Baby cheeks and fat little fists

Don't they just make you all swoony?

Happy birthday Bronwen!

Dearest girl,

you have such a large unquenchable spirit

you live out loud

you're not afraid to be who God made you to be

your robust laughter is contagious, your smile infectious

your little self brings unspeakable joy to my heart

you're fancy and special

sparkly even

I hope you grow in grace and love for the Lord your maker

And so she grows

Happy birthday sweet Bronwen. I love you with all of my heart!

Oliver's first solid food

It's not all that solid, but it is different than breast milk. He's a little suspicious of the cereal at first.

Oh yes, he loves it!

When illness comes to a loved one

God is good. All of the time, God is good.

He works all things together for good.

He makes all things perfect in His time.

On the way to Michigan we received a phone call. My aunt, who has been having trouble recovering from gall bladder surgery last month, was told two days ago that she has pancreatic cancer.

Many thoughts come to mind, and I struggle to trust in the LORD and be thankful, all the while knowing full well that this cancer is a death sentence. But maybe the tests were wrong.

This doesn't seem real. How is this happening?

But mostly I'm just numb.

Curious kids

End of winter term and the kids are on Spring break!

Josh and I took them to St. Joseph to the Curious Kids Museum

This hands-on museum makes learning come alive.

Bronwen discovered a love for dinosaurs. She had a hard time prying her self from this table to go see the other displays.

Noah is looking at some kind of bug slides I think

Checking out different career options






Noah whips up a medieval meal for everyone.

And we finished up with some face art.

Because I love her face

Our Passover Seder

This year Passover and Easter occur in the same week. While we no longer celebrate Easter as our spiritual holy day, we are sensitive to our family and friends and we do enjoy the traditional tastes and fellowship of Easter.

We opened our home to a small group of family and close friends for the Passover Seder.

It was a very special time of celebration, worship and remembrance.

All that glitters is not gold

sometimes it's purple!

purple glitter toe nails.

Matzah ball soup

Makes 8 to 12 matzo balls

Matzo Balls
1/2 cup matzo meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons reserved chicken fat or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chicken stock or seltzer (which both of our mothers swear by for making the balls extra light)

For soup
2 to 3 quarts prepared chicken stock (recipe above)
1 carrot, thinly sliced
A few sprigs of dill

Mix all matzo ball ingredients in a bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Bring 1 1/2 quarts of well-salted water to a brisk boil in a medium sized pot.

Reduce the flame. Run your hands under water so they are thoroughly wet. Form matzo balls by dropping spoonfuls of matzo ball batter approximately 1-inch in diameter into the palm of your wet hands and rolling them loosely into balls. Drop them into the simmering salt water one at a time. Cover the pot and cook them for 30 to 40 minutes.

About ten minutes before the matzo balls are ready, bring prepared chicken stock to a simmer with the sliced carrot in it. Ladle some soup and a couple matzo balls into each bowl and top with a couple snips of dill. Eat immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen

Sweet dreams

Annabelle's last sleep in her crib