Christmas Pictures Resurrected

Apparently we were able to get a few of our Christmas pictures back, emphasis being on few. I'm grateful for those few though. It's an Easter miracle! :)

Our friends, the Stewarts, brought over some cookies right before Christmas and we regifted them to Santa. Santa really enjoyed them (or so we heard).


Grandma stayed with us over Christmas and for once it was during a time where we weren't expecting a baby! I think it made for a more relaxing visit.


Apparently Nadia stole some of Santa's cookies and that still didn't put her on the naughty list! She must be pushing the boundaries this year to see what it takes to get on there.


We had quite a haul this Christmas. When you have spillover from underneath the tree, you know you're spoiled.


It's blurry, but beggars can't be choosers. Nadia got a cute wooden dollhouse with a family and Rowan got the lego set that started an obsession.



Raiding the stockings


The aftermath. Suddenly I know why I have so many boxes to pack.


Nadia in her cute Christmas dress that Grandma and Grandpa Luke sent.


Steven in one of his cute suits that Grandma and Grandpa Luke purchased. Rowan wanted to get in on the picture for once. They got me a GPS system, which will save me future meltdowns, especially as we will be moving to one of the biggest cities I have ever lived in in just a matter of weeks. I can't think of a more useful gift!




We have been so blessed. It was a wonderful Christmas and nice to be at home without being very pregnant. Grandma Dorothy spoiled us as well with a huge TV and plenty of toys and goodies. I hope South Carolina will have similar experiences this Christmas minus the bouts of stomach flu we encountered this past season!

Easter!

Amidst pouring rain, some friends invited us over to the church building for a early Easter egg hunt. Rowan might of had more fun hiding the eggs than finding them.

Nadia was a bit bewildered at the whole prospect of hiding eggs only to go find them a few minutes later.


Once she got warmed up though, she was really into it.


Rowan wasn't being that cooperative for pictures and took off once it was time to go hunt for eggs. I didn't see him much until the end when he came to show me his loot.



It was a lot of fun for the kids and I'm glad we were able to join some friends in the celebration of Easter.



Easter Sunday began with a visit from the Easter Bunny. We saw a bunny the night before in our backyard, so that increased the kids' excitement. I think that's 2 years in a row that we've seen a bunny right before Easter Sunday.



Our friend Clarissa was holding a bake sale the day before to help raise more money for diabetes, so we had a delicious breakfast of cinnamon rolls.


Afterward we went on a little Easter Egg hunt at home.


Rowan didn't approve of our selection of Nerd jellybeans as evidenced by the following.

To each his own.





You wouldn't think from looking at the above pictures that Nadia was throwing a fit and Rowan was whining about most everything that morning. Not to mention the fact that Nadia later drew on the wall, perhaps wanting to experience repentance for herself. She's a true 2 year old.



There were a lot of heartfelt testimony and hymns of Christ at church of which I'm thankful for. We ended our evening watching a few of the clips the church put out which focused on Easter, my favorite being this one by Elder Wirthlin which you can find here.


Happy Easter Everyone!

Bummed

A few weeks ago my computer crashed. I lost 60% or more of my pictures including those of Christmas and because I didn't put any on the blog, they are gone. It pays to not procrastinate whether it's blogging or backing up your hard drive. Sigh. It's not a total loss though. I still have all the pictures of things I have sold on craigslist and no longer own, along with a nice catalog of Steven modeling different facial hair configurations when he shaved off his beard.

My computer hates me.

All You Need Is L...

Apparently we need to listen to the Beatles more closely. My friend got me these blocks for Valentine's Day that spell out LOVE, HUGS, KISS, XOXO and so forth. I took down the clock off the wall the other day and came upon this variation.


While Rowan's new motto may be "all you need is legos", Nadia's is "sleep, drink, and be grouchy." She was put in time out in her chair and decided to make better use of her surroundings.

She took off her own shirt as a final act of defiance before conking out. We're hoping that behavior doesn't continue in her later years.

Preparations

I heard from so many friends after they move that they wish they had enjoyed what they had here more before they left. Perhaps I should take that more to heart, but I'm convinced that the closer you get to moving, the less you are able to sit back and enjoy much of anything. At least for me anyways. I'm in a constant state of anticipation for what's to come and overwhelmed with what I need to do now. I'm a bit of a scatterbrain these days.

It doesn't help when you and your kids get sick. Rowan got pink eye a few weeks ago and Nadia followed a week later and added an ear infection to the mix. Rowan has also been complaining about ear pain a lot lately and the doctor has been finding consistent fluid in his ear that isn't going away. It sounds like he'll be getting tubes in his ears a few weeks before we move. Count on kids to make life interesting!

Beyond getting sick, we have had a lot going on here. We've had to prime a few of the rooms that I painted to avoid extra paint charges when we move out. Rowan was only more than willing to help out.




Nadia decided to take advantage of the opportunity and do a little "fingerpainting."



Between packing and being sick, we haven't been able to get out much. We haven't been missing much though since April has been a bit of a miserable month as far as weather goes. I went to my first garage sale this week in pouring rain and weather advisories, but it was totally worth it.

One of the few excursions outside



Otherwise we have to get our wiggles out inside.



Pretty soon he won't be laughing when she can really pin him down.

2 Cute Kids and 2 Great Causes

This is Spencer my cute nephew (he's on the right- my cute niece is on the left).


He is raising money for the Heart&Stroke Jump Rope for Heart program. They are making a difference in the lives of kids by helping to keep all kids' hearts strong - including kids who are born with heart problems.

To make a donation please click on the link below, you will be taken to his personal page where you can make a secure online credit card donation. Yes it is a Canadian charity, but true charity crosses all borders! Plus you'll make this cute kid very happy.

Link up here




This is Clarissa, my son's cute friend (she's on the far right). She has type one diabetes and is walking with her family for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on April 30th. It's been eye-opening to see her diagnosed and how her family has come together to treat and help her. I've even been able to give her shots! Learn more how you can support this sweet girl at www.clarissascrew.blogspot.com

Yakkity Yak

Inception for kids
*While watching Dora*
Rowan: How is map on top of itself?


Rowan: What's Wii Fit? Sounds like someone crying...
Me: That's pretty much it.

Me: So what do you want for your birthday Rowan...a girlfriend?
Rowan *laughing*: NO! Girlfriends can't fit in boxes!
Me: So your only objection is the fact that we can't fit one in the box?

Rowan: Mom how old are you?
Me: 29.
Rowan: Wow, you're pretty close to 100. Pretty soon you'll be infinity and beyond.

While sitting outside Nadia ran up to me and...
Nadia: I saw a bug!!
Me: Did he say hi?
Nadia: No, he say beeeeee.