birthday after the Duck's Final Four basketball game. Happy Birthday, Jen!

Josh and I have been making quite the burn pile out at the new property. There's a lot of overgrown brush that we've been removing.

Sushi date with my love while the kids were at Awana. There's something about those mid-week evenings, when you're exhausted, and you just want to wear your cozy jeans, a sweatshirt & Nikes, and go do something fun with your best friend. xoxo

Ben often is building something or taking apart something, or wanting to create something with moving parts. He recently made this this "windmill costume." ;) 

I also love that he does things like this:

He was sitting at the piano playing for about an hour when I finally discovered this note on the piano, with a jar next to it. ;) I contributed.

Ben likes to take his plain pancakes to another level. 

I took some more hair clip pics of Selah last month. This was her by the end of it. ;)

This shot was my favorite.

Josh's Grandparents celebrated their 86th birthdays recently & Josh wanted to throw them a surprise party. He did a great job coordinating it with lots of family and we had a great time hosting!

We played a game that took them down memory lane.

Seattle - Part II

The second half of our time in Seattle involved the Pacific Science Center, Gum Alley, more swimming, and stopping to see friends on the way home.

My favorite part of science center was the planetarium. It's always so incredible to see the universe and how utterly tiny we are in the midst of it. God is so majestic and creative, and purposeful. The way everything balances and works systematically, and is not chaos, but complete order, reaffirms how in awe of Him I am. He created such beauty for our enjoyment, and all because He LOVES us. Every single one of us. Each of us matter and are of value to Him. Please, please take a second to watch this video. You won't regret it! 💗

Isn't that mind boggling??! 

Josh's co-worker's wife joined the kids and me at the Science Center. I didn't include any photos of her, simply because I haven't asked her, and I wanted to respect her privacy. But she's great with the kids and we enjoyed having her along with us! I always feel a little bad in those situations, though, because keeping track of three kids for hours inside of a huge museum isn't exactly the most relaxing thing in the world, ;) but she was a trooper to stick with us for so long! And she shared some photos with me that she took of us that day, so I included them in my post.

The kids enjoyed riding the monorail.

It was fun to see the moving dinosaurs.

We watched them use dry ice to make ice cubes and Jude volunteered to show the crowd the ice cubes. (I didn't take my big camera along that day, because it was too heavy with so much walking. So the result is a lot of blurry cell phone pics.) ;)

We loved the butterfly exhibit! There were soooo many varieties, and a few butterflies even landed on us.

Jude had a butterfly crawl up onto his face. He was so calm and just smiled.

That night we walked with Josh and some co-workers to dinner. This was the only pic I took.

More swimming that evening.

The next day we ventured back to Pike's Place, and visited Gum Alley. The kids wanted to leave their mark and add their gum to the walls.

Ben made this smiley face to add to this blank wall.

We swam more that day and watched a movie in our hotel room. It was a nice, relaxing day after so much walking the days prior.

On our last day we visited Kerry Park and the beautiful neighborhood that surrounds it. It rained that day and was quite windy, so we didn't stay there long, but we loved the views!

On our way home we stopped at the Coleman's and enjoyed sushi dinner with them. This was the only pic I took. :)

We got home late and carried the sleeping kids into their beds.

It was nice waking up to so much in bloom around the farm!!

I was back in my happy place. ;) I love the calm and quiet of the farm, and being surrounded by nature. Staying in the city is always fun, but boy do I love the wide open spaces in the valley. xo