Uncle Hal

My brother, Hal, kept Micah for us while we went to the beach with Abigail. I think they bonded. He is such a good uncle.

Florida

We just got back from a week in Orlando, where we visited Gene's parents and brother. We had a great time with the family! We got to go to the beach twice, which was the highlight of our trip. Abigail had a great time splashing in the waves and building sand castles. Here are a few pics from the trip. Enjoy!

Spring Portraits

After Easter, I decided to get Abigail and Micah's portraits done. This is my first experience doing portraits, so I went to the place at Babies R Us. They were a little more expensive, but worth every penny. Abigail was having a very two-year-old moment and spent most of the time crying and shouting, "down, down, down!". Micah is at a great age for pictures because he smiles all of the time and, though he can move a little, he won't really go anywhere. Below are the results. 

the castle, and the people, and the carriage

For the past month, Abigail has developed a new routine. Every morning after breakfast is finished and the Backyardigans are over, Abigail says, "Mommy, its time to play! Want the castle and the people and the carriage and the big castle and the tunnel". We bring everything into the living room and she proceeds to meticulously set up her castle and people and carriage and play with them. She also has a bigger play castle with a tunnel that goes next to the coffee table where her other toys are. She entertains herself for at least an hour playing "castle" and showing me all of the things that her people are doing. It is so fun to see her little personality develop.

Le Jardin

Okay, so it doesn't look like much at first, but that's the great thing about gardens. You put these tiny little plants in the ground and water them and hope that something grows. This year I planted tomatoes, bell peppers, beets, cucumbers, onions, garlic, cilantro, and basil. We had a slight frost about a week after everything went into the ground, but I think the plants are going to be okay. Hopefully I will have some fun pictures of vegetables early this summer.

Daylight Savings Time

Yeah - we totally missed it. I woke up at 7:00 to begin the process of getting a two-year-old, a five-month-old, and myself ready for church. We don't leave until 8:45, and the kids were still asleep, so I got my morning cup of coffee and leisurely sat down to check my email. My computer said that it was 8:00 instead of 7:00. Strange - but I thought it was just a glitch. I fed Micah and got him ready for church and down for a short nap. When Abigail awoke (she is not a morning person) we embarked on our daily routine of cereal, banana, and Dora the Explorer. Panic! Dora was not on and Direct TV said it was 9:00. Church STARTS at 9:00. Still in disbelief, I found Gene and asked him if it was Daylight Savings. He looked it up online and - sure enough - it was. Fortunately, we go to the 9:00 service and the class Gene teaches is at 11:00. Although I was sad to miss church, that meant we had extra time to get everyone ready. So we enjoyed a fun, laid-back Sunday morning. How refreshing!

Freedom from Quiet Time Guilt

Last month at my college roommate reunion, I mentioned an article I had read about "Quite Time Guilt". I have been struggling with that lately, and decided to post the link to the article. I am someone who struggles with feeling like I have to do the right things to earn God's love and favor. However, He has already given these things to me for free through Christ. I think this article is great for anyone who struggles with the same thing. The link to the article is below. I'd love to hear your thoughts...

http://gregscouch.homestead.com/files/quiet_time_guilt.htm