Easter

Look at me, back here blogging again so soon! I might just get myself back in the habit! I thought I would share some of our Easter celebration here. We started the day just like any other Sunday, and headed to church early. I am not a fan of all the "special" hoopla that goes on in church during the holidays, and thankfully, neither are out pastors! There was nothing "special" about our service, other than more focus on resurrection than you may find on other weeks. But there was a video testimony that I thought was pretty cool...you can check it out here (near the bottom of the page). It is so great to see God changing lives right in our midst.

After church we went to visit my sister, and spent the night near her house. Todd had Monday off, so we had a mini vacation. It was great spending time with family, and on the ranch there were lots of beautiful reminders that spring is here (even if the weather is still cold).

We set up our own little egg hunt for the kids when we got to our hotel. The setting was gorgeous. You may notice from the photos that we are short one kid - Jacob is down in SC with his grandparents until next weekend.


The ranch currently has a baby horse and some new lambs. My kids were amazed that a baby horse could be bigger than they are. They also got pony rides, played in the hay barn, and saw all the other animals at the ranch. Of course the cats are their favorite, because you know, cats are just so special...

My Great Kids

Today was playgroup. Instead of meeting at a house like we usually do, we all went to one of the malls that has a play area. The play area was closed due to carpet cleaning. So here we are with 11 kids and nothing to do on a snowy April morning. We went to another part of the mall that has a bunch of those ride-on things that cost a couple quarters and let the kids use that as a playground (without quarters).

It was organized chaos at best with 10 kids 5 and under climbing around on the four or five rides. But as I sat there talking with other moms, something struck me... every other mom had to run over and deal with a bad kid every few minuets, or chase a toddler down. I on the other hand, had no worries. My kids behaved perfectly. They took turns, they were patient, they were nice to the other kids. When I did speak to them, they obeyed right away without any trouble.

Walking through the mall was easy, too. My kids stopped when I said stop, and did a great job setting an example for some of the other, younger kids. I cannot tell you how good it felt to spend a whole morning not worrying about my kids! I am really proud of them, and it feels like all the hard work we put in as parents is really paying off.

If you're reading this and you can't imagine a peaceful walk through the mall, take heart! If you are consistent in your parenting (with boundaries and consequences) your day will come. Being consistent is hard, but in the end it is so worth it. Not that we have arrived, my gang still has daily struggles, but the view from here isn't half bad!