Easter

Wow! So much to write about! We had a very busy weekend with Easter, Angie's wedding (plus pictures, rehearsal dinner, and reception), a totally unexpected phone call from a birth relative of the twins, keeping company overnight, and a family surprise! But I will break it down into several posts. Let's start with Easter.

He is risen!! Hallelujah!

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Scattered Thoughts...

We have enjoyed some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets lately:

The twins' new favorite thing to do:

Jalen loves to write, sounding out words as he goes. He wrote this after using up all of my scotch tape (which he loves to use to make paper creations. He claims that all he wants for his birthday this year is paper and tape.): "No tape. Sorry for the tape." And then the word "cupboard" is written and circled. :)

Miss Malia was chosen as Student of the Month for the second time this year! Great job, Mimi!

Malia was given a new hairdo by her new friend, Misti.

This just happened last week. Where is Spring?

Shana was recognized by the school board for winning the school geography bee.

The twins' kindergarten class recently did reports on national symbols. I thought my boys did a great job! Here is Jalen's report:

And Jordan's:

Friday, Shana participated in the Ohio State National Geographic Bee in Columbus. She did a great job, and although she didn't place, it was an honor to be there with her. 

There was a girl from Wayne Trace there, too....2 girls from the same county! I think only 3 people from our county have ever made it to state. Great job, girls!

That's all for now. Have a wonderful Holy Week!

Random Tidbits...

 *I always love to see the big kids reading to the little kids. :)

*Ashton was named Student of the Month, so I ate lunch with him at school one day.

*I was playing Candy Crush one night, and made it to almost 48,000,000 points on one level before I got sick of playing and gave it up. It would not let me end the game, and kept going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and well....you get the point. I'm convinced I could have set some kind of record if I would have kept playing, but it got a little ridiculous after awhile.

*Here, the kids are making scrapbook pages for Karl and Angie. We've been doing lots of wedding planning and shopping.

*Our neighbors came over one day and took the kids on snowmobile rides.

*And all the boys went sledding with the other Sunday School kiddos.

*We booked tickets to Ethiopia this week! We will be going in July, and our mission team consists of Chris, Shana, Richard, Jessica, Kristi, Alyssa, and myself.

*Shana has qualified to compete at the state level of the National Geographic Bee! She will travel to Columbus at the end of March. Way to go, Shana! Keep up the good work!

And that's all the randomness I can come up with for today.  Ta-ta for now!

Fourteen!

A very happy birthday to Miss Shana, who is 14 today!!!

I don't know where the time has gone, Shana. It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming our beautiful baby girl into the world. We are so thankful that you have grown into such a wonderful young lady, though, and it is so awesome to see the light of Jesus shining through you. You are loved more than words can say, and we hope you have a wonderful 14th birthday! XOXOXO

Kids and Tees

*The kids have had lots of snow and ice days lately...

...so we have had lots of these:

*Jalen took it upon himself to set the table for dinner one night. He then turned down the lights and lit some candles. Paper plates, pizza, and candlelight. :)

*Ashton's basketball team was undefeated this year. They won the tournament and will play in the Defiance tournaments next week. He's pretty proud of his medal. Great job, Ash!

*The twins enjoyed their Valentine's party at school:

*Ashton found this old hat that my dad wore when he was a little boy. Ashton has now claimed it as his own and wears it everywhere. :)

*"Look what I can do, Mom!"

*"And now I'm a teenager." (As if that time won't come soon enough.)

*One day I asked if someone had let the dog out. Jordan replied, "Yes, and he's running around the snow like a wolf. He's having joy."

*Malia plans to be a teacher someday. She was playing school the other day, and then I found this:

*Jalen hurt his leg one day, and he was pretty sure he needed to have a castridge put on. I told him it was a cast. The next week, his leg hurt again, and he told me he needed a cactus for it.

*Due to some added interest, we relaunched our Mission: Metekle t-shirt fundraiser. We changed the colors a bit this time, and will only be selling them for 2 more days. Order here to help us educate Ethiopian children: https://www.bonfirefunds.com/mission-metekle-ethiopian-school-project-1. Thanks!

Letters From My Mimi...

Malia loves to write me notes and letters, and does so frequently. I thought I'd share a few. I discovered one of these on the kitchen counter last night, and the others I found while cleaning out my purse. I love my little girl so much...she always brings a smile to my face. Plus, she's fun to squeeze!

"Dear mom, life is good when you have a mom just... like you! Love, Malia"

"Dear mom, Love you!! You are the bestest thing EVER! If I didn't have you I would be bolling! Love, Malia    P.S. And we would never be to church on time."

"Mom,
Thank you for being the best mom ever! I love you! I do not know how you are that good at being a mom! You are the best mom ever! You are the best at everything and your beautiful! I bet no other mom surprises girls that there going to Disney and buys them two American Girl dolls, and knows how much there mom loves them! I have a girl in my class and her name is Alexsa and she lost her mom's twenty dollar lip gloss and she said that her mom was going to kill her! I know you wouldn't kill me so I don't have to worry about it! Thank you mom! Your the best! 

Love, Malia Brooke 
I love you! I love you! I love you so much! Mom is the best! You are my FLOWER!"

You'd never know that she can be a bit dramatic, would you? :) Have a great weekend, everyone!